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Although I wanted Ciel to rest after defeating the one-eyed giant, the scent of blood could attract other monsters. It was imperative that we move away from the area immediately. With so many people dead or injured, it was unlikely anyone would think that Ciel had survived. Nonetheless, there were still a few tasks I needed to attend to.

『Now, what shall we do with this fallen giant?』
「I think leaving it here is just fine, but am I wrong?」
『If they ever find this corpse by some chance, they might suspect the existence of survivors. The monsters and animals of this forest might make short work of it before that happens, but it’s better if we do something about it. Burning and burying it should do well enough.』
「Understood. “Faro (O fire)”……」
『Ciel, stop.』

After stopping Ciel from immediately burning it with sorcery, she looked at me with a questioning expression. It was impressive to see such honest obedience from someone so young. If it were me, I would have been defensive and said something like, “You’re the one who told me to burn it!” But I put those thoughts aside and decided to try something I had been curious about.

『Ciel; do you think that you can, perhaps, stab a knife into its body?』
「I don’t really think that we still need to confirm if it’s dead. Or is there perhaps another reason for that?」
『I sense a concentration of magical power around the area where a person’s heart should be.』
「So, slice it open and see what it is, right? As for the knife……」
『Let’s try looking for one. It’s likely that the pig man or his company has one on them, after all.』
「Pig man? …… Oh, I’ve never seen a real pig before, but he certainly looked like one! Still, Ain can talk like that too, huh.」

I called him the same name I had thought of earlier. Still, I couldn’t think of a better name for him and Ciel seemed to understand who I was talking about, so I didn’t think too much about it. I didn’t want Ciel to be disappointed in my attitude, but she just chuckled, so it was a needless worry.

I really want to avoid taking any belongings from the unfortunate victims, so we searched through the wreckage of the destroyed carriages and managed to locate a knife. Although it was adorned with flashy ornaments, it should still be serviceable.

I discovered some money as well, small heavy silver and gold discs which I had never seen before, but I was confident of their value. Since it wouldn’t hurt to take them along, we decided to collect as much as possible.

Also, I asked Ciel to find a hooded robe or mantle to cover her long white hair, which might draw attention. As her bangs were becoming a hindrance, Ciel, with my guidance, carelessly used sorcery to trim them. We kept most of the hair untouched, allowing it to grow down her back until it reached her waist.

The length of her hair is not a concern, but I am worried about the change in color from its original blonde. If white hair is uncommon or nonexistent in this world, it could cause us trouble. However, even without her hair color, Ciel possesses many traits that could potentially land us in trouble.

The purpose of the robe is not just to conceal Ciel’s hair, but also to prevent her from being seen in her current state of being covered by only a piece of cloth.

「So that’s why we were looking for a robe.」
『If we couldn’t find one, we would’ve had no other choice but to borrow one from the dead, so I’m really glad. Still, as expected, there weren’t any that would fit Ciel’s size.』
「The dragging edges really look bad. Can I cut it to my size?」
『I see. Then please do so.』

I left it to Ciel to trim the robe to the right size using sorcery. While I can create water and adjust the temperature of drinks, I’m unable to use sorcery for cutting, perhaps because it’s considered an offensive ability. On the other hand, Ciel has been focused on mastering combat sorcery, and since she didn’t give up any of her innate talent, she can do almost everything. The only areas where I might have an advantage over her are in defensive abilities and detection skills.

We decided to search for food supplies before returning to the giant since we knew we would have to look for them later anyway. Upon closer inspection, the way the giant died was really unpleasant. It had holes boring through its body, but the wounds were cauterized by the flames so there was no blood flowing out or inside of it, which made staring at it even more unsettling. The head, in particular, had its brain completely gouged out, so I was certain that it was dead. However, it looked like it was still alive, creating a sense of detachment from reality.

Perhaps I’m more accepting of death due to my reincarnation or the fact that I spent almost a decade living that kind of life. Either way, it’s a skill I’ll need to survive in this world.

But even though I’ve grown accustomed to it, witnessing someone’s passing still pains me. Yet there may come a time when I can’t afford to think of it that way. It’s not that I want to become desensitized to death, but I must learn to endure it, at the very least.

As Ciel neared the giant, she knelt down and plunged the knife into its body. I had assumed the knife was simply ornamental, but it sliced through the giant’s flesh far more easily than I expected. Since the giant was already dead, there was no gushing blood, and we quickly discovered an indigo blue orb slightly larger than a softball. This orb, brimming with pure and untainted magical power, was likely the magic stone.

「Was this perhaps what you were looking for, Ain?」
『Since I can feel pure magic power from it, it most likely is. Might this be a magic stone?』
「So this is a magic stone. The books did say that it was taken from monsters. So you remembered that. That’s amazing!」

Upon seeing the object she had only read about in books, Ciel became quite excited. Among the books in the room were those containing catalysts used in sorcery and magic, such as herbs and jewels, and how to obtain them. However, there were not many of these books, perhaps because they were considered unimportant. As a result, Ciel did not remember them well. I only recalled this information from an assumption, so I am not particularly remarkable. Nonetheless, I do not intend to reveal my past life to Ciel yet, so I simply accepted her praise with a forced smile.

