*****Author's Note*****

Hi everyone! Sorry for the massive delay in the latest chapter. I was finishing my final exams at university! Wooo! I am finally graduating! Well, that aside, it took me a while to figure out how to word my ideas. BUT now it is done! Thanks to the people that have kept reading my story! I will try to upload more frequently. 

I hope  you enjoy the new chapter! 

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Chapter 6

It has already been two days since the girl has been a sleep, recovering from her experience with the ravine bears and she shows no signs of waking up yet. Since I had not seen her even stir slightly in her sleep, I was worried for a while that she had some sort of internal damage or disease, but Gerbera has told me that the girl’s condition was just a result of extreme exhaustion. Though that did put me at ease, Gerbera quickly added information that made me curious about the girl.

The girl had odd scars around her neck, wrists, and ankles. Her back also has signs of abuse, which manifested as scars caused by whips. Gerbera immediately suspected that this girl was a slave of some sort, or at the very least a prisoner. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised that this world had slavery, all things considered, but I couldn’t help the surprised expression that appeared in my face.”

“Ah, so the young master had not noticed the marks.” Gerbera had said when she spotted my reaction, and simply assumed I had not paid attention to the girl I recued. “Young master, some of the scars seem recent as well, and her lack of shoes and proper clothing was rather odd for a freed slave or prisoner. Moreover, the slavery crest has been burning away on her shoulder. If I had to guess, her master has met an untimely end and she has run away.”

“Can you explain that crest to me?” I asked. I couldn’t help to asking, since I have no idea what it means.

“Certainly!” She quipped up happily, “Simply put, it’s a special tattoo that is imbued with magic that binds a slave to its master. It’s a fairly high-level restraining contract that allows the master to track the slave’s location, and to cause pain to the slave at will. It’s also fairly expensive to place one on a slave, so its usually done only by wealthy people, or placed on important slaves. The crest itself can only be properly removed when the master officially releases the slave. If the master dies without releasing the slave, the mark starts to ‘burn’ away, which means that someone related by blood to the original master has a chance to claim the slave before the slave crest completely burns itself away.”

I cringed inwardly at this information. It seems like slavery here is on a whole different level than back in my original world. To be branded with something that could track you even if you successfully escaped was nothing short of terrifying for a runaway slave.

“However, young master…. this is odd.” Gerbera said as she crosses her arms thoughtfully.

“Why would that be?” I asked. To me it was already plenty odd that slavery existed already, so I may have missed something important while I was distracted.

“There shouldn’t be any villages or towns nearby from where the half-breed could have come from. Moreover, people that can brand their slave with an expensive crest would be very rare even in fairly wealthy towns, so branded slaves are often seen almost exclussively in cities were there are wealthy people. The nearest city is a good fifteen days away at best, if you are riding a good horse and do not meet any trouble along the way. How did a small girl like her get all the way here?”

That seemed like a good point. A very good point.

“Perhaps,” I replied, “She was in a caravan of wealthy travelling merchant?”

“Perhaps.” She allowed, but the expression of her face was still thoughtful. “We must ask her when she awakens.”

“Do that.” I replied with a nod. “I am also curious to know where she comes from, and why a human-elf hybrid was branded with a slave crest.”

That was what I had ordered Gerbera to do, but the girl had yet to awaken.

That’s why, today I am studying with Gerbera in the same room were the girl was sleeping. This way, if she wakes up then me and Gerbera will be there to help her gain her bearings… and to interrogate her.

Today, Gerbera is teaching me about the monster ranking systems and the adventurer’s guild. Apparently, this world has adventurers, which are a type of mercenary that specializes in dealing with monsters and gathering items from dangerous areas. Occasionally they do odd-jobs as well.

