“—so that’s why I think that I embody the spirit of Gravel Inn!”

I looked at the innkeeper before me with a bright smile. Yes, I was going to work here. Pffft, who needs the stinky Mercenary Guild?

“You’re in.”

And with that, I started my working life at Gravel Inn. ‘The future’s going to be great a—

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“H-Hey, I-I at least can get an employee discount, r-right?”

“...No. We can’t make a profit if you don’t pay the full price.”

Dammit, I miscalculated. The innkeeper only paid me three Silvers a month despite my food being very popular among Mercenaries. What a blood-sucking bitch!

But…it was currently the highest-paying job I had right now. So, I had to look for other side jobs.

Which took me to…a restaurant.

“Oh, you’re the little cook of Gravel Inn! Here to look for a job?”

I stared at the twirly-mustached chef in utter shock. “H-How did you know?”

“Well, John the Butcher told me that you came looking for a job at his place.”

Which failed miserably since I couldn’t even hold a knife.

“Mariah the Herbalist gossiped with me about how you were such a sweet and naive little girl, not knowing anything about your faunas.”

Obviously, that also failed. I knew next to nothing about herbs; even more so in social interaction.

“Oh, and Jack the Pickpocket also told me about how you begged him to teach you how to steal.”

Of course, with this town being very children-loving (with the Innkeeper and Guildmaster being the sole exception), even a criminal refused to teach me his trade!

“T-Then will you employ me? Mr…”

“Joseph.”

“Y-Yes, can I work here, Mr. Joseph?”

“Hmmm…we got a reputation to keep, and exploiting children doesn’t exactly help with that.”

“P-Please! You’re not exploiting me! I’m doing this willingly!”

“But other people won’t see it that way. But…you know what? You can’t be a cook, but you can do this.” He placed a bunch of boxes stuffed with food down before me. “Since you’ve been running around the town for a while now, you’re at least somewhat familiar with it, right?”

I nodded. The town was big, sure, but nowhere as big as Vetrix Empire’s Capital.

“So…what is it that I have to do?”

“You’ll be our delivery girl!”

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Being a delivery girl helped me make ends meet. Barely. And with the lodging fees increasing by the day, I was slowly running into a dire situation again after just six months.

So, I did the only thing I could do and…sold my clothes.

“Welcome, what’s our favorite deliver girl doing here?”

I looked at the Tailor before me. Yep, he was gonna take my clothes and sell them off for a higher price. The clothes that…contained so many memories…

But, the past was the past. I needed to make a better future for Nowa. So, I handed him my Shrine Maiden outfit.

“I’d like to sell this…”

The Tailor took out a magnifying glass and stared at it for several minutes. “Good quality. Otherworlders’ style, too. This will fetch you fifty Silvers.”

“W-What!? But I bought it for Golds!”

“Unfortunately, used goods could only be sold for so much. And if you could spend Golds on this, then surely, losing a few wouldn’t matter.”

I bit my lips. Hard. They almost bled. Wait, no, they bled.

I was never good at bargaining, but this… It was just cruel. In the back of my mind, I added the Tailor to the list of assholes. We got the Innkeeper, the Tailor, and the Guildmaster. Now, who else in the town would be looking to fuck me over…

“Now, delivery girl, I know that you have more clothes in that backpack.” The Tailor pointed his chin at my Space-enhanced Backpack. “Would you be willing to sell them now?”

I shook my head. I got enough money for now. And with that, I’d just bought myself more time to look for more jobs. Never would I step into this place again—

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“How many times has it been now?”

“Five…” I absentmindedly responded as I handed him my Gothic Lolita outfit.

In the span of another six months, I’d been here four more times. Dammit, nothing was going my way! Tensions were rising between Ravrt and Vetrix. It got to the point that Vetrix and Haein imposed sanctions on Ravrt!

I didn’t know what that meant, but it definitely raised the price of everything!

I opened my Backpack and sighed. ‘Everything’s gone…’ All that was left were Nowa’s clothes and my usual clothes—plain white shirt and long dress.

At this rate, Nowa and I could only last for another five months before we ran out of money entirely. So, I racked my brain to look for a solution.

‘Wait, I remember something…’

The gate Guard… He said something about an Orphanage.

‘Blue Glade, that’s its name? It’s worth a try…’

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“No. Get out of my face, now!”

I stared at the owner of the Orphanage in confusion. What? Why would she say that to me?

“W-Why can’t I get in?”

“I see you often at the inn. You got enough to sustain yourself. Leave this Orphanage. There are more children who actually need it more than you.”

“But I can’t—”

She shut the door in my face before I could utter another word.

Heh,

Hehe,

HahAHHAHA!

