A few seconds after I freed Mya, she thanked me endlessly, repeating the same words over and over again, There she raises her ears full of joy
" Ugh… my leg, it's bleeding"
I saw Mya leg severely swollen, the bear trap that Mya had caught on is mostly rusted, Not only that, it shows a purple tainted skin that is about to pop out
" Mya, how long you been here?"
" I think it is about a day"
" A day?" she cannot move her leg in less than a day, Mya is very lucky because nearby monsters through the night didn't detect the little girl despair, Mya caught in a trap with no one else, Is she abandoned?
Even though I was in a mourning, a cat girl decided to ruin the day, but I hesitated for a second, freeing her is an option that was caught in my mind, saving her is my only option
" Mya, where do you live?"
" Town of Tata"
I was surprised because she lives in the town of Demi-humans, where her people normally belong, It was full of Demi-humans, and this is my first time going in a town full of mystical creatures,
Based on my information, Demi-humans are kind to humans, they are low-level beasts that have a heart, Tata, was more or less, merchant town, one fifth of the population is overran by humans, And the rest, just Demi-humans
Seeing Mya swollen foot ,I tore a fabric from my clothes and wrapped it on the girl foot, thus preventing it from bleeding,
" Woah, what are you doing to my foot?"
" Wrapping it so that it won't bleed"
" Okay"
She said nicely with a touch of "Okay" to the side of the sentence, She was clueless as I treated my wound carefully, " Like?, does she know the fundamentals of medicines?"
Then I brushed my thoughts in my head, then hefted Mya on my back, I can already tell that she cannot walk on his own, I carried her to her hometown, Tata
" Human, your pretty strong huh?, I weigh fifty kilos though"
" Mya, I don't need that kind of information, I worried about your safety"
" Since you knew my name very well, What is your name?"
Ah… yes, I didn't introduce my name when I met her, I was planning a cool name with a cherry on top, but that kind of introduction will ruin my potential from Mya, so I introduced easily
" Ah, my name is Eirene, Call me Roxy for short, it's easier"
" Roxy?, what an interesting name, Does it has a meaning?, an acronym?, I'm good at riddles"
" Simply call me Roxy, it's my nickname"
" Okay, Thank you Roxy!"
" Roxy" was a nickname before I was reincarnated in this world, My friends, families and even Marcel called my nickname once, It remained my true identity from my life, And I want to show my true self in Andromeda
Nobody had called me " Roxy" since I reincarnated in this world, even my family rejected the idea of my nickname, people call it inappropriate or worse, and for the first time in my life, the cat girl, Mya called out my nickname,
" Roxy, let's head out to Tata"
" Okay, Mya"
Succeeding my nickname easily, I sprinted with all my might heading towards north, My stats were high as ever, walking around at a mile is just a easy as it seems,
With Mya clutching through my back, We finally arrived at the town gates, it was a one-hour road leading to our destination, It seems that I ran a marathon whilst carrying Mya, there I stepped in the town of Demi-humans
As expected, there was no toll, Hence that this is a town of merchants, so people go freely on here, All the materials and goods from the south are located in this area,
One thing I notice that there are actually more Demi-humans lives in this town, " Maybe the rumors are true overall"
I saw a bunch of carriages and wagons scattered up in one place, I asked Mya about my discovery
" Mya, why are there carriages pile up in that corner?"
Then, Mya wakes up from her slumber, Her feline eyes tell her moody apperance, An hour of walking made her dose off
" Oh, these is the town Merchant District, it is normal in Tata to have merchants and buyers scattered at the town"
Well this explains the horde of wagons along the road, the cobblestone path wear off due to the endless back-and-forth of caravans, carrying supplies and goods,
There, I approached an nearby merchant on one of the wagons, It was a human, I asked them calmly while carrying Mya
" Excuse me"
Then, the nearby merchant startled, replied me in a sincere way
" Hey you, It's broad daylight, don't just scare me like that"
" Sorry, but is this carriage heading from Town Allure"
The merchant shrugged a little, then replied in an instant
" Not today, it's too dangerous to go at night, Going to Town Allure will take a full day"
" Well, at least take me there!, I will protect your wagon"
" Still, it's too risky, Come by again tomorrow"
I still had my money after my party and I hunted down the spider queen, but, this is what I earned from my sister meat shop, and I snatched our savings from the drawer, it is exactly sixty silver
Seeing that the merchant rejected the offer, I left the scene and asked Mya where she lives
" Mya, where is your house?"
