The slavers hadn't been much of a challenge.
Mere opportunists, really. The moment their strongest member's head fell, they turned into trembling, cowardly scum, throwing out clumsy, imprecise feints. Added to their pitiful teamwork, it was all too easy.
I searched the bodies until I found the key to the cage. I could have smashed the bars with my sword, but doing so might have scared her. Though, after seeing her bite the man who tried to touch her without hesitation, I knew that wouldn't happen.
I looked closely at the girl.
She was watching me with shining eyes, an open smile, and her mouth slightly agape, clearly fascinated.
[You've already won her over, brother.]
'Silence. I'm not interested in that sort of thing.'
I found the key and unlocked the caravan door.
"Everything is fine..."
I started to say, but she didn't give me time to react. She launched herself at me with outstretched arms. Too much energy for someone who had been locked up for who knows how long. Her lips were dry, a sign she hadn't drunk water in a while. Plus, the ground was muddy.
I could have dodged, pushed her away, or simply stood my ground, but it was an unexpected situation. I suppose I should have foreseen it: after saving someone, gratitude can be overwhelming. In my past life, no one ever did anything like this... it was a first for me.
"You!" She looked directly at me, with absurd happiness considering the lifeless bodies around us. "You helped me, nya!"
"Huh...? I was just passing through, nothing more."
That seemed to excite her even more.
"Decided. You will be my man."
"...What?"
A second later, she was sniffing my neck and hair with total satisfaction.
"Linia!" roared a beastman in his native tongue. "You just got out of a cage!"
"Shut up, Dad! You took too long, nya!" She stuck out her tongue and looked back at me. "You were faster than Dad. You cut his head off whoosh and then BAM! It was great, nya!"
She rubbed her head against my chest like a cat, purring with her eyes closed.
'This must be a mistake.'
[Looks pretty good to me.]
I sighed and pushed her away.
She looked at me with wide eyes as I moved her aside effortlessly.
"Meow?"
"That's not appropriate, Linia."
"Why? You're going to be my man anyway."
"Linia!" The father shouted.
I ignored his words completely and started cleaning the mud-covered sword using chantless magic.
'Bad idea.'
Did I just use chantless magic in front of a man who was already eyeing me with suspicion?
[...]
'Better not say anything.'
The man grabbed his daughter by the arm and pulled her away, putting distance between us.
"Dad, no...!"
He growled.
"I knew you weren't a halfling..." He drew his sword. "You're a damn human."
He sniffed the air.
"What? No, no... I was just passing through."
"And on top of that, you speak our tongue..."
For a halfling, it would make sense.
That race existed on this continent too, and they spoke the Beast Tongue. But for a human to do it, and claim he was "just passing through," wasn't exactly reassuring. After all, a slaver leader targeting beast girls would need to know the language to trick them.
The man pressed his hands against his mouth.
'...What is he trying to do?'
Suddenly, he roared.
"GRAAAAAAH!"
The sound was deafening, but it didn't faze me. I just shook my head to regain focus and stared him down. He stepped back.
"Listen. I have no intention of harming your daughter. Not now, not ever. I am just passing through. I'm going to the Great Tree and then I'll follow the Holy Sword Highway to the Holy Country of Millis. Those are directions I received from the elves."
I revealed only what was necessary.
I demonstrated strength, yet didn't attack.
I told him everything and asked for nothing in return.
In hindsight, I played it right, because they can smell lies and a person's intentions.
The little girl, however, seemed oblivious to all that. She was still watching me with fascination, swishing her tail from side to side and licking her lips, as she still hadn't drunk any water. It was as if her thirst had taken a backseat.
"Mmm... Elves? Yes, you smell like them."
Then he looked at his daughter.
"It makes sense. You tried to save my daughter. You didn't come for power or loot, and you definitely don't smell like a degenerate like those people. Humans smile easily... and bite the moment you look away. I won't trust you with my back. But today... you will not be my enemy."
"Yesss, nya!"
Linia jumped for joy.
I breathed a sigh of relief.
"Don't worry. If I had wanted to hurt your daughter, I would have done so already. Don't you think? And if this were a trap..." I pointed around us. "Why didn't they attack you? A human alone in the middle of nowhere? That makes no sense."
He inhaled and growled low.
"...Keep talking, human."
"And why would I betray my supposed team? It doesn't add up."
