Yumiko

After the door finaly closed i collapsed on my chair.

'Finally that little demon has left'

I take a towel from nearby and wipe of my sweat while at the same time i call out to someone.

"Lisa what is your opinion of the young baron?"

After he said this, a short woman with black hair and eyes apeared infront of him.

"My lord, i couldn't use identification on him at all, but from my instinct i could tell that he is very strong and extremely dangerous. Also i am not certain but....."

Seeing her hesitate i pressed her forward while at the same time reaching out to grab a bottle of water.

"Why are you hesitating for, keep going!"

"...it would seem that the young baron was aware of my presence from the moment he stepped in this establishment."

Hearing this a spit all the water i had in my mouth.

"CoughCoughCough.... ar-are you certain of this?!"

"Yes my lord, but the young baron didn't pay any attention to me at all, he was acting like it was completely normal."

Hearing this i pause for a moment and them let out a wry smile.

"Yes of course, the baron might be young but he is very intelligent. He understoud that this is a dangerous job, so having a hidden bodyguards is understandable."

Thinking of this i let out a sigh of relief, thankfully he didn't take it to heart or we might be doomed.

"My lord is this why let him buy that slave at such a low price, so you can have a good relationship with such a talented young baron?"

Hearing this i almost crushed the bottle of water out of anger, i let him get it at such a low price? Bullshit the kid practically sucked my blood during the negotiations, the more we negotiated the better he became, if i didn't know any better i would have said that he had the negatiation skill, but this is obviously impossible, how can he have a non-combat job and be strong enough to scare Lisa.

Thinking of this i put on a fake victorius smile and answered Liza.

"Yes, aren't i a genius?"

"....is it trully a good idea to have him pay only 1 gold coin?"

"....."

"...Liza come with me to my bedchambers, i need to let out some steam!"

I started walking to my bedchambers while Lisa followed while blushing heavily.

.....

"Oof, i think that the negatiations went pretty well, what do you think Rose?"

After Rose heard what i asked, she looked at me with a blank expresion.

"...young master, do you know how much would cost to buy a sick but otherwise beautiful, young and female slave of another race?"

"Around 1 gold coin i guess, after all this is how much we paid"

"...young master you have to know that the bare minimum price for a female slave of another race is 10 gold coins, if she is young then 30 gold coins and if she is beautiful she could cost more than 200 gold coins. If by any miracle she is all of the above the she could cost anywhere from 1 to even 10 platinum coins."

"....."

"....."

"...10 platinum coins? The white ones?"

"YES!"

"....."

"....."

"...go and look for the books i told you about and get some clothes for her as well, afterwards go and pick up some of the basic ingredients for alchemy so i can level it up quickly."

"As for me i will go get a carriage, after all she is in no condition to ride on a horse or beast."

"Understoud young master."

And with that said, she went on her way.

Now is the hard part.

I look at the little fox girl that i have in a princess carry.

How in gods name am i supposed to go buy a carriage without looking like a complete moron!

.....

It has been half an hour after i and Rose spit up, getting the carriage was very simple, after all no one in their right mind would demand paperwork from the noble that rules their land.

I also got a couple of thick blankets and a pillow and laid them down on the back of the carriage so Yumiko didn't have to suffer from neither the trip back to the castle nor her illness.

Yumiko's illness makes her extremely cold, to the point where her organs will at one point freeze and stop working.

As i have previously mentioned her current contition is very serious, i have no doubt that if she were to be left as she is, then she would only be able to live a month at best.

While i was having such thoughts the girl moved her fingers a bit and then her opened her eyes.

Her eyes were amber colored and were honestly captivating.

She seemed to notice the change of her resting place and she started looking around until she saw me.

The instant she saw me, she covered herself with the blankets, after she was done the only thing outside the blankets was her eyes and one of her ears.

She didn't say anything just stared at me without blinking.

"....."

"....."

After a bit of staring later i decided to speak.

"...emmm, one of your ears is outside, let me help you."

Without waiting for her to answer i went close to her and put her white, fluffy ear back under the cover.

After i did that, she wiggled for a bit before stopping and looking back at me.

"...w-what is your name?"

Her voice is very cute, but unfortunately it is also very weak.

