Two days have passed since arriving in the largest city in this region, the city within Taurus County.
I didn’t plan to do anything in this city, but it seems I was quite exhausted. I apparently developed a fever soon after arriving and slept for an entire day.
Traveling with a child’s body and fighting through the night, it’s only natural, I suppose…
After my strength recovered and the fever subsided, I used the Appraisal Orb, and my status had changed slightly.
[Aria (Alicia)] [Race: Human Female] [Rank 1]
[Mana Capacity: 47/77] 7 Up [HP: 52/55] 3 Up
[Strength: 4 (4.4)] [Endurance: 5 (5.5)] [Agility: 7 (7.7)] [Dexterity: 6]
[Dagger Arts Lv.1] [Martial Arts Lv.1]
[Light Magic Lv.1] [Non-Attribute Magic Lv.1]
[Utility Magic x6] [Mana Control Lv.1] [Intimidation Lv.1]
[Stealth Lv.1] [Night Vision Lv.1] [Detection Lv.1]
[Simple Appraisal] New
[Overall Combat Strength: 39 (Body Enhancement: 41)] 3 Up
It seems I finally learned the [Appraisal Skill]. As a result, my mana has increased due to training, and my combat strength has slightly improved.
However, one miscalculation was that unlike the appraisal using the crystal until now, the [Appraisal] as a skill consumed about 5 mana. The reason my mana is low right after waking up is due to that.
It’s not something to worry about if I’m careful, but when I woke up, my body was clean, and the clothes I was wearing had been replaced with thin sleepwear that a commoner girl would wear.
“…”
In the copper mirror in the room, I see myself looking like an ordinary girl living in the city. …But my eyes still look sharp.
A soft bed and clean sheets that I’m using for the first time. Apparently, this inn is a decent one where high-ranked adventurers like Viro would stay.
Viro seems to have paid the maid to take care of me. When I woke up, the maid appeared and gave me decent used clothes that her younger brother used to wear.
The tunic I had been wearing was quite worn out, and it apparently tore when she tried to wash it.
She told me to tell my “father” she was sorry for ruining the clothes, but are Viro and I set up as father and daughter?
Feeling hungry after a whole day of fasting, I was enjoying a vegetable soup and bread, a “proper human meal” for the first time in a while, in the dining hall on the first floor. Viro, who seemed to have returned from outside, found me and sat across from me at the table while asking the maid for some brewed tea.
“Oh, are you alright now?”
“Good morning, Otōsan.”
“…I told you I’m only thirty-five.”
So he’s older than my father.
“If you’ve recovered, we’ll leave soon. Can you go?”
“No problem.”
I’m a little sluggish, but I can move without any issues.
Judging from Viro’s expression and tone, this is also a test to see if I can be introduced to a client and entrusted with a job.
“Even so… you stand out.”
“Huh?”
As I was stuffing the remaining bread into my stomach, Viro pointed to my pink-blonde hair.
Ah, I see… I had been applying ash to suppress the shine, but perhaps because I took a proper bath for the first time in a while instead of just a quick wash, the shine seems to have increased more than before.
“Can I get some ash from the stove?”
“Yeah, I’ll ask later. But you know… I think the shine in your hair is due to the increase in mana. Eventually, ash won’t be enough to hide it.”
“…I see.”
I had been applying ash to my hair to avoid standing out and getting into danger.
In my current state, there’s not much danger with Viro around. But if I’m going to be independent in the future, I’ll have to find something to replace the ash.
“Then study with this. If you have an attribute, you might be able to deceive people with ‘Illusion’ in the future.”
As if to tease me for thinking so hard, Viro handed me a piece of paper.
“…Dark Magic spells?”
On the paper, in addition to the [Noise] he had taught me before, was the spell for [Weight Up], another Level 1 spell.
[Weight Up], a Level 1 Dark Magic spell, apparently changes the weight of an object.
The incantation is ‘Mobasa Ōīā Nidere Kuresu.’
…It’s still a little hard to remember. In general terms, it means ‘Change the weight of that object.’
According to Viro, like the Light Magic spell [Cure], it’s a spell that not many people use. Once cast, it can change the weight of an object that can be held in both hands by about “ten percent” for a few minutes.
…It’s certainly subtle. The other one is also just a spell that makes noise like [Noise], so I can understand why there are so few Dark Magic users.
However, by learning this spell, I felt that the question I had been pondering about Dark Magic for a long time was resolved a little.
