玉蒲团之云雨山庄

"Hm... Surprisingly, there is not much for me to tidy up," (Lyan)

Having a thief enter your room usually means having your room turned upside down as he or she searched for your hidden valuable items. But the half-halfing that broke into Lyan\'s inn room did not do such a thing.

Even though she couldn\'t find any valuable thing yet, she does not make a mess of the room after getting impatient. She carefully searches every part of the room neatly while only moving some of the objects that slightly differ from their former position.

(For such a little girl, she\'s sure quick on her feet) (Griselda)

(If trained well, that girl could have a speed greater than mine in the future) (Arturia)

"Hou... For the both of you to praise a person so much... That\'s quite rare. Was that speed of her is a talent she got because of her halfling blood?" (Lyan)

(Hm... I don\'t think so. That girl, judging from her ear size, it seems that even though she\'s a half, her halfling blood is not that dominant. Since different from the body, the size of a halfling\'s ears does not change that much upon their growth) (Hestia)

(A-and... It looks like she has a great amount of mana as well. She has a great potential as both a fighter and a mage) (Sylphia)

The high spirits are watching him and the half-halfling since he first woke up with a knife on his neck. They are ready to help him whenever he\'s in danger, but they know that he won\'t be needing them with his current strength.

"I see..." Lyan let out a sigh of relief.

The sigh of relief is not because of how he met her when she was still weak and not strong enough as mentioned as the great spirits, but because of the fact that she could become stronger and would be able to protect herself and make her own choices in the future.

For such a child to be able to have a shimmer of light on her future is something to be relieved about for Lyan.

(But you sure you want to leave her alone just like that, master?) (Lilith)

"What do you mean?" (Lyan)

(She has such a great potential. You could have just bought her from her owner with your fortune and made her yours. Or you could help her and save her from her owner and make her your apprentice or something. Increasing your forces are necessary as well, right? Having only monsters and eight spirit beauties might not be good for your social life in this world, you know?) (Lilith)

Even though Lilith\'s tone rather sounds like she\'s joking, Lyan knows that her words are her sincere advice toward him. But-

"You\'re right. I was just in the mood to make a sincere good deed, that\'s all," Lyan shrugged.

**************************************************

---An hour before---

"Please. Help me," The half-halfling girl requested Lyan\'s help with a pair of firm eyes. It\'s not the eyes that are filled with the intention of being pitied by people. It\'s a pair of eyes that are filled with the will to live and to fight, which flickered the flame inside Lyan.

(Magnificent) (Lyan)

That was Lyan\'s reaction upon looking into the little girl\'s eyes.

(A small flame that started to spread and turn bigger. But the things that became its fuel are not hatred nor malice. It\'s a flame lits solely by the will to live...) (Lyan)

"Then as a full-fledged adult, I shall lend you a hand, child," Lyan uttered as his gaze shifted toward the slave collar on the little girl\'s neck.

Extending his right arm, he touched the slave collar with his right hand, and the little half-halfling saw how his eyes glowed with a purple light.

(I see...) (Lyan)

*Tack!*

*Whoosh!*

After Lyan\'s snapped his fingers, purple illusions formed circles and patterns surrounding the both of them. The sight made the little girl that is still oblivious to magic has her eyes sparkle in awe. As if a beautiful miracle just happened, the girl\'s mouth opened wide agape.

At the moment Lyan touched the slave collar, his magic sensitivity and perception came into play. Reaching through the system of magic progressing inside the slave collar, Lyan projected them into a distinguishable image through his illusion magic.

"I see... How interesting. The magic working on the slave collar\'s magic system is something similar to of a curse. It\'s not that different from the slave crest on Belle\'s, Alina\'s, and Xena\'s backs. But luckily, unlike the slave crest, the slave collar only threatened the neck of the enslaved person. If it has even a slight connection towards the soul, it will be very difficult to force remove them," Lyan uttered as he observed the magic circles and patterns around them.

