Chapter 2,5: The day the two of us meet (※Blanche's POV)

AN: Okay, so I decided to add a little bonus, I will release the full chapter three in hour or two.
                            Tony Raven

My life was hell, really. As long as I remember I was treated as trash… no, trash get's thrown out when it's no longer useful, I was kept around to deal with trash. My parents even named me Blanche to make it clear to me that I'm not like everyone else, that I'm a lesser person…

"Heheh, now no one can save you, little mouse," an ugly old man was pushing me against the ground.

"N-NOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH!!!!" my voice would be jumping octaves in fear, if it was not for the gag in my mouth, I couldn't even see clearly through my tears. The old bandit's breath stink with cheap booze making me want to puke as he got closer to me.

"<Stone bullet>" a cold voice cut through the forest.

The old bandit's eyes rolled back and the smell of blood spread through the forest. The heavy body fell down on me, but just in a few seconds it got lighter and I noticed a couple of slimes carrying the body away, one of the slimes even cleaned my face from the blood with its expanded tentacle-like arm.

As if to continue my nightmare, the bandit was exchanged for a young, white haired and blue eyed boy. His gaze was cold and I could feel the temperature around us lower. I could even see some wolves standing in the back looking at me. It all felt like a pack surrounding a weak and defenseless fawn.

"You okay?" His voice was just as cold as his eyes and I barely stiffened a shudder as he removed my gag.

"Sigh… My name is Arito Aruze, I live here in the forest, what's your name?" The boy sit in front of me, his voice and eyes warming up, as if the previous sight was just a bad dream.

"B-Blanche…"

"Blanche, eh? That's a nice name. Did these men hurt you?"

"…Th-they bought me from my parents… I'm a slave now…" I looked down, tears spilling from my eyes. Memories of them and the village chief's happy smiles when those bandits took me away.

"Those bastards…" The cold look returned to Aritos face, now with anger on top of it, "Hey Blanche… if you don't have anywhere to go… would you like to stay here with me?"

Those words came to me like lightning from a clear sky. H-he wants me here? Like… to live with him?! What does he want with me? After all, I'm cursed, I could destroy his life if I stayed with him… But, but, but…

"B-but… they call me hindrance… unneeded… e-even c-c-cursed…"

"It's fine, even if you can't do something right away, you can get better over time," Arito smiled warmly, "Plus, I don't believe in being cursed, those who do are just uneducated fools."

My tears could no longer stop streaming my cheeks as I cried loudly. I could feel that as I fell down, Arito caught me and his warmth enveloped my entire body as I was crying. I cried for a long time and it exhaused me so much that I fell asleep.

During that sleep, I had a dream. The clarity and vividness of the dream made it hard for me to forget. My parents, sisters and other elves from my village were bullying me as usual, but all of a sudden their heads exploded one by one. Looking behind me, I saw Arito with the smile from before.

I woke up right after seeing his smile. I sat up, holding a blanket to my chest, my body felt hot and I was even sweating. The bed cover under me was smoother than anything I ever felt. So far I was only sleeping on leaf litter or in a shed with farm animals.

"Oh, you're awake already?"

"I-I'm sorry, I must've been a nuisance."

"Oh no, not at all. You look better than before, what about eating some food? I made a soup, want some?"

"O-oh, I'm fine with any leftovers you might have… don't worry about me," I forced a smile.

"Yeah, that ain't gonna fly," Arito got to me in an instant and picked me up as if I was but a feather.

"Wha—?! B-but!"

"No buts! God you're thin… you're never gonna make it if you don't put on some weight," Arito carried me in his arms to another, more spacious room. I could see an L shaped table with a fireplace that served as a kitchen. There was a pot on a stove with hot steaming soup in it. Arito put me on a chair and turned to the kitchen.

"Shikuro, Kurde, Karan, guard her for me please," Arito said softly and three wolves jumped out of his shadow.

"Huh?!"

"Oh, don't be afraid, these three are my Shadow wolves, they were born to my other wolves and they listen to my every command," Arito explained with a smile.

"Sh-shadow wolves?!"

Hold on, I heard my father say that Shadow wolves are monsters that everyone should fear. So how are they so cute?!

One of the three wolves plopped down its head into my lap and was happily wagging his tail.

