We remained on top of the carriage like that for several more hours, with me performing the same basic slashing moves over and over again. Like she said, she didn’t offer to correct my posture directly anymore. Instead, she just barked it at me.
And what a harsh mistress she was. Any single diversion from the form the book described, no matter how slight, she would correct it right away. Her sharp eyes weren’t just for show. They really were sharp.
I didn’t complain though. I realize she’s drilling the basics into my brain and my muscle memory, so that I wouldn’t form bad habits that would impede me on learning the more advanced techniques later on. We only stopped once the sun was high up on the sky, with she deciding that it was time for us to have our lunch break.
We stopped at a grassy clearing of sorts, perfect for us to have our little picnic. It wasn’t that large, though conveniently, there were a series of trees nearby that we could use to, ahem, do our business. Thankfully, any awkwardness in the matter was prevented by no one bringing the matter up. We just took our turns without saying anything. Being a traveler or adventurer in a group, you had to be used to this sort of thing. I already did thanks to the family trip I had back then.
I sighed. That sure felt like eons ago.
…Hmm, that’s odd. The sense of despair that usually popped up whenever I thought about those days didn’t seem to be as strong as it used to be. Maybe it’s because I now finally have a goal, or at least, something to aspire to. To train under the bratty princess and become a better swordsman.
…Aah, this is bad. I’m starting to think more and more positively about her. I don’t want to be like one of those harem MCs who just take the abuse of the tsundere and never fight back.
Then again, she’s not like your typical tsundere either, is she? There’s no shyness or embarrassment in the slightest. Hmph, it just makes her less cute though. Call me a chauvinist if you want, but blushing, embarrassed girls are my thing.
“Ow! What was that?” I scratched the back of my head. Something hard just hit me there!
“Stop spacing around! Get over here and eat!”
Of course, it was Fiora. She probably just threw a small rock at me or something.
“Alright, alright, no need to throw rocks at me.”
If I try throwing my own rock at her, she’ll probably be able to parry it without even looking.
Hmph, is this yet another way she’s training me? Or am I giving her too much credit?
Helen had set up a blanket above the grassy field for us to sit on. Nicole and Fiora were already there, while the maid herself was still busy serving food and tea to them both. Where did she store all that stuff anyways?
Boing~♥ Boing~♥
And wow, they really are big…
In the process, the maid had to bend over multiple times, resulting in her heavyweight breasts bouncing multiple times, fascinating my young (only in appearance), virgin (true enough) 10-year old eyes. They really are about as big as Mother’s. Breasts that size are rare but I guess they’re not that rare.
“Ouch, again?” I frowned towards Fiora’s direction, as this time, her rock hit my forehead. To my surprise, she didn’t yell, “Stop looking at my maid’s chest, you pervert!” or something like that. I have a feeling she has noticed it. Instead, she just pointed at the grass near the tarp.
“What, am I supposed to stand here?” I spoke as I walked over to her.
“You can sit there if you want,” she replied with her usual smug smile. “But you’re not getting on the blanket. Servants don’t eat on the same table as their masters.”
“Nicole isn’t your servant?”
“She’s my friend.”
I gave a “please help me out here” look towards the priestess.
“Fiora, why don’t we eat together on the blanket, with Helen as well?” She gently asked the princess. “There’s enough space, isn’t it?”
Fiora gave her a look for a few moments before sighing. “Fine. Suit yourself. It would be a tight fit though.”
I gave a little thumbs up towards Nicole, before sitting cross-legged in front of her. The maid however gave me a glare that pretty much said, “How dare you act like that to Milady?”
I ignored her and grabbed one of the bread that she had put on the blanket. Right when I was about to take a bite however—
ROAAAARRRRRR
Immediately both Fiora and Helen stood up, drawing their sword and dual knife. Nicole immediately followed, grabbing her staff she had put behind her. Of course, I quickly did the same, drawing my wand.
And then, I heard it. A high-pitched scream coming from the same direction of the roar.
I didn’t wait. I bolted straight towards it, using Wind Step to augment my speed. I might have heard Fiora yelling at me to stop but who cares about her?
I soon arrived at the top of a hill overlooking a clearing. Unlike the one I just came from, there was no grass on it, just rocks and barren dirt.
That, and there was a big monster right in the middle of it.
A wyvern. An A-rank monster that was said to be lesser dragons. You could distinguish between them right away by noticing how a wyvern only has wings as its hands while a dragon will have a separate pair of claws with its wings attached to its back instead. That, and its more snake-like appearance in general.
