episode_0010

I was wrapping my head around it, trying to figure out what was going on.

Considering Emma’s personality, there’s no way she would have had an accident like this for no reason.

It is true that she is still immature in controlling her ‘transformation’, so some damage may have occurred as a result.

But even if that were the case, she, who has a fundamentally upright and upright personality, runs away irresponsibly when she causes harm to others?

Moreover, if the responsibility for the damage fell on me, her owner, there was no way she would just disappear.

If she were that kind of woman, she would never have said that she would repay me for what happened in the past and come to me on a dangerous and long journey to serve me.

Rather… it was true that I first began to wonder why Emma had to suddenly run away.

Of course, now, in order to find out more about the situation, it was necessary to stop the manager of the station, who was very angry and arguing with me, regardless of his true intentions.

“I sincerely apologize. As Emma’s owner, I am responsible for any damage and will make sure to compensate you in full. Do you know where she went?”

“…I don’t know either. The city guard will probably be chasing you. Oh my… If you had properly trained and managed your slaves in the first place, this wouldn’t have happened!

How could a rare species that can even transform be managed so inexperienced! What on earth were you thinking?!”

“…I see. I apologize once again. I will find her separately and educate her again. How much damage has she suffered?”

“Follow me. Because it would be faster to talk in person than to just say it.”

He took the lead and walked toward the stables, gesturing for us to follow him.

As he entered the stable, the first thing he pointed out was, as he said, a large hole in one side of the stable.

“Look at this! They just ripped an entire wall out and disappeared… It’s scary to even imagine how much it would cost to fix this!”

But my eyes didn’t follow his fingers.

The first thing that caught my eye when I entered the stable was a red-haired female centaur tightly tied up in various harnesses, alone, without any real horses.

The race of centaurs in ‘Slave Maker’ was a bit different from the original.

Unlike the original version, which had the upper body of a human and the lower body of a horse, their appearance was identical to that of a human, except that they had horse ears and a tail.

Although it still shows strength and speed that are incomparable to ordinary humans.

According to the original text, only a small number of centaurs who are blessed by the goddess Epona, whom they serve, can ‘transform’ into such a half-human, half-horse form, and of course, centaurs with such abilities, like Emma, are beings blessed by the gods and are considered quite sacred within the tribe. Become a being.

“Look. Centaurs have to be kept tight like that so they don’t get lost. Moreover, if you manage a rare species that can actually turn into a horse so sloppily, it’s a nuisance to others.”

Of course, in the face of human greed, such sacredness is dismissed as simply being traded at a high price because it is rare.

The meaning behind their existence and the beliefs of the Centaurs are just worthless things that cannot make money for humans, so they have been relegated to superstition.

They were certainly powerful warriors of the steppe, but not all tribes could permanently win against the endless swarms of legions and adventurers of the empire.

The defeated and captured centaurs were yoked like livestock and brought to the empire to be sold as expensive slaves.

As I was recalling the bitter history, I suddenly felt an intense, murderous gaze and immediately tried to put my hand on the spear, but then stopped when I realized it was that of a tied centaur.

She didn’t even glance at the manager of the station where she was tied up, and was only directing her intense gaze at me.

‘…Ah… It’s because of Emma.’

Even though she was tied up, her ears were still open, so she must have realized that I was Emma’s ‘owner’ after hearing what I just said.

That I, as a slave, own the living blessings of the goddess she and her people serve.

Of course, there was no way she knew about Emma and I’s situation, so it was inevitable…

“I see. Are there any other damages?”

Luvia noticed my gaze and stopped me from moving forward, and I asked the post manager to get out of here as quickly as possible.

Now that I couldn’t suddenly catch her and give her a detailed explanation, I just wanted to wrap everything up quickly and get out of here.

Not only was it uncomfortable to look at her, but more than anything, I had to get out and find Emma as quickly as possible.

“Hmm… That bitch went crazy and the other horses got hurt. Half of them are my relatives, but they are extremely cruel.”

He continued, pointing to the blood stains where the horses had originally been.

“Moreover, the customers were so shocked that they took all their horses away, causing great damage. That’s why there are no horses in the stable.

However, the reason I haven’t called the city guard here yet is because I thought that if I had such a rare species as a slave, I would still have the financial resources to compensate for the damage.”

He looked back at me and spoke as if he was being generous.

“I also have to start my business again quickly, so I don’t want to make a big deal out of it. First, with gold coins-”

But I quietly asked Rubia, not caring how much he asked for compensation.

“What do you think?”

“It’s a lie. That’s not horse blood, that’s human blood.”

Luvia, who, as a vampire, can tell what type of blood it is just by its scent, answered in a cold voice.

Why on earth did human blood splatter like that in the stable?

With strength in my hand holding the spear, I became completely confident in Luvia’s next words.

“And… other scents also remain slightly in the air. There are traces of an attempt to use paralyzing poison.”

“Look here. Are you listening?! Right now-”

“You asked for a gold coin, right?”

He was taken aback by the sudden change in my voice and stopped speaking. He froze for a moment, but then he contorted his face and tried to vent his anger.

