บท 25: First Mission
A maiden, even sickly, should be treated with respect. Protected by those who love her deeply.
And I was a gentleman.
Millie was no accessory. She was blood and flesh like anyone else. That's why... I'd treat her just right.
I approached them straightforwardly the next day.
"Millie~!" I came on over the next day while making full use of girly gestures. Acting like a genki girl.
The warmest smile appearing on my face like a bowl of sunshine. At least, that was what I was going for.
Who could've guessed they'd have a weird reaction.
Both of them look somewhat disgusted and... scared of my attitude? Is it surprising to see me like this?
"Guys." I opened my arms out and gave these stiff mannequins a hug. Come on~ Loosen up a little bit.
Let down your guard...
"Stay away from us." (Max)
Honestly, it had been a day since we last met, but it looked like this kid's memory was still good.
"Didn't you two miss me?" I stuck onto Millie like glue and ignored Max. His words meant nothing.
"...Max's right. What are you here for?" (Millie)
"We live in the same village and do the same things anyway. Do I need a reason to be here?" (Steve)
It was quite the strange thing to ask.
After all, who else would I be here for... if not for the two of them? My future companions in life.
Millie seemed to be rejecting my presence because of Max, but I didn't find that to be annoying.
It was good they weren't easily tricked fools.
But no matter how harsh their words were, it was hard to fight against the all-consuming force.
Subliminal suggestion.
I made sure to constantly stay stuck on Millie to get her used to my presence. Even if she was nervous.
She didn't hate me, nor did she like me. I admit this was because I had accidentally let my feeling out.
But that wouldn't happen again.
I'll be the perfect friend in her head. Someone she can confide in. Then... she'll grow to trust me.
Even if I brought her along into a dangerous situation to fight against even scarier people.
And Max? Stringing him along was easier.
He'd follow Millie wherever she was to go.
"Hey, didn't you want to find your place? I've been taught many things at a young age. Maybe I can help you." I whispered into her ear. Tempting with with the words she wanted to hear. Even it it's obvious.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY TO HER JUST NOW?" Max suddenly split us apart and put himself between us.
"Oh, I was just talking about what we would do from now on as 'companions'." I winked in her direction.
"You evil little piece of-" Turning feral, Max was about to fight me off to protect his 'best friend'.
He loaded a hook towards my face with ferocity.
Ready to fight me off the same way he did not too long ago. Just yesterday he'd even beat me up.
But that wouldn't happen here.
I raised my hand and caught his wrist. Stopping him without needing to use any big movements.
He looked at me with surprised eyes.
Likely because he was trying to use that overused Gift of his. That power he relied on the most.
"Did you forget your situation?" I spoke while making him realise his Artes Lines were blocked.
Similar to how I'd blocked Miliv's Gift in the past.
From what I had seen, this sort of lock could loosen with time... but was useful to subdue 'partners'.
Making sure my team wouldn't fight too much.
And especially not against my own leadership.
Max retrieved his fist with a blue face. The fear of feeling powerless was getting to him now.
It was all going as per my predictions.
They may be a little smart on the outside, but they were still children. Seeds worthy of cultivation.
Max with his 'Golem Transformation' didn't seem all that extraordinary at first, but it was quite the versatile asset to have. I even felt my limits being easier to overcome now that I had half of his Gift.
Although I couldn't do as much as he could, it was enough for me to augment my body with robotics.
Much different from the thin arms Millie gave me.
And on that note...
I leaned in and whispered something into Max's ear to get him to settle down. A threat of my own.
"What do you think would happen if I reapplied my suppression on Millie's Gift?" I tapped his shoulder.
Max's face became as white as paper.
Right now, she still believed herself to be a naturally born girl. If I suppressed the Gift that keeping her body female, wouldn't her mind collapse from the chaos that ensued? How would she react?
He started looking at me much more differently.
That's right. Realise it. You two have been in the palm of my hands since the very beginning.
Did you think beating me up in a fight mattered?
I could make you powerless in an instant, and take away everything you held dearly the same way.
If you understood that, then be more obedient.
As if hearing my internal monologue from my expression alone, Max unwillingly backed off.
I attached myself to Millie once again.
"There's something I want us to do. But first, it's best we get on the same page." I informed the duo.
First starting about the state of our Artes Lines.
Right now, my own Artes Lines were injected into them. Meaning I could interact with their Gifts.
In return for lending me a portion of their power, I was able to imbue them with more Artes Lines.
And more Artes Lines meant more power.
To revive the strength I saw in Miliv, I first started to teach Millie everything Diana told me about Haki.
