NOVEL NEXT Chapter 91.2
A Martial Artist Girl And An Unlucky Snatcher
“Caught ya!”
“…?!?”
“Stop, Lelei!”
“Kurresh?”
Lelei’s outstretched arm seized the thief. Lelei’s cheerful voice and the thief’s shocked, gasping face entered their view. In that situation, Kurresh shouted in panic, while Yuuri looked up at her, dumbfounded. Kurresh’s expression showed real anxiety.
And then, in front of them, Lelei swung the thief around… and slammed him to the ground. The heavy thud echoed, and the surrounding commotion fell silent. The sight of a slender woman easily throwing a tall, skinny man left everyone speechless. Meanwhile, Kurresh held his head.
“…Kurresh, are you okay?”
“That idiot, that idiot, that idiot…!”
“Kurresh?”
“Lelei! Didn’t I tell you to hold back?!”
“Huh?”
Lelei, greeting Kurresh and Yuuri with a triumphant smile that said, “I caught him!” tilted her head when scolded. The man she’d grabbed had likely hit the ground hard. His eyes were spinning.
“…Did he hit his head or anything?”
“His head? I don’t think he hit it. I threw him onto his back.”
“Even so, think about what happens when you slam him down with that brute strength of yours, you idiot!”
“Kurresh, you’ve been saying ‘idiot’ way too much! I caught the thief properly!”
“…Are you sure the bag’s contents are safe? Huh?”
“Huh?”
Kurresh, with a strained expression, pointed it out, and Lelei and Yuuri slowly turned their gaze toward the man. The bag—the one the man had snatched from an old woman—was pinned under him. Lelei had thrown him, and the bag ended up crushed beneath him. …If the contents were fragile, they’d be wrecked.
“A-awawa…”
“For now, Lelei, grab the bag.”
“O-okay. Right.”
Lelei reached out and pulled the bag from under the man. It was a rather fancy shopping bag. Yuuri looked back at the old woman who’d come with the guards, deciding to let her check the contents herself. Lelei was as deflated as if her ears and tail, if she had them, would be drooping.
She had, after all, caught the thief. She’d captured the bad guy, which deserved praise. But her follow-through was lacking. Or rather, her tendency to solve everything by brute force had caused her to forget to be gentle, and she ended up throwing the guy. That’s all. The guards were now lifting the thief and checking his condition. Apparently, he wasn’t injured. Relieved, Lelei was glad there were no serious injuries—capturing him was a job well done, but if she’d seriously hurt him, it would have been a problem. Now, that worry was put to rest, and Lelei sighed in relief. However, the problem remained—the bag and its contents.
“Ma’am, is this your bag?”
“Yes, yes, it is. Thank you, dear.”
“N-no, I, um, sort of threw it without thinking, and…”
“Could you check the contents? If anything’s broken, well… Lelei, the responsibility falls on you, right?”
“Me?! I have to cover it?! I don’t have much money to spare right now!”
“Well, the thief may be to blame, but you’re the one who threw him and broke it, aren’t you?”
“Ugh…”
Lelei was at a loss for words in the face of Kurresh’s logic. It was painful because he was right. Ignoring the banter between the two, Yuuri watched the old woman check her bag’s contents, carefully inspecting each item. For Lelei, it must have felt like a heart-pounding probation period. Her usually cheerful face was now sweaty with nervousness. …Her finances must be in a rough spot right now.
“…Everything’s fine, dear.”
“Huh?”
“Thank you. None of the contents are damaged, and… more than anything, thank you for recovering my bag.”
“Oh, no, if I could help, I’m glad!”
Lelei, who had been sulking, suddenly brightened up and smiled happily. The old woman also smiled, touched by her gratitude. Lelei, upon hearing that the bag was a gift from the woman’s late husband, muttered something dangerous like, “Maybe I should punch him once?” and was stopped by Kurresh. …If she hit him for real, an average person would be severely injured. Meanwhile, as the guards prepared to take the thief away, Yuuri casually spoke up to the man being led away. Calmly, casually, with a hint of curiosity:
“Mister, is ‘Mouse’ your nickname?”
Those words made the guards pale. The man’s face turned pale, too. But no one else said a word. When the guards questioned Yuuri, he answered in a lazy tone. …Usually, he wouldn’t appraise a person, but since this one was “red-flagged,” Yuuri checked just to be sure.
“It said ‘Mouse’ in the notes. What’s a Mouse?”
“…The ‘Mouse’ is the name of a bandit we’ve been after.”
“Oh, then is this guy the bandit?”
“Yuuri, don’t add ‘san’ to a bandit.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
Only Yuuri and his friends were so relaxed. The guards and the man were frozen. But the guards recovered and carefully secured the man, leading him away. Their parting words of “Thank you for your help” were directed at Yuuri, not Lelei, but they didn’t particularly mind that.
“Did you pull that off again?”
“Maybe?”
“I think so.”
“But catching a bad guy is good, right?”
“Well, yeah.”
“What I did was a good thing too, right?”
“You just need to think a bit more quickly and control your strength, or you’ll end up like Balroy.”
“I don’t want that!”
Lelei shouted, genuinely horrified. But unless she made a serious effort, it seemed she’d head down that path anyway. Amen.