Despite my best efforts to stay on track killing monsters and consuming beast cores to become stronger, I somehow ended up at a town. No. Why the heck is there a town in the middle of the southern pass!?

“H-hey. Are you a mercenary, or a new breed of monster?” The two people at the gate didn’t seem very comfortable with my appearance. How rude.

“Do I look like a monster?”

“Yes…”

Oh. Right, I probably do. No one else wears skulls and bones around their body all the time like this. And every inch of me is caked with dried blood except for my eyes. My hair feels all gross too, and my tail can’t even be seen underneath all these rib bones. “I’m a mercenary…”

“…Right. The entry fee is ten gold.”

“Ten gold!? …Can I give you this bear penis instead?” Don’t ask me why I collected them! I totally didn’t! This was on the floor beside the guard. Mhm. It was just lying there, I can’t believe he didn’t see it earlier.

The two people exchanged glances. Were they going to deny it? “Two bear penises.”

Oh, look. There’s a second one lying around, what a coincidence. “Here, two of them.”

The two people grinned at each other and stored the parts away before opening the gate. “Welcome to the wilderness town.”

The wilderness town. For a town that’s in the middle of the wilderness, it reminds me a lot of the Ravenwood Empire’s capital city. The buildings are pretty much designed the same way, but there’s some moss and decay showing. The roads are a bit broken, but still brick and stone. And there’s lots of people here too, surprisingly. The only difference is everyone is staring at me instead of ignoring me.

“Monster?”

“No!” I really need a bath. And an interspacial ring to hide all these bones. Maybe I should’ve accepted that merchant’s offer.

“Whoa, those are some finely carved engravings on those bones. Are you selling? I’ll pay ten silver per bone.” An old man with a bald head slowly walked around me while hunched over. How the heck does an old man survive out in the wilderness? I shouldn’t trust him. I’m never going to trust anyone ever again except for Durandal. I won’t even trust the people he trusts, stupid Snow.

“Not selling.” Let’s find an inn to bathe. Then I can walk around without all these stares.

The old man’s eye twitched. “Do you know whom you just denied?” His body bulged as his back straightened. His muscles grew like water balloons until he was over two heads taller than me. “You should feel honored I even offered to pay for your crappy bones!”

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“I don’t get it. Are you actually old or just pretending to be old?”

“I’m young!” The hideous, beefy man swung his fist at me. Be skinnier like Durandal, please. Even Snow looked more pleasing.

“Breaking Blade!” It’s important to respect your elders. But if they’re only pretending to be old, it’s okay to beat them up. …Or send them flying. Wow, why was he so weak? I thought he’d be as strong as a bear at least. He looked as big as one. Then again, I did finish consuming bear, crocodile, and vulture beast cores. Don’t ask me how much time has passed. It feels like a single day since I haven’t sleep yet, but the changing of the sun and moon tells me otherwise.

“Strong…”

“He didn’t even use any spells.”

I’m a she! I need to take a bath to clear up this misunderstanding. “You there, where can I bathe?”

A well-dressed girl stiffened when I pointed mini-DalDal at her. “T-there’s an inn down the street. That way.” People tremble in my presence. I feel so much like Durandal—I bet he’d be proud.

The inn looked like a standard one from the Ravenwood Empire’s capital as well. I can’t actually be in the capital, can I? “Innkeeper! I need a bath.”

“Yes, you do.”

Don’t agree with me! “How much?”

“Five gold.”

“…If I gave you a bear penis, would you serve me food too?” Wow, there sure are a lot of bear penises lying around, huh? I wonder how much a crocodile’s would sell for. Twenty gold? There’s two of them from one crocodile after all.

“Yes. I’ll have a meal prepared for when you’re done.”

Thanks, faceless innkeeper who I didn’t bother describing. The bath was a simple room with a bucket and a hot water generating magic array. …That’s not fair. I always had to use cold water arrays in the army. Well, it’s a good thing I became a deserter…

Three usages of haste and a bone of speed later, I stepped out of the red bath. It looked like someone slaughtered an animal in there. Thankfully, there was a drain in the floor of the room that led somewhere. I even managed to wash my dress and bracelet and bones. I feel like a girl again! Now that I think about it, I’m glad I don’t menstruate like human women. Perks of being a beastkin!

“Hey, innkeeper, where’s the food?” Yes, bones of strength solve my hunger, but I want to taste something! I wonder if my tongue still works. I haven’t used it in a long time.

“Here you are.”

Wow. Fine. Don’t comment on my new appearance. Well, at least the food looks appetizing. …But I shouldn’t eat it. Damnit, Snow! All my trust in food is gone now! I’ll kill you! Painful death to all bunnymen! It looks like I wasted half a bear penis. Good bye, appetizing meal. You and I weren’t meant to be.

“Finished already?”

No need to rub it in! “I eat with my eyes.”

“I understand.”

Why are you so accommodating!? Question things people tell you! Ah, well, it’s not like it’s any of my business. I wonder if I can find any stores that sell interspacial rings here. The instant I stepped out of the inn, I sensed a lot of eyes staring at me.

“It’s a girl?”

“I wonder where she’s from.”

“Are beastkin even allowed her? How come I haven’t seen any?”

It seems like I don’t belong? What kind of place did I step into? Why was I even tempted to enter this town…? Right. Interspacial rings. I need one of those.

“Hey, beastkin. Where’s your master?”

So this place is a lot more like the Ravenwood Empire’s capital than I thought. “It’s her.” I pointed at the same trembling girl that I asked for directions to the bath. “Right?”

The girl stiffened. “R-right. She’s mine.”

Wow. This is fun. No wonder why Durandal likes flaunting his bloodlust. Wait! Does this mean I’ve finally attained the same level as bloodlust as him!? I have killed over thousands of beasts…. And these bones are pretty intimidating if I may say so myself. Happy days. I looped my arm around the trembling girl’s shoulder. “Alright, master! Let’s go!”

And I whisked her away.