The forest that was their destination finally came into view. Getting there had taken an hour of walking after leaving the west gate of the capital. While Flamm was fine thanks to the effect of the equipment raising her physical strength, Milkit was visibly fatigued.

“Would you like to take a break before entering the forest?”

“If you are aware of me, you can ignore me.”

“Well, then, let"s take a break”

The master did not have to worry about the slave"s physical condition. That was what Milkit was trying to say, but it seemed Flamm had understood her statement as a confession that in her heart she wanted to rest.

Milkit lightly tapped the bandage hanging from her face with her finger. It may have been an expression of frustration. Of course she would never have voiced such a thing, and Flamm"s decision wouldn"t be changed by anything she said.

They found a stump near the entrance to the forest and Flamm took a seat. Milkit stood nearby, her posture correct. Flamm could see that Milkit was trying not to stand in Flamm"s line of sight. Flamm felt a bit irritated, and patted the stump next to where she was sitting.

“Don"t worry about me.”

“You standing while I sit worries me. Please sit down.”

Milkit couldn"t maintain her stance any more in the face of Flamm"s appeal. She kept a little distance from her master and sat down in a tranquil way at the edge of the stump. She still seemed concerned about maintaining an appropriate reserve, but for the moment she was willing to compromise.

“Master.”

“Hmm?”

“Don"t you think that you will feel uncomfortable when you see my face?” Milkit asked, confused.

As she spoke her lips moved behind the bandage, sc.r.a.ping against the cloth.

Flamm responded naturally. “I think it"s creepy and disgusting”

There was no point in hiding it. The cloth covering Milkit"s face was dirty and stained in places with dried blood. The skin visible through the gaps in the cloth had an unhealthy color. Even though she was a young girl around Flamm"s age, it was a matter of course to feel disgust when seeing such an appearance.

“Well, why did you rescue me?”

“Because I would get lonely if I was by myself.”

“In that case, since I am disfigured and unfriendly, you should sell me and buy another slave.”

Milkit really had no sense of self-preservation.

It was true there was no real reason for Flamm to cling to Milkit. They just happened to be in the same cage and she only took Milkit out because she survived by chance. But still, although Flamm was not sure why, she felt a sense of purpose coming from her gut.

“After that… maybe it was hypocritical.”

“Your reason for bringing me along?”

“Well, before, I couldn"t do anything. I was useless, n.o.body could redeem me, and as a result I was sold as a slave. What a depressing idea,” Flamm said. “With you being so unfortunate as well, if you could live a happy life, then it could give me a reason to live. That may be a bit… but I think it was on my mind.”

Flamm was telling the truth. At the time, it was a minor impulse that she wasn"t consciously aware of. However, when she thinks back on it, it certainly seems to have been part of her motivation. If she could act because she wanted to save Milkit from the bottom of the abyss, like a hero… doing something like that would help to regain the confidence that she had completely lost when she was exiled from the hero"s party and made a slave.

“I"m not sure I understand. If Master wants a happy slave, you should sell me right away. I"m not suited for it.”

“Haven"t you decided that I am your master already?” Flamm asked. “I don"t intend to do anything to change it.”

“If so -”

Milkit reached around the back of her head and removed the knot tied in the cloth covering her face. Then, she pulled the cloth away.

“Whoa…”

Her exposed face was so bad that Flamm gasped without thinking. The disfigurement she had seen through the gaps in the cloth was spread throughout Milkit"s face. From her jaw to her forehead, her skin was covered with red splotches and often peeling off. Clear pus seeped out from the open sores, while scattered swelling further ruined the lines of her face.

“Do you still want to keep me?”

Milkit seemed determined to be thrown away. Or at least, unable to act for her own benefit instead of thinking of her master first. She seemed to think that it was not fair that she had hidden her face behind a bandage. Even if Flamm had her own reasons for saving Milkit, it was only by exposing her face that Flamm could make an informed decision.

Flamm put her hand to her mouth and stopped. There were many thoughts running around in her head: “disgusting,” “painful,” “grotesque,” “poor little thing,” and “her burning eyes are still beautiful.” All statements that were useless in her situation, as they would have no meaning for Milkit. However, one practical thought did occur to her.

The symptom of living flesh rotting in this way… during her journey with the hero"s party, she had heard something about it while she was learning about herbs from Eterna.

“Maybe, mustard poison?”

“Hmm?”

“Let me touch it a little,” Flamm said.

If what Flamm thought was correct, touching the affected area shouldn"t cause any pain. In order to confirm what she was thinking, Flamm extended her hand toward Milkit"s face. Milkit reacted quickly, standing up and stepping out of reach.

“Master, you will be infected.”

“Mustard poison is never contagious to others,” Flamm said. “Who told you otherwise?”

