Chapter 3: No Respite for a Slave

Chapter 3:
No Respite for a Slave

 

EVEN IN THE FACE of such threats, Flum had no intention of backing down. With her chest puffed out and a confident gait, she made her way to Dein’s hangout at the West District adventurers’ guild to see if there were any job requests issued for finding Ink. Once that was done, she’d immediately make her exit.

Dein smirked as he watched Flum make her entrance. His stare was that of a glutton sizing up their first appetizer, but at least he wasn’t hurling insults at her, for once. That was an improvement.

For some reason, possibly precisely because of Dein’s behavior, Y’lla would shoot sympathetic glances Flum’s way whenever she stopped by. She was, after all, completely outnumbered by Dein’s gang.

Y’lla slowly approached Flum as she inspected the job board. She spoke under her breath so Dein and his rowdy group wouldn’t hear her. “Why do you insist on coming here with all this going on?”

Flum didn’t take her eyes off the papers. “I’m a freed slave. There’s nowhere for me to be, other than the West District.”

Part of her wondered if she could try to live off her name as the once-famous hero, Flum Apricot, but she suspected this would only put Jean and the church on the offensive. No, her best choice was to live a quiet, peaceful life with Milkit and Eterna here in the West District, while slowly pulling back the curtain on the church’s plans.

Not that Y’lla was wrong. Flum couldn’t ignore Dein forever. One way or another, she’d have to do something. As it stood, she didn’t fancy her current chances against him.

“I don’t think there are any good jobs for you here.”

“Why?”

“You’re a D-Rank adventurer now, aren’t you?”

“Well, I’ve been working hard.”

Though she took her fair share of lumps and bruises, Flum had burned through the F-rank assignments. Her recent promotion would mean more jobs and bigger payouts.

“No, that’s a bad thing. I used to just tell Dein which jobs you were taking, but he’s putting honeypot jobs on the board now, too.” Y’lla showed the job list to Flum.

“If you’re going to tell me all that, then why don’t you just ignore them in the first place?”

“Eww, why would I help you like that? I’m still friends with them, you know.”

“You’re weird, lady.”

“If you’re gonna be like that, maybe I’ll just make you take the worst job on the list then, huh?”

Y’lla clearly felt no strong attachment to Flum. She was just offering her two cents to a girl who’d impressed her for a moment.

“…Got it. I guess I won’t be taking any jobs today, then.”

Not that she’d planned to take one, anyway. There was nothing in the list related to Ink, though there was still the possibility that she was mentioned in a job reserved for adventurers above D-Rank or that Dein was purposefully hiding any jobs that might be appealing to her.

“Can I ask you one thing? I was wondering if any jobs came in having to do with a lost child.”

“Child? Nope. Pretty sure I hadn’t heard about any jobs like that in the Central or East districts either.” Y’lla seemed to be telling the truth.

“Got it, thanks.” Flum turned away and left the guild, feeling Dein’s eyes on her back.

As soon as she was out of sight, Dein shot a glance to some of his men nearby. They stood up in unison, immediately understanding his intent.

 

***

 

“Hmm, where to go next? I don’t really know the layout of the capital all that well, and it’s not like I have any other clues to work from.”

With the guild a bust, Flum was fresh out of ideas. If only she were back in her hometown, then she’d have someone she could rely on for…help…

“That’s right, Ottilie!”

A high-ranking military officer should have access to information that most normal people wouldn’t. In that moment, she felt fate must have conspired to put them back in touch. Besides, Ottilie had insisted that Flum come to see her.

“But I’d draw a lot of attention if I went straight to the castle… Maybe I could sneak into the barracks instead?”

Suddenly, she heard a man shouting up ahead. “Wait for us, kid!”

A young slave boy holding something draped in white cloth was running straight toward her, followed closely by two grown men. In a flash, the trio ran right past Flum. She looked back just in time to catch sight of the boy turning a corner.

Flum had a bad feeling about that. “That’s a dead end…”

As she predicted, a scream echoed from around the corner a moment later.

