――Slave.

Kaya murmured the word, and my eyes widened in shock.

“A slave… you mean this girl?”

“Yes. Look… at the mark on her arm.”

As she spoke, Kaya gestured toward the girl’s right arm.

There, faintly glowing green, was a patterned mark.

“This is… a slave crest?”

“Yes. Most likely.”

A slave crest.

It’s a type of magic implanted in the person to indicate that they are the property of their master. While things around Rastal Village are still relatively peaceful, there are some terrible places where fools treat slaves like nothing more than objects.

“And this one… she’s a slave of the Aldo family.”

At Kaya’s statement, I frowned.

The Aldo family.

They govern a territory not far from Rastal Village.

I rarely go there myself, but I’ve occasionally heard about the corruption of their lord. He might even rival Leon Macba or Dudley in terms of rotten personality.

“Uuuh… ahh…”

The girl, collapsed on the ground, groaned in pain.

“Please… forgive me… I won’t do it again… I won’t… so please…”

She looked truly miserable.

It seemed she hadn’t had a proper meal in days—her body was in terrible condition.

“Damn it…”

I wanted to help her, but things could get complicated if she’s a slave.

As mentioned before, slaves are considered the property of their master.

Taking one away without permission isn’t wise. The general rule is to return them to their owner.

If the master turns out to be someone powerful—that could lead to serious trouble down the line.

However…

“Please stop… Lord Aldo… please, please just spare my life…”

“……”

Her desperate voice was more than I could bear.

“Kaya… The guild’s mission is to protect civilians, right?”

“Yes, that’s true. But—you don’t mean…”

“I do. I’d like to take this girl into temporary protection.”

At this rate, she’s clearly in danger.

She could easily die of exhaustion, or be devoured by monsters before that. As an adventurer tasked with protecting civilians, I can’t leave her like this.

And frankly… thinking only about my own benefit—it reminds me too much of him.

“Heh… really, Arios… you’re such a…”

Kaya looked at me with clear, shining eyes. After a few seconds, she shifted back to the serious face of a veteran adventurer.

“Understood. If it’s just temporary protection, we won’t be provoking the Aldo family too much. I don’t think it’ll be a problem.”

“Thank you… Kaya.”

Still—the Aldo family.

I’d heard the lord was arrogant and cruel, but seeing the girl like this, I had a strong feeling something was seriously wrong.

I’d been exiled from my own family too—so I understood, at least a little, the pain of not having a place to belong.

“Please forgive me… forgive me…”

On my back, the girl kept whispering those words over and over.

★

An hour later.

We decided to shelter the girl at Ray’s house for the time being. Since a powerful noble is involved, it would be unwise to drag uninvolved people into this.

“Suuu… suuu…”

Now, the girl was sleeping peacefully on a bed.

Probably thanks to Ray’s Holy Mage magic.

She seemed to be recovering both physically and mentally.

“Still… what terrible injuries…”

Ray gently stroked the girl’s forehead, her expression clouded with sorrow.

Yes.

The girl’s condition was truly heartbreaking.

She looked like someone who had been oppressed her entire life.

What kind of life had she led? I didn’t even want to imagine it.

“……”

That was when the girl’s eyes slowly opened.

“……W-Where am I…?”

She muttered in confusion.

I cleared my throat, trying my best to smile gently as I spoke.

“Are you alright? You collapsed on the road, so we took you in for now—”

“N-Noooooooo!!”

Suddenly, the girl leapt out of bed and threw herself into a deep bow, slamming her forehead to the floor.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I’ll prepare food immediately! So please don’t hit me! Please…!!”

“…Calm down. I’m not from the Aldo family.”

“…Huh?”

Only then did she realize something was strange.

She looked up at my face with wide, startled eyes.

“I’m Arios Macba. A rookie adventurer. I happened to find you collapsed and brought you here to help.”

“Help…? You… saved me…?”

“Yeah. That’s right.”

“But… everyone else ran away the moment they saw my mark…”

…I see.

She must’ve passed by quite a few people on her way here.

But with that slave crest from the Aldo family… their infamy must be overwhelming. No one wanted to get involved in a potential mess.

“Your origins don’t matter. You’ve suffered enough. Just rest for now.”

“U… uuu…”

That must’ve been the moment her emotions finally overflowed.

“Uwaaaaaahhh!!”

Tears welling in her eyes, she threw herself into my arms.