After finishing the battle with the Anzu, Flamm had a problem. In order to complete the adventurer guild"s request she needed werewolf fangs, but they were all in the Anzu"s stomach.

“Swallowing only the upper bodies, what a picky eater.”

Flamm kicked the Anzu"s body in frustration. Even if she wanted to search for another group of Werewolves, the sun was going to set soon. In the dark forest at night, there was no guarantee that she could pick a fight and then get out safely.

There was only one way to get the quest item.

“I guess there"s no choice.”

The Anzu"s skin was tough and its muscles were thick, but it was nothing Flamm"s sword couldn"t handle. However, sinking the blade into the belly of the dead body and exposing its organs was a struggle against the intense smell as much as anything else. Fortunately, she found the stomach quickly and confirmed that the upper body of at least one undigested Werewolf was inside.

Flamm had grown up in the countryside. She was not a delicate n.o.ble lady by any stretch of the imagination. Even so, she found herself gagging as she reached in through the cut she had sliced open in the Anzu"s stomach. She pushed down her revulsion and pushed further, finding the Werewolf"s snout. She grabbed hold of it and dragged it free.

She tossed the werewolf to the side as soon as it was out. She couldn"t help but take a moment to study her hands. They were covered in mucus and the smell made her retch. She scrubbed them against a nearby tree trunk and the surrounding gra.s.s, but the smell still lingered.

Flamm kicked the Anzu again for the trouble it was causing her after death. With a sigh, she reached in to the stomach again, pushed through, did her best not to think about what she was doing, and dragged out the next Werewolf.

When all of the Werewolves were laid before her on the ground, she still had to carve out the fangs from their mouths. Unpleasant, but much easier than dragging them out of the Anzu"s stomach had been. With that done, Flamm had succeeded in retrieving the quest item. If she brought them to the guild, by all rights she should get her adventurer"s license.

“When I think about that arrogant receptionist, I want to do more than just succeed at the request.”

In order to not just succeed but to rub that nasty woman"s nose in her success… for that, Flamm wanted to take a part of the Anzu.

“I wish I knew what part of the Anzu is in high demand.”

Naturally, monsters had high-value parts and low-value parts. Flamm didn"t even have a backpack, so she couldn"t carry many materials at all. Even if she did have a pack, there would still be a limit to what she could take. In order to earn money efficiently, she would need to learn how to judge the value of the monster"s body parts. Although things would be different if she had a large-capacity magic bag that used the same storage mechanism as epic equipment, Flamm was far from that level. For now, she could only take one piece of the Anzu with her.

“Well, I guess I"d like to have its fangs.”

As with the werewolf, most monster"s fangs were a useful material for making weapons, armor, and accessories. Flamm hit the Anzu"s fang a few times with her sword in order to free it from its mouth. Then she picked it up with both arms and lifted it. The fang was surprisingly heavy, but not so much that it couldn"t be carried.

While holding her spoils in both hands, Flamm began walking toward where Milkit should be waiting.

◇ ◇ ◇

Night fell as the day came to an end. Milkit was sitting on a stump near the entrance of the forest. One hand was clutching at her chest as she stared at the forest with uneasy eyes, waiting for the return of her master.

Three hours had pa.s.sed since she split up from Flamm. The battle should already have ended. It was strange that she wasn"t back yet.

“I … I will keep waiting for Master"s return.”

Milkit"s heart hurt at the thought that she may never see Flamm again. She had never cared before about the life or death of others. Even her previous masters were just tools who gave her a small amount of food in exchange for her servitude.

Certainly, a normal person might have considered hers an unhappy life. However, as an apathetic doll, it was easy for her to avoid having to worry about relationships with others.

Her relationship with Flamm was not easy.

If Flamm survived and came back for her…. From that point on, her life tomorrow and the day after tomorrow was probably something impossible for Milkit to imagine. Treated as a person, allowed to laugh, possibly having her face healed. Ah, the more you have, the more you can lose. While Milkit treasured Flamm"s kindness, she was still terrified of loss.

But she still wanted to see the future ahead.

She didn"t want to be hurt. She hated pain. She could endure it, but she still longed for a life without pain. Worse than pain, though, would be the feeling of giving up hope.

“Phew, at last I got out. I"m tired!”

Milkit was drawn out of her thoughts by a familiar voice. Standing up and looking toward the forest, she could see Flamm approaching. Flamm was dirty and blood spattered, her arms full of the spoils of battle.

“Master!”

Milkit was glad Flamm was all right. In the moment she saw Flamm"s figure, that was the first thought that came into her mind. She was too shy to say so but she did laugh out loud.

That"s definitely the answer. Milkit was still not sure what it felt like to worry for another person, but she was starting to believe in her instincts. She ran forward.

