High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 2131: Chapter 252: I Have a Friend (Part 1)

Saturday night.

Jiuyou Academy Back Garden, Dormitory Hill, Dorm 403.

The Black Cat returned from the night under a starry sky, as usual, bypassing the main door and slipping through the window, savoring the familiar scent of the room and leisurely shaking off the moonlight clinging to its fur.

Then its steps halted at the edge of the desk.

”Eh? Isn’t everyone asleep yet?”

The Black Cat, with its paw lifted but not yet landing, tilted its head and eyed the three roommates in the room — particularly a certain Moonlight Noble — with a hint of surprise in those eyes: ”Dylan, didn’t you say you have a Moon Gathering to attend after tonight’s training? Why are you still in the dorm at this hour?”

Xiao Xiao adjusted his glasses slightly, glanced at the newly arrived Black Cat, and remained silent; Xin Fat Man hugged Tuan Tuan, with a schadenfreude smile, discreetly took a small step back, trying to hide in the shadows of the curtains — which, given his size, was quite a challenge.

The Blood Werewolf, who had until then been facing away, slowly turned, revealing a bruised face, disheveled hair, and a dirty robe, startling the Black Cat and causing the fur on its neck to stand up.

”Do you think,” Dylan’s voice was calm, but the resentment within was almost tangible, as he pointed at himself: ”...with this appearance, can I attend a Moon Gathering?”

The Moon Gathering is a social event organized by creatures of the Moon Council, who fancy themselves as Moonlight Nobles, and it takes particular pride in various strange etiquettes and rules. With Dylan’s current disgraceful state, he indeed wasn’t suited for such an event.

The Black Cat collected itself, and the fur on its neck softened once more.

”Wow, tonight’s Hunting Team Training must have been fierce, daring to mess up our gentleman’s hairstyle!” It jested, not returning to its bed, but instead perched on the edge of the desk, casting glances around, and noticed something amiss: ”...Which position was Dylan in today? Doctor, why do you and Fat Man look so clean?”

The Fat Wizard let out an odd whimper, seemingly laughing or attempting to say something.

”Ahem,” Xiao Xiao cleared his throat lightly and mumbled, ”Dylan was the Hunter today... um... actually, the training wasn’t that intense... his injuries, ahem.”

The last few words were a bit muffled, making it hard for the Black Cat to hear, causing its ears to twitch involuntarily.

”Injuries from what?” It asked bluntly, lacking tact.

”These injuries were from being beaten!” The Blood Werewolf replied to Zheng Qing’s query with a listless expression.

The ease on the Black Cat’s face faded. It slowly got up, leaning forward like a black panther, its eyes flashing with a dangerous light, its voice low: ”Who hit you? Someone from Alpha? Or some Moon Council punks? Did the patrol ignore it? If they did, does that mean we can retaliate!”

The conflict between Jiuyou Academy and Alpha was long-standing, and clashes during night training of the two academies’ hunting teams were frequent, so it was no wonder Zheng Qing’s first response was that; the other guess stemmed from Dylan’s particular mixed bloodline, occasionally attracting attacks from some pure-blood obsessed Moonlight creatures.

Unfortunately, both guesses of the Black Cat were wrong.

”It was Jiang Yu.” The Blood Werewolf stared at the big cat on the table with wistful eyes, pronouncing each syllable clearly.

The Black Cat twitched its ears, slowly resuming its original sitting position.

”Huh?”

It seemed to take a long time to digest this answer and then paused for a moment before tentatively asking: ”Was it a mishap during combat training? Should we go to the campus hospital? Don’t worry, the hunting team’s public funds can cover these expenses!”

It patted its chest, taking on the problem boldly.

”No, she just straightforwardly beat me up.” After mentioning the name, Dylan clearly loosened up, expressing his situation more clearly.

The confusion on the Black Cat’s face deepened.

It was silent for a moment, first tilting its head towards Xiao Xiao.

”I remember you said she was supervising Li Meng on her homework tonight?” After asking this, the Black Cat seemed to finally sort out its thoughts and turned back to the Blood Werewolf: ”And what did you do to provoke her? For as long as I’ve known her, I’ve never seen her get emotional... it’s hard to imagine her beating you this badly... Did you apologize?”

Student Dylan looked at the Black Cat in disbelief.

”I!”

He pointed to the bruises on his face with a backhand, lowered his voice to a roar, exposing two pale little fangs: ”I’m the one who got beaten! Why should I apologize!! And she was very calm while hitting me! Very calm!”

”Unexpected, all of it is unexpected.” Doctor Xiao hurriedly took the role of a peacemaker, blocking between the Black Cat and the Blood Werewolf, swiftly explaining: ”Li Meng finished her homework rather quickly today, so after finishing it and finding it early, she too joined the training... At that time, Dylan was signing autographs for several Witches, um, they got a bit too close, huh, and one of the autographs ended up on some intimate clothing... Just happened to be caught by the Monitor...”

”What intimate clothing! It was just a short sock!” The Blood Werewolf protested.

”Haha, Dylan has also started giving autographs now...” Mid-sentence, the smile on the Black Cat’s face suddenly froze; it finally remembered Dylan had taken Compound Soup Remedy tonight, impersonating his appearance to attend the training.

That is to say, it was ’Zheng Qing’ giving signatures to a bunch of Witches?

Close enough?

And a sock?!

Then, the one beaten was ’Zheng Qing’?!!

As the Black Cat sorted through these facts, its face, which had been merely eavesdropping on gossip, turned pale; it sprang upright, its form doubling in size, occupying most of the desk in an instant.

”You used my appearance to flirt!” It yelled, nearly frantic, its voice resonating through the room like a buzz.

The Fat Wizard, who had been observing the spectacle, could not contain himself anymore, bursting into laughter along with the Fat Cat in his arms, both rolling into a heap of amusement.

”What do you mean flirt! I was merely maintaining the persona!” Although Dylan’s reply lacked confidence, his tone was undeniably resolute: ”You said before leaving, if someone wants a signature, just sign it for them...”

”But I didn’t mean for you to sign on their socks!” The Black Cat roared, spitting with fervor.

”Clean socks, clean socks!” The Blood Werewolf deftly dodged half of the spittle, arguing: ”It’s a keepsake, what’s the difference from a hat or a notebook!”

The Black Cat took a deep breath, staring at that bruised face across from it, ultimately deciding to postpone biting off his head.

Then it turned to Xiao Xiao, with a slight hint of prayer in its heart, softly supplementing the inquiry: ”Did you mention to her...he was fake after she started?”

With its gaze, it signaled towards the gloomy-faced Blood Werewolf beside.

Xiao Xiao lifted two fingers, slowly adjusting his glasses, and replied in a smaller voice: ”I did... I reminded her right after she hit him the first time... then she paused a bit, um, maybe didn’t, not sure if it was a delusion... overall, I think she hit even harder after I said it...”

The early winter chill seeped through the window cracks.

The Black Cat shivered several times.