Still, even though it was not an S-rank monster like its superior brother, it’s still a dangerous foe. It can move really fast considering its size, dodging swords, arrows, and even spells with ease.
And in front of it were a pair of adventurers, male and female. There were about the same age, around sixteen, if I had to guess. The male one was a dark-haired human while the female one was a beastkin with dog ears. Judging by their weapons and clothes, they both seemed to be the frontline warrior type.
I could tell immediately that they were way out of their depths. Instead of standing their ground, they instead slowly backed away, no doubt wishing they could escape from the monster. And the scream I just heard, it must have come from the girl.
I didn’t hesitate. I immediately cast my Boom Cannon and fired it right at the wyvern. If I waited any further, the monster could decide to strike and it would be the death of them.
BAM
It landed right at the wyvern’s head, obliterating the section into chunks of gore that thankfully didn’t land on the two. The beast fell, its blood pouring out of its decapitated neck.
Wyverns are fast, but they trade that speed with durability. Their dragon cousins are much tougher.
I saw it react to my spell for a split second though, just like Vera did—a testament to its amazing senses. But even its speed wasn’t fast enough to dodge a projectile with the speed of sound.
I couldn’t help but chuckle. I remember when I fought off that mountain lion. That was another A-rank monster. I didn’t have Boom Cannon back then, but if I did, I think I probably could’ve one-shotted it in the same manner.
I went down the hill and approached them as casually as I could. “Yo.” I gave them a smile, raising my hand for a short wave. “You alright there? You were in trouble, weren’t you, with that wyvern? You looked like you wanted to run so I decided to just kill the beast for you. Really, you won’t be able to easily run against a monster of that caliber.”
The two of them were completely aghast with their jaws wide open on what just happened. Ha! Once again, I impressed the ordinary folk with my magic.
“T-thank you so much!”
The moment the beastkin snapped out of it, she promptly bowed as deeply as she could. “I-if you weren’t there, Master and I would’ve been done for sure!”
“Y-yeah, please accept my thanks as well!” The human followed.
“Oh, it’s no big deal, really. A wyvern like that is nothing against me.” I gave a grin, putting my hands in my pockets. To be honest, if it actually noticed me, it could probably have dodged in time and then it would be a much harder fight. But why explain something that doesn’t need to be explained?
“The name’s Elliot Cudgel. It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Hobbit.” The young man gave his hand.
“Uhh, I’m not a hobbit though…” I replied. “See?” I turned my head to the side to show off my ears. “Normal ears.”
“Wait, really?” His mouth opened again. “So you’re just an ordinary human? But there’s no way you can be such a strong mage when you’re still this young! N-no offense intended, of course!” He quickly corrected himself.
“Hehe.” My grin only grew bigger. “You see,” I put my hands on my waist. “I’m kind of a mage prodigy. My family—the Pendletons—they’re a powerful mage family. I just so happened to be born into them so it really was no big deal that I could cast a powerful spell like that when I’m still at this age.”
I couldn’t help myself. I have said it before and I have said it again. One of my weaknesses is being praised.
“Pendleton?” This time, it was the girl who spoke. “That sounds like a noble’s family name, doesn’t it?” She brought her index finger to her lips. “Could you perhaps be a noble, Sir Human?”
I let out a fake sigh. “Ah, how unfortunate. I would like to hide my status from you two, but it seems you’re too sharp for me to fool. I’m Charles Pendleton. Pleased to meet you two.”
Yep, I can get used to pretending to be a noble alright. I mean, if we ignore the whole disowned thing, I’m the grandson of a noble, thus making me also a noble. So I’m not lying! Well, except for the name anyways.
“Then, allow me to thank you again for saving me and my master. I am Chelsea, and it’s also a pleasure to meet you, Sir Pendleton.” She bowed again, this time more like a professional maid.
…Oh man, what a cutie! And she has a hot body as well, with those large boobs and tight pants! And those ears! I really want to touch them!
This wasn’t my first time seeing a beastkin, since I had encountered a couple in my travels already, from both genders. And every time, I couldn’t help but feel enamoured with their beastly parts. If a sheep girl appeared, I wanted to run over my fingers all over her wool. If it was a cat girl, then I wanted to grab her tail. And now, faced with a dog girl like this, I wanted to play with her ears.
I resisted of course. I’m not going to do such a perverted thing and ruin their impression of me.
