The girl stared at him for a silent moment, as she gathered her thoughts and couldn't decide what to say, pondering whether lying would help or not. As an Inquisitor, Arthur was accustomed to people who were about to give testimonies. This time, however, he was going to be far more forgiving if she decided to lie to him. He intentionally kept her in the slave collar to discourage her from lying. If those collars worked similar to the ones found in Aderon, it should prevent a slave from lying to their owner. He took a moment to simply look at her in the light of the campfire. She was bruised, tattered, and dirty like most of the slaves he saw. However, her mesmerisingly blue eyes shone like jewels with barely hidden hope.

  "About... me?" She asked, uncertain, as if she couldn't understand why anyone would want to learn anything about her.

  "Indeed. I think it's reasonable to know a bit about each other if we are going to travel together for an unspecified period of time." He explained with a friendly smile.

  "I see..." She looked lost but took a deep breath and fixed the dirty rag that served as her dress, attempting to look more presentable. "I'm eighteen years old and I am a virgin, my Master..."

  "Stop!" Arthur didn't expect to hear something like that from her and startled her with his scream. "The age part was fine, but the other?"

  "I... I didn't know what to say so I said what I was directed to say by my previous Master when he tried to sell me." She explained meekly. He noticed a mocking tone when she said ‘tried’ but ignored it for a moment.

  "By the Gods... Once my Lord finds this place, the Navy and Marines will have a fucking field day hunting down the slavers... Let's start again." Arthur rubbed his face and noticed a well-hidden smile on her lips. "This time, I will ask you the questions, if that's all right."

  "Yes, Master!" She nodded eagerly.

  "Since you said that you are eighteen... I would like to know what your name is, how long you have been a slave, how you ended up as a slave, and what attachments you have." Arthur asked calmly, trying, unsuccessfully, to unhear her previous words.

  "Attachments?"

  "Do you have any family? Or things like a family home you want to return to?" He clarified.

  "No, I have nothing of the sort. My mother died shortly after I was born and I became a slave when my father died in an accident almost a year ago." She began after a short nod. "I... I don't believe that it was an accident. Not after I learnt that he owed a lot of money to someone he never should have dealt with. However... Everything my family owned was taken and I, as the only remaining family, was burdened with paying off his debt. That gold coin you tossed away like it was nothing, my Master, was the remaining debt of my father and the reason why no one bought me."

  "What do you mean?" Arthur tilted his head. For the moment, she was being honest.

  "A slave like me priced at a full gold coin? That was a cruel joke." Her eyes welled with tears. "No one would pay that much! Slaves like me cost less than a tenth of that. So... I think that man did it on purpose. If the Slave Traders couldn't sell me in a full year, according to the law, I would be returned to the man who owns my debt..."

  "Wait, I don't understand something. You said that the remainder of your father’s debt was, supposedly, converted to a price for you." He pointed at her. "Sooo... Aren't you supposed to work it off, somehow, and regain your freedom once you pay off your debt?"

  "I’ve never heard about such a system, my Master." She shook her head in denial and her voice was bitter. "Once you become a slave in the Kingdom of Saftia, you remain one until your owner sets you free or you die."

  "That makes... No sense." Arthur shook his head in disbelief but she simply pursed her lips into a thin line. "So, you are telling me that he, somehow, made sure that you are an overpriced slave?"

  "Yes, Master." She nodded.

  "So he wanted you." The Inquisitor shrugged. "What is his name?"

  "Griss Vul..." She replied with a hushed voice but, upon seeing absolutely no reaction from him, she quickly added. "...My Master."

  "When was the deadline for selling you?" Arthur briefly nodded.

  "We were heading back to my former home and I still had three weeks to be sold. But I was sure that the Slave Trader wanted to simply hand me back to him." She swallowed.

  "In that case, everything is fine." Arthur shrugged and heard her stomach growl. She just closed her eyes as if it were something normal but he quickly took out his ration pack, which he had opened earlier. After preparing a meal, he gave her the main dish and decided that he would be fine with hardtack and meat pate. "Eat this."

  He gave her the stew and, as she started eating it, she exclaimed in shock, "Thank you, Master!"

  After swallowing a few bites, Arthur stood up and walked towards the Boar leaving her in the privacy bubble. It would take her a while to eat the stew and he wasn't in a hurry. After making sure that no one was watching him, he summoned Shade who perfectly blended with the darkness.

  "What do you think about this pig?" Arthur pointed at the carcass.

  "Hmmm..." The Fenrir sniffed it and panted his tongue like a dog. "Smells good. It's not a deer you promised me but, I guess, it will work for now. Can you put it on ice? I don't want it to spoil..."

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  "I won't be able to bleed it," Arthur warned his familiar.

  "Blood adds additional flavour." Shade raised his stout in indignation. "Besides, that way, it will be all mine since you are so fussy about the taste!"

  "If you say so." Arthur put his finger on the carcass and froze it solid in a flash. "I will need to bullshit my way on how to transport it. I don't want to show that merchant the magitech I have."

  "Makes sense." The Fenrir nodded and looked at the Nekomi as she ate the stew. "What about the girl?"

  "I still don't know. I would like to have her as my guide. While I don't really like it, it will be easy to make her feel indebted to me, causing her to be much more loyal than any mercenary the money would buy. I would prefer genuine friendship but I can't be picky. It would be much easier with someone like her around to avoid unnecessary trouble... Well. As long as we manage to get away from a dude who made a considerable effort to have her..."

