Roxanne and I continued to walk down the main street amidst the hustle and bustle of the street merchants and the city dwellers who were just passing by. I wanted to openly stare at her, but felt too embarrassed to do so. But I have to admit, when viewed in the full brilliance of the sunlight, her beauty shines through all the more. Her glossy hair, small pink lips, her snow-white skin, literally everything about her is absolutely perfect!
And that chest, oh lawd that chest of hers! How can it be so big yet so shapely at the same time?! Her shirt can barely contain those voluminous bulges! Yup, our nights are certainly going to be quite fun. I'm probably smirking like an idiot now, but I don't care about that. More importantly…
「Isn't it a little heavy? Want me to carry it for you?」
I said, pointing at the case she was carrying. She might be my slave, but she's also a girl, so she has to be at least somewhat uncomfortable carrying something so heavy around. Since I'm a guy, I should do the heavy lifting for her. With my stats, this should be a piece of cake.
「J-Just a little bit, but do not worry master, I can handle it just fine!」
「Aw come on, don't be like that! I asked you myself, so it's fine, really.」
「….. T-Then, I would be very much obliged.」
Roxanne handed her case to me after she wavered for a moment. I grasped its handle with my right hand. Making it easy on Roxanne was the main reason why I wanted to take her luggage off of her, but now that I got my hands on it, it's going to serve me another purpose. Instead of carrying it in front of me like Roxanne did, I held it over my back in such a way that the case covered the Holy Sword Durandal I was carrying on my back. Now I will be able to do a Character Reset without alerting anyone with a sword suddenly disappearing off my back.
Character Reset is one hell of a convenient function that allows me to redistribute all of my Bonus Points to obtain different Bonus Equipment or Bonus Spells. With the amount of Bonus Points that I got myself while I was creating my character for the first time, I was able to procure myself this baby that now rests on my back, the Holy Sword Durandal, awarded for investing in Bonus Equipment Skill up to Lv.6. Normally I'm keeping it hidden because I don't want to risk anyone seeing it and recognizing how stupidly awesome it is, but I decided to have it on me before I went to the Slave Merchant's shop in order to look more professional, even if just by a little bit. Also, I was going to use it to cut down the Alan-san if he tried to scam me and run away with the money, but since he turned out to be a pretty okay guy there was no need for me to use Durandal at all, and now that my business there is done, I can safely remove it.
「You know, it certainly looked heavier than it actually is.」
「I'm glad to hear it. Uhm, master… if you don't mind, could you… hand my case back to me? I'll be fine carrying it for the rest of the way, so…」
「Sure, if you say so.」
Since she has specifically requested it, I handed the case back to Roxanne without any complaints. We'll be reaching the inn soon enough anyway. At first, I wanted to act like a gentleman and carry it all the way, but then I reminded myself that I do not know all of the customs and common sense of this world. As far as I know, slaves might be expected not only to carry their own luggage, but the one belonging to their master as well. Another reason is that I have another sword in my possession that I could use in case of an emergency. Out of the two of us I am the one armed with a weapon while Roxanne is bare-handed, so if anyone attacked us right now, it would be my job to defend us.
To begin with, the idea that the man should carry a woman's belongings at all times originated in the modern society where there is no need for men to carry swords around with them at all times, but in this world violence in the cities might be an everyday occurrence, as was evident by an incident I witnessed recently where a man was killed in broad daylight in the middle of the street. Truth to be told it happened in the slums, but still…
Having Roxanne carry both of our luggage might be more convenient for me, but on the other hand it would put her at risk of being attacked while she's defenseless instead, so that's all the more of a reason for me to carry an easily accessible weapon on me at all times. Servant carries the belongings while master carries a sword to protect both himself and his servant. Yeah, that sound like it might actually be one of the laws ruling this world.
Returning the case to Roxanne, I opened my own Item Box and took the Scimitar out of it. When she took the handle back from me our fingers touched for a brief moment, causing my heart to beat faster. So that's how it feels to touch a girl's hand, huh? It's soft, smooth, and so incredibly warm. Man, what is going on with me? For some reason I feel like such a kid again. Keep it together man, you have to show Roxanne how manly and dependable you are!
「A-Anyway, for the time being we'll be staying at an inn. It's not that far from here, all we have to do to reach it is to go back to the main street and go along it until we reach the rotary…」
「So, we're going to the vale Pavilion then. Understood.」
I didn't even know that the inn I was staying in for the past few days had such a fancy name, but whatever. I placed the Scimitar on my waist and started walking again. Roxanne was following half a step behind me. I have to admit, being seen with a girl carrying a large case by herself as she followed me was a tad bit embarrassing, or rather it made me feel like a dick.
But I guess Roxanne must be feeling even more nervous than I am now, because, with a few exceptions, she only replies with 「yes」, 「I see」 or 「understood」 to everything that I try to say to her.
「By the way Roxanne, can you read kanji?」
「Kanji? What is that?」
When I tried asking her if she could read, she only looked at me strangely. My God, her face is a marvel to look at no matter how many times I do it. Wait, no, that's not what you should be thinking right now! I just realize that she could not read kanji, because kanji could not be converted into Brahim language.
When I arrived here, the Chief of the village of Somara told me that the language I am speaking with is called Brahim. Even though that was the first time I have ever heard this strange-sounding word, for some reason I could speak it and understand it as if it was my own native tongue. But the written letters were still displayed as kanji for me. They were not converted into Brahim. Since Brahim does not have the concept of kanji, it must have treated them as the element of a foreign language.
「Okay, alright, let's try this one more time. You can read the contents of the Intelligence Cards, right?」
「Y-Yes, I can do that without any issues.」
「And the writing on the Intelligence Cards that you're seeing is written in what language?」
「In Brahim. It's, well… it's because the Intelligence Card interacts directly with the consciousness of whoever is reading it, displaying the information inscribed upon it with the letters of the language that the person who's reading it knows best.」
So that's how it is, huh? I get it now. So, the information on Intelligence Cards are not actually written in kanji, but the game's system is converting the letters written in Brahim into kanji for me, because Japanese is my native tongue. Now this makes me wonder, how would Intelligence Cards look like to someone who was completely illiterate?
「Can you read Brahim?」
「I can, although I learned just a little of it.」
「And what about writing?」
「I can do that as well.」
Okay, so that confirms that Roxanne knows both how to write and read in Brahim.
「To be honest, I cannot read or write in Brahim, so I would like to ask you to teach me how to do it.」
「O-Of course! I don't know if I'll be a good teacher, but I will try to do my best!」
「Thank you. I'll be in your care then.」