“Why’d a little piece of slave trash like you go and do that, huh?!”

“Die, die! Die, you worthless piece of scum! Just die already and give ’er back!”

“No, please! Stop!! This is… It’s important to me! It doesn’t belong to you!”

Flum couldn’t recall seeing either of the men before, so it was a fairly safe bet that they weren’t involved with Dein. In any case, she couldn’t just look the other way. “Better get going…”

Just as with Ink, it was clear that Flum wasn’t fit to live like the rest of the West District locals. This sort of scene played out daily; it wasn’t uncommon to find the bodies of children and vagrants strung up from poles. Those who managed to make it to old age there espoused their own brand of wisdom: don’t poke the bear, especially when it’s busy mauling someone else. Flum was still too young for that, though she doubted she could ever turn a blind eye to those in need, no matter how old she lived to be.

Flum stood at the entrance to the alley and called out to the two men busily kicking away at the young boy. “Stop it right there!”

“Who the hell’re you?”

“You pickin’ a fight with us, kid?!”

They were a lot more worked up than Flum originally anticipated. Almost as soon as the words were out of their mouths, they rushed in, fists flailing.

Flum quickly cast Scan and analyzed the situation.

Huh, she thought, they aren’t armed, and it doesn’t even look like they have anything hidden on them. They’re actually pretty underprepared for the West District. Maybe they just happened to chase the kid out here? Their stats seem too low for adventurers. Best to not arm myself, either.

She held both fists at the ready, though it was obvious she had no idea what she was doing. The men immediately broke out laughing at the sight.

“Listen, girlie, we don’t wanna hurt you. Just get outta here and run along.”

“Funny, I was about to say the same thing.”

“You wanna play hero, kid? I guess it’s ’bout time someone brings you back to reality!”

The gap in stats and actual experience left the man with a snowball’s chance in hell of hitting Flum. She ducked clear of his punches, spun, and felt his face deform around her fist.

“Bluaaaugh?!”

The man’s nose broke with a crisp snap. Blood flowed down his face as he tumbled backward. His teeth left angry red scrapes on Flum’s knuckles, but the wounds closed as quickly as they formed.

“You’re done!” The second man lunged in after his friend with a massive kick. Flum caught his leg in both hands and paused. She hadn’t quite thought through to the next step. After a moment’s consideration, she swung him around and let him fly.

“Waugh!!”

The man tumbled end over end several times before crashing into the wall and collapsing in a motionless heap.

The first man was back on his feet, though there was no fight left in him. “You’ll regret this!”

Having gotten the last word in, he limped over to his friend, wrapped an arm around him, and the two men staggered off together. That had been…pretty easy, compared to the usual goons Flum ran across in the West District. She was just glad to have it over with so quickly.

“Pretty spirited for pushovers.” Flum clapped her hands together a few times to get the blood and dust off before turning her attention to the boy, who had watched the whole ordeal in stunned silence.

She knelt down and called out to him in the softest voice she could. “Are you okay? Does anything hurt?”

He shook his head.

“Well, that’s good. Can you stand up?”

The boy slowly took her proffered hand and rose to his feet.

“You’re a real tough one, aren’t ya?”

The boy had the same mark as Flum on his own cheek, though it was red and raw, clearly fresh. Flum was more interested in the mysterious cloth-draped object he clung so tightly to.

“That’s pretty important to you, huh?”

“…Yeah.”

“Did you run away from a slave trader?”

“I hated it there.”

Flum laughed gently. “Of course you did. I did, too.”

There was almost certainly something nefarious at work for a boy so young to be a slave. Slave merchants usually kept clear of orphanage stock.

“Do you have somewhere to go?”

“No, my family’s all dead.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. How about I take you to the church, then?” Flum was hardly in any position to take on another kid to look after. She figured Ed and Jonny might be able to help her out. “Whether you decide to stay in the orphanage or not, I’m pretty sure they’ll take care of you.”

