Shizuku and Mei walked hand in hand down the street as they headed toward the guild. They had only gotten halfway when Shizuku’s ears perked up when she heard someone talking at the side. “Did you hear? I heard a summoned hero mutilated herself and sold herself into slavery.”

    “How could that be? The church would never allow a hero to come to harm.” 

Shizuku looked at the two large women who were talking and furrowed her brow. She did not know why, but she had a bad feeling. She tried to shake it off as she walked towards the guild.  

“I really do not know how you girls do it. But the amount of money you bring in is quite something. Here you go, twelve gold, fifteen silver, and six copper.” Amy placed a pouch on the counter filled with coins. Shizuku took it and quickly put it away.

    “Thanks as always, Amy.” Shizuku gave a small bow before turning and leaving the guild. She walked outside, pulling Mei along and heading towards the inn before stopping after walking a few streets down. 

“Master?” Mei was confused as to what Shizuku was doing. 

“Mei, we need to head to the slave trader.” Shizuku’s words made Mei freeze. The grip she had on Shizuku’s hand loosened as she fell to the ground, pressing her forehead on the ground.

“Master, please don’t sell me! I don’t wish to leave you!” Mei’s eyes were now full of tears. She was scared. She did not wish to go back to the dark, damp cave. She only wished to stay with Shizuku and be of use to her.

Shizuku was stunned by the sudden happenings as she turned and looked at Mei in confusion. “Mei, I would never sell you! I am only going because I need to check something.”

“Really?” Mei’s watery eyes looked up at Shizuku, causing Shizuku’s heart to melt. She had never seen such an expression on Mei’s face before, and it truly hurt just looking at it. 

“Of course. You will always be my cute Mei.” Shizuku knelt down and help Mei to her feet. “I just have to check something, and then we will go back to the inn. So no more tears, okay?”

     “Mmm…” Mei nodded and wiped her tears. She let out a relieved sigh. She was glad her Master was not sick of her.

The two girls walked down the familiar streets and arrived at a large tent. There were many carts being packed up with cages which made Shizuku frown. But she still walked over and asked one of the men packing up: “Excuse me, but is Ange here?”

“I have been waiting for you.” A voice came from the tent. Shizuku turned to see Ange standing there in her signature red dress with a small smile on her face. “You must have heard the news, right?”

    “You sent those people to inform me?” Shizuku asked while narrowing her eyes.

“Of course. I am not one to send a poor soul back to the church. At any rate, come in and see the merchandise yourself. If you want to buy her, you will need to be ready to drop a lot of coins.” Ange gave a teasing smile before turning and walking back into the tent. 

Shizuku pulled Mei along as she entered the tent. That was not almost empty except for a lone cage that sat in the darkest corner. “Here she is. The girl really did a number on her body. It took a few special medicines to keep her from dying. If you wish to buy her, it will cost you one hundred gold. After all, she is a hero.”

Shizuku couldn’t help but frown even more. One hundred gold was everything she had saved up. But if it was truly who she thought it was, then she would be willing to pay any price. Shizuku’s gaze fell onto the person in the cage. It only took her a second to confirm her thoughts. “Miyumi…..”

“So you do know her. Hehe… It looks like I did you a good favor.” Ange’s eyes flashed with gold coins. “So, will you buy her?” 

Shizuku gritted her teeth and stopped herself from dicing this woman up. Ange only took Miyumi in because she knew that she would know who it was. “If it was anyone else, I would just turn around and leave. You said a hundred gold, right?”

“That is what I said. This includes all the extra fees, so do not worry. But know that it is best to keep her as a slave. This way, the church can’t seek her out and touch her.” Ange replied with a big smile. She held her hand out, waiting for the gold that was now hers to enter her hand. For the month she had been here, this was her biggest payout yet. The reason why she knew Shizuku had so much money was due to her spies all over the city. She was a slave trader, not some normal merchant. She had people in each city she passed through. Information was key, after all.

Shizuku snorted and pulled out a bag of gold. She put that bag as awell as the gold she earned today into Ange’e hand. “Open it.” 

“Of course, my dear customer.” Ange weighed the bag in her hand and felt very happy. She took the keys to her side and opened the door to the cage. 

Shizuku stepped forward and climbed into the cage. When she saw Miyumi breathing but asleep, she let out a sigh of relief. “Miyu, I am here. You are safe now…”

Miyumi heard the familiar voice and slowly opened her eyes. She looked up at the white-haired pale-faced girl in confusion as she said softly. “If this is a dream, I don’t want it to end….”