Fam was good at gathering medicinal herbs.
She could smell the pressed flowers in the picture book and find flowers in the field with the same scent.
After harvesting the herbs, Mash would repeatedly compare them with the encyclopedia to make sure they were correct, but she didn't need to go through that trouble.
On the other hand, combat was no good. First of all, her damage to monsters was ineffective. Her attacks were too light.
She had explosive power and was good at dodging attacks, but lacked stamina and tired quickly.
He wanted to give her advice, but needed advice himself, so he couldn't say anything.
When she was hit in the side by a goblin's club, she burst into tears. She forgot she was in the middle of a battle, dropped her weapon, and just cried.
Even after he gave her a potion and she recovered, she didn't stop crying.
He felt like a bully forcing someone to do something they didn't want to do.
"It'll be fine. Once I level up, I'll be able to do it, so I'll take the lead in fighting until then. You just watch."
"No, I'll fight properly too."
She must have had guts, because for some reason she stood in front of him and tried to fight.
"Don't push yourself too hard."
She nodded at his words, but he was left with nothing but anxiety.
He tried to give her the slime's magic seed, but she refused to accept it.
"Just drink it."
"No, I can't accept something so expensive."
Fam seemed to care about money.
"I picked them up. I'll keep picking them up. Don't worry about it."
"In that case, please drink it, Master."
"If you're not going to drink it, I'll put it in your food."
"Hii, if you insist, then I'll take it!"
She readied her sword and showed a fighting stance, as if planning to fight him.
"At night, while you're sleeping, I'll sneak it into your meal. I'll mix it in until it's completely dissolved."
"Uh, please forgive me for resisting. But, are you sure it's okay for me to have it?"
"Just drink it quietly without saying anything."
Fam finally drank the magic seed. Her stamina increased by just 1 point. Not bad.
"Have you calmed down?"
"Yes, sorry."
Fam looked dejected. He put his hand on her head. There was no resistance. He stroked it.
She accepted him. His hand touched her ear. He decided to touch it.
"Ohhh! How soft! I can't even describe how amazing it feels. It's so fluffy and smooth, and so calming."
"Master?" Fam's words brought him back to his senses. He removed his hand from her ear.
"Oh, sorry. Let's get back to the point. Yes, in a way, I feel relieved."
"What does that mean?"
"There was a guy who was aggressive and strong. I thought that was normal, and I was anxious that I had to be like that too. But the standards were different. Fam was normal. She wasn't working out. I didn't know what to do. I was scared of being hit. I was scared of fighting."
"...Are you afraid of fighting too?"
"Yes, it's not just scary. It's really scary."
Fam's level also rose to 7, allowing her attacks to hit monsters and defeat them.
His level had reached 10, and he could now use basic magic of four attributes. He tried them out.
Fire magic sent a fist-sized fireball flying toward monsters. If it hit, it burst into flames. However, it was quicker to pick up a rock and hit with it.
Water magic also sent fist-sized water balls flying toward monsters, but it didn't seem to do any damage.
As for wind magic, the wind would blow at the enemy for an instant, but so what?
Earth magic was quite useful. It shot out fist-sized stones at considerable speed. The mass, shape, and rotation of the stones could be adjusted, allowing for sliders, forks, and curved balls. It was useful for distracting enemies.
He was busy developing his magic projectiles. One of the stones changed direction so much that it hit Fam in the buttocks. Since he had made it into a light stone to test the effect, there was no damage.
"Kyaa!"
She turned and glared at him, even though they were in the middle of a battle.
"Come on! Can you stop doing naughty things during battle?"
Although she claimed to be in the middle of a battle, she had completely forgotten about it.
"Fam, behind you!"
"Whoa, yippee!"
A scene like a comedy skit unfolded.
As evening approached, he returned to town. He hadn't managed to get any magic seeds today either. He stopped by the guild.
The receptionist was the usual girl.
"You've got a friend now, haven't you?"
She asked right away.
"Oh, I have these herbs, and as a thank you for the introduction."
He handed over the bundle of herbs, including yesterday's, and one gold coin.
"Wow, the deal went well."
"That's right, I was saved."
"Please feel free to ask me anything. I'll be happy to help you."
The receptionist girl smiled.
"That reminds me. There's a designated quest for Mash. Here it is."
He received a request. The reward was one gold coin. The quest was to exterminate goblins that were ravaging a village's fields. The destination village was quite far away, so he'd need to camp out for a few days before getting there. It would take a total of 10 days. He was supposed to meet the client tomorrow morning at the gates leading out of town. That was too sudden.
"Why would someone request something like this from me? We're surprisingly weak."
