Her naked body was gaunt and pitiful. Thanks to her youth, her skin was beautiful. Her breasts were decent for her slim figure.
But whether she would sell for a high price was another matter.
After that, he turned all the supplies the merchant had kept upside down, rummaged through the clothes, found clothes and footwear she could just barely wear, and dressed her. He took out a few things and left.
It was troublesome that her luggage was increasing, but it was fine as long as she could carry it.
Important items like preserved food he carried himself, while lighter items like clothes and blankets he made the girl carry on her back.
Worst case, if they encountered pursuers.
She might have to be used as bait. In that case, the opponent was the Hero. If she was really the Hero, she would protect the slave but probably wouldn’t slaughter her.
If it was a kingdom soldier, she would definitely be gang-raped and then killed.
Well, he didn’t have the image of a lazy, careless kingdom soldier chasing into the mountains.
He looked back.
From behind came the slave girl toddling along. Her health condition was unknown, but she seemed fine so far.
If she needed to rest at frequent intervals over a short distance, she would only be a hindrance as luggage. In that case, he would have to sell her immediately. But she was keeping up better than he thought. Maybe she hadn’t been as broken by the treatment as he feared.
"There’s a river downstream from the peak ahead. The lower reaches have roaming magical beasts, but the upper reaches are relatively safe. We’ll camp near there."
He called out, but of course she didn’t reply.
A silent travel companion. It was boring to talk when she couldn’t speak. In the past he had enjoyed talking with a disciple who listened with interest.
Well, it was only for exchanging escape funds. He didn’t need unnecessary expectations. More importantly, he had to think about what would happen next.
He didn’t know how carefully the kingdom and the Hero were searching, but there was no doubt that the Hero party was now the biggest threat.
Among them, the most troublesome was probably the one who used magic, if she was there.
He wasn’t a magician and didn’t know much about magic. But even someone like him knew there were bothersome magic traps and scouting spells.
Back when he tried to sneak into a noble’s mansion, he had been caught by a magic trap and nearly arrested.
He had experienced fleeing before; in fact, he had done it plenty of times. So he was confident he could avoid a pursuit that simply combed through the area on foot. But he knew that using magic, something outside his specialty, made him on the defensive.
Given the opponent’s strength, if they were found, the fight would probably end immediately. He needed to take actions outside the Hero’s predictions.
If possible, he wanted to have at least one countermeasure... but...
...Damn. All he could do was pray while running. If she was really the Hero, there was no countermeasure.
The more he thought, the more troublesome it became.
The unfairness made him feel like escaping into reality.
Reincarnation. It was still an unreal story.
If that was true, it was bad luck that the woman he had toyed with (?) became the Hero.
When they met again, he would die. It would be one of his regrets.
He walked for several hours until he reached the upstream river.
Looking up, the sun had already begun to rise, and the eastern sky was turning red.
For a healthy human, it was time to wake up and start the day. But here he was an escapee. The daytime, when visibility was good, became the most dangerous time because he had to stay most alert.
He began scouting the surroundings.
The biggest enemy was the pursuers, of course, but he also had to watch for magical beasts outside. Magical beasts tended to go where mana was concentrated, so they rarely settled in high areas with low mana. That was why he camped on slightly elevated ground, but it wasn’t absolute safety. Wandering off from a group could happen at any time, so he couldn’t be careless.
"There’s a perfect spot."
While wandering and picking up dried branches, he found a rock cave big enough for a person to enter.
It was almost shallow, so a bit narrow, but it was more than enough for camping. As long as he could shelter from rain, it was fine.
While lighting a fire at the entrance of the cave and leaning against the wall, the slave girl leaned against the opposite wall too.
It felt overly relaxed for someone hiding, but since the sun was already fully up, the risk of being found because of the fire was low.
Rather, using smoke as a deterrent was more important. Most magical beasts hated fire, so this was a necessary habit on the road.
He decided to leave it alone if the pursuers followed the smoke. He couldn’t handle everything at once.
So what now?
He should rest first. If he didn’t sleep even a little, he wouldn’t be able to function when it mattered.
But he had finally gotten a chance to rest. If he had a girl with him, wouldn’t it be okay to take a little bone rest?
He looked at the slave girl lit by the sunlight and the fire.
She had probably been walking non-stop all night and was exhausted. She looked like she was about to fall asleep sitting up.
He thought again about her proper face.
She had a lot of future potential.
Her body, which was pushing up against the clothes, would become impressive if he fed her some more meat.
"Hey. Come here."
When he called, there was a slight delay. The slave girl looked at him.
Because he had called her while she was blankly staring at the fire, she stood up a bit listlessly and came over quickly.
He pulled her to his side and made her sit next to him.
He turned her face toward him and forcefully kissed her.
His lips pressed against the girl’s soft lips.
Taken by surprise, she showed a startled reaction. He ignored it and pressed his lips against hers. He forced his tongue in and found hers.
The girl grabbed his shoulder. The look of her eyes closed had a fresh, innocent charm.
Maybe she had little experience, or perhaps none at all.