A black-haired girl sat inside a tavern.
It wasn't a nice place.
The tables were covered in scratches.
The floor was dirty.
The smell of alcohol mixed with the aroma of food and smoke from the fireplace filled the room.
Yet...
to the girl...
this place felt like an entirely different world.
She sat alone in a corner.
In front of her was a bowl of vegetable soup.
And...
a piece of bread.
Not a hard loaf covered in mold.
Not scraps someone else had thrown away.
The bread had just come out of the oven.
It was still warm.
A thin wisp of steam rose from its surface.
The girl stared at it.
Her eyes slowly widened.
"...Warm."
Her hand moved.
She tore off a piece of bread.
Then put it into her mouth.
The moment the warmth and aroma of wheat filled her mouth...
the girl immediately took another bite.
Then another.
She didn't even have time to chew properly.
"Hng..."
She hurriedly scooped up a spoonful of soup.
Warm.
Salty.
There were pieces of carrot.
Potato.
A little cabbage.
Simple.
Yet to the girl...
it tasted like a meal from a royal palace.
She ate faster and faster.
Bread.
Soup.
More bread.
Her hands even began to tremble from how hurriedly she was eating.
"Kh..."
She choked.
"Khuk!"
The girl covered her mouth.
A small cough escaped.
But...
after a few seconds...
she went right back to eating.
She didn't care.
She was afraid the food would disappear.
She had seen food disappear right before her eyes far too many times throughout her life.
This time...
the food was hers.
No one was allowed to take it away.
She gripped the bowl of soup with both hands.
Drank the broth until almost nothing remained.
Then...
she smiled faintly.
"...Delicious."
For a moment...
the world felt kind.
But...
that happiness didn't last long.
BANG!
The tavern door was thrown open.
Several heads immediately turned.
Four people entered.
All four were dressed in adventurer's gear.
Swords.
Light armor.
Equipment bags.
Guild badges hanging from their chests.
Yet...
there wasn't the slightest hint of a hero in their faces.
One of them looked around.
Then...
his gaze slowly dropped.
It stopped on something hanging from the girl's waist.
A cloth pouch.
The man fell silent for a moment.
Then he nudged his companion with his elbow.
His companion followed his gaze.
"Oh?"
A faint smirk appeared.
The girl didn't notice.
She was still busy finishing the last of the soup in her bowl.
The man from before pulled out the chair across from her.
CREEK...
He sat down without asking permission.
The girl stopped eating.
Her hand still held the spoon.
She stared at the man in confusion.
"...What?"
The man didn't answer immediately.
Instead, his eyes dropped back to the pouch at her waist.
Then...
he pointed at it with his chin.
"Where'd you get the money?"
The girl blinked.
"...What?"
"That pouch."
His tone was casual.
Almost as though he were merely asking a question.
The girl instinctively covered the pouch with her hand.
"I..."
The man noticed the movement.
His smile widened slightly.
"Relax."
"I'm just asking."
The girl lowered her head.
"It's my money."
"Is that so?"
"Yes."
The man nodded slowly.
Then he glanced at the table.
The nearly empty bowl of soup.
The warm bread.
Then back at the girl's ragged clothes and tangled hair.
"You live in the slums, don't you?"
The girl fell silent.
One of his companions snickered.
"Don't tell me she actually stole that money."
The girl immediately raised her head.
"I didn't steal it."
"Oh?"
The man sitting across from her leaned back.
"Then..."
He pointed at the bread and soup on the table.
"How did you afford all this?"
The girl opened her mouth.
But...
no answer came out.
The man watched her reaction.
Then...
he chuckled.
"There."
"Now I know."
The girl frowned.
"Know what?"
"You stole it."
"No!"
The answer came out instantly.
Several people at nearby tables began glancing over.
The man only seemed more relaxed.
"If you didn't steal it..."
He raised an eyebrow.
"...then where did the money come from?"
The girl clenched the edge of her clothes.
"I got it."
"From where?"
The girl fell silent.
She couldn't tell him the truth.
The black-clad figure had already given her a warning.
