Chapter 4

"Alright, let's go eat lunch at the tavern!"

"Yes, Master!"

After continuing to hunt goblins until midday, we received over two thousand zennies from the guild for the items we sold. Considering that the typical daily wage for a day laborer is less than a thousand zennies, Yuel, who earned this amount in half a day, is quite exceptional. I really feel like I made a good purchase.

Not only is Yuel excellent as a combatant in the dungeon, but he is also very obedient and a good kid. He has a childlike, innocent smile and doesn't make any troublesome demands. Moreover, he has become quite attached to me. Perhaps he thinks of me as a parent, like a baby bird seeing me for the first time after his eyes were healed. Also, I feel like the tension he had towards me has significantly eased since I started petting his head after each battle in the dungeon. Well, regardless of what Yuel thinks.

"It's delicious, Master!"

Watching Yuel eat his meal with such enjoyment is somehow soothing. Even though we are mostly eating with the money he earned, he gives me a bright, sincere smile from across the table. If it were Elise, she would probably say something like, "Is lunch with someone else's money really that delicious?"

"Ah, it's Shiki. Nice to see you again!"

Turning around at the sound of my name, I saw a girl with red hair and a boyish vibe, Luluka. She was alone again. I wonder what happened to her party members. Maybe she's just a loner. Perhaps she's a lonely girl. If so, I'd like to comfort her in bed.

"Yeah, nice to see you again."

"I thought you might be here, so I've been waiting. I wanted to talk to you."

Luluka turned her face away at the part where she said, "I wanted to talk to you," and glanced at me sideways.

She's really sly.

I shouldn't take her words and attitude seriously. Luluka knows the value of her appearance and the gestures that appeal to men. If I took her seriously and thought, "Maybe she likes me?" I would probably end up paying for expensive meals and drinks while she flirts with me. That's the type of person she is.

"Um, Master, who is this person?"

Right, this is the first time Yuel has met her. Should I introduce them? But if I say I bought a slave like Yuel, I might be called a pedophile. I don't want to introduce them.

"Hmm, 'Master,' so this kid is a slave. Wow, he's so cute. But Shiki, even I find your preference for young girls a bit too much."

Oh, I see. I'm already being treated as a pedophile without even introducing them. But Yuel doesn't look like a combat slave, so it's understandable. I don't want to accept it, though.

"That's not it. Yuel, this red-haired girl is Luluka. She was a customer when I was a healer and is a senior adventurer. And this is Yuel, a slave I bought yesterday. I'm thinking of adding him to my party."

"Ah, I'm Yuel. Nice to meet you."

Yuel greeted her timidly. He seems to be shy with strangers, even though he quickly became attached to me. But I remember he was like this when I bought him. He must be shy with strangers.

"I'm Luluka. Nice to meet you. So, you're planning to take Yuel into the dungeon? He's so cute."

"I took him into the dungeon lightly today, but he can take out goblins in an instant."

I didn't go past the third floor, though. Yuel wasn't in top condition, and I hadn't gathered information on the monsters beyond the third floor.

"Wow, you have skills at such a young age. You're amazing, even though you're so cute."

That's right. My Yuel is cute and amazing. I can kind of understand how parents feel when they boast about their children.

"Yeah, he seems to have a skill with daggers."

"So he's a front-line attacker. That's great. My party is thin on the front line. Yuel, if you ever get tired of this Master, I can take you in. Just come to me anytime."

"Don't try to poach my party member!"

You refuse my participation in your party but try to poach my party member. Well, I guess it's a joke. But what if Yuel seriously says he wants to be taken in? I don't want to think about it.

"I could never dislike Master!"

I see. It's impossible. It's nice to hear, but can someone with such a trusting nature survive in this world? Oh, right, he's already a slave. I understand.

"Hey, Shiki, did you really just buy him yesterday? What did you do to make him so attached in just one day? Did you really!"

"Ch, I healed him. He had a scar on his face when I saw him at the slave market."

"Yes, Master healed my blind eye, my crushed nose, and my torn ear. He was also very kind to me. Master is very important to me!"

"Ah, I see. That makes sense. But I don't see any scars or marks."

"Well, that's my skill."

Healing magic that leaves no scars requires a high level of skill and magic power. In my case, I don't leave scars without thinking, and my magic power is so high that I don't feel like I'm using much.

"Shiki, I have a favor to ask."

"No."

I can guess what it is. Probably something like a free healing. While there's no disadvantage to me if I heal her, I can't be used so easily. I want compensation for my work.

