Chapter 38

The night passed quietly, and morning came again. Flum, awakened by the chirping of birds, listened to the sounds coming from the first floor while still half-asleep. The chopping of a knife on a cutting board, the sizzling of a frying pan—these were the sounds of daily life, of peace, of her. Just listening to them made her heart warm. She remembered that even when she was back in her hometown, these sounds would be there when she woke up in the morning. Her mother would make breakfast, and soon after, a loud and gentle voice would call out, "Wake up, Flum." However, Milkit was not her mother. Now that she was awake, she couldn't just leave all the housework to her. Although it was earlier than usual, Flum sat up, rubbed her eyes, and slowly got out of bed. Yawning, she went down the stairs and poked her head into the living room.

"Good morning."

A cheerful greeting reached her ears.

"Uh... good morning..."

Flum replied lazily, and Milkit chuckled.

Then she headed to the bathroom. After washing her face and roughly fixing her hair, she returned to Milkit.

"Are you up early today? Do you have some work to do?"

"Nope, I just woke up. Should I cut this?"

"Please... Ah, Master."

"Hmm?"

Milkit looked at Flum and reached out to touch the bedhead on top of her head. Perhaps because she had been a bit rough in the bathroom, the rest of her hair was still messy. Milkit combed through it with a hand comb. The ticklish sensation of being touched on the head made Flum squirm slightly.

"Okay, that should do it."

"Thanks, I was a bit out of it and did a sloppy job."

"You'll get scolded by Eterna again."

"I'll check it again before we go out, so there's no need to tease me."

Eterna, who never had messy hair even right after waking up, seemed to use water to set her hair. Flum had always thought that this was a bit unfair.

"I'll go water the flowers outside once this is done."

"Got it. They were blooming quite nicely, weren't they?"

"I was told that just watering them would be fine, but I was a bit anxious about whether I could do it well until they bloomed. I've gained some confidence, so I want to try growing them from seeds next time."

"Sure, I can help you choose what to plant."

"Of course!"

While preparing breakfast, Flum made a promise. Milkit seemed to be already thinking about where to go shopping, and her mouth curved into a happy smile. When the eggs were done, she put them on a plate and left the kitchen. She took the watering can from the cabinet by the front door and went outside. The door opened and closed, and she walked over to the planters, crouching down. She tilted the watering can to water the first planter, then moved to the next one. During this time, Flum continued preparing the salad alone. She cut the vegetables and arranged four servings on the table—

"…?"

She noticed that there was no sound coming from outside. She ran through the living room and hallway and peeked outside.

"Milkit?"

She looked left and right, but there was no sign of her. Only the watering can, which was leaking water, was lying on the ground. Had she gone to fetch more water, or perhaps was talking to a neighbor? No.

Flum's keen senses caught the "sound."

"Above…"

Two pairs of footsteps moving on the roof. One of them was making an unusually heavy sound, as if carrying someone else.

—What a blunder.

Flum regretted her carelessness to the point of wanting to die. The kidnapping was timed to happen the moment she stepped outside, and it was clearly not the work of amateurs. Moreover, the target was undoubtedly Milkit, not Flum. She should have considered the possibility of protecting Milkit, rather than being complacent about the safety of the front of the house.

Regretting, regretting, and regretting, she bit her lip until it bled. With that anger, she kicked off the ground and leaped onto the roof of a nearby house. She landed, crouched, and scanned the area with her eyes. In the open field of view, she spotted two figures in black fleeing to the east. She gritted her teeth and glared at them with disdain, then sprinted straight along the roof of the house. Reaching the end, she jumped without hesitation, flying from house to house, pursuing the group that had kidnapped Milkit.

"Scan"

She quietly activated her magic. Confirming their strength—first, a large man carrying the unconscious Milkit. His name is Trito Ranshira, with strength and stamina over 2000, and a total status value of around 8000. Second, a slender man performing acrobatic flips, with agility in the high 2000s and high sensory perception, indicating he is a speed-focused adventurer. His total value is also around 8000, with a weakness of low health in the triple digits. Both are A-rank adventurers. They are not ordinary, which is why they could kidnap Milkit without making a sound. However, while the old Flum might have struggled, the current Flum has the power to fight them. The problem is how to close the distance—she hooked her right foot on the edge of the roof, concentrated refined prana in her entire foot, and made a large leap. She cleared the house in front of her and approached in one bound.

"What the—!?"

"We weren't told this was going to be a difficult job!"