Shh.
Don't tell anyone.
Her silence only made the man more convinced that he had found a weakness.
"There."
He pointed at her.
"See?"
His companion laughed.
"She can't even answer."
"I didn't steal it!"
The girl protested again.
But...
her voice was much weaker this time.
The man then sighed as though he were dealing with someone being deliberately difficult.
"How about this?"
He held out his hand.
"Give me the pouch."
The girl immediately wrapped both arms around her waist.
"...Why?"
"We'll check it."
"Check it?"
"If you really didn't steal the money, then there shouldn't be a problem."
The girl stared at him.
Now...
she was beginning to understand.
They didn't actually want to know where the money came from.
They simply wanted the money.
"I don't want to."
The man's smile disappeared.
"What?"
"I didn't steal it."
The girl clutched the pouch even tighter.
"So..."
"I'm not giving it to you."
Several seconds passed.
The four adventurers exchanged glances.
Then one of them chuckled.
"She's getting brave."
The man sitting across from the girl stood up.
He was much larger than her.
His shadow immediately covered the table.
"You know..."
He leaned down.
"If we're really convinced that you stole money belonging to a noble..."
The girl froze.
"...What?"
"We could take this matter to the Guild."
The girl's expression immediately changed.
The Guild.
She knew what that meant.
Adventurers had certain authority.
And someone as poor as her...
wouldn't stand a chance of defending herself.
"I didn't steal it."
This time, her voice was barely a whisper.
The man held out his hand again.
"Then let us check it."
"No."
"Don't be stubborn."
"No!"
The girl stood up.
Her chair scraped backward.
One of them immediately grabbed her arm.
"Hey!"
The girl flinched.
"Don't touch me!"
The man pulled her slightly closer.
His companion immediately snatched the pouch from the girl's waist.
"No!"
The girl panicked.
Her hand immediately reached for the pouch.
"That's mine!"
The man holding it raised the pouch above his head.
"Yours?"
"Then..."
He gave the pouch a slight shake.
"...surely you won't mind if we check it."
The girl stared at him.
For the first time...
real fear appeared in her eyes.
She knew.
There would be no inspection.
No Guild.
And no intention of returning it.
They had simply found an excuse to take her money.
"Please..."
Her hand reached for the man's clothing.
"Don't."
The man looked at her hand.
Then...
at her face.
His smile slowly returned.
"If it's really not stolen money..."
He pulled the pouch closer to himself.
"...you don't have anything to be afraid of, do you?"
The girl shook her head frantically.
"I need that money."
The man glared at her in annoyance.
"Shut up."
The girl immediately fell to her knees.
Her arms wrapped around the man's leg.
"Please..."
Tears began to well up in her eyes.
"I'll do anything."
"Please give it back."
"It's not stolen money."
He grabbed the girl's hair.
"Ah!"
Her head was yanked backward.
Her long, tangled black hair was pulled so hard that her body nearly lifted off the floor.
"Stop!"
The girl tried to pry his hand away.
"Don't pull my hair!"
"Then let go of my leg."
"I..."
The girl bit her lip.
But her hands remained wrapped around his leg.
"Please..."
The man stared down at her.
Then...
BAM!
A fist slammed into her face.
Her frail body couldn't withstand the force of the blow.
The girl was thrown sideways and crashed onto the floor.
"Ugh..."
Several people in the tavern fell silent.
The bowl of soup on her table shifted.
The bread she hadn't finished fell onto the floor.
The girl didn't move immediately.
Then...
"Kh..."
A cough escaped.
Once.
Twice.
Then...
"Khuk!"
Blood spilled from her mouth.
The girl coughed while clutching her chest.
Tears streamed from the corners of her eyes.
Not only because it hurt.
But because...
the bread.
The soup.
The warm food that had made her happy only moments ago...
was now lying on the floor.
Covered in mud from someone's boots.
The girl stared at it.
Her lips trembled.
"...My bread..."
The man holding the pouch raised it.
"I told you."
"We'll give it back."
He slipped it into his own pocket.
His companion chuckled.
