The rest of the day was pretty uneventful, and I went back to my usual work at night.

Around the time I started to wonder if Flix would be showing up again, I suddenly heard loud crying upstairs. Not wasting any time, I rushed up to find the source.

As I opened the door to the room the cries originated from, I saw the large room packed with crude beds. Many of them had kids in them in the middle of groggily waking up, while others were already vacated and the kids that slept in them were surrounding a particular bed.

On that bed, was Flix, the culprit of the nighttime noise. She was tightly holding the fur blanket around her while sitting with her arms wrapped around her knees, her cheeks were glistening as she choked back her tears.

"What happened here?"

"Flix wet her bed!"

The smallest kid in the group surrounding the drooping eared girl answered without an ounce of hesitation nor sympathy. Flix on the other hand raised her face and reached out both hands in a panic before dropping then and openly wept.

I didn't particularly think it was a big deal, as it was a common problem amongst little kids, though the bushy tailed girl was a little old for that, accidents did happen.

(Well, just the fact that it did happen would probably be pretty embarrassing, so I guess I can't fault her for crying. In that case, I need to be the adult here.)

"Is that it? In that case, you guys can go back to sleep. I'll handle it."

The other kids lost interest as I said that, but the little girl on the other hand looked up at me in a panic.

"No, I, I..."

"It's not a big deal. It happens. Here."

Without waiting for an answer, I pulled off the covers and picked Flix up in one arm. A wetness seeped through my sleeve as she hurried and wrapped her arms around my neck. With my other hand, I picked up the blanket and thin mattress and left the room.

Behind me, I could hear the kids returning back to their beds.

As I reached the stairs, Philia showed herself, but her surprised expression immediately softened up.

"If you need me, I'll be in my room."

"Ah, um, thanks."

As she made way for us, I fumbled my words a bit when she gave us a bright smile.

Soon, we reached the bathroom, where I put Flix and the bedding down.

I got Flix to remove her dress as I stripped down, then after filling one of the tub sections with hot water, I sat down on an upturned bucket and placed the nervous-looking girl down onto my lap.

"You'll feel better once you're clean, I'll guarantee it!"

"..."

But she refused to respond and just looked down at her lap, shoulders trembling slightly.

Ignoring such a thing, I soaked her hair in some hot water and started work on lathering it up, slowly kneading her scalp, giving care and attention excess of what was needed for her short hair, but necessary to improve her mood.

Once I rinsed her hair, I moved on to her body, slowly moving across massaging her body as my fingers loosened her tense muscles. Flix visibly grew more relaxed as my fingers played across her body. By the time I finished rinsing all the soap suds off of her cream-coloured skin, I could swear that there was a distinct softness and glossiness that her skin lacked just a little while ago.

I transferred Flix to the bath so she wouldn't get cold and proceeded to wash myself while occasionally dumping some magically conjured water onto the mattress and fur blanket, rinsing off all traces of any smells it might have.

From the corner of my eye, Flix stared at me in a daze with amber eyes as she leaned against the edge of the bath tub, her chin resting on the lip.

Quickly finishing up, I pulled the slightly vacant little girl into my lap, leaning her against my chest as I lightly wrapped my arms around her.

My eyes wandered to the sight of the girl's tail. The way how it's full fluffiness was gone and the fur was now just floating like it was desperately trying to keep up appearances felt a little sad.

"So, that little accident you had earlier..."

The little girl's body stiffened up. It felt like she stuck between wanting to run away and feeling she was unable to.

(Well, even if she tried to run, I wouldn't let her)

"Let me guess. You drank a whole lot of water before going to sleep so you'd wake up before anyone else?"

Flix twisted around and looked at me in shock.

"And you've been doing it the last few days as well, haven't you?"

"I, I..."

She turned her eyes to the side, deliberately avoiding my gaze. But I needed her to look at me.

Lifting one of her legs, I turned her body around and made the trembling girl face towards me. With one arm around her lower back, I gently stroked her head with my free hand.