"Words can be sharp... but your scent doesn't lie. You don't smell like a hunter. Nor a degenerate, nor someone with evil intentions. You smell of rain, of steel."
He looked at Linia, who kept watching me with shining eyes.
"...Nor like someone who enjoys fear."
Finally, he let out a long grunt.
"If you lie, you'll die before taking three steps." He looked me in the eye. "But if you're telling the truth... then you did what a father would do for his daughter."
"All I wanted was to save her. Nothing more."
He looked back, specifically at Linia, and then locked eyes with me again.
"I must compensate you somehow. I could have done it alone, but the man who protects my daughter is a man who receives a reward." He paused briefly, sniffing once more. "Even if you are still just a boy."
Before I could say anything, drops fell on my face and, immediately, like an explosion, the storm broke.
"The rains have started."
"What about it?"
"The rainy season lasts for months. Although it's rare, this one smells different."
The rains last for months? Well, that makes sense.
The man grabbed his daughter and started running. He didn't signal me or anything, but I understood from his look that I should follow.
"You run fast for a human..."
I glanced at him sideways.
"I'm not running... yet."
That seemed to throw him off.
"What is your sword level?"
"I am... a Saint."
"A Saint...?" The man braked for a moment, but then continued.
Linia stopped drinking the rainwater and looked directly at me.
"My man is very strong!"
Half an hour passed since we started running.
Little by little, the rain intensified until travel became nearly impossible.
The Beast village was similar to the Elves'. It sprawled among the trees, though its appearance was simpler, more tribal. It didn't have the delicacy or beauty of the other, but it felt safer.
"Hey!"
'Hmm? I know that voice...'
[Could it be...? Impossible.]
"Daiki! I'll beat you today!"
The supposed Eris looked translucent and wore a somewhat unusual smile. Initially, when we saw each other in the morning, she always greeted me sword in hand. Now, however, she seemed too... submissive.
[It's not her, it's clearly an illusion, but where is it coming from?]
'I know, Ayam. It's obvious.'
[Just saying, did this memory affect you that much?]
'....'
In the end, the culprit was a caterpillar the size of my arm, moving behind a tree, undulating like a snake and rising toward the sky.
"Silk caterpillars," the beastman mentioned. "They give you happy thoughts to trap you and drain your mana. They aren't dangerous, and for us, they are useless."
It made sense.
You can't fool those who are ruled by scent, much less instinctive people.
Much less me, who knew what Eris was like—and this was just a cheap copy.
I looked at it for a moment and cut it down.
Crouching, I noticed how the caterpillar kept moving, fighting to survive as it slowly began to die. Until it moved no more.
"You have willpower."
"It wasn't her. She wouldn't be smiling at me like that," I muttered, more to myself than to him. "She always attacked me when she saw me. It was our form of greeting. Warrior to warrior."
'Though, damn it, how I wished that attack were real.'
[You miss her, don't you?]
'Yes, more than I thought. Her noise kept me concentrated, focused, and I liked her. What do you think it means that she appeared?'
[Perhaps something deep down you don't know, or as nature is, it sought the weakest point of a human being: libido.]
'Don't talk nonsense, Ayam.'
"Enough chatter. Let's go up."
I nodded and climbed cautiously.
When I went up I expected the worst, looks of contempt, of disgust at having a human nearby, but the only thing I found were twenty pairs of girls' eyes watching me with curiosity and some adults with interest.
"Boy, wait in that hut, I'll go talk to the leader."
He left me completely alone in a village of strangers.
Well, saying "alone" was subjective, since I had Linia in my arms.
"Linia, come on, there's something I have to do."
Resigned, she nodded and let go of me, though she didn't stop looking at me as she did. Until she was lost crossing the bridge.
'I just hope the rain ends so I can leave as soon as possible.'
I sat in the center of the hut and looked out, where the rain wouldn't stop and seemed to increase in intensity.
Ten minutes passed.
During my stay, the same girls were watching me; among them was Linia and next to her one with dog ears. They approached and sat nearby, never looking away.
"He smells very good for a swordsman!"
"Should I go over and talk to him? Would he want to?"
"He smells good. He's handsome, and according to Linia he's very strong. He must be..."
They murmured softly. Perhaps thinking I didn't understand the Beast Tongue.
"Daiki will be my man, nya!" Linia shouted, but they all looked at her with indifference. No one had insinuated anything, but she anticipated it. "So don't touch him!"
