It had been a lousy day for both girls. Even when they defeated the monsters they went to hunt, they felt completely defeated. Their faces were a clear example of this. Stares on the ground, slumped shoulders, and complete silence between the two of them. They didn't want to try something like this again, maybe not for a very long time. They just wanted to deliver the kobolds' bodies and complete the mission, so they could erase that day from their memories. However, there was someone who would not let them forget it.

The drive back to the farm was long, neither wanted to say anything, especially what they were thinking at the time. Elisa was struggling with herself, wondering, what went wrong. Out of the corner of her eye, she looked at Miriam who had stopped crying a while ago, and now had a dirty and stained face, along with clothes full of blood and vomit, plus one of the saddest expressions she ever seen on her face.

Miriam, for her part, was stuck thinking about how "useless" she was, the pain she experience, the fear of almost dying, and on top of all that, imagining the face of Reilanis, her mother, looking at her with an expression of utter disappointment. Was there anything more terrible for her, as her daughter, to disappoint her like that? Not for Miriam. That was the worst thing she could imagine. For as long as she could remember, she watched Reilanis toil day in and day out, working as an adventurer doing missions that sometimes took days to complete; time in which Miriam didn't get to see her, feeling lonely. Her mother had done everything to raise her and, although she sometimes did it badly, she appreciated it, more than anyone could imagine.

They walked so intent on their thoughts that they didn't notice the person approaching them. Leaving the farm, her red skin glowing brightly in the afternoon light and radiating anger, with heavy but swift steps along the road. Reilanis walked towards them. 

When the Oni noticed the girls heading in her direction, holding hands, with Miriam dirty, and full of blood and Elisa holding the remains of her staff, she stopped, waiting for them to notice her presence. She crossed her arms and frowned. She was totally and utterly pissed off, and even more so, seeing the state the younger one was in.

It wasn't until they were a few meters away that, for some reason, Elisa felt the need to look up, and when she did, she froze in fear. Sensing that her older sister had stopped, Miriam looked at her, wondering what happened, and seeing the terror on her face, she turned to look ahead...

"What the fuck were you two doing?"

Miriam didn't know if it was her sense of guilt, the expression her mother was making, or feeling so utterly defeated; she walked with her head down, tail wrapped between her legs and sobbing, and stopped in front of Reilanis. When she got there, she grabbed the sides of her shirt and stood there, standing completely still and silent, knowing that she was definitely going to be scolded and punished, but accepting it completely. She was fully aware of what she did, and if her mother questioned her, she would tell her everything, without lying, hoping it would reduce the punishment, or, what she least wanted to hear, avoid being told she was a disappointment or worthless.

Reilanis looked at her, somewhat confused, but with a little less anger. She turned her gaze away from the completely submissive girl and towards the other, the blond girl.

They had a little staring contest, with Elisa desperate to run in terror, but knowing that, if she did, she would be caught immediately and things would get worse. She decided then, to walk straight to Reilanis, imitating Miriam.

Thus, Reilanis now found herself with both girls in front of her. Watching them closely, she noticed how strangely "clean" Elisa looked. If someone told her that she had been home all day she would believe it. However, Miriam’s appearance made her furious and extremely worried. Her clothes, a fur vest over a white linen shirt, and knee-length leather spats were completely soiled. The front was stained with what she thought was vomit, and part of the vest and shirt were also stained with blood. A bandage was wrapped around her left arm and on her face, which was barely noticeable because she kept her eyes on the ground, the obvious marks of having cried intensely.

Reilanis sighed in exasperation, causing both girls to jump, startled by the sudden and terrifying (to them) sound. Forcefully, she grabbed them both by the hand and pulled them with her, back to the farm. There, she talked to the farmer, a human of about 40 years old, and asked him to rent her the well, to draw some water and clean the younger girl. The man, upon seeing them, asked the girls if they had succeeded in their mission, which Elisa took a while to answer, but nodded in the affirmative, pulling a lock of hair from one of the Kobolds. The man nodded in satisfaction and told them that, thanks to their help, they would not have to worry about paying. Reilanis thanked him, and they left after receiving the farmer's directions.

Next to the well, Reilanis removed Miriam's clothes, keeping them in her inventory, then removed the bandage from her arm and took the opportunity to check the state it was in. She noticed that the wound was closing quite well. It even looked like only a small cut, but this also made her wonder, how bad was it that she had to bandage it? She gave an accusatory look to Elisa, who responded by looking away, ashamed. She wasted no more time and quickly washed the cub's body. Then, again from her inventory, she took out another set of clothes for her, woolen panties, a shirt, and linen pants. She dressed her and, as soon as she was done, they went back to town.

Not a single word was say from that moment until they arrived at the house where they were temporarily living. This was a rather simple house. A single level, with 2 bedrooms, a stove, a living room, and a bathroom, part of a living complex owned by the guild. All adventurers above B-rank were allowed to rent one of these houses, and since Reilanis was a B-rank adventurer with high expectations placed upon her, she was offered this advantage.

