Eventually, every corner of the building complex was scoured, and twenty
more slavers who were trying to hide got flushed out and captured without
causing much trouble. The adventurers also found a few more elves and
dwarves, who were secured and taken to the guild hall for shelter. It appears
that they weren't all meant to be transported this time, and there were many
more operations planned for the future.
In typical police tradition, the city watch arrived almost right after
everything was done, and then tried to take over control of the situation from
the adventurer guild. As expected, Ingrid gave them a stern talking to and
didn't let go of the reins. Since those among the guards that were secretly
collaborating with the slavers couldn't expose themselves now that it was
already over, they could only take the beating. Ultimately, they were made to
take away the slavers, to lock them all up for their trials.
Well, what exactly happens to them and the overall aftermath of this urgent
guild quest doesn't interest me so much. I gained a new companion from this
whole ordeal, and she's a cute dark elf. Her curse, manifesting itself as a giant
crab pincer instead of her right forearm, only makes it better.
The best part is that Kamii seems to like Senka's design. It's possible that
dark elves all have those kinds of preferences, since Lady Nightwane really
liked her, too. Maybe a little too much in her case, though.
I told Rolan that I want her to join the party, making it clear that I won't
take no for an answer. He has already resigned himself to gaining more and
more members without his consent, but I can sense that he would prefer
Kamii to stay with me than walk around town aimlessly. After all, she has no
home to return to, just like me.
Really though, we make for a very strange appearance, with me carrying
around a lifelike creepy doll, and Kamii hanging onto my sleeve like a scared
little sister. A little sister with a giant crab arm.
Kamii's clinginess is quite welcome, though. It feels like I gained a little
sister, and it ignites a protective flame in my heart. Big sis is here for you! I'll
protect you from all the evils of this world! But I don't even have money to buy you any new clothes! I'm sorry!
She's wearing rags consisting of a thin poncho, which only covers her
upper torso and leaves her navel exposed. A frayed loincloth is haphazardly
tied around her waist; during a breeze, I saw that she doesn't wear anything
underneath. It looks far too cold for the chilly climate of this nation.
While I don't really mind this kind of outfit that much since it has a 'less
coverage equals more armor points' feel to it - especially coupled with that
huge crab claw of hers, which makes her look like a fighter type - it's too
dangerous to leave alone. She is a young girl after all, so I can't have her
accidentally exposing herself to strangers. And something cute would be
more fitting for her loveliness.
For now, the bard lent her his cloak in a most gentlemanly gesture. She's
wrapped up, and her cursed arm is hidden from view as we walk through the
streets.
Not like that's enough for her not to draw any attention, though. The spikes
on the crab claw cause her outfit to bulge on her right side, which makes it
clear that something is up. Also, her unkempt hair is crusted with dirt, and her
face doesn't fare much better.
"I'll buy her some clothes. She can't keep walking around in those rags."
Gram offers, as we get onto the main street and he spots a tailor. This party is
full of gentlemen!
"We'll go ahead and return to the guild, then. See you there later." Rolan
excuses himself and takes Luna along. Ingrid said she wanted to meet with all
group leaders and do a debriefing, especially after the deaths of a few
adventurers.
The bard remains with us because if we're going to buy clothes for Kamii,
he can have his cloak back right away.
"Welcome. How may I help you?" The interior of the store Gram leads us
into is all warm and cozy, and the tailor immediately comes up to us with a
businessman-like smile. Kamii instantly hides behind me and stares up at him
in fear, and he looks at her in surprise. "Oh, my."
"We'll take a look around first." I step forward and say, to get him away
from us for the time being. He takes the hint but doesn't lose his smile, as he
nods and returns to his counter.
"Kamii, you can choose whatever you like." Gram remarks and gestures
into the room. She's apparently also afraid of him, mainly because of his size, but she knows that he's trying to be kind to her.
I leave Senka on the chair at the front door, as company for the bard who's
waiting there discreetly. Then I guide Kamii through the aisles, as she
wouldn't leave my side to search for clothes on her own.
As we approach the back of the store, she suddenly pulls on my sleeve, and
I stop to look at her. She's staring at a simple white sundress that seems
entirely out of place for a store in a nation that's known to have had a decadelong winter in the past. Right now, the weather isn't forgiving enough to be
wearing this, either.