And then, I noticed it—the collar she wore on her neck.
Wait, that collar… and she called him Master before… is she his slave?
Slavery exists in this world, with no country really banning its practice. Some countries have more bustling slave trades over others. The Magocracy practically has no slave traders around for example. Not because it’s forbidden, but because there is little demand for them. From what I’ve read and what Marina told me, thanks to the proliferation of magic, you have farmer mages who use earth magic to help with their farms, fishermen mages who use water magic to help with fishing, and so on and so forth. So the requirements for manual labor are quite low, and whenever it’s needed, you have the non-mage populace that they can employ. Though knowing how the Magocracy works, they probably get paid very little. It’s in their culture to look down on non-mages. Ironic, considering they’re one of the rare nations who welcome nonhumans, even demons, to the point that they could own their own property and land. I guess to them, it’s all about being magical. They’re so far away from the Demon Continent though that demons are still rare overall.
“Impressive. You managed to beat a wyvern on your own. And with ease as well.”
Urgh, must she come so soon?
I looked behind me and saw Fiora and the others approaching. They had unsheathed their weapons, or in Nicole’s case, slung it over her shoulder.
“Your companions, Sir Pendleton?” Chelsea asked with a smile.
“Sir Pendleton?” Fiora raised her eyebrows. “Ah, of course. So you’ve introduced yourself to these two. The people you just saved from the beast, I presume?”
As expected from her sharp mind, she caught on quick.
“Yes, milady.” The beastkin bowed once more. “Sir Pendleton here had just saved us from the monster. We owe our lives to him.”
“Hmph, that collar. You’re a slave, girl?”
“Yes.” She smiled. “I’m Master Elliot’s slave.”
Never before I imagined someone to declare themselves being someone’s slave with that bright of a smile plastered on their face.
So she really is his slave… Why is she so happy about it though?
Oh, I know! This is the usual “I fall in love with the kind master that purchases me!” trope you can find everywhere in the fantasy books I used to read! You can even find it in fancy literature books, like Haydee in Monte Cristo. Ah, I suppose it is every man’s dream to own a beautiful slave girl that’s completely loyal to you.
Of course, I know very well that slavery is very bad thing indeed in real life. But since this is a fantasy world, can you even apply the logic of real life here?
Fiora gave a glance towards Elliot, who was also smiling proudly in the background. I know that expression. That’s the expression of a man who’s proud that he has such a beautiful girl as his girlfriend. Or in this case, as his slave.
Damn it, you lucky bastard! I want a cute and hot slave like her too!
“How much?” Fiora suddenly asked Elliot.
“Huh?”
“How much did you pay her for?”
“L-let’s see… 35 gold coins, wasn’t it, Chelsea?” He gave a glance towards his slave.
“Yes, Master.” She nodded. “I still remember that day so clearly. You spent all your savings to purchase me, just because you saw me that one time when you turned in that quest. I’m eternally grateful to that, Master.” She smiled again. “Truly, I am not worthy of your care and affection, especially since I had doubts in my heart that you would purchase me in the end.”
“No no no you’re completely worthy, Chelsea!” He grabbed both of her hands. “You’ve been so useful to me all this time, you know! You’re the best purchase I’ve ever made! And of course you’ll doubt me! I was just a poor adventurer after all!”
“Master… ooohhh, Master…” She started to cry.
Oh my God this is too sweet! So sickeningly sweet and sappy that I can feel the diabetes coming!
Fiora seemed to agree as a look of annoyance had arrived on her face. Helen reacted the same way, with only Nicole smiling as her eyes sparkled.
“So, she’s a High Slave, isn’t she?” Fiora continued, now putting one hand on her waist. Ah, I remember that term. High slaves are generally used for slaves who have some rights, as opposed to normal slaves who have none. Said rights mostly involve protection from abuse from their masters. Whether the system actually works is another matter entirely however.
“Where did you purchase her, boy?” Fiora then asked.
“Eh?” He released his slave’s hands. “I purchased her in Lestad. I stayed there for a while taking on dungeon quests while grouping up with other parties. Thanks to that, I can muster enough gold to purchase her.” He grinned.
“Hmph, the Sky Tower, is it? Boy!” She suddenly turned to me. “Do you know what that is?”
“Huh?” I was caught off-guard. “Sky Tower? That’s one of the World Dungeons, isn’t it?”
“And do you know what World Dungeons are?”
