......

  After winding through a maze of narrow alleyways, Hulim emerged into a ramshackle slum of dilapidated buildings.

  Staring at the endless jumble of crumbling houses stretching out before her, she frowned slightly—finding a single hideout in this mess would be no easy feat.

  “Hey! You brat! Do you have any idea where you are?! How dare you wander in here uninvited—eep?!”

  A figure shrouded in a tattered gray robe, his face hidden in shadow, stepped forward aggressively, shouting at Hulim at the top of his lungs. But the moment Hulim turned to meet his gaze, he let out a yelp of terror, spun on his heel, and fled as fast as his legs could carry him.

  Well, she thought, watching his retreating back. If I can get a guide, I won’t have to search the whole slum myself.

  Inside a windowless wooden shack deep in the slum.

  “Let me go! Let me go right now!”

  “Hmph! Stay put, you little brat!”

  The buzzcut thug tied Fran up tight with thick rope, then tossed her roughly onto the splintered wooden floor.

  “Ow! That hurts!”

  Fran cried out in pain, then forced herself to lift her head, glaring at her captors with as much defiance as she could muster.

  “What do you want from me?! Let me go at once! If my father finds out about this, he’ll never let you get away with it!”

  The two thugs stared at her for a beat, then burst into uproarious laughter, as if she’d just told the funniest joke in the world.

  “Hahaha!”

  “Is she serious right now?”

  “We’re so scared~. Tell us, little miss—where exactly is your mighty father at this very moment~?”

  Thud!

  The bald thug slammed his boot into Fran’s stomach without warning.

  “Ah!!”

  Fran doubled over in agony, gasping for breath.

  “—Cough! It hurts! It hurts so much!”

  Her whole body trembled from the searing pain.

  Then the bald thug knelt down, grabbed a fistful of Fran’s hair, and slammed her face against the floor, pinning her head in place.

  “Now listen up, you stuck-up little princess~. It seems you still don’t understand your situation. Let me clue you in—me and my brother here are unscrupulous slave traders. You know what that means?”

  “Heh heh heh!” The buzzcut thug snickered, joining in. “It means we’re gonna sell you off to some rich slaver hundreds of miles away! You’ll spend the rest of your life as someone’s property!”

  “Forget about anyone coming to save you. The town guards never set foot in this part of town—they’re too scared of the trouble it’d bring. First thing tomorrow morning, we’ll stuff you into a crate labeled ‘cargo’ and ship you out of this dump. See how nice we are to you? You’d better fetch a pretty penny to repay us~!”

  “Hahaha! Yeah, that’s right!”

  “......”

  Fran listened to their cruel taunts, her heart sinking deeper and deeper into despair. Hot tears streamed down her cheeks, dripping onto the rough wooden floor.

  “Aww, look at her cry! Cry all you want—it’s your own fault, you little fool! What kind of idiotic noble girl wanders into a den of thieves all by herself? You practically begged us to kidnap you! Hahaha!”

  The bald thug’s mocking words stabbed at Fran’s heart, filling her with overwhelming regret.

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  Why did I have to pick a fight with Hulim? If I hadn’t been so petty and stubborn, I would’ve let the family carriage pick me up after school. If I hadn’t acted on impulse, if I’d thought twice before following her into this godforsaken place...... I never would’ve ended up like this.

  What’s going to happen to me now? Will Father go crazy when he finds out I’m missing? Am I really going to become a slave? Forced to work in a mine until I drop dead? Or sold to some creepy cult to be used as a lab rat? Or bought by some disgusting old man......

  No. No! I refuse! I’d rather die than be a slave!

  Someone! Please! Is there anyone who can save me?!

  “No...... I don’t want to...... I don’t want to be a slave......”

  “Huh? What’s she muttering about?”

  The bald thug leaned in, cupping his ear as if he couldn’t hear her.

  Fran whimpered, her voice cracking with tears. “I don’t want to be a slave! I don’t! Someone...... please...... help me......”

  “......This girl,”

  “Hahaha!”

  The two thugs roared with laughter, doubling over with amusement.

