Chapter 4 - Family

Leah pulls Senna quickly and lets go of Anahid after exiting the house. Anahid knows of her mother’s love of clothes and follows along quietly. On the other hand, Senna continues to be dragged by Leah with incredible force. “Wait, wait! Do we have to rush like this?!”

“Yes, of course dear. The store is already open. We’ll run out of time if we don’t hurry.” Leah retorts impatiently. Senna turns to Anahid pleading with her eyes.

“Sorry. Can’t help. Resign yourself to being her dress up doll.” Anahid ruthlessly rejects her.

Senna hangs her head resigning herself. {I’ll have to trade in those pieces and pay them back.}

Leah brings them to a clothes shop she frequents. “Welcome!” A woman with dark brown hair greets them as they enter the store. “Oh! Leah! That was fast. Are you here to buy new clothes already?”

“Isabelle! I have a new resident and she needs a full wardrobe. She looks much too shabby like this.” Leah smiles at her friend and presents the reluctant Senna.

“Oh my! Full wardrobe you say?” Isabelle speaks with brimming enthusiasm. “Then we have a lot of work to do. Let me close the shop, so we’re not interrupted.” She dashes and closes the front door locking it.

“Eh? Is that okay?” Senna asks in a fluster.

“Yes~ If you’re getting a full wardrobe, then it’s much better than a customer buying one or two items. There’s no one else here at the moment, so the timing is perfect!” Isabelle replies with a smile.

“Mother, please refrain from going over 50,000 Triton.” Anahid comments.

“50,000 Triton! How generous.” Isabelle’s eyes glitter at the spending limit.

In contrast, Senna goes pale. “50,000 Triton. Isn’t that 5 gold coins?! That’s too much!”

“Because I’m putting in money to help with the expense.” Anahid replies as if it were obvious. Senna inadvertently groans.

“Now then, let’s get your measurements!” Leah puts her hands on Senna’s clothes.

“Eh?! Wait!” Before Senna can protest further, Leah pulls Senna’s clothes off of her upper body. The room goes silent seeing the state of Senna’s back. Numerous large scabs protrude throughout her back. As if competing with the scabs, various scooped out and cut marks can be seen. The damage isn’t limited to only her back, but covers her upper arms, hips and down to her thighs. Black burn marks in the shape of a ‘R’ litter the non-scarred areas of her body. “Sorry. It’s really ugly isn’t it?” Senna takes the shirt back from Leah, her face flushed red with embarrassment. “I can measure myself. You can just tell me how I should measure myself.”

“No, no. That’s not what you should be saying. Just what happened to your back?!” Anahid retorts.

Senna tilts her head staring back at Anahid. “I told you though? I was a plaything for 8 years. Didn’t I describe my body to that guard captain already?”

“You were serious??” Anahid covers her mouth imagining how she got the wounds.

“Of course.” Senna replies plainly before turning to Isabelle. “What do you use to measure? I’ll do it myself. There’s no need to touch my disgusting skin.”

“N-No. I’m a professional. I’ll do it, dear. There’s a dressing room there.” Isabelle replies with determination, her face still slightly pale.

“Okay. If you insist.” Senna glances at Anahid and nods moving to a dressing room.

“Anahid, what happened with Senna?” Leah turns to her daughter with a serious look on her face.

“I don’t know. I was curious how an unarmed girl like her was going to join the guild, so I offered to pay her membership fees.” Anahid relays the bits of information she knows.

Leah approaches Senna and Isabelle as they step out of the dressing room. “Senna, were you a slave?”

“Yes.” Senna answers automatically.

“You don’t have a mark of being a slave though?” (Anahid)

“The person that rescued me destroyed the collar I had and made sure I would never come in contact with my old master again.” Senna replies with a slightly strained smile.

“That’s…good to know. Are you working to reunite with your family then?” (Leah)

“No, that’s not possible. They were killed when I was first kidnapped.” The room goes deadly silent with Senna’s blunt response.