"Once we're sure there's no problem."
The girl froze.
"...You..."
She slowly pushed herself up.
Her hands were trembling.
"That's..."
"That's my money."
No one answered.
The girl tried to stand.
But her knees gave out again.
"Ah..."
She crawled forward.
Her hands reached toward their feet.
"Please..."
Her voice grew quieter.
"I just..."
She coughed again.
"Khuk..."
More blood dripped from her lips.
"I just wanted to eat..."
Those words made several people in the tavern lower their heads.
But...
no one moved.
The four adventurers were too strong.
And no one wanted to become their next target.
The man carrying the pouch finally turned around.
"If you want your money..."
He smirked.
"...come and take it yourself."
The four of them walked away.
The girl could only stare at their backs.
Her pouch...
was getting farther and farther away.
Tears fell onto the floor.
One drop.
Then another.
Her hands clenched into fists.
But...
she was too weak.
She couldn't even stand properly.
The girl lowered her head.
Her black hair covered her face.
"...I..."
Her voice was barely audible.
"I just got it..."
In front of her...
the warm bread she had bought lay on the floor.
A faint wisp of steam still rose from it.
But now...
it was no longer edible.
For a moment...
the girl wished the black-clad man who had given her the pouch earlier
had never told her to stay silent.
Because now...
she wanted to scream.
---
In another corner of the tavern...
Two mysterious patrons had been watching the entire incident from the beginning.
Hax was still sitting where he was.
His black armor had barely moved.
Beside him...
Mimic remained seated calmly as well.
The two of them had seen everything.
From the moment those four adventurers entered.
From the moment the girl's pouch was taken.
From the moment she was grabbed by the hair.
And from the moment the fist struck her face.
Yet...
neither of them had moved.
Mimic stared at the girl, who was now struggling to get back on her feet.
"...Your Majesty."
Hax didn't answer.
Instead, he looked around the tavern again.
The people who had witnessed what happened...
some pretended not to see.
Others lowered their heads.
No one called for the guards.
No one tried to stop them.
Even the tavern owner merely stood behind the counter.
Hax finally understood something.
Taranach was a country he had never visited before.
He didn't yet know how the law worked here.
He didn't know how much influence the Guild held over adventurers.
And most importantly...
he didn't know whether the people here still had the courage to stand against injustice happening right before their eyes.
Hax leaned back slightly.
"If I stopped them right away..."
He paused.
"...all I'd learn is that I can stop them."
Mimic understood what he meant.
"But if you let it happen..."
"I can see who will act."
"And who chooses to remain silent."
Hax looked at the girl again.
Yet...
there was no pity in his gaze.
Only cold judgment.
The girl struggled to stand.
Her body was trembling violently.
One hand pressed against the wall.
But...
her legs could barely support her weight.
She walked.
One step.
Then another.
Her gaze was empty.
She wasn't even looking where she was going.
The tavern owner immediately stepped out from behind the counter.
"Hey!"
"Pay for your food first!"
The girl didn't stop.
"Hey!"
"The soup and bread!"
There was no answer.
As though...
she couldn't even hear him.
The tavern owner clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"Damned..."
But then...
Clink.
Something landed on the counter.
The tavern owner stopped.
He turned around.
A single coin lay there.
The golden gleam immediately made his eyes widen.
"..."
Hax stood up.
His massive body made the chair behind him creak.
He placed one hand on the counter.
"That's payment."
The tavern owner was still staring at the coin.
"For my food..."
Hax glanced toward the door.
"...and the girl's."
The tavern owner slowly picked up the coin.
His eyes widened.
"Gold...?"
A single gold coin.
Its value was far greater than the price of two simple meals.
"Si-Sir..."
But...
Hax had already walked out.
Mimic immediately stood and followed behind him.
The tavern owner could only watch the two of them leave.
He looked down at the gold coin in his hand again.
Then...
at the door.
"...What kind of person pays for soup with a gold coin?"
No one answered.
Hax and Mimic were already long gone from the tavern.
---
The girl kept walking.
