Catgirls And Dungeons (Yuri)

Damn…

This shadow blade is insanely sharp.

It glides through the Vanessa Lily stems like it's slicing through air—effortless, smooth, not even a whisper of resistance. I even tried testing it on a small block of ice nearby… and it cut straight through like butter. Clean. Precise.

No wonder Eris could dice up that giant frog boss like it was made of paper mache. Her weapons aren't just fancy—they're crazily deadly!

One by one, I carefully slice the lilies, then use the little claw tool to gently lift them up—trying my best not to damage the delicate crystal petals. I carry each one back to the enchanted storage box and place them inside like precious treasures.

The cold still bites at my nose and ears, but moving around like this is helping. My blood's pumping, my tail's swishing—I'm actually kinda into it now!

And just like that, ten minutes fly by.

"Hehe, I got 534 flowers!" Eris beams proudly, tapping the side of her now nearly full storage box.

Meanwhile…

"I-I got 55!" I squeak, feeling a little bit… dis encouraged.

Yikes.

"Good job, Felicia!" Eris flashes me a grin and gives me a big thumbs-up. Her tail flicks happily behind her.

But… I don't know.

Even though I worked really hard, I only picked a tenth of what she did.

My ears droop a little, and I clutch the grabber tool in my hands, pouting.

Huhu… I feel kinda useless.

Eris, of course, notices immediately. She nudges my arm gently.

"Hey, I know that face!" she says, smiling. "You're not useless at all. You helped however you could—and you're a strong emotional support! And that matters!"

Tap. Tap. Tap.

She reaches up and pats my head.

I still pout a little… but her words help.

Well, she's Eris. She's literally superwoman anyway.

I mean, how am I supposed to compete with an A-rank adventurer?

Knowing that makes me feel a bit better.

"Ermm… but what about those flowers?" I ask, pointing toward a patch of untouched lilies a little farther out. "Aren't we gonna collect those too?"

Eris shakes her head.

"Nope. We shouldn't." She crosses her arms. "If we pick everything, there won't be anything left to grow next time, right?"

"Ooooh! Right!" I nod quickly.

That makes sense!

Leave some behind. Let nature recover.

Any good hunter-gatherer knows that rule! Never take everything.

"Okay, so in total…" Eris taps her chin, eyes squinting, tail swaying back and forth as she tries to think. "My 534, plus your 55, that's… hmmmm… hmmmmm…"

I blink.

Wait…

Her tail is swishing faster now. Her brows furrow like she's solving some world-class mystery.

Is it just me…

Or is Eris bad at math?

Aha!

My moment has come!

I straighten up, puff out my chest, and beam proudly.

"Five hundred and eighty-nine!"

Eris gasps. "Wait—Felicia, you can do math?!"

"Nn!" I nod firmly, my tail flicking with excitement.

"Damn, that's amazing!" she grins, impressed. "Well, I don't know if that's the right answer or not, but if you say so, I believe it! 589 it is!"

She claps me on the shoulder, and I can't help the proud grin stretching across my face.

Finally!

Finally, there's something I'm better at than Eris!

"Hehe." I giggle, puffing up with pride as I cradle my tools like a math champion holding a trophy.

"Alright, then… the pay is 2000 crowns for every 10 flowers…" Eris murmurs, recalling the details of the quest. "Then, in total… hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm…."

I perk up immediately, tail swishing.

"It's 200 per flower! So that means we made… 117,800 crowns!" I beam proudly, doing the math in a flash.

"Wow!" Eris blinks in surprise. "Felicia, seriously—are you some kind of genius?"

"You bet!!!" I puff out my chest, grinning from ear to ear.

But then—

Wait.

117,800 crowns…

My brain catches up to the number I just said.

Did we just make over 100k in a single day?!

HOLY SHIT!!!

No wonder Eris is always so casually loaded!

SHE'S FILTHY RICH!

So this is how high-level adventurers make their money?!

I can feel the imaginary gold coins raining down in my mind. I could buy so many snacks… maybe even a tiny house with that kind of money!

But before I can bask in our glorious wealth any longer—

"Hehe, not so fast," Eris says, cutting off my mental celebration. "The quest notice mentioned there's a payout cap. Maximum they'll pay for is 20,000 crowns."

