A girl named Runoir

The cat girls appearance is slightly confusing for Sou and he can’t keep his eyes off her shaking tail. Lexa however agrees and points at the seat next to her.

「Thank you …… desu」(Cat Girl)

「It’s okay, right Sou?」(Lexa)

「Of course.」(Sou)

Left, right, up, down… Oh that’s not good. I’ve been way too fascinated by the natural movements of her tail. I guess I can’t help myself. Right after I met Miss Mizari – the girl with dog ears whose tail I could never quite observe since she was behind the counter all the time – now I get to meet a girl with cat ears? Yesterday I met Lexa, the old man Jack and Keimi from the inn. I’m a very lucky person to have met all these good people…. I really appreciate these encounters.

While I was lost in thought the cat girl already sat down.

「Ahem…… I’m sorry for bothering you again, desu.」(Cat Girl)

「Eh, it’s not like we were doing embarrassing things!」(Lexa)

「Ah.. Okay….」(Cat Girl)

Lexa… Nobody asked such a thing… Why would you say this? Look at the poor girl, she’s embarrassed now. My turn to talk.

「I’m sorry. She can be a little odd sometimes.」(Sou)

「Ah, I see ……」(Cat Girl)

Lexa is making strange noises. They sound like 「Odd? Who are you calling odd? Who?!?」, but I’m not paying attention to her.

Anyways… While I look at the confused cat girl I notice her dress and her breastplate that looks a lot like Lexas. Is this kind of thin breastplate popular around here? It’s not listed in her status as equipment… Seems to make no difference to her defense value. Could this be the fashion of a different world? And what’s with that mysterious aura surrounding her? I better check her status with <Identify>.

Runo Vienoir | Female | Cat Beast | 14 years old

Level: 18
HP: 109
MP: 35

Attack power: 92 (+13)
Defense: 80
Speed: 152
Charm: 33
Luck: 15 (-10)

Weapon: Stone Dagger of the Black Wolf (Attack power +13)

【Special Ability】
Presence Block
【Magic】
None
【Title】
Unfortunate
Wow, it appeared! Hm… There is something strange here. It’s not that uncommon that the level of someone else is higher than Lexas or mine. Her speed is quite high and even her special ability seems quite strong.

But why is her luck reduced by 10 down to only 5? Even the very first goblin I encountered had 7 luck. She really has even less luck than a goblin…

I think… that her “Unfortunate” title is to blame here. That’s the only possible way. I didn’t think such evil titles would exist! Is she alright?

I want to examine her more and find out about her status and her title but… nothing happens when I try? I’m able to fully examine myself or Lexa but not her… What are the necessary conditions?

「Ahem…. being watched so much… it’s…. desu.」(Runo)

「……I’m sorry.」(Sou)

I’ve done it again… To fully use <Identify> I have to stare at the person all the time and… well… it’s difficult not to notice this. It would be nice if a glance could be enough or if some kind of technical gimmick could exist that can observe someone in a more natural way. I guess that seems impossible.

「Are you doing it again?!? T… There was this time where you stared at me the same way, didn’t you? I…It’s quite e-embarrassing… when you stare at someone like that! At least give us a warning before you do it!」(Lexa)

「You get angry over that? I didn’t expect that. That’s new.」(Sou)

「You two seem to have a good relationship… ~hihi~ 」(Runo)

If that’s the case, should I maybe say “From now on I will only stare at you and no one else” to Lexa? …
…
…
When I imagine that, I feel nervous…and sick… I… think I’d prefer to die instead of saying this…
…
Rejected. This idea is absolutely rejected!

Surely, our relationship really is good but it’s embarrassing when someone tells you that in such a direct way… but… it’s actually making me happy to hear that. When I look at Lexa I can see that she’s embarrassed with a slightly red face. It’s lovely.

「Alright, since we share a table I should introduce myself! I’m Lexa Redford. And the one on the other side is Sou Sa…… it’s Sou. His name is Sou!」(Lexa)

Runo ordered a dish and we were all waiting in silence. Lexa had introduced us… Wait, did she do it properly? She forgot my last name! My last name is Saotome! If you introduce someone you have the responsibility to do it properly! I can’t believe she’d forget that.

「It’s nice to meet you…… desu. Miss Lexa, Mister Sou. I am Runo Vienoir…… desu.」(Runo)

「Pleasure to meet you! Miss Runo? Vienoir-chan? How should we call you?」(Lexa)

「To be called Runo-chan…… that’d be wonderful…… desu. However, there are a lot of people who just call me Runoir…… desu」(Runo)

「Okay, then I’ll call you Runo-chan and Sou can call you Runoir!」(Lexa)

「A-Ahem,…… It’s the first time that… someone is so nice to me…… I’m truly happy……desu.」(Runo)

She dropped her head a bit and we could see that she was slightly embarrassed. I have to say I’m a bit dissatisfied that Lexa forced me to call her Runoir but I like the name. It has a good and compassionate ring to it.

I mean, look at her. She is a beautiful black cat girl. This is so cute. No, super-cute! And the gentle look in her eyes…

Even Lexa seems to think “She is way too cute!” while she hugged her.

But her last words were unexpected. The first time that someone is so nice to her? She said it in a cute way but these words got my attention. I made up my mind and will ask her about it.

… ~silence~

I guess she doesn’t want to talk about it. But her expression suddenly changes; she looks a lot more determined now. And thus she starts to talk about her situation…