“Bai Tang, lend me some money. Food for tonight and settling your compatriot is going to cost quite a few Ghost Coins. I’ll pay you back once the demon hunter bounty comes through.”
Theresa held out her palm, her expression completely serious with no trace of embarrassment.
Bai Tang was speechless. Who just casually mooches off other people like this? Was every demon hunter like this, or was Theresa the only exception she knew?
With no other choice, she first fed a piece of tentacle to the Living Stomach Bag, then reached inside and pulled out a handful of Ghost Coins. A quick count showed three thousand.
“Here. Jiang Yetong, are you really not coming with me tonight?”
“I… I want to stay with… I’m sorry meow…”
Bai Tang pressed her lips together and looked toward the blonde girl currently hiding behind Theresa. The girl was staring at her with the same expression one would give a monster.
A dull, heavy feeling settled in Bai Tang’s chest.
She and Jiang Yetong were both from Earth. They were fellow humans, the same species. Bai Tang had risked her life to pull her back from the brink of death. And yet, just because she had shown her tentacles, the girl was scared of her. She would rather stay beside a native demon hunter than follow her own kind.
Bai Tang could understand it, in a way. Theresa had fought using only her flintlock and short blade the entire time. That was far more “normal” and easier to accept than watching someone fight with writhing, eye-covered tentacles.
Still, being rejected by another human from Earth hurt more than she wanted to admit.
Had she already stopped being human in the eyes of her own people? Was she now lumped together with the chaotic and evil bizarre creatures?
“Take these three thousand Ghost Coins. You don’t have to return them.” Bai Tang pressed the coins into Theresa’s hand. “Just think of it as payment for protecting my compatriot. If there’s nothing else, I’ll head back to the store first. We can talk about anything else tomorrow during White Day.”
“Mm. No problem.”
The sky was gradually brightening. Theresa watched Bai Tang’s figure slowly walk away. Her steps were uneven, and for some reason her back looked rather pitiful and lonely.
“Um… that sister, where are we going now meow?”
Jiang Yetong clutched the lifeless black cat tightly to her chest. Despite her European features and mixed Chinese-French blood, her eyes were filled with timid light as she gathered the courage to ask.
“Hah. Where are we going?”
Theresa turned around and let out a cold laugh, her face expressionless.
“Just now, were you looking down on Bai Tang? Do you even realize who nearly died trying to save you?”
“You’re trying so hard to push away the person who actually cares about you. What makes you think I would help you? Just because I look more like your kind in your eyes?”
Her Chaotic Good alignment made Theresa extremely protective of her companions. After fighting side by side against the Barrel Butcher and saving each other’s lives, Bai Tang was undoubtedly her comrade.
But what had drawn Theresa to Bai Tang in the first place wasn’t her race. It was the girl’s determination to keep living even when she was weak, and the courage she showed when facing bizarre creatures far stronger than herself without despair or panic.
Whether Bai Tang was human had never mattered to her.
As a demon hunter of this world, Theresa would never actively harm humans, but she also didn’t particularly care whether the human race lived or died as a whole. From beginning to end, the one she found comfortable to be around was the individual named Bai Tang—not humans in general.
“If it weren’t for Bai Tang, do you really think I would bother with you?”
The girl was rendered speechless. She lowered her head and bit her lip. “But… but I really can’t help being scared meow…”
Those pitch-black tentacles covered in eyeballs looked like something straight out of a Cthulhu story. Could Senior Bai Tang still even be called human? Would those tentacles suddenly go out of control and hurt her?
“In the end, you’re still judging people by appearance. That’s exactly the difference between you and Bai Tang.”
Theresa showed no mercy with her words, ruthlessly tearing apart the girl’s cowardice and refusal to face reality.
“Bai Tang can survive in this world and will only grow stronger in the future. Meanwhile, you and your companions were almost completely wiped out. The only one left alive is still so weak that she needed Bai Tang to come save her.”
Seeing that the girl had no comeback, Theresa didn’t bother saying more.
“Let’s go. We’ll use the money given by the person you’re afraid of to find a place to stay tonight. You’d better figure out how to apologize to Bai Tang before you see her again.”
Jiang Yetong followed closely behind Theresa with her head down and lips pressed tight, not saying another word.
……
……
“Seriously, it hurts so much!”
On the way back to the store, Bai Tang limped along while rubbing her swollen, throbbing butt with one hand. Theresa had really put her full strength into that slap. Was there seriously no personal grudge mixed in?
It couldn’t have been the Parasitic Demon acting up on purpose, right?
“I hope there are still some recovery potions left in the store that I haven’t found yet.”
Long Night was almost over. Even without a lantern, the road was already visible. Enduring the burning pain in her rear, Bai Tang finally hobbled back to the general store just before full White Day arrived.
What she didn’t expect was that the Witch teacher had stayed up the entire night. She was sitting quietly behind the counter, waiting for her.
“You’re back?”
“Mm. I’m back, teacher.”
Bai Tang’s eyes suddenly grew hot. Even if her fellow human had rejected her outside, there was still someone in this store who had waited for her to return.
She quickly wiped the corners of her eyes and asked curiously, “You stayed up all night waiting for me. Aren’t you sleepy, teacher?”
“Oh, I actually just woke up,” Claire said, blinking. “Next time, don’t eat dinner so early. It makes you sleepy too soon.”
“……”
She woke up early because she went to bed early?
Wuwuwu… I got carried away with my own sentimentality and embarrassed the teacher. I’m so sorry!!
“If there’s nothing else, I’ll go back to my room and rest first.”
Sigh. Too many sad things had happened today. It was all tears if she talked about it. She would leave the pain in her heart to her bed and pillow to soothe. At least in dreams, she wouldn’t get hurt.
Watching Bai Tang walk past her with a dejected expression and a limp, Claire tilted her head in confusion.
“Bai Tang, did you hurt your butt?”
Was it really that obvious?! Bai Tang froze on the spot.
“Um… yeah. There was a little accident.”
“I see~” Claire nodded. “Take it off. Let me see how serious it is.”
。。。。。。。。。。
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