"Eh???" I freeze. My ears twitch, and I immediately dive into my bag, pulling out the crinkled quest paper.

My eyes scan the fine print, and—

"EHHHHHHHH?????"

My entire soul leaves my body.

"T-T-Then…" I stammer, hands trembling, "we just picked hundreds of extra flowers for NOTHING?! What do we do with all of them?! THROW THEM BACK?!"

Eris giggles, clearly amused by my complete emotional meltdown.

She pats my head reassuringly.

"Don't worry, silly. None of them will be wasted."

"Huh?"

"The flowers can last forever once stored inside this enchanted box," she explains calmly. "And besides… I know a few buyers who'd pay good money for them. Private collectors, alchemists, potion shops…"

"O-OOOOHHHH!!!" I breathe a huge sigh of relief, practically collapsing from the stress. "You scared me to death there!"

Eris just laughs softly.

"Alright," she says, walking over to the storage cube. "Let's pack it up."

She gently taps the large metal box with her hand.

At once, the cube begins to rumble softly, glowing faintly at its corners. Then—

Shhhhnnk.

It starts to shrink.

Smaller…

Smaller…

Until it's no bigger than a Rubik's cube—small, compact, and polished to a silvery shine.

"Damn, that's convenient!" I marvel, eyes wide.

"Yup," Eris says casually, tossing the cube into the air and catching it with a smooth spin.

"But… is it heavy?" I ask curiously. "It shrinks in size, but what about the weight?"

"Hmmm~? Wanna try holding it?" Eris grins, holding the cube out to me.

Gulping a little, I brace myself—expecting it to feel like a brick or worse—and take it with both hands.

"Eh…?"

I blink.

"It's light!"

I toss it from hand to hand, eyebrows raised in surprise.

It's still quite heavy, as it is made of metal, but way lighter than it supposed to be!

"Yup," Eris nods. "Once the box is sealed, the flowers are stored in a pocket dimension. Their physical weight disappears entirely."

"Ooooooohh!!! That's amazing!" I spin the cube around, now thoroughly impressed. "Can it store other stuff too? Like clothes? Weapons?"

"Yes, it can," Eris confirms, chuckling. "As long as you can fit them inside! The opening is size-limited, but the space inside is… well, magical."

"And how much does this thing cost?" I ask, admiring the smooth metal sides.

"Mmm… a few million crowns."

…

"WHAAAAAAT?!!"

I shriek internally.

A FEW. MILLION. CROWNS?!?!?!

My hands go stiff.

My grip loosens.

And—

"OH NO!!!"

The cube slips from my hands, falling straight toward the ice.

But before it can hit—

WHOOSH.

Eris snatches it out of the air with lightning speed.

She raises an eyebrow.

"Careful," she says calmly.

"I-I'm sorry!!!" I squeak, my face flushing red with shame. My ears droop. My tail curls in guilt.

Oh no oh no oh no, I almost dropped something worth millions—

But instead of scolding me…

Eris just grins and leans forward.

"Silly Felicia," she says gently.

Boop.

She flicks my nose again.

"Hehe…" I can't help it—I giggle.

Despite everything… Eris always knows how to make me feel okay.

Eris stashes the enchanted cube safely back into her backpack.

"Alright, flowers are done. Now for the monsters' cores," she says, straightening up.

"Oh, right!" I blink.

If she hadn't reminded me, I would've totally forgotten!

Vanessa Lilies might be the primary reward, but they're not the only valuable loot here.

The frogs—that entire army of massive, ice-bodied monsters—each one had a core.

A gleaming, magical orb of solid frost mana, nestled somewhere deep in their chests.

Each one about the size of a baseball, shining with an eerie, bluish glow.

And now…

There are thousands of them.

Littered all over the battlefield like sparkling gemstones—embedded in piles of shattered ice, half-buried in snow, and scattered across the lake's surface like pearls after a jewelry store explosion.

I glance around, my heart sinking a little.

"…Uhm."

My ears droop.

"…How exactly are we supposed to collect all of these?"

It would take forever to go around and pick them up one by one!

But Eris just smiles, completely unbothered.

"Don't worry," she says confidently, pulling something out of her bag.

It's a small, clear crystal—about the size of a baseball.