***
???'s POV
The world around faded into pitch-black darkness as a shadow appeared, casting an ominous presence over every move. It was a classic start to a story, but little did anyone know that life was about to take an unexpected turn.
The sound of deep and labored breathing echoes continuously in the air, hinting at the possibility of someone struggling to catch their breath.
It's difficult to discern whether they are in distress or simply exerting themselves, but the intensity of the breaths suggests that something is amiss.
'Cold.' A single thought. The person was feeling cold for some reason.
The person repeated this thought five times as they were feeling that way. It was like an eternity.
Suddenly, a different sensation enveloped the person, replacing the cold with a comforting warmth and softness.
'...'
Just then, the person began to hear things they hadn't heard before. It was a muffled conversation between a man and a girl. Not only that, the person could hear the faint crackling of a fire.
Until the sounds went silent. It was eerie and awfully quiet. The person feels like they were hovering over the void with nothing to land, just constantly flying.
Abruptly, with a single vivid word coming from a certain person, the elven girl got her consciousness into the real world.
"Be safe."
***
The warmth and comfort she felt, unlike anything she had experienced before, made her feel different in her position.
Gradually, a pair of eyelids parted open, and a soft, gentle gaze emerged. The owner of those eyes was none other than the elven girl whom Yuichi had rescued from the dungeon room.
She had been in a deep slumber until now, and as she slowly came to, her delicate features and pointed ears became visible in the dim light.
The moment she opened her eyes, she was met with two sets of blue eyes staring at her eagerly. A young girl with blue hair and pale blue skin stared at her as if she was waiting for her to wake up.
As they exchanged gazes at each other, for unusual reasons at this moment, the elf girl didn't react in a way of shock or flustered. Instead of that, she was oddly calm and relaxed, her incredulous expressions were evident on her face.
She heard footsteps slowly approaching and then, the voice of a man resonated but her auditory were still recovering, hearing the sound around her only muffled if that makes sense.
But even if she had temporary deafness, her vision seemed to be better and clearer than fine.
"Lumiella, what's wrong?" A young man said, "You are unintentionally giving me concerns about you."
The girl with pale blue skin turned around and promptly stood up from crouching, approached the young man, and grabbed his torn-up clothing, trying to say something non-verbally as she pointed her fingers toward the elf girl.
The young man was confused and looked at the elf girl who was gradually sitting on the ground while her body was partially covered by the fabric.
After seeing the elf girl, now he knows why the pale blue-skinned girl was pointing at her. He was flabbergasted, not expecting the elf girl to be awake.
His voice wasn't familiar to the elf girl, though, in her perspective, she saw the young man physically clear from head to toe. Her eyes were sharp and clear.
"..." She was flatly silent, observing around her.
Seeing the man with torn clothing almost all of his bare skin is exposed and his unkempt long hair and beard, the elf girl assumed that this man was a homeless man with a stink odor. But after seeing the man's chiseled body, she thought otherwise.
"Y-You're finally awake!" The young man exclaimed, "I thought you might not wake up soon, but it seems it took four hours to wait."
Although hearing his words, the elf girl remained silent and wouldn't respond. She continued observing her surroundings, she wasn't familiar with this place.
She remembered having shackles chained around her arms and legs, imprisoned as a slave in the depths of an isolated cell block. But right now, she was not in that place, rather, she was somewhere in a cave with blue illuminance dimly lighting the place which was caused by the crystal stone around them.
But she would question why she was here in the first place. All she remembered was that she was a slave with nobody else going to buy her.
"..." She remained silent, slowly observing behind her incredulous expression.
The young man was confused about what to do next as his first interaction just fell in the cold, having no response from the elf girl, there was no way he could pull off a conversation that could take the elf girl's attention.
But he also remained persistent. Not only does he want to know about the elf girl's identity and where she came from, but she also wants to know whether she's capable of speaking as it's the only way he could know about her.
This young man is kinda stubborn for the good, to be honest.
"A-Are you feeling well? I took you from that place where I found you frozen inside by the ice if you are wondering," he said.
The elf girl's eyes were slightly widened and she looked down to her lap. Her reaction was still flat but she was feeling a bit frowned and relieved.
It was the first reaction the young man noticed. If he had truly persuaded her, then it would have been a good move to make more conversation with her.
