“Wake up Tsarra.”

“Hah!?” She was shaken out of her nightmare, and for a moment she couldn’t breathe – her lungs filled with memories of acrid smoke. She could vividly remember her skin sizzling from the fiery inferno, and the collapsing beams that smothered her cornered family.

“Get ready and come out, we have a long day ahead of us!”

Tsarra wiped down her cold sweat and quickly changed into the too tight dress that was growing smaller every day. Exill’s comment about her clothes had opened her eyes, and she suddenly understood the meaning behind the salacious looks of the patients she treated. It was… strange to think that only a few months prior, she had considered herself hideous, an oozing pustular monstrosity.

Needless to say, she had compared herself to Envy, graceful in her effortless beauty. It also didn’t help, knowing her value as a slave didn’t match even 5% of the Vampire’s sale price.

Now that her cup size had increased two sizes from AA to B, the dress no longer hung from the shoulders, accentuating her curves. Quickly brushing her long auburn hair, she rushed out to find Envy performing her warmup exercises.

“He’s outside.” The Vampire said, breathing heavily from exertion.

Tsarra thanked her and went outside to find Exill washing his face from the rain barrel.

His permanently tousled brown hair was swept back and the front of the tunic was wet from the water dripping down his chiselled jawline. Compared to her effeminate jade eyes, she always admired the intensity and depth of his emerald gaze.

Realizing she was staring at him, Tsarra quickly washed her face, then reached up on her tiptoes to flatten a stubborn curl on the back of her mentor’s head.

“You seem to be sleeping in a lot more, now that you have your own room.” Exill commented while setting off down the road towards the market.

“Um… it’s nice.” She replied simply, not wanting to mention the sudden bad dreams that plagued her each night.

“If you had accepted your wages like a normal person we wouldn’t be in this situation in the first place, and you would be buying your own clothes.”

Hearing him grumble only made her smile, causing her dimples to flash in affection. “You can pay me once you settle your debt and big sis is free. I don’t need anything else until then.”

“Since when do you call Envy ‘big sis’?” He asked with raised eyebrow.

“Um… I’ve never said it to her face, but isn’t she two years older than me?”

Exill shrugged. He just knew that the two women were biologically older than him, but the fact slipped his mind so often as he also lost track of his real age.

‘Did I die when I was 29 years old… and does that make me 30 or 47 years old?’ He inwardly shrugged. It made little difference to his current predicament.

After walking the streets for some time, the two arrived at Virigo central market. He picked out three sets of clothes, two of which were dresses. One was modest grey, and the other was a pale jade colour that matched the colour of her eyes. They visited several accessory vendors, picking out a ribbon of a darker shade of green to tie her hair back.

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Eventually, he saw her stop in front of a familiar stall and found himself facing the astonished vendor.

“You shameless scoundrel! Are you here to propose to her as well?” the Vendor shouted, recognising his distinct features. Exill quickly grabbed Tsarra’s arm before the Vendor could get a word in and left the market in the direction of the Clinic.

“Um, hey! I was looking at that. What did she mean by proposing to a girl?” She asked between breaths.

“I think she mistook me for someone else, we should hurry home.”

Tsarra’s intuition told her otherwise, but she held her tongue as they briskly walked home. When they arrived, she focused on Envy’s hand, and noticed a silver band around her left wrist.

‘Did she always have that?’

The Dwarf racked her brains trying to remember, but she had always looked away from the Vampire out of intimidation and struggled to recall such a specific detail. In spite of that, if someone had asked Tsarra to recollect what her Master wore, she would have been able to describe the cheap copper necklace, bracelet, and earring he always sported, together with his favourite clothes.

Tsarra organised her new belongings and worriedly watched Exill and Envy equip armour and weapons as if in preparation for a delve.

“Are you ready?” Envy asked, her hand resting on the pommel of her shortsword.

“Yeah, let’s go.” Although it was only a short trip to the well, he was relieved to have a fully armed Envy by his side. She exuded calm and professional competence, qualities that only a select few Mercs had.

Tsarra made to follow, but Exill pushed her back. “Stay here and guard the Clinic. Take this time to change into your new clothes as well. We’ll be back soon.” He patted her head affectionately and took the spear offered by Envy, then the two swiftly went down the side lane.

Tsarra watched helplessly from the doorway, wondering what it would take for her mentor to rely on her just a little more. She had practised shooting ice bolts and channelling a vortex of wind in their back yard and had grown quite proficient. It was apparently not enough.

Meanwhile, apprehension grew when the armed duo rounded the corner, revealing the well in the centre of the cottage cluster. However, the object of his nightmares wasn’t there, and he cautiously approached the site where the squat two storey building had stood just yesterday morning.

“It was here…” He gestured vacantly to the immaculate greenery around him.

Envy didn’t respond while maintaining her guard, ready for an attack. A minute later, Exill abandoned the search and they steadily retreated to the well, where he drew two buckets of water. They returned to the Clinic and was greeted by Tsarra, who had been waiting anxiously for their return. Feeling both relieved and apprehensive, a sigh escaped his lips when they entered inside.

‘If that Aberration can move… I don’t know where it will next pop up. I need to be on my guard.’

With the looming threat over, the preparations for the clinic’s opening went smoothly, and thanks to the arrival of Dyna they had fifteen minutes to spare until the first patient.

“Dyna, I would like you to spend the morning with me, then help Tsarra triage in the afternoon. I want the both of you to conserve your vitality and mana so that you have energy to study in the evening.”

Stepping into the treatment room with the young vixen in tow, he chose to ask her a few questions while waiting for the first patient.

“Did you think about the question I asked you yesterday?”

“Do you mean the areas that persistent rashes can form?” she asked slyly.

“N-no!” he coughed, “I meant the one where if your husband permitted you to choose freely, what would you assign as your second job.”

“Oh, that… I think I would choose to be a [Wizard]. I would adventure with my husband, taking down monsters, healing his injuries and relaxing in the Arena afterwards while watching a play.” Dyna had a faraway look in her eyes while remembering the vivid descriptions of the beasts Exill had faced in the Labyrinth. She released a heavy sigh.

“As I said yesterday, I’m sure you will find the perfect man who will do all those things.” he reassured her.

Dyna gave him a sceptical look, too much of a realist to succumb to hope. Exill recognised her expression, for it mirrored the one Envy often made. His heart broke a little at the realization that this young girl lived in a gilded cage, as much a slave to an external force as the Vampire.

Their discussion was interrupted again when the first patient of the day came in.