"My name is Bell."

"...b-bell?"

"Yes, Bell."

"So, what is you name?"

"...my name is Yumiko."

"So, Yumiko is there anything you would like to ask me?"

She went silent for a bit and after some thought she asked.

"...did you buy me?"

I honestly didn't know whether or not it is a good idea to answer honestly but i didn't have the heart to lie to such a pitiful girl.

"Yes, i just bought you."

"...why"

"Because i needed a maid."

After she heared this she started to tear up.

"...bu-but i am sick, i don't have much tim..."

Before she could finish her sentence i put my hand under the blankets and patted her head.

"Everything is going to be alright."

I smiled reassuringly at her and then started to continuously cast weak heal on her.

This shouldn't be able to do anything at this stage but it is enough make her feel a bit warmer.

I repeated the spell over and over again to the point that it reached level 10, now i just need to use it another 10000 time to evolve.

Just when even my monsterous amount of mana was about to dry up she started falling asleep, but instead of using the pillow i bought for her she used my lap.

At this point all of her face was outside the blanket and she had a weak but othewise content smile on her face that made her look adorable.

"...young master seems to be very good with women!"

A woman with bright red hair peaks her head from the front of the carriage and comments with a bit of bitterness.

"Rose please don't tell me that you are jealous of a 4 year old girl!"

She rolled her eyes and pulled her head from the inside of the carriage.

"Shall we depart then?"

"Yes, but be careful on they way to the castle. It would be better to go slower than having a bumpy ride, after all an hour or two won't change anything. It is better to not let her suffer any more than is needed."

"Understood."

.....

I have seen the harsh reality of this world.

My parents sold me because they didn't have enought money to sustain my treatment, i would also be more worth while for them to just sell me and have a new child instead of bothering to treat me.

After that, my situation started to deteriorate, while the treatment that my parents were giving me wasn't enough to cure me, it was enough to at least make me able to function as a normal person.

During my transportation to a human kingdom the slave trader didn't have the skill necessary to treat me and by the time we reached our destination it was already far too late, i had reached the point where the only way to function as a normal person is to be cured.

After that i became 'Damaged goods' since it was so expensive to cure me, i was sold as leftovers to other slave merchants until now.

Until i met a slave merchant named Arthur, he was the only slave merchant that attempted to help me cure my illness.

He tried everything from magic to potions, but it wasn't enough.

There is no doubt in my mind that he wanted to cure me to sell me for a huge profit but i still felt very thankful regardless, after all if he hadn't done anything i would have passed away long ago.

After all his plans failed, he decided to make me live long enough to get the system unlocked and then i would put all my points into vitality so that i could cure myself.

This plan was perfect, or it would have been if it wasn't for a small problem.

There is no way i can hold out until i am 5, i am now 3 years old and i can feel that i am reaching my limit!

Months passed and i quickly reached more than 4 years old.

At this point basic potions and healing magic were completely useless to me other than reducing the freezing cold i fell all day long.

This is the end, i can feel it coming.

Arthur also seemed to have given up on me, i don't blame him though, the whole point of him trying to cure him is to sell me for profit, if i were to die then there would be no point.

I close my eyes and wait for the inevitable, i try to sleep so as to not feel the everpresent cold in my body and my vitality sliping away.

That was until he showed up, the cute boy with black hair and black eyes.

While he was talking to Arthur, he looked at me and at that moment i felt completely naked infront of him, as if no secret could ever be hidden from his eyes.

Then i felt his gaze change after he looked at me, it wasn't the same as Arthur was giving me, nor was it like all the other gazes i had seen other nobles giving me, full of pity and regret for not getting a good slave. It was full of gentleness and compassion as if he was trying to say 'you must have suffered a lot'.

During his conversation with Arthur he kept looking at me, i had gotten very good at knowing when people were looking at me.

Then Arthur talked about my information.

"My lord i don't know a lot about her, her name is Yumiko and should be a bit more that 4 years old. She was sold by her family due to her illness, the illness isn't hard to cure it's just expensive, all in all she is one of our best merchandise."

The greedy merchant he is, he skipped the part where i was in the last moments of my life.

Just i was about to tell the boy the truth so as to not waste his money, he spoke.

