Jumping into the air, I felt heavier. It wasn't by a lot, but it slowed me down. I was still able to blink to the last captain label. It was just another zombie. I didn't play around, worried about the growing black on my skin, my water constantly pushing it back.

  I sliced and diced until the zombie was just a pile of body parts. After which I went to do as Saki said when a second realization hit me... I got turned around and didn't know which way to go.

  I began to panic when a blue label popped up far in the distance. It said "This way, stupid!" Wow! That was one mean label! I didn't go around calling labels stupid... to their faces.

  I jumped into the air and began blinking repeatedly towards the marker. It only took three blinks and I was outside the army, and the marker was above my head. I swung Serenity in an arc behind me and four more zombies dropped dead to the ground.

  Looking around, I didn't see Saki anywhere. Worriedly, I looked for another marker. For a second, there wasn't one. Then another appeared further away from the undead army. It said "Dammit, Tama, run! Go to Drestor!"

  I glared at the label for a second before shrugging. Giant floating labels were just mean, I guess. I began blinking towards Drestor. Obviously, Saki had told me to do that anyway. Still, I looked around one last time. When I didn't see Saki, I sighed in worry before turning and continuing towards Drestor.

  Saki better be there. I would never forgive her if she went and died on me. I traveled throughout the day and into the night. By the next morning, I had reached Drestor.

  It should have taken at least another couple of days by what Saki had said, but I just went in the direction the label had pointed and did not stop. It only took me a single day!

  I walked into Drestor only to look around and feel my heart sink. I didn't know where I was in Drestor. Last time I was here, Saki had guided me to the guild hall. There was a long street down the middle, but I specifically remembered Saki having us turn a few times, and none of the buildings looked super familiar.

  I turned to the nearest man wearing a uniform and holding a weapon. He seemed like he might know! I walked over to the man. He was much taller than meI barely went up to his waist. He looked down at me as I walked up.

  "Nya! Tama is looking for the guild hall!" I said as I wagged my tail and tilted my head at him.

  The man stared at me for a moment before his eyes widened. "I remember you! You're that nekojin that cut that guy's hand off for stealing!"

  I blinked before shrugging. "Tama doesn't see why she would do that."

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  "No, it was definitely you!" The man said as he glared at me. "Then that friend of yours, the fox girl..."

  Before he could continue I said, "Nya! Where is Saki!" I leaned in, my eyes wide.

  The guard stared at me for a moment before sighing. "I'm not dealing with this. The guild hall is down the street, take a right at the first turn and keep going. The sign above will say 'Adventurers Guild.' Understand?"

  I stared at him blankly then said, "Nya! Tama goes down the street, then goes right, then finds a building with a sign!"

  The man stared at me even longer before I watched his eye twitch. "Just... follow me and do not attack anyone no matter what!" he said finally as he turned and yelled to the other uniformed guy. "Hey, I am taking the nekojin to the adventurers guild. Can you handle looking out for yourself for a minute?"

  The other man simply nodded and called back, "No worries, Randall!"

  Randall nodded his affirmative to the other guy, and then he began walking into the city. I followed closely behind.

  Randall walked super slow, but not as slow as Saki. We made decent time. It only took a few hours instead of the days it took Saki to reach the gate of Drestor. When we reached the guild, he pointed at the sign above it. "See, it says 'Adventurers Guild!'" he said, annoyed.

  I looked over at him with a blank face before saying, "Nya! Adventurers Guild!"

  He looked at me before realization dawned on his face. "Oh my void, you can't even read, can you? Classic nekojin. Why are your species so freaking weird!"

  I looked at him curiously. What was a species?

  A vein throbbed in his forehead and his eye twitched. "Never mind, just go in that building and get out of my hair, crazy cat girl."

  I shrugged, nodded, and said, "Tama thanks you!" before going inside the building.

  Inside, the room was filled with adventurers like the last time I was here. They all looked at me weird, like they were just amazed at me existing. I ignored them and made my way to the back of the room. I noticed the hole in the wall where I had thrown Tera, as well as the remnants of the fight with Talia had all been cleaned up.

  Making my way down the hallway, I reached Talia's door. I remembered because of how long it took to reach it last time. I knocked three times in rapid succession. Sensei had always taught me to knock first. There was no response for a moment, then a voice behind me scared me.

  "Hello, Tama. How are you?"

  I whirled around, my dagger out as I swung, only to have my wrist grabbed by Talia, who looked down at me with amusement. "You seem tense, Tama. Where is Saki and the others?"

  She raised an eyebrow at me and I sighed in relief before taking a deep breath. Before I could say anything, however, Talia let go of my wrist and held up her hand in a stop motion.

  "Let's go to my office first, then we can discuss. It sounds like you have quite the story to tell," she said as she stepped past me and opened the door with a pulse of stamina.

  I followed her into her office and took the same chair I had last time. The office had not changed at all since I was last here. Still piles of papers on the big desk along with three chairs on one side, and one on the other. Talia walked around and sat down on her side.

  She grabbed a blank sheet of paper and looked at me. "Okay, Tama, now tell me what happened. Be as descriptive as possible."