I woke up feeling refreshed about two hours after falling back asleep. I wasn’t even remotely tired, but still found it rather easy to sleep after laying in silence for a few moments, and allowing my body to relax. I sat up, looking over to the bed where Ella was still in a deep sleep, clinging tightly to her pillow as a series of incoherent sentences tumbled from her drunkenly smiling lips. From the skewed position of her body and the way her hair lay spread across her face and the bed around her, it was clear she does not sleep peacefully.
My eyes settled on Brook, who was sitting up on the edge of the bed, staring at the ground next to me while likely thinking about something. She was wearing the nightgown we bought last night, which was grey with a dark green lining around the edge, which looked a bit odd to me, but she seemed to like it so I guess it’s fine. She looks bothered by something... Maybe I can help? She is my servant now, and that makes me responsible for her mental well-being just as much as her physical, so the least I can do is try.
“What are you thinking about?”
I spoke, catching her slightly off-guard and causing her to quickly snap her gaze over towards me in response. Our eyes met for a moment before she broke away from my gaze, and... is she blushing? No, it’s just my imagination, the pink tint is barely visible and probably just a result of the intense heat radiating off Ella. The silver-haired girl shifted, moving her hands from their previous place in her lap to a new resting position on the bed next to her as she considered my question.
“Trying to think of a way to serve master... there’s nothing to cook, and I wouldn’t know how anyway. I can’t go out and buy food because Ella has the money, not to mention I have trouble dealing with the people here. The only way I can think of helping is...”
She trailed off, her face becoming a deeper shade of red as I considered her dilemma and tried to come up with a solution. She needed a way to help me or else her position as my servant would be completely useless and would just end up being a demeaning role for both of us. Hmm... a beautiful young girl willing to do anything I ask... no, the reason I accepted her offer was to get her away from that life, besides I don’t really know whether or not I have the mental strength to initiate something like that. She is incredibly strong, and has experience fighting, but we don’t really have any enemies that pose any immediate threat, so that’s not really needed. I closed my eyes in an attempt to enhance my concentration, but still nothing came to mind. Damn, this is harder than I thought.
I pushed the blanket off me, and reached over to my left where my hat was sitting, resting exactly where I had left it before falling asleep. I picked it up before habitually placing it on my head, feeling the comforting leathery material hug my head as I pulled myself to a standing position. Opening my eyes and temporarily putting my thoughts on hold, I noticed Brook staring at me with an odd expression on her face. Her eyes were wide and her arms wrapped around her small chest as if she was trying to keep warm, and her legs were pulled up onto the bed with her, making her entire body seem even smaller than it already was.
I followed her gaze down, and realized the cause of her surprise, which was my half-naked body. I had removed my shirt in the middle of the night, and was now only wearing the blue trousers I had bought to sleep in and my cowboy hat. While not necessarily revealing, my chest was exposed and the cowboy hat on my head kind of made me look not dissimilar to a male stripper. Holy mother of god! What the hell can I now!? Wait... calm down... this world doesn’t have cowboy hats, so she probably isn’t thinking about something like that. She is probably just uncomfortable because I’m shirtless and not a huge ogre with bulging muscles and battle scars.
Now that I think about it... what do I look like? I still haven’t seen myself since I came to this world, and I could be ugly as sin, or have three nipples or something else that would catch someone off-guard. I looked closer at myself, though I didn’t have a mirror so I could only see my body, and noticed a couple of interesting things. The first and most prominent things were the scars, which had faded to the point where I hadn’t noticed them earlier, but were most certainly there. Three long lines ran across my abdomen in perfect horizontal lines from one side to the other with about an inch of space between them.
Those were likely the main cause of my death, but no memories came to mind no matter how long I looked at them. Then next thing was another slit, this one much smaller than the others, only about three inches long, however, this one brought out something, a memory of my previous life.
I saw a young girl, maybe seven or eight years old, and a little taller than I was at the time. She was crying heavily while clutching a little doll in her arms, holding it tightly against her body as if trying to comfort it. Seeing this, I approached her with the intention of trying to make her fell better, but she noticed my approach and took a step back warily. Tears still streamed down her face, and she had started hiccuping, but despite all that her gaze was strong and suspicious. She was pretty, with short black hair roughly cut off at her shoulders and a ragged pink dress hanging down over her thing, malnourished frame.