"Do you not know the client, Aidan?"
"No, I don't know many people in this town. I certainly don't know Aidan either."
He looked at Fam, but she shook her head too.
"Aidan is an A-rank adventurer. He's a quiet man, but a very nice person."
"What happens if I refuse?"
"I'll contact the guild. However, I recommend you accept."
"Is that so?"
"That's right," the receptionist nodded.
"Fam, what should we do?"
She was just a villager who was tagging along because he was an adventurer. Right now, he wanted to gain experience in a safe place. He wanted to decline the request.
However, the receptionist said it would be better to accept. She said this based on her understanding of their situation from the quests they had completed so far.
"I will follow wherever my master goes."
He wished she wouldn't dump everything on him. But he'd made a decision.
"Okay, I'll accept the quest. We'll show him just how weak we are."
He met Wind Blade at the guild.
"I was worried because you weren't staying at the inn!"
"Mizuki?"
Mizuki came over. She seemed darker than when they first met. Perhaps she wasn't adjusting well to this other world.
"Oh, due to certain circumstances, I had to move to another inn."
When he said that, Mizuki's gaze shifted to Fam, then stopped at her arm.
"Mash, you're incredible!"
"That's not true, my lord," Fam began to make excuses for him, but he stopped her.
"As you can see, I acquired this girl."
Even Fam was looking at him with eyes that showed she couldn't believe it. She looked like she wanted to say something but remained silent.
"Slaves are ridiculous!"
"Looks like you got someone new over there too."
He looked at the arm of a muscular man who seemed to be a new recruit to Wind Blade. He too had the slave crest carved into him.
"Uh, yes, let me introduce you. This is Beers. Reid brought him."
Mizuki replied gloomily. Perhaps it was a coincidence, but the name was the same as the slave from before. He felt an inexplicable sense of unease.
He looked at Reid. Reid noticed his gaze and smiled. He responded with a wave of one hand.
"...Exploring alone is impossible. I think it's good that we have companions."
Mizuki said with a resigned and sober tone.
"Ah."
"Please tell me where you're staying and let me know if anything happens."
"Asuka Inn. However, I have a designated quest. I will be out of town for about 10 days."
"Okay. I'll be at the Great Ape Inn."
Mizuki nodded with a stiff expression and they parted ways.
Instead of heading to the inn, he went to the market.
One section of the town was a market street lined with shops and stalls, selling everything from daily necessities and food to weapons and armor.
He needed to prepare for a 10-day trip.
However, according to the request, the client was to prepare the necessary items such as food.
He casually browsed the stores, looking for anything he should bring.
"There are a lot of people. I might get separated."
Fam grabbed his clothes.
"Is this your first time in a place like this?"
They bought some skewers to satisfy their hunger, and both munched on them. They were chicken. The sauce was delicious.
There were many food items for sale at the market—perhaps they could buy some ingredients and cook their own meals.
"Yes, it's even more amazing than the village festival day."
Fam couldn't contain her curiosity and her eyes were moving around frequently.
"I don't know anything about this city, let alone the market. Please tell me, my lord."
"No, actually, it's only been four days since I came to this city. I hardly know anything."
"Is that so..."
He hadn't told Fam yet that he was a summoned hero. He'd tell her sometime.
Conversely, he didn't know much about Fam either. It was hard to ask her, considering she'd been sold as a slave. He waited for Fam to start talking.
"I have a guidebook called How to Travel the World. I'll show it to you when we get back to the inn."
Before he knew it, they had passed through the market area and he decided to turn around and head to their lodging.
"Now that I think of it, you're a bit strange, aren't you, Master? I'd like to know why you behaved like that at the guild."
"Hmm? What do you mean?"
"It's about Mizuki-san."
Fam said. He didn't mean to be strange, but that's how it seemed to come across.
"Mizuki-san is the one who wore the light blue panties. She must be the 'strong and aggressive person' you were talking about. My master... no, I thought you shouldn't have behaved like you did earlier."
"You're too sharp! I hope you're the same in battle."
He didn't want to talk about it. He tried to change the subject.
"I-I'm sorry, but I want to know about you, Master," Fam persisted.
"I don't really understand the meaning of your actions just now."
"Really? Can I take a guess?"
"I like guessing games. I'd like to hear it."
"So, to put it simply, it's the behavior that children show towards members of the opposite sex they are interested in."
"No, it's not," he tried to make an excuse, but when he thought about it, that was exactly right.
He was just acting childish. He wanted to get Mizuki's attention, but didn't know what to say.
"It's embarrassing... I'm not good at talking to women. No woman would talk to me at my previous place."
"Is that even possible?"
