While Soulgros and Rast’s group were on the brink of a clash, two figures watched from the treetops above. These were Laladie and Leiss, members of the same guild as Soulgros. Laladie, her eyes sparkling with excitement, observed the scene below.
Due to her disability, the alraune Laladie couldn’t climb trees on her own and had been brought up by Leiss.
“Ooh! I don’t really get what’s happening, but I hope this Praeshield or whatever kills Soulgros!” Laladie exclaimed eagerly.
“She’s still our guildmate, you know…” lamented Leiss, often considered the sole conscience of Yerkchira. The word “still” reflected her sentiments toward her guildmates—essentially, she wouldn’t mind if they were killed. Seeing through this, Laladie looked up at Leiss with a mocking grin.
“Don’t pretend to be all righteous, Leiss. You’d be thrilled if Soulgros accidentally died.”
“I wouldn’t be thrilled!” Leiss retorted, though a hint of truth lay in her words.
“You walked out with Master alone once, yet you’re interfering with Soulgros doing the same,” Leiss said, not just surprised but giving Laladie a judgmental look. It wasn’t that she had a problem with disrupting Soulgros, but she knew she would be furious if someone did the same to her when she was with Master. In that case, she’d unleash her full wrath.
“Of course! It’s fine when Lala does it, but not when someone else does,” Laladie replied confidently.
“That’s completely unreasonable,” Leiss remarked, her expression twisting as she looked at Laladie puffing out her flat chest with pride.
To Laladie, Leiss seemed just as unreasonable.
“Well, from Lala’s perspective, you’re the one being unreasonable, Leiss,” Laladie countered.
Leiss couldn’t help but feel a mixture of frustration and bemusement as Laladie’s absurdly self-assured stance irritated her.
“Huh? What are you talking about?” Leiss tilted her head in confusion. Known as the sole conscience of the guild, she rarely openly antagonized or fought with the other members, though she had her own internal judgments. Thus, she didn’t understand why she was being called unreasonable.
“Normal people can’t find someone just by their scent. Are you a dog or something?” Laladie retorted, referring to how Leiss had located Master and Soulgros. While Soulgros, with her investigative skills, was a formidable enemy, Laladie had found Leiss’s tracking ability quite disturbing. Locating someone by their scent alone was borderline creepy, even if her species had heightened senses.
“Is that so? I think Ritter could do it too,” Leiss replied nonchalantly.
“You guys are just weird…” Laladie said, giving Leiss a judgmental look. Oddly, Leiss seemed pleased, her body starting to sway bashfully under Laladie’s scrutiny.
“I see… I guess I’m like a dog. I’d kill anyone else who treated me like one, but if it’s Master… being his dog wouldn’t be so bad,” Leiss said, chuckling. In her mind, she imagined herself playing with Master while on all fours, wearing dog ears near her proud horns and a tail attached to her rear. She saw herself pressing her curvaceous body against Master, panting as he petted her.
“Wait, what?! The pet spot is Lala’s!” Laladie interjected hastily.
“Are you okay with this…?” Leiss mused, even though she hadn’t initially thought of herself as a pet. Laladie, however, was way ahead, fully embracing the role despite her possessive tendencies.
“Well, if Master pets me and pays attention to me, I’m fine with it,” Laladie said.
“Wh-What?! In that case, I want that too!” Leiss blurted out.
“Ah, too bad. Lala called it first. First come, first served,” Laladie declared triumphantly.
“That’s unfair!” Leiss shouted. In her happy daydream of being cherished by Master, an image of Laladie in a cat costume suddenly appeared, shoving Leiss’s dog costume self aside and cuddling up to Master. Seeing this in her mind made Leiss almost tear up in frustration.
“Anyway, that’s not important right now. I’m going to support this Rast guy and get rid of Soulgros,” Laladie declared.
“What? Are you serious?” Leiss’s expression changed as she looked down at Soulgros and the others below. It was almost unheard of for a guild, even a dark one like Yerkchira, to ally with an enemy to eliminate a guildmate. Leiss hesitated but knew Laladie’s resolve.
“Of course, I’m serious. If Rast kills Soulgros, then turns on Master, I’ll swoop in and kill Rast. Master’s gratitude toward me will skyrocket!” Laladie explained with a grin.
“It might not go that smoothly… but it’s not a bad plan,” Leiss admitted, her lips curling into a smile.
The two shared a conspiratorial grin, completely disregarding Soulgros. Ironically, Soulgros had once planned to assassinate Laladie under similar circumstances, making them even.
“All right! Let’s get started!” Laladie exclaimed.
And so, their mischief began.