Chapter 22

The day after the dinner party, Flamm, who had received a request to gather materials from monsters, finished his report and left the guild. Perhaps due to the success of the first Anzoo hunt, his adventurer rank had risen to D without him noticing, and his income had increased. However, to support two people, he still needed to earn a decent amount, so he couldn't afford to be complacent—

"By the way, does Eterna not work at all…?"

She had been holed up in her room, doing something, but it was unclear what. However, when she had free time, she would teach Flamm about herbs and magic, making it difficult to ask, "Don't you work?"

For now, the living expenses were sufficient, so he planned to observe the situation for a while.

The sky had turned completely dark.

It wasn't because there had been a commotion at the guild that made him late.

It was simply that the mission had been troublesome.

He had thought it would be easy since the monsters weren't particularly strong, but he hadn't expected them to be so small and fast, like small animals.

In the end, he managed to defeat them and obtain the skin, but the fatigue was more than twice what it usually was.

If he had been hassled by Ira at the reception or Dain's group at the introduction office, he might have collapsed by now.

Fortunately, everyone seemed unusually listless today.

Even Dain, the leader, looked somber and was holding a meeting with his companions.

He felt relieved that he wasn't hassled, but at the same time, he felt anxious that he couldn't find a way to deal with them.

"If I could take them down while they're in a bad mood, that would be great…"

He muttered this wish and kicked a pebble with his boot.

The pebble rolled and stopped when it hit something large lying on the ground.

…It was a girl.

The girl, lying on the cold stone ground, seemed to be about the same age as Sera.

Her hair was tied in a ponytail, and she was wearing white clothes that were dirty with mud.

"…I have a bad feeling about this."

Flamm muttered.

However, it wasn't unusual to see people lying around in the West District.

Drunk men often lay around, and apparently, if you lived there for a few years, you would inevitably see a dead body.

But it was rare to see a woman, especially a child.

The security in the town deteriorated at night, and if a young girl walked around, men would quickly gather around her.

Of course, to satisfy their own desires.

In other words, it was rare to see her because someone else would have found her before Flamm did.

He couldn't just leave her there.

Flamm squatted down, placed his hand on her shoulder, and shook her.

"Hey, are you okay? If you sleep in a place like this, you'll be attacked by a pervert."

"Mmm…"

When he looked at the girl's face—more precisely, her "eyes"—Flamm was startled.

They had been sewn shut.

The stitches were neat, and there was no sign of infection, suggesting that a doctor had performed the procedure.

Still, it was a rather bizarre sight.

"Can't see, and you made it this far by yourself?"

Her body was not emaciated, indicating that she had been eating properly.

Her hair was not uneven, suggesting that someone had trimmed it with scissors.

There were no signs of abuse, and she didn't smell, indicating that she had been taking baths.

It didn't seem like she had escaped from a place of confinement—

When Flamm shook her shoulder again, she groaned, "Who…?"

"A passerby. If you need to go somewhere, I can take you there."

She remained silent for a moment, then said in a bright voice,

"Link!"

"Huh?"

"My name is Link. Nice to meet you!"

"Eh, eh… Nice to meet you."

He had inadvertently said "nice to meet you," but he wasn't sure what he was supposed to be nice to.

Before he could grasp the flow, she continued,

"I have amnesia. I don't really know who I am."

She had just said her name was Link.

"Did you remember your name?"

"Yeah, by chance!"

What a convenient coincidence.

Flamm sighed in exasperation and helped her stand up.

After brushing off the sand from her body,

"See you, Link."

He waved and tried to leave calmly.

However, she wasn't about to let her prey go—she grabbed his clothes with both hands, stopping him.

"I don't have a place to sleep."

"R-Really…"

"I don't remember where to go, I don't have any money, nothing at all!"

He could guess what she expected.

In other words, this blind runaway girl was asking him to let her stay at his place.

Moreover, she was lying about having amnesia.

If he let her stay, he would inevitably get involved in trouble, and there would be no benefit for Flamm.

But if he left her… what would happen to a young girl alone in the West District at night was all too clear.

The moment he imagined it, Flamm had already lost.

He sighed deeply and took her hand.

"Alright, I'll take you to my place. If you remember where your home is, I'll take you there, okay?"

"I don't remember anything, I have amnesia!"

Such a bright and cheerful amnesiac didn't exist in this world.

Flamm, exasperated, sighed for the third time that day and started walking, pulling her along.

◇◇◇

On the way home, Flamm asked Link various questions, but she stubbornly refused to answer.

It was clear that she had no intention of changing her story about amnesia.

