Chapter 2: Slave Girl Melissa
「Wa, was it you!? Are you the one who killed my partner!?」
Having seen my appearance, the fellow thief cried out in a shrill voice. His gaze shifted towards my shoulder.
Ahh, I was still carrying the crossbow on my shoulder. This thing is pretty heavy and I won’t be using it so I’ll leave it on the ground.
Yokkoi-shotto[1]
「Haa, haa haa[2]! Why you gotta scare me like that! Whe-well then you’re the b.a.s.t.a.r.d that shoot that arrow before, right?」
Even though the man was panicking before, when he saw me drop the crossbow he must have thought it meant I couldn’t use it anymore. He had a joyful grin stuck to his face.
Well he probably couldn’t tell that the bolt was already set in position.
That’s quite convenient for me. Should I just let him think that?
「This is a special weapon, after all. There isn’t enough ammo.」
「Keke! I sure bet for that sort of weapon! Seriously, if you carry around such a weapon that doesn’t match your size then that’s bound to happen!」
He raised his voice while twisting his disgusting lips.
Seriously, just by seeing my weakness this guy is way too happy.
「Kuku ku, that’s fine. You’re probably just some big idiot who showed up because of a burning sense of justice. I’ll show how much of a fool you really are!」
He said some pretty extravagant lines and, from behind his back, pulled out an exotic weapon.
It was an unrefined weapon with a blade that was wide and curved towards the end.
Oh yea, there was weapon like that in the game. It should be called a Falchion. It was designed to cleave rather than to slice. Supposedly, you should be able to compete with enemies even if they were wearing heavy armor.[3]
He had a smirk on his face after looking at me. Probably because he saw that the armor I had on was only lightweight armor.
Did he not know a lot about equipment? For the record, I was wearing some quite rare gear.
That being said, back in the game you would still need permission to look at someone else’s equipment, without high proficiency in the appraisal skill you couldn’t just look whenever you wanted to either.
Maybe that is why he couldn’t tell.
Well, even so he was underestimating me too much.
Either way, since he looks eager to fight, I also pull out the twin swords on my waist.
The sword my opponent is holding seems to be roughly 120 cm, eh? On the other hand, both of my swords are only about 80 cm and are not that long.
In terms of reach I was at an extreme disadvantage but I’m certain that my weapon mastery was much higher.
The twin blades I was holding were named “Seikou Kiten[4]”
Wide blades with the hilt shaped like wings. With signature bluish blades and light as a feather.
Back in the game, the swing velocity and attack speed of these swift blades was extremely high, probably because of their light weight.
Incidentally, there were certain abilities in the game that allowed you to increase the velocity of your attacks in small bursts in order to raise your attack power. The weapons I’m using are rare yet they were still not very popular.
The reason was because in the game when attack hits there would be resulting recoil. No matter how fast your initial speed was there would still be a delay because of that.
Also, weapons with high attack power generated less knock-back from enemies. As a result, despite having somewhat slower swings, this situation led to weapons with high attack power being easier to use.
But, the way I look at it the initial speed and velocity were more important.
If my attacks don’t hit then the Cancel Skill is basically useless.
Well, is my opponent still underestimating me? With a filthy, crooked grin, he was licking his lips in front of me.
And taking a great leap forward, with his Falchion raised overhead with both hands, the battle began.
Did he plan to split me in two with one swing?
How naive. I could easily dodge such a large swing but, well, since I went through so much trouble I might as well test out a few things.
「Cancel.」
I murmured a single word. I didn’t really need to say it out loud, but somehow it ended up coming out.
Then, in an instant the raised Falchion returned to where it was before― essentially, it returned to being held in front instead.
The thief’s face was clearly showing signs of confusion.
Of course it would. There’s no way this skill can cancel your opponent’s thought process.
For that piece of trash, who thought for sure he would have sliced his opponent in two by now, to suddenly having his stance reset back to where it was before, surely he would be confused.
「Wha, What!? That hurts, Gue!」
However, I’m not such a softhearted person to just stare at him in his confusion.
I immediately closed the distance between us in a flash and cut through the thief’s side with my right-hand blade.
His face was distorted in pain. My blade was carved into his flesh.
Normally there would be a delay from having to pull the blade away from his flesh but for me that didn’t matter.
I immediately activated Cancel, after my right blade returned to it’s original position I aimed for his collar with my left blade.
「Gihiii! It huuuuurts!」
The sword sank two-thirds into his shoulder’s flesh. Then I used Cancel again and next, with a thrust of my right blade, I pierced his abdomen.
Because of the muscles there I can’t penetrate all the way through, but still the man’s screams were resounding in my skull.
There’s more pain coming so shut up already.
Still this is going quite smoothly. Thanks to Cancel I didn’t have any openings and I could set up one-sided attacks.
This was the number one reason why I wanted speed over power.
After all, as long as the skill was used after a hit lands then it was possible to continue attacking in rapid succession.
