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All the clothes we bought cost us 2 gold coins and 5 silver coins.

That's a ridiculous amount of money spent only on clothes.

But when I think of the absurd amount of money that Master has given us to buy equipment for the clinic...

What we spend is minuscule.

I always had a suspicion that Master was not very conscientious about the price of things, but these last few days have proved it.

When he dropped us off at Melisa's, he gave us a considerable sum of money.

In spite of that, today he gave us 50 damn gold coins.

As if it were nothing!

To furnish a small place!

With that amount of money, we could buy the damn place instead of renting it.

How much money does Master have to casually part with such a large amount?

But that's not all.

Yesterday, when he rented the place, he accepted without hesitation the strange sum asked by the real estate salesman.

Surely, judging from the sly looks he gave Master, the real estate salesman wanted to test Master.

That's why he asked Master for such a high amount, waiting for him to bargain.

But Master decided to accept the deal without a second thought!

I was about to intervene, but I realized that if I did, I would be exposing Master's ignorance to a stranger.

That's something I cannot and do not want to do.

So I chose to keep quiet.

That way, the real estate salesman would draw his own conclusions, and maybe he would think Master was some kind of nobleman who didn't care about money.

Which is not so far from the truth, given the way in which Master cares about money.

That way, at least, the real estate salesman would treat Master with more respect in the future and would not try to bargain with him.

As we walk through the busy streets of the capital's mercantile area, I can't help but glance every so often with distracted interest at the men around me.

And I see that Delia has the same problem.

But they all seem disappointing to me in some way.

Too tall.

Too short.

Too muscular.

Too thin.

Too fat.

Too old.

Too young.

The hair or eyes appear too light...

Realizing that I'm doing it again, I look irritably away from two handsome, muscular men who look like adventurers while sighing in exasperation.

It's as if, unconsciously, we're both looking for someone who's like Master.

'Stupid perverted Master, why do we always have to be thinking about him?'

We slowly made our way towards a fancy furniture store we saw from afar, when....

"Hey, you gorgeous thing! I saw you sigh in disappointment as you looked at my brother and me. By any chance, did you like what you saw but think you weren't up to our standards?..."

A voice is heard from behind us.

Delia and I ignore it and keep walking without turning around, but....

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A muscular, hairy hand lands on my shoulder, stopping me momentarily.

"... I'm talking to you, blondie. But I won't deny that your friend is almost as beautiful as you... If you want, we can all go for drinks and have a wonderful time together. How about that?"

I turn around and see that the last men I was watching are now following us.

They both have a lascivious expression on their faces as their eyes roam shamelessly over our bodies, devouring us with their gaze, until they stop on my breasts.

As they wait for our response, both of their gazes linger on my cleavage.

'Haa... I had almost forgotten that I used to get into this kind of situation a lot before.'

I remember that these kinds of looks used to make me very uncomfortable.

But now things are very different.

'These kinds of things don't happen to me when Master is around, and even if they do....

I have become accustomed to the looks that perverts give me....

No man will ever be able to look at me the way Master does.....

He is the most perverted of all…. My pervert.'

However, even though I am not intimidated by the situation, it seems that is not the case with my companion.

' - Wawawa... That man seems to want to touch me. What should I do? What should I do? I can't let him-'

Seeing the gazes of the two men and how the brother of the man who spoke to me and stopped me moves with the intention of touching her, Delia hides behind me and clings to the edges of my blouse, tugging the fabric slightly.

The fox girl's action causes the fabric of my cleavage to tighten downward, revealing a larger portion of the skin of my breasts and almost exposing my nipples.

This takes me by surprise, and my first reaction is to break free from the girl's grip.

'What's wrong with her now? Why is she hiding like this for just two men? They are nothing compared to the monsters we faced yesterday in the labyrinth. What a confusing and irritating woman!'

' - I don't like this, but right now I can't think of any other way to keep that man from touching me. Emir says I shouldn't reveal that I'm a Saint, so now I can only rely on Alessia to get us out of this situation.'

However, as I scowl at her hand and attempt to push her away, I notice that Delia's hand is trembling slightly, which immediately alters my intentions.

Suddenly, a strange maternal and protective feeling comes over me.

I have never been very fond of children.