Flum tugged on the boy’s hand to lead him back to the main road. To her surprise, he refused to budge. It was then that she noticed a foul odor coming from the cloth-wrapped object the boy carried. In fact, it wasn’t even entirely white—a brown liquid was seeping through the white cloth.

That smell… Flum thought, could it be?

She could recognize it anywhere. It was the scent that had defined her life since its dark turn.

Aah, she thought, now things are starting to make sense.

“Hey, is that…”

“Wanna see it?”

The boy quickly pulled away the cloth, revealing the head of the slave trader who bought Flum. The head, which she had left chopped in half, had been roughly sewn back together. But the state of decomposition was so advanced that a thick, brown pus seeped from the sutures.

“This is my dad. You killed him.”

Flum was beginning to understand. Dein had pegged her for the kind of weak child who would break under this type of emotional pressure.

“Ya know, you coulda just run away…” she said. Now that she knew this was all just a farce, Flum felt her composure begin to return.

“Why’d you kill him? That wasn’t necessary, you know.”

She felt her heart go cold. Even murder didn’t faze her. “Wanna call me out? Have at it, kid. But you should know I don’t feel even the slightest bit of regret for killing that man.”

“It’s because of you that I’m a slave!”

“Whatever. Just tell Dein he can stop wasting time on these stupid games.” Flum turned her back on the boy and began to walk away. She only made it a few steps before she heard him let out a scream.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaauuugh!!!”

The boy was running full tilt right at her. Undoubtedly, having failed, the least the could do to stay in Dein’s good graces was try to kill her. Flum calmly turned and kicked the knife out of the boy’s hand.

“Ouch!”

The silver blade arced through the air before landing with a satisfying clink. The young boy huddled down and looked up at Flum, terror in his eyes.

“You guys are really overdoing this.”

Flum turned around again and walked out of the alley.

Dein’s influence reached much further than she ever imagined. When she and Milkit went shopping in the West District, they found plenty of shops that barred them entry for being known enemies of Dein. It had left them with little choice but to take their shopping excursions out to the Central District. It was easy to guess that this was Dein’s usual M.O. when he wanted to drive someone out of his territory. Why rely only on violence when emotional and financial incentives worked just as well?

“On the other hand, this is the first time he’s gone and done something so bold. I need to be more careful from here on out.” Back on the main thoroughfare, Flum gave her cheek a light slap to refocus herself and started for the castle. “I got this!”

A short time later she caught whiff once again of a familiar scent: the smell of fresh blood.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

Flum ever-so-slowly turned her head in the scent’s direction, moving stiffly, like a mannequin. Down the alley, she spotted the two men who chased the slave boy earlier, collapsed in a heap on the ground.

They had been cut down from behind.

Huh, she thought. It seemed strange that Dein would use some random punks like that for his little ploy. I guess he planned on killing them from the jump? Revenge for the boy failing, maybe?

However, none of this quite fit in with how Dein operated. He might have been underhanded, but he wasn’t the type to just casually kill off underlings. In fact, he’d usually play up their failures in order to cement the feeling that they owed him.

While Flum stared on, two soldiers—possibly notified by a passerby who witnessed the crime—came running up. Trying to understand Dein’s thought process was a lost cause. She decided to leave the scene to the soldiers and turned to resume her trip to the castle.

Before she could leave, however, one of the soldiers called out to her. “Hold it.”

“Why? Listen, I just happened to stumble across the bodies.”

The men ignored her plea and drew their swords.

“Whoa, this is a bit much, don’t you think?”

“We are holding you on suspicion of murder. Please do not resist.”

“Oh, come on. I just showed up a few seconds ago!”

“Shut up! We already know you’re the one who did this!”

This was beyond ridiculous.

“…Let me guess, Dein even has some soldiers in his pocket?”

She knew that Dein was growing his power. It was unlikely he’d managed to get anyone in an actual position of command but entirely possible that he’d either bribed or somehow threatened some foot soldiers out in the West District. Regardless of how he did it, it was still enough to frame her. If she let herself get arrested, false evidence and faked confessions would undoubtedly soon follow.

