Chapter 8 - A First Party, and a Personal History
Fam was a natural at gathering medicinal herbs. She would sniff the pressed flowers in the encyclopedia, then search the field for plants with the same scent. I, on the other hand, had to cut an herb and then compare it with the book over and over to make sure it was correct, a step she didn't need.
Combat, however, was another story. For starters, her attacks didn't seem to damage the monsters at all. They were just too light. She had good reflexes and was skilled at dodging, but she had no stamina and tired out quickly. I wanted to give her advice, but I was in a position to be receiving it myself, so I couldn't say a thing.
When a goblin's club caught her in the side, she burst into genuine tears. Forgetting we were in the middle of a battle, she dropped her weapon and just cried her eyes out. Even after I had her drink a potion and she healed, she couldn't stop crying. I felt like a bully forcing her to do something she hated.
"It's okay. It'll get better once your level goes up. Until then, I'll take the lead in fights. You just watch."
"No, I want to fight properly too!"
She had guts, at least. For some reason, she stood in front of me, ready to fight.
"Just don't push yourself too hard."
She nodded at my words, but I was left with nothing but anxiety. I tried to give her a slime's mana seed, but she wouldn't take it.
"Just drink it."
"I can't. I couldn't possibly accept something so expensive."
It seemed Fam was worried about the cost.
"I picked it up off the ground. I'll pick up more. Don't worry about it."
"Then you should drink it, Master."
"If you're not going to drink it, I'll shove it up your butt."
"Eek! Just you try it!"
Was she actually planning to fight me? She raised her sword and took a battle stance.
"I'll do it tonight while you're sleeping. I'll pull down your pants and shove it right in. I'll even wiggle my finger around until it's all the way in."
"Ugh, please don't do that. But... are you really sure I can have this?"
"Stop complaining and just drink it."
Fam finally drank the mana seed. Her stamina increased by one. How pathetic.
"Calmed down?"
"Yes, I'm sorry."
Fam looked dejected. I placed a hand on her head. She didn't resist. I tried stroking it. She accepted it. My hand brushed against her ear. I took the plunge and touched it.
"Whoa! What an incredible softness. How can I even describe this feeling? It's a perfect blend of fluffy and silky... so calming."
"Master?" Fam's voice brought me back to my senses. I pulled my hand away from her ear.
"Ah, sorry. Let's get back on topic. Right, in a way, I'm relieved."
"What do you mean?"
"There was this one person who was aggressive and strong. I thought that was normal, and I was getting desperate, thinking I had to become like that too. But my benchmark was wrong. You're what's normal, Fam. Things don't go well. You don't know what to do. Getting hit is scary. Fighting is scary."
"...Are you scared too, Master?"
"Scared isn't the half of it. I'm terrified."
Fam's level eventually reached 7, and her attacks started to connect with monsters, allowing her to defeat them. My level reached 10, and I became able to use beginner magic of the four elements. I gave them a test run. Fire Magic launched a fist-sized fireball at a monster. When it hit, it burst into flames. But it was faster to just pick up a rock and throw it. Water Magic also launched a fist-sized ball of water at monsters. It didn't seem to do any damage. As for Wind Magic, a gust of wind would hit the enemy for a moment, but... so what? Earth Magic, however, was quite useful. It fired a fist-sized rock at a considerable speed. I could adjust the mass, shape, and spin of the rock, making sliders, forkballs, and even knuckleballs possible. It was handy for distracting enemies. I devoted myself to developing my magic pitches. One of those pitches broke a little too much and hit Fam right on the butt. I'd been using a light stone for testing, so it didn't hurt her.
"Kya!"
She turned and glared at me. We were in the middle of a battle.
"Honestly! Could you please stop being lewd during a fight?"
Even as she said that, she had completely forgotten we were in combat.
"Fam, behind you, behind you!"
"Wha— hyaah!"
A scene straight out of a comedy routine unfolded.
As evening fell, we returned to the city. We didn't find any mana seeds today either. We stopped by the guild. The girl at the reception desk was the usual one.
"You found a companion, I see!"
That was the first thing she asked.
"Yeah. Here's this. And this is for the introduction."
I handed her a bundle of herbs, including yesterday's haul, and one gold coin.
"Wow, so the deal went well!"
"Yeah, you were a huge help."
"Feel free to ask me anything. I'm here to help!"
The receptionist beamed.
"Oh, right. The gold coin reminded me. There's a nominated quest for you, Mash-san. Here it is."
I took the request form. The reward was one gold coin. The quest was to exterminate goblins that were raiding a village's fields. The village was some distance away, requiring several nights of camping to get there. In total, we'd be tied up for ten days. We were to meet at the city's entrance gate tomorrow morning. It was too sudden.
"Why would I get a nominated quest like this? We're astonishingly weak, you know."
"You don't know the client, Aidan-san?"
"No, I barely know anyone in this city. And I definitely don't know anyone named Aidan."
