That savage girl wound herself up like a spring and then suddenly launched herself in the air like an acrobat, curving down hard with her fist aimed straight for my face. I jumped away just in time as her knuckles left a fist sized hole in the pavement where my face had been a millisecond earlier. Bloody hell I thought, just how did she manage to pull attack manoeuvres like that? My shock at seeing raw blunt force from that young girl was enough to pull me out of my lethargy. She seriously wanted to hurt me, and I had enough of my unfair beating. Kicking into battle mode I quickly pulled my bush knife out, staying low with my left hand on the ground and the bush knife in my right.
“Stop!”
I angrily commanded. It must have been effective because she stopped dead in her tracks while still holding an attack pose. Her eyes focused on my knife.
“How… how are you doing that?”
I looked down only to find a roaring white flame covered my hand and the knife.
I didn’t know what the heck was going on. It took a few moments to realise I was causing it. I had no idea how I activated it in the first place and what skills were involved.
With Ara’s help I unravelled the process step by step otherwise it was possible to do some considerable damage to my hand if I undid the effect in the wrong sequence. Eventually my hand and knife came back to normal.
“Is there a problem here?”
Shouted a concerned elderly man walking across the small square towards us, his words diffusing the tension. I turned to the slave girl who seemed to have given up fighting me.
“Is there a problem?”
I asked her curtly with an emphasis on the is. She stayed silent for several moments but eventually made up her mind.
“No problem.”
She didn’t argue the point since she realised that she lost that fight. The man didn’t seem convinced, I wouldn’t blame him either. I’d also be holding my opinion in reserve after watching a slave beating up her owner.
“Then can you please take whatever issue you’re obviously having somewhere else, we’re a peaceful neighbourhood and don’t condone violence here. If you don’t leave, we’ll be calling the city guards to take care of the situation.”
I realised the man probably bluffed about calling the guard. I doubted he wanted to go through all the effort of calling them. Conversely, I didn’t want to tempt providence
I bowed deeply towards the man.
“My apologies for disturbing you, we’ll be leaving now.”
The man wordlessly shook his head, returned to the house he came out from and shut the door behind him.
“Who are you?”
She asked, a little more respectfully.
“Put that chain back on.”
I threw the chain still in my hand back to her.
She looked with disdain at me, picked up the chain and connected it to the collar. I realised that the chain seemed to control her somehow.
I put the knife back in its scabbard on my waist.
“You realise that with this type of slave collar you cannot command me until you hold the chain.”
I shook my head in disbelief,
“Do you want me to?”
“No.”
“Then stop hitting me and talk to me like a normal person.”
“If you touch me, I’ll hit you.”
“Oh goodness gracious, is that what you think? I have no intentions of touching you.”
“Why did you buy me then?”
“That bloody salesman coerced me into it.”
“Mmmph. Baka.”
I could swear she called me an idiot.
“Are all slaves this abrupt?”
“Are all masters this stupid?”
“Ha, ha, ha. I probably deserve to be called that.”
I think I saw a glimmer of a smile, it was only for a second, but it changed my mind about her. She then asked me a relevant question.
“Are you planning to spend the whole night here?”
“No. What are you going to do now?”
“The slave contract stops me from leaving you. I can’t do much but follow you around.”
Obviously, she didn’t have a place to stay. There was no point in avoiding the inevitable, I headed to the inn with her following after me. I wouldn’t hold that chain ever again; she was free to walk without it.
“You have a slave?”
Asked the innkeeper, Mrs. Violet, while eying the female slave hiding behind me in suspicion. I hadn’t given any thought to it and I confessed I had no idea what slave etiquette might be. I suspected they didn’t usually allow slaves to sleep in the guest rooms at the inn.
“What’s her name?”
What sort of lowlife did I look like, that I didn’t even know my slave’s name? It would look suspiciously like the only reason I would have bought her was through some selfish desire. The slave girl, reading the situation rolled her eyes and stepped in.
“My name is Hana. Ha… na.”
“Really.”
Mrs. Violet went red from embarrassment. I decided to save whatever there was to rescue.
“I’m happy for Hana to stay in a spare room if that’s possible.”
“Okaaay...”
Why did I feel I unknowingly stepped into a minefield? Hana obviously wasn’t happy, but she wisely kept quiet.
“We have an outside servant side room that she can use. It will cost you one silver for the night and one silver for two meals. We change the bedding filler every ten days. I’m assuming your slave will be using the inn’s ablution facilities?”
