A Jewel of Chaos

****

"And down you go..."

After sneaking back into our manor, I tossed the unconscious body of that one girl I picked up and relaxed back on my chair. I had to kill my way through a couple of monsters while carrying her, which was quite a challenge...I couldn't really burn my way through them without turning her to ashes, so I had to do it the hard way...

Welp no matter, that was quite a fun experience anyway

I then stood up once more to check that girl...

"Hmmm, her heart rate is back to normal and...other than a few cuts here and there she seems to be fine"

Well, that's good. It would be a shame for someone with a pretty face like her to die so soon

As I continue to observe her I noticed that she was very thin...It was probably because those bandits don't feed her. But something about her figure tells me there's more to the story.

She doesn't appear to be someone from the Empire, and bandits don't usually bother to change the clothes of the people they capture so she probably didn't have a good financial situation considering the fact that she was wearing down a busted-down rag...

"...Wait a minute..."

I noticed a bulge that was in between her thighs. A thought crossed my mind for a moment that she was some sort of pretty boy, but even a pretty boy won't have a bulge that big at such a young age...or maybe she does?

I decided to find out

"Huh...I don't know whether to be disappointed or relieved"

The moment I felt something hard and metallic, I knew that it wasn't the thing that I was thinking of. And the moment I reached inside, I found out that it was a sack of gold coins. I looked inside and found out that it was practically chump change for someone like me, but...since I saved her life I might as well take it as a convenience fee

If she asks where it is when she wakes up I'll just tell her it got lost or something

"Now then...time to see what loot I got this time"

Since I was carrying this girl, I only grabbed the ones I could carry and put them in one huge sack...which was quite difficult considering the only thing I could find in the wagons I destroyed were the corpses of the slaves they planned on selling

"Some golden rings and coins, that's good...some old artifacts? I could probably sell that for a hefty price. There's also a couple of other medicines here, I probably need to take them to an appraiser in town to know their exact value, and then there's..."

Some sort of tiny treasure box

It needs a key, but I don't really see it among the loot that I've got, so I tried to pry it open

"...Oh?"

But to my surprise, It won't budge at all. Even as I enhance my body with magic it showed no signs of opening. There were very few things in this world that were capable of withstanding my physical strength, so the fact that they set it in this durable treasure box was proof that something truly valuable was inside

"Interesting...alright then, let's see you take this"

I walked outside my balcony, and after making sure that nobody was watching I activated 'Hellfire'

And slowly but surely, the treasure box melted until there was nothing more but a crimson jewel in my hand. The fact that it showed no signs of melting even against my flames was proof that something about this was different...I raised it up in the moonlit sky and observed it carefully

Okay so this thing is very shiny, and shiny probably means valuable by jewel standards

And the fact that this is durable as shit would probably add to its value

But the thing that really impressed me was the magical energy that was sealed inside

One might not sense it at first, but upon careful observation, I could sense the tremendous amount of magical energy sealed inside of it. I've heard that countries in the Eastern continent in this world would preserve mana in capsules so that they could consume it for emergency purposes

And while this looks slightly different from those things...maybe it's something like that?

"One way to find out"

I plopped the jewel in my mouth and swallowed it whole. It was rough as hell so it felt a bit painful for my throat at first, but it was no biggie. I waited for something to take effect...but after five minutes, it seems that nothing is happening

"Welp, this thing ain't shi-"

Oops nevermind, I felt something happening

My stomach was suddenly burning, and I could feel my temperature rising to an astonishing degree. I could feel my head bursting out of control...and just as I thought that my body was going to explode...

"Huh?...It stopped?"

The pain disappeared for some reason

And I felt my mana pool become exponentially better...It's like years of training have suddenly just shifted into my body...

"Woah, these things are whack..."

I checked if there were more of those things inside, but unfortunately not. I don't know what exactly that was, but it's one of the most effective things I've taken since coming to this world. I reckon I oughta check on it in the east if I have the time...

"Ah!"

"-?!"

Suddenly, I heard a scream from a woman. I panicked for a moment and thought it was my mother or sister, but luckily it was just that one girl I rescued. She was panting like crazy, and her eyes had tears flowing down to her neck. Seems that she had one hell of a nightmare...

"Are you alright?..."