"You know, I'm not angry that you wet your bed or anything. What I am upset about is how you're only hurting yourself with what you're doing."

"Huh?"

"A growing girl needs to sleep properly or she won't grow up to be big and strong you know?"

"Mhmm."

She slowly nodded in understanding.

"So, you're a good girl, right? You want to grow up to be big and strong, right?"

"Yea."

Her nod this time was a bit more energetic.

"But...you're not sleeping much, are you Scarlet?"

(Ugh, perceptive little brat.)

"Ummm, well, I'm already all grown up, so it's not as important for me."

"Even though you're so much smaller than all the other adults?"

"Erk! Umm...you see? That's why you need to eat and sleep properly, so you don't end up short like me."

(Not like that's the reason why I'm this short.)

"Then, if I don't sleep properly, then I can be short like you when I grow up?"

For some reason, the kid's eyes were sparkling at that moment, exactly the opposite reaction as to what I wanted.

(Ugh, to think it would go this way.)

"Umm...well, I'm not short because of a lack of sleep. And if you don't sleep, while you won't grow tall, you also won't become strong like me."

"Strong?"

"Yup, like this!"

I suddenly lifted the little girl's body up with one hand, all the way out of the water. I had to squint a little as her flailing limbs splashed water all around. Especially that tail of hers.

After a few seconds, I gently lowered her back down, but the sudden surprise had made her lose the rest of her composure, and the second she was back in the water, Flix wrapped her limbs around body and pressed herself as tightly as she could against me. I could feel her heart in her chest beating like a giant drum.

"Maybe that was overly dramatic, but see? Wouldn't you like to be a strong girl like me when you grow up Flix?"

"..."

It looked like she needed a bit more of a nudge before accepting my words.

"And besides, if you don't sleep properly, I won't let you sit in on my magic lessons. It'll be too dangerous to practice when you can hardly keep your eyes open."

"I'll sleep!"

Flix's reaction was a lot more visceral than I expected, but it did the job.

"Alright, but for now, I doubt you'll be able to fall asleep properly in your bed, so let's start tonight instead. For now, you can take a nap with me, so let's get dry."

Giving me a nod, Flix climbed out of the bath and we wiped ourselves off with some ragged towels.

I quickly rinsed and dried our clothes with magic, and we put them on before I carried the little girl to another room where I sat down on a chair and had Flix sit on my lap. She buried her face in my chest as she wrapped her limbs around me again. Her now happily fluffy tail wagging slowly as she fell asleep while I gently stroked her hair.

 

In the end, Flix woke up when the other kids loudly started to complain about hogging my attention once they woke up. Just in case, I warned all of them not to try to skip out on sleep, or I'd get angry.

Philia stood by at the side giving me a warm smile the entire time. Personally, I wished that she'd help me instead of enjoying the scene.

But thankfully, after that incident, Flix stopped trying to wake up early. Instead, she even started to sleep in a bit.

The next few days were pretty uneventful. I helped take care of the kids, do some light cleaning both inside and outside, spent time helping the kids learn the basic magic skills, and quietly sat together with Philia when the kids were otherwise occupied for the day.

For some reason, Philia and I ended up cuddling on the bench whenever the kids were out. We didn't really talk much while like that, and things felt different from before. It wasn't like the fake couple thing that was going on before, but we were more just enjoying the presence of each other.

It was...nice. Like sisters comforting each other.

At least, that's what I imagined.

At night, I would work on designing my new skills, then play with the little fluffballs to relax.

Overall, I quite enjoyed my days there and kept pressing them beyond what I had originally planned because of it.

 

(They're there again.)

My [Sense Presence] skill had been going off nonstop ever since I left the dungeon due to the prevalence of people, animals, and monsters around me, but the last few days I noticed there were a pair of signals that often appeared nearby where other people didn't cross very often.

At first I thought it was just some ordinary people, even though they stayed in one spot. At worst, they were some sort of dealer. After a while, they would move on, but then I would find a presence in the same spot again at night, and they would stay there until long after it had gotten dark before moving on.