The punishment for killing two innocent men would be execution. Attacking two soldiers would only add to the charges against her. If she couldn’t change their minds, then the only option left was to try and escape.

“Hyah!” Without another word, Flum took off running.

“Halt! Murderer!!” The guards cried out just a little louder than they needed to, almost as if to draw attention to the chase.

Flum felt all eyes on her as she barreled past the people milling about in the street.

 

***

 

The sight of a young girl chased by soldiers was bound to draw attention. Having the mark of a slave burnt into her cheek only made matters worse. Flum decided to take the narrowest, least populated alleys she could find to minimize attention.

They’re doing a good job of making my life hell, huh? she thought.

Flum’s only weapon was a broadsword, hardly fit for use in a narrow alley—not that she dared attack the soldiers, anyway. She needed to keep running until she made it back to the house and Eterna, or to one of the churches, where the military would be hesitant to continue their pursuit.

If that wasn’t possible, then the only other option would be to find another way to the castle in the North District and Ottilie’s assistance.

“You’re not gettin’ away!” A soldier summoned up a fifty-centimeter-long ice arrow and loosed it at her.

And now they’re using magic??

Though the spell was quite weak, it still found its mark, piercing through the back of her leg.

“Nngaaah!” The wound was quick to regenerate, but it still slowed her down. Worse yet, there was an intersection up ahead.

I know the road up ahead is a dead end, she thought, but where does that side street go? Flum had a fair grasp of the West District’s layout but not a comprehensive one. Whatever, we’re going right!

She made the correct choice: this was the most direct route to the church.

…Which was probably also why there was another soldier waiting for her, armed with a bow and arrow.

“An ambush?!” Flum’s surprise stunned her just long enough for the archer to shoot an arrow straight through her right thigh. “Gaaugh!”

The archer pulled another arrow from his quiver. She could hear the two soldiers closing in behind her. I can’t let something like this hold me back now, she thought. Not after what I went through with that ogre!

She grit her teeth and ripped the arrow out of her leg. “Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaauugh!!!”

The sound of her scream, and her willingness to cause further injury to herself made her pursuers freeze for a moment. Flum took advantage of the lull to Scan the archer.

 

Neave Cranfeld

Affinity: Wind

Strength: 450

Magic: 112

Endurance: 381

Agility: 253

Perception: 162

 

His total stats were 1358—a solid C-Rank. Assuming this was normal for soldiers, then the two men behind her were probably around the same strength.

Including all her gear, that put Flum at…

 

Flum Apricot

Affinity: Reversal

Strength: 670

Magic: 538

Endurance: 1194

Agility: 920

Perception: 128

 

A total stat value of 3450, around B-Rank.

One-on-one, she’d have little problem taking these guys down. Three-on-one was something else, and they didn’t have her reservations about murder. If she’d left the arrow embedded in her thigh, she risked going into shock from blood loss. If she’d been a normal person, then death would soon follow.

It was looking more and more difficult for her to beat this group without going all out.

There’s no way I’m going to come out of this without hurting anyone, so I guess I’ll have to take care of the guy up ahead first. Then maybe I can still get away!

Flum took advantage of the lull and rushed ahead, closing in fast on the archer while avoiding more spells from behind. The archer took a few steps back before letting loose another arrow. Flum drew the Souleater and knocked it aside with the flat of the blade.

One of the soldiers behind her knelt down and put his hand to the ground. A moment later, a trail of ice raced across the ground after her.

At the last second, she leapt into the air to avoid the attack and brought her sword down on the archer.

“Hyaaaaaaah!”

He feebly held his bow in front of himself, hoping to soak the blow. The Souleater sent splinters everywhere as it split the bow but stopped short of cleaving through his armor. It was scratched, but his life was spared.

“Listen, I’m sorry, but you attacked me first!” Flum took off again in a mad dash. It didn’t seem to stop the former archer from continuing his pursuit.