I think Gram wouldn't mind if she picked a more expensive outfit that can
actually keep her warm. However, since her giant crab claw wouldn't fit
through any sleeves, she can't wear proper coats. In fact, I think she can't
even wear this dress without risking to tear it apart due to those pesky spikes
on her arm.
"Let's look for something else. This one won't fit." I say with an apologetic
expression, but I'm met with a dejected look that breaks my heart. Damn,
that's dangerous for my heart!
She seems to be really fixated on this particular dress, so I'll ask Gram to
buy it for her anyway and have the tailor make some modifications to how it's
worn. The big man obviously understands my sentiment and agrees with a
big smile.
Now, it's the moment of truth. I remove Kamii's coat in front of the tailor
because he needs to know in what way he has to change the outfit.
Obviously, he's shocked by the reveal, but while he does have an expression
of apprehension, he's also a professional who's about to make a sale - and the
big man's presence is quite intimidating.
In the end, he agrees to work on the dress right away, even though he has a
few things piled up on his table, which he seems to have been working on up
until the moment we entered the store. He's most likely doing this because he
wants to get her out of his shop quickly.
The design the tailor comes up with allows the dress to be worn by putting
it on from below and then pulling a single strap over the left shoulder. This
way, it never even comes close to the cursed arm. Also, it's a small
modification, so it takes very little time for him to finish it.
I go into the changing room with Kamii, since she can't get dressed on her
own. With the poncho she's wearing now, she can put it on her head and slip through the hole in it, but the dress is a little more tricky to put on with only
one hand.
That means I'll get to see the little dark elf in all her naked glory!
When I pull the ragged cloth over her head, all my naughty thoughts are
blown away. Her slenderness borders on malnutrition, and there are scars all
over her shoulders and back. These are the results from being whipped, with
rather fresh ones overlaying with year-old traces.
I can feel anger and sadness welling up inside me. Hugging her from
behind, I try to suppress these emotions. How could humans do such things to
a young girl like her? I should just wipe them all out...
"... Mahkotoh?" Her quiet voice brings me back. She has brought her left
hand up to touch mine, which is trembling from the feelings swirling in my
head.
"Everything's alright now, Kamii..." I kiss her on her scarred shoulder and
begin to channel my emotions into healing magic. As Arcelia said when she
gave me her holy scriptures, the proper mindset is required for light magic.
And right now, I want to do something for this hurt girl before me. "Sano."
Newer cuts begin to close up, but I can also see old scars fading away and
disappearing altogether. Luckily, these are all rather small wounds, since this
spell apparently doesn't work on big gashes or broken bones. I can feel relief
and joy washing over me when I see her mauve purple skin regain its natural
smoothness.
The spell doesn't do anything for the dirt and dried blood on her body,
though.
"I will never let that happen to you again." I whisper into Kamii's long ear
and squeeze her tight. "Now, let's get you dressed."
She turns around and looks at me with upturned eyes, and then gives me a
shy smile. It's the first smile she has given since I saw her, and I can feel a
shot through my heart, causing me to forget breathing. It's the kind of
expression that makes you think you have to protect it with your life.
I've decided here and now that I'll be with her forever!
The dress looks gorgeous on her, even though the dirt on her face and in
her hair does diminish the natural beauty that all elves possess. But I'm sure
that she's very charming underneath it all.
Of course, she can't wear the same thing every day. Well, this is a world with a mostly medieval level of society and technology. So, even I only have
one outfit for outdoors and one set of pajamas, which I switch to whenever I
get to take a bath and wash my clothes.
In the city, that's going to be pretty much every day, but when we were on
the road, I didn't get to take a bath in three days. Not that I need it with my
body since I can just decide not to sweat. But dust and dirt still gather on the
surface, after all.
We find underwear for Kamii, which is basically just old lady bloomers,
and have the tailor cut down an adult-sized cloak that's long enough to cover
her all the way down to her ankles. It's also made of thick and sturdy wool so
that it doesn't rip from the spikes of her cursed arm, which she will hide
underneath it. Also, we buy her long socks and a pair of leather boots, since
she's been barefoot all this time.
Yes, she walked through the streets barefoot. The only reason Gram could
be persuaded not to carry her in his arms - aside from the fact that she still
doesn't trust him - is because Luna explained that elves have an inborn light
footprint and their feet are somehow magically protected from getting hurt.
They can run through the forest without ever receiving cuts from rocks or
broken branches.
I still don't want her to walk around barefoot, though.