“My previous master. He told me that it is infectious and absolutely will not heal, so I can never touch others.”

Almost without thought, the hand that Flamm had extended towards Milkit clenched into a fist. She could feel the nails biting into the palm of her hand. The world was infested with more rotten people than she ever imagined. All the sacrifices fell on the innocent. The perpetrators lived happily while the victims suffered, struggled, and died. Even the victim"s death was just entertainment. Could such an unjust society persist-was it worth persisting?

“All these lies… everybody lies!”

Flamm wished there was an opponent she could hit in anger. She was furious enough that she really wanted to eat somebody"s soul with her sword, but only the victim was there with her. All she could do was try to comfort Milkit.

Flamm stood and decisively closed the distance between her and Milkit. It wasn"t contagious anyway. Even if Milkit didn"t like it, Flamm would make contact with her. Reaching up, she caressed her cheek.

“No, this… if it really is contagious, Master will be ugly like me.”

Milkit"s voice was tinged with emotion that usually did not exist in her empty words. In contrast with Flamm"s behavior, her previous master had threatened her with punishment if she ever touched others.

“I don"t care!” Flamm said, almost shouting in an attempt to drive off Milkit"s bad memories.

“I don"t care. I don"t mean to quit being your master just because of this. You might have tried to escape from me by showing your real face, but it won"t work,” Flamm said. “Rather, my determination is more solid than before.”

“I said that I would make you happy. I will continue to be your master for a long time,” Flamm continued. “Who cares if your former master said your face won"t heal? While recovery magic might not be able to cure you… what you can"t cure with magic, you should cure with medicine.”

In the kingdom it is currently the job of priests and nuns, not doctors, to treat injuries, diseases, and poisons. By using light attribute healing magic, neither medication nor surgical treatment is required. Due to the spread of this method, the average life expectancy of the kingdom has been growing in recent decades. However, recovery magic is not universal. There are diseases and poisons that magic can"t cure. One of them was skin damage caused by mustard poison.

“That makes sense,” Milkit said. “But does Master know how, even though n.o.body else does? Are there any pharmacists left in the kingdom?”

Milkit had identified a serious problem. Once the current pope inherited his position, the church started crushing pharmacists in order to maintain their monopoly on medical treatment. Pressure, disrupting transactions, buying up medicinal herbs and breaking supply sources. Most pharmacists went out of business.

But not all of the knowledge and technology had been lost. When Flamm had traveled with the hero"s party, she had learned that the long arm of the church had not been able to affect magicians who lived alone in remote areas. For example, the witch Eterna.

Flamm had learned some knowledge of magic and herbs from her as a way to help the party even a little on their journey. She did not learn enough to become a true expert capable of purifying the herbs into medicine, but she learned enough to be able to identify the cause by seeing the symptoms.

“I know the ingredients needed for the antidote. I will buy them once we earn some money,” Flamm said. “I will need the help from an acquaintance to turn the ingredients into medicine.”

Although Flamm spoke with confidence, she wasn"t entirely sure that Eterna would help her out. After all, Eterna had allowed her to be sold as a slave. On the other hand, during the journey Eterna had been a gentle teacher who lived at her own pace. Flamm had worked hard to build a relationship of trust. Considering how things had turned out, it was hard to say that she knew Eterna"s true heart… but she did not believe it, she did not believe Eterna had abandoned her.

For now, Flamm would be optimistic. She would only think about the positive things. The world had enough negative things already. Flamm chose to believe that if she gathered medicinal herbs and asked Eterna for help, she should definitely make the medicine.

“Of course, we first have to overcome today,” Flamm said.

“Yes. If we take too long, the sun will set.”

The two of them shivered. Then they worked together to replace Milkit"s bandage before joining hands and stepping into the forest where the werewolf was said to live.

The forest was dark. Not much sunlight penetrated through the leafy canopy. The air was cold. The ground was soft and treacherous underfoot.

This was Flamm"s first time performing a request as an adventurer. Her first time as the strongest member of a party. Her heart was beating fast from the tension. Did she really want to keep going? Part of her wanted to run away. But the warmth of the hand in hers and the feeling of the need to protect gave her the courage to overcome her fears.

◇ ◇ ◇

Flamm came to a stop in a small hiding place about ten minutes after they entered the forest. She pulled Milkit behind a tree before getting her attention and holding an index finger up to her lips.

“Over there, a werewolf,” Flamm whispered.

On the other side of the tree and a little distance away, a wolf-like creature walking on its hind legs was searching for prey.

“Um, master, I can not fight. Did I have to come here?”

That was a good question, although the timing was awkward. Flamm answered, keeping her voice as quiet as she could.