“Just what does Dein have over these guys?!”

For members of the royal army, they’d put in a pathetic showing, whether or not Dein was holding something over their heads. In terms of sheer speed, the heavily armored men had nothing on Flum. She continued to gain ground on them and was about to finally break away from her pursuers when she turned the corner to find a two-meter tall barricade blocking the street.

“You can’t be serious!!”

Either they somehow figured that she’d take this route, or they barricaded all of the nearby streets. In either case, the lengths they were going to capture one slave beggared belief.

She could still climb it if she tried, though she risked being caught as she climbed up. What’s more, there were more soldiers on the other side of the barricade.

That didn’t mean she was about to give up just yet. When life gives you lemons…

Flum ran straight at the wall, leapt into the air at the last second, and cleared the wall and the soldiers on the other side.

“How in the… She jumped right over it?!”

“That’s no ordinary slave!!”

The soldiers looked on in sheer amazement as Flum made a smooth landing before taking off in another mad sprint. Several of the soldiers took off after her, launching a barrage of fire spells at her back.

I got this… All I need to do is make it to the main road and then I’m practically at the church!

She was in a familiar part of town now. She could even see the exit to the alley up ahead and the wide, open road beyond it. From there she could call on the church knights for help and end this bizarre encounter once and for all.

Most of all, though, she was worried about Milkit and Eterna’s safety. She fully expected Dein to try attacking them, too.

With freedom so close at hand, the sight waiting for her out in the road made Flum’s spirits crash. There were at least a dozen soldiers waiting for her in a large semi-circle, all of them with arrows nocked and fixed on her. Flum’s moment of hesitation was all the time her pursuers needed to close in and finish off the perimeter.

“It was a good chase, Flum, but the game is up.” A soldier in decorative armor loped up from behind the wall of men.

“Are you the local commander here in the West District?” she demanded.

He looked a lot like one of Dein’s goons. Then again, most people with such rotten personalities tended to look the same.

“Do you really think you can get away with this?!”

“Of course. After all, you’re only a slave. It’ll be easy to make you disappear.”

It was clear none of them recognized her as a former member of the great heroes. They were just following Dein’s orders.

“Since when did the royal army serve as thugs for hire for the likes of Dein? Imagine how your generals would react to such a disgraceful sight!”

“Then I guess we’ll have to make sure they don’t see it.”

“So you don’t even deny it? I guess he’s holding something over you guys, huh? I can’t believe it. Do you have no honor?”

“Fire.”

Fwip!!

The archers loosed their volley all at once. Flum deflected the first few, but there were too many to block them all. The remainder made a pincushion of her.

She moaned, her face contorting. Even though the wounds were healing, the pain remained. A thin sheen of sweat covered her body. Somehow, possibly through her sheer indignant rage, she kept her wits about her.

“You’re a stubborn one, huh. I think it’s about time you give up.”

“Gaaaaaaaaaaugh!! Haah… Aaaaaugh!!” Flum grunted and howled as she ripped the arrows out of her body, one by one.

With the last of them drawn out and tossed to the ground, she turned her gaze on the soldiers ahead of her. They all took a terrified step back.

“Keep your cool, men! She’s just tougher than we thought!” In spite of his brave words, the commander’s voice cracked. He’d only been told they were setting her up, and yet here she was, standing defiantly in the face of a dozen-odd soldiers.

Flum could only imagine what was going through the commander’s head at that moment. This wasn’t what he signed up for.

“Calm yourselves and fire another volley! Remember your training! Think of her as one of the dummies you use for target practice!!”

“Do you have to act like I’m an inanimate object?! Surely you’ve had practice murdering real people in cold blood by now!”

“What are you going to do about it? There’s nowhere left to run, and killing a soldier is a capital offense. You’re only digging yourself deeper.”

Her choices weren’t looking much better than that day back in the slave trader’s underground cell. Give up and die, or put up a fight and die.

Just like last time, the choice was obvious.

“Well, I’m going to die anyway, right?”

“Of course.”

