Chapter 12

There's an actual Author's note this time~!

I've remodeled the Status Display and put it into the "Preformatted" font for this chapter . Tell me what you think about it; revert, or keep it? I'll change all previous chapter according to the opinions on it!

Also, I hate the word Kemonomimi! Not the word itself, but the process of translating it from Japanese to English!

Sword-bro's mean for putting that in this chapter more than once . It takes time, you know~? You mess up my machines, you know~?

Complaining aside: here's the chapter .

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Author's Note: Cruel Descriptions? (¹)

Panic reaches the Slaves and Merchants who are faced with the 2-headed Bear running out of the bush .

"The Horse-drawn carriage was being attacked by Demonic Beasts of the forest . " That would probably be an appropriate way to describe this situation .

The Merchant was in a hurry to put part of the load on the slaves, but then a different order was commanded of them .

「Slaves, hold it back!」

The Merchant would take that chance to run away .

The slaves don't even have any weapons . The only reason they'd be sent out is to be eaten and buy some time . Even the Slaves should understand that much . But they obeyed the words of the Merchant and headed towards the Bear .

Why? The thought had crossed my mind when I first saw them, but perhaps they're bound by Magic or something? The Magic Power absorption of this land doesn't act on the body, so it doesn't seem to interfere with whatever Magic was used to make the contract .

A tree's trunk was cut down, and a male Slave was blown away . With only one shot, the lower half of his body bid farewell to his upper half . Despite being a low-class Demonic Beast with only a Threat Level of F, it isn't an opponent that can be confronted without decent equipment . These Slaves are simply too powerless in the face of the Demonic Beast, which is the personification of violence .

If this keeps up, it'll only take a couple of minutes for the Slaves to be completely annihilated .

I'm sorry, but I can't do anything about it since even my voice has been taken . The only one capable of getting away from this situation unscathed is the piece of trash formerly known as the Merchant .

Damn it! If only someone pulled me out!

While I aimlessly though so, a figure stood before me .

A Slave girl . But even though the girl was dirty, her hair wasn't unkempt; it was done up and fastened in place .

And her ears... They're cat ears . On the top of her head, she had the mark of an animal! ー It's a Beastman! (²) It's a Mofumimi! (³)

I forgot the terrible scene unfolding in the area and was momentarily impressed . Well, Cat Ears are a treasure of the world, right? It's hard not to be moved .

Ahh, come on already! The inability to let out my voice is so irritating!

And the Girl... Pulls on me . ー Please, I want to immediately mofu this Nekomimi! No, wait . How could I mofu with the body of a sword? Telekinesis? No, no . Since I have a sense of touch, if I can gently do it with the side of my bladeー

The girl continued to cling to me with all her strength .

She was told to die, but is still adamant about living . She's one that doesn't give up . This girl . I want this girl to use me .

『......』

The girl puts more force into her grip . Come on! Pull me out!

However, it seems that I was more firmly stuck into the ground than I imagined . Judging by appearances, she's only about 12, give or take 3 years? It's to my understanding that she wasn't given enough food, so she's quite skinny . With the powerless arm of such a girl, it mustn't be easy to pull me out .

Hang in there! Do your best! Or rather, look behind you!

Just like that, the Bear was approaching behind the girl . As for the other Slaves... It was hopeless .

Only the girl remains .

『Pull me out!』

「...? A voice?」

『You, can you hear my voice?!』

「Who...?」

『The sword . I'm the sword which you'll pull out . 』

「...... How surprising . 」

『You don't seem surprised...』

「I am . 」

『Enough of this, the Bear is coming! Pull me out quickly, girl!』

Talking seems possible under the condition that we're touching, it seems . The girl seems to be the expressionless & taciturn type of person . Good! Please, say "idiot"! (⁴)

The girl groans and puts more power into her arms .

*Zuzu*

『I moved a little!』

「Uuーn...」

『Do your best!』

*Zuzuzu*

『Just a little more!』

「Nunu...!」

*Zubo!*

『I'm out!』

「Beautiful sword . 」

『Thank you, but that's not the case!』

「It is . 」

『Can you fight?』

「A little . 」

I confirm the status of the girl .

Name :None Age :12 Race :Black Cat Family Job :None State :Enslaved Status : Level :4 HP :29 MP :17 STR :13 END :10 AGI :16 INT :8 MGC :7 DEX :15 Skills : Swordsmanship :Lv1, Night Vision, Skinning Expert (⁵), Directional Sense Titles : None Equipment : Old Rags

She has Swordsmanship, but... There're really few! Ah, but that's alright!

