Page 29

(Walson)

Six years have gone by since the time my Master has taken me under his wings.

And on the day of my coming-of-age, I also received gifts from Grace and Walson. I was ecstatic. It made me really, really happy. I felt like I was someone worthy of love, someone worthy of friendship.

Someone worthy to be with Master.

Those are feelings I've never had before. Even when I make mistakes, Master treats me very well, he would console and comfort me, he is simply that kind.

I am so glad... I am so glad that I could be a slave under my Master. I never knew such bliss was possible. Is... is any of this real? I am sometimes struck by fear, that everything up until now would be just a dream... and when I wake up, everything will disappear.

Perhaps I have already died, missing a leg, in that cave surrounded by wolves, and I am simply hallucinating, having a wonderful dream right before I die.

Would the dream disperse the moment I take off the slave collar that is around my neck?

... I, I don't want to think further on this.

______________________________

My name is Melon. That is the name given to me by my Master, Walson.

My full name is Melon Liszar, and according to Master, my last name is homophonic and relates to lizards in a different language.

I currently live in my Master;s secret base deep in the mountains, surrounded by forests and bamboo.

My daily routine is very simple. I wake up at dawn and take the finished potions that were left on the [Brewing Stand] every night. Those potions are left to be brewed in the night and when I wake in the morning, they are organized with all the other potions.

I eat a simple breakfast after making sure the potions are secured. Then I would go do some warm-up exercise and get ready to train for an hour in the training room.

After that, I would place new ingredients on the [Brewing Stand] to make more batches of potions, and go see if any traps outside in the wilderness have caught any prey.

Oh, and starting from last week, I also had feeding Rifle added into my list of tasks now.

Rifle is a very ordinary gray wolf, but he and I met Walson under very similar circumstances.

Speaking of which, after Master has drawn the monster taming rune, Rifle seems to be growing bigger due to Master's growth.

Master hasn't returned to the base for a while. Perhaps he has been busy with all the ruckus that was the dark incident in the jungle? I bet he would be very surprised if he sees how big Rifle is now.

Anyway, checking the traps and resetting them usually takes a while, but I always managed to get back before noon.

Getting the previous batch of potions off the [Brewing Stand], I once again placed more ingredients into it to make another batch.

Now is the time I try to make lunch - and practice my cooking in the process.

This is usually the time when Master comes into the secret base. And he somehow always manages to make lunch for everyone in the blink of an eye. I try to do my best to finish the preparations for lunch right before he enters.

It would be embarrassing for a servant - who is supposed to make the meal - to end up being served by their master simply because the servant is too slow.

Despite the huge skill gap between my Master and I, I still try my best to cook.

Master always makes incredibly delicious food, and he always processes food in very special ways.

If Master didn't come for lunch, then I clean the base from top to bottom and create another batch of potions.

After that, I train until I drop (literally). After totally exhausting myself, I took out the various books that Master keeps inside the secret base.

I am not really fluent at reading yet... I can barely understand the messages written on the public bulletin boards. Reading books is extremely difficult for me.

If there is anything that I didn't understand, I write notes and ask Master for explanations later.

Then back to the training room, once more training until I exhaust myself.

Master's special creations are everywhere in the training room, and they help make me stronger.

The harder I hit them, the faster they move and harder they hit back. I constantly grow stronger and exceed my limit with the help of Master's creation.

There are many of them... so I basically have to fight many opponents that are equal groundings to me in terms of strength.

I can vaguely comprehend that my talents lie in going on the offensive, so I train to be strong enough to defeat enemies in a burst of strength while being fast enough to dodge any retaliations.

I always tell myself that I must not be hit - not even once - since it would signify my defeat.

With those thoughts in mind... I have started noticing that I'm a lot faster now. Or is that just my imagination?

Those... [Spinning Iron Dummies] are just as fast as I am. So maybe I'm just overthinking this?

Then I take another bath - and practice cooking once it approaches dinner time.

With a book in my hand, I anticipate the arrival of my Master as I alternate between reading the book and gazing outside.

If he still hasn't come, it means that I have to make the last batch of potions of the day and go to sleep.

That's how I have lived my life so far, and might probably be the same for the rest of my life...

Combat training has been going on for six years so far. I am no longer the same helpless girl that Master has rescued.

I have this strange feeling - this feeling of power - hidden inside me. But I am certain that I am very lacking in actual real combat experience. So I'm uncertain whether it's true or not.

The enemies in the surrounding areas are not really challenging at all, except for [Arkon] and his pack of wolves, which Master instructed that I avoid them as much as I can.

... It seems like I am only useful in combat, yet I am still not strong enough to protect my Master.

Master is really strong.

I am his slave, yet I feel so useless... I feel unworthy of having such a great Master.

Although I know that Master would never abandon me, I still feel a bit insecure and want to please him as much as I can, to ensure I can stay by his side.

... To be truthful, this is starting to look less like a "Master and Slave" relationship. Perhaps a "Man and his secret lover"...?

No no no. I shouldn't have such thoughts... I would be overstepping the boundaries of a slave.

After all, shouldn't Grace be Master's lover?

She really likes Master, but he doesn't seem to react to her affections.

Grace is important to Master, and he always pays a lot of attention towards her.

Normally one would never suspect them to be anything but close friends, but if enough attention was given, finding clues about deeper feelings is very easy.

Master is somewhat of a worrywart. He has been going nuts over the Orphanage and the Famine this year.

But we are extremely short on [Bonemeal]... Master is unable to harvest more food for the orphans, and that is making Master displeased.

Maybe... I could do something to please him?

If I remember correctly, there should be a lot of magical beasts and skeletal monsters in the [Nakula Jungle]...