34: Plan in action [pt1]

The small fluffy bodies of the beasts shivered as they watched the strange yet powerful hum of a tower over their cages.

Usually, their bestial instincts had told them to attack and defend their homes from humans but this human seemed different. She has a terrifying aura.

It only said one thing to them - do not resist.

"And that makes it a dozen of you. You all look so cute in those cases. I might end up gulping you in one go if you continued to look so cute to me."

The human currently had a crude smile on her face. Her happy mask hid the sadistic emotions she was trying to suppress and the beast did what they must to survive.

"Oh, are you all pretending to be dead? Just so you know, it won't work on me. I won't fall for such a cheap trick. It'll be better for you to act cute than to play dead with me."

The beasts inside the cage instantly gave up as the creepy human's smiling face came nearer and nearer. Instantly the fallen warriors woke up and looked at the scary human with their big and watery eyes.

Surely the human would appreciate their effort of being cute and let them go. They did not want to be fodder again and die undeserving deaths.

"And now you try to act cute? I no longer want to see that. Don't you have any tricks you can perform for me instead?"

The beasts sweated as one as they watched the human's demand to more and more complicated and unhinged.

Still, they did not complain and rolled over to win the human's favor.

But it all seemed to be in vain. The human did not look impressed at all. Instead, she was frowning at their athletic attempt, and soon they would all die.

___________________________

Amane watched as the beasts in the cage tried to win her favor. Her aura was flaring and that seemed to have scared these little beasts a lot.

Having dealt with these beasts for a long time, Amane already knew a few tricks to get them to surrender to her. This was just another obedience trick Amane was deploying with her core.

"Y-Yoko, is it safe now? Can we come out of the tent?"

Lady Ely was the brave one who asked that question. It had been a half-an-hour already since Amane had captured all these beasts.

It had been safe out here for half an hour without any unnecessary sound. So it was understandable why her group-mates would be worried.

"Sorry! You can come out now. But be careful where you step. The place is full of these things poisonous saliva."

That saliva did nothing for Amane since her core made her immune to it but it would be rather painful for other people around her.

Especially Nadia who was human, it would act like a deadly poison.

"Wow, you did end up catching them all. Can I take these things off your hand to sell? I am sure I will be able to make a killer profit by selling them."

Faridha looked excited for the first time since this test started. Amane was even sure her pupils had turned money-shaped due to this sudden opportunity.

"Lady Faridha we cannot. It is illegal for anyone but the registered families to sell wild beasts. Besides, won't these beasts be too dangerous for ordinary people? I am sure Lady Yoko agrees with me-"

"Sure we can sell them. But we will have to think of a way to smuggle them out of the Lyco forest first. I've read that these species are protected here since they are rare."

"Lady Yoko, not you too. You should not joke about these things. We should also hand these beasts over to the authorities."

Lady Ely looked flustered. It was evident that the little joke Faridha had cracked went over her head.

"Nadia, what do you say about all this? Want to help us smuggle out these cuties?"

Amane turned toward the last member of their group. She wanted to see how Nadia would react in this situation.

Would she agree with Yoko and go along or would she refuse her this time? After all, she was the one who had the most to lose if they were caught.

"Huh? Why are you asking me? It's not like I can either help or stop you if you decide to do something."

'A neutral answer. Just what are you cooking up your sleeve Nadia.'

Nadia's lack of nervousness as she answered was a huge red flag for Amane. For someone who had as much to lose as her, this joke should not even have been entertained.

'Anyway, not my problem. I should let these little ones go now.'

As much as Amane would love to take these little kids home and study them, she did not want to hear Sakura's nagging.

And Amane also did not want to be labeled as a criminal for kidnapping an endangered specie no matter how well she could look after them.

"You are both such party poopers but I guess I should release these kids now if you don't feel like smuggling them. Be careful because they can bite."

"L-Lady Y-Yoko, you are joking with us, right? You won't open these cages nearby and–"

"Yoko, think over this carefully. These are poisonous–"

Both Nadia and Ely looked scared now. Their faces had gone white and dry as soon as they watched Amane lift the cage door.

The restless bunny-like beasts seemed to be glaring the group down and their body language looked agitated.

"Here they come. Look out or you'll get hurt."

Amane finally opened the door and the beasts took off into a sprint.

"HELP US OUT~", "NOOO, I DON'T WANT TO DIE."

Twin cries echoed out into the night sky as the beasts ran away from the crazy group. The only one who did not yell was Lady Faridha.

But even she looked ready to fight the beasts if they happened to attack them.

