Several hours later, it was already late midnight, and the snow was pouring down outside the hangar. Compared to the day before, the snow seemingly wasn’t that bad. Morgan, who was still asleep, felt the cold and opened her eyes weakly. Although she wanted to keep sleeping, the weather didn’t allow her to have any leeway at all.

“Erm…”

She woke up and stretched her body lightly. And strangely enough, she didn’t feel any discomfort after waking up, nor the dizziness she always experienced whenever she opened her eyes. It was as if she was born anew.

“This is weird…”

That was her first reaction. Her body felt so light and no fatigue was left at all. She recalled the voice telling her that once she woke up, she wouldn’t feel as stressed as before. But she never expected it to that extent.

“Weird… Well, at least it told me the truth. Hey, are you listening?”

Silent. Not even a single sound could be heard. She called for the voice that had been guiding her since the first day she was reborn in that world. She was somewhat grateful to it, so the fact that it didn’t respond to her call made her dubious.

“Tsk. Giving me a silent treatment, aren’t you?”

She felt a little bit annoyed. And then, she tried to concentrate and feel its presence.

“... Huh?”

Just like a confused girl who lost something from her pocket, Morgan searched her own body all over. Her body felt unbelievably light. Her sense was somewhat sharper than before. And the presence she had always felt lurking inside the deepest part of her body was gone. Dumbfounded, she tried to feel its presence once again. But everything resulted in vain.

“Damn it. What’s going on?”

Morgan raised her body to stand. Normally, in that kind of weather, she should be feeling sluggish. But it wasn’t the case. And again, considering her mental state that was supposed to be in shambles, she didn’t feel a slightest bit of panic nor fear whatsoever. Almost in no time, she uttered the word that a while ago made her flustered.

“Status!”

The game-like panel appeared in front of her, and she didn’t spot any change compared to the last time she had checked her status. Only her Mental Stability was changed.

 

Name: Morgan

Race: Unholy Humanoid

Sex: Female

Age: 14

Title: Masterless Slave

 

Affiliations: ???

Mental Stability: 0 (Neutral)

 

Physical Prowess: C

Magical Aptitude: D

Vitality: B

Recovery: D

 

Skills:

Philargyria (EX), Stealth (F), Low-tier Fire Magic (E), Mid-tier Water Magic (F), Mana Control (D)

 

Racial Unique Skills:

Despairing Touch (A), Weak to Holy (S)

 

Traits:

Cruelty (S), Chaotic (B)

 

Blessings: -

Curses: -

Misc.: Slavery Seal (B)

 

Morgan made sure to look into every nook and cranny of the panel, and in the end, she couldn’t spot any weird thing at all. She felt a little bit relieved, but at the same time, she also felt something was missing from her.

“Well, maybe it’s sleeping or just ignoring me. Let’s see…”

She scanned the panel for the fifth time and realized she had learned a few skills.

“Magic, huh? So that Alfred guy was talented in magic. But why did a guy like him work as a smuggler?”

Morgan frowned her eyebrows. She then closed her eyes and tried to access Philia’s memory in search for useful information regarding Alfred’s origin.

I’m going to get dizzy if I continue to look into Philia’s memory, but I need any information I can use… Let’s hope it’s not the bad one like before…

Morgan had experienced looking into Philia’s memory, just right before she baited Alfred to enter the hangar and killed him. It was the androgyneous voice that taught her to do so. And this time, without any guidance at all, she decided to re-do the same thing.

A moment later, a certain memory flashed up in her mind.

Morgan was seeing in a first person point of view, and Morgan knew she was looking through Philia’s eyes directly, just as the same as before. The room was well-lit, although it was only using a couple of candles that were hanging on the wall. She was inside a metal cage while her hands were holding into the cell bars quite tightly. In front of her, a young man she was familiar with was sitting on a wooden chair. That man was Alfred. He was drinking liquors directly from the bottle, and Herman was nowhere to be seen at that time.

Alfred’s face was a little bit red due to the alcohol intoxication, and he started to mumble several things. He then turned his glance towards Philia and grinned.

“What? You want this?”

Alfred stood up and handed over an unopened bottle.

“Drink this, little girl.”

Instead of taking it, Philia just crawled backwards, trying to get away from Alfred who didn’t seem to be in his right mind.

What the hell is this guy doing? Is he really offering an underage girl a bottle of liquor? I’m glad I killed this guy.

“You don’t want it? Come on, say something!”

Alfred kicked the cage and Philia cowered in fear.

“I’m… hungry…”

Philia spoke in a really soft voice, and it was almost unhearable. Her hands were shaking tremendously.

I don’t know if this is because of her fear or hunger, but I’m really glad I killed this guy!

