Apricot – Chapter 33

Re-

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A revolving door closed and its lock set with a click. Blending in with the walls around it, it should be nigh impossible to spot this hidden pathway. Even if someone happened to stumble upon it, there should be no possible way to unlock it, since Flamm had made sure to destroy the dial to disable the lock that was located behind a bookshelf.

It was a miracle that allowed her in, so she made sure she doesn’t have to go through it a second time.

With that door sealed, Flamm made the conflict she had with Satyllus, along with the latter’s body, nonexistent.

With Milkit held tightly on her arms and Welcy on her side, Flamm stepped over the dead adventurers’ body and exited the house.

Outside, Welcy groaned as she stretched her body while taking a lungful of fresh air.

“I know the air around the capital isn’t the freshest, but it’s leagues better than that stuffy room…”

For the girl who isn’t used to being around corpses, anywhere but that room is indubitably a better place to be.

Perhaps swept along by the girl’s vigor, Flamm also took a deep breath, her expression clear of the murderous aura that overflowed just minutes earlier. Now bathing in her master’s usual, kind face, the simple fact eased Milkit’s heart even better than having escaped her shackles.

The three trudged through a road less traveled, heading for Reach’s mansion to start, led by Welcy who knows the East District like it’s the back of her hand, and before long, they entered said mansion through the back door, managing not to be spotted by anyone.

The back door was connected to the owner’s kitchen. The three soon saw a man dressed as the chef eyeing them, but with a smile and a wave of Welcy’s hand, the chef tilted his head briefly before continuing his work.

Exiting the kitchen to the corridor, it was obvious that Reach, who was there through more luck than judgment, would be surprised when his little sister suddenly appeared along with Flamm holding a bandaged girl on her arms.

But if he’s surprised by just their appearance, then he’s surely on for a treat. From the information about Satyllus’ hidden chamber and dossiers within, all the way to the confession of her killing; all was laid bare to the man who was too shocked to even pick up his jaw from the floor.

His first question was directed towards Flamm: an explanation of why she killed Satyllus, and the man can only sigh with his head on his hands after Flamm told him about Milkit, who was abducted and was a hair’s breadth away from being killed.

“…I really didn’t expect her hobby to be that…atrocious.”

It seems that despite his suspicions, he did not expect the woman to be involved in senseless murders as well…or rather, he could have, but he just refuses to think that way.

Afterwards, he appeared to be in conflict about his position regarding Flamm’s sin of killing Satyllus, but the moment he heard about how no one is bound to find the woman’s body, he showed a glimpse of relief. This, however, was not something Flamm could’ve thought about with how emotional she was. It was not that she doesn’t reflect on it. On the contrary, she did spare a thought on restraining herself in the future, but…the moment a finger was laid on Milkit, composure can go to hell for all she cares.

In the end, she decided not to dwell upon spilled milk.

“Either way, we have solid evidence of Satyllus’ wrongdoings. I think as long as we can expose this information properly, it shouldn’t disadvantage us in any ways, but…”

If Satyllus is declared missing and they write an article based on the dossiers extracted from the woman’s chamber to admonish the church, there is a chance that Welcy’s newspaper company would come under fire. Even if there’s no evidence that they killed Satyllus, their public image is still going to be somewhat ruined.

Thus, the first step to truly corner the church is to discredit them and cut off their support from the masses, and carelessly exposing about a murdered merchant would probably backfire on them instead.

Fortunately, included in the dossiers are details about how Satyllus would abuse, torture and finally murder her slaves in that room. All they need now is the right timing to disclose that information to the public, and it is definitely not when there are chances that they might be linked to Satyllus’ death.

That was Welcy’s idea, one that her older brother agreed to.

What followed was a rather difficult conversation between the two that Flamm couldn’t wrap her head around. Thus, she decided to leave the handling of the dossiers to the professionals and asked to be allowed some rest with Milkit.

Respecting her wish, Reach casually allowed Flamm to use one of his guest rooms. The servant who responded to Reach’s summons prepared them a soft bed for her to lay on.

