Why Not Make Both Twins 'Girlfriends'?-Chapter 11Volume 3 .3 - The Search Begins...?

The Search Begins…? 3

“Wait a minute…!”

Though the incline was gentle, it was excessively long. As she ran, her legs grew increasingly heavy, and the pain in her injured ankle intensified.

The tabby suddenly veered off the path and into the woods.

“Ah no… not that way!”

It was completely out of sight.

Gasping for breath, Chikage reached the spot where the tabby had entered, and she found a beast trail.

Looking into the dark path that seemed to open its mouth into the darkness, Chikage suddenly felt very alone.

(What should I do…)

She decided to contact everyone and reached for her smartphone──when it suddenly started ringing.

“Whoa…! ── Oh, it’s Hii-chan…”

Startled, she answered the call.

『Ah, Chii-chan, how’s it going over there?』

“Well… I found it and chased it, but it went into the mountains…”

『Oh, I see… Over here, Sakuto and I caught one and we’re back at the beach house. That leaves two more.』

“That’s great.”

So, that means—apart from the tabby Chikage was chasing—Yuzuki had gone after the black cat.

Had she caught it yet?

“Hii-chan, any word from Yuzuki?”

“No, not yet over here… Huh? Chii-chan, aren’t you with Yuzuki-chan?”

“No. We split up along the way. Yuzuki went after the black cat, and I’m chasing the tabby.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’ll figure something out over here──”

After hanging up, Chikage pumped herself up, saying, “Alright!”

(I will definitely bring that kitten back…!)

With that strong resolve, Chikage stared down the beast trail.

***

At the beach house “Karen”──Sakuto and Hikari, who had returned earlier, were staring at the dark sky outside the window.

“The rain’s getting pretty bad…”

“I’m worried about Chikage and Yuzuki.”

Then, Matori came from the back with two steaming mugs of cocoa in her hands.

“Here, is cocoa okay?”

“Thank you.”

It was just what they needed as they were chilled from the rain.

Sakuto took the mugs from Matori and placed one in front of Hikari.

“Hikari, any contact from Chikage or Yuzuki?”

“No word from Yuzuki-chan yet, but──”

──Bang!

Suddenly, the door burst open, and a drenched Yuzuki came back from outside, holding a black cat in her arms.

“Ah, Yuzuki-chan, good job.”

“I… I thought I was going to die…”

Yuzuki, panting heavily, carefully handed the black cat over to Matori.

“The thunder started, and the rain got worse… Somehow, I managed to catch it.”

“Good work… And Chikage?”

“Split up on the way… Hasn’t she come back yet?”

“Yeah, not yet… Takayashiki, could you call Chikage and ask her to come back?”

Sakuto nodded and immediately called Chikage.

“─Oh, Chikage? Where are you now?”

This chapt𝙚r is updated by freeωebnovēl.c૦m.

『Where? I’m in the mountains, but…』

“Got it. You can come back now. It’s getting dark and the weather’s bad too…”

『Just a little longer…』

“No, it’s dangerous in the mountains with bears around─”

At that moment─

『Ah… there you are! Wait, that place is dangerous─kyaa…─!』

With Chikage’s scream, there was a sound of something hard being hit.

“Chikage…!?”

Sakuto, who suddenly stood up from the table while shouting, made Hikari and the others gasp in shock.

“─The call dropped…──”

No good, it won’t connect.

“Sakuto, what happened…?”

“I don’t know, but… It seems like something happened to Chikage!”

Sakuto thought with a sinking feeling that his bad premonition had come true.

***

“──Huh…? Why am I…”

Lying on the riverbank, Chikage felt the rain pouring through the trees and the cold water of the stream with her feet.

It was completely dark around her. There were no lights.

Beyond the darkness of the trees, she could see dark gray clouds. Night seemed about to fall soon.

(So that’s it… I… must have fallen from there…)

In her hazy consciousness, she remembered slipping from a slightly elevated place.

At that moment, something moved between her chest.

“Meow…”

Seeing the face of the tabby cat, Chikage felt relieved.

“Thank goodness…”

She remembered the scene where the tabby had climbed up a low tree─

The tree was growing as if overlooking the ravine from a cliff, and when the tabby jumped from the trunk to a branch, it swayed softly and dangerously.

This was risky.

Chikage approached slowly.

Suddenly, the tabby lost its balance.

It almost fell from the branch to the cliff, desperately clinging with its front paws. Chikage, startled, dashed forward.

(I will definitely protect it!)

She was frantic.

The tabby fell, and Chikage managed to catch it, but──

(──I slipped… but at least this little one is safe…)

It was good that she was able to save the tabby unharmed.

But she herself had slipped, hit her head, and seemed to have been unconscious for a while.

“Why don’t you run away?”

The tabby licked Chikage’s fingers but showed no sign of moving.

“So… you’ll stay with me…”

“Meow”

Chikage clenched her teeth, knowing she couldn’t stay like this.

“That’s right, my smartphone…”

It seemed impossible to search for it in the dark. Besides, her hands and feet were numb.

Still, she somehow pulled her feet out of the stream and leaned her back against a nearby tree to avoid the rain.

However─ she couldn’t seem to move any further. The pain in her sprained foot was getting worse, and her headache was severe, probably from hitting her head.

She knew the smartphone was her only lifeline, but she was losing the energy to search for it.

(I’m getting sleepy…)

As she started to doze off, the pain in her foot and the back of her head eased slightly.

“Meow”

“It’s okay. Maybe if I rest a bit, the numbness in my body will recover… Yes, just a little rest… You need to go back to the beach house──”

With that, Chikage loosened her grip on the tabby and closed her eyelids.

For just a moment, the image of a white kitten flashed behind her closed eyes─

Next to Chikage, who lay limp by the tree, a pure white cat approached.

“Meow, meow…”

The white cat pressed Chikage’s forehead with its paw.

When the white cat realized that Chikage remained limp and motionless, it lifted its head.

“Meow”

Between the harsh sounds of the rain, the cry of a cat echoed through the mountain——