I rushed to Nanya and dropped to my knees, fingers pressed to her neck. Her pulse was barely there. Blood marked the corner of her lips, bruises darkened her arms and legs. Anger flared hot in my chest, but I crushed it. Now wasn't the time for it. I had to calm down. If she was still breathing, there was still hope.

  “Midori!” I shouted.

  I didn’t realize she was already beside me. When she leaned in to check Nanya’s wounds, my shout right next to her ear startled her. She flinched and jumped back, then straightened up, rubbing her ear as she frowned at me.

  “Do you know any healing spells?” I asked, desperation clear on my face.

  “What? No—”

  “Aoi, you?”

  They both shook their heads. Then the three of us looked down at the injured cat girl on the ground. She was fading right in front of our eyes, and we were just standing there, watching like three idiots.

  “She…” I said, my voice shaking, “she’s about to die. We have to do something. Anything!”

  “Wait,” Aoi muttered, trying to remember, then looked at Midori. “Didn’t we pass a herbal shop on the way here? The one with those stupid dried flowers out front that made me sneeze…”

  “What?” Midori frowned, then nodded. “Yeah... yeah, I remember it.”

  “Then go!” I shouted, pointing toward them. “Move! Grab every healing potion, herb, anything you can find. The best ones. And don’t come back without something that actually works!”

  They sprinted at the same time and crashed into each other. Rubbing their heads, they glared, ready to start a fight.

  “Why are you walking, idiots!” I rubbed my temples in frustration. “Midori, grab her and just teleport there. Come on!”

  Both flinched at my shout and teleported away. Once they were gone, my eyes returned to Nanya on the ground. She looked paler now. A bad feeling hit me, and I checked her pulse again. It was slow, weak, with long pauses between beats. As her pulse faded, mine started racing, sweat sliding down my skin.

  I paced in circles, as if moving faster might somehow bring those idiots back sooner. More than five minutes had passed and they still weren’t back. I knelt by Nanya and checked her pulse again, it had slowed, then stopped. I leaned close, ear near her mouth, eyes on her chest. No rise. No fall. Panic hit me.

  “No, please,” I muttered, sweat dripping down my face. “Please, just hold on a little longer!”

  I forced my mind to race, trying to remember anything that could help. Then the first aid drills from high school came back to me. Maybe they would work. I locked my elbows and placed my palms at the center of her chest. For a moment, I froze. It felt wrong. She was a girl. But I had no choice. I shut my eyes, pushed the thought away, and began pressing.

  “One, two, three...”

  I cracked one eye open to see if she reacted. Nothing. A bad feeling crept into my chest, telling me I was too late. My hands slowed for a moment, desperation taking over. Then I forced the thought away and kept going at the same pace.

  ?“Damn it! Work! Come on, work!” I yelled at her fading face. ?“...Twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty!” I gasped.

  Then I remembered the next step, pressing alone wasn’t enough. She needed air. I leaned down, pinched her nose with one hand, and placed the other on her chest. It was my first time doing this for real, and I had no idea if I was doing it right. At least, I had to make sure the air reached her lungs. I took a deep breath, pressed my lips to hers, and blew in. Her chest rose, then fell, and rose on its own. She was breathing. She was back.

  

  Suddenly, a terrible crash rang out, freezing my already tense muscles. I spun toward the sound, heart pounding. A wooden crate lay smashed on the ground, glass shards everywhere, red potion spilling like blood. I rushed over, dropped to my knees, and shoved the broken pieces aside, desperate to find anything still intact.

  “Damn it, Midori!” I roared. “Did you bring all this just to smash it on the floor?!”

  “I-I’m…" she stammered, "when I saw you doing that with her—”

  “You idiot snail, I paid three full gold for those. They were the most expensive ones—”

  “Silence!”

  At last, I found one potion that wasn’t ruined. I rushed to Nanya, knelt beside her, lifted her head, and slowly poured the red liquid into her mouth. A faint glow wrapped around her, sparks flickering in the air. Then her body looked refreshed, fully renewed. She sat up, coughing hard.

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  “Cough… cough...”

  “Hey, are you okay?” I said, holding her arm. “Who did this to you? Did you see their faces? Was it that bastard from last night—”

  The moment she came to, she shoved me away with all her strength. Then she scrambled backward across the floor until her back hit the couch, covered her face with her arms, and burst into tears.

  “Please… Please stop! It hurts so much!”

  Midori moved to her side and gently touched her shoulder, kneeling beside her. Nanya flinched and curled in on herself.

  “Hey, it’s over now. You’re safe,” she said, her voice calm and motherly warm.

  She seemed to recognize Midori’s voice. Her ears perked up and her body relaxed. She lowered her hands and slowly opened her eyes, looking around. When her gaze met Midori’s, she hugged her immediately and started crying again, this time from relief, not fear.

  “Th-thank you. They… they hurt me so much…”

  “Shh, it’s okay,” Midori said, gently rubbing her back. “You don’t even need to remember it. You’re safe now. That’s what matters.”

  My whole body tensed without me even realizing it, my hands clenching into fists. Then Nanya’s eyes met mine. She let go of Midori and lunged at me. I fell flat on my back as she landed on me, wrapping her arms around my neck. Her tail swished happily from side to side, and her tears dripped onto my face.

  “I knew you would save me. I... I believed it—”

  “All right, that’s… enough,” Midori cut her off, grabbing her by the tail, pulling her off me.