“Please master, I am not injured, you don’t need to do this much for me…”

However, Flamm shook her head in response to Milkit’s tough façade.

The sun has yet to reach its apex, clearly indicating the event had unfolded quickly, but the girl believed that the built up fatigue shouldn’t be shrugged off.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re uninjured, I want you to rest, just for an hour or two if you want. I mean, I need a break myself” she said, lowering Milkit to the edge of the bed as she pet the girl by her forehead.

Now that Flamm said she “needs a break” herself, there’s no way Milkit can go against it.

It appears that Flamm is getting used to convincing Milkit to do something, which is a merit she’s glad about, although it brings about a point of concern all the while.

Resigning herself, Milkit closed her eyes, and before 5 minutes even passed, her breathing slowed to a sleeping pace.

“So you are tired” said Flamm, brushing the angel’s sleeping cheek gently. Before long, the girl followed suit and lays down on the bed, falling asleep almost immediately herself.

In the end, the two slept like a rock for three straight hours, and it was past noon when the two finally leaves Reach’s abode

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Predicting Eterna’s dissatisfaction, Flamm gingerly opened the front door to her house, and true to her thoughts, the moment it opened, a displeased Eterna showed up, leaning on the wall of the corridor, her eyes met with Flamm’s who were just peeking through the crack of the door.

Seeing the two in good health, Eterna lets out a soft sigh before approaching the girl with her index finger trained at Flamm’s forehead.

“Ow,” Flamm yelped, arching back despite the lack of pain. The burden put behind that index finger was more emotional than physical one after all, since she knows too well about the reason behind the woman’s anger.

“The two of you were gone the moment I woke up…you had me worried sick” Eterna said, pouting her lips. Flamm felt that Eterna was more worried than angry, but she too understood too well that worrying about someone is tougher than being angry at them.

Suddenly, Eterna approached Flamm by her neck and began sniffing around.

“…you smell like blood.”

While Flamm and Milkit did have some time to rest, they did not have time to cleanse themselves. They did manage to avoid staining their clothes with blood, but having stayed in a room full of them, it was unavoidable for its stench to have permeated into their clothes. If anyone had a decent sense of smell, they would definitely notice the smell of rust wafting about the girls.

“Sorry…Milkit was kidnapped, so I had to go and take her back.”

“And why the casual tone about the clearly serious incident?”

“I think it’s a serious incident too. But look, we got back safely, didn’t we?”

Towards her master’s casual attitude, Milkit lowered her head awkwardly, while Eterna simply sighed.

“I assume the church is behind this?”

Eterna’s target of suspicion is straightforward, if her suspicion is correct, it is hard to say that they are in the clear already. She can even imagine that there will be some sort of counterattack by the next day.

“The church isn’t behind this, for once. The culprit is that woman named Satyllus. She was Milkit’s master before.”

“Then…ah well, since you’re both uninjured, I won’t say anything. But next time, I want you to count on me too. It should be better than having to chase after her on your own.”

Back then, Flamm was too focused on wanting to catch the one who nabbed Milkit as soon as possible, since she felt that if she wasted even a second and let them get away, she won’t have the chance to save Milkit anymore. Add to the fact that Eterna was asleep during the kidnapping, and waking her up would undoubtedly waste precious seconds.

However, having Eterna join the pursuit might have been the better choice. It seems that Flamm still underestimates how skillful Eterna can be with her Water Magic.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Thus, Flamm answered honestly.

“Good,” Eterna replied, smiling as if satisfied. “By the way, I tried making lunch. Want some?”

A faint aroma could be traced to the living room, causing Flamm’s stomach to growl. She never saw Eterna cook before, but there’s bound to be wisdom with age…perhaps.

Therefore, the two girls on the entrance nodded.

---

That afternoon, despite what had happened in the morning, Flamm and Milkit spent their time in the bedroom. Since Eterna has to look after Ink as well, none of the people in the house can take a step outside.

They made dinner with whatever is left in their kitchen. There weren’t much, which was why they planned to go shopping, but even the plainest food can be made delicious with Milkit’s skills.

