Death March — Fixed

“Tek here, while I was doing a normal city exploration, it suddenly became a dungeon attack--if this was a game, it would be difficult for beginners to follow. The labyrinth was created so easily, but I wonder where the exit it--after some years, an Adventurer’s Guild may even be created.”

When I take a look at the map, a message reading ‘Labyrinth of the Wolf Demon’s Arm, Bottom’ appears--and I can’t see the passageways.

Well, I didn’t expect my cheat to be that convenient; maybe I did, subconsciously, if the slight disappointed feeling is anything to go by, but--it’s better this way!

I carefully release the three Beastkin girls, the dog-girl and cat-girl stand by my sides, staring both at me and my surroundings with obviously anxious expression--the Lizardman-girl quickly moves around me, looking at my face, I can tell that she is nervous, by the way she seems to try to be hiding the slight trembling in her shoulders.

First of all, let’s try to sort out that, to get to know each other.

“My name is Tek, and I am a traveler.” I keep my voice quiet and calming, slowly meeting their eyes.

“C-Cat--” The cat-girl answers first, her fluffy little ears press against her short silvery hair. She plays with her cheap looking clothing with her fingers--hearing a soft rustling sound behind her, I peek over and see that she has a fluffy silvery tail, which she quickly curls around her thigh--it’s as though she is trying to hide it from my curious eyes.

The Cat-Kin girl looks like she is fourteen, her body is slim, but rather mature. She has a larger chest, and wider hips than the Lizardman girl.

With a quick reassuring smile, I turn towards the dog-girl.

“D-Dog--” Her voice trembles, her small dog ears poke out of short black hair and swivel from side to side as she intently listens to her surroundings, she seems more nervous than the cat--when I take a peek over, she also has a fluffy tail, which is mostly hidden between her thighs.

The Dog-Kin seems to be the same age as the Cat-Kin, with a similar body-shape.

She partially hides behind the Cat-Kin.

“Lizard.” The Lizardman girl introduces herself, she seems much more confident. Her hair is red, and her eyes seem to be a similar colour. She has reddish-brown scales covering her arms from her elbow to her wrist, and her shins; her tail is longer, and looks strong, like it can be used in combat.

the Lizardman girl looks older, like she is sixteen or seventeen. She is fit, with a slim body and well-shaped hips and thighs, but her chest is rather flat--which is good--well, better than ridiculously large breasts.

I wonder if it’s like Earth, and some fantasy books, and Demi-Humans mature faster than Humans?

When I talk to them later, I find out that Demi-Humans reach maturity faster than Humans, but they also have a shorter lifespan. At Level 1, unlike Humans the humans 80 years, they have 60--but they also get the increase in lifespan that leveling gives all species.

When I asked the Lizardman girl, since she seemed the most calm, she explained that not only Uusu, but their previous master all called them by that name.

The Cat and Dog girls were born into a family of slaves, and enslaved themselves since they were old enough to move around on their own. Because of this, they had no education, and could barely speak the Shiga language.

But the Lizardman girl wasn’t, she had been captured when young, but she was old enough to have a name before becoming a slave--she also had a little bit more an education, but it was mostly about survival.

However, her name was rather long and difficult for someone who isn’t a Lizardman to pronounce; in the end, she asked me to give her a name that I like, and the other two girls nodded.

I decided to name the Dog-girl ‘Pochi’, the Cat-girl ‘Tama’, after their respective animals--in Japanese, which was a language and society I liked as I grew up; I thought they sounded better than the typical names for cats and dogs in English which are: for cats - ‘Whiskers’ and for a dog - ‘Spot’ or ‘Rover’--

Taking two sounds out of her real name, which also sounded very much like her species, I named the Lizardman girl ‘Liza’--which was even less imaginative.

I must remember not to treat them like pets!

The girls look much calmer, Tama and Pochi look a little less nervous and quickly glance around the room--Liza’s trembling has calmed a little, her face also relaxing, she keeps her hands on the other girls, one on each shoulder; she still seems as though she is ready to pull them behind her at a moment’s notice.

Now then, before beginning our escape, let’s help the Beastkin girls, who still have small wounds from the attack by the crowd.

The three girls are wearing incredibly cheap looking clothing--which looked almost like ponchos, only long enough to cover them to partway down their thighs; they had arm holes as well, leaving their small arms completely bare. With their mature bodies, the clothing looked revealing, and rather enticing on Tama and Pochi--Liza was similar, but her chest was a little smaller.

 

I quickly take some cloths, a normal water bottle and some of the medicine that were samples from my Alchemy kit, out of the bag on my belt. I had been using a random bag as a dummy, to hide my inventory, since I started my date with Zena earlier--I had moved on an instinct and taken these things from my inventory and into the bag while Zena distracted the people--I had seen the girls were injured and would need healing.

