The Sandwich Thief

As Lina and Skayla continued their journey toward Vulcan, the capital of the Kingdom of Ash, they stopped beside a small lake hidden within the forest to enjoy lunch.

“Hey, Lina, why didn’t we take a carriage to Vulcan this time?” Skayla asked before taking another bite of her sandwich.

“Well, someone said she wanted to take her time and enjoy walking because the weather was so nice,” Lina replied, having already finished her sandwich within a minute.

“You really scarfed that down, didn’t you? Did you even bother chewing?”

“When you’re eating in unfamiliar territory, you never know what might appear,” Lina answered as she stood and surveyed their surroundings. “It’s always best to finish quickly.”

Skayla released a heavy sigh and returned to her sandwich.

“When are you ever going to take it easy?” she grumbled. “Just relax for once, would you?”

As the two enjoyed a moment of quiet, leaves rustled in the nearby bushes.

Lina immediately placed her right hand on the handle of her sword, ready to draw it.

“Crap! I jinxed it, didn’t I?” Skayla asked, placing her sandwich on a clean cloth before pulling her staff from her item box.

The two stood side by side as Lina scanned the surrounding forest for any sign of an attack.

NEIGH!

A large, majestic white horse with a long silver mane and tail emerged from the bushes. At the center of its forehead was a single violet horn with a black pattern spiraling around its twisted surface.

The horse glared at the two women before walking toward the lake and calmly lowering its head to drink.

“IT’S A UNICORN!” Skayla whispered, barely containing her excitement. “I’ve heard they’re incredibly rare, and encountering one is supposed to bring good luck!”

Lina stared at the horse, feeling something was off about it.

“Are you sure it’s a Unicorn?” she asked. “Aren’t their horns supposed to be pristine white?”

Skayla narrowed her eyes and studied the violet horn.

“Hmmm... you’re right,” she said. “Its coloring reminds me of a Bicorn, but Bicorns have violet bodies, black manes, and two black horns.”

While the two debated the horse’s identity, it lifted its head from the water and slowly approached them.

Lina and Skayla remained on guard as the horse moved closer. Once she was within a foot of them, the horse calmly lowered herself onto the grass and stared at them.

“Arianrhod isn’t warning me about any danger,” Lina said after sensing no reaction from her sword. “I think we can approach her... cautiously.”

Skayla ignored Lina’s warning and immediately rushed toward the horse.

“Who’s a good girl?” Skayla asked as she carefully stroked the horse’s silver mane, earning a happy neigh in response. “Do you like that?”

While Skayla enjoyed herself, Lina inspected the horse for any clues that might identify her. Unicorns and Bicorns were both classified as SS-Rank monsters, but Bicorns were considered far more violent toward humans.

“I don’t see a second horn or any sign that one might have broken off,” Lina said. “I can also sense a calm, almost sacred energy coming from the violet horn. She’s probably a Unicorn with a unique horn.”

“HEY, LINA!” Skayla shouted, waving excitedly. “Do you think I can ride her?”

“NO!” Lina immediately answered.

“WHY NOT?!” Skayla exclaimed, stomping her feet. “She’s perfectly calm, and she likes me!”

“IT’S STILL A WILD HORSE!” Lina shouted. “WHAT IF SHE THROWS YOU OFF?! YOU’VE NEVER RIDDEN A HORSE BEFORE, AND WE DON’T EVEN HAVE A SADDLE!”

“FINE! THEN YOU RIDE HER!”

“WHY ME?!”

“If she allows you to ride her, perhaps we can tame her,” Skayla suggested. “Then we’ll have a Unicorn as our mount for the rest of our journey.”

Lina considered how much easier their journey would become with an SS-Rank mount, especially one capable of driving away evil spirits.

“FINE!” Lina finally agreed before cautiously approaching the Unicorn. “May I ride you?”

The Unicorn nodded.

Lina handed her sword to Skayla and gestured for her to move back. After grabbing the silver mane, Lina carefully climbed onto the Unicorn’s back.

The Unicorn released an unusual neigh that almost sounded like laughter before giving Lina a faint smirk and rising to her feet.

“OOOH!” Skayla exclaimed. “You look so majestic, Lina! You look like one of the Valkyrie warriors from the bedtime stories Mother Ofilia used to read to us!”

“O-Oh?” Lina muttered as a faint blush appeared on her cheeks.

Without warning, the Unicorn began panting heavily and trembling beneath Lina’s weight. A moment later, she collapsed onto the grass and sent Lina tumbling from her back.

OOOFFF!

Lina landed on a soft patch of grass.

“Are you okay?” Skayla asked, offering Lina a hand.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Lina answered as Skayla pulled her up. “I wonder what happened to her.”

“LINA!” Skayla shrieked, grabbing Lina by the shoulders and dropping the sword. “DON’T TELL ME YOU AREN’T A VIRGIN! WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?! WHO WAS IT WITH?!”

“HUH?!” Lina shouted as her face went completely blank. “GET OFF ME!”