Eterna’s handmade lunch wasn’t bad, but Flamm believed that Milkit’s is still superior. Of course, she wisely didn’t disclose that opinion of hers, but even Eterna silently voiced her defeat during dinner.

Surprisingly, Milkit puffed her chest in pride, perhaps overwhelmed by the emotions that she had proven to be superior than one often praised as a hero.

Flamm suggested about getting in the bath together with Milkit, but as expected, she was too embarrassed to agree.

In reality, she was truly conflicted, refusing after knowing that she’s gotten her master’s verbal consent. In the end, she was unable to steel herself into getting in the bath with her master due to her unease that she stayed sitting in the changing room the whole time.

Finally, it was bedtime.

The two was dressed similarly, though with a different shade of their sleepwear. As they finished taking off MIlkit’s bandages, the two head for their respective beds.

However,

“Hey, Milkit?” Flamm whispered, inviting Milkit to her bed.

“I…It’s a single bed, master…that would be too cramped if both of us were to…”

“We just need to snuggle close then, no?”

Despite that, Flamm still raised her blanket to urge Milkit to enter her bed.

Flamm seemed to be pushier than usual. On the outside, she seemed to be her usual person, but deep down, she was truly terrified. Terrified if Milkit were to be stolen away again in her sleep.

The short incident in the morning proved that someone dear to her can be gone in an instant, and consequently, the resulting paranoia is enough to keep her awake. She need to hold Milkit in her arms to convince herself that it won’t happen.

“Um…is it…really okay?”

“If anything, I’m the one asking you here…”

“I…see…” Milkit still couldn’t help but to look apologetic. “T-then, please excuse me.”

The girl climbed onto Flamm’s bed and stuck herself close to her master. The moment she snuggled close, she immediately feels her master’s body warmth flowing to her, as if she’s holding her whole body close.

The overflowing embarrassment and joy waged war within Milkit. Her sense of shame, however, proved to be stronger as she can’t even get herself to see her master’s eyes.

“Come closer.”

“Ah…”

It appears that Flamm doesn’t feel like they are close enough, so she hugged the girl closer. It’s beginning to develop into a situation where the two would have difficulties falling asleep, but the two shared a sense of ease in each other’s arms.

Just like Flamm, Milkit’s heart still bears the trauma of being kidnapped. A single punch was all they needed to send her consciousness flying, and the next time she opened her eyes, her previous “master” she thought of never seeing again appeared before her. Her bone-chilling smile may appear in her dreams, and no one can say ’til when. Just recalling the experience sends chills down her spine, and without the warmth Flamm shares with her, she would be left with only her tears.

“Um…Master?”

“Yees?”

Flamm’s tone was softer than their blanket.

When Milkit was at the mercy of her previous owner, she hoped Flamm would save her. She wished for her master to save her.

In the end, Flamm did save her…however, that moment, she came to realize that their master-servant relationship had been twisted. To begin with, Flamm didn’t consider Milkit to be her slave. It was Milkit’s own situation that declared so.

She had never been in a relationship outside that of a master and servant, so when she realized that her relationship with Flamm had developed outside of her scope of understanding, she doesn’t know how to approach it. All she knows that she lacks the knowledge and instead still clung onto the relationship she knows about.

That was the only way she can force herself communicating with others after all.

However, now that all signs point otherwise, she searched for an answer regarding her current distance with the one she refers as her master, and she’s willing to take the first step to figure it out.

“Um…if…if you don’t mind,” she said shyly, her words slurred by the tension she felt welling up, “Can we…sleep in the same bed…from tomorrow on too?” However, she managed to say the important bits clearly and confidently.

That was not a request for her owner. Instead, it was a request to someone equal. A selfishness she can only ask to her partner.

In response, Flamm inched her face closer to Milkit’s until their foreheads touched.

Then, a smile.

“I was about to ask you the same thing.”

Flamm does not lie to Milkit. Even if it’s considered flattery, the girl would always respond to her sincerely. Hence, her words echoed deep into Milkit’s heart.