She didn't know where she was going.
She didn't know why.
All she knew...
was that her body was growing heavier.
Her breaths were becoming shorter.
"Kh..."
She clutched her chest.
A cough.
"Khuk..."
Pain spread from her chest up into her throat.
Her legs wavered again.
But she forced herself to keep walking.
Just a little farther.
She didn't know where.
As long as she got away from that place.
As long as...
no one hit her again.
A narrow alley appeared ahead.
The girl entered.
A few steps.
Then...
her knees gave out.
Thud.
Her body collapsed.
"...Ah."
Her cheek touched the cold, wet ground.
Rainwater dripped from the rooftops onto her hair.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
She tried to lift herself.
She couldn't.
Her breathing grew heavier.
"Kh..."
Another cough escaped.
This time...
more blood came out.
The girl stared at the small puddle in front of her face.
A red stain slowly spread through the water.
She fell silent.
Only now...
did she realize it.
Her body had been sick for a long time.
A cough that never went away.
Fever.
Breathing that grew shorter with each passing day.
All this time, she'd simply thought of it as something she had to endure.
She had no money for treatment.
No place to ask for help.
And now...
after being struck like that...
her body had finally given up.
"...I..."
Her voice was barely audible.
"...I'm cold."
Her eyelids felt heavy.
So very heavy.
She tried to open them.
But her vision was beginning to blur.
The walls.
The sky.
The puddles.
Everything blended together into indistinct shadows.
Then...
Tap.
A footstep echoed.
The girl froze.
Tap.
A second step.
Heavy.
Measured.
Approaching from the end of the alley.
She tried to raise her head.
Two figures...
or perhaps four?
Her vision was too blurred now.
One of them appeared enormous.
The other...
smaller.
The girl couldn't make out their faces.
She wasn't even sure whether the two figures were actually human.
[Low Life Energy Detected.]
[Target: Unknown.]
[Life Energy: 3%.]
Hax fell silent.
"..."
Three percent.
Even without further examination...
the System had already informed him that the girl was on the verge of death.
"Who..."
Her breath caught.
The footsteps stopped.
A voice echoed through the alley.
Calm.
Cold.
"Do you still want to live?"
...
Rain continued to fall.
Hax simply waited.
He would not save someone who no longer wished to live.
The girl fell silent.
She tried to open her eyes wider.
She couldn't.
"...What?"
The voice came again.
"My offer is simple."
Hax stood several steps in front of her.
Mimic stood behind him.
"If you want to live..."
Hax paused.
"...I can save you."
Rain continued falling around them.
The girl swallowed with difficulty.
"...Really?"
"Yes."
A brief silence followed.
Then...
Hax continued.
"There is a condition."
The girl didn't answer.
"You will no longer be human."
The girl's eyes moved slightly.
"And after that..."
"your life will belong to me."
Mimic remained silent.
He knew exactly what Hax meant.
This wasn't simply about saving her life.
If the girl accepted...
she would become one of the beings under Hax's command.
A follower.
Though to her...
it probably sounded like something out of a fairy tale.
The girl closed her eyes.
She didn't have much time left.
Her breathing was becoming heavier.
"You're going to die soon."
Hax's answer was blunt.
There was no lie in it.
No comforting words.
The girl bit her lip.
Tears mixed with the rain running down her face.
She didn't want to die.
Not now.
Not after...
just discovering what warm bread tasted like.
A simple bowl of soup.
And having enough money to buy food.
She still wanted to experience all of it.
She wanted to live.
Even if...
her life had been painful until now.
"...I..."
Her breath caught.
She tried again.
"...I still..."
The tears flowed more heavily.
"I still want to live."
Her voice broke.
"Please..."
Her hand moved weakly across the ground.
Hax stared at her.
Several seconds passed.
Then...
he raised one hand.
A faint light appeared.
Inventory Space.
A small bottle materialized in his palm.
The liquid inside was purple.
Dark.
Almost like blood mixed with light.
Mimic stared at the bottle.
"...Change of Life Potion."
Hax didn't answer.
The potion was no ordinary item.