I was unsurprised though, everyone that lived in this area, including me, barely got enough food to survive on and only stayed alive by trusting the select few that had proven themselves trustworthy. It was not uncommon to see the dead bodies of men, women, children, and the elderly lying on the streets from where they had collapsed, or been killed. I let her know that I had no ill intentions by keeping a distance, and raising my hands up over my head to where she could see them. Seeing her relax slightly, I spoke with a soft tone that my father had taught me to use, keeping my hands up where she could see them.
‘What’s wrong?’
She reacted to my voice by clutching the doll tighter, ruffling it’s little yellow dress as she brought it up to her face, keeping her eyes suspiciously fixed on my every movement.
‘Stranger.’
She softly muttered one word, and I completely understood her meaning since I had felt the same way before when people walked by me and my father on the street.
‘People are much more terrifying than any monster.’
My father had told me once after beating the crap out of a man that had tried to mug us.
‘Because it’s often hard to tell the difference between the good people and bad ones.’
I had to somehow convince her that I was a good person and not someone that is trying to hurt her. Trying to think of some way to convince her, I plopped down into a sitting position, crossing my legs under me while keeping my hands up to assure her that I wasn’t going to try anything. After a moment, a thought came to my mind, a memory of something my father often did with me that had always made my day infinitely better.
Slowly... taking great care to avoid scaring off the frightened girl in front of me, I reached down to the dirt next to me and removed a single pebble. Holding it up for her to see, I raised my other hand, and pretended to grab it and hold it in my fist while had I really just let it slip down into the hand it was originally in. Curious, she lowered the doll slightly, and looked intently at the hand that she thought was holding the pebble as her suspicious demeanor drifted away.
I opened it, revealing the empty palm of my hand and she gasped in shock, looking around for the pebble that I must have dropped somewhere, but found nothing. I raised my other hand with a big smile on my face, and showed her the pebble from earlier, and only intensifying her curiosity as she took a step closer.
‘Again.’
She spoke, this time letting the doll down a little bit as she watched my hands even more closely while searching for the answers to the mysterious trick. I nodded, and repeated it again... and again... and again over and over until the afternoon sun sank behind the slum rooftops and the cool breeze of the night began rolling in, carrying along the horrors that came with it. It was about to get incredibly dangerous outside, so the two of us made a deal. We would meet the next day at that exact same spot, and at the exact same time to continue from where we left off.
Still a little bit wary of me, she refused to shake on it, and simply ran off in the opposite direction of my home, probably towards her own. I didn’t know why she was crying, or why her parent would let her run around in this town unsupervised, but figured her father must be like mine and have to work all day long. She had probably gotten bored, like me, and snuck out some back entrance to go play around, then got hurt, which was why she started crying.
With that, I headed back to my own home feeling much happier now that I had potentially just made my first friend. My dad had always told me that friendship was a treasure worth infinitely more than any amount of money in this, or any other world, and should be treated as such.
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‘Then that’s what I’ll do! That girl is now my friend, and I will treat her like treasure!’
I announced to myself after a full walk home, thinking the entire time about that girl with the doll and what it would take to make her my friend. I didn’t really get the treasure part, but thought I’d figure it out eventually, so I didn’t really worry about it.
I came back to the present feeling pretty nauseous after the flashback, and took a couple of deep breaths to regain my focus. The feeling quickly faded, and I was able to fully recover from the memory in mere moments. I suppose these constant flashbacks have a couple of limitations, but it is a bit odd that I would feel the repercussions now rather than yesterday when they were happening one right after the other.
My thoughts were interrupted when I became aware of a pair of eyes watching me, and noticed Brook still sitting on the bed where she had been previously, a look of concern replacing the initial shock. She was very observant, and probably noticed my discomfort after the memory ended, so I waved reassuringly, letting her know I was alright. She hesitantly accepted my gesture, standing abruptly before turning, and walking over to where the clothes I wore yesterday were neatly folded. Ella had cleaned them last night with the weird purple fire she referred to as the “Cleansing Flame”, which I’m pretty sure she made up on the spot, before we separated and folded them, placing the products in the corner of the room.