She finally felt joy. The happiness of knowing that her special someone yearns for the same thing as she does.

“How about we go out to buy some clothes tomorrow?”

“To make up for today?”

“That too, but I think I might need some change of clothes as well. Is there any place you want to go to?”

“Let’s see…I wanted to eat something nice.”

“Eat something nice, huh? Then about we splurge a bit and go to a high class restaurant?”

“But please don’t go overboard…if it’s too high class I might not be able to reproduce it at home.”

“Ohh, so that’s what you meant.”

“Yes, I wish to improve my skills so that you prefer to eat my dishes instead of other restaurants’.”

“Well, sorry to say, but that ship had long sailed.”

Thus, the two cuddled close together as they speak about their plans for the next day, unfortunately getting them way too excited that they slept an hour later than their usual time.

Though it is important to note that good times such as these are a treasure that can’t be bought with all the time of sleep.

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The next day dawned, and the glaringly obvious restless mood between the two came to be noticed by Eterna.

With a crunch accompanying her teeth sinking into the sausage in her breakfast, she chewed on the delicacy before swallowing them and spitting out a single sentence.

“You’re going on a date today?”

And that one sentence was enough to discharge the soup Flamm was drinking back out the way it came in as well as the channel it wasn’t supposed to go through. Milkit, on the other hand, panicked after seeing Flamm choke and stroked her back with one hand and a cup of water on the other.

Draining the cup immediately and wheezing afterwards, Flamm glared at Eterna.

“N-no!”

“You’re not convincing me otherwise.”

Eterna had buried the thought previously, but at this point she just has to say it.

“I’m just planning to buy the clothes for the one ruined yesterday. I’m planning to go somewhere else too though.”

“That’s what we call a da—”

“Shopping! It’s called shopping! Why are you calling it a date if I’m going out with Milkit in the first place? Tell her, Milkit.”

“Yes, master and I are going out to shop.”

That’s what they said, but Eterna—”yeah, I think it’s a date…” responded with disappointment in her tone.

The two, however, still believed otherwise. They are no friends, and at best they are mere partners. It was that vague relationship, and the two are fine with it.

If they were to describe their relationships, it would be closer to that of a family, but the two’s connection is slightly but clearly more heated than that.

“…I don’t get it.”

With an exasperated sigh, Eterna gazed upon the paper-thin difference between relationship the two is involved in.

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Flamm and Milkit went out to the town. Their first destination was the clothier where they obtained Milkit’s waitress outfit. That clothier was one that specialized in Milkit’s type of dress, so it is unavoidable that they would visit the same place again.

Either because the owner remembered the two or because they paid well, the staffs did not give them the stink eye like the first time they visited. It eased them to be able to shop in peace, but they can’t be sure if they could honestly be happy about it.

Hand in hand, the two looked around the store together, talking about things that catches their eyes and trying them out.

“Aah, it’s nice to see you in a different outfit sometimes.”

“I think it might look a bit plain.”

“Rather than plain, I guess it looks more…normal? Honestly though, any clothes you put on suddenly turns cute, so you’re kind of unfair, you know?”

“I would not say “any”. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder after all.”

The first dress Milkit tried on was a beige dress with a thick white apron on top of it. A rather simple one amongst the choices available. The headdress she puts on serves more as a tool to prevent hair from getting in the way instead of being an accessory, and it only comes in one color.

However, the set that’s built upon its functionality more than style showed a sense of personality with the sense of life it brings out.

“Is this really okay?” asked Milkit, anxious after seeing her master glancing about.

“You know, usually you’re dressed up so pretty that I’m worried it’ll attract people, but…with this dress on, I’m feeling somewhat at ease.”

Hearing her master’s impression, Milkit once again turned towards the mirror. She pinched the hem of her skirt, adjusted her headdress and checked herself again.

“I don’t quite understand, but can I assume this will be your first choice?”

“Yep, let’s go with that!”

The two decided to keep the dress.

Milkit then closed the curtain to begin trying the next dress.

“Speaking of which, you really like frilly dresses don’t you?”

“I think they are cute.”

“Then did you not like the previous one?”