Flamm was walking slowly. She smiled as Milkit approached.

“I"m back.”

“Welcome back, Master.”

Milkit tried to take some of the items Flamm was carrying.

“Careful, you"ll get blood on yourself and your clothes.”

“I don"t mind.”

“If you"re my slave, you need to take care of yourself more,” Flamm said. Laughing, she hadn"t over the werewolf fangs. The Anzu fang was too heavy to give to Milkit.

“Ah, Master, I guess the big fang is from the Anzu,” Milkit said, “but where did you get the gauntlet?”

In addition to the Anzu"s fang, Flamm was indeed carrying a b.l.o.o.d.y gauntlet.

“Oh, this – I pa.s.sed the corpses of some adventurers on the way back.”

In the darkness of the forest, Flamm had stumbled and nearly fell. She had cried out in shock and dropped the Anzu"s fang when she saw the body that had tripped her. It might have seemed like an overreaction from somebody who had survived being chopped into pieces, but in the end scary things were scary.

The body she had tripped over was wearing a full set of armor. When Flamm saw it, she remembered something from her days with the hero"s party.

– She had wanted to be useful to everyone, but there was hardly anything she could do.

Flamm was keenly aware of her inability. In order to help, she tried to learn from the others. After all, everybody in the party was a top-notch adventurer. She was nervous about putting more burdens on them, but surprisingly some of them were happy to teach. Maybe they felt sorry for her.

One of them was Gadio, “Star Breaker"s Strong Arm.” He wore black armor on his gigantic body, and his silent, scarred face was quite intimidating, but he was surprisingly helpful.

Flamm"s physical ability was too low for her to be useful, but she did learn some basic swordsmanship. He also gave her some practical tips on adventuring.

“You will often find rotting corpses in dangerous areas. If they are wearing excellent equipment, most people will take that as supplemental income.”

“Isn"t that like grave robbery?”

“You don"t have to bury equipment with its owner,” Gadio had explained. “To honor the deceased it"s better to use it effectively.”

“Aren"t you scared of being haunted by the owner?”

“Do you believe in that kind of thing?”

“Sorry, sorry. Adventurers have to be more practical, right?”

“Actually, you"re right to be cautious. Equipment taken from a body may be stained with a curse from the former owner.”

“There really is such a thing?”

“Yes, it is the so-called ‘cursed equipment" that can reduce stats, resist removal, and sometimes harm the wearer directly,” Gadio had said. “But you won"t get caught by that kind of thing as long as you scan it first.”

“I can"t use scanning magic though.”

“Oh, that"s right. Then find a friend to help you. Adventurers shouldn"t be by themselves, anyway. Its good to have somebody to hold you back when you need to be held back and push you forward when you need to be pushed forward.

– That was a lesson that he taught to Flamm.

The important part that she remembered was that equipment could be cursed by its deceased owner. She scanned the equipment on the dead bodies one by one. In the end, she found one piece of cursed equipment.

——————–

Name: Blood-stained Gauntlet

Quality: Rare

[This equipment reduces your strength by 82]

[This equipment reduces your magical power by 101]

——————–

Although it was inferior to epic equipment, it would still allow Flamm to increase her stats by 183. When she saw it she made a brief apology to the corpse before separating the gauntlet from the body. If Gadio"s words were true, the previous owner shouldn"t bear a grudge over her putting the gauntlet to use.

Milkit regarded the gauntlet with caution after hearing Flamm explain that it was cursed equipment.

“Ah, it should be safe as long as you don"t wear it. I don"t mind carrying it, though.”

“You are already carrying that heavy fang, I can"t relax as your slave like this.”

“Seriously, it"s fine.”

In this way, the two of them headed back to the capital after fulfilling their mission.

◇ ◇ ◇

The sky was completely dark. The capital was bustling in an entirely different way now that night had fallen. The bars were noisier, and the magic lamps illuminating the street shone down on women putting their bodies on display. Some of their customers even started to approach Flamm, only to show disgust and walk away once they saw the slave mark on her cheek.

“Ah, it"s late,” Flamm said.

“Yes. Will the guild be open?”

Flamm was just worrying about that very thing. The guild"s signboard hadn"t said anything about its operating hours.

“I hope so,” Flamm said. “I don"t want to spend the whole night walking around with these fangs in hand.”

While they were talking, they made their way to the adventurer"s guild. As they got close, they heard the same noises drunken revelry that had been coming from other taverns. It seemed there had been no need to worry.

Flamm pushed the door open with her shoulder and walked in. Her entrance drew the attention of the men inside. The first time that she had come the gazes were all hostile, but now there was some curiosity mixed in. That was not to mention the dramatic reaction of the men who had been wagering over her life and death.