I glanced at Fam, but she shook her head too.
"Aidan-san is an A-rank adventurer. He's a man of few words, but he's a very good person."
"What happens if I turn it down?"
"The guild will contact him. But I recommend you accept it."
"You think so?"
"I do," the receptionist said, nodding emphatically.
"Fam, what do you think?"
She was just a villager following me because I was playing adventurer. Right now, I wanted to gain experience in a safe environment. I wanted to refuse the quest. But the receptionist was saying we should take it. She must have been saying that based on her knowledge of our situation from the quests we'd completed so far.
"I will follow wherever you go, Master."
I wish she wouldn't just leave it all to me. But I made a decision.
"Alright, we'll take the quest. We'll show them just how weak we really are."
We ran into Wind Blade at the guild.
"You weren't at the inn! I was worried!"
"Mizuki."
Mizuki came over. She seemed to have a darker aura about her than when we first met. Maybe she wasn't adjusting to this world well.
"Yeah, circumstances changed, so we moved to a different inn."
Mizuki's gaze shifted to Fam, then stopped on her arm.
"Mash, you... I can't believe you!"
"It's not like that. Master was—" Fam started to make excuses on my behalf, but I stopped her.
"It's just as it looks. I bought this girl."
Even Fam was now looking at me with an expression of disbelief. She looked like she wanted to say something but remained silent.
"Slavery... that's just wrong!"
"Looks like you guys got a new one, too."
I looked at the arm of the muscular man who seemed to be the new member of Wind Blade. A slave crest was carved there as well.
"Ugh... Right. Let me introduce you. This is Beers. Reed brought him along."
Mizuki replied gloomily. By coincidence or not, he had the same name as the previous slave. It gave me an uncanny, creepy feeling. I looked at Reed. He noticed my gaze and smiled at me. I gave him a small wave in return.
"...Exploring on your own is too difficult. I think it's good that you found a companion."
Mizuki said. She sounded resigned, detached.
"Yeah."
"Tell me your inn. I want to be able to contact you if anything happens."
"The Asuka Inn. But I just got a nominated quest. I'll be out of the city for about ten days."
"Got it. I'm staying at the Great Ape Inn."
With a stiff expression, Mizuki nodded, and we parted ways.
Instead of heading back to the inn, we went to the market. One section of the city was a market district lined with shops and street stalls, selling everything from daily necessities and food to weapons and armor. We needed to prepare for a ten-day journey. That said, according to the quest form, the client would be providing necessary supplies like food. We casually browsed the shops, looking for anything that might be good to have.
"There are so many people. I'm afraid I'll get lost."
Fam was clutching my shirt.
"Is this your first time in a place like this?"
We bought some grilled skewers for a snack and ate them together. It was chicken. The sauce was delicious. The market had a lot of food for sale. It might be a good idea to buy ingredients and cook for ourselves.
"Yes, it's even more amazing than the festival day in my settlement."
Fam couldn't contain her curiosity, her eyes darting everywhere.
"It's not just the market; I don't know anything about this city. Master, please tell me about it."
"Well, actually, this is only my fourth day in this city. I hardly know anything either."
"Oh, is that so..."
I still hadn't told Fam that I was a transfer from another world. I figured I'd tell her eventually. Conversely, I didn't know anything about Fam either. Considering she'd been sold as a slave, it was a difficult topic to bring up. I decided to wait for her to bring it up herself.
"I have a guidebook called 'How to Walk the World.' I'll show it to you when we get back to the inn."
Before I knew it, we had passed through the market district. We turned around and headed back to the inn.
"By the way, Master, you're the type who likes to play the villain, aren't you? Could you tell me why you acted that way at the guild?"
"Hm? What are you talking about?"
"About Mizuki-san."
Fam said. I didn't intend to play the villain, but it seemed that's how it looked.
"Mizuki-san is the person with the light blue panties. She must be 'the strong, belligerent type' you mentioned. I don't think you should have acted that way, Master... no, I felt it was wrong."
"You're way too sharp! It'd be great if you were like that in a fight, too."
I didn't want to talk about it. I tried to change the subject.
"Ugh, I'm sorry. But I want to know more about you, Master." Fam persisted.
"I don't really understand the reason for my actions myself."
"Really? May I try to guess?"
"I like psychological games. I'd like to hear it."
"To put it simply, it's how a child acts toward someone of the opposite sex they're interested in."
"That's not—" I started to make an excuse, but now that she said it, it was spot on. Was I really that childish? I wanted to get Mizuki's attention, but I just didn't know what to say.
"How embarrassing... I'm not good at talking to the opposite sex. Where I came from, no girls ever talked to me."
"Is such a thing even possible?"
Fam looked at me with an expression of pure shock. That was the heaviest blow I'd taken all day.