“I thought about leaving you to wait in the capital, but humans can be as dangerous as monsters.”

If she left a helpless slave like Milkit alone in town, Flamm didn"t know what would happen. There was a possibility they would never meet again.

“Is it really all right to be here?”

“Since the opponent is ranked F, I think it is safe. At worst, you can run away so you don"t get hurt,” Flamm said. “I will think about whether to bring you next time depending on the circ.u.mstances.”

Once they have money and can reserve a room at an inn it might be safer for Milkit to stay behind.

Flamm first did a scan to confirm the werewolf"s status.

——————–

Werewolf

Attribute: earth

Strength: 159

Magical Power: 22

Vitality: 79

Dexterity: 207

Perception: 54

——————–

She saw all the numbers, much to her disgust.

“Gah, there"s no way… oh, that Dain was the same as the rest after all.”

“What happened?”

“That monster"s stats add up to 521,” Flamm said. “If the total value exceeds 500 usually it will be treated as a D rank monster.”

“Wasn"t this an F rank request?”

The two were completely deceived by Dain. If a new adventurer charged at a D ranked monster, they would definitely be killed. Even if they are careful and plan ahead, the chance of winning is thin. In other words, Dain tried to take the lives of two people, however indirectly.

“Unfortunately for him, I"m not that weak.”

The Zwei Hander raised Flamm"s stats by a total of 995. That was equivalent to the top rank of cla.s.s D monsters. Considering the healing ability as well, she should be able to dispatch the werewolf without any problem.

Flamm could see in her mind"s eye the pattern of the sword as it is stored in another dimension. She grabbed it and dragged her huge sword into this world. With that, her battle preparation was complete. She planned to shorten the distance at once and unleash a powerful strike at the body of the werewolf. Flamm adjusted the position of her feet, shifting the power of her right foot until she was ready to pounce.

“Master, look!”

Milkit"s voice brought her up short.

When Flamm looked in the direction Milkit was pointing, there was another werewolf. Now that she was looking more carefully, she could see two more. A total of four monsters were a.s.sembled in the nearby area.

Werewolves were a special annoyance among D ranked monsters because of their habit of collective behavior. It was so notorious that adventurers had a saying: “if you see one, there are three more lurking around.” As somebody who had only traveled with the hero"s party, Flamm never learned much about D-ranked threats. Now, it was hard to say whether she could defeat four opponents at once even if she did have higher stats.

Could the group be broken up?

Flamm was staring at the group with a thoughtful expression when one of the four began to move. It seemed to be suspicious of danger. Flamm worried that it might be able to smell or hear things that a human could not. The others picked up on its nervousness and also began surveying their surroundings more intently.

Flamm and Milkit pulled all the way back behind the tree to hide and wait for the werewolves to calm down. Before that could happen, though, a strong breeze rose up out of nowhere, disturbing the fallen leaves on the ground.

Flamm closed her eyes for a moment in surprise. Once she recovered, she tried to peek out and spot the werewolf while using her arm to protect her eyes from the wind.

She saw the lower half of the werewolf standing where it had been before. The upper half was briefly visible dangling out of the mouth of a new monster before it disappeared down its throat.

The new monster had the body of a lion. It also had wings.

The werewolves attempted to attack the new monster together. With a swat of its forepaws, they were blown away to crash against the surrounding trees.

The lion ate them one after another.

“Scan!”

Confronted with a terrifying monster that she had never seen before, Flamm quickly checked its status.

——————–

Anzu

Attribute: Wind

Strength: 542

Magical power: 408

Vitality: 301

Dexterity: 422

Perception: 214

——————–

The total value of its stats was 1887. That was nearly twice Flamm"s.

“C rank monster!”

“That, that…”

Flamm thought she might be able to beat a group of D rank monsters, but she had no confidence in facing C rank anything. She decided that they should escape and find another way to complete the request.

Unfortunately, the monster had sharper senses than the werewolves and had already discovered the two of them. With blood, meat, and organs still dangling from its mouth, the monster"s eyes were glaring right at them.

There was a faint moaning from the beast. Its wings fluttered, and some kind of force stirred around it. It seemed to Flamm that it was preparing to attack.

“Milkit!”

Flamm moved on reflex. At least she would – Flamm barely had time to think as she pushed that thin body away.

“What?”

Milkit exclaimed as she rolled away. Once she stopped she looked back at her master.

Whoosh!

Almost immediately, the Anzu released wind magic with a tremendous explosion.

Sharp blades and a burning wind were released from its wings. Flamm"s body was chopped up along with the surrounding trees.

Blood splashed, her limbs danced in the air.

TN: Let"s give a big welcome to cliff-san. While not as well liked as truck-kun, I dare say he"s appeared in at least as many light novels.