Volume 2 - CH 12

"Is she okay?"

"Yes. She has a few bruises all over her body and numerous fresh wounds, but nothing life-threatening. The bruises can be healed."

She was treating Nem, a girl with cat ears that he had just bought, in Lilia's [Treasure House of Dream], which she had gotten not from Mars but from "Sekhmet".

When Mars enters the treasury, guided by Lilia, he sees Hazuki struggling with Nem.

She was holding her wand and trying to get close for Hazuki to heal her, but Nem was fussing and holding her back.

She was even smaller than the petite Hazuki, but she was powerful.

When it came to healing magic, Hazuki was better at it, so Hazuki, not Lilia, was mainly in charge.

Hazuki's talent for magic is something that Lilia admits to, even though she regrets it.

When I looked at Nem up close, I saw that her hair was a light blue with a whitish tinge, and it was about mid-back length.

It was so shaggy that it seemed to have just grown out, rather than being intentionally grown out.

Her skin was white, and her entire body was slender, probably from lack of nutrition.

The only things that were cat-like were her ears and her tail, which moved freely, and her long double teeth.

But even these were dirty with sand and dust.

The reason why we are using Lilia's treasure room is because Mars' is filled with supplies for the seven great dungeons and is not a space where people can live properly.

"It-It's okay! I won't hurt you or do anything terrible to you!"

"Don't touch me-nya! I hate humans-nya!"

"Ouch, Th-that hurts, don't push my face!"

In an attempt to pull Hazuki away from her covering, Nem pushed her face without hesitation.

It was a fight between a girl and a girl with cat ears, so it was truly a catfight.

"Don't worry. That female is trustworthy, to a point. As a non-human me an elf, I'm sure you'll take my words a little differently."

*sigh*, Sighing, Lilia crossed her arms under her chest and soothed Nem.

Humans hate different species, but different species also hate humans.

Lilia is well aware of this feeling.

"Nya...... really-nya? I'm not going to hit that guy either-nya?"

Flattening her ears, Nem, fear in her golden eyes, pushed Hazuki's face away and jabbed a finger at Mars.

"My name is Mars Irving. I'm not going to hit you, don't worry, I won't."

"My name is Lilia Silvestri――I and the female there are slaves of our master. Since you were bought for such a large sum of money, you should make every effort to break your bones."

Currently, Nem is not yet a slave of Mars.

However, it was Lilia's contention that she should still be a slave since it was true that she was bought.

"I-I'm Hazuki Azathoth and I'm ......――C-can you please get your hands off my face!?"

*shove*, And when she pressed her cheek, Hazuki's cute, young face crumpled.

"Because I feel like attacking with magic-nya!""

"N-No, it's not!! Heal, it's heal!"

Mars feels sorry for Hazuki, who seems to be very much disliked, and helps her out.

"I'm Nem Nair-nya ...... and I'm probably sixteen years old-nya ......」

As she was being healed, a pouty-faced Nem sat on her haunches and introduced herself.

She was sixteen years old, one year younger than Mars and two years younger than Hazuki.

However, she had a young physique for her age.

――I don't think she's possible to be a boxer,......, but she's cute.

Malus nodded lightly to himself.

"For the time being, I asked them to heal your wounds, and then you changed your clothes and took a bath. As expected, the clothes are a little"

The clothes Nem was wearing were more like burlap sacks than clothes.

The slave's clothes were the same size for both adults and children, or perhaps they were shaped like a dress that went all the way down to the shins.

It was more like a tattered brown cloth covering.

It was extremely unhygienic and not a good look.

♦

After half forcing Nem into the bathroom, Lilia forced her to take off her clothes and bring her into the bathroom.

Perhaps it's a sense of camaraderie as a different species, but Nem doesn't put up much of a fight against Lilia.

Feeling that Nem didn't like her very much, Hazuki prepared for the bath with her clothes on.

"Nem, you have breasts for someone who is built like a child. ......"

When She took off the loose, one-piece burlap sack, Nem's body was revealed.

