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“Grrrrrghhhhhh!!”
“R-Ron!? W-what the hell are you!?”

Sufi’s growl was lower than I’d ever heard before, and the boy flinched instinctively. She was furious.

I sat up and tried to calm her down before she tore out the throats of the remaining boys.

“Sufi, I’m fine, calm down. They just knocked me over, I only have bruises and scrapes.”
“…I’ll never forgive them!!”

That’s strange. I told her it wasn’t serious, but her anger only doubled.

“You b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲s̲! What do you think you’re doing in my territory, nya!?”
“D-damn it! Let’s get out of here!”

Then Noche showed up, and that was finally enough to make the boys decide to run. I breathed a sigh of relief that things were ending before this turned into a full-on fight.

While I held Sufi back from chasing them, Noche hurled a stone she’d picked up at their feet. It struck the ground with a sharp crack, and a pathetic scream followed.

The street rats scrambled away even faster.

They at least had the decency to drag their downed companion along… though they were really just dragging him.

“These two are my guests. Touch them again and you won’t get off easy, nya!”
“Y-you’ll regret this! Both of you! You’ll regret sticking with that monster freak! Don’t come crying to us later wishing you’d come with—”
“Shut it, nya!”
“Eek!?”

A stone hurled mid-sentence grazed the leader’s cheek, and he bolted toward the slums in a panic.

Once the enemies were gone, Sufi finally turned back to me and began patting me down, checking me over. When her hand brushed my scraped arm, I reflexively pulled back.

Her face twisted into an unmistakable scowl.

“…Hhh.”
“Alice, we need to get you treated… Can you walk?”
“Yeah.”

She’s definitely holding back a lot she wants to say.

“Alice, I’m sorry… I got you involved, nya.”
“No, it was my mistake.”

I’d completely let my guard down just because the spot we use as a toilet was right nearby. Something had just happened, so I should have avoided going off alone.

“Besides, this isn’t your fault, Noche.”

I don’t know what happened in the past, but targeting me like that isn’t something I can defend. Their motive isn’t clear, but if this was meant as revenge against Noche, it’s a completely misplaced grudge.

I tried to comfort Noche, whose lips were pressed tight with guilt, and turned my attention back to the one who was the bigger problem.

“…Alice, why did you stop me?”

Sufi murmured in a low voice, squeezing my hand tightly.

She’s usually calm and cheerful, but she’s quite fierce at heart. Especially when it comes to her little sister, her intensity ramps up.

Back in the village, she’d nearly gone all-out against bullies or even grown men who’d been mean to me.

And now, even if the injuries I got this time are minor, there’s a good chance she would’ve gone overboard.

“I’m glad you got angry for me, Sufi. But if you seriously injure them, it’ll only make things worse.”

They may just be neighbors, but on our side, we’re in the city through illegal means. I don’t want to escalate tensions any more than necessary when we don’t even know their motives.

And above all else…

“Noche, was there anyone backing those kids? Like mafia or something?”
“…I don’t know what a mafia is, nya, but the slums do have a boss.”

People tend to band together to survive a harsh environment like this. When numbers gather, gangs or similar groups naturally form.

“Those kinds of people care a lot about saving face. It’s one thing if it’s just a little scuffle between kids, but if it turns into a bloody mess, adults might come out to defend their pride.”

They supposedly hate having their reputation damaged more than anything. If they’re seen as weak, other gangs will target them, and it could even spark internal conflict… or so I’ve heard.

So far, this has been nothing more than a children’s quarrel. A group of five older boys picking on a younger girl, only to get easily beaten and chased off—that’s not something adults would risk their pride over by going after a little girl.

Unless they had some clear gain to pursue, they wouldn’t make a move against us. The fact that Noche and Filia have managed to live here safely this long, without being on high alert, shows that they’re not the kind of organization to act recklessly.

But if Sufi were to hurt them badly enough that they needed real medical treatment, it’d be a different story. That would practically guarantee retaliation for injuring one of their own.

No matter how strong they were, both Noche and Sufi were still kids, not even in double digits yet. They’d stand no chance against adults who were used to fighting.

That was probably why Noche always handled things in a way that avoided seriously injuring her opponents. Even I had planned to hold back if I’d bitten someone.

“…You’re right, nya.”
“Mmmrrr…”

When I shared my thoughts, Noche agreed with me, sounding exasperated.

“This is just a graze, it heals right away. Cheer up, okay?”

Thankfully, I still had a decent amount of potion made to soak Rainyblue. I could also use the dried herbs I had left to make another batch, even if it was a lower-quality one.

“…That’s not the point.”

Even as I tried to comfort her, it didn’t seem to help much. Sufi hugged me, teary-eyed, pressing against my scraped skin and making it sting a little.

“For now, no more going anywhere alone, nya. Even when you go to the forest, go in pairs—one of you always stays behind.”
“Okay.”

I nodded at Noche’s words and glanced up at the overcast sky.

Maybe it was time to start preparing to leave this city.