"Come on, Shiki. We're friends, right? Since you were fired from Elise's place, it's hard to find a healer who can heal scars for such a low price. I'll pay you two hundred zennies, and just a healing spell, okay?"

I remember Elise saying that healing scars is difficult. It takes time and uses a lot of magic power and concentration, so she can't do it regularly. But Luluka is offering a reasonable price. It's cheaper than the market rate, but the same as what Elise charged. It's unusual. Usually, she would try to get a discount or a free service by using aggressive negotiation tactics, like showing off her chest or hugging from behind.

"Healing, huh. I'll do it if you pay. But don't you have any injuries?"

I find it fun to have her pay with her body because she doesn't have money, but I can't do that in a tavern. This is a downside of being fired from the clinic. It's a bit disappointing.

"Okay, heal me properly."

Luluka takes out her bank card and pays. Prepayment is unusual, and I get a bad feeling. It's like the slave merchant who left in a hurry. She seems eager to get it done before I change my mind.

"Come here."

In the direction Luluka is looking, there are two girls. One is a strong-looking mage with blonde twin drills. The other is a calm-looking archer with blue hair in a bob cut. The blonde looks about sixteen, and the blue-haired one looks about eighteen.

They stand up from their table and walk over. The blonde with the twin drills glares at us, while the blue-haired one sighs at her.

"The blonde is Fran, and the blue-haired one is Sera. They are my party members."

"Hmph..."

"I'm Sera. Luluka often relies on us."

The girl called Fran sniffs in a displeased manner, while Sera greets us politely.

"I'm Shiki, and this is my party member, Yuel. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you," Yuel and I greet them in return.

I remember Luluka mentioning that she has a party member who is a bit of a clean freak. It must be this blonde with the twin drills. She's looking away with a displeased expression and doesn't seem interested in talking to men.

"So, I want you to heal Fran's shoulder. She was bitten by an assault bat. We've stopped the bleeding, but I don't want her to have a scar, right?"

I can understand why she's an adventurer, but in this world, women can fight monsters if they have the right skills. Exploring the dungeon is dangerous but also lucrative. The gender gap in professions might be smaller than in my original world.

However, this girl, Fran. Her mage robe hides the injury, but I can see a bit of bandage through the tear. She won't even make eye contact. If she were blushing and looking away because she's excited about being healed by a handsome healer, I would be happy to heal her and then push her down. But her expression is clearly not that. It's a mix of displeasure, disgust, and contempt. A strong-willed girl without any affection is just rude. I don't really want to heal her.

"Why do you have drills on the sides of your head?" I want to say something like that. Drills might not make sense. Maybe snails would be better. I want to mock her distinctive hairstyle, which she probably sets every morning.

"Shiki, please. I've already paid, right?"

Ah, that's why she paid in advance. Luluka knows my character well. If she hadn't paid in advance, I might have said something like, "I'll heal you if you give me a kiss." I can imagine Fran getting angry and leaving the tavern. I could try to grope her under the pretense of needing to see the injury, but she would probably get angry and leave. Since I've been paid, I can't refuse to heal her, but I don't want to make her angry. I could do it, but then Luluka would get angry. She really thinks things through.

"Heal."

As a minimal form of revenge, I cast the healing spell while ogling Fran's body. But when I look at her chest, there's almost no curve. If her personality is disappointing, her chest is too. Sera has a noticeable bust, and Luluka is a hidden large chest under her chest plate. Next time, I'll tell her that she's the only one with a flat chest in the party.

The healing spell activates, and warm light gathers on Fran's shoulder. I can't confirm it, but it's probably healed. Fran checks her shoulder but doesn't change her displeased expression.

"Couldn't you at least say thank you?"

"I didn't ask for it."

Oh, that really gets under my skin, but I'm not that short-tempered. I have Yuel to soothe me. I don't want to show him a bad side of me, and I don't want him to be scared by my anger. Maybe this is why parents with children become calmer.

"Ah, ahaha. Sorry, Shiki. Fran isn't a bad person, really."

Luluka quickly tries to smooth things over, but Fran's attitude is really extreme. If she can't talk to men or say thank you, it would be hard to live a normal life. Ah, that's why she became an adventurer.

After the healing, Luluka and the others left the tavern. Luluka said, "See you again," but I really don't want to heal Fran again. If she insists, I'll refuse. If she really wants it, maybe I'll let her grope my chest.

But she's flat-chested. That's disappointing.

Current funds: approximately 2,600 zennies.