Chương 38: Those Animal Ears Are Dangerous

"Hah? What did you just say, brat?" The faces of the three adventurers turned vicious at once.

"Eh?" Lili lifted her head, unable to believe what she had heard.

"Looks like you do not want to keep your dignity yourselves. In that case, I will help." Cael did not bother wasting more words on them. His figure blurred. In his eyes, these three moved so slowly they might as well have been crawling. A few punches and kicks knocked their balance apart and sent them crashing to the ground.

"Aaaah!" The three had not even understood what had happened when the world spun around them. Just as they screamed from the impact, a sharper pain stabbed straight into their minds. The middle-aged chienthrope adventurer looked at the longsword stabbed through his wrist and screamed until his voice cracked.

"My hand! Aaaaah!"

"This is the hand that touched my Supporter, right?" Cael stepped coldly on the sword hilt, driving the blade all the way into the ground and pinning the chienthrope adventurer there. After experiencing life and death in the Dungeon and cutting down countless monsters, he was no longer the shut-in who had once hesitated to kill even a chicken. His heart had already hardened.

"He moved before I could react! This brat is a high-class adventurer. Run!" The shaggy-haired adventurer crawled up in terror, rolling and scrambling as he tried to flee. What kind of joke was this? A rookie adventurer, a mere brat, had suddenly turned into a high-class adventurer? Fighting someone like that was insane. Whish. The sound of something cutting through the air rang out. A longsword instantly pierced his calf and nailed it to the ground.

"Aaaaah! My leg!" Tears burst from the shaggy-haired adventurer's eyes as he clutched his leg and screamed. His entire leg was pinned to the street.

"Aaaaah! Help!" The last adventurer was so frightened that he ran while nearly wetting himself. Seeing blood spray everywhere, Lili shrank back and squeezed her eyes shut. The adventurers nearby glanced over coldly. They could tell at once that someone had bullied another person's companion and was now being dealt with. Things like this happened every day in Orario. It was almost normal.

"Trash that only knows how to bully the weak and fear the strong. You only dare reach for people weaker than yourselves and for women. If killing in Orario did not put people on the Guild's blacklist, you would already be dead." Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Cael's voice was full of contempt. The screams finally pulled Lili back to herself. The sudden reversal left her staring blankly at the tall, straight figure standing in front of her.

An adventurer had protected her. She almost could not believe it. Cael slowly turned around. The coldness on his face melted into a gentle, sunlit smile as he held out a hand to her.

"Miss Chienthrope Supporter, a lone adventurer is looking for a Supporter. Would you accompany him on a dangerous and fascinating adventure into the Dungeon?" Lili stared at him for a moment, still unable to believe she had been protected.

"Mr. Cael, why?"

"Why what?" Cael asked on purpose.

"Why help Lili? You have nothing to do with Lili, and this might cause trouble for you." Lili lowered her head. All this time, even when others saw her being bullied, no one had ever helped.

"The strong protecting the weak, and a man protecting a woman. That is only natural." Cael reached out and pinched Lili's nose. She shrank her neck, but she could not escape.

"And who said you have nothing to do with me? You are my exclusive Supporter. If you get hurt or upset, it affects my shiny valis."

"Come on, Lili." Lili saw his gentle smile reflected in her eyes, and something inside her wavered. The strong protecting the weak. A man protecting a woman. Only natural? A crack opened in her sealed heart, and a beam of sunlight shone into the dark. Under her mask, Lili gave a tiny, sincere smile and reached out. Cael pulled her up from the ground.

"Yes, Mr. Cael." What kind of adventurers were those men supposed to be?

"Damn you! Just wait, brat. Arde!" The chienthrope adventurer lay on the ground, bloodshot eyes full of hatred as he watched the two figures walk away. On the stone stairs spiraling down into the Dungeon, Lili looked at the back in front of her. It was not especially broad, but somehow, it felt reassuring. By the time she became aware of herself, she had already been alone in this world. As far back as she could remember, her father had died casually during an expedition into the Dungeon.

To survive, simply because she wanted to keep living, she became a Supporter like him. But because she was only a child, adventurers exploited and bullied her. Even wanting to live had become a luxury. She could only survive by secretly stealing hidden Magic Stones from adventurers and exchanging them for valis. If she was discovered, she was beaten. But Lili only wanted to live. She had been tricked by adventurers into joining Soma Familia. Exploitation and bullying became everyday life there.

To survive, she deceived rookie adventurers, only for the valis she earned to be taken by her own companions. No matter where she ran, they found her, then exploited and bullied her again. Lili hated adventurers. Weak, helpless, alone. Wanting companionship. Wanting to be loved. Stealing, deceiving, betraying. Little by little, Lili became the kind of person she hated most. How long had it been since Lili had truly smiled?

"Lili?"

"Hm? What is it, Mr. Cael?" Lili snapped back to herself and looked at Cael, who had turned around to smile at her.

"What were you thinking about? I called you several times, and you did not answer."

"I am sorry."

"You did not do anything wrong. Why apologize?"

"Did you need something, Mr. Cael?"

"Can you lower your hood?" Cael smiled at the petite girl covered in a white robe. His gaze settled on her hood.

"Oh, like this?" Lili lowered the hood in confusion. Two twitching dog ears appeared, unbelievably cute.

"Hehe." Cael reached out and lightly tapped one. A hard-to-describe sensation reached his fingertip, comfortable enough to make his whole body relax. Animal ears. He had wanted to touch them for ages. They were produced by transformation magic, but they felt exactly like the real thing. No, these were real. Animal-eared girls and Prums were truly wonderful.

"Wuu..." Lili trembled as if a tiny shock had run through her. Her ears quivered, and an embarrassed whimper slipped out.

"Mr. Cael..."

"Come to think of it, I do enjoy teasing people." Cael chuckled and tapped Lili's animal ears lightly from side to side. This was amazing. He wondered what cat ears, wolf ears, and fox ears felt like. Though for fox girls, he was more interested in the fluffy tail.

"Mr. Cael, which floor are we going to today?" Lili held back another whimper and asked with trembling ears. Mr. Cael was different from them. He was truly kind.

"Hm. Straight below the tenth floor. The money should be much better there." Cael's lips lifted as he rubbed his chin. With his current strength, the Upper Floors were basically his playground.