"Relax, they won't attack now. I tamed them a bit before letting them leave so they will not attack humans for some time now. You can sit back and relax."

Amane watched the two scared females fall in front of her. They both sighed as their knees gave out.

"T-Thank god. Wait, you tricked us. Why did you have to be like that."

"F-For real. I thought my life was going to end today."

Both Ely and Nadia looked equally pissed off and relieved at being alive. Amane could no longer hold her laughter back after seeing their twin expressions.

"That was not very nice of you to do, Lady Yoko. What if someone would have gotten hurt?"

Lady Faridha had an unhappy expression on her face as well. She had not appreciated the prank as well but she was much more careful with maintaining her expression.

"We're in the middle of a Survival test so injuries cannot be avoided. If someone had gotten hurt then that would have been it. And since we are a team, we should learn to trust each other a little more."

Amane made sure her voice had a little bit of whining in it. Ely instantly had a guilty look on her face, having fallen for Amane's trap.

"O-Of course we trust you, Lady Yoko. We know that you were trying to help us out."

Ely sounded genuine when she spoke. It was nice to hear but Amane knew that it was just lip service at this point.

If Lady Ely trusted Amane then she would not have been scared when Amane pulled that prank. Her sigh of fear was an indication of her lack of trust.

'Then again, people have strong survival instincts. More often than not they don't even realize what they are doing.'

"I understand. Then I will choose to trust you all as well and make sure to inform you before pulling a stunt like that again."

"H-How about you not pulling a stunt like that again? I don't think my human heart can take this much excitement. I will likely die of heart failure if this continues."

Nadia's reply was melodramatic and forced out a laugh from everyone.

Things calmed down after that but the uneasiness in the air did not subside after that. In fact, the atmosphere got even tense as the late hours of the night approached and it came the time for sleeping arrangements.

"I can take the first watch. I find it difficult to fall asleep so I'll be a perfect person for this job."

It was surprising for Nadia to offer to take the first watch. A coward like her should have not even thought about taking this risk and just sat back to watch.

But Nadia not only declined Amane's offer to take the first watch, but she also declined Lady Ely's offer to set up puppets for protection.

"She's surely planning something. Are you sure you do not want to confront her or want me to take care of her? It might not be you she goes after."

Lady Faridha seemed suspicious of Nadia's intentions as well but for different reasons. She pointed toward Ely's direction who still had a worried expression on her face.

She was the only one out of the trio who had not caught on to Nadia's suspicious motived. But then again, Lady Ely was an innocent soul who trusted easily.

Both Lady Faridha and Amane being with her were a result of her poor life choices.

"I'll take care of whatever Nadia is planning so you can relax. Just stay with Ely tonight and lock your door with magic. I am sure you will be alright once the morning comes."

Amane was more than sure that Nadia was targeting her and not the other two. It had been Nadia who fought for them to get two tents and also on the sleeping arrangements.

Ely and Faridha had tried to protest back then but Amane had cut them off. She did not want them to get targeted because of her or to hinder her progress.

Not when this was the most fun Amane had in a while and she also wanted to see what Nadia was planning on doing.

"Alright, I'm going to sleep now. I will see you all in the morning."

Amane entered her tent without sparing anyone else a single glance. She could only hope that Lady Faridha remembered what she had said to her before and follow her instructions.

And if not, then it would be her fault that things went astray.

There was a weird but sweet smell when Amane entered the tent. It made Amane's brain go hazy and her instincts instantly screamed at her not to inhale it.

'I was careless. I did not think Nadia would start her plan even before I enter the tent. What should I do next now?'

Amane could always run out of the tent and save herself that way but it would cause a small commotion.

Besides, it would defeat the purpose of Amane being alone tonight in her tent. It would be better if Amane gave in to the gas now.

"You're a stubborn bitch. But resistance is futile now. If you won't go to sleep peacefully, then I will make you go to sleep forcefully."

Something sharp collided with Amane's nape and her body went rigid.

'This motherfucker. He hit me with a magic-filled spike. I could have lost my neck if he was somewhat off his mark.'

Any other person would have felt scared in Amane's position but Amane just felt pissed off. Maybe it was because she had been in a similar situation before so she knew what to expect.

'I will make these people pay once I am able to move again. I will not leave them intact and then I will go after everyone involved in this fiasco. No one will get out of this alright.'

Amane fumed as she was carried like a sack of potatoes over her kidnapper's shoulder. But no one saw her being kidnapped.

Except a shy student with a curious stare.