Chapter 3: Alleyway Encounter

Part 1

“Bye Lu! I’ll see you again when you enroll in the academy!”

“Ye-yeah, bye Maura…please let go of me, the carriage is waiting for you”

With those parting words, I say goodbye to Maura for a long period for the first time in my life. The reason for it is very simple. Although both Maura and I got tutoring while we were growing, a form of public education still exists, if you have the necessary method of payment for it. The reason why it’s called public is simply because you’re allowed to visit no matter your background, but it’s clear that only those whose families have good income get to enter. The Academy of Magic and Specialties, as it’s called, is the only source of higher education in the nation of Germas, it only accepts students that fill three requirements:

1. Be 15 or older of age

2. Know language and arithmetic

3. Pass the entrance exam given to you by the academy

If you can pass those requirements you can enter the academy and attempt a higher education in whatever field you desire. You can be a magic technician, a trader, a fighting expert, or even apply to enter the nation’s military through the academy; in Maura’s case, she is going through the medicinal course, her abilities manifested when she was 14 and when she turned 15 she applied and got accepted. I’m still just 12, so I must wait 3 more years before I apply, but until then I’ve hit an even bigger barrier than the one I had when I was 4. This barrier is boredom…without Maura in the house I have nobody close to me to talk to, I read all the books in the library over the years, and since in this world magic abilities manifest as the person hits past 13, I have nothing new to do for now. Because of that, today I decided to take a walk outside of the mansion and see where it takes me.

*             *             *

“He-hey!!! Let go of me already!!”

“Hehe, you know very well I can’t do that, after all, you’re our precious payment”

While walking through the alleyways closer to the center of the city, I heard the screaming of a girl, but from the way things were going, it was a case of slave trading or the like. Point is something I don’t want to be involved with. So I continued walking in the other direction but it seems like the abduction wasn’t over.

“Hey! Wait!!”

As one of the two men that were dealing with the girl yelled off, the frail-looking girl ran as fast as her legs could carry her. Keep fighting, maybe you’ll get your freedom. As for why I didn’t help her, the answer is quite simple, I’m only 12, I don’t have a strong sense of justice, and the two chasing the girl, despite clearly being on the low end of the spectrum when it came to brain power, they clearly had some brawn to back up the parts they lacked…yet they manage to lose hold of a frail girl…

*crash*

…Why am I all bloodied and smacked against a wall?

…Rather, why is that girl on the opposite side of me?

…The little bitch crashed into me. Sigh, it’s fine, it’s just a few scratches, I can handle it. Alright, ojou-chan, mind giving me some help here…? Oi oi, you’re planning to leave me here after you crashed into me!? I mean, I understand you’re in a hurry but at least a sorry would suffice…no? Well, congratulations, I’m pissed now and unfortunately for you, I’m a very pity person.

“Hold it right there!! Can’t you at least say sorry when you crash into someone and you smack them against the wall!?”

Just as she was about to lift off, the frail-looking…no looking closely she’s just malnourished. Point is, I grabbed her by the neck collar as hard as I could. Is what I’m doing pitiful and just plain awful to a person? Probably, but I have something in mind; but before I do that, I want to give her a good scare for future reference.

“Hey, you two! Are you looking for her!?”

At the sound of my yell the two men turned in my direction and the face of the girl I was holding off in place turned grim, pale and as a cherry on the top the fear factor got the best of her and all her strength disappeared from her legs. The only thing moving was her mouth.

“Ple-please kid, I get it, I-I’m sorry for crashing into you, but please let me go for now. If-if they ca-catch me *sniff* I might not be able to live a life ever again *sniff*.

Sigh, don’t cry like that, you’re making me waver and feel like the bad guy for doing this. This is for your own good in the long run, you know? As she was crying and apologizing, the two men caught up to me and told me to hand her over, however…

“I refuse”

“W-what!?”

“I said, I refuse. I merely asked you if she belonged to the two of you, not that I was planning to hand her over. If it’s fine with you, might telling me her circumstances? Depending on the situation, I’m sure we can come to an agreement.”

At this point everything froze in place, the girl stopped crying and just looked at me in disbelief, as for the two men, one had the same look of disbelief as the girl, while the other one, the leader-type, had his face contorted in all forms of rage.

“Why!?!?!! Why should I listen to a brat like you!?! Fuck you, stop acting so condescending and proud towards your elders!!!”

At that moment, his fist struck me. It aimed and landed on my face. Besides being close to deforming it, a black mark began rapidly spreading through my left cheek and…

*spit*

…with a simple spit, one of the few baby teeth I had left came out, along with a large number of blood…it hurts, I want to start crying…but I have to hold it for now and keep the conversation. Besides, even if I back up now, these two, especially the leader, will kill me and throw me in a back alley like an old rag.

“Cough, cough, ah so that’s how this one came out. I have to thank you for that, that molar was still among the few baby teeth I was left to shed.”

That’s it, good. Keep him thinking that it’s not much. Don’t tell them you’re about to collapse and continue talking…wait is it just me or is my blood moving towards my body? Must be my imagination…

“I asked what was the reason you were chasing this girl and if there was a way to fi this situation. If it’s a simple issue of money, I might be able to help.”