I wasn't entirely sure as I didn't pay much attention to it at first, but it felt like they were the same two presences that kept stopping at the same spot.

After five days of this repeating, I sent out some of the little spirits to have a look. What they reported back was that there were two large people in concealing dark clothes. They didn't do anything beyond simply standing there no matter how long the spirits looked on, so they came back after becoming bored.

I was pretty concerned at this point. These two people definitely had a specific plan in mind, and it was possible the orphanage was involved.

Once everyone else had gone to sleep, I snuck out of the building to have a look.

The place where I felt the presences was in a narrow alley where the light of the sun wouldn't shine.

"Ha! To think she finally left, she came right here?"

"Heh, were ya gonna take a shortcut somewhere? Guess you've got somma bad luck."

The two figured were giants of men, wearing all black nondescript clothes that covered their faces, but their voices felt familiar.

"Hey, ya think it weird she came this way at this time?"

"What, ya think she knew we were waiting? Blow off, some slut like this having skills like some spy?"

"Heh, got a good point. No way this little bitch can do that."

I was getting pretty tired of being called a bitch or slut all the time. Considering how late it was, I started to consider trying to scare these two thugs.

My eyes flickered around to confirm that there weren't any presences my skill couldn't detect around me.

"Oy, stop right there ya broad. If ya thinking of running, then lemme tell ya, we got orders. You make a break for it, we break into that building and start taking crying little kids in bags."

"Heh, you've been making it hard to do it lately. The kids stopped wandering around the alleys after dinner. Haven't been able to grab even one after the first."

"And some fucking mage stopped us that other time too. Fuck! The boss's been so pissed we couldn't bring any products back to sell!"

(These guys...!)

My hands formed into fists and my teeth clenched so hard my jaw hurt.

"Woa there. Don't ya start anything funny. Our orders are to take ya in to the boss. You come quietly, and we won't touch the kids. How's that?"

"And if you getting any ideas, the boss already knows you're connected to the stupid orphan kids, so you better come or else."

I forcibly relaxed my muscles. If what they were saying was true, then I needed deal with things at the source. Making a move here wouldn't help. I looked one of them in the eye. For a fraction of a second I froze, finally recognizing these two. They were the ones that hit on me the first night after visiting the orphanage.

"...Fine. Take me to your boss."

"Heh, that's a good slut. C'm'ere!"

The big man grabbed me by the nape of the neck and forced me to walk. As we moved, he checked my body, removing my knife from my belt and taking a glance inside my bag. His hands roamed around my body, making goosebumps rise everywhere he touched. They stopped several time, at my thighs, my ass, my chest especially.

It took all my willpower not to slug him in the face. The thoughts of what would happen to the kids if I made a wrong move here kept me from doing something I could potentially regret.

After few short blocks, there was a small carriage parked at the side of the road. The other man got on to the driver's seat while the one holding me like a disgruntled kitten shoved me inside before getting in himself.

When the door closed, I felt the carriage lurch and the clomping of hooves resounded through the thin wooden walls.

 

After a while, the carriage stopped and I was dragged outside.

What stood in front of me was that huge building that looked more like a palace than a house. Some of the lights were on, and I could easily see the garish decorations through the windows.

The two large men dragged me through the front gates and inside. What greeted me was far more opulence than I had expected.

The ceiling was lit with a giant chandelier filled with multi-coloured crystals, the walls was covered in bright red and gold pain and lined with giant paintings. There were display pillars with glossy vases and statues of naked women at regular intervals. The floor was made of black glossy wooden planks and a bright red carpet covered the middle. My boots depressed significantly into the thick carpet as we walked.

Somehow the well lit and gaudy interior felt even brighter than the annoying glare of the sun during the day, and I was forced to lower my hood even further than usual for the sake of my eyes. Well, for more than just that.