“The adventurer’s guild,” Gerbera says, “Has been around for roughly 450 years. Each continent has its own adventurer’s guild. Though the guild of each continent acts as a separate entity from the others, they have conferences every few years were the guild masters of each continent meet to discuss their status and other things that might be of importance. There is one very important quality about the adventurer’s guild though, and that is their neutrality towards the conflicts between countries, since they deal with monsters only as a policy.

Adventurers themselves are free to travel between countries and are excepted from certain taxes, as they contribute to the wellbeing of many kingdoms. However, on the flip side, if they wish to obtain any new land or housing in any country, they often have to go through a significant amount of procedures and background checks.”

They sound like a mix between a workers’ union and a global council to me. But the arrangement for a successful adventurer must be pretty good. It might be something to look into in the future.

“The adventurer’s guild,” Gerbera continues, “has also been responsible for the creation of the current monster classification system used to this day. We discussed the classification system last time. Young master, do you recall how the classification system works?”

“Yes.”

“Then could you please explain it to me?”

“Yes.” I replied confidently. “The classification system uses a qualitative danger measurement for monsters to rank them. Essentially, the more potentially dangerous a monster is to people, the higher the rating. There are nine ranks from G to SS, with G being the lowest and SS being the highest.”

“Very good!” Gerbera praises me, nodding with a smile. “Please list each of the ranks for monsters, young master, and add a brief explanation for each of them.”

“Yes.” I reply, and immediately started listing the rankings. Essentially, it goes something like this:

G: Harmless. They can even be pets. No monster core.

F: Very weak. Any person can beat it. F rank monsters have a small, dirty grey monster core.

E: Weak. Armed civilians have a chance to beat it. E ranks have yellow monster cores.

D: Moderate. Normal civilians can’t hope to beat it even with weapons. Orange monster cores.

C: Strong. These monsters can wipe out small villages. Red monster cores

B: Very strong. These monsters can be a threat to towns of moderate size. Purple monster cores.

A: Extremely strong. These monsters can be a threat to entire cities. Blue monster cores.

S: Titanic. These monsters can be a threat to entire kingdoms. Black monster cores.

SS: Otherworldly. Can be a threat to entire continents. Unknown color of monster cores.

“Marvelous!” Gerbera quipped, looking quite satisfied. Personally, I think that she is far too happy considering that if it’s just this amount of memorization, anyone can learn it in a day. That said, I think that Gerbera is simply the kind of person that enjoys teaching things, so that might be the reason for her happiness.

“Now, added to this,” She continues, “Adventurers use a separate classification to rank themselves in their organization. The ranking also consists of nine levels, but their ranking is not equivalent to that of a monster. The rankings are divided into three sections: Common metals, Precious metals, and Mythical metals. Each of these is further subdivided as follows in order from lowest to highest ranking:

Common metals: Copper, Iron, Steel.

Precious metals: Bronze, Silver, Gold

Mythical metals: Mithril, Orichalcum, Adamantine”

Wow, so this world even has mythical metals? Gold must be plenty expensive already… I wonder how much just a few grams of those mythical metals be worth? The value must be astronomical.

“Young master?” Gerbera asks uncertainly. She must have noticed I was distracted for a minute.

“Sorry, please go on.”

“No, I am at fault. The lecture has been a little more than a long rant on my part. I apologize.” She replied apologetically.

“Nonsense. I like the class so far.” I reply as quickly. I can’t have her be discouraged at all. After all, she is teaching me a lot of the things that should be common knowledge here! If she were to become shy and teach me less, I could risk missing out on important details.

“Is that so?” She asked with a smile that shone like a star, before enthusiastically adding, “Then I will continue to do my best!”

“…Loud.” A soft female voice groaned.

I instantly snap my head around towards the direction of the source of the sound. The voice itself was new to me, and even though though the voice was rather weak, it had a certain pleasant sound to it.

The girl had finally woken up.

0-0-0-0-0

The girl was confused when she first woke up, which was not surprising since she was no longer in the forest. Instead, she found herself laying on a bed, inside a rundown-looking building. Unfortunately, Gerbera’s reaction to the unknown voice was a bit more dramatic to my own.