In the end, the bard also shows his generous side and buys her something
like a tabard, which she can wear by putting it over her head and then tying it
together at the waist. Commonly, that's worn over other clothes or armor, but
since Kamii can't put on shirts, it's going to serve as her undergarments now.
With the shopping concluded, I pick Senka back up from the chair where I
neglected her for a while. Then we finally make our way back to the guild
hall.
It's already about to get dark when we finally get back. The meeting
between Ingrid and the team leaders seems to have concluded already, as we
see Rolan, Luna and Lady Nightwane sitting at a table together, having
drinks.
Only when I see the other adventurers having dinner, do I remember that
we skipped lunch today.
"Welcome back. How'd it go?" Rolan stands up to greet us and asks about
our shopping trip to find clothes for Kamii. He's looking to see her new outfit but may appear a little overeager.
It makes her hide behind me because she doesn't trust him at all.
"Come on; he's a good guy, Kamii." I put an arm around her shoulder and
guide her forward, but she puts up some resistance to it. She clearly prefers to
find proof for my statement first.
"... huh?" I hear Lady Nightwane's surprised voice from behind Rolan and
look up. She pushes past him frantically and looms over the little dark elf.
"D-did you say... Kamii?"
At the big dark elf's sudden appearance, Kamii instantly retreats behind me
again; a new face just sprung up in front of her with a pretty intense
expression, so I can fully understand her sentiment.
But then it dawns on me. Lady Nightwane told me that someone very
important to her had been taken away a long time ago and that she most
likely ended up as a slave. The whole reason behind our contract was because
she had somehow found that this person was in this city right now, and
wanted help in finding her.
Don't tell me, Kamii is her daughter or something?
"Kamii? I-is that really you?" Rounding me, Lady Nightwane becomes
desperate to catch a glimpse of the girl, who immediately moves in the other
direction to hide again. With this, they begin a cat and mouse chase around
me.
"Alright." I grab Kamii as she's in front of me, and stop her from moving
by squeezing her to my chest. If she's going to be traveling with me from now
on, she needs to get used to the other dark elf's presence. Considering they're
from the same people, they should be more friendly with each other anyway.
And I want to know what kind of connection they have.
"... it really is you, Kamii!" When she finally gets a good look at the little
dark elf, Lady Nightwane falls to her knees and hugs her. Tears begin to roll
down her cheeks as she squeezes Kamii, who tries to free herself. Apparently,
she doesn't recognize her.
"... who?" A mixture of fear and apprehension in her voice, she asks curtly,
while trying to peel the bigger dark elf off of her.
"D-don't you remember me?" Shocked, Lady Nightwane lets go and drops
to her knees in dejection. Looking up like an abandoned puppy, she has the
most pitiful appearance I've ever seen. "I'm your sister."
Oh, so Kamii is her little sister, huh? I guess it makes sense for the older sister to do everything in her power to look for her. She even went so far as to
let herself get captured on purpose, just to have a chance at seeing whether
the information she got was accurate or not.
"Who...?" But the little dark elf retreats behind me again and peeks out
from her cover while beginning to sound a bit irritable.
"I'm Daica..." Her voice takes on the tone of a desperate plea as if praying
from the bottom of her heart that her opposite somehow remembers. She can't
hold back her tears anymore, and they begin to roll down her face. "II'm...your little sister..."
Wait, little sister?!
I turn around and grab Kamii by her shoulders, before pushing her right
next to the kneeling Lady Nightwane - whose actual name apparently is
Daica. Since I'm the one doing it, she isn't struggling, but her expression is
filled with unease.
Their facial structures are quite similar. Then again, it's possible that all
dark elves simply look alike, since the only two specimens of their kind I've
ever seen are right before me. But I doubt Daica wouldn't be able to tell her
own sister apart from some other dark elf.
I pull Kamii's poncho aside, grab her crab claw and lift it up. The sounds of
sharp breaths being sucked in can be heard all around us when they see the
cursed arm. It's coming from the curious onlookers who have gathered due to
the commotion, and some now pull away in apprehension and disgust.
"The Kamii you know had this?" I bring the arm up in front of Daica and
ask her. She looks at it, and I can see clear recognition in her eyes.
"It's... become so big..." Muttering in a sad tone, she stares at it not with
fear or even pity, but real empathy. After all, it's something only another
cursed being could truly understand. Her wording also makes it clear that
she's seen this arm before.
