Chapter 10

"Hey, you..."

When I showed my face at the weapon shop, the old man was speechless as he saw me with Rapha. He managed to squeeze out a voice.

"Yeah, what I need is something to fight with... something with offensive power. We can't talk unless you let me buy a weapon."

"Bring me a weapon that this one can use, within the range of six silver coins."

"..."

The old man let out a deep sigh.

"Is it the country's fault, or have you become corrupt...? Whatever, six silver coins, got it."

"Is there still any leftover stock of clothes and cloaks?"

"...Sure. I'll throw them in for free."

The old man muttered something about it being pitiful as he brought out a few knives.

"Six silver coins, that's the range."

From left to right, they were copper, bronze, and iron knives. The price seemed to vary depending on the grip as well. I had Rapha hold and compare the knives multiple times, choosing the one that felt the most comfortable in her hand.

"This one is fine."

Rapha, who was handed the knife, turned pale and looked at me and the old man.

"Here, the clothes and cloak are free."

The old man gruffly handed me the free items and led us to the changing room. After confiscating the knife, I instructed Rapha to take the free items and go change. She entered the changing room, coughing and staggering, to change her clothes.

"You still look dirty... maybe I'll make you take a bath later."

There was a river near the grassland. It was a branch of the river that flowed through this country, and recently, my living area had shifted there. It was a good place because we wouldn't lack for food if we fished. There were so many fish that we could catch them by hand, and I had already obtained a shield with the effect of "Fishing Skill 1."

Rapha, who had finished changing, timidly ran over to me in silence. She knew that disobeying orders would come with pain. I crouched down to her eye level and spoke to her.

"Alright, Rapha, this is your weapon. And I'm going to force you to fight monsters. Understand?"

"..."

Rapha nodded timidly, her eyes filled with fear. She did so to avoid the pain.

"Alright, I'll give you the knife—"

I pulled out an orange balloon that I had hidden under the cloak.

"Stab and pop this."

"Ah!?"

Rapha was so surprised by the fact that I had hidden a monster that she almost dropped the weapon.

"Wh... What... No..."

"It's an order. Obey."

"N-no..."

Rapha shook her head vigorously. However, she had a spell cast on her that would cause her pain if she disobeyed orders.

"Ugh..."

"Look, if you don't stab it, you'll be the one in pain."

"Cough... Cough!"

Rapha, her face contorted in pain, gripped the weapon with her trembling hand.

"You..."

The old man watched the scene in silence, speechless. Rapha, with a firm resolve to attack, stabbed the orange balloon from behind, which I had made lunge at her.

Thud...

"Weak! Put more force into it!"

"...!? Hey!"

The thrust was deflected, and Rapha, surprised, put more force into it and stabbed the balloon again.

Bang!

The balloon burst with a loud noise.

EXP 1

A message appeared in my vision, indicating that a companion had defeated an enemy. At that moment, a thought of killing intent crossed my mind. That bitch. She had no intention of traveling with me or doing anything system-related.

"Good job."

I patted Rapha's head. She looked at me with a puzzled expression.

"Next, this one."

I grabbed the strongest balloon, which had been latched onto me for nearly a week, and showed it to her just as before. The red balloon, which had been latched onto me without eating or drinking for a week, seemed to be weakening. It wouldn't be able to withstand the attack of a weak Level 1 girl. Rapha, nodding firmly, stabbed the balloon from behind with a more determined look than before.

Bang!

EXP 1

Companion EXP 6

An icon caught my eye.

"Alright, it seems you can fight. Let's go."

"...Cough"

I instructed her to put the weapon on her belt, and Rapha obediently followed.

"Hey, let me say something."

"What?"

The old man glared at me as he spoke.

"You, you're definitely not going to die a good death."

"I'm honored by your praise."

I responded to his sarcasm with my own. Leaving the shop, I headed towards the grassland, walking through the market stalls. Rapha, holding my hand, walked beside me, looking around at the town. The smell of food from a stall tickled my nose.

I had three silver coins left... I was starting to feel hungry.

Rumble...

The sound came from Rapha's direction. I turned to look at her.

"Ah!"

She shook her head vigorously, as if to say no. What was she holding back? Now, if Rapha didn't defeat enemies, I wouldn't earn any money. A knife without a blade was useless, and I couldn't afford for her to be weak from hunger. I looked for a suitable restaurant and entered.

"Welcome... sir!"

The waiter, seeing our ragged appearance, led us to a seat with a displeased look. On the way, Rapha was looking at a family sitting at another table. She was staring enviously at the child's meal that the child was eating with relish, her fingers in her mouth. She wanted that, did she?

We sat down, and before the waiter left, we placed our order.

"Um, I'll have the cheapest lunch here. And for her, the same meal as the child sitting at that table."

"!?"

Rapha looked at me with a surprised expression. Was it really that surprising?

"Understood. That will be nine copper coins."

"Here."

I handed over the silver coins and received the change. We waited for the food to arrive, looking around the restaurant.

...

There were many people whispering to each other while looking at me. What a messed-up world this is.

"What... for?"

"Hm?"

I lowered my gaze when I heard Rapha's voice. She was looking at me with a puzzled expression.

"You looked like you wanted to eat that. Did you want something else?"

Rapha shook her head vigorously. A bit of dandruff flew off.

"Why... are you letting me eat?"

"I told you, because you looked like you wanted to eat it."

"But..."

Why was she being so stubborn?

"Just eat and build up your strength. You'll die if you stay this scrawny."

Well, if she dies, I'll just use the money I've earned to buy a new slave.

"Here you are."

After a while, the food we ordered was brought to us. I placed the child's meal in front of Rapha and reached for my own (bacon set meal?). Hmm. It had no flavor.

"..."

Rapha was staring at the child's meal, frozen in place.

"Aren't you going to eat?"

"Is... it okay?"

"Ha... Just eat it."

Rapha's face twisted slightly at my command.

"Okay."

Rapha tentatively bit into the child's meal (or whatever it was) with her bare hands. Well, what can you expect from a poorly raised child? The whispers seemed to be getting louder, but there was no need to pay attention. Rapha was holding the flag on top of the main dish, which looked like chicken rice, carefully.

Munch, munch, munch.

Rapha ate with single-minded focus. I, meanwhile, was thinking about the future while eating with my slave.