The text might not convey my bewilderment much.
So just how flustered was I?
“Shut it! I know everything in there!”
“Ugh… It’s after hours…”
I rushed to the red-light district in the middle of the night and bang bang on the store door.
The locked door creaked open, revealing a staff member with a hat pulled down, hiding her face above her lips.
She rubbed her eyes, glancing between me and the boy, no, girl next to me, and clicked her tongue.
“No refunds. You took her for free, didn’t you?”
“You never said she was a girl!”
“I never said he was a boy either.”
“…….”
I’m left speechless.
Come to think of it, I hadn’t been informed about the gender, nor had I asked.
I just assumed he was a boy at first glance.
“So, is there another blood ghoul? A boy?”
“There’s only this one. There are plenty of boy slaves who aren’t blood ghouls. Want to take a look? The ones without a master start at 100 gold.”
“…….”
My gold is aching.
In any case, whether I get a new slave or not, I still have to deal with this one.
I’ve seen plenty of monster corpses, but I’m not so familiar with cleaning up human bodies.
If they die in the dungeon, I’ll feel a momentary sadness, but killing one with my own hands is another matter.
“What will you do? Are you going to dispose of it? No refunds, but if you pay the body disposal cost, I’ll take it back.”
“No, forget it. Just take it.”
To throw away a slave I barely got, I’d have to spend money?
I don’t want to do something so stupid.
If I think about it, there’s no reason for me to react so strongly.
After all, it’s just a tool for activating the Guardian Knight; what does gender matter?
Even if I try to console myself like that, it doesn’t ease my mind.
“So, you wanted a boy? I didn’t know that was your preference. I should have paid more attention. What do I do, I feel so sorry.”
“That’s not it.”
“Hohoho, I see. Anyway, thanks for taking our troublesome child.”
“Troublesome child?”
“Yes, she’s the first slave I’ve brought since starting this job. I personally pulled her fangs. Since she’s the first slave I got, I didn’t want to dispose of her forcibly, but nobody bought her over time. The boss said if I couldn’t sell her by tomorrow, she’d kill her and toss her out. I feel a bit relieved now that she’s sold.”
I thought it was an ordinary story.
But I noticed faint laugh lines around the staff’s mouth after her makeup was removed.
She seems quite aged, and the slave she brought in when she first started is this blood ghoul?
“Wait, when did you bring this blood ghoul into the store?”
“Hmm, a little over ten years ago.”
“…….”
I turn to gaze at the pale-faced blood ghoul once again.
She looks surprisingly young.
She appears to be around 12 years old.
Since her growth stopped ten years ago, that means her real age is well past 20.
She might even be older than me.
“Is there a problem?”
“No…….”
“Then come visit us next time. Yawn.”
My gold hurts even more.
I grab the blood ghoul’s wrist and turn to leave.
Every time I sneak a glance at her, I let out deep sighs.
‘She’s just an object. Don’t think too much.’
Girl + young child.
It’s a combination that would naturally evoke sympathy from any normal person.
I thought my emotions had dulled after regressing twelve times, but it appears I’m not entirely a monster yet.
Should I be relieved instead?
“How old are you exactly?”
“……eternal. 13.”
That means she’s 23.
So I was right; she is older than me.
That makes things pretty awkward already.
But I’ll take comfort in the fact that I’m twelve years older mentally.
“Ugh.”
As I stretch up, I realize it’s still before dawn.
My eyelids are heavy, and fatigue still lingers.
Since I’ve gotten used to waking up early, I automatically wake up even if I go to bed late.
Last night, I returned to the inn, gave the blood ghoul a quick wash, and fell asleep.
I felt embarrassed to see her naked, so I closed my eyes while washing her roughly, as if I were doing laundry.
I laid a blanket on the floor for her to sleep on, and she sat demurely on it, looking up at me.
Even after I turned off the light, she merely stared at me in the dark with her red eye light shining.
It seems blood ghouls don’t sleep.
In the end, I left her as she was and headed to bed.
