“Mother… Father…”

A young girl with medium length blond hair stood in one place in an open field staring at the only picture she had left of her parents. Tears began to well up in her eyes as she recalled the recent events that had transpired.

“Well then little missy, how about you and me get comfortable with each other? Heh heh heh”

A tall slender man with white hair towered over the girl’s petite figure as she sat down trembling on the ground of an empty mansion.

“What are you doing to my daughter!”

The girl’s father with anger mixed in his voice spoke back to the tall slender man as he made his way into the mansion.

“Relax, I’ve read the contract. No harm will befall her, but girly, you’ve got a nice body. How about it? You could get a lot of money selling yourself.”

Licking his lips with a vulgar expression, the debt collector continued to harass the girl.

“Your business here is finished is it not?!! If so then get the hell out here!”

“Che, well then little girl, I’ll see you soon. Heh heh heh”

Clicking his tongue, the tall slender man dressed in flashy clothing made his way out of the mansion.

“Misha… I’m sorry it became like this”

“Father… everything will be ok, won’t it?”

The girl who had recovered from the shock of losing everything had earnestly asked her father with a worried expression.

“I’m sorry Misha, but after this I won’t be able to see you anymore.”

“But father you’re innocent! Why is it that don’t they believe you?!!”

Misha, almost shouting on the verge of tears, she wanted to know why her father wasn’t being pardoned. Her father who had been the King’s most trusted, and loyal retainer for the past twenty years, the father who was bestowed upon the nobility rank of Arch Duke, the father that pledged lifelong loyalty to his highness, that same father who had grown up alongside the King as his best friend was going to be killed on groundless evidence of betrayal.

Thoughts of anger and sadness swirled inside Misha at the thought of not only losing her mother, but her father as well. A few years ago her mother had been murdered by a mysterious person who also seemed to have white hair. Since then, various odd events began to unfold around her surroundings. Now, her father, a well trusted subordinate of the King of Minerva Kingdom was to be sent to death. At this time, Misha thought that surely the slender man and the mysterious person were one in the same, and had caused this discord as if they were just chess pieces on a playing board.

“I’m sorry Misha. You must leave soon, tomorrow I’ll be taken. When that happens, I won’t be able to do anything to that vile, disgusting man! Please, you must go! This is all that I have left… please take it and go!”

Taking out a small coin bag from his inner coat, he handed the bag to Misha.

“It is enough to last you a week if you spend frugally… I wish I could give you more…”

While holding a bag with its content filled with only a few measly silver, Misha had finally begun to tear up at the thought of her no longer being able to see her father.

“Misha, you are well endowed with magic. It would be best if you became an adventurer…”

Tomorrow was the day her father was to be executed. He was to be executed on the grounds of being a traitor to the kingdom. His crimes detailed of various acts of manipulation, and treason.

Misha’s father was also scared. Not scared for his life, but scared for his daughters. Unable to protect his wife as he watched her die in front of him, he lamented that he couldn’t do more for his own flesh and blood. He lamented the fact that he didn’t wasn’t strong enough to face the reality before himself. And worst of all, he lamented that he himself had betrayed the king’s, his best friend’s, expectations. Everything he had crumbled into nothingness as he watched his daughter sobbing in front of him.

“Father… we could escape together!”

For an instant, the man’s face lit up. But shortly after, it grew dim. He was happy that his daughter thought so highly of him. So much that she even considered throwing away her own freedom and become a fugitive aiding in the escape of a criminal. As a sign of respect towards his once trusted retainer, the King allowed him freedom until the day of his execution.

“I must face the consequences of my actions. I will stay here and follow through with the King’s order… They may take away the luxuries of life, but they cannot take away my pride”

He refused he throw away the little pride he had left inside of himself. To that end, no matter what, he wouldn't run away from his crimes.

He wanted his daughter to live on if nothing else. He had thought it was by his own blunder that he was cast into this pool of acid that slowly ate away at his consciousness.

“Then father… this is goodbye…”

“Misha, take care of yourself”

With their final farewell, Misha too, made her exit as the sun had set leaving the world colored in darkness dimly lit by the stars above. She vowed to exact revenge upon the man with white hair, and if he wasn’t the one sowing turmoil within the kingdom, then she would find the person who was.

The man sat alone in his empty mansion that was plundered by the man with the white hair. Losing his rank, his house and fortune had been taken away. And even now, he was stripped of even his family. At the moment, he was nothing more than a common man who would die alone with no friends or family beside him. He had sent his young fourteen year old daughter, one year before her coming of age, into the world of adults alone with nothing. He sat and prayed, for the safety of his daughter.

“I pray to the gods, please watch over my daughter if nothing else…”

The girl with tears flowing from her eyes woke from her daydream recalling the past events.

It had already been almost three months since that incident. She had cast aside her family name, Lebard, in order to escape the watchful eyes of the nobles who scorned her family. No matter where she went, she couldn’t find suitable work in Minerva Kingdom. Her mind was slowly beginning to crack.

Everywhere she went her history tormented her, not allowing her to find any jobs. Even the adventurer’s guild inside the kingdom had shunned her. She was forced to live off of food scraps on the streets, and she was even sometimes horribly beaten from passing nobles who recognized her.