As for Max's training, I decided to make it go further away from fighting since he wasn't like a 'human'.
The path he showed me yesterday about giving up human form was really good. Unpredictable even.
Something I could never imitate.
That was exactly why teaching him 'Martial Arts' was useless. It'd be better to tell him more about magic.
This way he would refine his transformations.
I looked over Millie first while Max was drawing crude magic circles into the ground using Mana.
She sat in a meditative position under the tree we first met. This place that was both close yet far.
Distanced close by home, but not in sight.
Meaning I could do whatever I wanted here.
Millie was stuck trying to bring out her Haki again after I'd carefully unravelled her Artes Lines.
There seemed to be internal changes I didn't notice earlier. Something within inhibiting her Affinity.
Whatever this thing was, it burrowed deep and sank into her Vital Gem. Far from my reach.
If I tried to do anything to it, she may end up dying because of my curiosity... so I left it alone.
I didn't need Miliv anymore. Millie was fine as is.
"...I can't do it." The red eyed girl sighed. Unable to bring out her Haki the same way Miliv did.
I could sense something was missing within her.
"You can't follow me to our next destination if you can't even use Haki. It's not that complex." (Steve)
"What am I missing?" Millie scratched her head.
"Good attitude, but... it's not that simple. What you're missing is a deep negative emotion to fuel your Haki." Even though this was basically telling her to have negativity whenever she fought, it wasn't something I could lie about. It was Haki's logic.
A power fuelled by emotions and negativity in the mind. Whether that be hatred, envy, malice...
It didn't fit her personality, but she needed to do it.
"Alright." Millie flicked her fingers and tried to think of her worst memories. Taking in a deep breath.
I wasn't sure what she was thinking of, but the flames of Haki ignited and started circulating again.
Her red eyes started glowing.
There seemed to be a resonance between her red eyes and Haki. Likely having to do with her Gift.
It definitely wasn't simply changing one's gender...
My own Artes Lines within her amplified the Haki flowing through her veins, but she controlled it.
"Oh?" Millie seemed to find this power much easier to use than anticipated, even if not being drowned by negative emotions. That part was obvious. She had the memories of Miliv, who used it before.
There was something else that was bothering me besides that. It started to make me curious.
"What are you thinking about?" I gave her a look.
"Tragedies." Millie didn't elaborate further.
I had to just guess that she meant things that didn't happen yet, rather than a thing on her mind.
"Do you feel another ability?" From what I'd seen once when he met, she also had a Berserker application for her Gift. A power that both drained magical energy with a line, and improved power.
"Not that I know of." Even though Millie was saying that easily, I couldn't determine if it was a lie.
She'd become better at hiding her thoughts.
Or should I call this the process of maturing?
She didn't seem to have much faith in her 'captor'.
Not that I blame her. It's good she's smart.
Unlike a certain meathead who didn't understand the difference of an Outer Circle and Inner Spell.
Looks like he needed time to digest what I taught.
"Where do you want to take us anyway?" Max tried to change the subject, but I gestured him down.
Get back to studying.
"For now, focus on actually getting strong. Spar with each other until you both get on my level. I'm going to check about some rumours I heard." I told them without holding anything back. Being honest.
"What rumours?" Millie asked with closed eyes when Max went back to drawing, but still listened in.
"There was a bandit attack in the nearby Tigerfaun Village last night. They say there was something they took a treasure from the village. Something along those lines, but nothing really specific." In fact, the lack of specificity was what took my interest.
What exactly did these guys steal from them?
"Bandits?!" Both of them took a cold breath. They had just realised what I was about to make them do.
"No way! You can't force us to-" (Max)
"I can and I will. We have two outliers and one genius in our team. If we don't hunt bandits, are we supposed to let them do whatever they want? Don't waste your life on selfish self-preservation now." I felt high-minded when speaking these words.
Maybe because they were kids, they thought staying out of danger would make them live forever.
Even though that was far from the case.
We were only mortals. Our lives were finite.
And so... we must leave our marks on the world as quickly as we could. Before we died somehow.
Both me and Millie were outliers with unusual strength for our age, and Max was a genius.
What was the problem?
"You're insane! You're not taking her to fight those evil creatures!" Ironically, Max had spoken this.
"Is this any different from you wanting to take Millie on a ride to go kill Demons in the future?" (Steve)
"Totally different. They're people... Do you think any of us could do anything to them?" (Max)
"You don't want to kill human beings?" I laughed at him for being so naive. He wanted to kill nobody?