She pushed Skayla away and retrieved her sword from the ground.

“Unicorns only allow pure maidens to ride them, while Bicorns are the opposite,” Skayla explained, pointing toward the exhausted Unicorn. “That’s the only reason she would become so tired from carrying you! SO, WHO DID YOU GIVE YOUR FIRST TIME TO?!”

“I’M STILL A PURE MAIDEN!” Lina shouted, smacking Skayla on the back of the head.

BONK!

“OWWW!” Skayla cried, clutching her head.

“Then why did she react that way?” Skayla asked before turning toward the Unicorn. “You know what? I’m going to try!”

Skayla immediately climbed onto the Unicorn’s back.

“SKAYLA! GET OFF HER BEFORE YOU GET HURT!” Lina pleaded.

“Bleh!” Skayla replied, sticking out her tongue.

The Unicorn calmly rose and began walking along the lakeshore.

“OOOH!” Skayla exclaimed. “So this is what riding a horse feels like!”

Lina followed closely behind, ready to catch Skayla if she fell.

“SEE!” Skayla shouted as she gently stroked the silver mane. “There’s nothing to worry about! She’s just a good girl!”

“Please be careful!” Lina warned.

“Lina, are you absolutely sure you’re still a virgin?” Skayla asked again. “Don’t tell me you’ve been keeping it a sec—”

Before Skayla could finish, the Unicorn began panting and trembling until her legs gave out, sending Skayla tumbling from her back.

OOOFFF!

Lina caught Skayla before she hit the ground.

“Nice catch!” Skayla said.

“Hey, Skayla,” Lina whispered in an eerie voice. “Don’t tell me you aren’t a virgin.”

Lina gave her the same smug look Skayla had worn moments earlier.

“I’M ABSOLUTELY A PURE MAIDEN!” Skayla shouted, squirming in Lina’s arms.

“Are you sure about that?” Lina asked with a smug smile.

“ABSOLUTELY!” Skayla insisted.

“Then why did the Unicorn react the same way with you?” Lina asked before noticing the horse had disappeared.

They looked ahead and saw the Unicorn standing perfectly fine while eating the sandwich Skayla had left behind.

“MY SANDWICH!” Skayla screamed.

The Unicorn swallowed the remaining sandwich in a single bite before galloping away along the lakeshore.

“GIVE ME BACK MY SANDWICH, YOU BASTARD!” Skayla shouted, raising her staff. “AIR CUTTER!”

Several invisible blades tore through the air toward the Unicorn.

The Unicorn turned around as her violet horn glowed brightly, creating a barrier that blocked every blade. She then gave Skayla a smug look.

“YOU BASTARD!” Skayla shouted. “AQUA BIND!”

Several ropes of water rose from the lake and lashed toward the Unicorn, but she elegantly leaped from side to side, avoiding every attempt to capture her before sticking out her tongue at Skayla.

As the Unicorn turned to flee again, a sudden chill ran through her body. She instinctively jerked her head backward just as a streak of silver light flashed before her eyes.

TSK!

Lina clicked her tongue as the Unicorn narrowly avoided her strike.

The Unicorn jumped backward and watched in confusion as Lina calmly sheathed her sword and bent down to retrieve something from the grass.

“I’ll be taking this as payment for the sandwich you stole,” Lina said with a smug smile, holding the Unicorn’s nine-foot-long violet horn in her right hand.

Upon realizing that Lina’s strike had cleanly severed her horn, the Unicorn released a horrified neigh.

SNIP!

“Don’t forget the tail hair,” Skayla said.

The Unicorn turned around to find Skayla holding a large pair of metal scissors in one hand and a thirteen-foot-long bundle of silver tail hair in the other.

Now hornless and nearly tailless, the Unicorn stared at both women in horror as sweat poured down her face.

“Don’t look so offended,” Skayla said, waving the stolen tail hair. “Your horn and tail hair will grow back.”

The Unicorn finally realized she had made a terrible mistake by picking a fight with these two women. Lina and Skayla no longer saw a majestic SS-Rank monster standing before them.

They saw valuable crafting materials.

The Unicorn immediately bolted into the forest while Lina and Skayla cheerfully waved goodbye.

“Not a bad exchange for a cheap sandwich,” Skayla said as she examined the bundle of silver hair. “I wonder how much this would sell for.”

“Let’s see what we can use it for before we consider selling anything,” Lina suggested, resting the violet horn against her shoulder.

Skayla immediately snatched it from Lina’s hand.

“MY PRECIOUS~!” she snarled, carefully caressing the horn.

“Whatever,” Lina replied, having no interest in a horn taken from that shitty excuse for a Unicorn. “Let’s continue our journey.”

Skayla pulled a silky white towel from her magic bag, carefully wrapped the horn, and stored it inside.

The two resumed their journey as a loud growl from Skayla’s stomach echoed through the quiet forest.

“I’M HUNGRY!” Skayla complained.