“It’d be easier to just run away overnight. Huh?”
Creek.
As I turned the doorknob and pulled the door open, suddenly a cold object fell on me, startling me to step back.
“……ugh.”
“What’s wrong?”
It was the blood ghoul.
It seemed she had been leaning against the door all night.
But her condition looked off.
She lay on the ground, writhing weakly and making strange noises.
Her face bore an expression of desperation, unlike the emotionless one she had all day yesterday.
She reached out with her trembling hand as if asking for something.
“Ah. I need to give you food.”
This is a problem.
I didn’t feed her last night before going to bed.
Isn’t it fine to just throw any food at her?
Blood ghouls can’t digest food because their digestive systems are shut down.
What they need instead is blood, their energy source.
They need to drink blood to survive.
Since bloodletting is legal here, it doesn’t cost much nor is it hard to obtain fresh blood.
The issue is whether I can make it back in time to buy blood before she dies.
I guess it would be more accurate to say she’d go into a function shutdown.
“There’s no choice. Open wide.”
“……ugh.”
I’m left with no option but to bring out my dagger.
She must’ve realized I was trying to feed her, so she mustered her last strength to lift her head and open her mouth.
Swish.
I made a small cut on my palm, letting the dark red blood drizzle down my fingers and into her mouth.
She closed her eyes and quietly drank the blood drop by drop.
From this angle, I can see right inside her mouth.
The spot where her fangs used to be looked empty.
Having been ten years, I thought her teeth would be a mess, but surprisingly, they were clean and orderly, which took me by surprise.
“……gulp.”
“Did you finish it?”
“……uhm.”
“Hey.”
She closed her mouth and gulped, so I thought she was done.
But in a moment of inattention, she grabbed my hand and put my finger in her mouth.
It seemed a single drop wasn’t enough for her.
With her cold hand gripping my arm, she suckled my finger hungrily.
I was afraid that moving would make blood spill, so I couldn’t push her away.
In the end, I had to continue supplying her energy like that for a while.
“Are you okay now?”
“……strength. Full.”
As I wrapped my hand in a bandage, I asked her.
Then she stood up suddenly and replied with her emotionless face.
She didn’t tremble anymore and truly looked okay.
“I should buy some blood packs.”
Even though it wasn’t much blood I lost, it’s still a hassle to injure myself daily.
I need to buy plenty of blood packs and store them using cooling magic.
Having finished the energy supply, it’s time to head out quickly.
“Remember what I said yesterday? We’re going straight to the dungeon. Get ready. Ah, don’t you have anything to prepare?”
“……yes.”
“I need to buy a few sets of clothes. It’ll draw too much attention if I walk around with you in rags.”
“……yes.”
“But you. Ugh.”
As I was gathering my gear, I paused and looked back at her.
She was still standing quietly behind me, her red eye light shining.
It felt awkward to keep calling her “you” or “it.”
It might be better to give her a name.
“Do you have a name?”
“……forgot.”
“Of course. I need to give you a new one. What should I name you? For now, let’s go with Mi Jeong, and we’ll decide once you’re all dressed.”
“……Mi Jeong.”
“Yeah. Mi Jeong.”
“……Mi Jeong.”
Why is she repeating the same word?
After pondering it for a while, it suddenly hit me, and I hurriedly looked back.
She didn’t actually think her name was “Mi Jeong,” did she?
“No, I’m not saying your name is Mi Jeong. I mean I haven’t decided yet.”
“……Mi Jeong. Good.”
“That’s not your name!”
“……can’t?”
Sigh. “Fine. Just go with Mi Jeong. It’s simple and nice.”
I ended up giving in.
I didn’t want to spend a long time thinking about a name for a tool I’ll only use briefly.
I probably won’t get attached with a name so hastily given anyway.
Your name will be Mi Jeong from now on.
“Alright, let’s get going.”
“……yes.”
But when it’s just the two of us, I’ll likely end up calling her “hey,” “you,” or “whatever” most of the time.
