Page 125 of A Soul to Touch

“You didn’t even have a drink with us!” Klaus exclaimed as she walked to the bar to pay. “I have to show you up from last time.”

Mayumi didn’t bother to answer. She’d bet them many times in the past that she could drink them both under the table – sometimes winning that bet, sometimes having to be carted out over someone’s shoulder because she couldn’t walk anymore.

But Faunus was waiting for her, and she really needed to get what she came here for.

Okay. Get my tea, figure out who sells the glues I need, and then get out. That should be easy enough.

It wasn’t. About five minutes after finishing her tasks, as she was about to leave this wretched city, she heard the voice of one of the many people she would rather avoid.

“Mayumi!” she heard a woman shriek, sending a crawl of dread up her spine.

Her immediate reaction was to find somewhere to hide. A barrel, behind a counter, she’d even use a small child as a shield at this stage.

Oh, God. Oh, shit.She searched and found nowhere.Fuck!

“Clara!” Mayumi shouted with false joy as she spun around, trying her hardest to smile warmly.

The blonde-haired, buxom, and curvy woman had lifted her frilly skirt up to walk at a fast pace in Mayumi’s direction, probably to make sure she couldn’t run without it being obvious.

Mayumi’s hands lifted partially in greeting. They were also a half-hearted shrug, the awkwardness of this causing heat to rise on the back of her neck.

She couldn’t have just pretended not to see me, could she?

“Look, I’m sure I have some explaining to do,” Mayumi said with warmth in her eyes, understanding why Clara might be rather upset with her. She had every right to be, after all. “I’m sorry that–”

The resoundingslapthat struck her had her head twisting to the side from the sudden unexpectedness of it.

“I told you last time that I wasn’t interested in a one-night stand,” Clara bit, shaking her hand as the back of her knuckles began to turn pink. “And yet, you disappear in the middle of the night... again? Right after you promised me you wouldn’t? Then you even left coin on my nightstand, like I’m nothing but a filthy whore. You’re lucky I’m not brave enough to walk through the forest to that very home of yours!”

From the heat Mayumi could feel in her cheek, she knew that slap was going to stain her face for some time, possibly even swell.

All the warmth and niceness in Mayumi’s expression died as she turned her piercing, narrowed gaze in Clara’s direction. The woman, who had been filled with fire just seconds ago, tensed her lips together and shied away a little.

Mayumi had always been all sweet-talk, playfulness, and patience because it always got her what she wanted – a half-decent lay. She was used to being yelled at by those from her sexual past and having awkward conversations.

But she’dneverbeen struck by one.

Placing her hand on the hilt of her dagger, Mayumi rolled her shoulders back while lifting her head.

A small crowd of people had stopped to witness the spectacle, needing the dramatic entertainment. The people’s nosiness was disgusting.

“You shouldn’t have done that, Clara,” she said through gritted teeth before taking in a calming breath. “Was that really the wisest choice, the only action you could have taken?”

“You deserved it.” Clara eventually crossed her arms and turned her nose up at her, deciding to ride the wave of her stupidity. “You can’t do anything to me, not if you don’t want to be arrested.”

One thing Mayumi hated was violence towards another. She wouldn’t permit anyone to lay a hand on her or on another person. Death and pain could be for Demons and bandits.

She pulled her dagger out and inspected it, just because shecould.

“Sure, I can’t hurt you.” She pointed the tip at her, although they were at least a metre apart now. “But there’s no law in place that says I can’t cut that pretty dress off you and make you parade around naked for all to see.”

Mayumi wasn’t sure if that was a lie or not, but no one was going to follow her into the forest to arrest her for something like that. Plus, Clara was from the peasant sector. A rich person might be able to hold some power and sway, but she was a nobody in Colt’s Outpost. Just a very pretty face.

“You wouldn’t!” Clara squealed, clutching at the skirt of her dress with both hands as she stepped back.

“You people seem to think that just because I mind my own business and try to be nice that I’m not dangerous. I’m sorry for hurting you, but that still doesn’t give you the right to hit me. Go home, Clara.” Mayumi nodded her head in the direction of the woman’s home. “Now, before I change my mind.”

“Bitch,” Clara muttered under her breath, before running off.

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