“H-How can you be so calm about it?” (Anahid)

Senna scratches her head. “My former master had my memory erased. I remember nothing before serving him, my family included. Their faces, my home, if I had any siblings, I can’t remember a thing… Since I’ve gotten away, my main focus is to live on and experience new things.”

Leah tears up and hugs Senna burying Senna’s face in her bosom. “You poor dear!! It’s okay now! You’re nowhere near that awful man.” Senna mumbles a response and tries to break from the hug without avail.

{Can’t breathe. Why can’t I break away? My strength is higher than hers.} She looks to Anahid and Isabelle for help, but they gaze back with pity and tears building up in their eyes. (A.N. The power of a mother. :) )

Leah suddenly releases Senna from the hug as she looks at her with an ecstatic expression. “I know! You can be our daughter too!”

“…Heh?” Senna stares back with a dumbfounded expression.

[Status Change]

You have been offered to take up the Galstyan name.

Do you accept?

Yes/No

“That’s a great idea!” Isabelle comments hugging Senna.

“Mmn Mmn.” Anahid nods and pats Senna’s head. “It’s a pleasure, Sis~”

[Status Change]

You have been forced to take up the Galstyan name.

You are now officially Senna Galstyan.

Senna’s eyes widen as she looks at them dumbfounded. {How did this happen?} Without any choice, she’s forced to divert the topic, waving off the status window. “Ummm…Can I start picking out clothes?”

“Oh, yes dear. Let’s get you the best clothes!” Isabelle comments.

““Agreed!!”” Leah and Anahid immediately undress Senna and start dressing her up in various clothes.

After several hours, Senna’s mouth twitches uncontrollably at the large pile of clothes on the countertop. Every single piece meant for her wardrobe.

“And all paid for.” Isabelle finishes sorting all the clothes.

“Thanks for the large discount Belle.” Leah grins with an ecstatic smile.

“It’s the least I can do to help. Whenever you need more clothes, just come see me okay?” (Isabelle)

"Y-Yeah..." Senna replies ambiguously. {Will I even need more clothes after this?}

"I'll prepare some bags. You'll need quite a few." (Isabelle)

"Ah. No need. I got it." Senna stops her and places all the clothes into her [Storage]. Isabelle and Leah freeze up seeing her [Storage] skill.

"You can use [Storage] magic?" (Isabelle)

"Yes? Why? I heard lots of people can use it." Senna asks wondering why they're surprised.

"No. That's wrong. Few people can use [Storage], mostly skilled magicians." Leah explains the details to Senna. "Even then the majority can only carry up to a few books worth of space. The ones that can carry large amounts are greatly respected after spending decades building up the skill."

"A-ahhhhh......" Senna cringes. {Uh-oh. It's rare to have and rarer to have it at a high skill level. And here I was displaying it everywhere. I have to be careful in the future.} "I'll be more careful about showing it off. Thank you for telling me." Senna bows to the two of them.

"It's no problem dear. I'll keep it a secret. Don't worry." Isabelle waves off Senna's concern.

"Yes dear. Don't worry. But..." Leah grips Senna's shoulders tightly. "You will be a big help next time I go clothes shopping."

"Yes..." Senna bitterly laughs resigning herself when she sees Leah's determined gaze.

Outside of the shop, Anahid waits for them to wrap up before they head back. "Oh!! There you are!! I finally found you!" A man calls out waving to Anahid.

"Davor? What do you want?" Anahid replies with a disgruntled tone.

The man dressed in steel body armor stops in front of Anahid. "Now don't say that. The boss had something he needs to talk to you about. You left too early, so he couldn't catch you."

"Tch. Bad timing." Anahid clicks her tongue.

"We're done~" Senna and Leah step out of the store drawing their attention. The man named Davor freezes up seeing Senna dressed in a sky blue dress, her long white hair swaying slightly as she moves. “Hmm? Is something wrong?” The women’s gaze turns to the frozen Davor.

