Chapter 26: Gratitude!
The Corrupting Potion restored Ahri's mana and health. Its twelve seconds of healing left her feeling wonderful all over, and she'd even forgotten the grievances she'd suffered just moments ago.
"It tastes wonderful. I'm very satisfied." She rubbed her now-full stomach, then licked her sensual lips, even scooping up the last two drops and swallowing them.
"Glad you're satisfied." Chen Ce took the bottle from the fox girl's hands. There really wasn't a drop left in it. "Now hurry up and go. I've got things to do, too."
"Ehhh~~~ You're so heartless~~~" Now that she was full and refreshed, Ahri had returned to her previous coy demeanor. She didn't seem all that afraid of him anymore.
"Heartless? We never had any sort of relationship to begin with." Chen Ce waved her off again, making "shoo, shoo" noises like someone chasing away a stray cat.
"Ehhh~~~ How could you~~~~" Ahri drew out her words, her amber eyes fixed on the sapphire pendant around his neck.
Chen Ce knew exactly what she was thinking. He took off the Tear of the Goddess and stuffed it into his pocket.
"Don't even think about this, and don't try any tricks. Otherwise... I'll pet your tails."
"Mm..." The mention of her tails was enough to scare Ahri. She hurriedly gathered the nine enormous tails that could've spread out like a blanket and tucked them behind her. "I wasn't trying to get your precious treasure..."
"Then hurry up and leave."
"N-no... I'm not leaving..."
"Are you planning to cling to me now?"
"I still want to drink that stuff..."
"Didn't you drink it all?"
"Make some more for me..."
"...You really have some nerve."
"I... I'm not asking you to give it to me for free..." Ahri puffed out her cheeks, looking unconvinced. "I can trade fairly with you... like they do at the market."
Honestly, she didn't feel anything for Chen Ce, whom she'd met by chance, and she had no desire to cling to him. But... that bottle of potion was just too tempting.
At this point in time, her abilities were limited. She'd never tasted the life essence of someone with supernatural powers, and ordinary people's life essence was practically useless in comparison to Corrupting Potion—bland and tasteless.
Besides... she was still a little interested in Chen Ce's Tear of the Goddess.
She was also a little curious about Chen Ce's life essence. She could tell it was richer and more delicious than an ordinary person's.
So even though she felt nothing for him, she was determined to find a way to stick around.
"Won't you~~~"
"Stop. Don't try to sweet-talk me." Chen Ce instinctively took half a step back, afraid she might secretly use her charm magic on him again. "You said you could trade fairly. What do you have to offer?"
"Mm... This." Ahri brought one of her big tails around from behind her. "You wanted to study my tails, didn't you? Give me a bottle of that potion, and you can touch one of them once..."
"About that... Sorry, I'm not interested in studying them anymore."
"Huh...?"
"Looks like you don't have anything I want to trade for. You should go." Chen Ce made the same shooing motion again.
Honestly, if this were any other time, he might've spent some time raising her interaction level and gotten himself a few chests. But he really didn't have time now.
"Wait, wait, wait..." Ahri was pushed out of the room, and the door was about to close.
At the moment when she had to choose between eating well once or eating well every day, she finally played her trump card—though maybe it didn't really count as one:
"I... I'll work for you...! You can make me do anything you want...!"
Thump! Ahri braced the door with her frail body, stopping it just before it closed.
She even used her tails.
Like a giant spider.
"You can order me to do anything from now on! Laundry, sweeping, cooking... Anything! I only ask that I get to drink that potion every day!"
There was no response from inside the room.
After waiting a while, Ahri anxiously pressed her eye to the crack in the door.
Just then, Chen Ce came out, his cloth bag slung over his back.
"You really can do anything?"
"Yes!" Ahri agreed without a second thought. She was thinking about eating well every day.
At that, Chen Ce began sizing her up with a scrutinizing gaze—from head to toe, from her exposed snow-white skin to her ornate, fitted robe and short skirt, both distinctly Ionia in style.
He narrowed his eyes slightly.
Ahri suddenly grew nervous. "W-what are you planning to do...? I'll have you know... I'm only here to work for you. I won't do that kind of thing... I'll perform, but I won't sell myself..."
"Mm..." Chen Ce nodded thoughtfully.
Then he reached out with his wicked hand...
"All right, then. You'll do the heavy labor for me from now on. Your base pay will be one hundred milliliters of potion a day. Your performance pay will depend on how much heavy labor you do in a day. If I ask you to fight or use magic, you'll get a separate bonus."
"O-okay!" Ahri looked a little awkward carrying the luggage on her back, but there wasn't a hint of displeasure on her face.
On the contrary, she was so overwhelmed with gratitude that she could hardly express it.
If all she had to do was carry luggage, wasn't that a hundred times easier than hunting outside on her own?
The luggage was heavy, but at least it posed no danger to her life. She wouldn't run into a terrifying person like... Chen Ce.
More importantly, she didn't always catch anything when she went hunting. Sometimes she had food, sometimes she didn't. If she was unlucky, she might go hungry for days on end. In the few days before meeting Chen Ce, she'd caught nothing at all and had been left with an empty stomach.