My [Sense Presence] skill surprisingly didn't find many hits inside the building, and almost all of them were concentrated in a single area on the first floor. Considering they were spread out in regular intervals, I presumed it was the servants' quarters or barracks. Perhaps both. Aside from that, the few hits I got were all far away, slowly moving around.

I was continued to be dragged by the neck as we went through the gaudy as all hell building, up the stairs to the third floor.

*knock knock*

"Yes?"

"It's Beldia and Hans. We've brought her."

"You did! Finally you useless pieces of loam wolf fodder! You've finally done something right! Bring her inside!"

One of the men opened the door and the other pushed me inside. As I was staggering to regain my balance, the door closed behind me.

"Ah, my little slut. I've finally found you again!"

The room I was thrust inside of was even more garish than the rest of the building. Gold and silver, all encrusted with jewels of every colour. There were things that I couldn't even identify all around me, but at least looked expensive.

My eyes opened wide as I got a look at the boss of those two bit thugs. The one standing there in the middle of the ostentatious room was the one that one store keeper called the city's lord.

(This guy again?!)

I thought considering how haphazard this guy seemed, he wouldn't even remember me after that first night. At worst, he'd forget after two or three nights. It looked like I was wrong. Or maybe it was less him and the two thugs trying to stay on his good side? Now that I thought about it, they were probably the ones guarding this man's carriage back at the store I visited in the noble's district.

The lord closed the gap in between us and violently tore my hood down, knocking my hat off in the process.

"Ah, even more beautiful that I had imagined! You! You will never cover that face ever again! I forbid it!"

(This guy, saying whatever he wants, ordering me around like I'm his property!)

I couldn't help but scowl as I tried to figure out what to do. If what the thugs said was true, then this one was the one that had ordered the kids to be kidnapped and sold. It meant that he was the only one that could stop it as well.

Erasing him was an option, but even if he was the mastermind, if I got caught doing it, I'd be the one in serious trouble. I wouldn't be able to show my face in this country until I've been forgotten about.

I had no knowledge about this world's forensics, but just because the society looked to be middle ages level, didn't mean that the technology wasn't ahead of what was available on Earth in strange and unexpected places.

The lights I've seen all around seemed to be standalone pieces. There wasn't any obvious traces of mana flowing in from anywhere else, suggesting that they didn't receive power from somewhere else like electric lamps on Earth. Such a thing for every light in a building wasn't really possible from a practical standpoint on Earth, yet they did it here like it wasn't a big deal.

Before resorting to the worst case, I needed to at least try something else.

"The kids, if I do what you say, what'll happen to them?"

"Huh? Kids? What kids?"

"The ones at the orphanage on the western side of the city!"

"Ah, those brats. Of course I'm going to sell the lot."

"Wha?!"

I blinked over and over, trying to process what he just said.

"Ah, that damn orphanage is such an eyesore. All the land in this city belongs to me, yet they don't have to pay me taxes?! What filth! No, if they refuse to pay their dues, then I'll just crush them! Sell everyone there, then sell the plot once it becomes mine again! Do you have any idea how much that one plot is worth?!"

"Wha...?"

My mind was reeling. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"Well, let's just say it's worth a hundred times more than you. A thousand times! Yet it belongs to some damn orphans that won't pay their taxes? Bah! If that's the case, then I'll just take it back and sell it to the highest bidder! Not only would I get the money from the sale, but the taxes from such prime real estate! That damn Vanir. Always complaining about how much I spend! Well, selling that orphanage and everyone in it will shut that damn geezer up! He's too noisy for a damn butler!"

My mind couldn't keep up. Just as my mind registered what he said, it had trouble putting together how it actually connected. It was simply too baffling and asinine.

"Heh, well, all that can wait. I finally have you in my hands!"

The fool of a noble pulled me towards a bed before grabbed at my chest. He frowned for a bit before fiddling with the buttons holding my robes closed with a lecherous grin on his face.

My mind circled around what he had said over and over.

"Th, the kids..."