You want to fuck with me that much, don’t you!? Maybe it was just my bad luck, maybe it was the Monarch of Violence actually doing some bullshit to fuck me over.

Whatever the case was, I wasn’t going to give up just yet.

My mind drifted toward one particular person—the Guildmaster of the Mercenary Guild.

Although I still had some apprehension about being his daughter, I knew that I had to swallow my pride if I wanted Nowa to grow up healthily and normally.

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The Guild was just like how I remembered it: full of drunk men playing around, flirting with the receptionists.

-”Huh? That fox is here again?”

-”Is she eighteen already?”

-”Nahh…she looks too young…”

Among the murmurs directed at me, I could hear the rushed footsteps of someone making their way toward me. It was Clara—the Receptionist whom I first met.

“Esther? Why are you here? You know that you can’t apply…”

“I’m here to meet the Guildmaster.”

Clara gulped. “A-Are you going to accept his offer?”

“Why does it matter to you?” I crossed my arms and gave her a defiant look.

“Nothing.” She smiled. “It’s just that…the way you run around the town caring for your sister like that…it reminds me of my old self. A-Ah, I’m rambling, aren’t I? Take a seat. I’ll call the Guildmaster here.”

I sat at an empty table, ignoring the stares everyone was giving me. Soon enough, Clara returned with the Guildmaster behind her.

“Get out, you drats,” the Guildmaster shouted.

Thankfully, it wasn’t directed toward me.

-”B-But I haven’t received a contract yet!”

-”That’s right! I’m still drinking!”

“I don’t fucking care! Get out! It’ll only take five minutes. Are you a child or a grown-ass man?”

Everyone grumbled, but they soon left the Guild. Only Clara, the Guildmaster, and I were left.

The Guidmaster pulled a chair to him and faced me. “So, you’re accepting my offer?”

“With a condition,” I bluntly stated. “Don’t force me to call you ‘Dad.’ Don’t treat me sickly sweet as if I’m your real child. And don’t you dare change our surname!”

“Alright.”

‘E-Eh?’

He accepted it just like that?

“I’ll handle the legal documents. Your house is just outside the town, Eastward. You’ll see a gravel path, it’s impossible to miss.”

“A-a…”

“And by the way, how old are you again?”

Calming down, I answered, “Barely eleven.”

“I see, so you got here just in time. You can go now.”

I left the Guild in a daze. All of that was over in less than a minute. What? A-All this time, the solution to my problem was…that?

I burst out laughing. M-More than embarrassed, I felt…relieved. ‘Nowa…you don’t have to stay in that inn anymore!’ She could finally have a normal childhood, that was, assuming that the Guildmaster actually kept his word.

I ran to the inn in a giddy mood. Bursting into my room, I swooped in to hug Nowa. “Hehahah! Nowa!”

“Nn? What, Nee-chan?”

“We’re having a home! An actual home!”

“Yay~”

I scanned my room. Yeah, no need to actually pack anything since I literally didn’t have anything in my possession.

Putting on my backpack, I wrapped Nowa with my tail (because that was how I carried her). Apparently, my tail was strong enough to do that.

Having Nowa playing with my tail felt good, and Nowa herself liked it, too. So, I had no problem doing it.

I ran downstairs and met the Innkeeper.

“Where are you goin—”

“Fuck you, I’m quitting!” I covered Nowa’s ears, so I could swear without any restraint.

I threw my employee card in her face and ran out of the Inn. Serves that bitch right!

I then got to the Chef, who was smoking a roll of cigars in front of his Restaurant.

“Esther? What are you doing here?”

“I come bearing good news! The Guildmaster adopted me!”

“That’s very good news. But why are you telling me this?”

I faked a cough in embarrassment. “A-Ah, it’s just that you’ve been treating me well during the past years, a-and— look, I’m thankful!”

“Oh…so you’re quitting?”

“What?” I quickly spoke. “No! I’m just saying that I’ll have more time to work here now!”

The Chef gave me a hearty laugh. “Alright, Esther. Looks like I’ll have to give you a raise.”

“You’d better!”

I waved him goodbye and made my way out of the town. ‘Let’s see, East, right?’

East was the direction of the forest. And, just like the Guildmaster had said, there was a gravel road.

I followed the road happily. In the distance, I could see a cabin in the middle of a glade that had a big lake beside it. ‘That must be it!’

But as I took another step, I felt something wrap around my leg. ‘Vines?’ Those thick and sturdy vines lifted my body up and hung me up on a tree branch.

I flailed around, trying to cut the vine with my Aura Blade. However…the fear overtook me again.

‘Dammit, I can’t even use Aura Blade?’

This was bad. It was dusk, so if I couldn’t get out of here soon, I’d—

“Brother, look! I caught our dinner!”