But things would be different with Chen Ce.
Sure, it was a little tiring physically, but she didn't have to think, and she'd get a proper meal every day.
And more, more, more, more importantly, that potion was far more delicious than ordinary life essence!
How was this heavy labor? It was practically heaven~!
"Heave-ho... Heave-ho..." The little fox girl staggered along beneath her enormous bundle, looking both pitiful and a little cute.
It was anyone's guess what she'd think if she ever found out that Chen Ce's Corrupting Potion had actually come from "her."
Of course, she'd probably never find out.
Chen Ce checked the map as he walked, showing not the slightest "pity" for the fox girl.
A worker was there to be exploited, wasn't she?
She ought to thank him.
[Hero [Ahri] gratitude +10, current interaction level: 10]
As he listened to the system notification, Chen Ce felt even more justified walking along with empty hands and nothing on his shoulders.
He glanced at the marker on the map again, and his mood improved further.
"About... two days. We should get there after two more days of walking."
"Get where?" Ahri asked without thinking.
"To a place where I can witness two brothers fighting each other."
"Oh... Are you going to watch a show? That sounds kind of mean... But I do like watching shows. Take me with you. I want to watch, too!"
"Look at your fox head." Chen Ce flicked the fox girl on the forehead with all the authority of a boss. She immediately puffed out her cheeks in a sulk.
"I'm going to save someone—before those two brothers kill each other."
Chapter 27: Follow the Wind, but Watch Your Back
The rain had stopped, but puddles still dotted the uneven stone road.
The fleeing swordsman saw his bloodstained face and the wound on his abdomen reflected in the still water.
The wound had scabbed over, and the bleeding had stopped. The terrible bloodstains had long since been washed away by the rain, which had just let up. He could no longer smell blood, yet he could still hear the heartrending wails and curses.
He hadn't wanted this. He truly hadn't...
He'd fled from the village all the way here, and he didn't even know the name of the land beneath his feet. He only knew that this strange land, too, had been stained with blood he knew all too well.
He was getting tired. Physically and mentally.
He sighed softly and lay back.
Cold rainwater was beneath him. Above him, the sky was gradually clearing.
The long sword in his arms remained sharp. Its slight curve reflected the drifting white clouds.
His eyes slowly closed, and the hilt of the unsheathed sword began to slip from his palm.
But just as it was about to fall from his grasp, he tightened his hand around it again.
The next instant, a flash of swordlight streaked past, accompanied by another swordsman's roar.
"Yasuo! Surrender, or—die!"
The swordsman on the ground still didn't open his eyes. He merely turned his wrist slightly.
His sharp blade cut through the air, sliced through a raindrop, and finally struck another sword.
Clang—! A clear metallic ring rang out. The sword in the other man's hand snapped.
He still didn't open his eyes—not out of contempt, but out of fear.
He didn't dare look into the eyes of his former friend anymore... That furious stare, the doubts and confusion buried within it... Those were the blades that truly wounded him.
"Go, Yin." Yasuo named the other man precisely, though he hadn't even seen him. He'd recognized him from his familiar moves. "You're no match for me... even though I've lost my honor."
"Honor? How dare you speak of honor?!" The swordsman called Yin grew even more furious. His other intact sword fell in a swift flurry of strikes, as relentless as that terrible downpour.
"Were your arrogance and pride something you were born with? Did Elder Souma really fail to teach you humility all these years? Why... Why did you strike the elder down?!"
Those words stabbed Yasuo deeply once more.
Yes, "humility."
He'd never learned what it meant to be humble... If he'd been humble enough, he wouldn't have left the elder that day, hoping to prove himself by killing the enemy.
Even now, he'd still instinctively said something as arrogant and prideful as "You're no match for me."
He'd always failed that lesson on humility...
"I'm sorry, Yin..." Yasuo bent his knees slightly and sprang up from the ground. The blade in his hand once again deflected his opponent's attack. "But... the elder didn't die by my hand. Go back..."
"If you're innocent, then come back to the village and stand trial!"
"Before that, I have to find the real culprit... I have to uncover the truth, Yin."
"Even now, you're still making excuses!"
Yin lunged forward and swung his sword from an extremely tricky angle.
Unfortunately... his swordsmanship was still far too immature compared to Yasuo's.
Clang—! Another crisp ring rang out.
Yasuo cut through Yin's sword once again.
Yin practiced a dual-blade style, but both swords he'd brought had now been broken.
"Yasuo—!" he roared, swinging the two broken blades as he tried to fight to the death.
But Yasuo had no desire to fight. If this had been one of their old training sessions, he would've whacked Yin soundly with a wooden sword and laughed, "You're still too green. Go practice for a few more years."
But this wasn't training, and the swords in their hands weren't made of wood.
Yin really wanted to kill him.
Yasuo sighed inwardly again. He'd lost count of how many times he'd sighed.
"I'm sorry, Yin..."
In the blink of an eye, Yasuo knocked the broken swords from Yin's hands, then brought the blunt side of his blade down hard on both of Yin's legs.
A wave of searing pain swept over him. Yin's legs immediately gave way, and his whole body fell to the ground.
Yasuo fled again... bearing disgrace and shame.
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