There was no time to physically reach the door and stop it from opening from this position. If only I could close it by magic… magic…

...Wait a minute. Magic… That’s right, Ruru! 

When I concentrated to carry across my intent to the system, access to Ruru’s skill tree was actually granted! I immediately spent a skill point.

1 SP has been assigned to「Light Screen」.

Ruru’s eyes widened in surprise at what I had done. She looked at me questioningly from below and after a brief moment, nodded in affirmation. There was no need to tell her how the spell worked, as once learnt, ‘skills’ were conveniently ingrained into one’s mind. Ruru holds her palm towards the direction of the door, 

“Light, become wall.” And as soon as her short chant was completed, a magic circle appeared beneath her body. Light beams out of her palm, and begins to form a malleable piece of that light like dough.

“Spell… worked?” Ruru mutters bewilderedly as she watches the spell materialize itself.

The light soon took shape into a transparent white wall, sealing off the hinges from being pushed open. There were a few more knocks on the other side of the door, as Heinesia had likely realized that she couldn’t open the door. But「Light Screen」wasn’t meant to be durable, it would only buy us a few more seconds at best.

“...White-sama? Are you in there?” Heinesia called out again from behind the door. I could already hear the impatience in her voice.

The door knob shook vigorously a few times, and cracks begin to appear on the light screen.

“Strange… it’s not locked either. Why can’t I open it… is something blocking it from the other side?”

Thinking that Heinesia’s conjectures were as astute as ever, I promptly got up before the spell lost its effects.

“Ruru… Hide here quick!” I quickly ushered Ruru underneath the bed. Ruru peeks at me worriedly from below, her blue eyes made more prominent in the shadows. 

“Be good, don’t make a sound.” I put on a nervous smile, and pulled down the blanket just a little to conceal the gap beneath the bed before going towards the door.

 

“Heinesia-san… is that you?”

“...White-sama, that is you, right?! So you are in there after all!” 

 

“What’s going on? I just woke up from bed…” I let out a pretentious yawn.

“Hurry up and open the door,”

“H-Hold on, I’m coming over…”

 

The spell loses its effect as soon as I laid my hand on the door knob.

The door finally opens, and a familiar figure saunters into the room with a straight-laced expression. Heinesia Marlet, one of the most popular staff members in Halvan’s guild who just so happens to hold enough authority to incriminate me. She was wearing her usual guild attire and I noticed that her vest was also slightly unbuttoned at the top for some reason, exposing a small spillage of breasts out of her chest. Seemingly unconcerned over her promiscuous appearance, Heinesia clicked her heels towards me in a rush. And without warning, she presses her chest against mine, wrapping her hands around me in an embrace.

“I’m so glad you’re still alive…” She mutters with a sigh.

“...H-Heinesia-san…?!”

“A-Ah, I’m sorry… I just…” Heinesia lets go and rubs the corner of her eyes weakly.

She composed herself and returned to her usual stoicness before long, then proceeded to sit on my bed just like nothing had happened. The space underneath the bed wasn’t exactly spacious, and as a result it made Ruru flinch slightly from the pressing weight above. 

“...What are you looking at?” Heinesia notices my worried stare, and narrows her eyes suspiciously.

“N-Nothing?” I replied stammeringly. Heinesia’s eyes behind her horn-rimmed glasses met with mine. She suddenly thought of something, looking down at her body with a rare face of alarm. And as if realizing her blunder, Heinesia turned to the side and quickly covered up her chest in an unnatural fashion.

“...My... a-apologies, I was in a rush… I didn’t have time to fix my clothes...”

“R-Right…” Did she think that I was leering at her body? 

Well, it wasn’t a lie that Heinesia looked rather attractive right now. She had worked up a little bit of sweat from a workout. The drippy perspiration sticking to her skin made her appearance exude a mature, sexy feel to it. However that concupiscent wolf-girl staying with me had already taken my libido hostage. And it was also against my conscience for me to show interest in another woman when I’ve already promised myself to Ruru… at least until she recovers fully.

Looks like this misunderstanding had saved me from yet another blunder.

“Still, I didn’t expect this from you… it’s only been a day, but looks like you’ve finally taken an interest in me?” Heinesia shot me a suggestive look, pulling my attention her legs folding together, revealing the sensual design of the black stockings that she was wearing.

“...A little bit.” I coughed lightly, and turned away from Ruru’s gaze filled with jealousy from beneath the bed.

“...Heeh… It feels like you’ve changed a little. You seem more like a man now? ...Well anyway, come sit down beside me.” 

I obediently sat on the far side of the bed so I wouldn’t apply more weight underneath the bed.