Stolen story; please report.

Upon hearing the foreign voice, Gerbera had gone immediately into a defensive position, her spider legs bursting from her back and pointing themselves towards the girl who had just woken up. Of course, the girl nearly fainted upon seeing that.

Was it my imagination, or did Gerbera let out a very small smile?

“Put those away, Gerbera!” I scolded her, “What are you going to do if she faints again because of you?”

“…My apologies.” She replied, flinching at the sound of my voice, before she slowly started to retract her spider arms into her back again.

I turned my head back to the girl whose face was still a ghastly pale colour, and smiled. “Relax. Gerbera might be a bit…mischievous, but she won’t hurt you.” I said as I shot a side glance at Gerbera.

“Is…Is that so?” The girl replied shakily, slowly sitting up on her bed. Her voice was weak, and slightly raspy due to her weakened state, but it still retained a certain pleasant sound to it.

“Yes. That is so.” I confirmed. “She is actually quite sweet when she wants to be, she is our librarian you know?”

“Ah… I see?” She replied uncertainly, but the colour was slowly returning to her cheeks. Speaking to her casually and in a friendly form seems to be working. At least, she seems less terrified. “B-but isn’t she a Malicia…?”

She figured out pretty quickly that Gerbera was Malicia. Well, I suppose anyone would if they say spider legs burst from her back. I better soothe things with this girl quick before she thinks of us as enemies.

“Yes she is, and so am I.” I said in a matter-of-fact tone, quickly following up. “However, we are not going to hurt you. You didn’t seriously think all Malicia were evil monsters did you?”

I ask light heartedly, but I added a hint of ridicule at the end, as if to mock the idea. She makes a face that clearly displays her uncertainty.

“By the way, I am Terra Zilvamane. Would you mind telling me your name?” I ask gently, trying to keep the mood light.

“Ah! M-my name is Luna. Luna Glow.”

“Pleased to meet you Luna.” I smile, “Me and my butler brought you here after we found you being chased by ravine bears. You should be safe now.”

“Ravine bears…? Oh!”

She seems to recall the experience, blushing briefly, but looking rather shocked.

“That’s right! I was being chased by those awful bears and you k-ki-killed them while you were nude!”

I let out an awkward smile when she summarizes the event like that, but it’s the truth so I can’t really correct her. “… That’s right.”

She stared at me silently for a few seconds after that, before finally speaking out.

“…Thank you for your help.”

I nodded at her words, my face relaxing into a natural smile.

“Glad to help. How are you feeling?”

She looked herself over briefly, flexing her hands slowly. “…I feel good. Better than I have in a while.”

“Good.” I nod briefly, while signalling towards Gerbera. “Gerbera treated your wounds. We couldn’t let you be without some treatment you know?”

“But… why? Why did you help me?” She seems clearly confused.

“Would you have left someone to die if you could help them?” I asked simply. The look on her face seemed clearly surprised at my answer… Wait, maybe my common sense does not apply in this world? Crap. I did not consider that.  I guess it’s too late to take back my words anyways though. “Besides, I went through the trouble of saving you, so wouldn’t it be a waste if you died right after that?”

“I… see.” She replied uncertainly. The look on her face was one of conflict and unease. I suppose it is understandable. If you spent your entire life hearing a group of people is evil, that idea becomes entrenched in your mind and it becomes difficult to change. I can’t expect her to smile and agree with me right away.

“You are not convinced, are you?” I asked. It was a rhetorical question. “Well, you are going to have to spend a few days here recovering at the very least, so perhaps your time here will change your mind.”

“Wait! I can’t!” She croaked out, trying to shout. “I have to find the master!”

“The master?”

“My master, yes!”

“Well…” I frowned as I tried to work out how to tell her the news, but that role was stolen from me by Gerbera.