Fam had a look of surprise on her face. That was the biggest blow he'd suffered today.
Before arriving at the inn, they passed by the area where the slave traders' tents used to be. They had apparently withdrawn, and the tents were gone, returning the spot to a vacant lot. Fam looked as if she wanted to say something, but they passed by in silence.
He didn't know what was in her mind, so he kept quiet too.
When he arrived at the inn, the host naturally handed him the key to a double room.
He thought Fam would complain, but she didn't say anything.
As promised, he gave her the book version of How to Travel the World.
"It smells like the one who wore white panties."
"Correct!"
He was oddly pleased that she noticed.
When they washed up, a sheet was used to create a partition.
Then she got into the same bed as him. He wondered if she thought she wouldn't be attacked because she was on her period.
She turned away and fell asleep.
He also fell asleep.
In the middle of the night, he was woken by Fam crying. She was still lying with her back to him.
"...mother..."
It was so emotional that he thought about telling her to sleep on the floor, but decided against it. He was kidding, of course.
"Can't you sleep?" he asked.
"Sorry. I'll be quiet."
He put his hand on Fam's head. He stroked her dog ears. Fam didn't move.
"If I'm too noisy and you can't sleep, just kick me off the bed. I can't help myself."
How could she read his mind?
"I thought you were going to do something naughty tonight. You saved my life. I won't resist."
"You're not in condition right now." That was a crude way of thinking. He wanted to get her to change, but he wanted to be gentlemanly, so he kept quiet.
"I can't believe my master cares about my body."
"You've been pretty mean since earlier. I don't mean to make you feel ungrateful, but the only reason you're doing well is because I was worried about you."
He felt the need to protest.
"That's right. I almost forgot because you've been teasing me since this morning. I adore you, Master. I'll try not to forget."
"Adore me? I'm not sure about that. I wonder."
Fam turned over in her sleep, facing him. She was close. It was dark, but he could tell. His heart was beating faster.
"As an apology, after the quest is over, let's go up the church bell tower. It was written in the guidebook. You can enter for five copper coins. Apparently the townscape lit up by the setting sun is very beautiful. So I will give you my most precious possession."
"But when we met, you didn't have anything, right? The rags you were wearing? I threw them away."
Maybe it was something important, but it smelled so bad.
"No. You'll understand when we get there."
Was she hiding something?
"Um, can I tell you about myself?"
"I'm listening."
"It's not a very pleasant story."
He nodded. It seemed like a serious matter. He tried not to make light of it.
"I lived in a village near the border with the Demon Kingdom."
There was an empire ruled by humans. The city they were currently staying in was ruled by a feudal lord and belonged to the empire. And to the east was the Demon Kingdom ruled by demons.
In both realms, a single race was at the center, and other races were persecuted to a certain extent. In the case of the Empire, this became more pronounced the closer you got to the imperial capital. That wasn't to say that the Demon Kingdom was particularly lenient.
There were places near the border where races other than humans and demons lived, building towns and villages outside the control of either race.
Fam had lived in one of these settlements, hunting and gathering in the depths of the forest.
"I got sick when I was 10 years old. Our village has a guardian deity who protects the safety of our village. However, in return, he makes one villager sick."
"A sacrifice? Who is this patron deity?"
"You can't choose who gets sick, that's true, but it's not exactly a sacrifice. Normally, if you don't leave the village, you'll be cured in about five years. Also, no one has seen the guardian deity."
Was there a god who cursed people? He'd protest to Lachsel.
"Did Fam's illness worsen because she left the village?"
She nodded.
"In that case, we should return to the village first."
This might mean parting with Fam. Before that happened, he wanted to do something for her. She also seemed to have made up her mind.
"Even when I got sick, my parents were with me. I was happy because the people in the village cared for me. But six months ago, bandits attacked the village and we lost the battle. My parents died protecting me. The village was left in ruins, and I don't know what happened to the others. Those who were captured were sold into slavery, like me."
It seemed that the raid had been carried out for human trafficking. If the village wasn't affiliated with any group, no one would complain. But even so, the guardian deity hadn't done its job. What kind of guardian deity was it?
"So that's why Fam was being sold?"
He understood how she'd ended up at the slave market. Perhaps someone from Fam's village was being sold in the tent. The caravan had said they'd bought Fam from someone else. And they were no longer in town.
"I have nowhere to return to. I don't want to be told to do as I please. Please let me help you, Master."
He wanted to say something comforting, but couldn't find the right words.
"I'm an adventurer, but I don't have any particular goals for my current journey. Once I've reached a certain level, I'll leave this town and head east. I'll try to lift your curse. I'll also gather information about your settlement."