The silver-haired girl picked up the clothes that were in the spot designated for me, then walked over to where I was standing. I gratefully smiled, and reached out with both hands to accept the clothing, but quickly found that her intentions were not just to deliver my clothes to me. She placed the jogging pants on the ground, and lifted the vampire’s hunting cloak up, displaying it in front of me before gripping it’s hem, and holding it up expectantly.
There was a significant height difference between us, and she couldn’t reach over my head, not to mention I was wearing a hat at the moment. I sighed, and removed the hat, bending over to let her slide the cloak across my back while I stuck my arms through the holes in the sides. After it was on my body I straightened, letting it fall into place as it rested lightly on my shoulders while pulling down at the hem to smooth some of the wrinkles.
Brook reached down, then lifted the matching sweat pants with blood-red lines running down either side, displaying them before reaching toward my waist. Nope. I stepped back, raising my hands up awkwardly in front of me while forcing a smile on my face.
“It’s alright, I’ll just wear these.’
I laughed nervously, hoping beyond all hope that Brook would relent and let me walk away with my dignity, as well as whatever small amount of confidence I actually have, intact. Relief flooded over me as Brook nodded, and began lowering the dreaded pants in resignation.
“Doesn’t match.”
A voice sounded from behind the silver-haired girl, and the two of us turned to look at the owner with a bit of confusion. Ella was sitting up with her knees pulled up to her chest which forced me to look away since her yellow nightgown only came down to her thighs in the first place. Rubbing her eyes sleepily with her left hand, she raised her right and pointed at me with a short, slender finger that cut through the air mercilessly.
“Blue pants doesn’t match red shirt.”
She was still sleepy, and spoke lazily despite her steady hand, but her thoughts were effectively conveyed to the girl in front of me. Brook, turned back in my direction, bringing the vampire’s hunting pants to bare yet again with a renewed sense determination reflected in her eyes. Oh no. I need to do something to get out of this situation, but there’s no escape in sight. I look over desperately at the one who condemned me to this fate for any kind of help, but Ella simply stretched her left arm over her head, pulling it further with her right hand while letting out a yawn.
“Haaaa... just don’t make a baby, since I called dibs first.”
Brook froze as Ella spoke her mind yet again. The girl in the grey nightgown trembled slightly for a moment, her face dyed pink as she took a deep breath to steady herself, and held out the pants yet again, but this time presenting it for me to take. I completely understood her reaction, the only way I was able to remain outwardly unfazed is due to my guard naturally being put up the moment I found out Ella was awake. I accepted the clothing while nodding my thanks.
Brook turned away, and, after a few minutes of convincing, I talked Ella into looking away as well before I finished getting dressed, then headed out so the girls could change. A few moments passed by, and I noticed a decent sized mirror leaned up against the wall across from me, idly sitting on the ground. There were a few pieces of shattered glass on the floor around it, so I assumed someone must have broken an older mirror last night, and this one was here to replace it sometime in the near future.
I stepped out into the middle of the hall, the ground letting out a dull noise as my foot collided with the hard wooden floorboards. Bending over, I looked at my reflection for the first time in my memory, scanning my facial features intensely, while removing the hat to get a better look. I had dark brown eyes that looked almost black under the shadow of my dark eyebrows, just that would make me look like some sort of super-villain, but there was much more. My light brown hair was cut in a short, efficient way that required little attention, while the bone structure of my face seemed to give off an intimidating vibe. The overall ensemble made me look similar to a battle-hardened veteran despite my young age of only eighteen or nineteen.
I was looking at myself without any negative thoughts or feelings, yet my reflection looked seriously pissed off anyway. I wasn’t necessarily ugly, though I doubt many girls will be fawning over my thug look that was probably developed by surviving more than a few life-and-death situations. My thoughts went to the girls, who seemed think enough of me to stick around, and Ella is even trying to marry me... although her judgement is a bit off, it still feels nice to have someone care about me, even if it’s only superficial feelings.
