"Steady, don't panic."
Seeing Angel-sama wobbling and about to fall, Sora acted decisively, catching the stumbling Angel-sama in his arms.
Thud.
The bicycle fell to the ground, its wheels spinning endlessly.
"Phew..."
Resting in Sora's embrace, Mahiru breathed a sigh of relief, releasing her tension.
"That was so dangerous..."
But after calming down, the girl's sense of shame quickly took over.
"P-Please put me down..."
The girl's shy voice soon followed.
"Sorry." Sora, his expression unchanged, set Mahiru down. "It's perfectly normal for beginners to fall when learning to ride a bike. Don't be nervous. Given Mahiru-san's performance tonight, you'll successfully learn to ride in just a few days."
"Thank you very much for earlier, Sora-kun... but let's call it a day." Mahiru clutched her chest and took a deep breath. Her right hand tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, and even the tips of her ears quietly turned crimson. "Let's come back to practice tomorrow night."
"Alright, we'll practice tomorrow."
"..."
Several days passed in a flash.
Over the next few days, Sora went to the shopping mall with Anna in the afternoons to challenge the mirror maze, reaping several more hot spring vouchers. In the evenings, he went to the park with Angel-sama to learn how to ride a bicycle.
As the days went by, Mahiru successfully learned how to ride a bike and was able to ride on the road.
Yamada Elf continued to sneak out every day while invisible to gather material, seemingly having absolutely no intention of returning to school.
In the blink of an eye, it was Friday.
Lunch break.
Sora was eating his bento in the classroom when his phone suddenly vibrated.
Checking the message, the sender was actually Mrs. Suzuki, the wealthy lady they had helped find a cat for last week:
"Sora-kun, do you have any free time this afternoon?"
Sora decisively put down his chopsticks and asked about the situation.
Upon asking, he learned that the cat of Mrs. Suzuki's next-door neighbor had gone missing. Knowing that his and Kuroneko's bounty hunter duo was very skilled, they wanted to ask for their help in finding the cat. The reward had increased to 500,000 yen.
Sora naturally agreed without hesitation. "No problem, we'll head over right after school."
Birds of a feather flock together, and wealthy ladies live next door to wealthy ladies.
Mrs. Suzuki: "Please make sure to come today. Ever since Sora-kun discovered someone was abusing cats on the mountain last time, I notified the surrounding neighbors to be on high alert. Who knew that bastard would actually escalate things? This time, they actually left a cat tortured to death at the foot of the mountain... Anyway, please help find the cat as soon as possible, otherwise, it's very likely to fall victim to that cat-abusing fiend."
After ending the chat, Sora decisively sent a message to Gokou Ruri.
"Ruri-san, don't leave after school. The darkness descends once more."
The message quickly showed as read.
Gokou Ruri: "A commission?"
Sora: "That's right, and this time the reward is 500,000 yen."
Gokou Ruri: "...So much money!"
After explaining the details of the commission, Gokou Ruri naturally agreed without hesitation.
Not being proactive about making money is a problem in ideology.
In the blink of an eye, it was time for school to end.
Sora grabbed his schoolbag, bolted out the door at the speed of light, and arrived at the school gate, where a girl with long, straight black hair was already waiting expectantly.
After meeting up, they exchanged a few quick words, then swiftly boarded the train to the subway station, transferring to the subway heading for Mount Takao.
The journey was silent.
Arriving at Mount Takao, the two first went to a convenience store to buy cat treats and canned food, then began climbing the mountain to look for traces of working cats.
"Hah... haah..."
It didn't take long for the girl's breathing to become rapid once again.
"Careful, Ruri-san." Sora couldn't help but remind her. "Don't fall this time."
Ruri's pretty face flushed slightly. "I am the Black Cat of the Dark Night... I definitely won't make the same mistake twice!"
Because it was a weekday, there weren't many tourists climbing the mountain. Sora and Kuroneko hiked for quite a while before finally spotting a stray cat that looked somewhat familiar.
"Meow meow meow."
Ruri hurriedly stepped forward to communicate.
The stray orange cat had probably been hired last week and still remembered Sora and Kuroneko. Tempted by the delicious food, it accepted the employment and once again became a temporary working cat.
After negotiating the price, the stray orange cat quickly rounded up a few of its little buddies. After Sora paid the deposit, the stray cats scattered in all directions.
Twenty minutes passed in the blink of an eye.
The stray orange cat emerged from the bushes, meowing incessantly.
"There's news." Ruri's eyes lit up, and she quickly stood up, but her delicate eyebrows soon furrowed. "That cat... seems to be in a bad state."
Sora picked up his backpack. "Let's go see it first."
"Okay..."
Following behind the stray orange cat, the two once again ventured into the pathless mountain forest.
"Hah... haah..."
Within three minutes, the girl's breathing became rapid again.
Looking at the somewhat steep mountainside ahead, Sora felt a bad premonition quietly rising in his heart and decisively extended his right hand:
"Just to be safe, maybe Ruri-san should hold my hand?"
"I am the Black Cat of the Dark Night, who usually traverses endless worlds. Why would I need someone to hold my hand while climbing a mountain..."
Ruri initially wanted to firmly refuse, but seeing the wound on Sora's forehead, she ultimately decided to be safe. With a blushing small face, she grabbed Sora's right hand:
"It's because the destiny I bear is too heavy that I can't walk, not because of a lack of exercise."
Stop making excuses, the truth is clearly that you lack exercise!
Hand in hand, the two painstakingly trekked up the hillside. Finally reaching a tree-lined path, they saw a mangled Siamese cat, long devoid of life, thrown by the side of the road. It was precisely the missing cat from the photo.
"H-How could this be..." Ruri's small face turned slightly pale, and she angrily squeezed Sora's right hand tightly. "To abuse a cat with such cruel methods, that person is simply a demon from hell!"
Sora frowned. He silently took out his phone and called the cat's owner.
A moment later.
A mother and daughter rushed over. The little girl, only seven or eight years old, wailed loudly at the sight of the mangled cat, hugging it and insisting on seeing a vet.
The housewife, also wiping away tears, comforted her daughter while pleading for Sora and Kuroneko's help.
Sora and Kuroneko silently followed and escorted them to a pet hospital at the foot of the mountain.
The attending physician was a middle-aged man wearing glasses, looking refined and gentle. The name on his white coat read "Sato Kazuto." With a look of deep sorrow, he took the cat and comforted the mother and daughter.
However, standing in the corner, Ruri suddenly grabbed Sora's right hand tightly.
"What's wrong?"
Looking at the pale-faced Ruri, Sora asked in a low voice.
"I-I just heard the other cats talking..." Ruri took a deep breath, stood on her tiptoes, and leaned in close to whisper in Sora's ear. "Those stray cats in the pet shop said they saw it with their own eyes... that Doctor Sato is actually the cat-abusing fiend."