Deadmeat Saga

Shortly after, Gerhart returned to the Adventurer's Guild to retrieve his belongings. He left Hope in the inn since he knew bringing along a slave, a beastkin slave looking like a child at that, would bring trouble if he brought her inside the guild, especially if unregistered.

Although Adventurers tended to be less racist than most, and he guessed Abiah and Scarlet were not human supremacists, he couldn't say the same about other guild staff and members. Like Flyx, there were also lower nobility and gentry among the adventurers who might take offense in seeing a demi-human slave in the guild. He knew the feeling first-hand as Deadmeat, in a place and time where Humans were all slaves.

In addition, some guilds entirely forbade slaves from entry, while others required special permits for certain slaves to become auxiliary members, with the Adventurer's Guild being the latter. If he carelessly brought Hope inside the guild, people were eligible to issue a complaint against him, which could result in a fine and a lowering of reputation. Also, while the guild allowed free men to rent a room in the guild, they disallowed slaves from doing so unless permitted. That was the other reason why Gerhart rented the room in the inn.

The third reason is that buying a house would likely take up to a week. Even if he purchased it directly from the guild or city hall, it still required some time.

After picking up his goods and returning the room key, Gerhart hauled his belongings back to the inn, where Hope waited on the bed, bored.

"Ah, welcome back!" Hope immediately jumped to her feet.

"Yep, I'm back," Gerhart replied, putting down his backpack.

"So, what is the plan now?" Hope asked.

"Hm... Currently, it is inconvenient for me to start working again. My body is still experiencing a growth spurt... And your body will likely also experience one." Gerhart said, looking at Hope's childish body.

"Hehe~ I can finally have a grown-up body~." Hope cheerily said.

The act of enhancing stats and talents reinvigorates the body, promoting growth. It was a gradual process, lasting from days to weeks, but eventually, the body would grow to a suitable size to accommodate its newfound power.

Growl*

Hope's stomach growled at this moment, making her blush while rubbing her stomach. "Ah... I usually don't get hungry so quickly..."

"Your body is likely demanding more food to build itself. You are now a growing girl and need to eat a lot." Gerhart smiled. "Let's go get you something to eat."

"Thank you!" Hope smiled back.

Taking his valuables with him and storing the rest in a locked chest next to the bed, Gerhart and Hope left the inn and went to a nearby tavern to eat an early lunch.

Gerhart didn't discriminate against Hope and bought her a regular meal instead of a cheap meal, much to her delight.

"Ah... I missed eating regular food..." Hope said, feeling content as she ate non-slave food after over a week.

One could imagine how big of an impact it had for a wealthy merchant's daughter to eat bland slave food. Even a tavern meal, which she reluctantly ate before being a slave, was now a luxury.

"As long as you are happy..." Gerhart replied while eating.

"By the way... What are our plans now?" Hope asked.

"Learning how to read and write, I suppose," Gerhart replied. "I barely know how to write my name."

"That... Is troubling." Hope nodded with a frown. "Although I can cover for you for now, you should learn to read and write for the future."

"Can you teach me?" Gerhart asked.

"Of course, Master. Although I am not a teacher, I can teach you." Hope nodded. "But I would need a wax tablet for writing."

A wax tablet was a square piece of hollowed wood filled with beeswax. People could then write on it using a sharp tool, and later, they could erase things by warming it up over a fire and rubbing off what was written. It was a cheap and reusable tool for keeping notes. The city guard, especially those at the gates, used them to record entries to the city, especially merchants.

"Alright. We'll buy some after lunch and return to the inn." Gerhart replied.

After lunch, Gerhart and Hope went to the market and bought four tablets before returning to the inn, where Hope began teaching the alphabet to Gerhart.

Thanks to his Intelligence reaching D and his level reaching 30, along with his familiarity with the language, Gerhart learned all the letters by dinner time and a bit of grammar by sundown. It was enough for Gerhart to read a few words. For Gerhart, who found letters too hard to learn all his life... It was a blissful achievement.

"I never thought learning could be so fun and easy... Thank you, Mylo..." Gerhart thought as he and Hope scratched the tablets, erasing the letters over a lit candle.

After returning to the room, Gerhart and Hope fell asleep on two single beds. Although there were rooms with double beds, they were a tad more expensive, and both he and Hope were uncomfortable with sleeping together. However, some things were unavoidable, and they had to bathe. When it was bathtime, they took turns exiting the room to give each other privacy.

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Meanwhile...

In the redlight district, inside the basement of a brothel...

Criminals, dirty merchants, and those associated with the underworld gathered there. It was a so-called Criminal Guild dealing with all kinds of illegal activities.

In a private room on a not-so-fancy sofa sat a muscular and scarred man, a scantily dressed prostitute in his arms, pouring him a drink.

While he was enjoying the drink and company, someone knocked.

"Tsk... Come in." The scarred man said.

After receiving permission, the door was opened by a thug with a crooked middle finger.

"Boss." The thug said.

"What is it, Crooked Finger?" The boss stared at the thug. "Can't you see I am enjoying myself?"

"Sorry, boss... We think we found who did it." The thug nicknamed Crooked Finger hesitantly said.

"Well? Spit it out, man." The boss said and drank from his wine.

"It is that rumored guy who took down four E-ranks, caused Fraser to be executed, and had Emerald Flame sold or exiled... Gerhart." Crooked Finger hesitantly said.

"How did you reach that conclusion?" The boss asked.

"The prostitutes overheard some drunk City Guards bragging about him being there, so we did a bit of digging and found that Gerhart indeed patrolled in the stash's location." Crooked Finger said.

"That is enough for suspicion, but it isn't proof. We already know the City Guard didn't receive it, and no one tried selling it." The boss replied.