“If I’m allowed to be honest, I believe a more ornate one would be nice…but my thought changed after what you said, master.”

While they conversed, Milkit had finished changing. She opened the curtain…or so she thought of doing, but instead she peeked her head out and looked towards Flamm. Her cheeks were dyed red, or rather, Flamm noticed that she was red all the way down to her neck.

“Is…is this the one you chose, master?”

“Yep, judging by that outerwear, it should be the one I chose. Just like you said, I picked the cute one with lots of frills, but…is there something wrong?”

“No, well…um…p-please look.”

The curtain flips open slowly, unveiling the girl’s full figure.

“Ooh…”

The moment she laid her eyes on the girl, Flamm’s jaw dropped and her voice flowed out.

The upper garments were, well, just as she expected; a cute, frilly dress. The problem is what’s lower.

The skirt was…too short. It was barely enough to hide her underwear, revealing Milkit’s bountiful thighs that had regained its volume. With her face the color of ripe tomatoes, she desperately tried to pull the hem of her skirt down in embarrassment as she fidgeted her legs.

In front of the embarrassed girl, Flamm can feel her heart throbbing.

“S-sorry…I, I didn’t think the skirt would be that short.”

“Is that…so…? If…If master likes it, then…I can wear them…o-only if it’s within the house…”

What greeted her was a juicy suggestion. However, the moment she nodded her head frantically, Flamm felt that something important has left her, so she attempted to endure.

“N-no, d…don’t force yourself…! We can go look at other choices!”

“Understood.”

Milkit closed the curtain, relieved, and seeing that expression, Flamm was glad that she could endure the temptation.

Several minutes later, the curtain opened to reveal another set of dress, though instead of a waitress uniform, it was a snow white one piece dress.

“This is your choice as well, master?”

“Yeah…”

Flamm was…enchanted. In the first place, she thought of Milkit as the embodiment of purity, thus the white dress suits will suit her nicely. However, the clothes looked so good on her that she was awestruck.

“You look like a princess.”

“That is too far, master. There’s no princess that will be wrapped in bandages like me.”

Truly, her fascination can only be attributed to Flamm’s affection. However, it is no understatement that if she were to walk around town with that dress, she will without a doubt attract the gazers of passersby.

“You’re really…beautiful…” Flamm whispered instinctively.

It was so good that she uncharacteristically wished to frame this scenery and immortalize it.

“I…I shall go change.”

Her master’s passionate gaze seemed to be too much for the girl, forcing Milkit to retreat behind the curtain once more, changing back to the clothes she put on when she arrived.

“What should we do? Shall we look for some more?”

“I think the usual waitress outfit should do, but it was cheap, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, compared to the others” Milkit responded after checking the price tags.

As an additional note, the most expensive one is somehow the one with less clothes; the second, miniskirt waitress outfit.

“Then that’ll do. Maybe I’d want two other sets.”

“Are you not going to buy some, master?”

“I don’t think there’s anything for me in this store.”

“I too would like to see another side of you, master.”

“…really? Then how about you choose one you think would suit me?”

“Is that okay?”

With Flamm’s consent, the girl began looking around in excitement.

It was rare to see Milkit in such a high spirit.

“How excited is she in looking at me wearing other outfits?”

Somewhat worried about the type of outfit Milkit will bring her, Flamm patiently waited.

Before long, Milkit showed up with one set of clothing and urged her into the dressing room without even allowing her to check the outfit out.

Milkit eagerly waited for her master with a huge smile on her face. On the other side of the curtain, Milkit could hear her master’s bewildered voice, but in the end, Flamm still ended up wearing it.

Finally, the curtain rises, and the figure of Milkit’s master is now wrapped in her favorite type of clothes: a cute, frilly waitress outfit.

“Waaah…!” Milkit moaned in admiration as her hands held her cheeks.

On the other hand, Flamm cast her gaze downwards as she held the hem of her outerwear, a position opposite of what the two is used to. She did not expect that a simple act of putting on a waitress outfit would put her in such embarrassment.

“It doesn’t…suit me…right?”

