Well then.

By the time I had finished speaking with the girl, Mary had already completed dinner.

It was clear that the girl was suffering from malnutrition.

That’s why Mary said, “I’m going to put my heart into this!” with a determined flare in her nostrils.

By the way, the girl’s name is Em.

That’s not her real name—it was simply what the Aldo family had called her.

She said she didn’t know her real name.

In fact, she didn’t know who her parents were, or even where she was born… She knew absolutely nothing about herself.

It was a truly strange story.

I felt it would be rude to press her further, so I ended the conversation there.

…Well, in any case, food was the priority now.

I was pretty hungry myself.

As we sat down at the table, Em stood quietly against the wall, watching over us.

“…Em? What are you doing?”

“No… it’s standard procedure during meals to behave like this…”

“But your food—”

“I’m fine. So please, all of you, go ahead and eat.”

I see.

She had probably never had a proper meal before.

I didn’t know much about how slaves were fed, but judging from her body, it was obvious she hadn’t been given anything decent.

Even though she must’ve been starving, she’d stayed tucked against the wall this whole time…

“Em-chan. You don’t have to worry about that,”

Mary said with gentle eyes and a soft expression.

“I made enough for you too. If you don’t eat… I might cry, you know.”

“Fweh!? Y-you’re going to cry?”

“What kind of threat is that…”

I sighed and pulled out a chair that no one had taken.

“Well, it’s true that I want you to eat too. Honestly, you want to eat, right? Desperately.”

“N-no, absolutely not—”

Grrrrrnnn.

Despite her words, a loud growl rumbled from Em’s stomach.

“T-that’s not it! This is just, um, well…”

I mean, Mary really went all out with the cooking.

It’s only natural that her appetite was awakened.

“Don’t worry about it. We’re not your master, you know.”

“…Not my master…”

“That’s right. No one here is going to mistreat you. …So go ahead and take a seat. It’s okay.”

…Nod.

Em gave a small nod, and with a nervous, tentative movement, she sat down in the chair.

And when her eyes landed on the food in front of her, they lit up like stars.

“G-gulp…”

“Haha… You don’t have to be so formal.”

I chuckled softly and pushed a sandwich toward her.

It was filled with meat and veggies—Mary’s heartfelt handiwork.

“R-really? I can… eat this…?”

“Yeah. You don’t need to ask every time.”

Em steeled herself, then took a bite of the sandwich.

Nom… nom…

—And then.

“Ugh…”

Drip.

Drip… drip…

“Uuuu… sniff…”

Tears began to fall from Em’s eyes.

“S-sorry. I just…”

“It’s okay. Don’t hold back. Eat as much as you like.”

“Thank you… Thank you so much… I’m sorry…”

For some reason, Em apologized as she devoured the food with desperation.

Ray, Mary, and I all watched her with warm smiles.

Several minutes passed.

Dinner was over in a flash.

Thanks to the huge amount Mary had made, I was totally satisfied.

“Thank you… everyone… It was delicious…”

Em bowed her head deeply again.

She looked truly happy.

Maybe it was the first time in her life she’d ever experienced what it meant to be full.

“Hehe… I’m so glad it satisfied you,”

Mary said, smiling.

“…At the Aldo household, you didn’t get to eat very often, did you?”

“No… It seemed horses and livestock were considered more valuable than us slaves. The food was… poor quality.”

“That’s awful… I thought I understood how hard it was to serve a bad master, but this is…”

“……”

I silently listened to the two of them talk.

—Em, the slave from the Aldo family.

At first, I only intended to protect her temporarily—but now, sending her back felt utterly wrong.

They didn’t even give their slaves food.

Just used them like prisoners.

Pushed her right to the brink of death.

—There’s no way I can send her back to a place like that.

Of course, the Aldo family is a powerful noble house.

And formally speaking, slaves are considered property.

If I hide her without permission… I don’t know what would happen to me.

As long as it’s not discovered, fine.

But if it is found out—

It won’t be just me. The entire village could get in trouble.

Even so…

—Be a true Sword Saint.

If it were the first Sword Saint, Farlas Macba, I’m sure he would—

“Em. What do you say? Would you like to live here from now on?”

“…Huh?”

“You’d have to stay hidden, of course. But honestly, you don’t want to go back, do you? That’s why you ran away, right?”

“Y-yes. But… that would be causing you all trouble…”

“Heh, it’s fine. If we sent you back now, that would be what makes me feel bad.”

Ray said gently, smiling at her.

“You’re all too kind… Arios-sama… everyone…”

And with that, tears welled up in Em’s eyes once again.