I totally forgot that the palace paid for my accommodation, thanks in full to Grenfell. Let no one deceive you, owning a slave cost something. In my case, two silvers a day and that was only the beginning. Fortunately for me, Mrs. Violet mentioned ablutions, or I would never have thought of that. She looked suspiciously at me, as if I were a suspected criminal. No matter what the innkeeper thought, it cost me an extra silver including a few other lady’s extras for Hana. Accommodation and meals included, brought the arrangement to three silvers that night. I hung my head as Mrs. Violet insisted I pay well in advance for Hana and my savings dwindled to near zero. I thought that sleaze bag of a slave merchant said having a slave was cheap. From that moment onwards, I needed to seriously earn some money again.
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After dinner, Mrs. Violet escorted Hana outside to the servant’s quarters while I returned to my room. I didn’t feel right about Hana sleeping alone in an outside room but decided it was best to look at other options in the morning. Before sleeping, I read the signed slave contract the slave trader handed to me in such a hurry. Most of it was what I could expect from a slave trade agreement although it seemed relatively light on the slave’s rights. Most of the document clearly favoured the master. I sighed to myself after realising one innocuous item was going to pose a significant problem. Hana’s slave collar acted as a limiting barrier of sorts. It stopped Hana from moving more than 50 paces away from me. According to the contract, it deprived the slave of all motor activity. In the best scenario she simply collapsed on the floor. And if that being the best then that became a significant problem if I wanted to go hunting which meant she needed to tag along and she didn’t even have shoes!
“Aaargh, it’s so frustrating!”
I shouted into my pillow. Before I fell asleep, I suddenly realised that the slave quarters lay less than fifty paces from me. I shuddered at what could have been the situation if Hana suddenly collapsed on her way there. I consoled myself that at least I could rest well for the night and deal with the issues in the morning. Or at least that was what I thought. In the dark hours of the early morning, while a heavy quiet hung in the streets, a hair-raising howl broke the silence of the night. I woke up with a start, along with all the guest in the inn and probably the rest of the neighbourhood judging by the upset voices I heard arguing below my window. Suddenly someone knocked on my door. When I opened it, Mrs. Violet stood there in her night gown looking a bit upset. Behind her, stood Hana still in her white abaya dress.
“Can you please sort out your slave, she’s causing quite a ruckus and I think it’s better you sort it out between the two of you.”
“Why are you making a noise?”
“I can’t help it. I miss my family and I’m alone.”
“Look, like I said. Sort it out.”
Mrs. Violet pushed Hana unceremoniously into my room and promptly closed the door. Talk about uncomfortable.
Hana gave me the moist kitty eyes look.
“No, no, no. Don’t do that to me.”
But I realized that one battle I wouldn’t win.
“Argh! If you sleep on my bed, will you keep quiet?”
“With you?”
She exclaimed in disgust.
“No. I’m a gentleman, I’ll sleep on the floor.”
I placed a spare blanket on the floor, folded my clothes under my head like a pillow and lay down. I could smell a mixture of dust and wood resin coming from floorboards.
Yeah, I didn’t think it was a clever idea either. At least peace returned to the inn.
Sunrise in fantasy land broke without much ado. Living in fantasy land didn’t necessarily mean everything went swimmingly well and if the previous night’s ruckus was anything to go by, isekai protagonists would wisely shift to other worlds if they got the chance. Hana, whose name I only learned after I was tricked into purchasing her by a mangy slave trader, looked refreshed and ready for the day. My body on the other hand still submitted complaints in the form of aches and pains from muscles I never knew I had. Sleeping on the floor came at a price. I felt embarrassed looking at Hana. Her revealing dress left little to the imagination, reminding me that I couldn’t afford clothes for her. Worse, there was no way I would walk through town with her looking like that, just what sort of person they would think I was, and I wouldn’t blame them either. First things needed to come first.
“Put this on.”
I gave her the jacket I bought for myself from the toothless hag while I put Orilay’s ye-old-trusty-mould-farm-jacket on once again. Somehow, I just couldn’t find an opportunity to get rid of the thing. My spare pants looked oversized on her, but we rolled up the bottom hems.
“We have a lot to do today, I think we better get you sorted but first let’s start with breakfast.”
Normally breakfast was something exciting I looked forward to, but I agonised over the disappointed words Grenfell would inevitably level at me during breakfast when he heard I splurged on a female slave.
“Bwahahahahaha.”
Grenfell laughed so loud tears streamed down his face as he lay over the table while holding his sides. He certainly wasn’t taking the news as badly as I thought he would. It concerned me a little to be honest, even a few guests in the dining room looked suspiciously at us. He finally managed to get a grip on himself. Grenfell notice that Hana seemed perplexed at his behaviour.
“Excuse me…excuse me. I’m not laughing at you Hana; I’m laughing at what an idiot Shane is for falling for that pitch.”