She was not wearing any kind of underwear.

Although she was smaller than Lilia and Hazuki in height ――just a head shorter than Lilia ――her body was mature enough to be seen.

She had so little fat that her ribs seemed to float, yet her breasts were the size that even an adult hand could hold a little too much.

Her pink nipples pointed upward as if they hated gravity.

Her lower body was slightly immature, with a tightly closed crevice and no pubic hair.

It was a body that had both a girl's and a mature woman's quality.

Mars would love it, Lilia thought, biting her back teeth together a little.

"Lilia-nyan? There's one more thing. Isn't it in the way?"

"I've gotten used to it, though it's hard to see my feet and it can be a bit of a hindrance.――Some people are so happy with it that they even love it"

After removing the dirty metal collar, Lilia gently pushed Nem's back and entered the bathroom.

The bathtub was filled with hot water, enough for the three of them to lie down in.

Hazuki, who loves bath salts, bought a variety of them with the allowance Mars had given her, and put flowers on top of them.

Incidentally, they were reasonably expensive items. In this world, only a few wealthy people can afford to spend money on anything other than the necessities of life.

Mars had left Nem to the two of them and was preparing a meal.

He had planned to go out to eat, but he didn't know how far he would be able to go with Nem, so he did it on his own.

"Today I tried the forest scent I bought the other day!　――!?"

Hazuki, who had been preparing the bath, let out an inarticulate voice as soon as she saw Nem's body when she came in.

The cause was obvious, so Lilia did not react.

"Hazuki. You should help. She's pretty dirty, so let's both clean her up. It would be disrespectful to Master to leave her like this. And bring me your clothes. My clothes don't fit her."

"Y-yes……even though I'm eighteen years old.……"

Muttering to herself, Hazuki left the bathroom and came back the next time completely naked.

She came in with her breasts blatantly covered, and her face looked complicated.

"I hate it-nya! I still hate baths-nya! I feel like I'm going to die from the cold when they splash water on my head-nya!"

"……Water?"

Nem entered the bathroom and began to refuse to bathe, crouching down in a small way.

Hazuki had a questioning look on her face, but Lilia, who had once been a slave, was familiar with the situation.

It was not uncommon for slaves to take a proper bath. If you're a human, it's even more so if you're a different species.

They are treated no differently than animals.

That's why they are treated in such a cursory manner, like spraying water over their heads outdoors, which is more like washing than bathing.

"You will never have to do that again. You must wash yourself in warm water."

"You're going to boil me in hot water-nya!? I probably won't taste good-nya!?"

"That's why……――It's troublesome. Let's her experience it."

Lilia began to shower Nem, who crouched down.

Hii!, Nemu let out a small scream, but her reaction quickly changed.

"It's warm-nya……?"

"I told you, didn't I? We have no intention of harming you in any way. From now on, we will spend time together as friends. Now, let's get you cleaned up."

After being made to sit on a chair and being showered all over by Hazuki, Nem's body shrinks as she shivered.

"Nyaa~……I'm getting all warm and fuzzy-nya……"

"You're all covered in mud! It's worth washing, isn't it!? Your hair is so stiff, what a waste!"

Just a little shower and the brownish water will run down.

"You have to be careful not to get water in her ears. They're built differently than humans."

When Lilia saw that the ears twitching on top of Nem's head were about to get wet, she warned Hazuki.

"The ears and head are cute, aren't they?. ...... They're all fluffy with fine fur. ...... Cute!"

"Don't touch it-nya!"

"Agh! I got hit by a fluffy!"

The watery tail slapped Hazuki on the stomach.

Hazuki looked happy as she was slapped.

'It's nice and warm-nya. ...... I'm going to live here-nya."

"You can't live in the bathroom, you know!?"

After washing her body, Nem placed her head on the edge of the bathtub and floated on the bathtub with her whole body relaxed.

Lilia and Hazuki lined up next to Nem.

