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Myra, the priestess wearing a white robe.
Julius, the paladin in matching white armor.
The two clergy members, wandering the continent to spread their doctrine, stopped by the city of Delphine. They had sensed demonic energy similar to when a dungeon emerged nearby.
Indeed, the concentration of demonic energy in the atmosphere was thick. A dungeon would likely appear within days.
While dungeons were usually left to adventurers, there was no telling what unexpected situations might arise. They might need to stand by and enter if circumstances demanded it.
The two, needing to stay in Delphine until then, came to this tavern for a meal.
A waitress approached their table to take their order.
"Here again today, I see?"
"Well, yes."
"Shall I bring you the same as yesterday?"
"Yes, please do so."
As the waitress said, the two had come yesterday and today. The combination of salad with potatoes and cold ale had hit the spot for Myra.
Myra swung her feet back and forth while waiting for the food to arrive. It was a lighthearted gesture for a clergy member. Unable to indulge in such casual behavior within the strict Church, she found herself more excited than usual.
In fact, even the brief wait was enjoyable, and the most ordinary sights seemed fascinating. It reminded her of exam season, when everything suddenly became interesting, except for studying itself.
Myra looked around.
"Hm?"
Suddenly, something strange caught her eye.
At the next table sat a man and a maid. The girl was curled up like an armadillo, shivering and clutching her staff as if hit by a cold snap.
The weather was too pleasant to be cold, and it seemed too extreme to be illness.
Why is she like that?
It appeared the girl had been scolded by the man who seemed to be her master. He wasn't doing anything despite her shivering.
Imagining further, perhaps the young girl had made a mistake, and he was planning to punish her when they returned home?
The girl was trembling at the thought of the terrible future awaiting her.
Though Myra was often admonished by other priests for her lack of refinement, she was still a priestess. The sight of the girl, looking like a squirrel facing a snake, triggered Myra's protective instincts.
Finally, Myra stood up, Julius's head following her movements.
"Priestess Myra?"
Without answering, Myra headed straight for the neighboring table.
"Hey, is something wrong?"
Karami responded with a sly smile.
"Well, I'm not sure myself."
"How could you now know? She's shaking like a leaf."
Karami glanced back and forth between Myra and Mirabelle.
The reason Mirabelle was trembling?
Naturally, he knew.
It's because of you people.
The natural enemy of witches.
Those who killed her mother.
Of course, these particular clergy members hadn't killed Mirabelle's mother, but the details didn't matter to Mirabelle. That was how trauma worked.
People bitten by dogs developed a fear of dogs and those who nearly drowned feared swimming.
For Mirabelle, with witch's blood flowing through her veins, the fear would be even more vivid. Though she hadn't fully awakened as a proper witch yet, the anxiety was unavoidable.
Karami decided they needed to distance themselves from these people as soon as possible.
"Let's go, Miss Mirabelle. You don't seem to be feeling well."
"Go where? What are you planning to do? Whip her?"
As Karami reached out to Mirabelle, Myra grabbed his wrist.
Crack. His wrist was crushed under her grip. Her overwhelming strength left Karami, a grown man, powerless to resist. Barely holding back a childish scream, he calmly replied.
"Haha, how could I do such a vicious thing when I care for this child so much? Besides."
Karami's eyes curved into crescents.
"Even if that were the case, she is my slave and my property. What right do you have to interfere?"
"As a servant of God, I cannot turn a blind eye to someone being mistreated. The least I can do is educate you a bit."
Well, I'm telling you, she's like this because of you people.
Whatever, it's never easy to resolve things with this guy's looks and way of speaking.
I can't stand seeing these discriminatory bastards pretending to be righteous when they'd instantly change their tune if they knew Mirabelle was a witch.
Look at the slave trader.
He doesn't care about race, treating anyone as precious if he deems them valuable. How equal of him. At this rate, isn't the slave trader the Martin Luther King of this era?
Ahh, I have a dream. A dream where slaves are not judged by their race, but by their value.
As the atmosphere grew tense, Julius, who had been watching silently, approached Karami's side. Those who were okay with people dying for entertainment watched the situation with keen interest.
The situation was on a knife's edge.
That was when Mirabelle broke the silence.
"I-I'm… fine…"
With her head still lowered, she struggled to get the words out.
Myra knelt to meet Mirabelle's eyes.
"If this man is bothering you, you can tell me. I'll teach him a lesson he won't forget─"
Slap!
Mirabelle swatted away Myra's hand as she tried to gently pat her, and clung to Karami instead. She trembled in his arms.