But, for some reason, I now want to protect this woman who is acting so childishly.

'What a... weird feeling... But now I can't think about it'

I turn to look at the two men again, who are grinning stupidly, their eyes glittering at the spectacle Delia is giving them.

Then, noticing my confused expression, the man's hand begins to slowly slide over my skin, towards the large section of skin on my breasts that is exposed.

At the same time, a wolfish grin emerges on his face.

"Oh, sorry, are you really talking to us? I think you should know your place better…" I say in an icy voice as I move my right hand in a flash and grab the man's forearm, stopping his movement and pulling him away from my body.

"… Did you say that we could all go for drinks? Ha! That's funny. You guys aren't even worthy of looking us in the face."

"Oe, come on, don't be like that. It was you two who were watching us first," he says, looking curiously and surprised at my hand before suddenly dropping his smile and frowning.

Surely he didn't expect a woman like me to have the strength to stop his movements.

'They're all like that....

They think a girl can't be beautiful and strong at the same time...

Well...

Not everyone is like that...

Master is different...

I miss him....

It's only been half a day since I last saw him!....

Why do I feel this need to see him, to hold him in my arms, and to-?'

Alessia: !!!

'I have to focus on what's in front of me....

These cockroaches don't seem to understand when people talk to them.'

"You said I was looking at you. Well, yes, I was. I don't deny that I was curious, but it was like a small child's curiosity about ants. And just as it happens with children, I quickly lost interest...."

As I speak, I begin to tighten my grip on the man's forearm, until a pained expression appears on his face.

'Why am I so furious?'

For some reason, today I feel like I need to vent to someone.

Unfortunately for them, they volunteer.

I squeeze the man's arm until I force him to his knees in front of me.

"... Do you know what kids usually do when they lose interest in those ants? They step on them! Do you want me to step on you, depraved bastards? Ha! You're not even worthy of the soles of my shoes."

"Alessia, I think you're overreaching," Delia says in my ear in a whisper, in a concerned voice.

"Hey! Let go of my brother, you crazy woman!" says the man who had tried to touch Delia, moving a hand to the hilt of his sword.

"Don't provoke her, Quill..." says the man in front of me on his knees, his eyes watering.

"...AGH... she's a lot stronger than she looks."

"What's going on here?"

Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice is heard to my right, and, turning my head, I see three knights approaching.

'This is stupid. I shouldn't be causing Master any trouble'

"Nothing..." I say as I suddenly let go of the man's forearm and move a little away from him.

"... It was just a little misunderstanding, right?"

After saying those words, I look with cold irritation at the two men, who start nodding hurriedly.

The brother of the man I put on my knees doesn't seem too happy about the idea, but his brother forces him with a nudge to nod.

"Well... Go on your way, and please don't disturb the rest of the pedestrians," says one of the knights.

"Yes. We were just leaving," says the man who tried to touch my breasts.

Then he hurries off, dragging his brother with him, who is still scowling at me.

When the two scumbags finally disappeared from our sight, one of the knights turned to look at me, as if waiting for me to say something.

But I'm not going to thank them.

I'm still angry.

This time it was me, but if it had been any other woman, those hotheads probably would have intimidated her to take her to who knows where and do who knows what to her.

The knights should have intervened sooner.

So I simply look at them with a haughty and defiant attitude.

"Thank you for intervening, Sir Knights," Delia says, finally letting go of my blouse and bowing to thank the knights.

The purity and elegance reflected in the presence of the fox girl left no doubt about our innocence, even though it surely seemed that I was the one who was abusing those men.

To my surprise, the three knights bow to Delia in response to her own and withdraw without a word to us, muttering to each other.

' - Surely the knights think that Alessia is some young noblewoman because of her arrogant attitude and bearing. Maybe that's why the knights don't escalate the situation, even though it was Alessia who started the physical violence.'

"Thank you very much, Alessia..." says Delia, giving me a shy hug, after which she turns away from me and looks away.

"... sorry for reacting like that a moment ago, but it was the only thing I could think of."

"Why were you scared of those men?" I ask, looking curiously at the girl.

"I... I didn't get scared, but I have to be very cautious around strangers," she says, after which she falls silent.

'Really, that's going to be your whole explanation? Haa... how I hate babysitting'