“You are…”
As Sera called out to the blood-soaked child standing in the darkness, the icy killing intent that had been directed at her, wary of her sudden appearance, softened slightly.
Even so, the sharpness of the gaze, which was hard to believe came from a child, hadn’t disappeared, and the child remained on guard, holding a knife.
Seeing this, Sera suddenly realized. This child doesn’t trust others… “adults.”
“…That child is safe.”
As she spoke, the remaining killing intent seemed to melt into the night, as if finally deciding that she wasn’t an enemy, and the child finally looked at Sera head-on.
After all, this child had taken on a reckless battle to separate the monsters from Mina, and despite being so battered, had defeated a Rank 2 monster, a Hobgoblin.
Even if this child doesn’t trust people, they haven’t yet become twisted as a “person.”
(…Similar.)
The eyes of the child, staring straight at Sera, their color and strength, felt similar to those of Sera’s superior, the Border Count.
Who is this child…? The courage and killing intent that don’t seem like those of a child, and the combat ability that surpasses even Sera’s son, who has been training since he was old enough to understand things.
As if seeking the answer, Sera took a step forward, and the child’s body, trying to distance itself from Sera, swayed and collapsed as if losing consciousness.
“!”
Using her martial arts, Sera closed the distance of several meters in an instant, catching the child’s body just before it fell headfirst.
“…”
A very thin and light little body. Such a child fought a Hobgoblin and exhausted all their strength. When asleep, they were just a cute child, and Sera, who had a child of the same age, stroked the blood-stained cheek with her finger like a mother.
“…Let’s go home.”
Picking up the knife and equipment that the child had dropped, Sera saw the frayed string that was braided into the child’s hair and felt something catch in her heart, tucking the string into her bosom.
“…”
When I woke up, I was in an unfamiliar room.
I remember… I fought until the Hobgoblin died… What happened? I don’t remember well from the middle, but I think I saw a figure that looked like a maid at the end.
…Well, whatever. For some reason, I feel a little better after having a dream about Mom for the first time in a while.
My body is a little sluggish, but I’m relieved that there are no major injuries. More than that, there are no injuries left at all. Aside from the old scars, the scars I got in the last month had disappeared without a trace.
Did someone cast [Cure] on me very carefully…?
For now, I’ll check my condition. My blood-stained clothes must have been taken off, and I was dressed in a simple poncho that could be bought anywhere. My body was refreshed, but not completely clean as if I had taken a bath.
The fine dust has been removed, but large dirt like mud still remains faintly, so maybe they removed the dirt by some magical method.
There are no weapons around me. Did I leave them at that place…? I wanted to recover at least Galbas’s Black Knife, but I have no choice but to think that I was lucky to be alive.
More than that, there’s something I’m concerned about. It’s not the quality of my Mana… Well, that too, but the flow of Mana itself feels unusually smooth, so when I [Appraise] myself, my Status was outrageous.
[Aria (Alicia)] [Race: Human Female] [Rank 1]
[Mana Capacity: 107/112] 35 Up [HP: 48/60] 5 Up
[Strength: 4 (4.4)] [Endurance: 5 (5.5)] [Agility: 7 (7.7)] [Dexterity: 6]
[Dagger Arts Lv.1] [Martial Arts Lv.1] [Throwing Lv.1] New
[Light Magic Lv.1] [Dark Magic Lv.1] New [Non-Attribute Magic Lv.1]
[Utility Magic x6] [Mana Control Lv.2] 1 Up [Intimidation Lv.2] 1 Up
[Stealth Lv.1] [Night Vision Lv.1] [Detection Lv.1]
[Simple Appraisal]
[Overall Combat Strength: 58 (Body Enhancement in progress: 63)] 19 Up
…What is this? I thought I remembered the [Throwing] Skill somehow.
But… what is [Dark Magic Lv.1]? Not Dark Arts? Is that why Mana Control is at Level 2? My Rank is still 1, but my Mana has increased considerably, and my Combat Strength has also increased.
And I don’t understand why even [Intimidation] has increased.
The quality of Mana… I somehow understood when I looked at my Status. I think… a Dark Attribute [Magic Stone] was generated inside my body.
I thought that Magic Stones wouldn’t be generated unless I used that Attribute’s Magic many times, but I can do it even in this situation…. When I tried using [Dark], Mana Particles of the Dark Attribute overflowed from inside me, even though I hadn’t dyed them.
“…Well, whatever.”
It’s not a bad thing. Maybe it’s because of the Magic Stone or thanks to Mana Control, but the flow of Mana feels smoother, and I feel better than before.
“…Hmm?”
At that time, the “presence” of something approaching here caught on [Detection]. The vibration of a rough way of walking… Even so, this way of walking, as if unconsciously erasing weight…
Bang!
“Yo, are you awake?”
“…Viro.”
What was he going to do if I was still asleep…? No, knowing Viro, I think he noticed that I was awake before he came here. That’s why he made noise as he approached, as a greeting.
Viro, who came in without permission and sat down on the chair next to the bed, looked at me with an exasperated yet teasing gaze.
“I heard you defeated a Hobgoblin? You’re reckless. Normally, you’d die if you fought a Hobgoblin and four Goblins at the same time with your Combat Strength.”
“I’ll do better next time.”
When I said that without feeling burdened or remorseful, Viro made an even more exasperated face.
