She shakes her head. "Master Ian says that Blossom is a filthy mutant dog that smells like wet hair and feces. Blossom washes her body whenever she is given the chance but she is still said to have a pungent, stinky scent."
I lean in and take a whiff, and I don't sense anything out of the ordinary. Yeah she has the smell of sweat and blood, but we are in the middle of a battlefield filled with corpses, furthermore who knows when was the last time she was allowed to bathe? Might be weeks if not more.
"Strange. I don't smell anything unpleasant. In fact I took a bath yesterday but I would bet that I smell worse than you…" I crack a reassuring smile.
She glances at me with disbelief evident in her eyes. "Really?! But… Isn't the young master disgusted by Blossom being a beast-kin?"
"Please call me Quinlan. My companion is called Ayame. As for your question-"
I'm rudely interrupted by Ayame. "I have a strong suspicion that he prefers beast-kin over humans. He actually told me like an hour ago that he wants to add a dog-kin to the party because she would be able to sniff trouble out before it reaches us. You see, we are both warriors with subpar detection abilities, so we are in desperate need of an observant teammate. You, as a dog-kin that also has a Rogue-type specialization fit the bill perfectly."
Ayame then glances at me. "I actually can't believe your insane luck. You got me for basically free and then this opportunity drops in your lap. If I didn't know any better I would think that you are blessed by the Goddess or something…"
Now that she points it out I must admit that I really am having a lucky streak. Well, I can't do anything but strike while the iron is hot. Luck is said to be a fickle mistress, after all.
"Alright then. What do you say, Blossom? Although I can't give you any tangible reassurances, I can say that I will not treat you any worse than I treat Ayame. You would be our party's highly valued scout, assassin, rogue or thief depending on the situation. As long as we are not literally penniless I would buy you warm meals while we are in town and feed you properly even while we are on the road. I would not dress you in filthy rags but purchase proper equipment."
Her stomach grumbles cutely at the mention of the meals and then she glances at the two of us timidly, visibly deep in thought. "Can Blossom really trust you…?" She asks with uncertainty.
I smile at her adorable simplicity before replying, "as I said, I can't give you any assurances besides my promises. However, in your current dreadful position I vehemently believe that taking a leap of faith wouldn't hurt. That is to say, the potential benefits greatly outweigh the potential risks."
She stares at me intently, studying my face without blinking for a good twenty seconds straight before finally nodding three times. "Blossom wishes Master Quinlan to be her new master."
Ayame then speaks up, ready to ruin the party; "even if we kill Ian, you can't just claim ownership over Blossom, otherwise the slave trade would've never blossomed to its current state with such shaky ground rules. *Cough* pun not intended, please forgive me." She hurriedly corrects her rather rude remark.
Blossom doesn't react, probably because she didn't manage to catch Ayame's accidental slip of the tongue. Seeing this my samurai relaxes and continues, "Only someone with slave contract magic can bind an ownerless slave to a new master, but if we take her to a slave merchant we will have to pay market price for Blossom, which would be several gold coins if not dozens. After all, she is not our property, but the Kingdom's according to law which states that the king is the rightful owner of ownerless slaves unless a family member inherits the slave's contract soon after the death of the previous master."
I could solve the issue by spending 10 Unassigned Skill Points to unlock the Slave Contract spell once I level up my Slave Master class enough but that price is very steep. I have many other stuff I would rather unlock in its stead for the time being, especially once I finally get a magic class and have a myriad of unlockable spells, therefore I draw up another scheme instead. "Listen, ladies. Here's my plan…"
Once I finish the debriefing they exchange a glance between each other before Ayame speaks up with a sinister grin on her face, "that could work… Sometimes going the illegal route doesn't sound so bad after all."
Blossom simply nods her head, accepting my proposal. "Alright. Blossom, once you've regained your strength I would like you to report back to Aldoria. Tell them that Quinlan and his partner cleared the goblins together with you, but don't mention Ayame's name. I wish to keep it a secret for the time being. Once you are gone we will loot the most valuable items from the battlefield as well as the encampment treasury and we will also tend to the captives. We will enact the previously discussed plan in a few days. Naturally, you must not mention that we are about to take the riches for ourselves. I don't want some fat noble or something titling me a thief and arguing against my ownership over the items."
She replies positively and stands, evidently ready for the journey. Even if she rushes at full speed we will have hours to do everything we wish before the authorities arrive at the scene, so we are not in a hurry. Once she disappears from our sight we refocus our attention to the task at hand.
I am very eager to find out what riches this monster tribe has amassed through their numerous raids on merchant caravans and human settlements. I glance at Ayame and see that she is very stressed about something. I quickly realize that she is dreading the moment when we find the captive women. Both their physical and mental states must be a very disturbing sight to a kind girl like her.
With my devious plan in place, greenskin treasures ready to be unearthed, and horribly tortured women waiting to be freed, my schedule is brimming with purpose, and I haven't even had enough time to assess all the XP and levels I've gained recently. I'm beyond excited to discover what the future has in store for me.
...
[Author: After 44 chapters and 48k words the novel has reached the end of its free-to-read state. I thank all of my readers who've spent their time getting this far into my tale, and I'm especially grateful for those of you who are willing to support me and the novel's continuation by unlocking the premium chapters.
Author message after writing 400 chapters: If you've enjoyed the story thus far then I'm beyond elated, but if you're iffy about continuing then I'm here to ease your worries that I've continuously improved as a writer throughout the novel, both in writing quality, dialogues, descriptions, plot structures etc, so I hope that you could give me the benefit of the doubt.]