“Nonsense! You are adorable, master!” Flamm’s opinion was shot down fervently.

Not being used to being called adorable, Flamm’s already reddened face turned even deeper crimson, assaulted by the instinct to quickly toss herself behind the curtain. However, she held herself back, for she is giving her all for Milkit.

“A-am I wearing it properly?”

“Yes, yes you are!”

“I think it feels nice to wear this to take care of chores.”

“That cap looks marvelous on you.”

“Um…you’re different than usual…Milkit.”

“…Ah…” At her master’s interjection, the girl froze. “M-my apologies. I got too carried away…”

Obviously, the chance to see the master she loves wearing the type of clothes she loves doesn’t happen often. Actually, Flamm would perhaps wear anything Milkit asked her to, but there’s little to no chance that Milkit would be able to put her thoughts into words, which means until Flamm herself says that “you can dress me up any way you like!”, this situation will probably never happen again.

“I’ll go change” Flamm said, before closing the curtain vigorously and just as quickly changed back to her usual, easy-to-move-in shirt and short pants. Finally, wrapping her tool belt around her waist, the girl looked at the mirror and sighed; “I’m really more comfortable in this.”

After all, she’s can be more mobile, and she can also adopt her natural posture with her current outfit. However, seeing Milkit be that elated over an outfit made her consider wearing that outfit from time to time.

After the girl exited the dressing room, she picked two other sets for Milkit and bought them. Of course, it sets her back quite a bit, but it’s not something her adventurer job can’t take care of.

They still have some extra money to spend, so as scheduled, the two exited the store to head for a high class restaurant.

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The main street of the Central District is flooded with people as it usually is, so Flamm walked a step in front of Milkit to shield her from the hustle and bustle, even more so since their destination is the opposite most of the people’s.

“I still cannot believe there are this much people living in the capital.”

“It’s not just the residents. Tourists and merchants often pass through this street. See, there’s a wagon passing right in the center. Those often create some congestion, so it can feel more crowded than it actually is.”

There were even talks about creating a road exclusively for wagons, but with all the issues happening surrounding the capital, the plan didn’t come to fruition. There were talks about infrastructure, repairs on some facilities, and the preservation of public safety, indicating that the more developed the capital is, the more problems it has to solve. With how many people settling into the capital, the dissatisfaction of the masses also grow aplenty. It was also one of the reasons why the incident with Ink and her monstrous eyeballs has been rumored to be the work of the church.

However, it stays a rumor since the general populace has no real basis for the information regarding the church’s human experiments.

As a matter of fact, that rumor is factual.

Behind the veil of peace shrouding the capital, the number of victims that fell to the hands of the church grows larger.

“Are you okay with the crowd, Milkit?”

“I’m okay.”

“Good. Then I’ll try to push forward a bit. Don’t let go of my hand, okay?”

“Yes!”

Flamm then slipped forward into a narrower street. As she did, she looked around, searching for the way through when a faint, familiar smell enters her nose.

She instantly reacted and turned her gaze upwind.

There, she saw her.

Wrapped in a red fur coat on top of a gaudy, corsage-decorated dress, her seven-colored nails and her multitudes of rings adorned with great jewels, her eccentric hair colored opal with a mix of blond, pink and blue…and her unforgettable thick layer of makeup.

“W…why…?”

She saw her.

In the crowd, the woman in her sight walked as if nothing had happened.

“Master?” Milkit worriedly peeked at her master, who had suddenly stood still.

However, her voice failed to reach her master.

“Satyllus…I killed you just yesterday…!”

With her bare hands, on top of that. She even felt her anguished scream shook her to her bones, right in front of her.

However, why? Why is she still walking amongst the living? And why…did she just disappear?

As questions flood her brain, the girl could do naught but to stand still, as if time itself had stopped.

< Chapter 32 [ToC] Chapter 34 >

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TLN:

Complimentary “just date already” comment. Also remember when I said I’m relieved we don’t have to deal with Satyllus for the rest of the volume some past chapters or sth? Me and my big mouth.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Have a nice day.