Heinesia continued, “You said... you were sleeping? And here I was, worried about your safety since last night…?” 

She places a hand on my lap, and leaned her body against my shoulder. 

“...U-Uhm… H-Heinesia-san…”

“Yes?” She smiles sweetly at me.

“You’re kinda… close.”

“Is there something wrong? I thought we’ve established the fact that White-sama is, in fact a pervert? You actually enjoy having this done to you, right?”

“...Kkuh… I-I’m not...”

“Do you have any idea how worried I was? Since you didn’t report to me after that incident yesterday, I have to punish you—”

Her hands moved closer to my waist, and I felt that something bad would happen if we continued. And as I had expected, the bed suddenly jerked from underneath!

“What was that!” Heinesia lets go of me and stood up from the bed, flustered.

“W-What was what? Heinesia-san, you must be imagining things… p-please, calm down first.”

“No! I definitely felt it. Something is moving under your bed…” She looks at my bed with a suspicious glare.

“Sniff… sniff...” Before I could even have the chance to redirect the conversation, Heinesia’s expression became increasingly sour. Her eyes rested upon the bedsheets that I had changed. 

“W-What are you doing, Heinesia-san…” I cautiously asked as I got up from the bed as well.

“Please, be quiet for a second, White-sama.”

Heinesia brought her face closer to the bedsheets and took a few sniffs, immediately pinching her nose in repulsion afterwards.

“... ...Your bedsheets… have the same smell…”

S-Same smell…?

“A very distinct one, at that. The smell of an animal… I see, so that’s why I keep picking up this strange smell ever since I came into this room.”

I turned away from her piercing glare, but she suddenly came forward and grabbed my chin, staring deep into my eyes. 

“You can’t hide it from me, White-sama. I am allergic to them. That’s why I know, you...”

“...”

“...You’re keeping cats in the apartment, right?”

She knew. It’s over… Ruru is…

... ...huh?

“Look,” Heinesia put on a pair of gloves, bent down and picked up a small tuft of Ruru’s hair on the floor.

“T-That is…”

“...Irrefutable evidence.” Her eyes squinted in annoyance, and sprinkled it back to the ground. 

“...”

“Good grief… White-sama, what did I specifically say about pets in the dormitories?” 

“...I…”

She glared at me impatiently.

“As your guarantor to this apartment, I hope you’re aware that your problems are not yours alone. If you do something bad, it becomes my problem as well. Do you understand?” 

“...I understand, and I’m really sorry if I caused any trouble to you, Heinesia-san.”

“... ...It’s nice that you’re kind to stray animals, but you can’t expect to take care of everyone out there in the streets, can you?”

“I just thought that... it was cruel leaving it there when it was wounded and alone…”  

Heinesia looks at me tiredly, and shakes her head dismissively,  “...Well no matter. I know White-sama as a very responsible and diligent person who sticks by the rules, so I’ll overlook it this time. As long as you get rid of it as soon as possible, we’ll have no more problems. Are we clear on this?” 

I nodded weakly, “...I understand, I’ll get rid of the cats.” 

“As soon as possible. If you can, by the end of the day.” She insisted strongly. 

Ruru looks at me from under the bed with teary eyes, but I tried not to look at her too much. I hope Ruru knows I’m not serious about abandoning her.

“A-Anyway... what brought you here, Heinesia-san? Do you need me for something?” 

“...Do I have to talk business whenever I come visit?” Heinesia suddenly smiles and tries to put her arms around me, of which I quickly avoided. Her hands caught air, raising a frown on her face. Heinesia is being strangely assertive today, but I pushed away her advances to force her to bring up the main subject I knew she was here for. The longer Heinesia stays in this room, the chances of Ruru getting found out would also increase.

As I had expected, Heinesia’s demeanor finally changed into a more serious one I was used to seeing. “Do you mind if we talk about it in the living room over some tea?”

As she dusted her back with her hands, Heinesia also makes a motion to leave the room. And I of course, was happy to oblige.

When I confirmed that Heinesia had left the room, I turned back and made a hand gesture to Ruru who was now poking her head looking at me.

After telling her to stay there until Heinesia leaves, I closed the door and quickly rejoined Heinesia in the living room.

---

Heinesia takes a sip of the tea I brewed for her, and puts it back on the table before us. She wets her lips, and starts to speak, “Before we begin, I want you to know that I’m now here as both your supervisor, and your caretaker in the guild. Knowing that, I hope you are aware of the position that I’m taking in this conversation.”

I nodded in response.

“So… I heard you were at the auction yesterday.” Heinesia looks at me seriously.

“Yes, I was.”

I had expected that she would start off with that.

