I Can't Deal With These Girls! [HoloID]

Chapter 5: How to Reconcile With a Cat

Upon returning to Kaela, she saw the unconscious Zeta and showed a distraught expression unlike her usual self. "I know I'm the one that told you to get her, but do you really need to go this far?" Kaela asked.

"Trust me, I wouldn't if I didn't have to. She was slippery as a catfish. I even jumped from the third floor just to catch her! Gosh, my poor coat..." I lamented while rubbing my coat, which had turned even more worn out from the stunt I pulled off. The scratches it gained from slowing my fall became yet another mark of the ordeals I've gone through.

"Also, she's responsible for this." I pointed at Sari to evade any blame.

"...Are you really going to be like this, detective?" Sari shot out a gaze at me, but my steel-plated resolve to avoid any blame deflected any criticism that she had toward me.

After checking Zeta's condition, Kaela muttered, "She didn't seem to be injured, so I'll let it slide for now. Let's find a place to rest while we wait for her to wake up. Give her to me."

I followed Kaela's request and helped put Zeta into a piggyback on Kaela's back. After carefully nestling Zeta's head on her shoulder, Kaela effortlessly carried her while beckoning us to follow her. She walked away from the busy market street and headed for a nearby park. Moving from the hectic market into the breezy air of the park made me feel comfortable enough to put on my coat and stash my hands inside its pockets.

After finding an empty bench under a tree, Kaela settled on it and laid Zeta's head on her lap softly. Seeing how she acted, she must've been doing this sort of thing for quite a while.

"You really care about her, don't you?" I blurted out.

Her hand that was about to stroke Zeta's head immediately froze midair, as if she just realized that we had been following her. A hint of redness showed itself on her face as she answered, "...This girl is just too clumsy. I sometimes worry that I would get some gray hairs from worrying over her all the time."

"You seem to enjoy it, though." I remarked.

Despite her harsh words, she stuck around Zeta to the point of hiring us to find her and taking care of her while she was unconscious. Her flustered reaction earlier wasn't doing her any favors to hide her thoughts either.

Kaela exhaled a sigh after hearing my remark, "You're too sharp for your own good, detective. I hope one day you can figure out how to keep your thoughts to yourself."

"Agreed. He can't keep his mouth shut to save his life sometimes," Sari added on.

"The hell? Why are you guys ganging up on me all of a sudden? Did you plan this?" The sudden two-pronged attack left me flabbergasted.

"Who knows, detective? Why don't you try to solve this one by yourself?" Sari replied with a smirk.

I could only grumble under my breath in response. Figuring out how their minds worked seemed like an insurmountable mystery to me. Determining that solving this mystery would be too much of a headache, I decided to give up on it.

"Ugh..."

A low groan escaped from Zeta. Had our ruckus caused her to wake up? Kaela watched her over as Zeta slowly regained her consciousness. Upon opening her eyes, Zeta's shoulders jolted in surprise after seeing Kaela.

"Kaela? H-Huh?! Why am I...?" Zeta muttered before belatedly realizing that she'd been resting on Kaela's lap.

"You were knocked unconscious earlier. Just rest for a while," Kaela explained while stopping Zeta from getting up.

I took the chance to bow my head and apologize, "I would like to apologize as well. I didn't mean for this to happen, I simply didn't expect my apprentice to do something like that. If you'd like to, please let out all your grievances at her."