"...a dying girl is your best merchandise, Arthur?"

I was both happy and sad when i heard this, happy because the only person who trully felt even a bit sad about me didn't waste his money and sad because this was probably my last chance at getting out of this room while being alive.

I gave a wry smile in my mind, not even my parents wanted me how could someone else want me in the situation i am in.

"Anyway Arthur, how much for the girl?"

When i heard this i could hardly believe my ears.

'He wants someone like me? Who will just die in a bit?'

My mind had gone completely blank and before i could realise what was happening he had reduced my price to a single gold coin.

He paid for it without any hesitation and procceded to princess carry me outside.

Although my room had a window it wasn't the same as having the sun shine on all of my body, it wasn't enough to cover the cold i am feeling but it was a nice feeling regardless.

While i was feeling the warmth of the sun he sent his maid to buy some books and he went and bought a carriage.

He also bought some blankets and a pillow and made me a makeshift bed on the back of the carriage.

The moment he laid me down on the bed i understoud that the quality of the things that he bought for me were top notch, the blankets were very smooth and soft and the pillow was like i was lying on a cloud, not even before i was sold as a slave did i have such high quality bedding.

Then the conversation between the boy and Arthur replayed in my mind, Arthur for the first time actualy called someone lord, is the boy some kind of noble?

While i was thinking of such things the boy just silently kept gazing at me, i am certain that a person who could figure out the situation of my body with only a glance could easily see through me acting like i am sleeping.

Then it all finaly clicked, the boy knew that i was awake but he though that instead of calling me out on it, it would be better for me 'wake up' by myself.

So i immediately started acting like i was opening my eyes and looking around untill i saw him.

Although i had sneeked a pick when he had just entered my room, looking at him carefully i am honestly shocked how cute he is, i had even seen some of the best slaves that were going to be sold to a royal family and they paled in comparison when it came to the boy infront of me.

Just when i was about to speak a cold wave hit my body, this happens at random intervals and there is absolutely nothing i can do about it.

So i use the blankets to cover everything other than my eyes.

The boy didn't move even when i was covering myself with the blankets, like he had already that this would happened.

He just kept gazing at me until...

"...emmm, one of your ears is outside, let me help you."

His voice nothing like when he was talking to Arthur, it was now kind and gentle.

Before i could even reply he came up to me and gently covered an ear i had forgotten outside.

I never had someone act so kind to me other than my mother so i started to wiggle around for a bit from happiness.

Then i asked his name, my voice was honestly very weak from both my illness and from the fact that i hadn't talked to anyone in months.

"My name is Bell."

"...b-bell?"

I tried to repeat the name but it sounded weak, just when i was about to try again the boy spoke again.

"Yes, Bell."

"So, what is you name?"

He already knew my name but asking me would make the conversation smoother so i had to go with the flow.

"...my name is Yumiko."

"So, Yumiko is there anything you would like to ask me?"

I hesitate a little to think what he wanted me to ask him, after a bit of thought i asked.

"...did you buy me?"

To this the boy just gazed at me for a bit before replying.

"Yes, i just bought you."

At this point i felt something some stifling in my chest.

"...why"

Yes these were my true thoughts, why a person like him want someone like me, a soon to be corpse!

To this he replied.

"Because i needed a maid."

He just said it like it was the most normal thing in the world, i could help but start to tear up.

"...bu-but i am sick, i don't have much tim..."

Before i could even finish my sentence, i hand came closer and closer to my face before gently lifting the blankets and patting me on the head.

"Everything is going to be alright."

I look at the eyes of the boy, no i look at the eyes of Bell, who this time instead of all other emotions he had shown me before, is now looking at me with complete seriousness.

After this i felt warmth coming from the hand that was rubbing, i could recognise this feeling anywhere, this is weak heal of the light magic category.

I was about to say that it was useless before i felt a new wave of warmth and them another, again and again.

This didn't stop for quit a while but i started to see sweat coming out from Bell's brow so i decided to do something.

I acted like i fell asleep but instead of using the pillow he had bought for me i used his lap.

For the first time in my life i am happy, now even if i were to die i would be content.

And with that in mind i started smiling while truly falling asleep.