『Equip me!』

「Already equipped . 」

『You need to go further! Properly imagine equipping me!』

「? Alright . 」

〈 Nameless has been registered as equipped 〉

Alright, this'll be the first time I've used Skill-Sharing .

〈 Nameless has received multiple Titles 〉

『Oh? What's this all of a sudden?』

Attempting to use Appraisal...... Isn't possible . (⁶)

The girl had received the Titles: Master of Fire, Cooking King, Dismantling King, and Skill Collector; those four . When Skills become LvMax, that seems to occur . Their respective Skills have their effects increased, and in the case of Skill Collector, proficiency acquisition seems to become more efficient .

Well, I'll leave it for now . Such information isn't exactly helpful right now .

『Fight . You should be able to . 』

「Nn . 」

『Defeat that guy . (⁷) Believe in yourself, and wield me!』

The Swordsmanship Skill should be able to deal with the situation somehow . The opponent's a lower-rank Demonic Beast, anyways . With Swordsmanship Lv7, losing is impossible . There're other Status ↑ effects in place as well .

「...... Yes . I understand . 」

『Alright, good girl . 』

「...... Yaa!」

The poise of the girl was absolutely beautiful . With movements befitting an expert swordsman, she moved closer to the Bear and, with a single strike, she pierced it right through the heart . It was as if I had hit tofu, as I was met with absolutely no resistance .

「Eh?」

『You were able to do it . How was it?』

「...... Yes . Is that thanks to you?」

『Indeed . Won't you thank me?』

「Thank you . 」

After saying so, the girl prepared to put me back into the ground, so I stopper her in a hurry .

『Wait! Don't put me back into the ground!』

「 ? 」

『Because of the ground here, I can't do anything . Therefore, take me with you for a while . 』

「Uuーn?」

『What's wrong?』

「You would be taken, probably . 」

『By the Slave Merchants?』

「Yes . 」

That would be unpleasant . Even though I had found a Mofumimi girl with much effort... I want this girl to use me! Even if I'm taken away by a Merchant and sold to a connoisseur, to be sealed once again would be a much worse result!

『Why not escape?』

「Impossible . I can't defy them because of the collar . 」

『Is it some form of Magic Tool?』

「Yes . Even though I've tried to kill them multiple times, it's impossible . 』

『You've tried to kill the Slave Traders?』

「Yes . I've tried to kill them and escape . 」

I see . This girl was more bloodthirsty than I thought . But it's not like I dislike that .

『So, it was impossible because of the collar . 』

「Yes . 」

While talking with the girl, I saw a man running from the other side of the forest . It's the Slave Merchant . By the way, the little man had already passed away . His corpse is sprawled out just a little ways away .

「Only one's alive?! I'm ruined! Such a heavy loss ー shit!」

There's no sign of the man mourning over the deaths of the Slaves, or even his subordinate . Rather, he was lamenting his broken cargo . He's so shitty that it's refreshing .

「......」

「Did you defeat the Twin-Headed Bear?」

「Yes . 」

「How did you...... What is that sword?」

「I picked it up . 」

「Give it to me . 」

「...... Un . 」

「Hey, what's with those eyes, huh?!」

「I'm sorry, I'll do it . 」

「Tch . Damn beasts with their gloomy eyes . 」

「Ah...!」

Suddenly, the man strikes the girl . Seriously? It's a feeling that I'm used to, but... From the girl who was now crouching on the ground, the man forcefully took me away .

「Hoo... Isn't this sword beautiful? Won't this be able to make up my losses?」

While ignoring the groans of pain coming from the girl, the man began appraising me .

「Hey, beast . Load the goods that're still salvageable . Then, we'll depart for town . 」

Because of the Slave Contract, the girl can't go against the will of the man . She stood up aimlessly while dragging her body, which much have been aching .

Disgusting . Absolutely disgusting . With just that, my killing intent is at its peak . Damn it! If not for the Magic Absorption in this place, I would have killed this guy already!

「-Kupe?」

When I thought of using Telekinesis, it was possible . Teehee .

No, for some reason, it seems that the Magic Power absorption was weakened after leaving the ground . When I was stuck into the ground the absorption was instant, but now there's a postponement of about one second until it's absorbed .

And so, while thinking that I wanted to kill the Slave Trader, I used Telekinesis with all my power and swung vigorously . As a result, I completely pierced the face of the Slave Trader, splitting his skull hard enough for his brain fluid to burst out .

Ah . I did it?

Uuーm . Maybe because he was a piece of shit? Or, perhaps it's because I'm a sword? Either way, the feeling of guilt doesn't come out at all . When I killed a Goblin for the first time there was a slight aching in my conscience, though .

『Well, what should we do now?』

「 ? 」