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Before logging out the night before, Frey and Freya had said they would come back sometime after noon. They had agreed they would spend that day training their Skills, but that also meant that Crim would be alone in the game with nothing to do until they arrived.

The sun began to rise for an early dawn in-game when it was still morning in real life, quite some time before noon.

“Mrhh…shleepy.”

Crim usually would have restful nights and wake up without issues, but since she had gone to bed much later than usual the night before, her sleep cycle had been messed up, leaving her with a lingering drowsiness.

Still she forced her way through the sleepiness to leave the inn, then went to a park in the southern district of the city. She kept rubbing her eyes as she looked around there, eventually buying something from a food stall.

The order was something including one of the few animal products she could eat alongside dairy, an egg sandwich.

She sat on a bench near the park’s fountain, and languidly stared at the water flowing while taking bites from her sandwich absentmindedly when…

“…fwha?”

Feeling a gaze on her, Crim turned around, noticing a young girl, smaller than Crim, standing at a distance. Her eyes were fixed on the bits of bread crust that Crim still held in her hands.

She looked rather cute. Her silver hair was cut short, in what could best be described as an old fashioned fringed bob cut. But more interestingly, there was a pair of triangular fox ears peeking through her hair. A substantial and fluffy-looking fox tail also dangled behind her.

Is she a War Beast?

Crim seemed to remember War Beasts being a playable species, which were based on selectable animals during character creation.

Those look like starter clothes, I kinda wanna try on a kimono like that though… Crim’s thoughts were still quite unregulated from her sleepiness, and eventually her eyes met the girl’s.

“Ughmm… (Umm…)” Unable to bear that oddly twinkly stare any longer, Crim opened her mouth in a daze. “D-Do you want some?”

Stumbling a little on her words, she offered the piece of egg sandwich she had left.

How did things end like this?

The girl was sitting neatly against Crim, her back straight and feet tucked under the bench. Crim watched amazed as the sandwich slowly vanished with elegant bites into the girl’s small mouth.

Her manners seem really good. I wonder if she comes from some affluent family?

Somehow Crim felt like there had to be a reason behind all those refined manners. As she thought of that, the girl finished eating the sandwich.

“Thank you very much, miss.”
“Mm, it was my pleasure…”

The girl’s voice was high pitched like a soprano, fitting for a young girl, but her demeanor was calm and composed, lacking the characteristic energy of children. Seeing that she was gently patting her small stomach with satisfaction, Crim finally gathered the courage to ask her something.

“So…why were you staring at me so much earlier?”

It was a rather casual question, but the girl reacted like she had been hit by lightning before bowing profusely.

“I-I-I apologize for my rude behavior! Please forgive me!!”
“It-it-it’s fine! I don’t mind, alright?!”

The girl’s face had turned beet red the moment Crim pointed that out, and kept trying to apologize as best as she could, which also sent Crim into a panic.

“Umm… Your white hair just looked so pretty I couldn’t take my eyes off you…”

Eventually the fox girl settled her palms on her thighs and fidgeted a little as she explained that.

Hnnnggghhhhh sho kyuuuuuuuuuuut!

Crim covered her eyes and turned her face to the sky, overwhelmed by the protective feelings riled up by the fox girl’s behavior.

Once Crim managed to calm herself down, she asked the other question that had been lingering in her mind.

“By the way… Can I ask about that katana you’re holding so dearly?”

The silver fox girl had been holding a katana tightly against her chest the entire time.

“Ah…I just bought it from a store earlier.”
“Do you like katanas?”
“Yes, I do. I watched my mother use them at work so much that I just had to know what it feels to use one…hopefully I can look just like she does.”

Hearing that just confused Crim, who tilted her head trying to figure out what kind of occupation involved the constant use of a katana, maybe some sort of Shinto priest?

But Crim’s musings aside, the silver fox girl held the katana in her hands and attempted to unsheathe it, but the hilt would not separate from the sheath, almost like something had been poured inside to keep it still.

“As you can see, it won’t come out…”
“Ah…”

Some weapons in this game became usable as soon as a player picked them up, others required a certain number of Points in a specific Skill, which would grant them a Composite Weapon Skill. Then there were Advanced Weapon Skills, which allowed the use of certain types of weapons after meeting a specific criteria.

Crim’s scythe was the former, and katanas fell in the latter group, sadly for the young girl. And that reminded Crim of some advice for beginners she glanced over in the forums before:

The katana sold in the store is a trap. It can’t be used even though it’s sold in the Starting City.

It felt a bit mean to crush the girl’s dreams, but Crim did not feel like keeping silent was good either. So she ended up telling the girl everything she knew.

“I see, then I couldn’t use it from the start…”
“Ow…”

Crim’s heart felt like it was being crushed seeing the girl’s sad and downcast look.

“I-It’ll be fine, you just have to obtain the Skill and you’ll be able to use it…”
“Won’t that take quite a lot of effort and time though?”
“Well…yeah.”

Obtaining the Katana Skill required traveling to a distant area and completing an event there, which involved a 1 vs 1 fight against a rather powerful enemy, making it difficult for a beginner to accomplish.

It would be easy to tell a lie just to cheer up the girl. But Crim knew that would accomplish nothing, so she steeled her heart and explained everything that was required to obtain the Katana Skill.

She listened with a very attentive stare, and once Crim was done, the girl’s lips broke into a smile.

“I understand. I’ll work hard and learn everything I need to challenge the Ogre Chief. Thank you so much for telling me all of this.”

The girl bowed politely with a smile, making Crim want to do more for her, and after a bit of thinking she had an idea and raised her voice.

“Say! Could I um…borrow your katana for a bit?”
“Huh… Oh, sure.”

It was a bit sudden, but the girl held out the katana, which so far she had kept tightly against her body.

As Crim took it, a pop-up to confirm the lending of equipment appeared, and both of them pressed yes. Now Crim could take the katana.

“Alright, if you’ll excuse me…”

It was slightly nerve wracking since the katana was borrowed, but Crim reached for the hilt and pulled on it…and it separated smoothly, unlike when its owner had tried doing that. A long white blade was soon revealed.

As a child, Crim had taken some fencing classes, and even learned how to use a Japanese katana from her mother, who oddly enough happened to be quite adept with one.

Crim had avoided katanas after a certain age, as they brought back the image of her nearly-absent mother, who Crim detested so much now. Holding a katana now made her body shudder a little too.

“You can unsheathe it, Miss?!”
“Mhm, I got the Skill a while back.”

Replying to the question, Crim held up the blade to eye-level. The serene morning air seemed to refresh Crim’s mind, sharpening her focus.

Concentrating with a deep breath, making sure there were no erroneous movements on her form, she slashed diagonally down, pulled back, stabbed, and performed a few more demonstrative attacks. Once she was done, she slid the blade back into the sheath.

Almost perfectly on cue, a drop of sweat was released from her brow, almost like it had been held up by her earlier nervousness that finally loosened up. Exhaling loudly, she brought her breathing back in check.

“Here, thank you for lending it to me. If you really want to complete the quest to obtain the Skill I could give you a few…”

Crim returned the sheathed katana back to the young girl. She wanted to offer her assistance as well, but then she noticed something. The girl’s eyes were filled with sparkly admiration after watching Crim’s demonstration.

“Umm… Miss, could you become my master?!”
“…Huh?!”

Crim was confused and unsure of how to reply to that unexpected and emotive request.