"Nem, can you use the magic of the [Forbidden Magic Book]?"

Lilia hadn't forgotten the information that Garland's aide had mentioned.

The reason why the jealous Lilia easily accepted Nem was not only because she had the precedent of Hazuki, but also because she thought Nem would be useful for the upcoming dungeon capture.

The seven great dungeons are not small dungeons like the one in [Sekhmet], which they have already conquered.

"Nyaa~……? Ah, you mean that weird book that I was forced to read in the dungeon earlier? I can't read, but somehow I was able to read that book."

"In the dungeon with those guys?"

"I've been there-nya. I like dungeons because I can move around as I please-nya. I even killed the biggest demon-nya!"

"The biggest one is ......, no way. Is that the demon on the last floor by any chance!?"

What Lilia knows is the Hydra, a subspecies of the extinct dragon that she saw in [Sekhmet], which she trampled through with Mars and Hazuki.

As far as Mars is concerned, the strongest being in the dungeon is located deep inside the dungeon.

"There was a big cow-like thing-nya. I just got on top of it and squeezed it and it went down-nya!"

"Squeeze it.....Are you strong, Nem? Even though she's cute? Are you using magic?"

"I'm strong-nya. That's why I'm still alive-nya. If I'm weak, I'll die-nya. That's how I defeated that monster.――Like this-nya!"

Nem raised her hand a little higher, and translucent nails appeared, three times as long as her thin white fingers.

She clicked and clacked them, corresponding to each of her five fingers.

"Wow!? I've never seen that kind of magic before!"

"It's a body-expanding magic that the different races ...... are good at, even those that are classified as beasts. It's a magic that humans don't often use."

There are many different types of magic, including those that strengthen you, like Mars uses, those that emanate outwardly, like Hazuki, and those that act on matter, like Lilia.

The magic that Nem used is one that expands the body itself.

"I can do the legs, too-nyaa!."

*clap*clap* Perhaps pleased by the applause and admiration of Hazuki, Nem showed the expression on both her arms and legs.

Lilia reminded herself that the conversation had drifted away from the [Forbidden Magic Book], but that was okay when Mars was around.

"After all, they fight with their physical abilities, don't they? I've heard that beastmen have excellent physical abilities. For us, the vanguard is Mars.――Since We only have a master, this is going to be a good force multiplier. After all, our next opponent is the Seven Great Dungeons."

"I don't know about you-nya, but I'd be happy to follow you to the dungeon-nya. I don't care where we go as long as I can get some food-nya."

"That's not a problem. You can eat like you've never eaten before in your life. Our master is a good cook, and above all, he loves to serve. So.――"

"――You want me to be a slave-nya? I know what I'm talking about-nya. If you don't work, you don't get to eat-nya!"

Unlike Lilia's preconceived notion that Nem was weak in both knowledge and intelligence, she seemed to understand the current situation as she relaxed on the hot water.

Rather than understanding, however, it seemed to come from a sense of resignation that the only way to live was as a slave.

"Don't worry! If you're become a slave to Mars-san, he's just making it easier for him to protect you, but there's nothing to be afraid of at all! He's kind and cool."

"Is he cool-nya……? He didn't look very strong-nya. The strong one is cool one-nya."

"You'll find out soon enough.――Now, hurry up and get up and help Master. Hazuki, please dry Nem's hair. In some cases, she may need to do a bit of trimming. You are surprisingly good at such detailed work, right?"

Lilia was the first to get out of the bath as they joked around.

Nem had resisted at first, but before she knew it, she and Hazuki seemed to have made peace.

She must have realized that Hazuki was, for better or worse, a harmless person.

"Accepted! I'm going to make you pretty! Let's put on some nice smelling body cream too!"

"Is that why Hazuki-chan smells so bad-nya?"

"It-It smells bad!? It's a shocking word for a maiden, though?!"

――It's getting much noisier, isn't it? It used to be just the two of us.

Feeling lonely because of the increase in the number of people, Lilia went to Mars ahead of the others.