Since he couldn't handle her alone, he decided to seek help from Milkit and Eterna, and his pace quickened.

Link followed without any problem.

She seemed to have no physical issues—then, what about her stats?

He felt guilty about checking without her permission, but it was Link's fault for not changing her story.

--------------------

Link Reesecraft

Attribute: Water

Strength: 18

Magic: 43

Health: 28

Agility: 23

Senses: 49

--------------------

Her stats were those of a healthy, ordinary girl.

Her name seemed to be her real name.

In any case, there was no way to use a fake name.

"Reesecraft… which family is that?"

"…Did you scan me?"

"Yeah."

"Pervert."

Flamm clenched his fist and shook his arm but managed to control himself.

His opponent was a child, and at 16, Flamm needed to act like an adult.

"By the way, how old are you, Link?"

"10 years old!"

She was the same age as Sera.

"You have amnesia, but you remember that?"

"Ah… well, my body remembers."

"Your body is quite skilled."

"Isn't that kind of perverted too?"

"No, it's not."

What a convenient amnesia.

However, for a 10-year-old blind girl to run away in the West District at night was a reckless thing to do.

It was troublesome, but Flamm was glad he was the first to find her.

After walking for a while, they arrived at Flamm's house.

Opening the door and saying, "I'm home," he heard someone running from the kitchen.

Milkit, with a smile under her bandages, greeted her master,

"Welcome home, Master…?"

She looked puzzled at the girl standing next to him.

"I'll explain everything later, but can you come in for now?"

"Y-Yes! Dinner is ready."

"Thanks."

Flamm patted her head, and Milkit blushed.

Link followed, holding onto Flamm's clothes.

"The smell of the food is making me hungry."

Coincidentally, Flamm's stomach growled.

It wasn't a loud noise, but Milkit heard it and smiled.

"Hehe, I tried a new ingredient today, so I hope Master likes it… Oh, by the way, should I prepare a portion for this girl too?"

"Ah… What do you think, Link? Do you want to eat?"

"Of course!"

She was completely unreserved.

Flamm sighed in exasperation and Milkit chuckled.

They entered the living room, and Eterna, who had been waiting for dinner, was sitting with a fork and knife in hand.

She looked at Flamm, then Milkit, and finally at Link—

"Flamm brought a girl home."

She said it expressionlessly.

"That's not true! I just happened to find her, and I couldn't just leave her there."

"She was brought in!"

One idiot raised her hand and declared it.

"That's not it…"

"Hehe, she's a lively one. I still have some dinner preparations to do, so Master, please sit and wait."

"Alright, I'll help. Link, sit here."

"Okay!"

Link raised her hand and cheerfully responded. She felt for the chair and sat down on her own.

Flamm had thought she would need help due to her blindness, but she seemed to be able to manage to some extent.

Flamm went to the kitchen and started finishing the meal with Milkit.

Milkit looked apologetic for a moment but didn't say anything.

She was grateful, but Flamm helping in the kitchen was a regular thing, and every time she thanked him, he would say, "Don't worry about it, it's just what I do."

The master he was living with now was different from the people Milkit had served in the past.

He would do anything for her, a lowly slave, without hesitation.

If he wanted her to be dependent, it was her duty as a slave to do so—and it was also what Milkit wanted.

Their eyes met.

There was no particular meaning, but when she smiled, Milkit smiled back.

Just that made her happy, and even if she was afraid of losing it, she thought she could deepen this relationship even more.

"I'll take a bath first."

Flamm started bringing the food to the table when Sera entered, wiping her head with a towel.

"Sera is here too."

He had thought it was strange to have prepared so many portions, but he hadn't expected her to come again so soon.

"Sorry, Master. I forgot to mention that Sera was coming."

"Evening, Milkit. Your cooking is so delicious that I couldn't help but come again!"

"Is it okay with the church?"

"If I say I'm going to a friend's house for dinner, they just laugh and send me off."

The rules seemed to be more lenient than Flamm had thought.

Well, the West District might be dangerous, but there weren't many fools who would attack a nun, and Sera could probably defend herself.

"By the way, who is that girl?"

"I'm Link!"

"Link, nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you too!"

The energetic Link flapped her hands and said.

Perhaps because they were close in age, they seemed to have a good rapport and were enthusiastically high-fiving, saying, "Yay!"

While they were doing this, the food was being laid out on the table.

Eterna, who seemed to be nearing her hunger limit, was glaring at the Candy Boar stew with bloodshot eyes.

"By the way, isn't the Candy Boar a C-rank monster? Wasn't it expensive?"

"It was half price because it was close to the expiration date. It wasn't