After being responsible for the war zone patrol for the first time, the task fell on Ryn and Penglaiji Ryn for several consecutive days.
The reason was none other than to provide Penglaiji Ryn with ample experience fighting against Honkai Creatures. Also, after Penglaiji Ryn had fought enough, Ryn would be responsible for clearing the field.
Ryn's ability to clear the field was much faster than Penglaiji Ryn spinning around with her greatsword or Seele slowly hacking away with her scythe.
One day, after Ryn and Penglaiji Ryn returned from their war zone patrol, they heard the cheerful meows of a cat.
At first, they thought it might be some new type of Honkai Creature, but Penglaiji Ryn wondered if it could be the little kitten from before.
So, the two followed the sound and found that it was indeed the same cat they had met on their patrol route. However, next to it now was a slightly larger yellow electric mouse, Rei.
"Hehehe… what a cute little fella."
Emisha was squatting next to the cat, gently rubbing its belly. Her usually fierce face was now showing a charmingly cheerful smile.
Looking left and right and seeing no one else around, Ryn and Penglaiji Ryn also squatted down beside them and joined in on the happy cat-petting.
Lost in the joy of petting the cat, Emisha didn't even notice the two of them approaching.
"I never thought a person like you, Emisha, could have such a gentle side. You really can't judge a book by its cover."
Hearing Ryn say this, Emisha immediately straightened her face, putting on an expression of disgust and annoyance, wanting to get a good look at who had dared to call her Emisha again.
"Don't call me Emisha! Uh… Ryn, what are you two doing here…"
Ryn said while petting the cat, "We just finished our patrol mission and came over to check out the sound."
"Tch, don't you dare tell anyone about this, or I'll kill you."
"Alright, but how much hush money are you planning to give?"
Penglaiji Ryn chuckled and held out her hand to Emisha.
A pure white sheet of paper is easily dyed any color, especially when influenced by a big black stain like Ryn.
"You two bastards should have died at the hands of Honkai Creatures. Take it!"
Emisha wished she could eat the cheeky Penglaiji Ryn alive, but she still took out 60 Honkai Crystals from her backpack and placed them in Penglaiji Ryn's hand.
"Hehehe, there's actually hush money~ What a profitable day!"
It was originally just a joke; Penglaiji Ryn didn't expect Emisha to actually give her anything. But even if she hadn't, neither Penglaiji Ryn nor Ryn had planned to tell anyone else at the base about the cat.
After all, people who were starving mad would really eat this little kitten.
"Meow~"
While Penglaiji Ryn and Emisha were engaged in their dirty transaction, Ryn was happily spinning in circles holding the kitten.
Seeing Ryn and Penglaiji Ryn, the kitten also meowed joyfully and stuck close to either Ryn or Penglaiji Ryn.
"Bro, look, it still remembers us~"
Penglaiji Ryn happily reached out to tickle the kitten's chin.
"Meow~"
"Yeah, creatures that can survive the Honkai always have their own unique abilities. It's quite intelligent~"
Ryn and Penglaiji Ryn pushed Emisha aside and started gleefully playing with the kitten.
Listening to their conversation, Emisha's face, who was standing at the side, grew darker and darker.
Smack—
Emisha grabbed Ryn with her left hand and Penglaiji Ryn with her right, flames seeming to burst from her eyes.
"I say… have you two seen this cat before?"
"Yeah, we met it during our first patrol. We even fed it some food back then…"
"That's right, but Big Brother said we weren't in a position to keep it, so we didn't take it with us…"
"Is that so?"
Emisha chuckled and narrowed her eyes, her grip on their shoulders tightening.
"Let me think… when was the first time I saw it? I think it was right after you two came back from your first patrol… It was standing at the base entrance, looking at me with pleading eyes."
"Hehehe… looks like it followed us back then."
"I'll f***ing kill you two bastards! You didn't even know a cat was following you?! Give me back my Honkai Crystals!!"
"Sorry, sorry… didn't notice~"
"Meow~"
"See, the kitty is also saying it's not our fault~"
Thwack—
"Ouch, ouch, ouch…"
Emisha jumped around on the spot in pain, shaking her two red, swollen fists as tears welled up in her eyes.
"You damned siblings, are your empty heads made of stone?"
Ryn rolled his eyes speechlessly. *It's clearly because you, the medical personnel, are too weak...*
Penglaiji Ryn scratched her head awkwardly. *Does empty-headed mean I have no memories...? Whatever. I've decided. Once I get my memories back, I'm going to beat Emisha up.*
After a while, once Emisha had calmed down a bit, she again furiously yelled at Ryn and Penglaiji Ryn.
"You two irresponsible jerks! If I hadn't found it when I did, this kitten would have starved to death by now!"
Ryn cleaned his ear, treating Emisha's words as if they were just wind. Then he lifted the kitten and gently bounced it twice.
"Why are you shouting so loud? It's not as serious as you make it sound. Before we found it, wasn't it still living just fine?
This is an animal's survival instinct. Overfeeding it in the name of protection will only harm it. Look, relying on the meager food from the base, this kitten is already much thinner than when we first saw it…"
"So according to you, we should just watch it fend for itself and die in this damn world?!"
"That's not what I mean either. It's just that, Emisha, we can barely even feed ourselves. Forcing ourselves to raise it isn't good for you or for it."
"Yes… but you and I both know what the situation is like around here. Maybe it could survive on its own before, but judging by the recent increase in Honkai Creatures…"
Emisha gave Ryn a cold look, then snatched the kitten from his hands and held it in her arms.
"As a member of the medical staff, as long as there is a life before me that needs saving, I have a duty to ensure its safety."
"Do whatever you want. But do you really have enough food to share?"
"…You don't need to worry about it. I'll figure out a way to get food."
"Alright then. If you don't have enough food in the future, you can come find me."
Ryn took the rations he had been planning to save for Penglaiji Ryn and stuffed them into Emisha's pocket.
"…Mhm."
Emisha nodded and left with the cat in her arms. It was getting dark, and others were gradually returning to the base. Emisha had to hide the kitten before anyone else saw it.
Watching Emisha walk away, Penglaiji Ryn couldn't help but murmur.
"Is that really Emisha? I wonder if she'll be able to take good care of the kitten…"
Ryn ruffled Penglaiji Ryn's hair and said to her with a chuckle.
"It's definitely not a fake Emisha. Instead of worrying about them, you should worry about yourself first. You already finished your rations for the day at noon, right? And I just gave all of mine to Emisha, so tonight you…"
"Ah, this…"
Penglaiji Ryn patted her little belly with a troubled expression, then broke into a happy smile.
"Actually, I'm on a diet. Skipping one meal is no big deal. Besides, that portion of food will last the kitten a long time, right?~"