After Sian left with Ophilia, Milka and Illianna stayed behind.
"Excuse me," Illianna bowed respectfully and turned to leave.
"Wait," Milka grabbed her arm. "Let's follow them."
"I don't think that's a good idea- wait!
Ignoring Illianna's wishes, Milka dragged her along. "You better keep quiet or he'll notice."
With Illianna keeping her mouth shut, they went in the direction that Sian and Ophilia went and stayed hidden behind a wall near the garden.
Putting her back against the tree, Ophilia sat down on the grass and asked Sian to lie down and put his head on her thighs.
"Is that the legendary lap pillow that the sacred treasure mentioned?" Milka muttered. "That woman is better than I expected. Master never did that to me, he'll have to make it up to me later."
Eyeing Sian's expression, Milka muttered again, "It seems she has completely won master's affection."
Milka knew that the expression on Sian's face was something quite rare even for those who were very close to him.
"Given what I've been able to see so far, I can tell that he really is attached to her," Illianna said.
After a brief silence while looking at the scene taking place between Ophilia and Sian, Milka spoke again, "Hey, you wanted to know what I did to make him angry, didn't you?"
"If you don't mind, I'd like to know."
"Master has a very tough personality, at that time, to try to change that, I had something in mind."
Taking advantage of the hard training he put her through every day, Milka purposely took a few blows to her head. Following the plan, she acted as if she had received some brain damage, which caused her age to mentally regress to a child, and pretended not to recognize him.
That was the first time she had ever seen him care so much about another person. It was also the first time she saw him act like a normal person.
Even though her main goal was to bring out his good side, this was a memorable time for her. Sian was by her side at all times, always taking care of her, whether it was feeding her mouth or bathing her. He even controlled his own lust during that time.
A month having passed that she was deceiving him and having him in her palm, she told him the truth.
Remembering Sian's reaction, Milka made a beatific expression, "Ann~~ master's stunned expression was so cute that I couldn't resist and ended up teasing him."
"No wonder he got angry," Illianna retorted. "I believe that would not even remotely be the best method."
"I didn't have a better idea. The conversations I had with him were not really effective."
From her years of living with Sian, Milka has learned a lot about him, what he has been through and how he was brought up.
A few years ago, Sian still believed that he didn't need to have emotional attachment to those around him, since they were just tools. He was a person who didn't like to show his emotions to others, it was as if when he did so, he would become weaker.
"He never cared about anything people thought of him," Milka said. "But with Ophilia and Emily, that doesn't seem to be the case."
"That's true, he's always trying to show his good side to them."
Looking at the scene of Sian lying with his head in Ophilia's lap, Illianna continued.
"It's curious to think that someone with his reputation would be so submissive to a woman."
"It may not seem like it, but deep down inside, master has a good heart. Even when we just met, he healed my body that was riddled with scars."
Feeling melancholy, Milka continued, "He only became the way he is now because of Ayze. Even if she is his savior, she is also the one who has twisted him. Because of her, he thinks that violence is always the best way and that if he uses force, he can have everything he wishes."
Sian was the person who saved Milka and helped her with her revenge, so she wanted to be of help to him. Although she made some progress in re-educating him during their time together, it was nothing very significant.
"In general, children don't know what it is to be cruel until they become adults," Illianna said. "But because of her distorting his perception, I guess being cruel and selfish is something normal for him."
"But now, that doesn't seem to be the case anymore," Milka said. "Even if he doesn't seem completely free of Ayze's influence, he looks much better than when we first met."
"How did you two meet?" Illianna asked. "More specifically, how did you manage to approach him?"
"I still remember it like it was yesterday."
Remembering the events of about 6 years ago, Milka began to narrate to Illianna.
***
Under the morning sun, the coliseum was packed with people cheering after a fighter's victory against a salamander of sharp thorns.
"Silence!"
Wearing an elegant suit, the middle-aged master of ceremonies approached the center of the arena, holding a voice amplifying crystal in his hand.
When no other noise was uttered, he continued, "Today's victory went again to Wild Axe, which makes her keep the title of champion! That's an impressive achievement considering she's still only 15."
"But punters, I tell you what, get your money ready because today's show is not over here yet. Despite her young age, ordinary warriors are no match for Wild Axe."
Gesturing with his hand, the master of ceremonies pointed to the VIP area of the coliseum. Among the VIPs sitting there, the one that stood out the most was a purple-skinned demon with snake scales and bat wings.
Raising his jewel-studded wine glass, the purple-skinned demon smiled smugly.
Considering the seating arrangement, that demon was clearly the most important one there.
"It is thanks to our glorious demon lord that we could enjoy such a fight against the salamander. He went to the trouble of capturing it alive so that it could provide us with such entertainment."
"But like I said, that fight was just the warm-up."
Pointing to the fighter who beat the salamander, the middle-aged MC continued, "With her in her current state, that can be considered a fair fight for the next opponent."
As she leaned on the handle of her huge double-edged axe, the cowkin girl was panting. Her body was full of wounds and covered with blood from the fight against the salamander.
Even if he ignored the injuries from the fight against her last opponent, there were still several recent burn marks from the fight the day before.
For protection, all she had on her body was a worn leather breastplate. As for the rest of her clothes, they were just old rags.
"Are there any objections to the fight?" The MC asked the girl.
"No," she replied in a firm voice.
Obviously, the MC's question was only part of the show, for being a slave, the girl could not refuse. All this had already been prepared beforehand with her master.
This cowkin girl was the Milka of six years ago.
When she was still in her village, even at a young age, she was the most prominent hunter. This was due to her ability to achieve her bestial form with ease even at a young age.
Due to standing out among her peers and even her elders, she could easily have become more arrogant, but this was not the case. Thanks to the upbringing of her parents gave her, she always remained upright and modest.
She had a relatively normal life until one day everything changed.
A territorial dispute occurred between two factions under the same demon lord, and her village was unlucky enough to be caught right in the middle of the battlefield of both.
Many innocent people died during that conflict, including her parents.
During the battle, because they saw someone young using the bestial form to fight the soldiers, they turned her into a slave, as she would be worth a good sum if sold.
As they thought, she was easily sold and became an attraction to people. Because of her strength, her master turned her into a fighting slave, and used her to earn money by having her fight in the coliseum.
From the scars all over her body, it was obvious that she had been in countless fights.
"Alright," The MC turned to the spectators, "Our great demon lord is generous today, as an incentive to the masters of the fighters, he is offering an extremely rare ore to the victor, the black alloy!"
Due to the announcement of the rare ore, people shouted in surprise.
At that moment, some people brought a stone display case studded with precious stones and placed it in front of the lord. On a red cushion with gold embroidery was a black mineral that would fit in a hand palm.
Although the ore was unprotected, the lord was not worried as he maintained an arrogant smile. He knew that no one would dare to challenge his authority and steal in front of him.
"Now let's go to the opponent of Wild Axe."
The MC pointed to an entrance to the arena that was being opened by soldiers.
Passing by it, something that appeared to be a humanoid insect appeared. A blue-gray shell covered his entire body.
Despite his humanoid head, his eyes were completely red, like those of a fly. On the sides of his mouth he had jaws like those of an ant. In each of his four arms, he held a short spear.
"And here he is, the fearsome Sting!"
Moving away from the center of the arena, the MC shouted, "Let the battle begin!"