“Disinfect your wound with this cloth, after soaking it in water. After doing so, smear some of the ointment onto your wounds.” I say as I hand each girl a small container of ointment, and two clothes, one of which I have already soaked in water.

The girls look slightly perplexed when I hand them the items, they are probably confused because I wasn’t giving them orders or anything, just instructing them on how to use the items.

 

I realized that some of their wounds were under their clothing and they would need to strip.

 

“What’s wrong? I will face away way while you are treating the wounds under your clothing, so don’t worry about that.”

“Thank you. You don’t have to face the other way.” Pochi seemed confused when she said the second half of her words, tilting her head cutely--did she not feel embarrassed being seen naked?

Well, it’s possible, they were born slaves--and slaves were often humiliated or treated in such a way that being naked wouldn’t be bad. Well, she was incredibly cute, and by even Human standards, she looked mature--so it was possible that both she and Tama had been treated badly, or trained since they were younger.

“Beautiful cloth--I’m happy!” Tama smiled widely and showed off her small, and very sharp, teeth; her tail moved a little, and her ears fluttered.

The cuteness drew me out of the dark thoughts from before.

“Since the master is dead, we can’t possibly pay you back. B-But it would be better to put aside the water and medical treatment until after we get out of the labyrinth--um, well--isn’t it--” Liza stuttered a little, her gaze being drawn to the medicine and cloths in her hands. She looked like she wanted to stop her wounds from hurting, but she seemed to be considering the future as well--such a forward-thinking girl.

While not minding anything, Pochi and Tama untie the string that was being used to tie the waist of their simple cloth clothes, pulling them up and over their heads.

Dropping the cloth to the ground, they quickly wipe their shapely bodies clean with the damp cloths-I quickly turn around and Tama makes an inquisitive sound, asking, “Something wrong?”

“No, nothing’s wrong, just tell me when you are clothed again, okay.”

 

“Aye!”

“Okay!”

Both girls answer cheerfully.

Liza seems to be the thoughtful type, and she was still hesitating a little; so only after I reassure her again, she also begins her treatment.

I can hear the rustling of her clothing as it falls to the ground, and I can’t help but imagine what is happening behind--but I am a man of my word, and I don’t turn back.

Suddenly, someone tugs on my clothing. I turn around and see the full glory of the naked form of Tama.

“Mister, can’t reach! Please help?” Tama tilts her head cutely as she looks at me and holds out the cloth with some medicine on it.

Well, if she asks me, there’s no reason to say no. I grab the cloth and she turns around, which causes me to feel a little disappointed, but revealed to me is a smooth slim back and perky butt, with a tail that continues naturally from her tailbone.

Trying to keep control, I carefully smear the medicine over her back and a few spots on the back of her legs.

“Thanks!” She happily thanks me and bends over, picking up her clothing and slipping it over her head and tying the cord around her thin waist.

“Me too.” Pochi asks.

Like I did with Tama, I grab the offered cloth, and she turns around. I can feel Tama’s gaze on me as I carefully smear the medicine over Pochi’s smooth back, and a few spots on the back of her rounded thighs.

“Thank you, mister.” She happily thanks me and bends over, picking up her clothing and slipping it over her head and tying the cord around her thin waist.

Tama and Pochi have dressed again, standing in front of me, there are curious looks on their cute faces.

I don’t think they did it deliberately to manipulate me or anything, I think they either just wanted help or were following suggestions of someone else. Maybe one of their previous masters like cleaning them, which is understandable with how they look.

“Thank you, I’m finished.” Liza’s voice rang out behind me, then she walked around in front of me.

Since their treatment is finished, I take another cloth out and pour water on it.

I give the cloth to Tama, who quickly and carefully washes her hands. Pochi holds her hands out, and Tama begins to clean them--she giggles as Tama carefully and slowly moves the cloth between her fingers, causing the other girl to smile.

Tama and Pochi act like sisters--with Tama being the more brave one, and Pochi following along…this is very similar to my relationship with my older sister, I am male, but I followed along while she lead.

When they are finished cleaning, they give the cloth back to me, I wash the cloth again and give it to Liza, who quickly, but carefully, washes her hands--respectfully giving the cloth back when she is done.

Since they are clean, I pull out some baked pastries from my storage and give it to them. The pastries are palm-sized, thick cookies, that are full of some kind of creamy honey-like mixture--they are some of the things that I got when I went through the stalls with Zena, storing them to eat later.

The girls take the treats--Pochi begins to drool a little, her tail making a buzzing noise. Everyone is staring at the food in their hands, but no one is eating.

“There’s no poison, so feel free to eat.”

Maybe they aren’t allowed to eat without orders, which would make sense, since they are slaves.

Hearing my words, they all begin to eat quickly--Pochi a little too quickly, she accidentally chokes, so I pass her the water bottle, after making sure to tell her to take a drink.

“I won’t be taking your food from you, so eat it more slowly” I can’t help but smile as I speak.