“Of course I do.” Please stop underestimating my intelligence for once. “They’re abnormally large dungeons, to the point that it feels like a completely different world inside. And the layout constantly changes day by day so you can’t make a map of it.”
“Very good.” She smirked. “Well, that’s all I need to know. Let’s go.”
And just like that, she decided the conversation was over, walking away from the two like they weren’t even there. You know, you haven’t even introduced yourself yet… So much for being polite…
Helen gave one last suspicion-filled look (at this point, I’m starting to think part of her job is to be suspicious to anyone and everyone), before following behind Fiora. Nicole on the other hand gave a short bow and a smile before leaving as well.
“Sorry about that.” I gave them an apologetic smile.
“Must be hard to have such a demanding older sister, isn’t it, Sir?” Elliot replied with an awkward grin. “Well, the other one seems to be pretty nice though. Makes me feel a bit jealous. I ain’t got any siblings, you see.”
“Uuu…”
Judging by the sudden shift of expression on Chelsea’s face, I think he shouldn’t have said that.
“Thank you again, Sir!” He bowed again. “This is the first time I met a noble as nice as you! The last noble I met, he wasn’t very nice at all… quite arrogant actually…” He awkwardly scratched his chin with his index finger.
“Yeah, I can imagine that…” I gave my own nervous laugh. A lot of nobles probably are Fiora-level arrogant, so her acting like that isn’t odd in the first place. “You can make it back home on your own, right?”
“Don’t worry!” He patted his chest. “I’ll make sure we’ll get back to town in one piece. We weren’t actually planning to fight a wyvern, just so you know. We’re up here as simple travelers. But suddenly, that creature just showed up out of nowhere, taking us by surprise. And I thought wyverns are supposed to only be around on the higher parts of the mountains…” He looked warily at the far cliff where the mountains went even further upwards. “But if it’s just B-rank monsters, we can take it on. We’re B-rank ourselves after all. Well, I’m B-rank but Chelsea just started so she’s still D-rank unfortunately. But I assure you, she’s as strong as I am already!”
“That’s not true, Master.” She smiled, adorably blushing again. “I still need your guidance on many things, including combat.” Aaahhh, what an adorable puppy this girl is!
“Where are you two going anyways?” I asked, simply out of curiosity. “If you made such good money doing quests in that dungeon, then why are you all the way here to the south?”
“We’re thinking of moving on to a different World Dungeon to the west. We… kinda reached our limit in that dungeon to be honest.” He sighed. “Any further and it would be too dangerous to press on. And to be honest, we’re already bored of the place as well.” He sheepishly grinned.
“Ah, I get it.” I smiled back. “Being an adventurer is about exploring new places after all. Who would want to get stuck grinding the same dungeon over and over again?” Even I hated grinding in RPGs back in my old life. I would just bypass that tedium with cheat codes and the like.
“Well, good luck.” I put my hand on his shoulder. Quite awkward since he’s taller than me. “Descend as much as you could right away, just in case there’s another wyvern around. Oh, and one more thing.” I stood on my toes and whispered, “Take care of her, alright? That girl’s a keeper.”
“Hmm?” The beastkin tilted her head.
“Heh, of course! I swore to that!”
After thanking me one last time, the two left. Since they were going to the west, we wouldn’t be able to travel together. Which my perverted mind found quite the shame, since that Chelsea girl really had a hot body. Even now, as they walked away, I ogled her voluptuous butt—that her tight green pants and her moving tail only highlighted.
Damn it Hugo, you can’t be doing this to somebody else’s girlfriend. What would you do if you have other guys ogle Sherry?
…Yep, I would be upset for sure, to the point that I might just punch them right on their faces. Thankfully(?), I have a feeling she isn’t the type who would grow up to be a sexy bombshell like that girl. She’ll probably have average butt and lower than average breasts.
I don’t care though. Beauty isn’t just about butts and boobs. Every part of a girl’s body can be beautiful. Realizing that is what distinguishes an ultra pervert from an ordinary one.
Or maybe I’ve just been smitten by her. Quite sad, and creepy if you think about it, to have a young girl as your first love. And unexpected, since even though I did have a folder of cute loli pictures on my computer back in my old life (that I would look at just to be cured by their cuteness), I only have sexual fantasies towards girls with big boobs and butts.
Oh well, it doesn’t matter anyways. When I met her again, she would already hit puberty and grow into a beautiful girl. And then, we can finally— “Ouch!”
Yep, it was Fiora again.