After looking at me for a few seconds the leader began talking, maybe he figured from the way I talked that I could back up my claim.

“You see, the two of us work under a loan shark in this part of Germas, and her father is someone that owed us a good sum of money but when we went to collect it-”

“She was given to you instead as a compensation method?”

At me finishing his statement, the leader looked confused but nodded. Good, this is simpler than I thought. I’ll hold the pain a bit more and I’ll ask.

“So? What do you plan to do with her?”

“At this point she has only three options, sent to a whorehouse to pay off the debt over time, sell her to a slave trader or go big and sell her directly to someone with a fetish for her type”

No matter how you looked at it, it was a bad end in all three options for her. Maybe I’ll give her another option or two when if I do this.

“So? How much did you trade her for?”

“8 Silver Germas”

“Cough!! Cough!!”

“Oi kid, are you okay?”

“Cough, yes I’m sorry but 8 Silver Germas, for her? Didn’t you get ripped off a bit? I mean sure, if she was in her prime and with a good background that price is on the low end, but she’s malnourished and from her looks it’s clear she comes from a poor background. Didn’t you just get ripped off?”

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At seeing my statement, the two men got clearly pissed off as they thought they might have gotten ripped off. Well, what I said wasn’t completely off, but the girl is still worth the price if she had a better composition. It sure came handy to read the slave trade books in the library, not sure why those were there but they helped give a good estimate in this situation. I’ll make use of that now and finish this off before more blood goes off of me…why does it looks like more of my blood as concentrated around me...ignore it, now it’s time to seal the deal.

“Besides the fact her father ripped you off. What would you say if I bought her off of you?”

“Oi kid, don’t mess around with us. You should know better than to tell lies.”

“Oh, but I’m not lying. I’m willing to fully pay the 8 Silver Germas she’s worth if it means that you’ll leave her alone. Does that sound good?”

Never in my life did I think that I would use the money I had saved up over the years to buy a girl…well, it’s not like it’s all of the money and I kind of want to see how this situation ends. After thinking for a few minutes the leader finally talked.

“Okay kid, you got a deal. 8 Silver Germas and the girly is yours.”

This was going smoothly like I wanted, in a few minutes I can finally end this without collapsing, my body, please keep it up!! As I began to look through my pockets for the money the other man finally opened his mouth only to make things more complicated.

“He-hey! Is this a good idea? Don’t you think it’s better to just take the money and the girl and double our profit?”

I can hear you, you goddamn retard.

“This is why I never let you do the talking. Think a little, that kid has enough money to pay off 8 Silver Germas in the blink of an eye. What do you think would happen if his family set someone to go after us?”

At the leader’s statement the other man looked at me, and to answer his look I gave him a smile. He grimaced. I thought I smiled normally but his face reacted like he had seen Lucifer in person, oh? even the still on the floor net to me grimaced at seeing my smile…is that bad?

“Well, here are the 8 Silver Germas. Is that all good with you?”

“Yes, this is fine. Thanks for doing business with you kid. Oh, and sorry for punching you earlier.”

“Don’t mind it. Now please be on your merry way and we’ll be in ours.”

As I said that I finally collapsed on the floor after losing all of the pressure and from my side a voice came.

“Wh-why…?”

“…Come again?”

Barely able to control the effects of the pain and the blood loss, I managed to keep the conversation afloat.

“Why did you save me?”

Why did I save her? I’ve gotten into this situation and my whole body was a tattered mess because I got involved, even when just earlier I told myself I wasn’t a big one for justice…ah, I know why.

“Pure amusement.”

“A-amusement?”

That’s right, I walked out of the mansion and into the streets because I got bored, I tried to avoid it at first but since the situation crashed into me, I used it for my own amusement.

“That’s right. I wanted to see how you would react.”

The girl looked at me with a combination of confusion, relief and a bit of fear. But then she finally began talking again.

“I-I see…can I ask a question?”

“What is it?”

“What’s amusement?”

“It’s when you try to do or find something that entertains you. You know, makes you excited.”

“And getting punched and buying off a girl get you excited…you sound like one of those rich men in the good part of town when you say that.”

Cheeky girl.

“That’s rude you know. I don’t like the idea of getting hit, in fact I despise pain. And as for buying off a girl, it’s more situational and a setup for what I truly wanted to do.”

“Wha-what’s that?”

“Giving you an option”

“Ah?”

Cute, she got confused. Well this is what I wanted to see, along with her choice to my options.

“Originally you were meant to be sent to a pervert noble, a whorehouse or sold off as slave. So now I want to give you two, no, three more options. First, you can go back to your old home and live until you grow older with your father, but he might sell you off again if he gets in debt. Second, you can live off the streets from now on, but that will most likely sent you back to the whorehouse route. And thirdly, you come with me.”

At the first two she either scowled or grimaced. But her faced became questionable when I gave her option three. At least she is interested.

“Go-going with you?”