Hamsterburger: "Well no shit! Gerhart absorbed it all. Sorry about the immersion breaker, but pesky bots are stealing IP. Read for free on Scribblehub. It is Deadmeat Saga, written by Bignt. If you paid to read this, you were scammed. Happy reading!"

"Besides... If it is him, that stash isn't worth the risk. He is not a weakling and has a strong backing. We can take it as a calculated loss." The boss said. "At most, we can contact him and request the stones back if he still has them for a finder's price."

"I know, boss... But there is another piece of information I need to tell you..." The thug said, meaningfully glancing at the prostitute.

The boss understood Crooked Finger's intention and patted the prostitute's rear.

Pat*

"Okay, you go take a short break." The boss said to the prostitute.

The prostitute faked a giggle and left the room, respectfully closing the door after her.

"Well, we are alone. Speak." The boss demanded.

"Gerhart is a late bloomer." Crooked Finger nervously said. "After some digging, we found that he experienced a sudden growth spurt and strength gain, and Guild Master Abiah supports him. There is also a troubling rumor he is dating Abiah's daughter, Scarlet, but it is likely a rumor... All of these led me to believe he is a late bloomer."

"... How many know of this?" The boss asked, his expression turning serious.

"Few boss. At least for now. What should we do?" The thug carefully asked.

"We can't recruit him, so we should do the most obvious thing... Sell his info for the highest bidder." The boss grinned. "If he is lucky, he will get picked by some force to be a seeded powerhouse. And if not... Sucks to be him, then."

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Some days later-

On an early morning...

Gerhart woke up, sleeping on a queen-sized double bed.

Looking right, he saw his trusty companion... His right arm... And the window, shedding a bit of morning light through the veil.

"Yawn*." Gerhart yawned, got up, did a few light stretches, and approached a polished steel mirror, staring at his reflection.

The once-plain face of Gerhart slowly changed into a masculine and confident one. His brown eyes looked sharper, his features more defined and chiseled. He radiated charisma and would stand out among the masses... Quite literally so, now that his body reached about 1.9m tall and was also muscular despite barely doing any workout.

"I changed so much..." Gerhart muttered while rubbing the stubble on his chin. "I should probably shave..." He muttered.

Putting on some clothes, Gerhart exited the bedroom, where he saw a white-haired girl with mouse features, wearing a simple dress, making breakfast in a simple kitchen.

"Ah! Good morning, Gerhart!" The girl turned around, revealing a pink-eyed beauty with slightly larger front teeth. "Breakfast will be ready soon, so please wait."

"Okay, thanks," Gerhart replied and sat on the table while admiring the rear view of the young woman.

Hope has grown from her original childlike 9-year-old body of about 1.3m to about 1.7m tall, surpassing Gerhart's growth. Her previously skinny body was now fuller, and her feminine features were more pronounced. From a cute child, she looked like a young woman.

"It was a pain in the neck to buy her new clothes and see the weird look of the innkeeper and tailor, though." Gerhart warily thought.

Feeling bored, he looked around at the new house he bought during these ten-odd days.

It is a house he bought for 4,600 Silver Coins, furnishing included. It had two bedrooms, one of which he used while the other was used by Hope, a kitchen with a stove and oven, a fireplace, and a cellar, a house that can comfortably accommodate four people. It was located in the Average Residential District and was far more secure than the slums. On the previous day, during Market Day, they used their free time to add anything missing, making the house a functional home.

"Heh... Unwittingly, one of my wishes came true... To have a house under my name. And I have such a sweet house, too." Gerhart thought. "I wish I could show it to Mylo and Hazel..."

While he was thinking that, Hope came over with breakfast. It was a large bowl of hot porridge, cold sausage, cheese, beer, and apples. The cellar used ice created by ice magicians to refrigerate the food, prolonging shelf life. It cost 10 Silver Coins to hire one, but it could last a month, so it was worth the expense.

"I hope I seasoned it right," Hope said, sitting opposite Gerhart.

By now, Hope stopped having reservations, acting like they were of equal status within the house. Hope removed the collar in the house since it was irritating and unnecessary. She was Gerhart's Thrall already, so even a Slave Contract was inferior and unnecessary, not to mention a measly collar. Only when outside did she put it on for show.

"It looks great," Gerhart replied, picking up his spoon, dipping it in the porridge, and eating some after blowing it a few times. "Hm... It is good!" Gerhart smiled and started eating.

"I'm glad." Hope smiled back and picked up her spoon. "I learned how to cook from curiosity, so I didn't know if I did it right."

"There might be room for improvement, but good job!" Gerhart replied, ravenously eating it.

After his body grew, his food intake proportionately grew. But on the flip side, he was growing stronger.

"Hmhm~ I always wanted to try cooking, but my body was so weak I couldn't." Hope happily said and also started eating.

While eating, Gerhart couldn't help but glance at the beauty facing him, hardly believing she was that pipsqueak earlier.

"Although she isn't as seductive as the Rabbitkin, she is more graceful... It's nice." Gerhart couldn't help but think and continued eating.

However, he failed to notice that Hope also sneaked peeks at him, her cheeks growing redder.

After breakfast, Hope picked up the plates and started washing them with hot water while Gerhart shaved himself with a razor and soap. When they were done, they equipped the gear they bought the day before and left the house together after locking everything.

Gerhart was in a full suit of leather armor, reinforced with some steel protectors in essential areas. He also sold his old armor and buckler and purchased a medium steel shield, giving his old sword to Hope since he had the Emerald Flame Sword.

Meanwhile, Hope wore a full suit of leather armor and was equipped with Gerhart's old sword and two daggers... And the magic collar, for appearance's sake.

And their goal was one thing...

To head to the dungeon!