"Kamii, I think this really is your sister." I look her in the eyes, and she
glances at Daica with a flustered expression.
"I... don't remember..." She says with her brows furrowed, and I can see the
big dark elf's heart sink. But then she repeats herself and continues her
sentence as if having difficulty speaking. "I don't remember... Daica having
those..."
With her normal hand, she points at the big dark elf's voluptuous chest. I
almost burst out laughing at the irritated tone she says this in.
"... huh?" Blinking in surprise, Daica is rendered speechless.
"How long ago did you say you two got separated?" I hug Kamii from
behind to calm her down while asking the 'little' sister.
"Eleven summers ago." Daica replies with a sniffle.
Wow, leaving aside how long ago that was, it must mean Kamii is much
older than she looks. Considering she's the older sister, and the younger sister
can still remember what happened back then, she must be at least...
I don't want to guess two ladies' ages like that.
"Kamii, eleven summers is a long time. People change and grow up."
Speaking into her ear in a soothing tone, I squeeze Kamii to me. Though I
have to wonder, why didn't she grow up?
Daica's strange line last night echoes in my head again: 'The curse made
my body grow into this unsightly form.' Don't tell me dark elves normally
don't grow up beyond Kamii's figure?!
"Umm, that's not entirely true. Elves usually do not grow to be as big as
humans, be it light or dark elves." Luna joins the conversation as if she just
read my mind, although she's actually only answering to my earlier statement
about people growing up. I have to suppress a snort when I find her glancing
at Daica's breasts with a hint of envy.
"Then..." Rolan actually has the audacity to stare at the same, while trying
to speak up. Gram notices the leader's stupidity quickly enough and throws
his arm around the latter's shoulders before Luna notices it.
"Say, leader, let's not get in the way of this heartfelt reunion." Pulling him
aside, he saves the whole party from having to witness an argument break out
between the two lovebirds. "Come, let's celebrate."
The bard takes the hint as well and joins the two men, leaving us girls to
our talk.
"Well..." I put a hand on Luna's shoulder and look at her with pity. She has
a cute face and bigger breasts than the queen of the elves that Maou-mama
transformed into, but it's nowhere near what I have. And I assume that she's
reached her full potential by now. That's the limit of a half-elf, huh?
"W-what is it?" She steps back from me in confusion.
"In either case, I think there's no doubt about it. You're sisters." I turn to
Kamii and speak warmly.
"... really?" Looking between Daica and me, the little dark elf doesn't seem
convinced. Their faces are quite similar, but the difference in body types especially when considering the bigger one is actually the younger sister -
doesn't give her any reason to believe it.
"Well, your sister's name is Daica, right?" She already confirmed it herself,
but I ask just to remind her of it. Nodding once, she answers in the
affirmative. "And her name is Daica, too."
I point at the big dark elf before us, who's still sitting on the floor and
unsuccessfully trying to stop her sobbing. She looks up at the mention of her
name, her tearful appearance causing my sadistic side to flare up.
"And she knows you, Kamii." Suppressing the feeling, I continue. "Isn't
that enough?"
"Hmm..." Staring at Daica intently, the little dark elf falls into thought.
Even if she's a lot older than her appearance suggests, her manners are still
quite childlike. I guess, when you get kidnapped at a young age and remain
locked in a cage like an animal for eleven years, you don't get to mature
much. Her speech patterns reflect that, too. "Are you... really Daica?"
"... yes... I am." With tears flowing down her face, she looks up and replies
in a pleading tone. It seems that this appearance finally jogs Kamii's memory,
as she goes quiet and scrutinizes her opposite's expression.
"You really are... the crybaby Daica." Finally, it seems to sink in that the
woman kneeling before her is the little sister she was separated from a long
time ago. Stepping forward, Kamii places her left hand on Daica's head and
pets her hair.
"Waaahhh!!!" Throwing herself into her older sister's chest, the one who
looks much more like an adult cries her heart out, while the childlike one
comforts her with droplets silently falling from her cheeks.
I hold my tears back as I watch them, and find that I'm smiling. Not only
did I do a good deed in reuniting them, but I also got some good info without
having to ask them directly. Because no matter how I think about it, both of
them must be about as old as I am, if not older. At the same time, it doesn't
feel wrong to treat Kamii like a child. That means I can do all sorts of things
with her that I couldn't if she was just a child.
I suppress the urge to lick my lips.
All in due time.