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She knew the forest well, yet she knew not to lower her guard. However, she had never imagined such an unlucky encounter here of all places.

She turned around and ran away, her instincts warning her of the danger when she saw those strange men, unused to the forest, but also not adventurers. In a twisted but obvious reaction, those men grinned crudely as they began chasing her.

“Heheh, we only wanted to pass through the forest, but lady luck put such a cute girl in our way.”
“I bet she’ll fetch a nice price if we sell her in a town nearby.”

Their words let her know they wanted to abduct her. If they caught her, she would have to forget about her dreams, her family, and showing the bouquet she so dearly held against her chest.

So she ran.

Those men were not used to the forest, so they struggled trying to keep up with her. But she could not outrun them either. At this rate, it was a matter of who got tired of running first. The possibility of it being her flashed in her mind when she heard a familiar sound.

Not nearby, but audible. Knowing what it was, Olivia changed directions. Diving under branches, pushing shrubs away, just running desperately. The men would not give up the chase either. She heard it again. She was getting closer, she could still be saved.

“Ah!”

The momentary relief distracted her, and she tripped on the roots of a tree. Olivia tumbled on the ground, somehow keeping the flowers safe, but the men caught up to her.

“Alright, enough games for today.”
“We won’t hurt you if you stay calm and behave.”

She glared at those lowlives, who flashed a knife in front of her. But no adult would hesitate, no matter how much a child like her glared at them. In their case, it only flared their sadistic hearts even more. She hated it. She did not want everything to end there.

“Ah…”

She still had not become a skilled adventurer like her parents she revered. She wanted to be spoiled by her mother again. She still wanted the person she loved to understand her feelings¹.

“Don’t worry girly, I’m sure some noble or rich b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲ will buy you.”

When Olivia first saw her, she thought her was beautiful. Such a wonderful person, wise and gentle, living under the same roof.

“Be a good girl and come quietly.”

She instantly knew what that feeling was. But to her, she was only the daughter of her mistress.

“Natalia…”

Olivia hated this. It could not end yet. Her feelings had not been corresponded yet.

“Nataliaaaaaaaaa!!”

Unable to suppress that feeling any longer, they gave way to a simple but loud shout.

“Hey, don’t shout like that so suddenly.”
“It’s not like anyone will help you in a forest like this.”

One of the men tried grabbing her, but before his hand reached Olivia, his arm was pierced by a magic bullet.

“Grhah! What the-!”

His arm recoiled as he held it tightly. A moment later, a silver haired maid kicked him in the face and sent him flying away, before standing between Olivia and the men, protecting her.

“You b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲s̲! What have you done to her!”

Olivia gasped seeing her so worked up, having only seen her as a meek and obedient maid so far².

As I am now, there’s little difference between me and a regular human, so I have no way of searching for Olivia in this forest. So my best option is to get Olivia to get closer to me instead.

Olivia had watched me practice shooting many times during her classes, and she knew what my gun sounded like. So as I search through the forest, I periodically shoot to the sky. If she was close enough, she would surely hear it and know it’s me.

If she’s in trouble, she’ll come running towards me, guided by the gunshots. And even if she can’t move for whatever reason, she’ll know I’m nearby and call for me. Until then, I just had to keep moving and search carefully.

“There!”

I heard Olivia call my name. She wasn’t too far away. Without hesitating, I turn towards the direction of her voice. Getting closer, I see four men armed with blades, closing in on Olivia.

My blood starts to boil just seeing that. I run towards them, shooting the arm of the one closest to Olivia before kicking his face without slowing down. Now I’m standing between them and Olivia.

“You b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲s̲! What have you done to her!”
“Who’s this woman?!”
“Dammit, though she doesn’t look too bad herself.”
“Yeah, I bet we can get another pile of cash for her. Was it your magic earlier? You really shouldn’t have gotten so close though.”

Just looking at them I could tell they were no law-abiding citizens. Even the way they spoke was completely crooked.

“Are you hurt, young lady?”
“N-no, I’m fine. But be careful, they’re kidnappers.”

I had already guessed as much. At least that means I have no reason to hold back.

“Alright then.”

I shoot the flank of one of them.

“Gah!”
“She can use magic without chanting?!”
“No! She’s got a shooting weapon!”

The one standing furthest away had guessed the identity of my gun correctly. At least he has some brains for a criminal, though I wonder why he didn’t put them to better use in a respectable employment. Either way, that didn’t concern me now.

“Gyahhh!”

I gift his feet with two bullets, toppling him down and making him wriggle like an earthworm left on sunny asphalt. This actually feels good.

“Now you’ve done it!”

Another man charges at me with his blade. Olivia is standing behind me, so I can’t just dodge.

“Take this!”

He swings the blade down, getting it stuck on my shoulder as I feel the shock spreading through my body.

“Heh, I hate to damage our goods like this, but you went too far. Don’t hold it against me.”
“Sure, not like I want anything to do with you.”
“Wha-?!”

He looks at me, not being bothered even though his blade is stuck on my shoulder, and I put my gun against his chin. A moment later I pull the trigger, sending a bullet straight into his brain as the gunshot rings. He dies instantly, and I take aim at another man.

“Dammit!”

He lunges to the side, but is unable to fully dodge as blood spurts from his leg. Still, he managed to avoid a fatal wound, showing he was smarter than the others.

But not enough.

“Catch!”
“Woah!”

I pulled the first dead body away from me and kicked it towards the man who could barely stand, pushing him down under the corpse that bled from its chin and head like a fountain.

Then I grab the knife stuck on my shoulder, pulling it out and throwing it to the ground. Since I’m an automaton that feels no pain, I have no issue doing things like this.

I step on the man struggling on the ground, keeping him still as I press my gun against the back of his head.

“What the f̲u̲c̲k̲ is wrong with you! You look so frail but you didn’t hesitate at all to kill a person!”

In my past life, no matter how angry I was, I probably would’ve never killed someone. But I am different now. I don’t care if I’m coldblooded, I’ll do anything for those important to me. I didn’t feel anything about the man I killed earlier, or the one I’m about to kill.

“Dammit, are you even human³?”

No, I’m not.

“Good night, forever.”

I pull the trigger, red blood splattering everywhere, some on my clothes. I have a lot of other clothes, but I still didn’t like it. I stand up straight and wipe off the drops from my cheek.

“You did well for your first fight, though you should try to pay more attention to your surroundings.”

I turn around hearing that sudden voice. Ophelia was behind me, holding a staff like that of a master sorcerer.

“You gave plenty of time to the other two to plan an escape or counterattack.”

1. Robinxen: The robot?
2. Robinxen: She morbin.
3. Robinxen: A good question.