"You don't have to be feeling cold anymore, not that you are gone from that place. That place was icy cold!"
The elf girl heard him but continued to look down. Although reluctant, she was able to form words to respond.
"I... see..." She mumbled quietly.
Even with her almost silent voice, the young man was able to hear her and was relieved. He was worried that she wouldn't reply as he thought the elf girl could not speak to him, good thing she did.
Communication is the basis of the importance in society. This is where people can exchange information with each other, referred to as sender and receiver.
If the receiver cannot respond to the sender, then that means that there's something wrong with their way of communicating. If the sender cannot respond to the receiver, the situation is the same as the first scenario.
He sighs in relief and sits down on the ground in front of the elf girl. His intention was simply to talk to her.
"What is your name?" He asked the elf girl.
The elf girl looked at him with her incredulous expression. She was somehow confused by his question.
"Ah, maybe that was too direct to ask," the young man continued, "Well, I am Yuichi Hanateru. You might think that I'm an old man, but I'm actually around 17 years old."
The elf girl seems to be distant from him, not because she can't trust him, but because she can't find any answers in her mind to respond to him.
The young man, who is Yuichi, noticed the elf girl's expression towards him and was slightly awkward. He knew that anyone would take a suspicion out of him.
"W-Well, there's a reason why I looked like this... I will tell you if you like to!" Yuichi said but the elf girl remained cold.
"I was an ordinary person, living with my usual life. I was occasionally bullied every day and would move on after that. That's how my life was going to."
The elf girl's attention seemed to be persuaded.
He continues, "One day, everything changed when me and my classmates were transported into this world. If you're wondering why, well, it's because we are the ones who will defeat the presumed Demon Lord and we are the Heroes."
"I was one of those that they called 'Hero', but I was utterly weak against my classmates, even my friends were better. I was even suggested to stay out of battle and let my classmates take care of it. From that time, I was so weak that I convinced myself I was," he frowned.
"It was our first trial to train our strength. We explored this dungeon to fight monsters and get a headstart, leveling up, and so on. But I was dumb to fight that monster alone, due to my stubbornness, before I knew it, I was separated from the others."
"But I didn't let despair get through me. I continued to go deep down in this dungeon and level up. I almost even died twice."
"I was so weak that destiny allowed me to become strong. That's why I have to become stronger than before after I bail out from this dungeon."
The elf girl didn't want to respond, but she was full of ears as she listened to his story. It looks like she was waiting for the right moment to interact.
The girl with pale blue skin, who was Lumiella, lay down on Yuichi's lap and Yuichi patted her head.
"I do miss them a lot. Now that I think about it, it has been half a year since I was together with them. I appreciated that I had a companion to walk with," he said while patting Lumiella's head.
"And that's how I ended up here! Pretty boring, right? This is the price I deserved, after all," he concluded.
The elf girl was silent but she was listening to his words. She felt pity for a bit as she looked at him and eventually looked down. His words made her feel something familiar about it.
The hardship Yuichi had been through was tough for him, but his persistence kept him running for progression. That's what made him keep going on what path he had chosen. His stubbornness and persistence were his motivation.
As the two remained silent for a moment, surprisingly, the elf girl mumbled softly but remained her vision on the ground.
"I... I don't remember myself..." She was able to form a sentence to speak.
Yuichi was surprised to hear her speaking.
"I don't remember... having a memory of my life. I don't remember my name... I don't remember who I was... Nothing that I can remember," she continued.
"One thing that I can only remember to myself – I am a slave that meant to be sold... They whip me if I don't follow, they hurt me if I don't cooperate, they chained me like a dog."
She felt slightly distressed after saying that as her both hands clenched in the fabric. After hearing what she was saying, Yuichi immediately felt empathy towards the elf girl as she had gone through hell than he did.
Getting whipped like a dog if you don't follow orders is inhumane and those who have done it have no dignity as a human person. It must be painful for her.
"I see... That's explained that place and you." Yuichi replied with empathy.
The elf girl didn't respond and remained silent. She stares at the ground and her static position, curling up her body and tucking her legs in close to her chest, slightly distressed at mentioning her troubled past.
Being a slave is traumatic, what's worse about it, you still remember it while you're old like an unforgettable experience.