" Oh, in one of those slums"
Mya pointed out the direction full of houses, " Wait, something is not right", " Mya lives in the slums"
The girl pointed out the house direction, as I followed it's path, I was met a brick wall inside an alleyway, " Surely that Mya's home was beyond of that brick wall though",
" Roxy, climb that wall, it leads directly to the slums"
" Wait, isn't there a toll leading from the slums"
" Damn, the toll is expensive, climbing that wall is free"
I think that the toll fee from this town is different from Town Allure, every district needed a toll to enter that desired area, including Mya residence, The Slum District
So I climbed the brick wall smoothly, Mya was poor, she needed to climb that five feet wall in order to avoid the toll fee, I wouldn't agree on Mya opinions because Demi-humans and humans are not equal
After that, I entered the slums without paying a single penny from the toll, there, houses that are about to collapse remained in this district, the air becomes tense after I stepped at the slums
" Ah, the fresh air"
" Mya, the air reeks, it's full of garbage"
" You'll get use to it"
Smelling the rotten air filled into my lungs, I sensed that this town is not habitable it seems, the environment is not healthy for an normal human even an Demi-human like Mya couldn't adapt to this environment
Then, Mya pointed out her home in the slums, Yet, it was an crumbling shamble of an house, Mya saw this garbage as an home
" Roxy, take me there, you will meet my grandpa"
" Grandpa!?, is that your only relatives at your house"
Then, Mya nodded in agreement, it seems that Mya and her grandpa lives in this whetched house, like it could crumble any moment, it's not about shelter, it's survival
The house was small overall, several cracks that was scattered at the walls of an decayed bricks, Mya said it survived in decades, it was their home
I placed an hand as I had been drawn to it, As expected it was unlocked, Never in my life would I see an doorknob with no locks, Nothing was out of the place inside, beds made of straw lay in both corners with a old desk with an half-litted candle, and an old man sitting at his wheelchair, sleeping… I suppose that this is Mya grandpa
" Grandpa!"
Mya face shook in excitement while her grandpa opened his eyes in a frail and pale face, there he was, both of them are overjoyed
" My dear Mya, where have you been, I been looking to you all night"
" All thanks to this kind human, Roxy"
Then, the grandpa tilted his head, then greeted me with a delightful smile,
" Thank you, Roxy, never in my life would I meet a kind human like you, I'm Caco"
Caco is very old at least, he is an cat hybrid, similar to Mya, he wears a simple glasses and a grayish hair that he tied in a ponytail, and top of that, he is Mya grandfather
" It appears that your name is Roxy, Correct?"
Mya told her by my nickname, not my real and actual name, and yet, I nodded at Mya grandfather,
Then, I placed Mya at the straw bed, there I can treat her wounds easily, I unwrapped the bandage and replaced an new one, hoping to reduce Mya infections in her foot
I wrapped it easily, hoping to recover her wounds easier, it's legs didn't swollen from last time, but it healed a little faster, The bandages were high quality, made specifically from a special cotton,
" Woah, I don't fell any pain now"
" Mya, you need some rest now, you have been through a lot"
" Okay, Roxy"
Then, Mya closes it's eyes with awe, then slowly loses its consciousness, then Mya conked off and went to sleep,
Caco saw all of it, I had taken care of Mya due to its childlike apperance, then the grandfather called to me
" Roxy, come here, Take a seat"
After I finished bandaging her foot, I approached to Caco, holding the tea that was served on the spot, sitting at the deserted slums of Tata
" Roxy, you fantastic girl, this is the first time I met a kind girl like you,"
Caco spoke with an air of expertise as he swatted a swarm of flies from his vision, it seems that Caco has an deep resentment from humans, much like an grudge from his experiences, So I wanted to learn more
" Caco, how many districts does this town have, I know that you knew this place well"
Then, Caco lend out a voice, explaining everything about the town's information
" There were three districts of Tata, the merchant district, the royal district and the slum district"
" The merchant district is the largest district in Tata, it is composed of inns, lodging and merchants from nearby towns, It is the popular staple in this town"
" Royal district was home to nobels and high ranking peoples from the town"
" Slum District was home to us, the forsaken, the poor beings that was discarded from trash"
Also, as expected, Town of Tata has districts, similar to Town Allure, but this town was no ordinary town, but a town ruled by the high ranking nobels, who despised the weak and frail, this was the dark history of Town of Tata, I need to learn more about this place
" Well, what happened to the ruler of Tata, why is this so corrupt"
Then, Caco lend out a signing voice
" The truth is, The previous ruler of Tata, which is an Demi-human, is assassinated by an unknown guild,"
" The current ruler of Tata is no other than, Bernard Callus, one of the Seven royal families, has stepped out in this land"
" Bernard Callus" huh, I knew that name before, but I didn't recall anything from that man, and yet, the old man continued explaining
" Bernard Callus was among the wicked rulers I known to man, he settled up the strictest rules in this town, he discriminated the Demi-human like a piece of trash, like an puppet"
From Caco perspective, he saw as the main ruler of this town, Despicable, Worthless and Racist, all of this tied on this singular man, Bernard Callus, the heir of the seven royal families
Then, Caco gave an message to me, it was important, so he whispered directly at my ear
" I alone, your most trusted human, I trust you with all my might, So please, protect my granddaughter with all your might"
After Caco said that, My own heart throb, that message will fulfill my heart into one, I wont let this promise go to waste, Caco promised me to protect her granddaughter, Mya
After some time, seeing that the sun was about to set, I told Caco to spend the night at their residence, and the old man agrees, giving me last of their stale bread from me as dinner
" Are you sure you needed that bread, I'm not hungry though"
" Think this bread as an farewell gift, you will departure, am I right?"
Caco gave the last stale bread from their drawer, since I will leaving in this filthy slum tomorrow, After that, I devourered all their bread and gave half to Caco
Seeing that Mya was still sleeping at her hay-sack bed, I decided to also rest in the dirt covered floor, it was cold at first, but seeing Mya sleeping like a little child, I felt a warmth from my body
Recalling what Caco said to me as a promise, I will make this promise happen, for the sake of their future
" Protect my granddaughter, Mya"