The girls entered first, stopping a few feet from the door, where Reilanis had stood silently after closing it. For a long while there was nothing but silence in the place. Elisa and Miriam were frightened, worried, and ashamed. They didn't know if they should say something, apologize, or stay as they were. The Oni was leaning both hands on the door, breathing deeply, trying to think of how to approach the situation.

"Could either of you two tell me, what the fuck were you thinking?" asked Reilanis in a very stern tone. The girls were silent, looking at the floor in shame and guilt. Miriam even more so, having experienced the worst of the situation. She was beyond sorry and angry with herself.

"I'm going to ask again. - reiterated the Oni, accentuating each word as she turned around to look at the girls. - What the fuck were you two thinking?"

"M-Miriam asked me what a Kobold was so-"

"And you thought the best way to answer her was to take her out of town? Make her face real kobolds?"

"No! I... I..."

"Elisa, you should know better than anyone that Miriam could NOT do that."

"B-but she..."

"She what? You're going to tell me that she forced you to take her with you?"

"O-of course not, but..."

"Did you think she could handle it because I've been training her?"

"..."

"How did Miriam end up hurt?"

"That was..."

"M-mommy, I... I just wanted to know if I could fight as you had taught me... but, when I was fighting that shield monster... I just... I just... *sniff*"

"Elisa, what happened to Miriam's arm?"

Elisa hesitated to speak, what would Reilanis do when she knew? She was terrified to think about it.

"I asked you a question. Answer it!"

"...an archer... she took an arrow in the arm..."

Elisa gave up, answering in the mildest voice she could manage.

"An archer? You're supposed to-"

"I did it! My first attack was on the archer and I knocked him down! Don't you think I know what I have to do? - Elisa shouted, fed up with the situation. She felt that Reilanis' tone was as if she was underestimating her, and in the heat of the moment, she acted much more aggressively than she intended, completely out of her mind. - And everything would have been fine if that useless girl had-"

*slap*

A loud slap resounded in the place. Reilanis could not forgive those words and acted accordingly, slapping Elisa strongly who fell to the ground from the hit. The blonde was lying on the ground, in disbelief. She put her hand on her cheek as she began to feel it burn. Miriam for her part felt extremely hurt. Was Elisa really going to call her useless in front of her mother? Even though the cub was trying to advocate for Reilanis so that the blame wouldn't fall on her alone... was she still going to say it like that? This action made the cub resent it, feeling hurt "I don't care what happens to you anymore...stupid Eli."

For the first time, tears welled up in Elisa's eyes. She was just one step away from bursting into tears and throwing a tantrum. How could things be so unfair to her? Let's not talk about her past anymore, even now when she is supposed to be free, bad things keep happening to her. Reilanis ignored the tears that threatened to flow from the blonde's eyes and lashed out at her again.

"You got overconfident and thought the first blow had been enough?! Didn't I tell you to make sure your opponent is dead and to never let your guard down?!"

"..."

"You could have killed Miriam, dammit! If that arrow had gone straight to her head, what would you have done then? Would you come back to me saying it was all an accident, that it wasn't your fault?"

"N-no..."

"Then why the hell did you put her in such danger!? What would have happened if that had killed you too!? What about your wish of taking revenge!?"

Reilanis' words hit her like arrows. She looked down at the ground, absolutely ashamed, trembling, and looking smaller and smaller. There was nothing she could answer her because everything she said was the truth, she never really considered any of those things when they took the mission and left.

"How many Kobolds did you fight?"

Reilanis turned to Miriam, who looked just as scared as Elisa.

"T-three."

The Oni snorted in exasperation. She couldn't believe they had ended up in that state against only 3 kobolds. While these monsters aren't that weak, they aren't that much of a danger either. The kobolds are, by comparison, barely stronger than the goblins, and the only reason that's the case is that they have better equipment. Nothing else.

"You don't know how lucky you were. - She grunted as she shakes her head in disbelief. - Do you even know that kobold scouting parties are far outnumbered?"

"¡!"

Both girls were surprised to hear her. "Outnumbered? Then why...?"

"I can see that you didn't know. Only in new settlements or when their population is sparse, do kobolds send out such small scouting parties, although is already rare for them to travel in groups of only 3 individuals. Kobold scouting parties are composed of 9 to 12 individuals."

Again, the girls were surprised to hear such a thing. 9 to 12? What would they have done if they've encountered such a large group? If such a thing had happened, not only would they not have survived, there would have been nothing left of them.

"I bet you saw those 3 and immediately thought of attacking them, didn't you? You didn't even consider that there might be more of them nearby. I'm sure, you pair of idiots, saw them and jumped into the fight with absolutely no consideration other than to attack them first and ask questions later."

Silence.

That only confirmed what she had just said. Reilanis was shocked at how incredibly idiotic and oblivious the two girls had been.

"How can you... you know what? Forget it, I'm done with this."

Reilanis ran her hands over her face, sick of having to waste her breath on two girls who decided to omit every piece of advice she has given them since they asked her to become adventurers just like her.