Of course that was only because this was still a game before, how this would work in the real world made me a little nervous but―
A horizontal slash to the right 【Cancel】, a vertical cut with the left 【Cancel】, a diagonal form the right 【Cancel】, “Double Slicer” 【Cancel】, below with the right 【Cancel】, Double-Backspin Slicer[5]…… hmm?
Fumu― I didn’t notice that he died a long time ago, huh.
I somehow lost myself while in the middle of using Cancel.
In the game enemies would disappear to some extent so it was easy to tell but, I guess it doesn’t work like that in the real world.
But still, this is pretty grotesque. Because of his worthless muscles, cutting through in just one slice was impossible for me who did not have that high physical strength.
That’s why there was a stop in the middle of each strike. Well, I used cancel because of this reason, but because of the excessive amount of attacks this turned into quite the mess.
Well, whatever. I’m already used to seeing dead bodies anyways.
Still, Double Slicer and Head Crusher were actually weapon skills yet I was able to use them normally.
My status display showed I could activate skills so I thought that might be the case, though.
By the way, Helmet Crusher was a single slice aimed at the head while Double Slicer used both swords to slice consecutively.
They’re both just like their names so it’s easy to understand.
Well, it doesn’t matter. For now, with this robber-like bunch were killed, and I got to confirm it through battle as well.
Everything was running smoothly―
「Sa, save, Pleas, Overlook……」[6]
Hmm? Ahh, now that I think about it the guy with the hole in his b.u.t.t was still alive.
Yea he’s annoying, sc.u.m.
「Gyaaaa!」
I cut down the savage man with my blade but he just won’t shut up, huh. Well, with that he definitely should be dead.
His name was Anaru but he died by a cut in his throat. Well it was a fitting end or these filthy thieves.
「Tha-Thank you very much for saving me」
This girl was crying and sniffling before but, it seems she has calmed down quite a bit after she realized there was no more danger.
However― I unconsciously looked away.
Yup, as I thought, unlike in the game, she is certainly a living human being. Aside from her reactions, the texture and sensation of her flesh also couldn’t be compared to anything in the game.
……Well, is that so? It’s just that she is not based on a j.a.panese person so her hair is somewhat different.
The girl I saved was, she was a lovely young woman with blond hair that stretched down to her shoulders. She also had blue eyes that snapped back into double-folded eyelids[7]. Her height was lower than mine but for a young woman would this be considered average? Either way she would definitely be cla.s.sified as a bishoujo[8].
And―The reason why my eyes didn’t anywhere safe to look at was, because of those self-indulgent coupled mounds with only torn underwear left supporting them, my eyes were drawn into the emphasized deep valley.
Truthfully I wasn’t completely unaware but, normally, for a person like me who has had little romantic experience before this level of stimulation was honestly quite intense.
Still, what size are those things anyways? I’m pretty sure they were G but―
「Kya! Ah, I, I am terribly sorry I showed such a vulgar sight.」
She was baffled for a moment after seeing me averted my eyes but, it seems she eventually figured out the reason and blushed as she turned around while covering her b.r.e.a.s.t.s with both hands.
But, if you wrap your arms around them like that and lift them up from the bottom then…… Wait, I need to calm myself down.
If this keeps up then I’ll end up being a pervert.
「No, not at all. Personally, I’m more than glad to see to have seen though. But staying like that is certainly out of the question, right? Do you not have a change of clothes?」
「…… No, since I’m a slave, my master did not prepare anything but the minimum amount of clothing necessary.」
A slave, huh. By the way, the slave system itself originally existed in the game world as well.
In the game there were people called slave merchants who you could buy slaves from to use as support characters.
That being said, there were a great variety of both male and female slaves. And although there was a limit on the number of people you can lead at once, if a player was the head of a household, then it was possible to expand the number of slaves you can own by bringing them into your home.
Since you could freely dress up the slaves, looks were emphasized more than abilities. There were some people who had fun walking around with their slaves to show off their aristocratic-style as well.
That’s why slavery in itself was not particularly unusual but― Still, having to provide clothes for your slaves, even if it was like that in the game, made the experience feel all too real.
But regardless, leaving her like this would be too cruel. She certainly stood out like that and if she ran off in this situation, not only thieves but also some other misfortune was sure to come her way.
In the meantime, with Magic Bag in hand, I shifted my attention to its contents.
I spread apart the opening of the bag, stuck my face into it, and, in a large open s.p.a.ce, was able to confirm the content of things I had left in there.
Still, I just sorta felt like trying it but the opening of the bag can stretch this far, huh.
Well, if it didn’t then you wouldn’t be able to put large things into it though.
Hmm, even so, it feels like you could fit a person in here, I wonder if that would work? It was impossible to do that in the game, though.
Well, nevermind. Anyways what’s inside here is― Oh, here it is. In the past I came across a dungeon in a castle and what I left there with was this Mirage Dress.