Although she was enraged, Morgan knew she couldn’t do anything, as she only peeked at Philia's memory.

“What? Say it louder, you bitch!”

Again, Alfred kicked the cage as hard as he could.

“I-I said I’m hungry!”

Philia shrieked loudly and pointed her finger to a stale looking bread that was placed on a plate on the table next to the chair, and after seeing that, Alfred’s face grew redder. He was pissed off due to the slave he was supposed to take care of raising her voice at him. He then madly threw the bottle he was holding to the ground and it shattered into pieces, spilling the liquor on the floor all over.

“You said you what, huh? Such an ungrateful bitch like you dare raise your voice at me!? It seems you need to get disciplined, bitch!”

Angered, Alfred opened the cage’s door and pulled Philia by her hair.

“No! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! Please forgive me! I won't do that again, I promise!”

Philia pleaded while sobbing heavily and struggling.

“An ungrateful slave like you should be disciplined! Ah, you know what? What will happen if I do this to you?”

Alfred snapped his fingers and a ball of fire appeared on his left hand. He then slowly brought his hand closer to Philia’s face and it made her squirm like crazy while pleading for forgiveness.

“No, please! Please don’t do it! I’ll do anything but please, don’t hurt me anymore!”

Ignoring Philia’s pleas, Alfred kept bringing his hand closer and closer to Philia’s face. The terror she felt must be terrifying, as she leaked quite a bit. She could clearly feel the heat from the fire getting close to her skin, and it made her squirm more. Just right before it made contact with her face, a voice could be heard from across the room.

“What an unsightly sight to behold.”

Alfred jolted in surprise, and almost instantly, he turned his head to look at the voice’s source. There, a man clad in black robe and mask stood still while covering his mouth with his palm.

“Shit! Why are you here!?”

Alfred let go of Philia’s hair and pushed her away, making her back hit the cage so hard.

“Aahh!”

Philia fell on her knees and her sobbings got worse. Faintly, she could see the man in black close his distance towards Alfred. In the blink of an eye, the man was already in front of Alfred and grabbed his neck.

“W-Wait! I can explain!”

The man tightened his grip on Alfred’s neck and suffocated him until he salivated. Not long after, the man released his hand and pushed Alfred away.

“You see… I’m quite the impatient man. I don’t care what kind of blasphemous thing you’re always doing, but do it with consideration. Just try not to tarnish Sullivan Household’s name anymore than this.”

The man’s voice was somewhat hoarse. He was seemingly using some kind of voice changing magic. Before Alfred, who was now sitting on the ground helplessly, could say anything, the man bent over and uttered.

“Where’s the report? It’s already the fourth time you delayed it.”

Alfred’s body trembled.

“I-I will provide it tomorrow! Today’s not a good day! I still need to compile everything! Please, give me more time!”

“Tsk.”

The man in black clicked his tongue and turned away.

“Remember, Alfred. We’re keeping a disgrace like you alive just because of your talent in gathering information and magic. Mess it up and you’ll see no tomorrow.”

The man in black glanced at the sobbing Philia and his eyes could be seen from the holes, as his red pupils softened a little bit. It was as if he was looking at a small animal in distress but didn’t do anything and continued to walk away. Once he reached the door, he stopped for a brief moment and spoke in a cold tone.

“Slave girl, if you’re given the chance, make for it. Don’t let your fear get the better of you.”

The man opened the door, revealing a faint gold colored insignia on the back of his robe. It was an upside down winged sword on top of a shield. One could tell that he belonged to a certain organization. He then quit the room.

The memory ended right there, leaving a quite bad feeling in Morgan’s heart. She decided not to continue to look anymore since she couldn’t hold her anger any longer.

“I should’ve killed him more cruelly and shown no mercy… Damn it all!”

Morgan slammed her hand on one of the wooden boxes and it shattered into pieces. Her heart felt like burning in an inextinguishable fire. The hatred she held for her fate couldn’t compare to what she was feeling at the moment. The feeling of disgust, anger, sadness, and pity mixed together, creating a giant blob of darkness in her heart.

“Philia…”

Morgan raised her left hand and looked at it, while her anger gradually diminished. She was feeling strangely quick to calm down, but she couldn’t care less. In her mind, she already found useful information and decided to make use of it.

That was just in the past. The current me, Morgan, albeit living in Philia’s body, will definitely achieve what she couldn’t. I swear, but not in any Gods’ name, I swear in my own name.

She clenched her fist and mustered her resolve.

“But first, I really need clothes… The proper ones…”

Morgan turned her glance towards the pile of clothes she was trying to sew and shook her head.

“I’ll never wear the things I got from that man.”

She took the pile and threw it to one of the wooden boxes and headed outside.