Maybe… the mana particles of the Dark attribute are different from real darkness.
“…Thanks.”
“Don’t worry about it. And keep this with you. You were using skewers, but those aren’t suitable for throwing, so it’ll be difficult to learn ranged skills.”
Viro opened something wrapped in cloth that he slid across the table. Inside were several throwing knives with a blade length of 10 centimeters, a blade width of 2 centimeters, and a handle length of 7 centimeters.
The three iron skewers I had been using for throwing have been reduced to one after being used in several battles. I was thinking of replenishing them, but Viro seems to have been paying close attention to the weapons I use.
These kinds of throwing weapons are classified as ‘hidden weapons’ that can also be used for assassination, so they aren’t sold in ordinary stores. When I thanked Viro for going to a specialized store to buy them for me, he waved his hand lightly, saying it was a necessary expense, so don’t worry about it.
Apparently, there was money worth several gold coins hidden in that bandit’s hideout, and I received a reward of three gold coins as my share.
So, when leaving the inn, I asked the maid who took care of me to give her a silver coin as thanks for the clothes. A cheap inn might pocket it, but an inn where one night costs a silver coin wouldn’t do such a thing, I think.
…I’ll carefully put away one of the gold coins to return to Galbas.
“Then, shall we hurry on?”
“Understood…”
…When I left the inn, I felt several gazes on me again. Judging by the gazes alone, I could also identify young men.
Is it because my hair color is unusual…? Or do I look like a girl now that the shine has returned to my hair?
No, it’s been about a month since I cut my hair, so it’s grown several centimeters, so maybe I look less like a boy.
It feels a little long to grow that much in just a month, but like the growth of my body, maybe my hair grows quickly too.
For now, I went into an alley and applied ash, and the gazes calmed down considerably.
Although I haven’t seen much of it, this county city gave me the impression of being quite wealthy. Even so, when I entered the alley, I felt unpleasant gazes.
Where the light is strong, the darkness is also deep. Even in Taurus County, which is on the edge of the frontier, it’s like this, so if I’m going to go somewhere far away, I have to become quite strong.
“…Hey, are you going to tell me our destination soon?”
When I said those words after leaving the city from the main gate and starting to head east, Viro hesitated a little but opened his mouth surprisingly easily.
“I guess it’s about time I told you. The place we’re heading to is Dandole March, which is east of here. A certain noble is coming to a resort there incognito for medical treatment. Our job is to take on part of the surrounding security.”
“…A noble.”
As I thought, it’s related to nobles… Moreover, if they’re seeking medical treatment incognito, there’s a possibility that they’re a noble with a certain status. It’s certainly dangerous for me, but I think that gaining power means I have to tolerate some involvement with nobles.
Even so, he told a street urchin with an unknown background something quite important.
I don’t think Viro is a bad person anymore, but I wonder if Viro thought he could trust a street urchin like me.
“But why do you need a child like me for that?”
“That’s a request from the client. Well, I can guess somewhat… Maybe it’s because the noble coming for treatment is a ‘child’…”
“…Hmph.”
He still didn’t tell me the client’s name, but I was a little relieved that the noble being a child meant they weren’t a relative looking for me.
If my relatives found me in my current state, I would be forcibly made a noble. And like that woman’s “knowledge,” I might be turned into someone who manipulates various men and makes many people unhappy.
I know it’s dangerous to get involved with nobles without power. But I felt that this was something I had to overcome. If I keep running away from that, my life will be one of running away forever.
I will gain the power to overcome fate.
After that, Viro and I crossed several noble territories, heading east.
There were bandits and Goblins who attacked us, seeing that we had a child with us, but Viro turned them all into “nourishment” for my training.
I myself am still at Rank 1, and my combat ability hasn’t changed much, but in terms of “experience,” I was definitely “growing.”
And a week later…
“This is Dandole…”
The Dandole March, with its gently rolling hills and refreshing breeze, was where I would receive my first job.
And in this land… I would meet girls called “Villainesses” who would be involved in my life.
The next chapter will be Chapter Two, “The Combat Maid of the Shadow Unit.”
From the next chapter, I think you’ll see some people related to the Otome Game here and there.
Also, I’ve finally run out of stock.
So, the next update will be on the weekend, and after that, I think there will be 2-3 updates per week.
I would be happy if you could bookmark it.
See you again.
By the way, I marked this trip with a red line on the map.
There are some minor corrections to the names of the nobles.