The door opened behind me, and the two girls exited the room, Ella wearing the same clothes as yesterday while Brook was dressed in a brand new set of clothes that she had picked out earlier. The outfit included a deep red shirt with a black skirt and matching slippers that, when paired with her emotionless gaze and smooth silver hair, was pretty intimidating despite her small stature.
“Let’s go!”
Ella took off down the hall, and the two of us chased after her as she giggled excitedly, running straight out of the building. The two of us were much faster than the elf, and caught up to her quickly after leaving the building, where she then slowed to a walking pace. The elf breathed deeply for several seconds before she was able to recover, but the moment she did her energy returned in a flash and she began skipping along side me.
Brook walked closely on my right side seemingly unfazed by her surroundings, but her eyes sparkling as they darted from one building to the next. Her curiosity bubbled to the surface as she saw the things she had only dreamed of during her time as a gladiator in that horrific arena. Though she didn’t skip like Ella, she did sway slightly, which gave away her feelings despite the rest of her body’s attempt to hide them.
A smile formed on my face as I watched the two girls enjoy themselves in this magical city full of massive animal-people.
A carriage came up behind me, pulled by two large minotaurs that were at least the size of the ogres that I had fought earlier, suddenly stopping next to me as it slid across the ground, coming to a screeching halt to my left. I looked over to where Ella was, making sure she didn’t leave my sight, but the elf had already stopped, and was curiously wandering over toward us. I looked at Brook, who was standing behind me, making sure she was nearby before turning to face the carriage. The entire vehicle was a brilliantly untainted white, decorated with intricate golden designs that ran across it’s entire surface including it’s matching wheels.
The door swung open, revealing a flamboyant wolf-man about thirty years old and dressed in a solid red long-sleeve shirt and matching trousers, which seemed to blend in with the red interior of his ride. I noticed something that seemed to contrast with the red inside, a white dress that hung tightly to a beautiful girl that had incredible white bunny ears poking out of her head. Oh... it’s the girl from earlier. Her name was Grace, I believe, but I don’t remember her last name. That’s seriously going to bother me.
“That hat! It’s so... unique! I must have it, what is your price?”
The man announced something while looking at the hat resting on my head with an excited gaze. I placed my hand on it, resting the weight of my arm on the top as I pushed it down further on my head.
“Sorry... this hat has sentimental value, and I can’t sell it.”
I replied with a smile, but got an unexpected response. The wolf-man sighed, and nodded while the bunny-eared girl behind him rolled her eyes, and turned her attention to something outside the opposite window. What? Did I say something weird?
“Yes, yes, Just name your price. There is no need for all of this negotiation since I have no intention of trying to save money.”
Oh, he thought I was being a shrewd businessman, and the sentimental value thing was only a ploy to gain more money. I suppose I should clear this up.
“I’m serious, this hat is not for sale. It’s by far my most precious possession and no amount of money or power will change my mind. I’m sorry, but I have no intention of selling it to you or anyone else.”
There, that should set things straight. Wait, what’s with that look? The man stared at me with a penetrating gaze, seeming to have trouble understanding what I was trying to say. After a moment, it seemed to register, and anger flashed across his eyes before quickly disappearing behind a well-polished facade of superiority.
“I see... then, what about one of your other valuable possessions?”
His eyes drifted away from me while I tried to figure out what he was referring to. I didn’t really have anything else besides the clothes on my back, but I’m sure he could but those at some store, so what could he mean by othe-... oh. I followed his gaze back to Ella and Brook, who were looking anxiously back at me, obviously understanding his intentions. Now that isn’t okay, there was no way in hell I was going to let him get away with calling Ella and Brook “possessions”-no.. wait. I have to calm down, getting angry helps no one.
Ah, Damn it all to hell. I turned back to the wolf man, my disapproval very evident on my face as I spoke two words I’m sure I will regret later, but right now, they felt really good to say.
“Fuck off.”
I grabbed the girls’ wrists, and started off without looking back to see their reactions, but remaining very cautious of any attack that may come. We walked without looking back, and I began to feel slightly embarrassed at my little outburst, so I intentionally avoided looking at the expressions Ella and Brook were making. God... I am such an idiot.