  “Ahh!” she cried out, digging her nails into my shoulders on reflex.

  “Ouch!” I shouted as her nails bit into my skin.

  Once Midori managed to pull her free, she shoved her toward the couch and made her sit. “Stay there and just rest."

  I got up, rubbed my shoulders, and looked around, confused.

  “Hey, where did Aoi go? She was just here…”

  Then I spotted her lying on the ground, unconscious. I rushed over, one hand on her forehead, palm up, the other clutching her stomach. Her eyes were closed. She looked completely out.

  “Aoi!” I nudged her. No response.

  I checked her pulse and… it was there. Fast, way too fast. Her skin felt like it was burning. Then she puckered her lips, like she was expecting a kiss.

  “Oh, come on! That’s not even funny,” I said, standing up, shoulders slumped.

  She opened one eye, saw me already on my feet, then sprang up, brushed herself off.

  “Well," she muttered, "at least… I tried.”

  I walked over and sat on the couch next to Nanya, my head buzzing with questions. Then I noticed Midori and Aoi standing across from us, arms crossed, glaring like angry guards. Judging by their expressions, they had plenty of questions too, and none of them were friendly.

  “So, tell me,” Aoi snapped, stomping her foot, “what do I lack compared to that cat-tailed… human excuse? I want a lord’s kiss too.”

  “Wait, what?!” I frowned. “What’s a lord’s kiss even supposed to be? No… forget it,” I said, waving it off.

  “If he kissed every woman in the world,” Midori said, rolling her eyes, “yours would come last, after all other worms."

  “Also,” I started, then paused, unsure how to explain it. “That thing you just saw wasn’t even what you think.”

  I really wanted to explain, but it felt like it would only make things messier. Trying to explain modern first aid in this age seemed crazier than magic.

  “It was…" I said, "just a life-saving move."

  “Huh?!” Midori snapped. “What kind of life saving move includes grabbing a girl’s chest?”

  “Hey, it wasn’t like that, okay?” My eyes stayed on the ground, my voice weak. “I was just checking her breathing…”

  Then I glanced at Nanya. Her face was shocked and red, ears twitching. She clutched her chest and slid a little farther away from me, keeping what she clearly thought was a safe distance.

  “She couldn’t breathe,” I said, almost yelling. “I was just checking if her chest was moving.”

  “And that kiss?” Aoi snapped. “Do not tell me you gave her your breath. I’m not buying that.”

  “D-did my lord kiss me?” Nanya murmured, finger on her lips, tail straight up.

  That was it. My nerves snapped. “Enough!” I barked. I pointed at the two of them. “Believe what you want. If I hadn’t done that, she would be dead. So this topic is closed. Now and forever.”

  I glanced at Nanya out of the corner of my eye. My face was red too, I had risked myself while trying to save her life. I took a deep breath, gathered whatever shred of dignity I had left, and turned back to her.

  “Hey, Nanya, just… ignore them,” I said. “I swear, it’s not what they think. Please, let's just forget about that for now. Can you tell me who did this to you? When did it happen?”

  As the shock faded, her shoulders slumped and her mood sank while she tried to recall what happened.

  “I was heading home after cleaning the inn. When I reached my door and tried to close it, someone stopped me. Then two men came in, wearing black cloaks and red, terrifying demon masks—”

  “Demon masks?” I muttered. I traded a tense look with Midori and Aoi, then turned back to her. “What kind of mask?”

  “It looked like the Demon Lord’s scary face. They tried to take me. I fought, but they were too strong. They beat me, and I passed out. When I woke up…” Her voice trailed off, tears filling her eyes again.

  I had seen the demon lord myself. He was scary, yes, but also handsome and charismatic. Someone wearing his mask was likely trying to seduce, not frighten. Then, after a brief thought, I remembered what the old man said about berserk. These were probably masks of his ferality form. Why, I had no clue. All I knew was that Nanya had felt uncomfortable.

  “Well, fine,” I said quickly. “You can tell the rest later. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  “No,” she said, wiping her tears, fear still in her eyes. “When I woke up, I was chained underground like a dungeon with dozens of other demi-humans. Masked men were dragging them somewhere, and the screams… I got scared and passed out.” She clutched me, crying. “Thank you so much. You saved me just in time!”

  “Hayato,” Aoi said, walking over. She pushed Nanya aside with an annoyed look and leaned close to my ear. “Aren’t these the people that self-absorbed goddess was talking about?”

  “I guess so,” I muttered, turning to Nanya. “Okay, that’s enough for now. We’ll talk about the rest later.”

  Then my eyes landed on the broken potion bottles on the floor, the red liquid spreading wildly everywhere.

  “We should head back to the inn, but first we need to clean this up,” I said, pointing at the mess. “I don’t know whose house this is, but I doubt they’ll be happy about it.”

  “Oh, that’s no problem,” Aoi said, looking away with a sheepish smile. “This is... our home, after all.”

  “Our... what?!” I shouted. “Since when?”

  “Since this morning. We bought it.”

  “Bought it? With what?”

  My gaze shot to Aoi’s chest, to our gold vault. The horror on my face must have been obvious. I looked around again. Gold accents, shiny floors, a massive ceiling, luxurious furniture everywhere. Even the plant in the corner looked more expensive than me.

  “No way…” I slapped my forehead. “You’ve got to be kidding me?!”