"You... can you really help me escape 'Mother's' reckoning? If you can truly do that, I can work for you. Even if it's... disgusting requests, I... I can accept them."
The little girl struggled to lift her head, her expression carrying the desperate survival instinct of a drowning person, though she still felt a sense of revulsion at her final words.
That "Mother" had many times turned her into hundreds of frogs as punishment.
This double torment of body and spirit had driven Meli's fear of "Mother" deep into her subconscious.
Even just hearing "Mother's" name or thinking of the punishment scenes would cause her to instantly tense up, her eyes to tremble, and her hair to stand on end out of control.
She feared not just death, but the humiliation and eternal torment of being stripped of her self and turned into a lower organism.
Elsa could not protect her. The mysterious man before her seemed like an omniscient prophet; perhaps he really could give her a few chances to survive.
After all, she was already at a dead end.
"Disgusting requests? You sure have a high opinion of yourself."
Grin looked down at Meli, using the tip of his foot to tilt her chin up, and said with disdain:
"Tsk tsk, if you don't have a mirror at home, surely you have urine? There's a puddle right at the door. Go take a good look at yourself. Flat in the front and back, yet you actually want to use an 'ugly-person trap' on this handsome me."
"You bastard! You're so nice to Petra, maybe it's just to satisfy the evil thoughts in your heart!"
Meli was fuming, her anger even dissipating a bit of her fear toward "Mother."
Grin shook his head speechlessly. These little sprouts really should be sent to school to learn some proper ethics.
Who knows what's going through their heads all day.
Lolis? I only want legal ones.
Glimpsing Meli's dirty hands, Grin pulled his chair back in disgust.
Naughty kids in this world really have no table manners. She had been covered in cream earlier, and now, because she'd rolled on the ground a few times, she was covered in a layer of dust.
"What's it to you? Anyway, you're not included in my evil thoughts. I have other uses for your dirty hands."
Meli misunderstood slightly, a hint of bitterness appearing in her eyes.
If he wasn't interested in her body, then she only had her skills as an assassin left.
She was treated as a tool no matter where she went anyway. As long as she could survive, doing some dirty work was nothing.
Meli wiggled her body and sat up, asking, "Tell me, who do you want to kill?"
Grin chuckled, detached a bulging money bag from his waist, and then tossed it with a "clatter" at Meli's feet.
"Tsk tsk, not only is your figure meager, but your little head doesn't seem quite right either."
"Pick up the bag. The first task I'm giving you is to take these gold coins and eat, drink, and have fun in the Royal Capital."
"Whether you buy cakes, buy dresses, or use them as marbles to break people's windows, it's all fine. Then, stay in the Royal Capital and wait patiently for my next command."
There were a full two hundred gold coins in the bag. For just a little girl, she probably wouldn't be able to spend them all.
Meli was stunned. After a long while, she tilted her head in confusion. "What kind of mission is that?"
After working her clever little brain, she reached a terrifying conclusion and her hair stood on end.
"You, you, you... you wouldn't be trying to fatten me up and then give me to some perverted noble to please him, would you!"
"Hiss—"
Grin sucked in a breath of cold air, left speechless by Meli's words.
After a pause, he suddenly started looking for something on the ground for no apparent reason.
Two breaths later, Grin lived up to expectations and found a long, thin stick in the grass.
"I'll teach you for not learning anything good!"
Smack!
Grin hit Meli's bottom with the wooden stick.
"Ouch! What are you doing?"
"I'll give you fattening up!"
Smack.
Another strike with the stick, sending Meli rolling all over the ground.
"Stop hitting me, stop hitting me! I'll go buy cakes and dresses right now!"
Meli scurried behind Elsa before she finally managed to escape Grin's education.
Continuing the pursuit now would be a bit out of reach.
"Problem children are such a hassle."
Grin threw the stick away and shifted his gaze to Elsa.
"What about you, Elsa? Think about it. Opportunities for paid leave don't come often."
"As long as you accept my employment, I'll cover all your expenses for food, clothing, housing, and travel this month. Even if you go to the pleasure district to hire male hosts, you can put it on my tab."
Elsa maintained a languid smile, like a jackal lurking in the shadows.
Her fingertips carelessly stroked the handle of the Kukri at her waist, a cold glint flashing for an instant within the smile at the corners of her eyes.
"You already have our lives in your hands, yet you still put on a friendly front. You really have bad taste, Green-kun."
Grin still wore that unreliable expression, his kind smile crinkling the corners of his eyes, looking harmless to humans and animals alike.
"Haha, not at all."
Regarding the gut ripper's twisted personality, using force would only result in a corpse.
Elsa lowered her eyes to glance at Meli, who was clutching her clothes with a pale face beside her. The careless smile from before faded slightly, and a hint of solemnity flickered in the depths of her eyes.
The man before her was far more dangerous than any employer or prey she had ever encountered.
With Meli's current physical condition, there wasn't even a shred of room for escape.
If she were alone, she would be happy to have a hearty battle to the death with such a strong person.
Regarding the hidden danger in her belly, Elsa could sacrifice a life and tear her stomach out directly.
But Meli couldn't. Her life had already become someone else's toy.
Elsa's fingertips quietly applied pressure, the patterns on the knife handle digging into her palm.
Could she kill him before Grin's bizarre ability activated?
No, it was impossible.
Wonderful. It truly is a situation with no chance of survival.
Grin took in all the resolve and weighing of options in her eyes. It seemed he would have to change to a bargaining chip that could strike her weakness to take the Gut Sister for his own use.
His tone remained casual as he spread his hands in persuasion:
"If the price I'm offering isn't to your liking, feel free to mention anything you want."
Of course, it better not be a carriage full of holy gold coins; he couldn't produce that either.
Hearing this, a charming yet slightly bloodthirsty chuckle escaped Elsa's throat. Her red lips curled slightly, and her voice trailed off languidly and alluringly:
"Ara~ Is Green-kun serious? Actually, since the first day I met you, I've been thinking about that one thing."
"If you can really bring it before me, perhaps I will give your proposal some serious thought~"
Grin's brow furrowed instantly, the smile at the corner of his mouth freezing for a moment, as he looked at her speechlessly.
"You couldn't be thinking of cutting open my guts, could you..."
"Eh—"
Elsa tilted her head with feigned innocence, her long lashes trembling, but her eyes surged with undisguised fanaticism and interest.
"Are my intentions that obvious? If we can achieve a friendship of touching each other's guts, I could certainly swing my blade for you once."
"Are you a total pervert? What's with always wanting to cut me?"
Grin rolled his eyes irritably, then his tone suddenly shifted, becoming somewhat seductive.
"How about changing the target? Are you interested in the White Whale? I can take you to cut its guts."
He raised his hand to gesture an exaggerated size, describing it with high spirits:
"That fellow is probably the largest Mabeast within the borders of Lugnica. Its guts are so thick a dragon carriage could pass through them. It's definitely the most powerful and special specimen you've ever seen in your life."
When the time comes, you can cut it however you like. Even if you cut it out to sew into a robe, there'll be more than enough."