Before that, I had to catch the gold that was thrown from my neck.

Perhaps out of greed rather than anger, he immediately tried to check what he had received, but soon froze when he saw the Adventurer’s Guild emblem engraved on the medal.

“I’ll give it to you first. Instead, I have to tell you what really happened here, from the beginning. ASAP.”

I aimed my spear at him as he swallowed and asked.

“Why did Emma have to run away?”

——

“Phew… Phew…”

Emma leaned her tired body against a tree in the forest and took a moment to catch her breath.

It’s been a long time since I ran this fast.

Fortunately, her pursuers were no longer visible, and the arrow in her arm didn’t seem to be lodged too deeply.

“..Big!”

She grabbed the arrow shaft and pulled out the tip in one go. Then, she tore off part of the cloth she had and tied it around the wound to stop the bleeding.

‘…What happens now? Should I go back to the city? The owner is still…’

It was unclear whether those who targeted her were targeting her alone or were just part of a plot aimed at her owner.

But she, his servant, couldn’t just sit here and do nothing, she thought.

However, on the other hand, what if the enemies have not yet found her master, and Emma herself ends up leading them to the master?

Moreover, I had already attracted too much attention by running quickly along the main road to get out of the city.

‘The owner wanted to leave this city as quietly as possible… Hell, even if he had been able to control his transformation at will, he would have been less noticeable-‘

She forced herself to stop the flow of thoughts there, closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and composed herself.

Even being acutely aware of one’s own shortcomings and blaming oneself was considered nothing more than another form of self-satisfaction until the owner’s safety was safely secured.

Emma’s tribe has always taught that a good warrior must never forget what is more important and act accordingly.

The important thing now was to figure out what she needed to do and what she could do, and to act as quickly as possible.

The most important thing for Emma was to ensure the safety of her master, Liber, and then to carry out his duties without any hindrance.

When Emma evaluated herself calmly, she was able to move faster than anyone else at charging head-on, but she was not good at moving stealthily.

Although she initially disliked it, the reason she entrusted her master’s training within the city to Luvia and quietly stayed in the stable at the station was because she knew that Luvia could move much less conspicuously than Ema herself.

Even if you take away her vampire abilities, Luvia is indistinguishable from a human just by looking at her appearance, unlike her who clearly shows that she is not human due to her ears and tail.

‘That mosquito bitch is annoying… but she’s quite capable. The master is the most outstanding warrior I have ever seen.’

Even if those targeting her attack the two right away, they will be easily defeated. At least there wouldn’t be any major problems with Liber’s safety.

‘…I really don’t like it… but maybe I should wait a little longer in this forest.’

In her heart, she wanted to immediately rush to the city to check on her master’s safety and crush any enemies that threatened him, but whether her wishes or her master’s benefit was more important was not a question worth asking.

Even if she does not return to the city, there is no major problem with the owner’s safety, and if the owner and Rubia once again follow the traces left behind by those chasing Emma, they will be able to finish here without any more unnecessary disturbance in the city. .

She was not so immature that she was swayed by her emotions and couldn’t see what was important.

“Ha… I’m angry.”

Of course, that fact didn’t stop her from feeling those feelings.

At that time, Emma’s ears perk up on her black head again, and her tail, which she had been wagging without realizing it while she continued to think, suddenly stops and reaches upward.

Her ears, which are more sensitive than those of humans, detected a fast-approaching threat and her body responded first to the signal sent.

Immediately, Emma jumped up off the ground with tremendous leg strength and saw an arrow piercing the tree she had just been resting against.

When she lands, she bares her teeth and glares fiercely at the person who shot the arrow.

“Found it.”

The person who shot the bow spoke quietly, and soon several more humans on horses appeared behind him.

“What is it? You turned into a human again, right?”

“Stupid. You heard that you can change your appearance. Have you already forgotten?”

“Whether it’s in that form or in the half-horse form from before, our job is the same. Just keep this in mind. Never touch the legs.

Centaurs without arms can be sold just fine, but the value of those with crooked legs drops significantly.”

“That’s funny.”

The man who had just warned his companions to be careful, saying that injuring a centaur’s leg would reduce its value, thought that the voice sounded too close for some reason.

And the moment I turned around, I experienced firsthand the value of that expensive bridge.

Her two legs, which allowed her to run faster than most warhorses, quickly closed the distance between her pursuers, kicked off the ground, and jumped up to land on the armor of one of them.

The iron plates of the armor surrounding his stomach crack, burst, and fall apart in front of his legs.

“..Kuh..huh..billion…”

Seeing him fall from his horse and fall to the ground without even letting out a proper groan due to the tremendous impact, his colleagues are horrified and quickly widen the distance and raise their weapons.

Meanwhile, Emma, who had landed on the ground again and slowly raised her head, continued to say what she could not say.

“You’re talking as if you’ve already got me.”

With a fierce sneer –

“You guys worry about your limbs first. Here, you don’t really have to worry about other people’s opinions.”

-She ran again.