Davor unfreezes when he sees her looking at him. “N-n-no! N-n-nothing’s wrong! I-It-It’s a pleasure to meet you! M-m-my name is D-Davor Zebec!”

“It’s nice to meet you.” Senna smiles and bows lightly to Davor making his face flush a beet red. She secretly activates [Identification].

StatusNameDavor ZebecLevel41RaceHumanAge25HP2410MP121Strength122Endurance154Agility65Dexterity55Intelligence20Wisdom15Luck18SkillsSword Lv. 4

Shield Lv. 4

Null Magic Lv. 1

Tactics Lv. 2

Enhanced Endurance Lv. 4

Self Recovery Lv. 1

Pain Resistance Lv. 3

Last Stand Lv. 2

Anahid, Leah and Isabelle smile knowingly looking at Davor’s face. Anahid decides to interrupt the moment. “Sorry, Davor came to get me. I need to talk with my clan leader, Davor and I will have to head off first.”

“Ah, that’s a shame. I wanted to take a look at some weapons and armors to figure out what I need. I guess I’ll leave it for another day.” Senna replies melancholic.

“I’ll do it!” Davor abruptly volunteers himself for the job. The women all stare at him.

“Huh? Don’t you need to participate in your meeting with your leader?” Senna asks calmly still using her polite tone.

“N-no, not at all. I’m just a messenger. I’m done with my work for the leader. I have a LOT of free time!” Davor refutes the question emphasizing his spare time.

“I see~ I wonder if I should trouble you?” Senna tilts her head cutely looking at Davor. {He definitely looks like he’s interested in how I look. The question is whether he would take advantage of the situation or not? …Maybe [Identification] can describe people like it did for the goblins?}

DescriptionHead knight of the [Pact of Ambition] clan. An upright man that has worked continuously to reach his current position. His focus on gaining strength has left him lacking in the field of romance.

{Looks like it should be fine to trust him.} Senna thinks to herself.

“Sorry, this idiot actually does need to go back with me. No need to worry about his nonsense.” Anahid forcefully interrupts wrapping her arm around Davor’s neck.

“I see. I don’t actually mind since a skilled adventurer would help, but if he’s not free, then it can’t be helped.” Senna directs the words towards Anahid. Senna smiles looking at Anahid and gives a short nod.

Anahid frowns grabbing Davor’s neck forcibly turning the two of them away from Senna. “Listen.” She hisses in a low voice. “If you’re going to take her out, you have to treat her kindly.”

“Of course. Who do you take me for?” (Davor)

“Don’t you dare make a move on her! I’ll see to it that the Captain and I teach you a special lesson if I found out anything happened.” (Anahid)

“I said I won’t do anything. Don’t worry!” Davor replies. Anahid lets go of him reluctantly.

On the other side, Leah whispers to Senna. “Senna, are you really okay going out with him? Aren’t you?”

“Yes, I don't mind. It's not like I can always avoid men. If he wasn't safe to be around, then I think Anahid would reject the idea more.” Senna replies.

“That’s true. He is a good boy.” Leah agrees.

“Then there’s no problem. I’m not going to develop any feelings anyways.” Senna replies.

“I see. Though it’s a little sad to hear you say that.” (Leah)

They finish up their conversation as Anahid and Davor does the same. Davor nervously approaches Senna. “S-shall we go?”

“Yes!” Senna smiles and follows him.

Anahid sighs and heads off to the guild, while Leah returns home.

Author's Note

Here's Chapter 4. It's a bit short, but I'm hoping to get another chapter up soon. Sooner if my computer didn't decide to take a dump on me. >_> Ran into a looping Bluescreen of Death. I had to refresh my computer and spend a good 10 hours fixing and reinstalling everything on my computer. GIANT PAIN! *sigh*

I used a rare chance to throw in a random comment in this chapter. Sadly, I'm not great in the humor department or I'd do it more frequently. Well what can I do. Anyways, will do what I can to get a chapter out today or tomorrow I hope.