The Familiar of Fate: Chapter 15 - One Look of Gratitude
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After Agatha had used magic to staunch the bleeding and mend most of the wound, she sat on her couch as if nothing had happened. Fate sat as well, though he was propped up against the leg of the chair he was usually seated on.

『You have been branded by the skill【Pale-Moonlight Penance】, you have now been subordinated by Agatha Schneider.』

『Further details about the terms of subordination can be found under the ‘registered skills’ tab in ‘Fate’s Journal.’』

-That f*cking demented bitch!

Fate had never thought that she would use a method like this. Although he had trusted the Witch to do something to help him, this seemed like a meager alternative.

-Then again, I guess it’s better than being dead...Still, though, she didn’t even fully heal the wound, she just patched up most of the skin and stopped the bleeding so it still hurts like hell!

Despite his internal protest, all he could do was to deal with the pain and wait for his body to heal naturally, or get someone else to heal it, though the possibility of someone in the mansion being willing to heal him was extremely slim.

Agatha: “My Goddess...she graced me…!”

-What the hell is wrong with her? If her Goddess really knows I’m here, then I am f*cked! I’m actually going to die again...that sucks ass…

…

Eventually, after a while of Fate’s internal suffering and Agatha’s seemingly demented rantings about the glory of the Goddess, a knock sounded at the door.

*knock* *knock*

Jacob: “My...my lady, are you...finished in there?”

Agatha promptly stood up from her couch and headed towards the door, instantly swinging it open without a moment of hesitation.

Jacob: “M-my lady!?”

Agatha: “Take care of that filth on the ground...something wonderful has happened!!!”

Agatha screamed out, obviously delighted. At the same time though, it almost sounded like the mad cries of a demented banshee.

Jacob: “M-m..my lady, please do calm yourself! Tell me what has happened that is so...wonderful?”

Agatha: “I shan’t tell a soul!”

After screaming out those last few words, she seemed to have regained some of her calmer demeanor, yet traces of her maddened state still sounded within her voice and crept across her face in a smile.

Jacob: “But...please...calm…!”

Agatha: “Silence!” *Ahem* “You are to have the filth cleaned and to leave no trace of the events that occurred here, understood?”

Jacob: “Yes..of course, but...my lady, what happened here?!”

The floor was coated in blood, his master had seemingly gone insane for a few moments, and the child was looking half-dead on the floor. It was not something that he could comprehend...well perhaps the state of the floor and of the child, but his master’s madness…

Agatha: “I simply had an ...inspiration, that’s all. Now have it cleaned, and make preparations for a smaller room to be used to store this...filth.”

-What could have possibly happened to make her like this?! If time allows, I must make sure to have words with the child about the events that transpired here…

Jacob: “It shall be done, and I shall ask no more.”

Agatha: “Good, now clean it up.”

…

A while later, Jacob had returned Fate back to his room and was now in the process of washing the blood off his neck and back. He was washing Fate in a small metal tub that he had brought in when he left the room once he had dropped Fate off, but the water was something he seemingly generated with the use of a silver ring with a blue gem in the center.

-I didn’t think that I’d be using the ‘magic item’ I received from the Lord and Lady to scrub what she calls ‘filth.’ Though my job is a servant, I do not wish to even remotely serve that which my lady rejects.

Despite his reservations, Jacob continued to wash the child until all the blood was off and then proceeded to dry him.

-I’ll make sure that he looks...decent. Although, I won’t be wasting time trying to find someone to heal him. After all, my lady will most likely use this as an opportunity to discourage the lord’s faith in the child and will summon a priest herself, later on…

By the time Jacob had finished his inner commentary, he had already re-dressed Fate in clean clothes. He then picked the child up and placed him gently in the cradle, before picking up the metal bucket filled with water and carrying it out of the room. However, this was not before…

Jacob: “Do attempt to behave yourself this time, I will be back later with your dinner.”

The way he spoke almost sounded sincere and caring, something that Fate had never seen in his almost a year of being reborn. This made Fate stare at Jacob with a look that was not filled with anger or despair, but gratitude.”

Jacob: “...Do not thank me, it is my duty...for now at least.”

*creak*

The door shut and Jacob left the room, leaving Fate once again, in solitude.

…

-Wow...he actually looked like he cared...I didn’t expect that, not in a million years.

Fate: “Journal…”

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• Name: Fate
• HP: 21/33.11
• MP: 2.65/2.65
• Level: 0
• Race: Human
• Age: 10, 1/2 months old (19+ years old)
• Job: None
• Previous Jobs: None
• Titles: 【Familiar of Fate】

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• Stats:
  • Strength: 3.249
  • Endurance: 7.2
  • Wisdom: 3.6
  • Intelligence: 3.57
  • Stamina: 5.82
  • Agility: 1.9
  • Fortune: 1.0
  • Magic: 0.823

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• Passive Skills: None
• Active Skills: None
• Unique Skills: None
• Equipment: Fate’s Journal(Soul-bound)

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-My 【Endurance】 and 【Stamina】have definitely gone up, I expected that. However, why did 【Wisdom】increase?

His 【Wisdom】had increased by 0.1, therefore he had to have gotten something out of that near-fatal encounter, but the only thing he could think of was…

-I survived, I got a slight boost because I managed to bow down and say what she wanted...dammit...

Fate: *sniffle*

For the first time since coming to this world…

Fate: *sniffle* “Uhhhh…”

Fate was crying, the one action that he had never shown to anyone in this world thus far. Not because of the torture over several months, not over neglect, and not over his near-death experience…

Fate: “Uhhh..ahhhh...ahhh!!!”

It was because, for the first time since coming to this world, someone had genuinely shown him compassion. Even if it was just a quick glance and the promise of his next meal, he treasured it.