(Chpt. 3) Ari and, Yami?

Alice.

Chapter with over 1k words? Truth be told this chapter is 2 chapters combined... I do not intentionally write them short, It's just that it looks long in my word document so I end chapters when I think they look 'long enough'... Yeah...

He led me towards his carriage. It was in bad shape due to the combat. I peeked inside and I saw some humans, beastkins… even an elf? Some of them were dead. My curiosity got the better of me... 

When I was about to stop looking I saw a young girl. It was a loli. She was dirty and had tattered clothes. She was shaking in fear. She had golden hair and empty golden eyes. I could only describe her as cute aside from being in fear and her horrible state... I am not a sadist. I asked the merchant about her,  he replied.

“The young girl was sold by her parents.”

I went stiff. I felt anger boiling inside me. But I managed to keep a poker face. I could not let this happen I want to save that girl, and if possible even make her happy. I am sure she would’ve done the same thing too. Thus I decided.

“Could I have her? I will pay some of my weird coins if necessary…”

“T-There’s no need to pay. She is yours, have this as well.”

He then handed me a key for her slave collar and a bag while shaking. The bag was quite heavy. I realized it was full of coins. I pointed at the bag asking if it was ok to have this. To which he replied:

“Life is not cheap. T-thank you...”

It seems like he struggled to say the last part. I don’t know why. He has been shaking for the entire time I have been with him, I hope he is ok. The girl was very afraid but got forced to go to me. I got a bit annoyed because of that however he has been treating her nicely considering she is a slave. I put the bag of coins in my inventory. 

“I-I have to go, I-I am in a hurry. Sorry…”

He said while stuttering and trying to sound regretful. But I did not mind. He left shortly after in a hurry. I started thinking about what could have caused the fear and shaking the merchant was feeling. I remembered ‘Karma -500’...

Looks like I made a mistake… Then I remembered... The girl.

When I looked at her she seemed extremely scared. She was on the brink of tears. She asked in a shaky and low voice that was filled with anxiety.

“W-What a-are you going to do to me?”

“...”

I did not reply. How do I even reply to that? I have no idea what to do. She thinks I am going to do bad things to her. As I was thinking she seemed to grow more and more afraid especially every time she looked at Fenri. So I decided to lower my hood hoping for her to be at ease. ‘If she can see my face she might calm down right?’ I thought.

“...”

“...”

We looked at each other for a few seconds. She eventually stopped shaking. I decided to ask her for her name. I would be troubled not knowing what to call her.

“What’s your name?”

“A-Ari…”

“My name is... “

I did not think this through… I guess I will have to do with that.

“My name is Yami”

[Name changed: Yami]

[Error: Cannot change name.]

[Yami becomes your secondary name.]

I heard that. While trying to make the friendliest smile I possibly could. How does that even happen! What type of error could influence a name change. I did not even mean to change it! Fenri had no traces of blood when I realized. I did not understand it. But an auto cleaning function is always welcome. As I finished thinking about that I noticed Ari was fidgeting a lot, from what I could see she was no longer afraid of me so, I paid it no mind. So I turned around to walk towards the lake. Until I heard that...

“M-Master Yami.”

As soon as I heard that. I stopped in my tracks, my body went completely stiff. I guess it cannot be helped, she was my slave after all. I turned around and looked at her. And started walking towards her with a solemn expression while holding the key.

“I-I did not mean to! I am sorry!  I am sorry!”

She started apologizing. She grew more and more anxious the closer I got to her until eventually I was right in front of her. She was shaking uncontrollably. I knelt down and grabbed her slave collar. I inserted the key into the keyhole at that moment the collar released some magic particles, and it broke when I twisted the key.

Ari was frozen in place.

“U-Umm...?!”

“I am not your master and you are no longer a slave.”

I said. Smiling at her. She still did not understand what just happened.

“B-But then what will happen to me?”

She asked in a voice that was on the verge of cracking. I could see tears welling up in her eyes. I had to say something quickly, I didn’t mean to make her cry.

“Do you want to come with me?”

I asked. She slowly nodded while wiping her tears. Her eyes slightly brightened. She walked to me with some kind of difficulty. 

“Thank you…”

She muttered while looking down.

I called Fenri over. Ari was afraid of him. I started walking towards the direction the lake was in. Leaving the battle massacre behind as if nothing ever happened.

She followed with little steps. She understood that Fenri did not mean harm and stopped being scared of him. We eventually arrived at the lake. She was visibly confused which is understandable. Why would you drag someone to a lake?

“Ari, go take a bath. Fenri will assist you.”

“Y-Yami. What are you going to do?”

She asked with an anxious voice.

“I am going to check things.”

“W-...”

After saying that. I gave Fenri a random set of clothes and undergarments from my inventory for Ari to wear. Fenri gently pushed her with his head towards the lake. She wanted to say something earlier but decided not to. I turned around and walked away into the forest while thinking. About things, I needed to check like what exactly is this world. The system is there. But just how much similar is this place to [Zeileheim]? Do items retain their effects? Am I strong? Am I weak? Looking at the bandits maybe I am on the strong side. But it’s better to not be conceited. When I thought about it, I had not seen a single monster.

Alice.

EDIT: Added "I put the bag of coins in my inventory" I did not notice the coins basically disappear without me writing anything about them.

Hey, it's me your beloved author, I decided to try to draw a cover for the novel itself, tell me what you think of it and be sure to vote in the poll. If it wasn't obvious already from the pacing, this novel is slice of life with heavy adventure, however, it mostly focuses on slice of life. Best of both worlds in my opinion. The image is WIP, the characters are your beloved Kur... erm I mean Yami, and Ari.