"This is awkward..."
Wanting to bury my face in the ground, I resigned myself and let myself fall back, lying face up. It was the only way not to see them.
"Go, girls. Leave the human alone."
The tails stopped little by little. Some protested with small growls, but obeyed. One by one they moved away.
The man remained standing in front of me, evaluating me without haste.
There was no hostility in his posture, but no trust either.
"You smell different from other humans."
I sat up, looking at him calmly.
"I've been told that already today."
A slight snort escaped his nose.
"Don't lie here. This is our village. If you have come with bad intentions, the forest itself will swallow you. If not... then stay under a roof. The rain will last."
And he simply left.
That was my reward: being allowed to stay during the rain. To be honest, being here was better than down there; I surely would have tried to sleep on some branch.
They assigned me one of the empty huts. It wasn't exactly big, but efficient for sleeping and having privacy.
"...Hmm?"
I looked up.
"You didn't say your name, nya!"
"Daiki."
Linia blinked once... and then smiled from ear to ear.
"Daiki! Sounds strong, nya. I like it, nya."
"You don't know what it means, do you?" I said with a hint of irony.
"No... nya," she lowered her head.
"It means 'great brightness' or 'great splendor', so you weren't that wrong."
That seemed to excite her immediately.
"See?! I knew it, nya!" She took a step closer, pointing at me with pride. "Obviously it sounds strong if it means something like that, nya! Great brightness, nya!" She turned around. "That means you're destined for great things, nya."
And she left, swishing her tail from side to side, with her hands behind her back.
The same girl who had bitten the hand of the man who captured her was now acting like someone her age, just as she should. But also... for the first time since I arrived in this village, I felt that someone spoke of me without fear.
The night passed quickly and the fresh air was something I had always liked.
When I woke up, they handed me clothes suitable for the place:
Short pants, durable, reaching my calves, designed mostly for moving easily between branches and platforms. The fabric was thick, tough, dark, and well-secured with a cloth sash at the waist.
The shirt was simple, long-sleeved, without ornaments, made of the same material. It covered the torso completely, designed more for the climate and mobility than to show off strength.
I looked outside with hope, but the rain remained the same as yesterday.
I sighed while I finished changing.
"Let's go, nya. You'll have to teach me, Daiki!"
Linia was waiting for me outside, holding a wooden sword.
She took me to a large hut.
It was a training place.
Linia wore light clothes. A simple outfit, tight to the body, that left her arms free and didn't get in the way of wielding the sword. Even so, there was something carefree about her. Her ears twitched slightly, curious, and her tail swayed slowly behind her while she waited.
"Let's go, nya," she said, pointing to the center with the wooden sword.
It was clear that, whether I wanted to or not, today wasn't going to be limited to just watching.
"Are you sure...?"
She threw me a sword.
Thus began the training, which was worth it because it kept me focused, while helping someone else defend themselves.
"Aaaaah!" Linia was the first to lunge.
I blocked her attack and struck her chest with the palm of my hand. Taking advantage of her lack of air, I stepped forward, invading her space completely. I grabbed her arms and used her own weight to throw her to the ground.
In just two steps, I already had her with both hands trapped.
"...Huh...?"
"You fell, you lost, and if it had been a real combat, you would have died already."
"First lesson," I continued. "Never telegraph in a fight."
"But...!"
"You telegraphed with your body," I continued without answering her directly.
"...With my body?"
"Hips too open. Weight poorly distributed before you even moved... You didn't just shout with your mouth, it was with your whole body."
"That's unfair!"
"That is real combat."
"You're... you're..." she murmured low, and after a few seconds, finally stopped trying to get out and slumped, exhausted.
I let her go and stood up, shaking out my knees and hands.
When I turned around, the group of girls was watching everything, but their eyes were also darting between Linia and me, in a silent back and forth. One of them had approached; she had fluffy dog ears and tail. It was an Adoldia.
She said nothing.
She simply crouched next to Linia and looked at her.
Linia gave a thumbs up and then lowered it, completely exhausted.
[I'll be honest with you: you did very well.]
And that was how my journey ended. For now, I had to stay in this village without knowing how long I would remain up here; however, the training with Linia was very efficient.
'Thanks, I suppose you're right. Or am I right? The truth is I still don't know who you are.'