"Now, let\'s see if this could undo them," (Lyan)

Following his words, condensed holy mana started to gather on his hand. Slowly, as if the mana turning into a condensed fog, Lyan poured them towards the keyhole on the center of the slave collar.

"And now," Lyan then hold the holy man as if he was holding a key, and turned it as if he was opening a lock.

*Click!*

"Eh?" The little half-halfling girl uttered in surprise.

The slave collar then opened, and fell motionlessly to the ground, leaving the stunned little girl without her slave collar alone.

"I guess that should be enough for you to settle your own fate?" (Lyan)

Lyan\'s words immediately brought her back to her senses. Her face blooms with a big smile as she expresses her gratefulness.

"Thank you, mister!" The girl bowed.

But when she raised her body, the smile is gone, and Lyan could see that she was ready for what is about to come.

**************************************************

(But are you sure it\'s fine to leave that girl alone? Wouldn\'t it be bad if she pushed herself? Her opponents might be a lot, won\'t she be dead if be left alone?) (Arturia)

"It will be fine. I am not a saint. I\'ve done enough by letting her free from getting shackled by the slave collar. She\'s smart and strong enough to finish the rest," Lyan uttered blatantly as he went back to the bed. It\'s still night, and he hasn\'t taken a proper rest yet because of the case with the crown prince and Duke Ravindor.

"Let\'s just hope the best for the girl..." Lyan slowly closed his eyes, but this time, he stationed some of the acid ants and Hobu in the room to watch over his surroundings to make sure that he won\'t make the same mistake.

It does not take too long for Lyan to lose his consciousness. Maybe it\'s because of the fatigue he accumulated from dealing with the crown prince and the Duke, or it may be due to his mental fatigue from making sure that he won\'t embarrass himself as an adult in front of the half-halfling girl and fail to help her from getting free from the slave collar that was restricting her life.

If the magic used inside the slave collar was more complex and riskier, Lyan would have to use the rough way and follow the little girl secretly to help her kill her owner. But since it\'s all turned out well, it\'s all now up to the little girl whether she could break through the shackles that are holding her down and free herself or not.

There are some worries left in Lyan when she left, but after hearing the thoughts from Griselda, Hestia, and Arturia about her strength and potential, he\'s left with no doubt.

With such a peace of mind from having Hobu and his monsters protecting him around him and the satisfaction of doing a good deed, Lyan slept soundly and woke up together rather late in the morning.

"Wait, together?" Lyan opened his eyes in question as he felt a certain weight on top of his body.

"Huh!?" Lyan furrowed his eyebrows when he saw the little half-halfing girl sleeping on top of him and clinging to him as if he were her father.

"Now what is this girl doing here..." Lyan shifted his gaze towards Hobu that is standing guard right next to him as if with a questioning gaze, but Hobu turn his face away as if he was pretending he didn\'t know anything.

*Sigh!*

"I guess this is why you should never help people thoughtlessly..." (Lyan)

___________________________________________________________________________

Name: Lyan Arkanium Evocatore

Occupation: Mythril-ranked Mercenary

Money: 3,797,710,950 Elnes / 3797 gold 71 big silver 9 big coppers 5 coppers

Weapon: Magic Glaive, 1 (Decent) One-handed Sword, 2 (Good-Quality) One-handed swords, 1 (Decent) bow

Equipment: Black leather cloak, Leather Armor, Breastplate, 2 Health Potions, 2 Poison Vials

Grimoire\'s Companions: 8 High Spirits, 3 Valkyrie, Shadow Goblin Lord (Lv. 5), Papilio Slime (Lv. 45), Galewing Butterfly (Lv. 45), Rock Golem (Lv. 50), Deadlight (Lv. 63), Moonlight Butterfly (Lv. 45), Ice Golem (Lv. 50), Acid Ant Queen (Lv. 9), Magma Bear (Lv. 1), Fey Mammoth (Lv. 1), Arcane Retriever (Lv. 1)

Grimoire\'s Army: 6 Shadow Servants, 800 Skeleton Army