“……Yoo Jin.”
“What?”
“……Yoo Jin.”
“Why are you calling me?”
“……just.”
After I taught her my name, she’s been at it since earlier.
Ignoring her echoing voice against the cave walls, I decided to focus.
I tied the rope tightly to the stalagmite.
Just one more knot and I’ll be done.
“……Yoo Jin.”
“If you’re calling me for no reason, that’s right.”
“……still. stand, still?”
“Yeah. Stay right there.”
“……water.”
“You want water?”
“……falling.”
I turned around slightly to see Mi Jeong standing in the middle of a massive chamber.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
Water droplets from the ceiling’s stalactites repeatedly hit Mi Jeong’s head.
I told her to stand still, and she truly didn’t budge an inch, getting drenched.
“If it bothers you, then take a step back.”
“……I’m fine?”
“I’m fine. Just a step back is enough.”
As Mi Jeong stepped aside, a suspicious-looking door appeared.
That’s the entrance to the dungeon we’re challenging today.
What number dungeon was it?
Was it the sixth?
It’s called the Black Star Dungeon, boasting the most brutal difficulty among the early area dungeons.
In fact, the internal gimmicks of that dungeon aren’t that hard at all.
The problem is you have to wander through a maze-like cave to get to the dungeon entrance.
Plus, you have to engage in life-or-death battles right from the entrance.
“Have we finished?”
Leaving Mi Jeong standing still, I wandered around, checking again if everything was perfectly prepared.
There are dozens of holes in the cave walls, barely big enough for a single person to crawl through.
And in front of them were tautly fixed ropes.
No problems here.
I gave Mi Jeong a thumbs up and went to hide in a safe spot.
“Hey. Open the door.”
“……yes.”
After I issued the command, Mi Jeong nodded and reached for the door.
As soon as that door opens, a horde of mid-boss level monsters, Fenrir, will rush out.
They’re the main culprits that send new players who naively think they’ve become skilled at dungeon conquest fleeing from this crappy game.
The act of touching the door triggers Fenrir’s appearance, meaning players are forced to start battling while surrounded by monsters in the center of the cave.
Unless you’re at a point where you’ve grown to challenge a final boss, it’s crazily difficult to even touch it.
The standard play is to form a party to watch each other’s backs.
While it’s somewhat funny to imagine players in a dating sim game cooperating to chase after the same heroine, regardless, that’s the reality.
Of course, I have no companions to form a party with, but that’s irrelevant.
“……It’s open.”
Rumble…
The door creaks ominously as it slowly opens.
And at the same time, fierce wolf howls erupt from all directions.
“Grrr!”
“Arooo!”
In an instant, dozens of massive wolves burst forth from the cave.
The ropes blocking the entrance loosen helplessly.
Sharp claws and teeth come rushing towards Mi Jeong, who’s standing still as I commanded.
But at that moment.
“Yelp!”
Whap!
The arrows fired from the crossbow I had set up in advance accurately embed themselves into the monsters’ heads.
The firing trigger was the rope tied before the entrance.
The monsters pulled the triggers themselves and shot arrows into their own heads.
After seeing the sprinting speed of Fenrir for twelve rounds, I know very well that as long as I get the angle right, every shot will hit.
“……ugh.”
Mi Jeong gave a scream lacking even the slightest hint of sincerity.
The Fenrir corpses collapsed and stopped right in front of Mi Jeong.
Before I knew it, the area around Mi Jeong was stacked with wolf corpses, barely allowing me to see her face.
“Are you okay?”
“……no problems.”
They’re a hassle to defeat alone and take a lot of time.
I have many dungeons to clear today, so I can’t afford to waste stamina from the start.
If there’s a method to solve it without straining myself, I’ll actively utilize it.
That’s how I conquer dungeons.
“Then let’s go in right away. Time is short.”
“……yes.”
I stepped over the wolf corpses and kicked the door that Mi Jeong had slightly ajar.
There’s no time.
Let’s move fast!