"Ah? What are you prattling on about? You mean those damn orphans? Forget about them! They'll all be sold off along with that damn dwarf heading the orphanage! Ah, but if you like them so much, maybe I'll keep one of them to be your pet? If you're half as good in bed as you look, I'll let you take your pick when they've all got collars and chains!"

"You!"

Before I realized it, I was standing behind the city's idiot of a lord, my hand having gone right through his back. I could feel a feeble attempt to struggle as the lecher's mind caught up with what had happened before all strength faded from his body.

On the other hand, I stood there with my hand buried in the dead man's rib cage, trying to figure out what to do next now that lucidity returned to my mind.

The instant my mind snapped, I circled around the buffoon and stabbed him with my fingers. My hand ended up buried in it's entirety. Thankfully aside from my hand, I wasn't dirty from the fool's blood, and as there was no exit wound, there was almost no blood spilt.

But it would be incredibly easy for anyone to discover what had happened, even if it was a little unbelievable. I needed a way to cover things up.

The first thing I did was removed my robes until I was wearing only the right sleeve which I couldn't remove until I pulled my hand out of the city lord's back. Careful to avoid the blood gush, I pulled out my hand and moved out of the way, letting the blood spray out of the wound. I caught the body before it hit the ground to avoid making a sound with my clean hand and let it down gently.

As I looked around the room, I formulated a plan. Hopefully the forensic sciences of this world wasn't very advanced, but I needed to take every precaution I could.

I conjured water to clean my hand and sleeve the best I could, then put the water into my bag to be disposed of later on. Next I took out an iron ingot from my bag and transmuted it into a thick, broad blade and repeatedly stabbed the open wound, careful to avoid any blood.

Next I changed it into a pair of thin daggers and went to the door. The presence of the two thugs hadn't moved from outside the door. No matter what, I needed to deal with these two guys as well. Not only did I had a personal grudge against them, but they had caused direct harm to the orphanage. They admitted to kidnapping one of the kids, and it was possible they'd kidnap more even without their boss. It was a risk I couldn't take, beyond the personal gratification I would get.

Moving as quickly as my stats would allow, I opened the door, slipped through, then stabbed up into the throats of both men with a dagger each. I caught their bodies and gently let them to the ground silently.

Checking for presences, I confirmed that there weren't any people nearby, and returned to my work in the dead lord's chambers.

I opened the curtains then the glass windows and looked around outside. The window looked towards the front courtyard. There weren't any guards aside from the ones at the front gates, and neither were paying any attention towards the building.

Taking one of the daggers with telekinesis magic, I stabbed it at regular intervals into the brickwork below the room's window. The scratches were left at intervals a bit longer than my own arm length and set to look like someone climbing down the wall.

Once done, I closed the curtains and put the daggers and my hat into my magic bag, then removed another iron ingot and formed them into a set of shackles with two sets of binders connected by a short chain. They were made so each set had two holes to pass limbs through and were held with a single crossbar instead of a lock.

I wrapped my bag up with my robes and put it beside a large standing closet. Inside, it was filled with gaudy clothes, but there was some space at the bottom. I grabbed a silk scarf and stuffed it into my mouth as far as it would go, then tucked myself in and bound my hands and feet with the shackles behind my back, forcing me into an awkward position while laying on my side.

With a bit more magic, I closed the closet and sealed myself in darkness.

As a final measure, I activated [Spirit Form] and proceeded to change my appearances with [Alter Silhouette]. Rather than change my facial features, I left them mostly as is and instead concentrated on making a more drastic change.

Changing my fangs back to how they were before, I changed my eye colour to amber and removed my ears. Then, I made triangular ears grow out of the top of my head and a bushy tail from my butt just above the belt of my hot pants.

The animal features were modelled off of the ones I was most familiar with, which ended up being Flix. Of course, I didn't change the colour of my hair. If anyone had seen me come in, then it would be a giveaway that either I wasn't the one who originally came in, or that I had disguised myself at some point. Neither being very conductive to avoiding suspicion to the crime I has just committed.

Laying there in the closet, I waited until someone discovered the bodies in front of the moronic lord's chambers.