On our way back to the inn, we passed by the spot where the slave trader's tent had been. It had been taken down, and the area was now just an empty lot. Fam looked like she wanted to say something but passed by in silence. I didn't know what was on her mind, so I kept quiet too. We arrived at the inn. The innkeeper naturally handed me the key to a double room. I thought Fam might complain, but she said nothing. As promised, I gave her the bound copy of 'How to Walk the World'.
"This smells like the person with the white panties."
"Correct!"
She seemed to enjoy the book's contents, reading it with delight. When it was time to wash up, she put up a sheet to act as a partition. And then she got into the same bed with me. Did she think I wouldn't attack her because she was on her period? She turned her back to me and fell asleep. I also drifted off to sleep.
In the middle of the night, I was woken by the sound of Fam crying. She was still facing away from me.
"...Mommy..."
She was so loud I thought about kicking her out of bed and onto the floor, but I decided against it. I was joking, of course.
"Can't sleep?" I asked.
"I'm sorry. I'll be quiet."
I placed a hand on Fam's head and stroked her dog ears. Fam didn't move.
"If I'm being too loud and you can't sleep, please just kick me out of the bed. I can't seem to help it myself."
How is she reading my mind?
"I was expecting you to do lewd things to me tonight. I am indebted to you. I will not resist."
"You're on your period. I'm not doing anything." Also, that's a twisted way of thinking. I should correct her, but since I do want to have sex, I'll keep my mouth shut.
"I can't believe you're being considerate of my body, Master."
"You've been awful to me since this morning. I don't mean to hold my kindness over your head, but the reason you're healthy right now is because I was considerate of you."
I had to protest.
"You're right. You've been doing lewd things to me all day, so I almost forgot. I respect and admire you, Master. I will try not to forget that."
"Respect and admire? You're the one who forgot, Fam. I wonder about that."
Fam rolled over to face me. She was close. I could see her clearly in the darkness. My heart began to pound.
"As an apology, of sorts, let's climb the church's Bell Tower after this quest is over. It was in the guidebook. It costs five copper coins to get in. It says the view of the city bathed in the evening sun is beautiful. There, I will give you the thing I treasure most."
"Even if you say that, you didn't have anything when we met, did you? Was it those rags you were wearing? I threw those out."
Was it something important? But that thing stank to high heaven.
"That's not it. You'll understand when we go."
Was she hiding something?
"Um, may I tell you about myself?"
"If it's a lewd story, I'm all ears."
"It's not a very pleasant story."
I nodded. It seemed to be a serious topic. I would try to listen without making jokes.
"I used to live in a settlement near the border with the Demon Kingdom."
There is an empire ruled by humans. The city we are currently in is governed by a feudal lord and belongs to the empire. To the east lies the Demon Kingdom, ruled by the demon race. Both are centered around a single race, and other races face no small amount of persecution. In the empire's case, it becomes more pronounced the closer you get to the capital. The Demon Kingdom is supposedly more lenient, but that doesn't mean there's no discrimination. There are places near the border, where neither side's rule extends, where races other than humans and demons have built towns and villages. Fam lived in one such settlement. They lived deep in the forest, hunting and gathering.
"I got sick when I was ten. Our settlement has a guardian deity who protects our village. But in return, the deity inflicts illness on one of the villagers."
"A sacrifice? What kind of deity is this 'guardian'?"
"They can't be chosen from the residents, but... yes. It's not so bad as to be called a sacrifice, though. Normally, as long as you don't leave the settlement, you'll recover in about five years. And no one has ever seen the guardian deity."
A god that curses people? Another thing to protest to Racshell about.
"So your illness got worse because you left the settlement."
She nodded.
"In that case, we should get you back to that settlement first."
That might mean parting ways with Fam. I'd have to make sure to do what I needed to do before then. She seemed to have steeled herself for it, too.
"Even when I was sick, my father and mother were with me. The people of the settlement treated me well, so I was happy. But six months ago, bandits attacked our settlement. We lost the fight. My father and mother died protecting me. The settlement was destroyed, and I don't know what happened to everyone else. Those who were captured were sold into slavery, just like me."
It seemed a raid had been conducted for the purpose of human trafficking. A settlement that belonged to no one wouldn't draw complaints from anywhere. Still, the guardian deity wasn't doing its job. What exactly was a guardian deity?
"So that's how you ended up being sold."
I understood how she had ended up in the slave market. I wondered if any of her fellow villagers had been sold in that tent. The caravan leader had said he bought Fam from someone else. And now they were no longer in the city.
"I have no place to go back to anymore. I wouldn't know what to do even if you told me to do as I please. Please let me help you, Master."
I wanted to say something clever to comfort her, but I couldn't find the words.
"I'm working as an adventurer, but I don't have any particular goal for my journey right now. Once our levels are a bit higher, let's leave this city and head east. We'll break your curse, Fam. And we'll try to gather information about your settlement, too."
Thank you for reading. To those who have bookmarked and rated, I am truly grateful. Thank you for the likes, too! It encourages me. I'll do my best.