Swordsmaster Fox-girl

Inside a dark alleyway in Kralid, Capital of Vetrix.

“Money or your life!”

“Hiiik! Take it all! Take it all!”

The fat merchant screamed so loud that his belly rippled like the waves of the sea. He threw all the pouches tied on his waist on the ground and ran for his life.

I threw my knife up into the air, watched it spin around a couple of times, and caught it with ease. Looking around to make sure that no one was nearby, I picked all the pouches up.

“Let’s see how much he left….”

“...”

“...”

“Holy shit…!”

T-Three Golds! That was enough to feed me for two whole years! 

But one realization immediately made me deflate.

“This fucker—! Why does he carry so many Silvers with him!?”

There were three thousand Silvers divided into twelve pouches. Carrying all those pouches with me would be extremely conspicuous, and I didn’t have any place to store them either.

“Maybe I can dig a hole and hide them there? Yeah, that’s it.”

It just so happened that this alleyway wasn’t paved with cobblestone like the rest of the street. Grinning, I dug a decently deep hole with my hands and placed eleven pouches in it. Both digging the hole and filling it up took me almost two hours.

“Two-hundred-and-fifty Silvers…. I’ll have to pay fifty to Big Beth. The remaining should last me almost two months if I’m careful about it.”

Nova, the smartest of what Big Beth called the “Orp Hans.” In case no one could tell, I was Nova. Among all the kids there, I was the only one who could read and do math. 

“Mwhahahaha, I wonder if I can trick those fools….”

Being the only one who knew math came with its advantages after all.

“But I shouldn’t risk it.”

Not when I had just made a big fortune out of nowhere.

—

Inside a small abandoned wooden hut in the slums were a wooden floor draped with cloth on top. Aside from the kitchen, the bathroom, and the other cloths stacked as pillows, there was no furniture here.

Such a place was my home. I’d always lived here as far as I could remember. And….

“Did you—”

“Yes, yes, I did.”

It was also home to the other Orp Hans. The brown-haired brat who was talking to me had a very peculiar name: Hyunsung. Apparently, Big Beth had an one-sided love with an Otherworlder when she took Hyunsung in and decided that she’d name him that for whatever reason.

The girl with dark green hair sulking in the corner was Marie.

Originally, there were twenty Orp Hans. But every time one failed to pay the bi-weekly “protection fee,” they would mysteriously disappear and reappear weeks later in a slave auction.

“Here’s fifty.” I handed Hyunsung the money. Then, I approached Marie and made sure to pat her head before handing her the money. “And here’s for you.”

“T-Thank you….”

“Hah, just remember to work for me when your legs are all healed up.”

Hyunsung and Marie were working last month when some asshole rammed into them with his carriage. Luckily, they walked out of the incident with just broken legs.

Heh, my bad. They didn’t walk out.

Anyways, the sun was almost setting. We set up chairs near the front door and sat in wait. It was two weeks since the last time we paid Big Beth, so she was coming really soon.

-”OPEN THE DOOR, BRATS!”

I quickly hopped out and opened the door. What stood on the other side was an orc-like woman. Now, I was slightly tall for an eleven-year-old, but my face only reached her waist. That meant I could smell the foul stench of her probably unwashed snatch.

No! No! Bad stomach! Last time some dumb kid puked on her, his head was smashed in!

I dashed back to my chair with a stiff smile. Without even her prompting us to do anything, I took the money out of Marie and Hyunsung’s hands and put them in the purse she was wearing.

“Fifty me, fifty Hyunsing, and fifty Marie. One-hundred-and-fifty total.”

Big Beth didn’t even count the money. She merely scoffed at us.

“You owe me double of that.”

“W-What?”

“‘Tis Summoning season—all the Otherworlders are pouring in. Surely, you will have an easier time scamming them.”

Hyunsung widened his eyes. “But—”

I quickly covered his mouth before he could do anything stupid. “Of course, Boss Beth. Give me three— no, one day, and I will get the extra money ready.”

“You overestimate yourself, boy.” The orc-like woman narrowed her eyes. She ran her fat and greasy fingers through my hair and smiled, revealing her crooked teeth. “Your hair is silky black. Your eyes are mysterious purple. It would be a waste to sell a future manwhore like you, so I’ll give you a week.”

I kept my disgust in and nodded. “Thank you for your generosity, Boss Beth.”