  “She still hasn’t woken up to reality! Listen to me, you little brat!”

  “No one! And I mean no one is going to come save——”

  BOOM——!

  Before the bald thug could finish his sentence, a deafening crash echoed from the shack’s entrance. The dilapidated wooden door came flying inward, smashing against the wall and splintering into a thousand pieces.

  The dim, shadowy room was suddenly flooded with bright sunlight streaming in from outside.

  “It looks like I’m not too late.”

  The sudden burst of light left everyone in the room squinting, their eyes struggling to adjust. Against the blinding glare, a slender figure stood silhouetted in the doorway.

  Once their eyes finally focused, the people inside the shack froze in shock, staring at the figure in disbelief.

  It was a girl—no older than eight or nine—holding a sturdy wooden stick in her hand.

  “I-I didn’t do anything! It’s none of my business! I swear!”

  Not far behind her, the figure in the gray robe cowered, shouted his desperate disclaimer, then turned and fled into the slum, vanishing without a trace.

  Hulim paid him no mind. His involvement was irrelevant, anyway.

  “Who...... who are you?”

  The bald thug was stunned that a mere child had destroyed his door—but shock quickly turned to sharp, wary tension. He didn’t let his guard down for a second, his eyes locked on the girl in the doorway with a grim, predatory intensity.

  Hu...... Hulim?!

  Fran’s eyes flew open wide, her jaw dropping in pure disbelief as she stared at the girl.

  Why is she here?

  Is she...... is she here to save me?

  Did she hear me screaming for help?!

  And she came all alone...... just to rescue me?

  “Ah! So that’s what all the fuss is about! Just a snot-nosed kid!” Unlike his partner’s grim alertness, the buzzcut thug was slow to catch on. When he realized their intruder was only a little girl, he snorted in contempt, completely oblivious to the danger he was in. He swaggered forward, leering at Hulim.

  “Talk about luck! We didn’t even have to leave the house to find another payday! Wait a minute—take a good look at this brat, boss! She’s a gem! A total knockout! We’re gonna be rolling in gold——”

  “GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW, YOU IDIOT——!!”

  The bald thug roared a warning, but it was already too late.

  The buzzcut thug froze, confused by his brother’s panicked shout—when a soft, clear voice cut through the air.

  “【????????????????????????】”

  “......Strengthen.”

  In the blink of an eye, a blur of motion streaked across the room—too fast for the naked eye to follow.

  “DUCK——!”

  “Lightness.”

  Two voices rang out almost simultaneously—one a frantic shout, the other a calm whisper, right beside the buzzcut thug’s ear.

  “Huh?”

  The last thing the buzzcut thug saw was a flash of movement from the corner of his eye, closing in on him at impossible speed. Then everything went black.

  CRASH——!

  His bulky body went flying backward, slamming into the wooden wall several meters away with a sickening thud. The wall caved in under the impact, leaving a gaping hole behind him.

  Sunlight poured through the new opening, flooding the shack with even more light.

  “You bastard!”

  The bald thug’s face twisted with rage.

  “【????????????????????????】”

  “——Strengthen!”

  A white glow enveloped his body as he roared, charging at Hulim like a rabid beast, his fists clenched and ready to strike.

  Everything had happened in the blink of an eye—from the buzzcut thug stepping forward to him being taken down. It had all been too fast for the bald thug to react, let alone save his brother.

  “【??????????????????????????????】”

  “Lightness.”

  Hulim’s expression remained calm, her face a mask of serene focus.

  The instant the bald thug lunged at her, she tapped her toes lightly against the floor and vanished from her spot.

  BOOM——!

  Another deafening crash echoed through the shack. The bald thug’s charge sent him barreling straight into the opposite wall, which splintered apart, leaving yet another gaping hole.

  The shack was no longer dark and shadowy—not by a long shot.

  Hulim tilted her head slightly, glancing at the hole the bald thug had made in the wall. Then she raised her wooden stick, holding it steady in front of her, and shifted into a combat stance, ready for the next attack.

  “Was that a mistake? Maybe I should’ve met him head-on......”