“That’s right. Recently my sister left home, so I have nobody to keep me company and I also want an assistant from now on. So what do you say? Ah, the deal comes with a place to stay, new clothing, a warm bath and bed, 3 meals a day, and the necessary education to become my assistant.”

After pondering for a few minutes with her eyes closed, the girl finally looked at me and asked.

“You won’t ask me to do anything perverted like sleeping with you?”

“No I won’t. And even if I did, two things are holding that option back.”

“Tw-two things?”

“Yes, first off, I’m 12, I’m still not ready to enjoy myself that way. And second, the way you are now, you are not very developed, my tastes require you to be a big bigger in some areas.”

As I said my statement as a matter of fact, the girl simply blushed until her face was crimson while covering/checking her breast and rear areas.

“…Pervert”

“Tell that to the ones that want to do it with someone whose body looks like a little girl’s. So, what do you say? Will you come with me?”

“…Yes, please take care of me…what should I call you?”

“Ah, that’s right you don’t know my name. Lucien, Lucien Mercelious, pleasure to meet you…erm”

“Marla. Just Marla…if you have a last name it means you’re from a high-class family…wait, Mercelious, are you from the trading family?”

“That’s right. Well, not like my background matters much. Cough, cough”

“A-ar-are you okay!?”

“Ye-yeah, it’s just that everything up to know is piling up. Cough. I’m sorry Marla, but could you take me back to the mansion, cough, I feel like I’m going to-”

“Ahhhhh!!!! Lucien please don’t die, here let me get you!”

Well, this is embarrassing. I’m being carried off by a girl that clearly looks weaker than me. I sure hope nobody sees this…turns out all the blood that was splattered on the floor got concentrated around the area where my left hand was hanging…I’ll have to check that out…later…

Part 2

*knock* *knock*

“Yes, yes, coming! Welcome to the Mercelious household, please state your-”

“Cla-Claria, could I ask fo-for your help, ple-please?”

“!? Young master!? Are you alright? What happened!?…and who might you be?”

At the entrance of the Mercelious mansion, the young master of the household, Lucien Mercelious, appears cut up, ragged in places and blood in various places…and alongside him, there is a small figure that with all of her might is carrying the young master as to not him collapse on the floor.

“Ah? Ah, her name is Marla, and starting today, I want you to train her.”

“Train her?”

At the sight of the son of her master asking such an odd request, Claria, the head maid couldn’t help but question what was happening.

“Ye-yeah, starting from today, Marla is to be trained into being a maid, she’ll be the one to follow me from now on, unfortunately she has no experience with it, so I can only ask you for help.”

“I-I understand, but may I ask what happened to you and how did you meet her? From the way she is dressed, it’s clear she’s not someone that you normally associate with.”

“Ah, sure but can I please sit down first, I have a feeling both my body and Marla are about to give out”

After sitting down and having his wounds being tended by Claria, Lucien began telling the story that started earlier that day…

…By the time the story was over, Claria had finished giving me first aid and with a serious face asked.

“I understand young master, but what do you wish of me to do with this young girl?”

“I want you to train her, I have 3 years before the mansion so in that time I want to learn the necessary things to become the best possible maid for me. I would like you to teach her the basics of etiquette and how to act as a maid, while I will teach her language, arithmetic and other things I find of interest to learn.”

I might be a bit pushy but I want to ensure Marla gets the right first step and ensure I have a reliable person by my side in the future. And while she’s doing that, I want to see if I can find a way to defend myself in the future. As much as I want a battle maid, former otaku fantasies, I also want to be able to hold my own if push comes to shove…I wonder if the way my blood concentrated has a deeper meaning to it…? Oh, I’m losing focus, I need to clarify with Claria for now.

“So, Claria. Would what I proposed to you be possible? If it’s not I’ll find a different way of doing it. I don’t wish to place another burden upon you.”

“No, it’s alright young master. Please count on me with the education of this girl.”

“That’s good. Does that sound fine with you Marla?”

Almost spaced out until now, Marla turned her attention when I called her out and with a bit of a flushed face she nodded.

“Ye-yes Lucien”

“Stop right there miss. If you’re going to be a servant to the young master you should first fix how to address him, understood? Repeat after me. Understood Master Lucien.”

“U-understood Master Lucien!”

“Less screaming and no stuttering, repeat!”

“Understood Master Lucien!”

“Better, but still wrong! It’s-”

Scary, I feel bad for Marla but this will be helpful for the future. But before that.

“Ah, Claria”

“Yes, young master?”

“Here, use these 2 Silver Germas to buy Marla the necessary clothing and necessities. Ah, and for now don’t buy her the maid working clothes yet, I want to pick those.”

“Understood young master”

“And a final thing. Her maid training is in the mornings, during the afternoons I’ll take Marla to teach her what I deem necessary. Is that also good with you Marla?”

“Understood young master”

“Understood Master Lucien!”

And with that I got myself a personal maid. Later that day I had a minor dispute with mom and father but it was mostly due to me leaving the mansion over bringing Marla in, so it all ended good.

End of Chapter 3