"And so what if I don't want to? You think everyone is a fucking psycho like you?!" Ouch, Max had some thorns in his words. Even though the real psycho was this 'best friend' of his sitting right next to us.
Millie's Haki seemed to fluctuate and strengthen.
"Come on~ Don't you want to feel like you exist? It might be true that some bandits are just really poor villagers, but others also are just those who misuse their power. They aren't all morally grey." (Steve)
"But..." (Millie)
"We could start gaining some recognition by taking down bandits, then move onto Demons. Humans might be a bit sly, but they're fragile compared to the evils we'll face in the future... as 'Demon Hunters'." I pretended my goal aligned with their own.
Telling them I wanted to conquer and rule the world while shaping it to my whims... wouldn't work.
They'd definitely reject me.
That's why I simply made use of their own dreams of becoming Demon Hunters. The real heroes here.
Those who brought salvation to many by taking out the vermin that were taking lives every single day.
"Think about it a little." I said before leaving.
Going off to search outside the village for the first time in my life. Looking for my first prey.
Hopefully, these 'comrades' of mine wouldn't take too long to get involved. Helping me to fight.
I packed my things and got myself ready.
People naturally wanted to stay away from bandits even though one could generally predict their route.
They'd likely pass by this village if they were heading to more advanced civilisation towards the kingdom.
The only problem was finding which route exactly.
I took three blades, a compass, and a vague map outlining the area we lived in along with the villages.
The latter allowed me to predict some things based on assumptions. This was entirely guesswork.
If I was wrong, I would see no one in that route.
There were a few ways they could go towards the kingdom. Some fast. And some were really long.
There was one fast route in particular that could only be taken if you had sufficient strength and builds.
If my guess was correct in assuming these guys weren't villagers down on their luck, they'd pass through a far-off mountain way even if the path was going a bit uphill. It meant these guys would have both stamina and equipment to make the journey.
If I was wrong and they were just villagers, then I'd likely completely miss them on the longer routes.
"I hope they don't come." I murmured while looking at the village from atop of a hill I climbed to.
Coming here meant two things. The first was that they were definitely not people poor on their luck.
They had the strength to turn away from banditry.
This meant that there was a high chance I could die here if I'm not careful. Like facing several Farhon's.
Maybe not on his level, but definitely close enough.
As for the second thing...
This place was the best area to create a base before they raided our village. Where my family was.
My parents and Diana didn't care. They were strong enough to deal with it before casualties occurred.
But that didn't mean they couldn't cause harm.
Call me a ball of anxiety and overly suspicious, but I couldn't believe these guys would be 'normal' at all.
The fact gossip I heard said they only stole one thing from that village made me even more paranoid.
If they were 'normal bandits', maybe I'll wait for them to attack and get recognition in front of others.
After all, fighting alone wasn't visually impactful.
They villagers would forget if they didn't see me.
But if they lived up to my expectations, I was going to slaughter them before they became an issue.
In a way that I'd likely not want to be recognised for doing, but would do so anyway as a precaution.
Meh... I'd consider this training if that happened.
I covered myself in bushes and stilled my breathing with composure. Awaiting for anyone to go by.
An hour had passed, and nothing had happened.
My heart started to feel more at ease, but then started to heighten in heartbeat soon after.
Footsteps... There were sounds nearby.
A carriage full of supplies. Being protected by a group of 30... which was quite the small group.
Most bandit gangs usually consisted of 50 people to take down villagers. This group was medium size.
Just enough to cause trouble.
The most concerning part about all this was that they didn't seem to be a collection of different types.
All I saw was a stereotypical group of bulky men without a single woman in sight.
No, there was one there.
Except she definitely wasn't being considered 'part of the group'. Her bosom being fondled with and squeezed. Sitting next to the supposed leader of the gang in the front of the carriage. Surrounded.
Hmmm...
I took a closer look to see she didn't seem to be a villager. More like someone of her own volition.
There was something strange here.
Pink hair was one thing, but elf ears too...?
Why was she so willingly being fondled by that ugly mug? There was a vital detail missing here...
...but what?
Instead of charging in, I turned my eyes into binoculars using Max's 'Golem Transformation'.
This much I could do.
I didn't move too much in case of being found. Just staying still as they were going to their destination.
Calmly. Patiently.
They'd had to stop at some point, and nearby was the perfect resting spot away from worldly eyes.
Just try making your darn base here.
I dare you to try.
The moment dawn fell would be when I attacked you bastards. After all, I had to go back at nightfall.
Knowing that it would be more perfect than completely after dark. Since security would be lax.
I'll scout a little first.
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