"Well... Just look at the bright sight!" Yuichi said, "You're free from your shackles. No one deserves to be a slave and you don't have to be a slave anymore."
The elf girl looked at her both hands while still looking down, evaluating whether Yuichi's words had a significant on her being a slave.
She lowered her both hands and closed her eyes before promptly looking at him and said; "I don't know."
Even when Yuichi tries to convince her that she is free from being a slave, her mind won't let go of that idea. She was supposed to be born into this world to live with freedom, but no, she was born to be a slave.
Having no memories before she became a slave, there's no point in persuading her from that mindset.
"I am a slave," the elf girl said to him.
Yuichi was surprised and concerned about her mental mindset as referring to yourself as a "slave" is losing rights and freedom.
But there's nothing he can do about it, not yet perhaps. His connection between him and the elf girl are still referred to as "stranger".
The two fell into silence once again. Yuichi couldn't help but notice that the elf girl was rubbing her hand on her tummy. This particular movement immediately made him think that she must be hungry.
He didn't waste a moment and scrolled through his inventory screen, looking for a consumable to feed the elf girl. He found a consumable mushroom that he had saved from his inventory.
"You must be hungry. Here, take this." Yuichi said and gave the mushroom to her.
The elf girl gave a reluctant look at his offer. She didn't trust him just yet even with kind movements. Yuichi expected this and still offered her the mushroom.
"I know it's not that much and you might think this is a poison, but this is safe to eat," he said.
After some moment of pondering, the elf girl reluctantly accepted the mushroom and she grabbed it from his hand. Although it took a few seconds, the elf girl couldn't contain her hunger any longer and anything consumable would be fine.
After she received the mushroom, she didn't immediately eat it. She analyzed the mushroom first, given the texture is blue and glowing, she could also feel a little mana inside of the mushroom.
Yuichi was relieved that she accepted it, otherwise, he didn't know what to give. So he stood up from the ground and was going to lay down to rest.
"I am going to sleep for a while. We have a journey to explore this dungeon to level 100. You can leave anytime so you don't need to worry about us."
When Yuichi was about to leave her on the spot, the elf girl moved her pointy ears as a part of speaking a suggestion to him.
"Do you... want a slave?" The elf girl said boldly.
Yuichi stopped walking and turned around, puzzled by her words and his expression was dumbfounded.
"If you'd like... I would... accompany you to your journey as your slave," she continued.
"I have... no place to go. Even if I go alone, I don't know where I could go. So, if you'd like, let me accompany you."
Yuichi thought for a while about having a second companion. He doesn't mind that, but what bothers him is that the elf girl would like to come with him as a personal slave rather than just a normal companion.
It took him a few seconds to decide and scratch his head with a sigh of relief.
"I don't mind. You would be safer with us, anyway." Yuichi accepted her to come with them.
But it doesn't mean that he agrees with the condition. Yuichi just wants the elf girl to be referred to as his companion on his journey, but not a personal slave as it would be quite unhinged for him.
He would consider himself as nothing but a degenerate.
The elf girl widened her eyes and looked down with her poker face. It wasn't exactly sure if she was relieved or disappointed. Nevertheless, Yuichi had gained a new member to his temporary party in the dungeon.
But there's something else that Yuichi had in mind that he was trying to ask but didn't get any response – the name of the elf girl.
He asked the elf girl, "By the way, what was your name?"
The elf girl contemplates for a moment and shook her head.
"I don't remember my name either," she said.
Yuichi was wondering how he could call her specifically, so he came up to his mind and pondered for a moment for a name. He generated a name from his mind and looked at her with a faint smile.
"Well, if you don't have a name, then I'll just call you 'Ubaki'."
"Ubaki..." she mumbled for a moment.
"Well, that name just came up from my mind. I'm not seeing you as a turban shell, of course!"
The young elf girl's eyes widened in surprise as she was bestowed with a name for the very first time. She struggled to recall her former name, if she ever had one.
This time for sure, she was delightful about it.
"Then, I, Ubaki, shall accompany your journey until the very end as your slave," she said and slightly bowed to him.
Yuichi felt awkward after that statement, as he didn't quite grasp the concept of her wanting to be called his slave.
"I don't know about the 'slave' part..." He awkwardly laughed.