Cat Catches Mouse

When the imposing pursuers reached the cave entrance, Nobu's figure was already gone, replaced by a white-haired youth.

Silver moonlight spilled over the youth, giving him an untouchable, otherworldly aura. Just that calm, composed presence alone made the five men chasing Nobu stop in their tracks involuntarily.

Noah smiled slightly, studying the five with some interest. From their equipment and attire, it wasn't hard to tell where they came from.

The Dark Magic Cult.

Every time he traveled far, he ran into them. These people really were persistent as ghosts.

"Who are you? Where did that tribal savage go?!" The cult squad leader, dark magic gathering in his hand, threatened Noah without any courtesy.

Noah yawned, completely unfazed by the squad leader's threat, and slowly raised three fingers.

"First, my name is Nexus."

"Second, my companion is indeed from some deep mountain tribe, but you shouldn't call him a 'savage.'"

"Third, I hope you'll honestly explain your purpose for disguising yourselves as Vulcans."

The moment he finished speaking, Noah's figure vanished.

The Dark Magic Cult squad leader felt a tremendous force surge through his body from his abdomen—like being hit head-on by a car. He doubled over in pain, kneeling on the ground and retching.

"Oh dear, you can't take a hit? I only threw one punch and you're already down."

Noah stood beside the squad leader, his tone leisurely.

The squad leader's face was twisted in agony, on the verge of passing out from the pain.

The other four only then reacted. In an instant, their boss had been brought to his knees by that white-haired youth with a single blow. What kind of strength was that?!

"There are four of us. We outnumber him—advantage is ours!"

"Brothers, let's fight him!"

With the classic cannon-fodder line, the four's confidence surged. They snarled and swung their magic at Noah.

"Ah!" "Oh!" "Er!" "Yi!"

Four cries of pain later, Noah looked speechlessly at the four who had passed out. One slap each and they were subdued. So who exactly had given them that courage?

Noah didn't dwell on it. He called over Nobu, who had been hiding outside the cave, and had him tie up the four while Noah himself dragged the squad leader out.

Noah grabbed a handful of snow, grinning mischievously as he stuffed it into the squad leader's robes. The biting cold made the man shiver violently.

Nobu watched from the side, calling it cruel—what a terrifying punishment, stuffing snow into someone's clothes!

"Talk. Why did you disguise yourselves as Vulcans and drive them to Mount Hakobe?"

The squad leader shivered but wore a tough-guy expression, full of martyrdom. "Hmph, Nexus! Don't think I'll beg for mercy or sell out the Dark Magic Cult behind me!"

"Don't think I'll confess that driving the Vulcans was to capture the 'Snow Beast' either!"

"And don't even dream of learning from me that the Cult wants to use the 'Snow Beast' to make a limit-breaking magic potion, to carry out a 'blood sacrifice' on Lupinus City as revenge for the Black Bird Consortium!"

"Hmph! No matter what methods you use, I won't say another word from now on!"

You already said it all... The squad leader's string of confessions left Noah and the eavesdropping Nobu at a loss for words.

He put on a tough, death-defying front, yet managed to spill everything while maintaining that posture.

To sum it up, Noah concluded: shamelessness conquers all.

So because of the Black Bird Consortium's fall, they wanted to take revenge on its city through a brutal "blood sacrifice"... A dangerous glint flashed in Noah's eyes.

From the squad leader's words, Noah could tell they hadn't caught the Snow Beast yet, or they wouldn't still be controlling the Vulcans.

Rumor had it that the Snow Beast was a special magical creature—gentle in nature, with no record of harming anyone, a pure herbivore that fed on Winter Snow Grass.

Since Winter Snow Grass could greatly restore stamina and magic, there were rumors that the Snow Beast, which fed on it, might have evolved powerful self-healing abilities and immense magical power.

Truth or fiction was hard to tell—no one had ever seen the Snow Beast's true form—but the Dark Magic Cult clearly believed in its rumored abilities.

[Ding~ You have completed the commission. Please accept your reward.]

The chime in his mind reminded Noah that Nobu was still on the mountain, wounded, and not fit to stay on the freezing Mount Hakobe any longer.

After persuading Nobu to leave, Noah looked at the squad leader staring at him expectantly.

No one who joined the Dark Magic Cult was good. Even this five-man squad must have blood on their hands, or the Cult wouldn't have sent them on a mission.

Noah didn't mind playing the role of a cleaner.

He snapped his fingers lightly.

Blast marks of the five elements—wind, thunder, water, fire, and earth—lit up on each of the five cult members. The squad leader's eyes went wide, staring at Noah in disbelief, but in the end, he couldn't get a single word out.

The wind and snow were heavy. In no time, they wiped away the bloodstains and erased the youth's footprints.

On a snow-laden tree, a cute little cat like a snow leopard shook the snow off its ears and said excitedly to the pure white hamster nibbling grass in its arms:

"Snow White! That guy was amazing!"

"Squeak (Yeah)."

"He beat those bad guys. We don't have to hide anymore!"

"Squeak (Yeah)."

"Then let's go make friends with him!"

"Squeak squeak squeak!!"

Ignoring her only friend's objections, the snow leopard kitten grabbed the hamster in her mouth, unfurled a pair of wings from her back, and silently descended through the wind and snow without a sound.

The next day.

Amid the villagers' warm farewells, Noah and Nobu climbed aboard the herb merchant's return carriage, laden with bags and bundles of local specialties gifted to them.

The reward had been split evenly between Nobu and Noah the night before.

As for the Dark Magic Cult being the true culprit behind it all, Noah didn't tell the village chief. He planned to write a letter to Laharl under the alias "Nexus" once he got back, trusting that Laharl would handle the matter.

Because of the previous night's battle, Nobu hadn't rested well and soon fell asleep in the carriage.

Nobu's injuries were all superficial—a salve made from Winter Snow Grass would have them fully healed within three days. It was a shame this magical herb wasn't abundant in yield, or it could replace half the functions of a healing mage.

Lost in thought, Noah suddenly felt something moving inside the villagers' gift packages.

Curious, he searched through them and locked onto a bundle of dried meat. He opened it at once.

Inside was a snow leopard kitten sleeping soundly, clutching a white hamster tightly in its paws, with a half-gnawed piece of dried meat beside its mouth.

When the hamster saw Noah had spotted it, it immediately shut its eyes and flattened itself into a rodent pancake on top of the kitten, playing dead.

Noah smiled faintly. An Exceed cat and a magical mouse—what an amusing pair.