The receptionist, Ella, pulled a face as Flamm and Milkit approached the counter.

“This is the requested item,” Flamm said.

Milkit placed the werewolf fangs on the counter. Ella touched them with her fingers, then glared at Flamm.

“With this, did I complete the examination?”

“You can"t be an adventurer! You"re a dirty slave!”

Ella screamed at Flamm while grabbing the fangs and throwing them at Flamm"s face. Flamm caught the fangs out of the air. She then set them back down on the counter.

“Isn"t it the guild"s job to give rewards to the adventurer who fulfills its requests?”

“Aah…”

“Please buy this too,” Flamm said, setting the Anzu"s fang on the desk. The wood groaned under its weight.

“What, what-”

“C rank monster, Anzu. Its fang,” Flamm said. “I accidentally encountered it when looking for werewolves. I killed it and brought the part that I thought would be valuable.”

The adventurer guild would buy valuable materials even if there was no collection request. Of course, selling directly to individuals who wanted the materials would bring in more money, but many adventurers preferred to sell to the guild because it was quicker and easier.

“Rank C, is it …?”

Ella had nothing to say. A girl who was supposed to be killed by werewolf not only killed it but also killed a higher tier monster.

Two ugly-looking men from the bar had come over and took the opportunity to b.u.t.t in.

“Hey girl, don"t lie. A monster like can take on a whole party,” the first man said. “An F rank adventurer with decent equipment wouldn"t have a chance, let alone a s.l.u.t like you. If you"re going to lie, at least make it plausible.”

“Oh, and, what"s that smell? Whose bodily fluid?” the second man asked. “Did you catch an adventurer and get paid in raw materials instead of money before trying this scam? Working on your back is a lot easier than working as an adventurer.”

Flamm, who had been getting angrier and angrier, finally lost her temper and lashed out at the second man. She punched him right in the nose, sending him reeling to the floor while he clutched at his bleeding face.

“Well then, all right!” the other man yelled out, reaching for his sword.

“What"s your adventurer rank, old man?”

“D, same as my friend!”

“The strength of D rank is only this much? Falling down after one punch from a girl with strength zero?”

“Let"s see!”

The man started to draw his sword. As soon as he moved, Flamm pulled her own sword from subs.p.a.ce and brought it forward.

The tip carved a beautiful arc through the air before it stopped directly in front of his neck. The man froze in place. A twitch of the wrist from Flamm would be enough to end his life.

Flamm judged that her opponent had lost the will to fight and put the sword back into subs.p.a.ce. As the sword disappeared the man collapsed to his knees.

Flamm turned to smile at Ella. “Will you give me my license now?”

Ella still wore a reluctant expression on her face, but she could not refuse to do her duty any longer. She processed the request for delivery of werewolf fangs and gave Flamm her adventurer"s license. She also purchased the Anzu"s fang. Altogether, Flamm and Milkit would have enough spending money for the next few days.

Flamm took the card with a smile, looking at her name next to the label of “F rank adventurer.” She gave Ella a cheerful wave and left the guild with Milkit.

As soon as the door swung shut behind them, Flamm heaved out a sigh and sagged in relief. The expression and posture of the girl who stared down a D rank adventurer completely disappeared.

“Ah, I was so nervous.”

“You worked hard, Master,” Milkit said, reaching out her hand.

Flamm smiled, before taking Milkit"s hand in hers.

“I expected Ella to resist, but I didn"t expect those other guys to get involved,” Flamm said. “I"m not sure whether to be happy or said that Dain didn"t show up.”

“At least we have money,” Milkit said. “I saw a cheap inn on the way here.”

“Good, good, as long as it has a bath,” Flamm said. “I"ll be taking you clothes shopping tomorrow.”

“Yes, Master should wear better clothes.”

Flamm smiled ruefully at Milkit"s response. “I thought you would say that, but I should also buy you some clothes, shouldn"t I?”

“I"m a slave.”

“Well, then it"s an order from your master,” Flamm said. “I will definitely buy you clothes tomorrow.”

“Something like that …”

Milkit looked down, puzzled. Even if she goes shopping, she wouldn"t know what to buy. Besides, it"s a waste to put nice clothes on an ugly figure who kept her face wrapped in bandages.

Seeing her confusion, Flamm stroked her head.

“Don"t worry, it"ll be fun!”

Milkit felt a warmth in her chest. She didn"t recognize the emotion. She truly didn"t know what the future would hold if she goes forward alongside Flamm.

“All right,” she said, nodding her head.

She could feel herself beginning to change.

A girl who lost everything and a girl who never had anything. The two girls took the first step into a new life together with joined hands.

TN: This is the end of the first volume, other than the epilogue interlude. I may take a couple days off over Christmas.