"I've had a really bad day, you see, I had to put up with a bunch of stupid human supremacists, prattling on about how awesome they are, how wonderful the human race is. I put up with that all day, unable to do anything, because if I didn't my mission would have gone down the drain. And when I'm finally free of those vermin, I come back to find that my two girls are missing, and the guild tells me that one of them went out on a mission she shouldn't even been able to take in the first place."

"B-but Miss Albia..."

"That jerk? Elisa, that 'miss' as you call her, is known for letting rookies take missions far beyond their capabilities, to get rid of those she believes, shouldn't be adventurers anymore. That mission was only supposed to be assigned to a group, not a single adventurer, let alone a rookie. But this time she messed with the wrong person. I'll deal with her later. Now, it's time for me to take care of you two."

With those words, Reilanis grabbed Miriam by one of her ears, pulling her towards a nearby chair. That was enough to make the little girl realize what was about to happen.

"Mommy no, please, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

Miriam struggled to break free of the Oni's grip, but it was a losing struggle. She sat down in the chair, laid the girl across her lap, and pulling down her pants and panties, began to spank her hard.

"This is for you to understand that, if I give you an order, if I tell you not to do something, DON'T FUCKING do it."

The slaps echoed around the place, drowned out only by the screams and cries of Miriam, who begged her mother for forgiveness. Elisa was frozen, watching what was happening. Every spanking the cub received, every scream, was embedded in her head reminding her that she would be next.

When the punishment was finally over, the cub was a mess. She used her hands to try to wipe away the stream of tears running down her cheeks, and the other to caress her bottom which felt like it was red hot. Reilanis set her down and immediately walked over to Elisa, who was still on the floor. She hadn't moved from there since she had fallen. She had no strength to get up, much less to escape or resist, so, when Reilanis arrived before her, she didn't struggle.

The Oni took her by the arm and pulled her, and surprisingly it was at that moment that she began to cry. That was the first time Elisa had ever cried. She didn't do it when she was a test subject, nor did she cry when she escaped from that dreadful place, not even when she was in that cave, alone, freezing, and hungry. No, it wasn't until the whole situation hit her full on, realise what she had done that the dam that had been held contained within her broke.

But Reilanis couldn't care less. She had to apply the punishment no matter what Elisa was thinking at the time. With her, the Oni only had to lift her robe and pull down her panties. But the moment she started; the spanking was even harder than with Miriam. All because she was the one she was most angry with and the one who really needed to teach a lesson.

Once it was all over, the girls stood in front of her.

"If you thought this would be it, you are very wrong. Miriam, as of tomorrow there is no more being gentle with you. I'm going to make sure you understand very well what a fight entails. Elisa, once I figure out what happened with that guild bitch, I'm going to request that your guild card be temporarily revoked. As punishment for this, you are forbidden from acting or claiming to be an adventurer."

"What!!? But-"

"Quiet. Do you think I'm just going to let this go? You've been at this for 2 years damn it. Have you even learned anything in all that time? Because I can see you haven't."

"But-"

"I said quiet! Now I'm going to the guild and take care of that bitch. You two are going to stay here, quiet, understood?"

Both girls nodded, answering between sobs. Being satisfied Reilanis walked out slamming the door and heading for the guild.

"*sniff* none of this would have happened if it wasn't for you. This is all your damn fault you worthless brat!"

Overcome with rage and resentment, Elisa attacked Miriam, pushing her and knocking her to the ground. The girl didn't even try to defend herself, falling and hitting her arm on the ground, making her scream from the pain. The blonde was frightened for a moment, thinking she had done things worse. She kept her eyes on the girl, but seeing that nothing serious happened, she recovered her anger and continued with her rant.

"If you had kept quiet and waited until she returned maybe she would have taken care of you and none of this would have happened. You're nothing but a useless, idiot and a coward, I don't want anything to do with you ever again!"

Miriam had never heard more hurtful words directed at her. Never in her life expected someone so important to her to be able to say something so horrible. It was so shocking that she could only look at Elisa with deep pain in her heart. The girl with whom she had grown up, the girl who had cared for her with so much affection, the one who taught her so many things, who comforted her when she was hurt, when she had nightmares or felt lonely because her mommy was not with her. That one girl she admired and loved so much, now just expressed her hatred for her. "Eli... Eli hates me... she hates me..."

Understanding that broke her heart into pieces. She felt the tears fall down her face once again. Only this time it felt worse than before. There was a very different feeling. A different kind of pain than the one she felt that day. She lost her beloved sister that day, perhaps forever.

"*sob sob* WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" the girl screamed, crying devastated. She immediately jumped to her feet and ran out to her room. Behind her Elisa watched her run away, speechless. She realized what she had done. She destroyed the good relationship she had with her. But didn't want to take it back, anger had overpowered her and she still felt that the world had been too unfair to her, so she just stood there, trying to make excuses to justify her words.

From that day onwards, things changed completely for both of them, leaving a scar in their hearts that, until now, had not healed.