Vol 2 Chapter 3: The Oath
...
"Thank you for the food! It was delicious!"
"No need to thank me, glad you enjoyed it"
Mashiro flustered right after my statement
It wasn't anything special to be honest, what I just prepared for today's lunch was a cooked Trollfish and Metalrout, Grilled Loudbear Meat, a stew made from different set of spices and Madbit Meat, and a salad with a touch of spices and herbs mixed to it
...Yeah, the salad in there kinda didn't fit for today's lunch, but I thought that maybe Mashiro would want something other than Meat or Fish, hence why I gone with another option for her to choose from
"It was the first time for me to taste these kinds of food! where did you get them? Aren't they a delicacy?"
"Eh? Delicacy?"
"...?"
"The fish you ate were the ones I caught in the river. As for that Grilled Meat, it came from the Loudbears. The Stew was made from various spices that are growing in the garden as well as the salad"
Mashiro then looked at me, dumbfounded at my answer
"Fish? River? Grilled Meat? Loudbears? Um..."
"Do you perhaps, not know what I'm talking about?"
She nodded quickly
"Seriously...?"
"I've never gone outside before...so I wouldn't know"
She has never gone outside before her whole life? Does that mean...?
"Are you perhaps...a runaway girl?"
"Runaway girl?"
"*Ehem*, for instance, you fleeing from a certain problem or situation"
"..."
Frowned, she looked away from my gaze
"...I guess you could say that..."
"..."
As if she finally decided, she stated her circumstances
"While a war was happening, my Mom and Dad decided to flee from the Empire to live a happier life...we planned to escape from that never ending suffering..."
But her parents aren't with her...
...which means...
"Right after we almost got out from that place...Mom...Dad..."
"..."
Mashiro then broke down into tears
"...I'm sorry for your loss"
I said, while I secretly manipulated the air around us to cool down. I heard that a gentle to cool breeze can calm a person down. It might be more uncomforting for her to be directly consolidated by me, hence why I thought of this instead
"I'm fine...I have to live for myself from now own, like what my Dad said..."
Live for herself...huh...?
I remember the time when I first got into this world, Master Shin was the person who I met, as well as the person who taught me how to survive in this world...
...Without any prior knowledge in this world myself, I can imagine how hard it is for Mashiro to stand up for herself right now...
...Although her physical body looks like she's at 18 years or older, her mental age says that she's younger than that, looks can be deceiving, especially in this world...
Because of her circumstances, I felt the need to take care of her. As someone who had similar experiences to her, I wanted to look after her...
...Like what Master Shin had done to me...
"Do you really have to live for yourself?"
"...?"
"Mashiro, the outside world is nothing compared to what you used to. I don't know specifically what you and your parent's had to deal with, but it isn't always sunshine and rainbows around here"
"But...I can't go back...I have to keep my promise from my Dad...I have to survive..."
"That's exactly my point. Do you really have to live for yourself?"
"I don't get it...what do you mean?"
In a state of confusion, Mashiro tried hard to understand what I meant. I smiled as I closed some distance between us
"What I'm trying to say is that, you don't have to fight alone. I can fight alongside with you"
"Huh...?"
"We can go and hunt together, train together, explore around this forest together, share our experiences, memories, and emotions with each other, and much more!"
Mashiro's eyes widen up as she slowly getting the gist of my statement
"Are you saying-"
"Yeah! You don't have to live for yourself Mashiro, we, together, can live for ourselves!"
"?!"
"Perfect timing that I've already renovated the place here as well. We can live here together, we can have our peaceful lives here together, You can even claim the room you used earlier as yours if you want to! What do you say?"
"W...What...?"
...
Sudden mix of emotions surged within Mashiro, getting surprised and wanting to cry for joy, her body instinctively did it both at once
"Why...are you so nice to me...?"
Honestly...I have no good answer for that, but the reason why is probably-
"Like what my Master had done for me, I wanted to do the same for you as well"
"Your master...?"
I nodded in response, extending it further
"I want to take care of you. I want to look after you, that's why I'm hoping you accept it"
Wherever Master Shin is right now, I think he would also approve of me looking after Mashiro. After all, he's a rough man, but he treated me like I was his own son...
"Thank you...Thank you...Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!"
She was crying, but I know this time that it was tears of joy that was dropping from her eyes
"So you really are the one destined for me!"
"Destined for you...?"
Mashiro clasped her hands and closed her eyes
"Dad...Starting from today, I'm no longer living for myself...I've decided to trust and devote myself for Rui sama!"
"Wait wait wait! Devote yourself to me?!"
Its not what I think it is, right?!
"I, Mashiro, Pledging my eternal loyalty to Rui sama. I will do anything he asks me to. I will never betray him. I will not stand for any insults against him. I acknowledge Rui sama as my master!"
"What?! Master?! Wait! This wasn't what I meant- Achk!"
Suddenly, Mashiro emitted a bright light, encapsulating her inside
"Mashiro?! Mashiro! What's happening?!"
Panicked, I immediately prepare for a "Fatality" spell that would disperse the ball of light
...Until before I was able to launch it, the ball of light slowly dispersed, showing Mashiro in the process
"Mashiro!"
The ball of light then disappeared into Mashiro's body
"What the..."
It was then that I noticed a change in Mashiro's appearance...
...From a teenager looking appearance, her form changed into a young adult cat woman, resembled of those pure white adult cats, but in demi-human form
She was already appealing earlier, but I've never thought that she can even be more attractive...
I cleared down my throat, trying to calm myself down
"You're Mashiro...right?"
Slightly blushing, she put a smile on her face, opening her eyes slowly as she replied
"Yes. I'm sorry for not explaining it to you earlier, Rui sama"
Her warmth gesture made me skipped a beat
"..."
But what was more surprising...
"...?"
Is what in the hell did just happened?!
...