“Haha, I’m looking forward to being your first customer.”

As soon as the door closed, I fell to my knees and began choking myself to distract myself from the nausea. “Dammit! That’s fucking disgusting!”

Marie and Hyunsung knew what to do. The girl stayed with me and clutched by hand while the boy scooted his chair to the bathroom and came back with a mug of water and a small bar of soap.

Then, he along with Marie began washing my hair on the spot.

Feeling that the greasy filth was removed, I heaved a sigh of relief and leaned back on Marie.

“Shit! Fuck! Why does she always do that? Who fucking knows where her filthy hands have been?”

“Heh, being too handsome is not always good. Right, Marie?”

To Hyunsung’s statement, Marie ran her hand through my wet hair and shook her head while having her face red as a tomato.

“I-I think Nova’s more cute than handsome.”

“Hey-” I lifted my face up to look at Marie. “-That’s gonna change soon. I’m veeeery close to puberty.”

Hyunsung clicked his tongue and chuckled. “You should hope puberty comes late. I don’t think Big Beth can restrain herself if—”

“Fuck! I get it! Stop talking!” Just thinking about it sent shivers down my spine. I groaned and stood up. “I don’t think I can cook after that. Hyunsung, you do it this time.”

Marie’s face paled. “N-Nova, p-please reconsider!”

I smirked. I had these two brats dancing in the palm of my hand. They were so enamored with my cooking that anything else would taste like plain gruel. 

Oh, and Hyunsung’s cooking tasted like fermented orc shit. Not that I knew what orc shit tasted like. Funnily enough, it was Big Beth who said that.

“I don’t know…. I did take care of you guys for the past month.”

Marie bit her lip. She was about to say something when Hyunsung stopped her. They exchanged knowing glances before the boy spoke up.

“I’ll take up laundry duties for a month after my legs heal.”

“Hmmm…..”

“...Two months. In return, you must cook for us until we can walk again.”

I smiled and shook Hyunsung’s hand tightly. “We got a deal.”

—

 

I liked stew. Honestly, who doesn’t? But even stew would taste bland if consumed too much.

However, it wasn’t a problem for Hyunsung and Marie. They gulped all the stew up like normal with tears of happiness in their eyes.

Like always, I finished one bowl and left the hut. My destination: a tavern.

—

 

The tavern I stood in front of was called “Enadell Pub.” Since it was almost closing time, I could get to the bartender without much trouble.

A man around fifty years of age with a bird tattoo on his neck and a lame eye stood behind the counter while cleaning wine glasses. He didn’t even spare me a glance as I sat on the tall chair.

“Come on, Dylan. Don’t let me say embarrassing words again.”

Only then did the barista look at me, though still continuing to clean the glasses. “Not this again. The rules won’t change no matter how much you whine. Password or get out.”

“Tch. ‘I’m here to watch the worm squirm under your feet.’ Happy now?”

Dylan the Barista nodded. He finally put down the glass and opened the employee-only door behind him.

“Go in. Smith’s waiting for you.”

—-

 

I was convinced this place stole a confession booth from a church and placed it here. Regardless, I entered the booth and stared at the silhouette of the man behind the thin red curtain.

“My good friend Smith! How are you doing?”

The man clicked his tongue. “Who’s good friends with a brat like you? Tell me your information and leave.”

“Jeez, how heartless.” I laughed. Then, my face turned serious as I recalled Beth’s earlier visit. “Red and frilly. Will be the same for another week.”

“I see. The most I can give you for that is two Silvers.”

“Yeah….”

I received the two Silvers and sighed. This definitely was not worth the psychological damage I suffered.

“I’ve been meaning to ask.”

“Hold on, money first a—”

“Fuck no! I’m just asking out of curiosity! Why do you fucking need to know Gigantic Beth’s panties color?”

Smith stayed silent. I could see him massage his temples as he sighed. “You don’t know the kind of sick fucks that come here, Nova.”

“Sick enough to fucking obsess over Big Beth?”

“You’re goddamn right. Goddess Navr knows what goes on in that man’s diseased head.”

“...It’s best that I don’t pry more.”

“Good call.”

Well, I pocketed my hard-earned money and left the booth after saying goodbye to both Smith and Barista Dylan. 

As I walked back home, I was torn between two choices.

Do I dig up the money this soon or do I try to earn money “legitimately”?

Eh, I’ll decide tomorrow.