Actually, up until the last day I didn’t get the chance to test this out. I mostly played solo but I eventually came to a point where I also thought “Let’s see if I can buy a slave.”
At the time I thought “It’s definitely better to have a female slave”, so I went and got this dress for just the occasion.
I took it out from the bag and showed it to the bishoujo.
「To, to be carrying something like a Magic Bag is amazing! Umm, might you possibly be a renowned knight-sama or something of the sort?[9]」
For some reason the woman used respectful language when she asked me the question, but is this Magic Bag really that amazing?
No, well, even in the game it cost a moderate amount of money. I easily got mine by using certain underhanded methods though…
Well let’s forget about that, here I should act like an ordinary traveler and, wait, this is bad, I forgot to say my name.
「No, I’m not some fancy person or anything. I’m just an ordinary traveler by the name of Hitto.」
After I named myself the girl, with surprised face, hastily began bowing her head repeatedly.
「I-I am deeply sorry! I am so deeply sorry! Even though you graciously saved me I had forgot to introduce myself to you.」
「Ah, that doesn’t really matter. You don’t have to use such polite language either. It’s alright now」
If you suddenly act that way then I will become a little fl.u.s.tered too. Also with that appearance if you vigorously lower your head like that then that bewitching cleavage will come into sight, you know. And they were shaking with a *Purun Purun[10]*. It was a beautiful sight behold but it was somewhat embarra.s.sing for my eyes to keep looking at.
「Uh, umm I, I am a slave by the name of Melissa who formerly attended to my master, Tornelo Sandly. I am truly thankful to you for saving me.」
Once she had finally calmed down the girl once again introduced herself and in turn expressed her thanks to me.
If you keep thanking me like that then I might start to feel guilty about it instead, though.
「Nah, it’s fine if you don’t think about it so seriously. More importantly I’ll give this to you.」
As I said that, I presented her the dress that had been taken out from the bag.
「Huh? This, for me, is that right?」[11]
「Yea, that’s right.」
「No-no way! I can’t receive such a thing! On top of graciously saving me, a slave, to give me something so extravagant is unheard of! It’s absolutely unthinkable!」
She is rejecting it with quite the vigor. While shaking her right hand and head back and forth, normally you would make the mistake that she hated it.
Well, with such a bewildered look on her face she really must be acting reserved.
「But I can’t leave you looking like that, can I? It’s fine so please just accept it. If it’s really bothering you then just borrowing it for a while is fine. In any case if you continue looking like that then I’ll have trouble knowing where to look.」
After hearing my words Melissa once again confirmed her own appearance and, in the blink of an eye, her face was dyed red.
Ah dammit, she’s way too cute!
「I-I understand― Then for now I will be borrowing this―」
Without looking apologetic, she received the dress from me, and began restlessly shifting her eyes around.
Oh, is that it?
「If you need a place to change then it should be fine to use the inside of the wagon[12]. I’ll be on the lookout for you.」
After telling her, Melissa readily left with an “I’m so sorry” and hid inside the wagon.
By the way, the wagon and horses appeared to both be alright. Well, it must be natural since the robbers were probably aiming for the wagon.
The wagon was a so-called “covered wagon” that had four horses tied to it.
The number of guards that had died was 5 people.
All of them were men who all looked like nothing but soldier-types.
Well, it was a fortunate none of them were women.
Even I wouldn’t want to see a dead woman’s corpse.
Well then…… after this I should think about what to do next―
Extra TL note: A blond hair, blue eyed slave with giant b.o.o.bs, is somewhat clumsy, and talks like a maid huh… Our author is quite the maniac.
1.
TL note: Similar to “heave-ho” or the sound you make when doing heavy lifting
2.
TL note: The Haa’s are him panting/gasping for air
3.
TL note: A Falchion is like a machete. When it mentions cleaving rather than cutting and heavy armor the author is probably referring to the fact that a Falchion is a mix between an Axe and a Sword (more blunt force)
4.
TL note: Originally セイコウキテン. No idea since there’s no kanji. I’ll put some guesses in later. My best is “Sure-fire Quick Rotation”
5.
TL note: Double Slicer is in English and so is Double-Backspin Slicer.
Double-Backspin Slicer was originally Helmet Crusher or [Kabuto Wari] in j.a.panese. The author decided to change it later on.
6.
TL note: Originally his speech is broken up because he’s scared. He’s trying to say “Save/spare me. Please. Just overlook this” or something like that
7.
TL note: Double-folded eyelids are considered beautiful for those unaware.
8.
TL note: Bishoujo = beautiful (young) woman
9.
TL note: She talks in an extremely polite, maid-like tone. I’ll do my best to convey that.
10.
TL note: Purun Purun is similar to “the sound of Jiggling” if you know what I mean.
11.
TL note: She’s surprised so her speech is broken. Basically “Is, this for me, (desu ka?)”
12.
TL note: I said “carriage” last chapter but apparently it’s a prairie schooner/wagon. Chapter 1 is fixed.