As my body started its backward descent, my senses kicked into overdrive, and the blood that rushed through my eyes began to let me see time in slow motion, as if they were trying to prolong the inevitable.

In the midst of this impending danger, I caught the sight of that woman.

She abandoned her sandwich and dashed toward me, her movements abrupt yet purposeful.

The sandwich, a mundane object in any other circumstance, underwent a peculiar metamorphosis mid-air, akin to a transformer turning into their second form. It split apart, revealing an olive nestled between layers of lettuce and tomato. An odd choice for a sandwich.

Before I could even ponder her taste in sandwiches, her hand was inches away from my collar.

‘Ah.’

Was she attempting to rescue me from me being fallen into the water, or merely trying to seize me for some unknown purpose?

Despite her earlier apology, some doubts still lingered in my mind.

Similar doubts clouded my perception of this woman, presumably a fellow guild member of that kidnapper who turned me into a cat girl. Regardless of her intentions, accepting her aid was not a notion that crossed my mind.

Drawing upon my heightened reflexes, I maneuvered my body to evade her grasp.

Whoosh—

Her hand grasped nothing but air, her widened eyes betraying her surprise.

Whoah. I actually managed to escape her clutch.

Go me.

As I prepared to vocalize my astonishment, I descended into the pond with a resounding splash.

“Uh—!”

No sense in panicking over a mere dip in the water. The pond, tranquil and clear, seemed to have been purified by some enchantment.

However, panic seized me when water infiltrated my animal ears.

“Pfah!”

Struggling to maintain composure, I rose to my feet in the waist-deep water.

“~~**!!@–”

The water that clogged my ears made me unable to hear what the woman’s trying to say.

Was she gesturing for me to take her hand and come out? What if she pushes me again after I grab her hand?

Reluctant to accept her assistance, I opted to ascend the well-kept brick wall lining the pond.

Her actions seemed more likely to be malevolent than friendly.

“……”

Had my refusal offended her?

She continued to reach out, her gaze unwavering, but I remained indifferent to her presence.

The dilemma of waterlogged ears plagued my thoughts. For a human, a simple hop might suffice, but how does one rid animal ears of water?

Vainly, I attempted to shake the water loose, to no avail.

Desperation led me to crouch down, massaging my ears in a futile attempt to drain them.

‘Ah.’

Slowly but surely, the water began to recede.

It seemed I would be stuck in this undignified position for a while longer.

✱✱✱

Yu-na, being a mage, had excellent memory and comprehension.

Therefore, she fully understood what had just happened with the child.

‘She dodged my hand.’

The frightened child had stepped back and fallen into the pond.

Sensing the crisis, Jung Yu-na quickly tried to catch her, but the child chose to fall into the pond rather than accept help.

The child managed to twist her body in that short time to avoid her extended hand.

It was clear she preferred falling into the pond over receiving assistance.

‘Crap, this is serious…’

The child’s trust was completely gone.

No, it was worse than that – it had sunk below rock bottom.

Despite her gentle nature, she showed nothing but hostility, her trust already plummeting to the negative.

It was to be expected, given everything that had happened.

Though her heart ached, Jung Yu-na knew there was no easy way to mend this.

Rather than wallow in her own sadness, her priority was to help the child.

“Are–are you okay? Do you want to take my hand and come up?”

Jung Yu-na extended her hand towards the child.

Glancing at the hand, the child ignored Jung Yu-na completely and climbed out of the pond on her own.

While being ignored was shocking, Jung Yu-na knew this was a common occurrence for the child.

She must have spent her life feeling this way.

“Ah…”

How could she regain the child’s trust?

Failing to find an answer, Jung Yu-na remained frozen as the child started shaking water off her head.

Shake, shake, shake-

The child rapidly shook her head from side to side, then used her hands to frantically shake her ears and hair.

“There, there—!”

Jung Yu-na could dry her off in an instant with her fire magic.

As she was about to approach the child,

“Eh—!”

The child, startled by the sudden approach, quickly crouched down.

She raised her hands above her head in a defensive posture, a pitiful sight.

The child looked terrified from every angle.

The thought that this action is being done because of her shaked Jung Yu-na’s heart to its very core.

It would be best for her to disappear for the child’s sake, but in this situation, it felt wrong for her to just leave her alone.

As Jung Yu-na stood there, not knowing what to do, stroking her own hand, people walking in the park started to murmur.

“What’s that?”

“Did she push the kid into the water?”

“Come on, Jung Yu-na wouldn’t do that.”

Yes, she would.