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It was still quite dark inside the forest but, since the road was well maintained, probably due to the vicinity of the capital, we didn’t have to be too careful about where we stepped.

We still maintained a slow walk, though, mainly for prudence.

I could see the ground sufficiently well, and I was sure that I wouldn’t fall even if I tripped on something, since my balance and reflexes were pretty good, but the girl wasn’t as agile and sturdy as me and I didn’t want her to twist her ankle or break something in a fall, since I’d have to carry her for the whole voyage then. I could probably be faster with her on my back, and I could deal with the added fatigue, but I only wanted to offer some help, not be her babysitter, so she'd have to deal with things on her own while she was with me.

We walked like that, in silence, as the sky slowly brightened. Soon there was enough light that we didn’t have to concentrate too much on the ground in front of us. I enjoyed looking at the sights around me. Freya instead looked at the ground even now. She had been walking a few steps behind me, until I told her to move to my side, so I suspected it was another habit she had picked up working with the nobles.

“Hey,” I said, a bit bothered by that, “What’s so interesting on the ground?”

She looked up at me and answered quietly, “Nothing.”

Mmm, she still has to work on her responses, but at least she’s not jumping at my voice anymore.

“Why do you keep looking down, then?”

“…but I was taught to walk like this.” Was her answer.

I didn't like it.

“Well, you’re depressing, so stop doing that.” I then motioned at the surrounding trees with my arm. “Look around. Isn’t it nice to be out of that place? There’s no one here to tell you what must or mustn’t do. I certainly won’t. You can even run around naked for all I care.”

She took a step away from me, giving me a wary look. Ah, right… young girl. Such a pain.

“Oh, come on, don’t give me that look,” I said, exasperated.

I was about to say that there wasn't anything to look at, even if she did, but I stopped myself in time — even I wasn't that insensitive.

Instead, I said, “It was just an example. Like… you could walk on your hands and I won’t say anything? It doesn’t have the same impact, though.”

Not the best example I could have used, I admit. She didn’t come closer, but she seemed to let it go, and since she started to look around, I considered it a success.

We continued to chat like that on the empty road, and I felt it was the right decision to bring her along. I could bear with the silence, so long I wasn’t closed in a dark dungeon, but it was nice to have someone to talk to.

A while later we came across an opening in the trees on one side of the road, with the river on the other side. I thought the road would come near it at some point, but it was nice to see I was right — this looked like a place for foot travelers to camp before they reached the city.

“Time to bathe!” I said, excited. It was really starting to get unbearable. I also had to wash my clothes — if we could call them that.

I dropped off all my stuff and started taking off my shirt — if I hurried, we could be on the road not long after midday. Then, remembering Freya, I said, “I suppose you’re not comin’ in with me, but you should dip in later — your clothes don’t seem to be too dirty, so you won’t have to wait naked until they dry. I’ll guard the road while you wash, and you can do that for me now.”

She mulled over my words and then nodded, turning towards the road. I stripped and stepped in the water — it was cold. I had learned how to swim when I was a kid, but I hadn’t done it ever since I was sold at eight, and it was better to be careful when swimming on rivers, so I just stayed in the shallow waters. Washing with only my hands was hard, since it was difficult to scrape all I had on me, so I looked around to find a solution.

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“Mmm…” I said, picking up a branch from the water. I then used two rocks from the riverbed to smash and twist it into a ball. It worked, though it was a bit harsh on the skin.

When I washed my face, I looked at my reflection, noticing all the changes. I indeed looked a lot better compared to before. Dark brown hair, green eyes, and a manly face — add to that my muscular body, and I could be considered a stunner.

After I admired myself, I tried to wash my clothes without tearing them more than they already were. I had a hard time since I had never done it before.

When I went to call Freya in my wet underpants, a lot of time had already passed, but not much more than I thought, judging by the sun.

When she turned and saw me, she paused, staring.

"What? Stunned by my handsomeness?" I asked, flexing my muscles. Must be the first time she saw someone as good-looking as me. My body was something that I trained for years by pushing myself to the limit. Now that I didn't have scars and that I lost some fat, I looked absolutely amazing.

She paused for a moment before making a complicated face. "You're... a bit better?"

... I'm feeling kinda offended right now.

Since I was a magnanimous guy, though, I let it go. "Well, go wash yourself, I'll keep watch."

She then went to wash, looking a bit uneasy. It seems it will take time to have her trust me.

When she finished, we sat in a tree stump in the shade of the trees and I divided the jerky.

“This is too much,” she said, taking only a few strips and trying to give me back the rest.

I raised my eyebrows. “You’ll only eat that?”

She hasn’t eaten anything since yesterday, how could that be enough? Thinking about it, I should have offered her some when she woke up, but it had slipped my mind.

“Yes,” she answered with a nod. It really looked too little, though.

Maybe that’s why she’s so small. You need food to grow up big, after all. I didn’t want to tell anyone how to live their life, but, an advice, I could give. I was fond of her, after all, so I would help where I could.

“Look girl, I won’t tell you what to do or don’t do, but I really think you should eat more,” I said after some deliberation, “You need food if you want to grow up. If that’s how much you usually eat, I’m not surprised you still look like a ten-year-old.”

She looked a bit hurt, but she had to know it. I tried to find another argument, though, since I didn't see her moving. “Besides, we’ll have to walk a lot, and you’ll need the energy. I will not carry you today too.”

That seemed to do the trick. She took them back with a hesitant nod and started eating.

“Great," I said, satisfied with my persuasion. "Also, since this is a good opportunity, I may as well clarify a few things with you,”

She looked at me while biting on a piece of jerky.

“Truthfully, while I am happy about my sudden freedom I am also feeling a bit lost due to the suddenness since I haven’t planned about what I would do once free,” I told her, then took a bite too, before continuing, “It’s not that I never thought about it, but they were more like fancy dreams, not detailed plans, so I’m not sure where to start now.”

I let that sink in as I ate a few more pieces. She, too, was eating diligently, though at a more sedate pace — I was devouring mine.

“One of those fancy dreams, and the one I am most inclined to follow right now, is to travel around the world. To do that, though, I need money, so I thought of working as a mercenary for the time being since fighting is the only thing I have experience in. I have also thought of being an explorer, but I don't have the skills for that, and neither do I know where to get them. I think it would be good to keep it as a future objective, though,” I said, trying to organize my thoughts as I explained them to her.

After I ate another piece of jerky, I continued, “To become a mercenary, I first need to reach a city and register on the Mercenary Guild as a single mercenary — is what I’ve been told. But here comes the problem… you.”

She stopped eating, taken aback, so I clarified.

“I need to know what you want to do. Just to be clear, I am quite happy with having you around, but I don’t intend to be your nanny. If you want to follow me around you’ll have to pull your own weight,” I said, then looking her up and down, “And since I plan to feed you well you’ll hopefully weigh a bit more by then.”

She was really tense now.

“As I said, if you wish to follow me you’ll have to pull your own weight, but I’m not stupid enough to believe you can do that without anyone teaching you anything and, since I quite like having you around, I am offering to train you. You should be clear about a few things, though, before you make your decision.” I looked her in the eyes, "I have no intention of going easy on you just because you're a girl. The training I will give you will be hard, and painful, and it will be pure hell for you — I will also not accept you backing out in the middle."

I wanted to make this perfectly clear.

"And most important of all," I said, putting as much emphasis as I could in the words, "You will be forbidden from taking a Class."

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