Arriving back at the Inn with my newly acquired slave, I ask the proprietress for another room for her.

“I’m sorry. But slaves can’t have their own room. If we would allow that, it would affect our inn’s reputation.”

Huh!? In what way would that be bad for them? I really don’t understand… Maybe this is just a difference in culture, but it is still a miscalculation. The proprietress must have seen my confused expression, because she then says, “For slaves and servants, we have a shared room including meals for 2 Bronze Coins.”

I think for a moment, but then say, “Would it be possible to change my room to a double room with two beds? That should be fine, right? I’d also like for her to get the same meals I get.”

Both of them stare at me with shocked expressions. I guess it is really unusual. My slave also looks like she wants to say something, but she doesn’t. Probably because she is considering her position.

I explain further, “I am an Adventurer, after all. So I’ll have her follow me on my quests. I can’t have her being tired, because she didn’t eat enough or didn’t sleep well. That would be too dangerous for both of us.”

“Alright.” I finally convinced the proprietress, and we got a double room. I also ask for our meals to be served in our room. That way, we would avoid trouble with other people seeing a slave entering the dining room and eating normal meals. It would be a bother to deal with those people. And the proprietress also is also relieved with that arrangement.

We enter the room and I lie on my bed and start relaxing, when I see she is still standing next to the door. “You can sit on the bed or lie down. You don’t need my permission. So please relax. Or maybe we should talk, but please sit down first.”

The elf hesitates for a moment, but then sits on the other bed.

“Now that I think of it, I didn’t introduce myself. My name is Benji, and I am a rank F Adventurer. Could you tell me your name?… Did I just do something weird?” She looks at me with a funny face.

“Umm… it’s just… no one asked for my name before… They only called me ‘elf’… so… I didn’t expect…”, her voice becomes quiet until I am only barely able to hear it, but I see.

“I would prefer to call you by your name.” Obviously, I already know her name, because of my Skill, but I can’t just call it out, when I want to keep it a secret…

“… Thalia.”

“Alright, Thalia. I didn’t really consider what to do with you, yet. It’s not like I really need a slave as an Adventurer.. huh? Ah, sorry. I didn’t mean it like that, so don’t cry.” I realized my mistake when I saw she was about to cry. So, I stand up and go over to her and pat her head.

“It’s not like I am going to throw you out or anything. I just meant to say that we have to figure it out together. Maybe you already realized that I lack common sense in some areas.” She looks up at me with her eyes still teary, but then nods and wipes them away.

At that moment there is a knock on the door, and just as I was about the stand up, Thalia stopped me and says, “Please let me do it.”

Thalia opens the door and receives our meals, and put them on the table. Then she hesitates again.

“What is it?”

“Umm… Is it really alright for me to have such a good meal?” she asks me, while constantly staring at the food. And just as I was about to answer, her stomach also made a comment, and Thalia instantly blushes in deep red from embarrassment.

“Yes, it is alright.” I answer, while trying hard not to laugh. I take a deep breath to calm down and then continue, “I already told you I’ll take you with me on my quests, so you’ll need the energy. We will also register you with the Guild, too.”

While eating dinner, another thought comes up in my mind.

“By the way, I forgot to ask, but is there something you don’t like to eat? If yes, I’ll take it into consideration. So, just tell me. The same goes for other stuff, too.”

“Eh, no. I eat everything.”

I see, so the cliche that elves don’t eat meat is not true in this world. But I really should have thought about it earlier.

The next day there is some stuff we have some things to do.

Fortunately, most of the stuff we need for our daily lives, like towels and so on, comes with the room at the inn. But Thalia still needs some new clothing and all the other stuff a girl needs. I couldn’t have her wearing those old rugs for hunting monsters. So I buy her two sets of clothing. One for the daily life, and one for adventuring. With this, my savings are down to 3 Big Bronze Coins. I really need to save up again.

After that we eat lunch at a food stall. The meat skewers there are really delicious. I don’t know what kind of sauce they used, but it is some kind of sweet and spicy sauce and I really like it.

“I just thought about something. If we are going to form an Adventurer Party, there would be no reason for you to be a slave. It would be more convenient if I would free you from slavery, right?”

I take another bite from my skewer, waiting for an answer. But somehow there is no answer from Thalia. I look at her again, and she looks at me, like I said something outrageous. “What is it?”

“Huh!? There is just no way I could accept this? Not only did you buy me for a lot of money, you also bought me new clothes and other stuff. If I would accept this, there is no way I could ever repay you.”

“I see. I didn’t really consider this. Well, then let’s do it like this. I intended to give you a part of the quest reward from the beginning. You can do with this money whatever you want. You can save it up, to pay me back and buy your freedom. Or you can spend it on stuff you like. It is your decision.”

“But… I am just a slave.”

“I will not back down on this. If you feel uncomfortable having the money on yourself, I can manage it for you. But it will still be your money.”

Even if she is a slave, I don’t feel really comfortable about treating her like I own her. I would prefer, if we were more like partners, but I guess that’s impossible for now. So I think this is an appropriate compromise. Although reluctantly, she also accepts.

“May I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Why are you doing all this for me? You said you don’t really need a slave, but you still bought me. And you’re also so kind and don’t really treat me like people would normally treat me. So, why? Why me?”

Of course she would be curious… To be honest, I probably wouldn’t have done the same for another person.

“Well, part of it, that I couldn’t accept you being bought by that disgusting Orc.” When I call him that, she actually chuckles a bit. Seems like she thought the same about him. It’s the first time she actually smiled. When she realizes I am smiling at her reaction, she looks down in embarrassment. Cute.

“The other part of my reason… Well, that’s a secret for now,” I say, while grinning and Thalia groans, but doesn’t press any further for an answer.