After completing my "bucket-water well-washing operation" and elegantly ignoring any chance of supernatural death, I decided to head back to the inn.
The Noa Inn... well, if there were a competition for "Most Likely to Collapse but Still Inhabited" buildings, this place would win hands down. My bed wasn't much better than yesterday either: thin, stiff, and creaked like old sins every time I moved even a little.
I threw myself onto the bed, pulled the thin blanket over me, and stared at the cracked ceiling while thinking:
"Life is tough, but at least I didn't die in a cursed well today."
And then I slept. Or at least, I tried to.
Because exactly at midnight... I heard a sound.
Not just any sound.
A scream.
The scream of a human—or at least something that used to be human—echoing outside the inn. Long, high-pitched, filled with utter despair.
If this were a horror movie, this would be the moment the main character opens the window, looks outside, and immediately becomes the next victim. But me?
I simply shifted my body, burying my head deeper into the pillow.
"If I don't see it, it's not happening."
Both my hands pulled the blanket up over my head. No matter how chaotic the outside world got, I was determined to be an oblivious fool tonight.
The screaming went on for several minutes. There were also noises—like something being dragged along the cobblestone streets.
And then silence.
A silence even scarier than the noise itself.
But I held firmly to my principle: "If I pretend to sleep, I'm not involved. If I'm not involved, I don't die."
The Next Morning
When I woke up, the city of Noa felt... emptier. A little quieter than usual.
But who am I?
Detective Conan?
I'm not here to investigate midnight murders.
I'm here to survive and maybe—just maybe—save up for a new mattress.
I quickly packed up, grabbed my junk sword that gleamed like a clearance sale reject, and got ready to head to Guild.
After a breakfast of rock-hard bread that could double as a deadly weapon if thrown, I headed back to the Noa Adventurer's Guild. Because hey, life isn't going to pay for itself, right?
The guild was exactly the same as yesterday: reeking of stale alcohol and despair. I made my way to the mission board, hoping to find an easy job—like hauling crates or cleaning a dusty warehouse.
But what I saw was:
Mission: Find Missing Cat
Reward: 10 Gold Coins
... ... ...
Okay, hold up.
TEN gold coins? For FINDING A CAT?
I stared at the paper.
Then stared again.
Not that I'm trying to be suspicious, but...If the reward is that high just for finding a cat, it can only mean one of two things:
The cat is actually a dragon disguised as a cute creature.
The cat is cursed, possessed, or bound to some eldritch entity.
But then, my wallet-starved brain rudely interrupted:
"GOLD, YOU IDIOT. FOCUS ON THE GOLD."
Fueled by the desperate cries of my empty pockets, I ripped the mission sheet off the board and brought it to the guild master's desk.
The half-bald man gave me a look like..."Ah, another voluntary sacrifice."
He gave a small smile—the kind you give a friend who's about to join a suicide mission.
"Good luck," he said dryly.
I nodded with fake optimism and bolted before my bad instincts had the chance to change my mind.
Mission Info:
The cat's name is Momo.
Last seen near a small forest on the outskirts of town.
Cat description:
White.
Small.
Weird eyes.
Occasionally... makes human-like sounds.
...
... ...wait, what?
Human-like sounds?
Okay, maybe I was just tired when I read that.
Or maybe it was just a bad joke around here....Right?
Ah, whatever. As long as the payment's real, I'm good.
And so, with half-hearted enthusiasm and my survival instincts screaming "BAD IDEA THIS IS A BAD IDEA", I stepped outside to face my latest Mission: Finding the Golden Cat.
Or maybe... Facing Fluffy Death.