"Oh uhm, yes, I'm...fine. Where exactly am I"

"You're in the manor of the Albions, which is basically near the borders of the Empire. Sooo, where exactly are you from, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Uhm, I'm from Maidenport..."

"Hm, Maidenport? well, that's cool, I've traveled there a couple of times in the past. I just want to say, the fried salmon you people make is the bomb. I've never had anything like it before"

"I...don't really know what to say. I never really had enough money to buy one..."

"Oh, damn...Well, I can make it so we'll eat that tomorrow. So what's your plan now? Do you have any relatives here? Or anyone we could ask for help?"

"No, not really. My parents left me in a basket and tossed me in a village. And that village was now destroyed by the bandits so..."

"Oh, damn...sorry for your loss, I guess..."

The woman scoffed as she shook her head

"No worries, everyone in that village hated me. So I'm somewhat...relived they ended that way"

"I see..."

What the hell is this conversation I'm having right now? I know I'm not one to talk, but how can this girl be so aloof about retelling her traumatic experience? I would expect them to continue crying and sobbing while doing that, and the fact that she shows no signs of fear or remorse makes me feel a bit weirded out...

But well, she has a pretty face so it cancels out the weirdness I guess

"By the way, uhm...have you noticed a sack of gold coins somewhere in me? It was hidden inside my clothes..."

"No, not really. It must've fallen off"

"B-But I still felt it strapped to my body before I fainted?"

"Hm, that so? But it's not there now so It must've fallen off"

"Despite being tied around my waist?"

"I was fighting monsters while bringing you back here, and it was a lot of trouble, so it must've fallen off"

"...I somehow find it hard to believe that a man of your caliber was having trouble even with monsters..."

Hey, this kid is pretty sharp. But right now, she's being a bit too smart for her own good...

"...Well, whatever. I was fainted by then so if you say it fell off, it must've fallen off"

"Yep, yep, it fell off"

"But if that's the case...I really have nothing and nowhere to go now..."

"Hm?...If that's how it is then you can just work for me"

Her eyes widened and for the first time I could sense a spec of emotion behind her gaze

"R-Really?"

"I mean, I've always wanted to have a personal maid who's the same age as me. But...by agreeing to be my maid, you also agree to be my partner in crime. You see, I do lots of heinous things behind my family's back, so there are times in which you might need to keep a secret-"

"I'll do it"

"-And dispose a couple of bodies here and there, but I'll make the pay worth it and...Wait, what?"

"I'm fine with doing it. So long as I get a roof under my head, food and water, and I get to work by your side, then I'll do it. I don't even care if you don't pay me"

"Huh?...Why?"

"Because I love you"

Silence descended between us as I looked at her with the most confused, and dumbfounded expression I could muster. I must've been hearing things...

"Sorry, what was that?"

"I said I love you"

"I'm sorry, the hens at our barn are getting really loud, could you repeat that again?"

"I love you. And you guys don't seem to have a barn"

Well, it seems that I'm not hallucinating. This is really becoming quite a pickle...

"This is just moving way too fast for my taste. First off, I want to ask you why? If you're after my inheritance, then I'm sorry to say that I plan on betraying my family at some point"

"Then I will happily do it alongside you"

"Damn...are you alright in the head or something?"

"I honestly don't believe you should be telling me that..."

Shit, she's right...

"If you're wondering why I'm in love with you then I can't exactly say...I'm just following the emotions that I'm feeling right now. The moment you saved me from that bandit group was the first time I ever felt this way. So to put it simply, I love you, so I chose to serve you"

"So you're making a choice based on emotions? That's gonna bite back on you someday"

"Maybe, but right now I'm in love with you and I want to be by your side...so are you fine with that?"

"What if I say no?"

"Then I'll have no reason to live anymore. And I'll slit my throat"

"Huh...and what If I break both our arms?"

"I'll bite my tongue"

"And If I put a gag in your mouth?"

"I'll hold my breath till I die"

The fact that she could say these things without hesitation is impressive...Hehe, I wasn't expecting to find a gem like her on my nightly walks, but I'm glad I did!

"Well I can't exactly refuse you if you say it like that. Fine then if that's what you wish, then I'll allow you to serve by my side until the day we die!"

The girl let out a smile...

"Thank you, master Vergil. It's an honor to serve you...but, won't your parents would be somewhat reluctant to hire someone like me?"

"Don't worry, I have a plan"