  "That sounds like unnecessary trouble already." Shade gave him an amused stare.

  "Kinda? In a worst-case scenario, the guy will be killed by a horrifying monster straight from legends." Arthur shrugged indifferently.

  "Hahaha! I like it." Shade lowered his head. "What if they don't have Shadow Wolves in this place? We didn't have boars like that one back home, after all."

  "Well, in that case, you can become the beginning of such legends, I guess." He smirked. "So, while I portion that pig for you, I want you to dig holes so we can bury the dead. I don't want to leave them like that."

  "All right... But before that, you'd better return to the girl. She looks like she has finished."

  "Right... Thanks, Shade." He patted the head of his Fenrir and returned to the campfire as he pretended to dust his cape.

  "I was afraid that some monster caught you, my Master." She said with a smile and gave him the disposable cutlery. He threw the trash into the fire and set aside the tin can. "Thank you for the food, Master."

  "It's nothing." He waved his hand and, immediately, lied to her with a solemn and honest expression. "I was digging some graves for the people who died today. It wouldn't sit well with me to leave them rotting in the middle of the road."

  "I..." She opened and closed her mouth, uncertain what to say.

  "Don't worry about it. So you were saying that you were a slave for nearly a year." He took out his decanter and took a sip after which he passed it to her.

  "Yes, Master!" She confirmed diligently, took a sip that couldn't possibly even wet her lips, and gave him back the flask.

  "You are not thirsty? You should drink more."

  "Oh, I couldn't! You are so good to me and I couldn't possibly waste your precious water. I'm really fine with how juicy the stew was..." She began and extended her hands in a denying gesture into which he pressed the flask.

  "Drink. Water is my least pressing problem." He said and patiently waited for her to drink. She greedily emptied the flask. It looked like the water was precious here. "Sooo... Your name is?"

  "Before I was enslaved, my name was Catherine Clark, my Master. I wasn't given a class during Revelation..." She trailed off but he simply blinked as if that wasn't a big deal. It wasn't in Arcadia, but he wasn't there any longer. "I was learning from my father who was a promising merchant and, for a time, everything was looking good... But. He..."

  "I understand and I'm sorry for your loss, Miss Catherine." Arthur wondered what else he could ask her, but it looked like she had decided to be absolutely honest with him. "Do you want to tell me anything else?"

  She looked at him in silence and he could see the battle she had in her head. Finally, she closed her eyes and lowered her head.

  "I believe that you will be in danger the moment that man realises you have me. I'm also sure that he will do everything to enslave me again if you set me free, my Master. I don't want someone so kind as you to needlessly lose their life..." She almost whispered and, while Arthur saw the honest tears flowing down her cheeks, he had to use all his power to remain serious. "But... You must understand that slavery is something normal in the Kingdom of Saftia. You can't fight with the entire Kingdom..."

  "The moment I manage to reach out to my Lord, I will show you how wrong you are..." He whispered so quietly that she shouldn't hear him. Arthur rubbed his eyes and sighed. "I don't plan to do anything too reckless if you are worried. I just want to return home."

  "If you really believe, my Master, that I can be helpful to you, I will gladly assist you." She smiled carefully.

  "All right..." He smiled and reached towards her slave collar but she tensed.

  "No... I beg you, Master! If you take it away, that man will find a way to put it back on me. I reckon you don't plan to stay long in Howthorns so it's better if you free me once we are far away from the city or, even better, from this country. If not him then the Temple will-" She begged him.

  "This is ridiculous..." Arthur sighed but took back his hand.

  "He is powerful and has powerful backers. If you try to oppose him..."

  "Then he will die." Arthur cut her short. "Now it's my turn to introduce myself to you. My name is Arthur Ives, an Inquisitor Captain of the Arcadian Empire. While this tells you nothing about me, there is one universal thing to express individual power. I'm level one hundred. And, oh! Since you told me your age, I'm twenty-five."

  She stared at him with eyes wide open. "Level one hundred? I can't believe it... My Master."

  "It can be our secret if you want. I can protect you from harm, Catherine. So let me take off this bloody collar."

  "I beg you, my Master! Please, at least, keep it until we leave Howthorns... I'm sure that we will meet that man very soon. You will understand and I will understand if you decide it's not worthy-"

  "Fine!" He gave up. "Just know that I hate this arrangement."

  "Thank you..." She let out a quiet sigh of relief that turned into a yawn. She wanted to explain to him some basics about Saftia and see his reaction. "This place is different from your home, Master..."

  "Go to sleep, Catherine," Arthur said as he stood up and considered taking out a sleeping bag for her, but hesitated. That would mean obviously showing her his spatial storage. "We will talk tomorrow."

  He wasn't ready to trust her yet but she, so far, only told the truth. He looked through the wagons where he found some crude bedding and took it for her. When he returned, the Nekomi was already sleeping. He gently lifted her from the bare ground and put her closer to the fire. He looked towards the night sky and let out a sigh.

  "Even the stars are different..." He muttered to himself. "Did you hear that, Shade?"

  "Yeah. I'm still laughing that this poor girl thinks you are some kind of a knight on a white horse!"

  "Oh, shut up and I want you to keep an eye on her."

  Thank you all for reading.

  I wish you all a great day and as always I wait for your comments.

  A big thanks to who edited the chapter!