Myra was greatly taken aback, while a faint smile of victory appeared on Karami's face.
"My, my. It seems she was startled by a suspicious person touching her carelessly. It's alright."
Karami stood up, still holding Mirabelle, and placed a gold coin on the table.
"I apologize for causing a disturbance. This is for the meal and as an apology."
"Oh, no need for that. Feel free to cause disturbances often!"
Fearing he might take it back, the tavern owner quickly pocketed the gold coin. His previously sour face was now blooming with smiles.
As Karami brushed past Myra, he whispered with a mocking smile.
"Well, well. I'm not sure who's harassing whom here. Though apparently, it's obvious to everyone but myself."
"…"
"If I may say one thing, my child eats and lives better than you do."
After gesturing towards the table with his eyes, Karami left the tavern. This time, Myra couldn't stop him. What she discovered was the food on the table.
Bread, soup, and meat left half-eaten. It was food too lavish for a mere maid. Moreover, she had been eating at the same table as her master…
It wasn't something an abusive person would do.
"Haa, fuck."
Myra sighed and let out a crude curse. As the man said, she had clearly misunderstood. The girl had been trembling so pitifully.
If it wasn't because of the man, then why? Myra pondered for quite some time but couldn't figure it out.
"Um, your order is ready…"
The employee brought out the food after reading the room. There was steaming potato salad and a glass of ale with visible condensation.
It was Myra's favorite combo, but today it looked unappetizing.
***
I secured lodging while carrying Mirabelle.
Even after entering the bedroom and sitting on the edge of the bed, Mirabelle showed no signs of letting go. She clung to me like a baby koala.
Her small body was still trembling, conveying the turmoil of raw emotions she had experienced. It showed just how great her fear of encountering the clergy had been.
It was times like these when a master's duty became to stabilize their slave's mental state.
"Haha, Miss Mirabelle. Do you like me that much?"
Fuck, but why did it come out that way? How did 'Are you okay?' become that?
However, Mirabelle, who would usually glare at me for speaking like this, didn't move an inch this time. This seemed more serious than I thought.
If I could see Mirabelle's status screen, it would probably show.
[Fear][Anxiety][Panic][Mental Breakdown]
And various other emotional debuffs.
How was I supposed to calm her down? Words would only make it worse. Should I buy an item with points?
After much deliberation, my decision was…
Pat, pat.
To gently pat her back.
In a steady rhythm.
Until her trembling stopped.
How much time had passed?
The sun was setting. A dim twilight filled the room. The shadow of two people merged into one stretched long.
My arm, which had been numb for a while, barely moved, and by then, Mirabelle had stopped trembling. The now calm girl simply had her arms loosely around my waist.
Looks like she missed the timing to let go, huh?
After trembling for so long, she must have been embarrassed to pretend she was fine now. Especially since she was in my arms.
Honestly, I didn't mind this position. I rather liked it, actually.
The weight was just right. Mirabelle's small frame fit perfectly in one arm, and she was soft too. There was even a faint fragrance from her nape.
Wasn't it like the perfect hugging pillow?
Damn it, Mirabelle. Are you the best at hugging too?
But if we stayed like this, Mirabelle might die of embarrassment, so I decided to let go soon.
"If you've calmed down, could you get off now? You're heavy."
As if she had been waiting for this, Mirabelle smoothly slid off with a fluid motion. She maintained more distance than usual.
Her fair face was slightly flushed, perhaps from the sunset glow. She glared at me with half-closed eyes.
"I-I'm not heavy."
"Haven't you been eating lavishly recently?"
Gasp.
I thought I heard such a sound.
Mirabelle's eyes shook left and right, as if this was a factor she hadn't considered.
I was just joking.
It was just a casual remark, why were you taking it so seriously? If you were heavy, the world would have sunk into the sea long ago.
I smiled slyly, and Mirabelle, finally realizing I was teasing her, puffed up her cheeks in a pout. Then, as if deflating, she let out a light sigh.
Mirabelle approached hesitantly and sat beside me. Her mood was subdued and her expression was rather serious.
In the same state, she began to speak.
"You don't understand why I acted that way earlier, do you?"
"No."
I do.
"There's something I've been hiding."
I know what it is.
"If you hear this… what will you do? You might abandon me. I'm sure you will."
How could I?
I thought those things, but the words wouldn't leave my mouth.
Even without me giving much of a response, Mirabelle continued speaking.
"Huuu…"
After letting out a deep breath to ease some tension, Mirabelle spoke in a solemn voice.
"I… I'm actually a witch."
Well, I know that already.