Eventually she made her way outside of the kingdom, tired of the beatings and hateful stares; she wound up at the merchant town Canute. Upon reaching the south gate entrance, the guards had barred her entrance. Without any money on her person, she scornfully glared at the guards who seemed like they would spit on her if she came any closer. She wandered off into a nearby field to get away from the society that seemed to constantly remind her she was nothing more than garbage on the side of the road. Her beautiful red robe had been dirtied over the months, and blended into into a disgusting purple color with all the dirt stains. Although she was able to cast cleaning magic on herself, she couldn’t repair the clothes that time slowly had eroded away at. Even her beloved magician’s hat was no longer pointy. The top had rounded out, and had spots with various patches from being torn just like her robe. Along with her ragged clothes, her hair was also in a complete mess. She had been unable to properly bath for so long that her golden blond hair had become slightly dull.

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Wiping away her tears, she walked further into the fields as she held onto the picture of her mother and father.

*Pon!*

“Gueh!”

Making an awkward sound as she had been attacked by a slime, she had dropped her picture. Immediately, she began to look around the only remaining item that was precious to her. Frantically, she searched. Only to find, that the slime that had attacked her had eaten the picture. Inside of its translucent slime body, it was quickly being dissolved.

“AHHH!!!”

She screamed. The last thing she had to remember her mother and father by was eaten by a slime. A picture of a young mother and father, happily smiling holding onto their young daughter who wore a cheerful smile dissolved into nothing.

The feeling of helplessness overwhelmed her. Incoherently, she began laughing and chanting magic at the same time.

“HYAHaHAhAhaHAhHahAHahAhA”

Tears streamed down in waves. Many different types of emotions spiraled inside of her. Her mind had finally broken from the overwhelming emotions that engulfed her.

“DIe! dIE! DiE! dIe! Die! dIE! DIEEEEE! BuRN! BUrN! bURN! BURn! AhhHhHyAHAHAHahAHAha”

Sparks of fire surrounded her, as she continually casted magic alongside her crazy laughter, spouting nonsense as the slime before her melted.

“Haaah, haah, hah”

Breathing heavily, she herself also understood. Something inside of her was no longer the same. Every time she looked at a slime, she felt the urge to blast them away with every ounce of magic she possessed out of spite and hatred. For a long time, she continued to seek out slimes, and destroy them.

“ROAARRR”

Far off in the distance, she heard a loud roar. There was a silhouette of a dragon, and a human engaged in combat. Unconsciously, Misha cast analyze and walked forward as the words “Slime” entered her vison. For her, even if it looked like a dragon, it was nonetheless still a slime. It was something that she needed to kill by her own hands.

“Ignite the flames of discord, [Explosion]!”

It was a chant that suited herself extremely well at this moment in time. As Misha came within range of the dragon on the verge of spewing out its breath, she had quickly chanted and fired off her spell towards the dragon in the air, as something akin to vomit exited the dragon’s mouth.

Her spell seemed effective, as the dragon slime had crashed into the ground. In a tone even Misha herself was unfamiliar with, she spoke to the young man whom was staring at her in surprise.

“aRe yoU AlrIgHt?”

“thank you”

It was the first time in a long time, that someone had said those words to her. After such a long time, another human had shown her some slight compassion. Misha was grateful for having met a person who thought of her as another human being.

“HerE IT COmeS! gO DiSTraCt it WHilE I’m cAsTinG”

Unable to fix the voice coming out of her throat, Misha began chanting once again as the Dragon came forward.

“Ignite the flames of discord, [Explosion]!”

Again, she casted. This time taking one of its wings, the dragon fell forward. A wave of dizziness came over her, as she completed the spell.

“Did I perhaps use too much magic?”

Misha had been, for the past few hours, constantly casting magic on slimes over and over, exacting her revenge. Only now did the sense of mana depletion hit her. But right now, she couldn’t let down the only human that had treated her humanely. She reaffirmed her resolution, and focused her mind on another spell as she began casting.

“Droplets of fire, rain down on my enemy! [Fire Rain]!”

Her vison instantly became blurry as she casted an intermediate spell. Misha wobbled forward slightly just before falling to the ground. Unable to summon up any more energy, she lost consciousness.

After an unknown amount of time had passed, Misha woke up on a bed inside an unknown room. The bed was something she hadn’t slept in for a long time. Just sitting on it alone made her feel sleepy from the comfort it provided. Looking outside of the window, it was dark outside. On the side of the bed, on top of a nearby shelf was a plate of food that had gone cold. She slightly hesitated before completely devouring the food, savoring every bite. The person who brought her here wasn’t present inside the room, and was nice enough to even leave her food for when she awoke. Misha couldn’t hold in the amount of happiness she felt, as she cried softly at the compassion she felt.

Wiping away the beads of tears, her eyes finally adjusted to the nightly darkness, she once again looked out the window. Outside was a backyard with a decent size. The stars illuminated the green grass and the single tree in the yard. Noticing a young man sitting underneath the tree, she eyes opened up widely. It was the same man she met fighting off the dragon. Although she couldn’t see his figure well, she somehow felt he was the same person.

Wandering her way outside, she approached closer to the man who was leaned against the tree with his eyes closed. Sensing that he was asleep, she came closer, face to face to the man that had given her a warm bed to sleep in for the night, as well as some food. Staring at the man, he had black hair. His body wasn’t slender, nor was it big. It was, in her own perspective, the perfect body type. On his face, more particularly his eyes, was a thin dark circle probably due to one or two sleepless nights. It seemed they would go away with proper rest in the next few days. Other than that, Misha had clearly thought this young man with black hair was handsome.

As his body slightly began to fall to the side, Misha hurriedly caught him before he hit the floor. With his face so close to hers, she felt her face become hot, as her heart began to beat faster. And on a whim, she decided to accompany the young man until morning. She placed his head on her lap, and with a smile began to hum as she too, fell deep into sleep.