“In that case, I might as well die a criminal for living as I choose!!”

Flum rushed the commander.

“Wh-what?! Someone, stop her! Keep her away from me!!”

It was a mystery to her why he was so scared. Wasn’t a soldier supposed to embrace death? If he could dish it out, he should be ready to take it, too.

The second volley of arrows wasn’t nearly as well aimed. All but one, which struck her calf, went wide.

The archer who’d struck her let out a triumphant cheer. “Yeah!”

Flum stumbled from the pain, just for a moment. She continued her rush straight for the commander and swung the Souleater straight into his head.

It struck his helmet with an awful clang, caving it in instantly. Had she put any more strength behind it, he would have died instantly. The commander’s bravado melted away in an instant as he tumbled to the ground and tried to crawl away from her, leaving a puddle between his legs as he went.

The rest of the soldiers were stunned, and the formation began to break up.

Now’s my chance!

She’d really wanted to kill him for a moment there, but not enough to put her own life at risk. For now, her only goal was to put as much distance between herself and the soldiers as she could.

Flum took off running, not once looking back.

 

***

 

“Here too, huh?”

The closer Flum got to the church, the more barricades and checkpoints she ran across. Her flight was starting to look like a losing endeavor. In fact, it seemed like the royal army had surrounded the entire church. She highly doubted that the knights were okay with this, so they must have come up with some story to explain away their behavior.

Considering how crudely the whole plan was thrown together, it was surprisingly effective. She couldn’t run through this many roadblocks, and even though Ed and Jonny would likely be supportive, the royal army and church knights were still allies—publicly, at least. They wouldn’t join her in open defiance of the soldiers.

I’d love to meet back up with Eterna and Milkit, but I just don’t think that’s a good idea right now, she thought. Maybe I could get Eterna to help me and… No, I can’t leave Milkit alone like that.

Milkit was the most important thing on Flum’s mind. Leaving her in Eterna’s more than capable hands was the best choice at the moment.

Getting out of the West District is going to be tough, but there’s gotta be some way out. I just need to figure out what that is.

Flum crouched in the shadows with her back up against the wall, finally taking a moment to catch her breath. She glanced down to see a paper thrown around by the wind land at her feet.

“What’s this?” She picked it up and inspected the discarded paper. Written across the top were the words “Flum–Wanted for Murder,” and beneath that was a sinister sketch of her face. Below that was a bounty and the official seal of the royal army.

Flum clicked her tongue in annoyance and crumpled the paper into a ball. “Those scumbags really outdid themselves!”

Dein had really wanted her to kill some soldiers, huh? He wasn’t going to stop until she’d been driven from the West District.

“Maybe I should just go kill them all and see how they like it.” Flum was taken aback at the murderous tone of her own voice.

A loud voice called out as a man entered the alley. “Well, I’ll be! If it isn’t the mass-murderer Flum!”

It was just one of Dein’s thugs. He was holding one of the wanted posters in his hand. Looking a bit closer, she saw that a nearby wall was practically covered in them. Dein and his crew had taken their time to make sure the whole district knew she was a murderer.

Now she’d have to deal with not only the military but Dein’s crew and random street thugs hungry for a payout as well. Even normal people on the street might feed information on Flum’s whereabouts back to them for a cut.

“I know I’m no supermodel, but seriously, someone’s gotta recognize me with all these flyers out there!”

If anyone recognized her as one of the great heroes, it could at least put a damper on Dein’s scheme…but she could only leave that up to fate.

More and more low-level street punks began to gather around, drawn in by the man’s voice. Flum searched around frantically for an escape route, but the other path away from the men was another dead end. Fortunately for her, the alley was narrow, and the building on her left had a low-hanging roof.

“Up and out!” Flum got a running start and jumped up into the air, bounding off the wall on the right before landing on the roof opposite to it.

“She’s on top of the building! Get her!”

She heard an uproar break out below as the men scrambled to climb atop one another in frantic pursuit. Dein must have offered an impressive bonus for killing her.