『I believe that magic stones can be sold in many places and it might even help increase our magic power. So there’s really nothing to lose in bringing it along.』
「So that mean this is really that thing, right?」
『Yes, this seems to be one of the medicine’s main ingredients.』

Ciel’s attentive reaction to my words shows that she is much more intelligent than me. It is clear that she is not just a duke’s daughter for show.

Moving on, I am sure that they did not simply feed us raw magic stones. However, the medicine we were given was undoubtedly a processed form of a magic stone.

The increase of magic power usually stops once a person reaches their mid-teens, although there are some who continue to increase it into adulthood. However, there’s no established method for actively increasing one’s magic power. While we didn’t read all the books in that room, I’m certain that they all covered in-depth studies of sorcery. We’ll need to adjust our common knowledge about sorcery when we reach the town or village.

「After this, I just need to burn and bury it… right?」
『Yes, please feel free.』

Upon hearing my words, Ciel swiftly used sorcery to burn the giant, dig a hole, and bury it. She accomplished all of this without getting dirty and completed the task in just a few minutes. After leveling the ground, I noticed that Ciel was lost in thought, pondering something deeply.

『Is there anything wrong?』
「Say, Ain. Is it possible that instead of using a knife, we could have just used sorcery to take out the magic stone?」
『Ah…』

I paused to consider her question. She had a point; I had been so focused on dismantling the monster that I hadn’t even considered using sorcery to retrieve the stone.

『B-But, still, we might need to use the knife in the future… No, um… I’m really sorry that my hasty decision made us waste effort to find it.』

I said, trying to come up with an excuse while also genuinely apologizing. My voice trailed off towards the end as shame and embarrassment took over. I didn’t want to get defensive, so I decided to be honest with Ciel as much as I could, despite keeping my gender and past a secret. Even though I felt ashamed of what I had done, Ciel blinked rapidly in silence for some reason.

『Um…』
「It’s nothing, really. I just had a little thought that there are things that even Ain might not notice. Since Ain always helps me out, I thought that Ain can do anything.」
『Not really, there are probably more things I can’t do.』

Although I was perplexed by Ciel’s unexpected chattiness, I responded nonetheless. Upon observing her peculiarly pleased expression, I was contented to have met her expectations. However, I couldn’t help but wonder if she was not just delighted, but also grinning.

「Now then, what should we do now? Since all I’ve thought was how to escape the mansion, I’ve never really thought about what to do next, you know?」
『Since there is a road before us, let’s first try following it as far as we can. At the very least, we should reach some village or town.』

The path is not exactly a road, but the trampled grass indicates that wagons have passed through it. It seems to be a more dependable option than attempting to locate a river at this point.

『Though there’s a limit to the food we can bring, we do have a few days’ worth and we can produce water with sorcery. Once we reach the town, that’s where the problem will likely be.』
「Problem?」
『Frankly speaking, Ciel is packed with traits that would get one into trouble. After all, Ciel’s a young girl, a disappointing princess, and a relative of the duke, and your appearance doesn’t help either. It’s too much to handle.』
「What do you mean by ‘too much to handle’?」
『Um, it means “excessive” or “overwhelming.” It’s an expression I used back where I’m from.』
「Fufufu. So all I have to do is avoid acting like a girl and keep my identity as the Duke’s daughter and the Disappointing Princess a secret, right?」

I made a mistake. Just when I thought of being truthful with her, I am tested. It’s quite pathetic, but I cannot lie, so please forgive me. As I watched Ciel giggle joyfully, I couldn’t discern her thoughts. Nonetheless, as she seemed to understand that I didn’t want to be interrogated, I opted to go along with her.

『I do think that your job and past can be kept hidden, but your appearance might be difficult to hide. Covering your hair is probably the most this robe can do.』
「I don’t think there’s much gender difference at my age. Can’t I disguise myself?」
『You could cut your hair short and wear oversized clothes to look androgynous. However, I don’t recommend it』
「Because my circuits run up to my hair, right? I don’t know how much cutting it would change my appearance, but it would make me weaker.」
『Also, if you need to show your Job for some reason, they’ll notice the ‘Princess’ part.』

It’s possible to keep our Jobs hidden if we live our lives carefully. However, there may be situations in the town, such as identification checks, where we may need to reveal our Jobs. Since we don’t have anything that can be used for identification, this is even more problematic. It’s best to consider every possibility because of our lack of knowledge about the world.

『Also, if possible, once we reach a town, would you allow me to handle things for a while?』

Hearing my question, Ciel ponders deeply with a serious look. While I would like her to develop enough communication skills to take the initiative in the future, I know it’s unreasonable to ask that of her now. I’m amazed that she doesn’t even reject the idea of going to a human community, considering she’s only ever met the savage duke, the mask-faced butler, and the pig man + escorts. Anyone would develop androphobia after that, even thinking optimistically. So, until Ciel gets used to it, I think it’s best for me to take the initiative. 「I’ll leave it to you, Ain,」 Ciel gave in, understanding what I meant.

「There’s something I’ve been wondering about. Is there really any place we can work at? With our current money, we might be able to live on for a while, but it’ll run out eventually, right?」
『Regarding that, I do actually have a lead. I’m not absolutely sure about it, but since there are monsters everywhere, there’s an organization that should also exist. However, we’re going to get into a lot of trouble.』
「Is trouble, really a definite thing?」

Saying so with slight bewilderment, I replied, 『It’s a standard.』

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