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nCatgirls can easily become courtesans. That’s what Lydia said. However, Lydia wasn’t a catkin. She was the much rarer and more sought-after tigerkin. It was something the slavers hadn’t realized. An unexpected mutation maybe. If they knew about class affinities, they never would have wasted time raising her to be a Courtesan. Admittedly, I was surprised even Courtesan was a job, but it seemed like this world was built around people earning a job and then leveling with it for the remainder of their lives. That would mean a trip to the priest too, I supposed.

nDidn’t that mean that priests also made courtesans? That was an interesting thought, but I was getting off-topic a bit. The point was, Lydia had suffered because she was a failed sex worker. Without getting the job in this world, she didn’t qualify no matter how much she learned about sex techniques. I finished with her back, and then gave her one of my shirts. It was way too big on her, especially since I was so fat.

n“So, how did you end up with your current master,” I asked, only dreading the answer a little.

n“I was in the defective bin for cheap.” She explained. “He was looking for a warrior, and when he couldn’t get them to bring down the price, the slaver agreed to throw me in as an extra incentive.”

n“Really? So, you were bought by that noble. I’m sorry for asking, but why didn’t he… you know… since you’re a virgin.”

nI found it a bit odd that a cute catkin girl with her virginity intact could be the slave of a violent and mean noble.

n“Oh… that…” Lydia lowered her head. “As to that… Other Master… he… how do I say this? The two men who fight beside him? They take turns in his bed at night.”

n“Ah… say no more.”

nSo, it was like that, after all. This guy never even wanted her in the first place. He probably didn’t even like girls, which is why he used her as nothing more than a pack mule. As a result, a potentially powerful slave ally was wasted because no one knew any better. I refrained from asking who was the one responsible for her scars. If we escaped, I’d like to buy her from the noble. If I found out too much about what he’d done, I might fly into a rage and then the chances of emancipating her were far smaller.

nAfter her stomach growled once again, I allowed Lydia to finish cooking the food and we both ate. In the end, with our weakened stats, we ate a day worth of food in one sitting. We were now down to only 2.5 days of rations left. It was very possible we’d starve in this dungeon before we died from monsters. Still, I didn’t feel like either of us could tackle more monsters tonight, if it even was night. Admittedly, I had lost track of time, and most followed it by the times we slept.

n“What shall we do, Master,” Lydia asked, sitting on her knees nearby as if in attendance to me.

n“We have to conquer level 6, we have no choice,” I said the obvious. “We’ll concentrate on zombies and run when we see an armor.”

nAlthough I had Party Up, which would benefit Lydia in a fight, I didn’t know how much of a boost it truly was. I wasn’t willing to risk Lydia’s life again, let alone my own.

nWe laid down, and once again, she refused to take the bedding and I chickened out asking her to join me.

n“Master?” Her voice suddenly spoke out in the relative quiet of the room, with only the crackling of embers filling the space.

n“Yeah, Lydia?” I asked, a bit surprised since she rarely took the initiative to talk first.

n“Why did you… put your life on the line, to save me?” She asked. “Not only did you fight the monster in my place, you also used a healing that harmed yourself to heal me. I could feel you giving me your lifeforce.”

n“That’s true, I did do that.”

n“Why, Master? I’m just a useless disposable slave. Your life is more important…”

n“Lydia… listen well,” I said, not daring to look in her direction even as I felt her watching me through the fire. “You’re very important to me. If I have to save you, I will save you. Your life is as important to me as my own, so don’t be reckless in the future. I’d rather see you alive than see you useful.”

n“Is that… do you really mean it?” Her voice sounded somewhat shaky like she was on the verge of tears.

n“Lydia… stay safe… by my side, for the rest of this dungeon, okay?” When I didn’t hear a response, I finally looked up.

nLydia was standing over my bedding, her eyes wet with tears, a big smile on her face.

n“Would you like to sleep in the blanket with me?” the words suddenly came out, surprising even me.

nLydia’s smile grew, and the dungeon didn’t seem so dark anymore.

nShe nodded. “Mm!”

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