 

***

When I look at the Map again, it still only displays this room.

The thought occurs to me that maybe I need to use All Map Exploration every time I go to a new area--which makes sense, and is rather obvious, but I was used to outside where I had already used it and didn’t need to use it again.

With a sigh at my slip-up, I open the Menu and use All Map Exploration again--and the entire map of the Labyrinth of the Wolf Demon’s Arm is now displayed.

This labyrinth looks more like an ant’s nest, rather than a labyrinth from a game.

The passage that leads from this room to the next splits like the root of a tree, and then it splits even more from further rooms--but like labyrinths, there seem to be some secret passages that connect rooms.

Searching the map, I see that there are around one hundred and nine people in total trapped down here, seven of which are Demi-Humans; the remaining one hundred and two are Humans, but a quarter of them seem to be slaves.

The younger priest is in a considerably remote location--if we manage to meet up with him, it’s be quite near the exit. I, personally, don’t want him to die--since he seems like a nice person for a priest, and capable too. Being how he is, it is probable that he won’t die too easily, so there is the possibility of being reunited.

I tried searching for the Arm Demon, but I couldn’t find him--but there’s a strange room located in the deepest part, a room that seems to either be another map or my Magic can’t reveal it--he’s probably there.

If I carelessly beat him, the labyrinth may collapse, so let’s just leave him alone and try to get the Beastkin girls out safely.

The enemies are between levels ten and twenty, and they are primarily insect-type Monsters--there were originally twenty-ish, but they are rapidly increasing in number and have already reached more than one hundred--I can see red dots appearing as I watch.

Oh, snake and frog Monsters have started to appear as well.

Hmm, let’s give some weapons to the Beastkin girls--they may not be able to fight now, but if I help them level up on their way out--they have a higher chance of doing well when they are released.

Ahh, here is a suitable hidden location in the passage outside the room where I can take a spear and some shortswords from storage for the girls.

After deciding what to do, I tried to walk towards the passage, but the Beastkin girls suddenly stopped me.

“Please don’t throw me away! I’ll do anything!” Tears were visible in Tama’s emerald green eyes as she pleaded with me.

“Please don’t leave me behind! ” Pochi sounded panicky.

“Mister--I don’t mind if you wish to use me as a sacrifice--O-Or anything else--but please take me with you! Please!” Liza looked imploringly at me, her hands clasped in front of her chest as though she was praying.

While they all desperately tried to stop me--none of them even touched my clothes--probably because of their training as slaves. But Tama and Pochi were reaching out towards me, their hands stopping a few inches short of my body.

“Don’t worry, I was just going to check out the passage--I won’t abandon you, so please--calm down.” I spoke as gently as possible--though I don’t think it will fully calm them, it’s better than saying nothing.

Strangely though, those words calmed the girls down, and they relaxed enough to begin eating again. They had slowed down, and were savouring the taste, like I had suggested.

After they finished eating, I took three normal iron daggers and a Magic Gun from the bag; I gave each of the girls one of the daggers, and kept the Gun for myself.

Only Liza has a combat related skill, called Spear. But, since I can’t exactly take a spear out of my bag without looking incredibly suspicious, she has to make-do with a dagger--and probably because it’s uncommon for slaves to have weapons, she seemed a little hesitant as she grasped the handle, her eyes seeming to ask it I was sure it was okay to arm her, to which I nodded.

Tama and Pochi had calmly accepted the weapons and were playfully waving them around in the corner of my vision.

“I will be in the lead, and Liza you take the back and make sure that nothing can surprise attack us.”

Tama and Pochi nodded unhesitatingly.

But a quick look flashed through Liza’s eyes, though she didn’t say anything and just took her position, her eyes narrowed as she prepared herself.

“What’s wrong?” I asked Liza.

She paused for a second before replying, “W-Wouldn’t it be better if I take the front, so the enemies will attack me first and you can run with Tama and Pochi?” She seemed nervous as she spoke.

This girl was rather serious.

Tama and Pochi looked a little tense as they looked between Liza and I, feeling Liza’s nervousness, and seeming to expect her to be punished because of speaking out.

“I understand your sentiment, and thank you.”

Liza was very surprised at my response, which was unlike what she was expecting--Pochi’s tail moved a little as she relaxed, realizing that there won’t be any punishment for the older girl.

“But I can easily survive if we are attacked--you would probably die--I don’t want to sacrifice any of you.”

All three girls looked happy when they heard my words.

Oh?

The tip of Liza’s tail was twitching, she seemed really happy.

Since I have radar, there’s no possibility of a surprise attack--but I won’t tell them that. I want to help ease their unease, and to allow them to feel useful--and they were way too happy, and cute, for me to ruin it.

The order of our line is: Me, Tama, Pochi, and Liza.

Feeling uncomfortable, I Order them not to fight, since their levels are only around two or three--if they receive an attack, it is likely that they will die--It’s a real life escort mission.