The next day, I woke up pretty early, even before my partners. The sun was barely visible, so I decided to head out for a walk. When I was back home, I would go on night walks whenever I had the chance. It felt like I was in a different world. There was no sound outside of the wind, and the stars made the sky look artificial and beautiful, as if it was magic itself. I was always captivated by those walks. They were among the few things I ever enjoyed.
Except this time, it was different. The sky was just as beautiful, even as the sun was rising, and it was just as quiet outside. When I was home, I would always hurry back whenever I saw the sun rising so that I wouldn't be caught. But now, I couldn't return home. Despite the fact that I thought I was over my past, I still shed a few tears before wiping them away and forcing myself to think about our mission. It was annoying. I didn't want to cry over it like a baby, but I just didn't have any control over it.
After a while, I went back to our room and waited for Hboy and Juta to wake up. We had breakfast, then headed out.
"So, what's the plan?" I asked, hoping that we could find those cats as quickly as possible. "I think we should split up and look for them," I added.
Hboy looked at me thoughtfully. "We'll split up and ask people whose cats have disappeared if they noticed anything beforehand. We'll find them by asking around, okay?" Hboy said, his idea sounding more like an order.
I nodded. I wasn't good at socializing, so that task instantly became a lot more difficult. At first, I just wandered around town, thinking about telling the others that I hadn't found anyone who had lost their cat, but eventually, I changed my mind. I was sure they were relying on me, and I needed to be able to at least speak to people if I didn't want to be thrown into the streets again.
I gulped as I approached a girl walking nearby. She didn't seem to be in a hurry.
"Umm, hello. Can I—" Before I could finish asking, she looked at me and frowned.
"Sorry, I have a boyfriend," she said. Suddenly, she looked like she needed to get somewhere fast as she walked away.
Was I really that ugly? I also wondered if things would have been different if Rover was there. That guy could get any information he wanted out of anyone.
I figured that the most reliable sources were older people. From my experience, they didn't have a problem talking about this sort of thing with anyone. As I walked around an area filled with shops—ranging from daily necessities to furniture—I decided to ask two old women sitting peacefully on a bench, seemingly undisturbed by the crowd.
"Hello, can I ask if you know anyone who has lost their cat recently?"
One of them replied, "I lost my cat about a month ago. Why do you ask?"
I felt lucky that I'd found someone so quickly. "I've been hired to investigate these disappearances. Could you tell me if you noticed anything strange before your cat went missing?"
The woman thought for a moment. "I don't know, young man. She was sick—her fur was falling out—so I took her to a vet. The next day, she was gone. To this day, I think that doctor had something to do with it, but I don't have any proof."
I thanked her, since she couldn't remember anything else, and continued walking. We had agreed to meet around noon to discuss our findings, but I still had about two hours left. Instead of looking for more people to question, I decided to get some ice cream.
It was the first time I'd ever had anything like it. It was sweet—pleasantly sweet—and really cold. I couldn't figure out why, but it was delicious… and expensive.
Just as I was about to leave, I saw Hboy and Juta walking toward me.
"Hello," I said.
They ignored me, and then Hboy spoke. "Alright, let's sit here and go over what each of us found."
I was confused. Hboy seemed serious now, unlike how he'd been back at the guild. I guessed he also wanted to take on more important missions.
As we sat down, I bought another ice cream—this time with something called caramel. I decided to start the discussion. I told them what the old woman had said, except I framed the suspicion about the vet as my own idea. I thought they'd congratulate me for uncovering a lead, but that wasn't the case.
All of our findings had one thing in common: the cats had been sick, with their fur falling out, before disappearing. That meant the culprit probably wasn't the vet. I instantly felt embarrassed and decided to keep my mouth shut.
I glanced at Juta. He seemed to be enjoying the ice cream just as much as I was, even though he'd lived here for a while.
Eventually, Hboy spoke again. "Whoever stole the cats has something to do with their sickness, which appears a few days before they disappear. I think our best lead is to ask a vet who might know about this illness."
Juta and I silently agreed. Shortly afterward, we were on our way. There happened to be a veterinary clinic not too far away.
When we entered, we were greeted by a man in his forties with blond hair and a trimmed beard. He was really tall—almost touching the ceiling of the small room. Inside, there was an examination table, a desk covered in papers and bottles, and some strange tools.
"Welcome. How can I help you?" the man asked politely. He seemed like the kind of guy you wouldn't want to mess with.
Hboy explained the situation, and the vet told us to wait while he searched through the stacks of papers on his desk. I realized how lucky we were to have Hboy with us—I was bad at talking to people, and Juta was even worse.
After a while, the man stood up, holding a sheet of paper. "I had a similar case a few years ago. From my notes, the cat disappeared shortly after showing symptoms, just like the ones you described." He paused, scanning the paper again before continuing, "Turns out this particular illness isn't caused by any plant… but rather by some sort of monster."
"A monster? But the only place monsters exist is—" I mumbled, my eyes widening in terror as I looked toward the forest visible in the distance.