Eh? There wasn’t any ‘pitch’ that I could recall, but I couldn’t deny I fell for something, so I patiently kept quiet, waiting for him to get it out of his system.
“Pleased to meet you Hana, my name is Grenfell. I’m a weaponsmith and Shane, whom you already know, is my apprentice.”
“I’m pleased to make your acquaintance, master.”
She stood up and bowed. Shocked, wouldn’t fully describe my utter surprise at her action. Why I didn’t get the master treatment when I first met her, instead of the ninja fist of death? Grenfell seemed pleased with Hana. I could clearly see his approval from the beaming smile on his face.
“Shane. I take it you’re going to buy some decent clothes for Hana?”
I scratched my head.
“Yeah, I’m kind of broke at the moment. I’m hoping to do a few quests first to earn some money.”
“Hana, are you able to do any combat?”
“Yes, I’m professionally trained in hand-to-hand combat. I can use most types of knives, swords, spears, and bows.”
Well, that explained a few things and it came as no bloody surprise to me. Her fist imprint still sat imbedded into that pavement where she nearly crushed my face. No wonder nobody wanted to purchase her, she probably intimidated every potential buyer with a thousand-fist-ultimate-stare. Unfortunately, I couldn’t appraise her skill stats without touching her and I no intention of getting my ass kicked after all, I liked my life. Grenfell rubbed his beard while mulling over her statement.
“You don’t say…would you mind looking after this apprentice of mine when he’s out hunting? He tends to forget he’s a blacksmith and not an adventurer.”
Why did everyone keep underestimating me? By the white wizened beard of the old man’s wrinkled face, why did my so-called master doubt my ability?
“I don’t see a problem with that, but I’m not effectively equipped.”
The old man spent a moment quietly thinking to himself while looking at Hana and me.
“Mm, here.”
He handed Hana a small carry pouch. When she opened the contents into her hand, she counted twenty small gold coins. I gaped at the sum of money he handed to her. That was a massive gift.
“Hana, buy clothes and decent fighting equipment for yourself. Your master will pay back the loan and if you need more, let me know.”
It dawned on me that I now owed a twenty-gold loan back to the old man.
“What? You never did anything like that for me?”
“I never needed to. Besides, even if Hana has no experience with monsters, she likely has more combat experience than you. It’s worth gearing her up if she’s going be covering your back when you’re out hunting. Am I right?”
I sighed, there was no beating that logic and it was the first time I saw Hana smile. I guess that smile alone made it worth it. Paying back that gold would be a serious pain though.
Hana stared at the gold in her hand. All her life as a slave she’d been poorly treated by humans. The last thing all her previous owners wanted was for her to have an opinion. That on its own made a slave worse off than a monster, at least a monster’s opinion came with teeth or claws. Which was why Hana decided to become a fighter, so that her future slave owners couldn’t abuse her or take her lightly. As a side effect, her masters considered her fighting ability as either a threat, obligation, or an ability to be misused. For the first time in her life, someone stupid enough to get thwarted into owning her, also happened to have a wise master. It confused her to say the least, but Hana experienced bad enough times to recognise when something promising lay before her.
“Oh, and by the way, come over to the workshop when you’re done. I’ll give you a decent sword and knife.”
Grenfell added. At the time I didn’t understand why he favoured her so much. Later, I came to appreciate his foresight. Mrs. Violet eyed me suspiciously as Hana and I left the inn, I guessed it wouldn’t be easy to convince her that I wasn’t some sort of deviant. Our first stop was at the second-hand clothing shop where the toothed lady looked more than happy to see me again. There had to be a more decent clothing shop somewhere in the city, but I had no idea where to start looking for it and we could go there some other time in the future when I earned more money.
When I indicated Hana would be doing the bartering the old lady didn’t seem too pleased to be dealing with a slave and voiced her unhappy opinion on the matter. I think the real issue was that the old lady somehow felt Hana would be far better at haggling her price down than I would.
“If you don’t deal with her, we’re taking our gold and going to another merchant.”
I put my foot down on blatant slave abuse, and that while in my presence.
“No, no, no problem. She deal, me deal. Fine, fine.”
Hana enjoyed the haggling, she seemed adept at it and besides, I would be endlessly embarrassed buying underwear for her. There was however a second-hand clothing item that caught my eye, and it turned out they had sizes for both Hana and me. Once I laid eyes on it, Hana didn’t have a say in it, and I could see she wanted to say something but kept wisely still, after all, dungarees weren’t to everyone’s taste. But she didn’t have a say in the matter. If circumstances forced me to live the isekai life, then I let me live the hero’s dream.