"Alright, here is your serving of fresh, mushroom stew with Red Deer base and Mongula dumplings. Enjoy."

"Dump—lings? What is that?" Perhaps due to never being fed a meal like this, I felt totally out of place and a little ignorant.

"Dumplings are usually made from dough, but these are made from a liquid that is segregated by a Moss slime during the Blue moon."

"The pests pee?"

"Is that what you call it?"

"If we don't eliminate monsters they will ruin our fields… mother said… slimes… can be dangerous… Mother said…" I could feel my throat tightening and my heart hurt more and more.

"I see. Well, I live here with the slimes and dogs, so I know a lot about them and how to use them. For example, the regular slime Blue moon liquid can be turned into a candy," Arito said with a smile.

"A… candy?"

Isn't that the thing my sisters could enjoy every now and then? You want to tell me Arito can make those?

"You want some?"

To his question I could only nod as my throat tightened with embarrassment.

"Alright, I will take some out. But you need to eat the soup first," Arito said with a smile and went to another room.

I took a spoon into my hand and stared at the soup. The smell was enthralling and I could feel my saliva build up in my mouth. Mushrooms which I always had to eat raw. Dumplings I never heard of before. And more than anything, I could see meat in the soup. MEAT!!! I never had that in my entire life. I can only remember cleaning bones that were thrown out after cooking, that were already picked clean by my sisters

I took the spoon with one dumpling and one mushroom to my lips. The smell alone made my heart flutter. The water in the almost black wooden spoon was really runny and had many circles of fat on top of it. I slowly sipped the soup and it spread a warm, happy feeling all over my body almost in an instant. I quickly chewed on the mushroom and dumpling before taking another spoonful, this time with meat in it. I could clearly see its sinew and juicy gloss. When I put it in my mouth, it melted in an instant. I felt as if all my shackles were blown off, it was only me and the bowl of soup in front of me. I dug in almost as ravenously as a wild animal.

"Slow down a bit. If you suddenly eat a lot, your stomach might get hurt," Arito scolded me with a soft smile on his face. His eyes were much softer than before, but I could still see a speck of a guard he was, maybe unconsciously, putting on.

"I-I will…" I felt really embarrassed when being reminded to not eat quickly.

"Shikuro, Kurde, Karan, you go eat too."

"Wooof!" The wolf trio barked in unison and ran out of the room.

I ate my soup and when I was done, Arito placed a plate with candies on it infront of me. Unlike the sweets back home, which I could only see through the window, these were colorful. I could see small yellow, red and green drops.

"Wh-What are these? They aren't baked, right?"

"That's right. I used regular slime Blue moon secretion, which is called Jelly. I boiled it for a little while with honey and added extract from fruits and berries I found in the forest."

I picked up a light red one, it was squishy and smelled like the forest. I dropped it in my mouth. An explosion of sweetness overtook all my tastebuds.

"Oh wooow!"

"Heheh, I'm glad you like it. It's getting late, so I will prepare bed for you."

I continued nibbling on the jellies as Arito continued working in the back room.

"Alright. It's all done."

I walked up to the room and realized one thing. The room had only one bed and some basic furniture. It was definitely better than my own sleeping place, but somehow, I felt sad. Empty, even.

"A-Arito…" I grabbed his shirt, holding my other hand to my chest. I felt my entire body shrinking, it was unlike anything before. I remember always trying to get away from others, but now, I could not get myself to let go.

"Blanche?" he turned to me with a surprised look.

Oh no… I can't take so much from him… I'm but a nuisance, unneeded existence—

As I was shrinking into myself, something warm touched my head. I looked up and found out it was Aritos hand.

"You better get to sleep now. I will put you to work starting tomorrow, okay? You'll help me out with housework, if it’s fine with you."

"Huh? …what kind of… work?"

"Well, what kind of work can you do?"

"I… can… I can clean thrash… and… and waste…"

"Oh… I see… I have a way to clean that, actually. Can you cook?"

"I… don't know."

"Well, you have a lot of time, so no need to rush, I can teach you."

"Arito… I…I… thank you…"

Did anyone give me a chance to choose before? …I don't even know…

That day, I started to live with Arito, and my life turned completely over.