“…What’s that?”
Viro had a basket with a nice smell in one hand. When I pointed it out, he opened the lid of the basket as if remembering.
“Aria. You slept for another whole day. I thought you’d be hungry, so I brought your share along with my breakfast. Eat up.”
“…Meat…”
Even though it was morning, I thought it was the day after last night, but it seems it was the day after that.
But the “breakfast” that Viro brought was boiled sausage with herbs and thickly sliced ham. And roasted lamb on the bone with sauce, a menu full of meat from the morning.
It’s “typical” of a bachelor Adventurer, but if I haven’t put anything in my stomach for more than a day, I would have preferred something a little lighter, but…
“…I’ll eat.”
My body was craving food because my Mana had almost run out once.
Besides, I don’t know when I’ll be able to eat next, so I don’t have the option of not eating unless it’s poison. Even so, something seemed to rise from my stomach at the taste of oil, so I nibbled on the ham like a small animal while extracting the necessary information from Viro.
Apparently, those Hobgoblins were truly stray monsters, and they had been sweeping nests in other areas, but some of the Goblins they missed had flowed into this area.
Dandole, who received the report, seems to have dispatched the Knight Order yesterday, so they will sweep away the monsters in this area, putting the prestige of the Knight Order on the line.
“…So, what will happen to my job?”
I defeated the Hobgoblin, but as a surveillance mission, I should have just warned the maid I saw and returned to report. Moreover, I’ve been skipping work for a whole day after that, so I don’t think Castro, who hated the children in the Slums, would leave me alone.
When I asked with that implication, Viro chewed off the lamb (from the morning) and swallowed it with fruit wine, crossing his arms as if pondering.
“That’s the thing, it seems you have a new job?”
“A new job?”
“Yeah… Well, it’s a good thing, so you should hear it from the person herself. Sera, you can come in.”
At the same time as Viro called out behind him, the door to the room was knocked on, and a very beautiful maid with wheat-colored skin came in from the door.
“…”
Viro seemed to have noticed, but my Detection Skill couldn’t detect the presence of her approaching.
[Maid] [Race: Human Female]
[Mana Capacity: 170/220] [HP: 245/260]
[Overall Combat Strength: 929 (Body Enhancement in progress: 1126)]
…She’s not just a maid. She’s a tremendous expert with almost the same Combat Strength as Viro.
This skin color is… “Cruz”?
Just as there are “dog breeds” and “cat breeds” among the Beastmen, who are demi-humans, there are also “races” for each race of humans.
Dwarves have “Mountain Dwarves” who are good at woodworking and crafts, and “Rock Dwarves” who are good at blacksmithing, and Elves have “Forest Elves” and “Dark Elves.”
And in the case of humans, there are two races on this continent. The “Cruz,” with their wheat-colored skin, are the indigenous race of this continent. They are not very good at Attribute Magic, but they should be a race with high Agility and Dexterity, and good at combat.
The other fair-skinned humanoids, like myself and Viro, are called “Mersenians,” and are said to be descendants of people who migrated from the northern continent about a thousand years ago.
In this Kingdom of Claydale, Mersenians make up 70%, demi-humans 20%, and Cruz only 10%.
Even after a thousand years, interbreeding has progressed considerably, and it is said that there is almost no racial difference. Pure Mersenians can only be found in the northern countries of the continent or among the nobility, and pure Cruz are only in the Calvaan Empire to the west or the Ganzal Union Kingdom.
That Cruz-like maid… Sera, cast a chilling gaze at the ‘meat and alcohol’ that Viro brought, and removed the dome-shaped lid from the metal tray she was holding.
“What are you giving to a child who is recovering from illness? You there, eat this. I’ve made milk porridge (Politzji).”
Saying that, she thrust the faintly sweet-smelling porridge at me.
She was surprisingly assertive and I was forced to accept it, but it was much better than meat, and to be honest, I don’t care as long as it fills my stomach.
“You can listen while you eat. First, I will return your equipment that was recovered from the scene.”
Sera, who was watching me eat with satisfaction, pushed Viro aside and sat down on the chair, placing my equipment next to the bed.
Additional information: Viro is weak against strong-willed women of marriageable age.
“This Magic Steel knife is a good one. There was also money, so I kept it for you. Please confirm.”
“…The string weight?”
Everything except the Black Knife can be replaced, so it doesn’t matter, but besides the Throwing Knives and spare Knives, there are only distorted Copper Coins, and the string braided from my hair is nowhere to be found.
“I judged that it was quite damaged and could not be reused, so I disposed of it at my discretion. Is there a problem?”
“…No.”
If it can’t be used, it can’t be helped. However, the remaining hair in my luggage was not enough to braid a new string… I have to think about a new replacement weapon.
While thinking about that, I finished the porridge, and Sera, who cleared away the dishes, turned to face me again.
“I have a new job for you. I heard that you are an “Adventurer,” albeit a Rank 1, so this is a direct request to you, not through Viro.”
“A request?”
Nodding at my reply, Sera began to explain the details of the request.
“Would you like to work as a maid apprentice under me and train to become an ‘Escort Maid’?”
An invitation to become an Escort Maid.
Next, I will finally come into contact with a character from the Otome Game.
Next time: Maid’s work. A Cruz boy.
Scheduled to post tomorrow.