He had once given one to Lyra.
After drinking it...
Lyra's body had transformed into a Dryad.
A new race.
A new life.
Hax knelt down.
His black armor emitted a low metallic sound as it touched the ground.
With one hand, he lifted the girl's head.
She didn't even have enough strength to resist.
Her eyes could only make out the black silhouette above her.
"Drink."
The girl stared at the bottle.
"...What is it?"
"A chance to live."
The girl fell silent.
She didn't know what would happen.
Didn't know what she would become.
Didn't know what kind of life awaited her afterward.
But...
she knew one thing.
She still wanted to live.
The girl slowly opened her mouth.
Hax tilted the bottle.
Purple liquid flowed into her mouth.
One drop.
Then...
more.
The girl swallowed.
Gulp.
When the final drop disappeared...
the bottle was empty.
Hax pulled it away.
The girl stared at him.
"...I..."
Her voice was barely audible.
Then...
her heart began pounding violently.
THUMP!
The girl's eyes widened.
THUMP!
Her body stiffened.
"Ah..."
Her fingers dug into the ground.
THUMP!
The third beat was far louder.
Purple light began to emerge beneath her skin.
It spread through her neck.
Down toward her chest.
Then...
throughout her entire body.
The girl opened her mouth.
But no sound came out.
Her body began to change.
Her skin felt hot.
But after several seconds...
that heat became something far stranger.
As though something were being formed inside her body.
Her spine arched.
Her shoulders trembled.
Then...
CRACK.
The sound of breaking bone came from her back.
The girl jolted.
From both sides of her shoulder blades...
something began to grow.
Flesh.
Bone.
Then black membranes.
Slowly...
a pair of wings emerged from her back.
The wings continued to grow, gradually spreading open beneath the rain.
They were pitch black.
Their structure resembled that of a bat's wings, with thin bones forming the framework and dark membranes stretched between them.
Their tips were sharp.
And every time the wings moved...
rainwater clinging to their surface fell onto the ground.
But the transformation wasn't over.
The girl's long black hair lifted in the flow of mana surrounding her body.
Her skin gradually became paler.
Her ears subtly changed.
Small fangs began to emerge behind her lips.
And atop her head...
a pair of small horns slowly appeared from beneath her black hair.
They weren't large.
They weren't frightening.
Yet they were enough to make the figure lying in the middle of the alley...
no longer look human.
The girl opened her eyes.
Their color had changed.
Her gaze was still the same.
Fearful.
Confused.
Yet...
there was something new within them.
A strange glimmer that hadn't been there before.
The purple light slowly faded.
Her body finally stopped trembling.
The two black wings spread fully behind her.
For a moment...
Hax simply stared.
He recognized that form.
Horns.
Bat-like wings.
A demonic aura.
And a physical transformation brought about by the Change of Life Potion.
Hax looked down at the creature now lying before him.
Then...
he turned his head slightly.
"Mimic."
Mimic, who had been standing several steps behind him, immediately raised his head.
"Yes, Your Majesty?"
Hax looked toward the path they had just come from.
Toward the tavern.
Toward the four men who had taken the girl's pouch.
His voice remained calm.
There was no anger.
No change in tone.
Instead...
that calmness made his next command all the more terrifying.
"Show them..."
Hax paused.
"...what pain feels like."
Mimic's eyes slowly narrowed.
For several seconds...
there was no answer.
Then...
Mimic lowered his head.
"Understood, Your Majesty."
In an instant...
his relaxed aura vanished.
The blond-haired young man's body moved.
FWOOSH!
He shot toward the end of the alley.
But before he completely disappeared...
Mimic stopped for a moment.
The corners of his mouth slowly stretched wider.
Too wide.
The skin around his lips split and tore as his grin continued to spread, revealing rows of unnaturally sharp teeth.
Whatever stood there now...
no longer looked like a young nobleman.
It barely looked human anymore.
"Heh..."
Then...
he disappeared into the rain.
This time...
not as a young nobleman.
Not as an adventurer.
But...
as something hunting its prey.