As soon as she hugged me earlier to convey her relief, I already had an idea of what this was all about. That was of course, the situation on the monster outbreak. As a member of the guild staff who monitors the adventurers’ actions and well-being, it came as no surprise that Heinesia too, was aware of the situation last night and consequently came to see me to confirm my safety.

It was a big incident that impacted a major part of the inner district. While tending to Ruru’s wounds before, I had also been thinking about what had happened after I left the scene. It was surely the panic incited upon the public that the authorities had the hardest time containing. 

“I see, and so you must have seen it happen?”

Heinesia continued after confirming my response.

“As you know, the city was attacked last night. However, it was not just the auction house that was affected. The west gates, eastern walls, and even various hotspots in the inner district have reported heavy casualties.”

Heinesia adjusted her glasses and explained further, “As you know, the monster outbreak in the city has become the first incident in Halvan to occur on such a massive scale. The inner and outer districts were invaded by monsters, and even the royal residence in the middle of the city was targeted. Knowing how fast news spread in the kingdom, we can expect reinforcements to arrive from the capital in a few more days.”

“I-I see…”

I had initially thought that Heinesia was here to accuse me of Ruru’s disappearance, but the truth was that the significance of the current situation in Halvan had far outweighed such trivialities; it was a pressing issue that concerned many lives. This outbreak of monsters could merely be the beginning, who could say that a second wave wouldn’t occur again tomorrow?

“...Casualties... what about the victims?”

Heinesia shakes her head sadly. “The guild has been collecting many recounts from surviving witnesses since this morning, but we’re still far from finishing the damage report.”

“...We managed to curb the monsters that had sneaked into the city, but the damage was already done. Many of the monsters had taken advantage of the panic, so many people were defenseless against them. By the time the guild had mobilized, rough estimates of 16 adventurers, 63 soldiers and 113 civilians were already killed. At the moment, the guild is still tallying up the damage that was done to the city, so these numbers might not even include those that were severely crippled, wounded or traumatized by the monsters.”

“That’s… horrible…” 

To think that the outbreak was far worse than I had imagined… I feel like I had tunnel-visioned too much on my own situation. Because of the matter with Ruru, I was lacking awareness on many things that had been happening around me.

“Yes, that is why I was worried when I heard you were at the auction when it happened. In the event that you were still alive, I had the obligation to obtain your recount of yesterday’s incident. After all, you happen to be the only person alive at present who had witnessed the attack on the auction house. ...While it may remind you of some unpleasant things, I hope you can cooperate with the guild and tell us what you know.”

“...I understand.” It made sense that I should do my part as well. This incident concerns more than just me alone. The information that I disclose now may be beneficial to finding out the cause of this event of monster outbreak, so I had no reason to keep to myself.

After taking a drink off my cup, I shut my eyes and began to recollect my experience last night. At the thought of the gore-wrenching scene that nearly brought me to my life’s edge, my hands slowly started to tremble by instinct.

“...The monsters, ...no. Monster.” 

“...Monster?”

“...Yes. The [Abyssal Reaphrit].”

As I continued to narrate the events that had happened, Heinesia’s expression turned more and more serious. I had left out the parts where I had gone to look for Ruru, but from Heinesia’s grim look, I knew the earlier bits were already plenty enough to digest.

“Phases through walls, moves faster than a spell cast, cuts through anything, and more importantly, it’s a Level 50… boss monster?”

“...Yes.”

“And you said you didn’t see anyone killing it, so you’re not even sure if it’s still alive.”

“That’s right.”

When I had finally finished, Heinesia leaned back against her recliner and sighed.

“ …You do know, how unbelievable this sounds, right?”

“I have no reason to lie.” I replied exhaustedly. “Everything that I’ve said and witnessed, is the truth. That monster killed everyone who weren't fast enough to run away from it. My life was the result of the sacrifices of the few who had stayed behind to fight it..."

No, it wasn't even a fight was it. It was a massacre.

“...The autopsy reports matches what you’ve described about this monster… There were many corpses with clean cuts, almost like surgical dissections from a sharp blade. That would fit the scythe the… Abyssal Reaphrit uses.” Heinesia muttered to herself.

“...But if this is true… this is a weighty piece of news to swallow. A boss monster is extremely rare, let alone a Level 50 one...”

Heinesia ponders for a moment, and smiles uncharacteristically. She stood up and suddenly grabs hold of my hand.

“Come with me, White-sama,”

“W-What? Where to?”

I was pulled towards the doorstep and before I knew it, we had already left the apartment.

“H-Heinesia-san? Where are we going?” I asked again, worried about Ruru whom I’d left behind.

“The guild. We have to report about the existence of this monster, as soon as possible.“