Seeing the small girl pursuing them at a speed that surpassed their own, the men began to panic. They had been told by Satirus that the job was just to kidnap a female slave. Scanning her, they saw only a series of zeros. The name Flum Apricot was familiar, but if it was her, why did she have a slave mark on her face? If it wasn't her, then who was this person who could keep up with their A-rank speed?

"Damn, I'll take care of it. Trito, you go ahead."

"Right, if it gets dangerous, run!"

From the high reward, they knew this wasn't a legitimate job. This was an "under-the-table" request from Satirus, not through the guild. While the reward was substantial, they had to be prepared for the risks that came with it. If they were to lose their lives here, it would be their mistake for believing Satirus when she said it was an easy job.

"First, let's do a little test."

He pulled out a dagger from a case on his belt, dripping with liquid, and held it in both hands. He exhaled and threw it with his right hand, then jumped back to gain distance and threw it with his left. It shot straight at Flum like a bullet. Immediately, Demisilico took another dagger from the case. Right or left, or perhaps above. No matter which way she dodged, he planned to follow up with another attack. However, Flum did not try to avoid the approaching dagger at all. She continued to charge straight at Demisilico, stubbornly and madly.

"Are you crazy? You'll die!"

Was she blind, or did she have some plan? He continued to run while looking back at her. The tip of the dagger touched her side—

"Reversal"

Flum also reversed the dagger as part of her test. The dagger changed direction and was now aimed at Demisilico. The second throw embedded itself in her right palm. It pierced through her hand with a wet sound, causing her right arm to tremble with pain. The poison on the blade, however, was rendered ineffective by the enchantment on her belt, which "reduced her resistance to poison."

"Is this the power of 'reversal'!?"

Demisilico avoided the reversed dagger by making it fly into the neighboring house. In mid-air, he threw another dagger at Flum to keep her at bay. She bent her body to avoid it, pulled the dagger out of her palm, and kicked the roof tiles, spinning in the air. Using the centrifugal force, she whipped her arm and threw the blood-soaked blade at Demisilico, who had just landed. The throw was awkward, and due to her lack of practice, the trajectory was off and the speed was low. However, he didn't have the time to avoid it, having just landed. He had no choice but to stop and parry it. He gripped a gladius, a sword with a blade length of about fifty centimeters, from his waist and—

Clang! He deflected Flum's thrown dagger. However, he stopped moving, which meant Flum could close the distance. There was no longer any distance for him to run. Determined to engage in close combat, Demisilico drew a short sword from his other side and faced Flum with a two-sword stance.

"I thought I would remember the names of A-rank level adventurers, but I didn't expect there to be an unknown young woman."

He began to speak, but his words did not reach Flum. Her mind was focused on one thing: to not let these men who had hurt Milkit—

"Absolutely, I won't forgive you!"

Flum's arms were encased in black gauntlets. She drew her soul-eating sword with her right hand, which was wrapped in a sinister-looking gauntlet, and swung it with all her might, without any technique or strategy. Demisilico took a step back, and the tip of the large sword grazed his chest. He immediately stepped forward and slashed at her thigh. The fabric of Flum's pants tore, and blood seeped through. He then took another step back.

"Shadow Mist"

He cast a spell, and a pitch-black mist surrounded Flum, obscuring her vision. She tried to escape, but Demisilico's blade came from an unknown direction, cutting her arm. Next, her side, then her cheek, then her leg, shoulder, back, and arm—attacks came from all directions, relentless and shallow. His style was to blind the opponent, wear them down with accumulated damage, and then deliver a fatal blow when the time was right.

"Ridiculous"

Flum dismissed it. Such a piecemeal fighting style would not work on her. Her wounds healed quickly, and she felt almost no pain. Even this mist—

She raised her black blade, infused with invisible power.

"Haahhh!"

The sword was swung down, and the burst of prana created a violent wind that blew everything away. Roar! The storm of air blades blew away the black mist. Demisilico leaped back and moved to the next house. Flum immediately followed with a series of knightly sword techniques.

"Let you escape, huh!"

She sliced the air horizontally with both arms, releasing sharp sword auras—Ki Sword Slash. Demisilico, like a flying insect, dodged them again. He threw a dagger at Flum from mid-air, but it was a futile effort. She simply tilted her head to avoid it. She threw another one, this time in a diagonal slash, infusing the prana with the power of "reversal"—

"No way, no way!"

He jumped again, sweating. The Ki Sword Slash grazed his feet and flew away. —But Flum quietly declared, "Come back."

The blade, which had passed by