The next morning, when Baiye pushed open her door meaning to go to Ningning's room and rouse her, she once again witnessed a most novel scene —
There lay the dainty little White Mage, sprawled on her back in an utterly contorted posture across the cold floor of the inn corridor.
Her eyes were vacant, her expression despairing, her whole body limp, forcibly transformed into Leilei's climate-controlled cat bed and automatic feeder.
Ever since returning to the inn before dawn and getting tackled to the ground by Leilei, Ningning had never once managed to stand back up.
The only thing she could do was use the hand entangled by the cat tail to shift her clothing aside as best she could, so her White Mage's robe wouldn't rub against the tooth marks a certain stray cat had left the night before.
If she accidentally touched them, the recently shuttered "Ningning-brand Milk" factory would likely be forced back into operation.
What a cursed fate.
Leilei's biting force last night had been truly savage.
Should she say, "as expected of a kitten"?
There was some restraint in her bite, sure, but not much.
Lying on the ground, Ningning had long since lost all will to live —
Why do I suddenly feel like I've become a mom...
And what's more, none of the above was anywhere near Leilei's limit.
From the moment she'd returned to the inn before dawn and been pounced on by a Leilei fresh from the washroom, this little kitten had stuck to Ningning like a wad of taffy that had melted and re-hardened, impossible to peel off no matter how hard she tried.
She'd buried her face deep against Ningning's chest, leaving only a sliver of forehead and a pair of cat ears, pressed tight to her head, twitching neurotically now and then, in view, refusing for the life of her to leave.
On top of that, Leilei's cat tail had unconsciously coiled around Ningning's wrist, denying her any chance to struggle.
Unable to escape, Ningning could only choose to lie flat in the corridor and wait for the ever-early-rising Baiye to come save her.
As for what Baiye would think upon seeing this scene, whether she'd cut her down on the spot without a word of explanation, those were all quite minor concerns.
Hearing the sound of Baiye's door opening, Ningning, worn ragged by an entire night of it, didn't even have the strength to turn her head, and could only track Baiye's movements by ear.
She heard Baiye freeze in place for a moment, then set her legs in motion, her footsteps drawing nearer step by step, until they finally stopped at Ningning's side.
Ningning laboriously shifted her eyes and looked up, pitifully, at the figure looming over her, shrouded in a low-pressure black cloud.
Baiye's gaze moved from Ningning's despairing face, to Leilei's peaceful sleeping face, and finally landed on that open collar and the clear tooth marks.
The air visibly congealed.
"...And what's the situation this time?"
Baiye's voice was calm to an almost frightening degree.
Ningning immediately raised the one finger she could still move freely and rattled off at top speed:
"Baiye, don't do anything, just hear me out!"
"First: I'm the victim here!"
"Second: she started it!"
"And finally—"
At this point, Ningning was nearly in tears:
"Captain, save this poor dog's life! I don't want to be a cat bed—!"
***
Ten minutes later.
Ningning, now in a fresh robe, walked out of her room to meet up with Baiye at the inn's entrance.
To Ningning's surprise, Baiye didn't give her a hard time. Instead, gripping Leilei by the scruff of the neck to deposit the cat-girl back in her room, she instructed Ningning to change and gather downstairs.
Since when had the honorable Captain gotten so gentle?
Ningning had no idea.
But as long as she wasn't being held accountable, it was a wonderful thing.
Ningning carefully held her collar open, went down the stairs, walked out the inn's front door, and saw Baiye already standing by the entrance, waiting for her.
"Baiye, I'm here."
"Mm." Baiye nodded, expression still stern. "I won't press you about what happened last night."
Hearing that, Ningning immediately answered with the utmost reverence:
"Thank you for your boundless mercy and generosity. I have no way to repay such kindness; in this life I shall surely serve you as an ox and a horse..."
Seeing this, the corner of Baiye's mouth ticked up by a few pixels:
"Cut the wisecracks. The reason I called you out alone is that there's something very important today I need your help with."
"What is it?"
Baiye glanced around, and only after confirming no one was nearby did she lower her voice:
"...Making money, of course."
Ningning: "...Well then."
"There's nothing for it. We burned through all our living expenses these three days. If we don't go adventuring for money soon, the Hero's Party is going to be sleeping in the streets!"
Seeing Baiye at such a loss, Ningning couldn't help but snort out a laugh:
"Baiye, so you have your unreliable moments too."
"And whose fault is that? You rubbed slime goo all over me. Otherwise how could I possibly have drilled you three days straight under the guise of training?"
"So your training really was just to torment me?!"
Baiye choked on Ningning's blunt accusation, the tips of her ears flushing red in an instant, but still she propped up her captain's dignity and turned her face away:
"...I-it wasn't entirely that. The training itself was necessary too!"
"So most of it was to get back at me, then?"
Ningning narrowed her eyes and leaned in closer, a mischievous, gotcha grin on her face.
Cornered, Baiye had no choice but to bow her head and huffily concede defeat:
"Fine! What do you want to do? Punish me?"
But this time, it was Ningning's turn to be puzzled:
"Punish you? I had no such plans. I just wanted to know what you were really thinking, that's all."
"You... you've got a truly wicked mind."
Baiye blinked, taken aback, then gave a relieved little laugh and steered the topic back on track:
"Anyway, right now the most important task is to scrape together these few days' living expenses as soon as possible and plug the funding gap."
"I heard yesterday that a lot of monsters have shown up lately in the mine east of the city, giving the miners no end of grief."
"So I'm planning to make a trip there with you. Besides gathering monster materials, we might even pick up some magic crystals to sell."
Hearing this, Ningning understood at once:
"Oh-ho, you mean that gold-coin dungeon, the Gloomdepths Mine, right?"
Baiye was thoroughly lost:
"Huh? But I don't recall that mine having a name. And also, what's this 'dungeon' you mentioned?"
"It's nothing."
Ningning brushed the topic off offhandedly and promised Baiye with full confidence:
"Don't worry, I know that place well. Just one day is all it'll take; I guarantee we'll earn enough to fund the whole team's journey to the next city."
"Really?" Baiye was surprised and delighted, immediately setting off toward the city gate. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's hurry and go."
Ningning hurriedly caught her and asked:
"Right now? Aren't we going to round up the others in the party?"
The words had barely left her mouth when Ningning saw Baiye turn her face away suspiciously, the very picture of wanting to speak but stopping herself:
"...Actually, I haven't told them yet that our funds have run dry."
Hearing this, the White Mage understood at once: Baiye meant to paper over her blunder and keep the other three from finding out.
Oh-ho, so the honorable Captain's learned some bad habits too, has she?
So Ningning pinched her voice into a falsetto and teased Baiye with wicked delight:
"Oh dear, oh dear... how did our lofty, high-minded Captain Baiye suddenly fall so far into corruption?"
"Oh, shut it, Ningning! Making up for a mistake before it's discovered is the same as never having made it!"
"Ah yes, yes, yes. Come on, I'll help you fill in the hole."
"What's this 'yes, yes, yes' supposed to mean? Hey!"
Baiye shouted and chased after Ningning, reaching out to grab her shoulder, only to accidentally brush against Ningning's chest—
"Hnnngh ohhh!"
Baiye's palm froze in midair.
She looked at Ningning, who had dropped to the ground and refused to get up, yet still clutched her chest tightly to keep her from seeing, and a tangle of emotions surged in her heart:
"...Ningning, I really do find it strange — why are you just like the Hero sometimes?"
"...I find it strange too. Lilith, Leilei, and now you... why do you all keep going after the same spot..."