“He is dead.” Gerbera said flatly. Not an ounce of emotion could be found in her voice.

“Y-you, what… how?” Luna was in a state of confusion. I shot a look at Gerbera, and made a mental note to myself to have a word with her after this.

“How do I know?” Gerbera asked simply, trying to not look at me. “Your slavery crest. It is burning away.”

The girl’s eyes widened, and quickly pulled down the neck of her shirt roughly, pulling it down until the top of her left breast could be seen clearly. Upon it, a black tattoo, half of which looked like it had been literally burned away, could be seen. What was left of the tattoo seemed like a jagged crescent moon that was bound by chains.

“This…!” Her eyes seemed to look down in disbelief and confusion. “No…no!”

Her words of denial come out as little more than a croak. She seemed to be on the verge of tears, her eyes becoming moist as she starts to shiver. I am not good with consoling people or with words of support, but I still could not leave her alone.

“Hey, hey. What’s wrong? Maybe we could help?”

“No… You don’t understand sir, I-”

“Lord.” Gerbera cut in. “Young lord. Master Terra is the son of the late Forest Lord.”

“Gerebra, do not interrupt.” I said with a clipping tone. “Please, Luna, continue.”

“I-I understand…” Her voice was sombre, trembling slightly with blue tone of cold sorrow. “My lord, after I became a slave, I suffered much under the hand of a cruel master. However, my master at the time fell into economic ruin, and planned to sell me into prostitution. However, by the grace of God I was bought by different man. The man who became my new master was strict and had a scary face, but he held no prejudice towards me. He protected me from others, even if he made me work hard. I was useful and he protected me from those who did not approve of me. Without the master… I have no home, no protection, no food, no life of my own. Even if I tried to, I would not survive.”

“Why would people have prejudice towards you?” I asked. A number of questions crept up, but that one stood out to me as the most important one.

“…Young lord, my mother was known as the red witch.” She started, her sorrowful eyes now looking far away, beyond me, into the past. “She went mad after she was betrayed, and swore revenge against the alliance of men and elves. In her madness, she murdered a four human lords and an elven prince. The alliance sent forth their forces, and destroyed my mother after a long, drawn out fight. Our house was destroyed, and all the adults in the direct family were executed. I was the only child at the time, merely seven years of age, so I was sold to slavery instead of being executed. Since then, I have always been viewed as the daughter of the red witch.”

“Harsh.” I replied. It was a pitiful response to her sad story, but it was the first thing that came to mind. “So… you are afraid for your future, now that your master is not protecting you, yes?”

She gave me a weak nod, her eyes kept down.

“I see.” I said thoughtfully. “Why were you running through the forest?”

“Young lord, my master and his servants were relocating.” She says with a tired sigh, “We were taking a shortcut through the forest, and we were met with a series of misfortunes, one after the other. First the axels in the wagons broke and had to be replaced. Then trees had collapsed upon the road and they had to be cleared by hand. Then we stumbled upon a group of large wolves who attacked us, and injured some of our guards. Then the final straw came when one of the guards protecting the young master ate some mushrooms in the forest and went mad. He caused a commotion and threw about all sorts of our foods, which ended up attracting a group of Ravine bears. A fight between our caravan and the bear broke out and… well. I ran.”

“Sounds like you’ve had a hard life.” I said with a sigh. It was tiring just listening to her story. Between her story and Gerbera’s lesson, my brain was already full for the day. “Well, you have plenty of time to think what you want to do now. I won’t force you out of here, so you can stay as long as you want.”

She looks up at me, her face unreadable, but at the very least, it seems less desperate than before.

“Say, Luna, let me tell you something more.” I added, thinking of something good. “Did you know that this town never had a name?”

She slowly shakes her head. “No.”

“This town was built by my father and mother, and it was barely 20 years in age before it was destroyed. They never named it. But everyone around here called it the same thing.”

She looked up at me with a puzzled look, and I smiled.

“They called it home.”