Flamm continues to stare at the equipment lined up one by one, muttering not that oneâŠnot that oneâŠ, scanning the equipment she picked up as she kept thrusting her hand into the pile of scrap metals that had unbelievably disturbing aura around them.
âSee anything you like?â asked Gadio calmly, looking at the girl from behind.
âIt sure is an A-ranker collection. Itâs nothing but strong equipment across the board.â
âAnd it apparently works against you huh.â
âI thought that an Epic equipment should do. I mean look, this is what a cursed equipment should look like.â Flamm raised a helmet and showed it to Gadio as an example.
The helmet made out of jet-black metal had several parts turned purple, and its form is even turned thorny.
âBecause of how this helmet is turned into a weird shape, the field of vision of the wearer is going to be stupidly limited. Maybe itâs a feature of the curse itself thoughâ the girl said, opening and closing the face guard of the helmet as she did.
âTrue, I understand that people have likes and dislikes about something that covers your face like that. If you have something that allows you to detect the presence of your opponents, then its downside will be a bit more negligible thoughâ said the girl, clasping open and close the helmetâs face guard.
âIâm not that high level yet though.â
If she can improve her Intuition stat, perhaps the girl could have been as good as how Gadio described she could be, and thus she needs to find an equipment that harbors a stronger curse. At the very least, the helmet sheâs holding right now is not it.
Thinking that she doesnât need the black helmet, she put it aside, which elicits a trembling, resentful reaction from the helmet in the form of a vibration. Calmly ignoring the response, the girl continued to seek for the equipment she wished for.
âHmmâŠthis isâŠâ the girl muttered, pulling out a leather-made loop. The item looks like a belt, but it was too short to be wrapped around her waist; at best it could only probably be circled around her arm or leg. Unlike other equipment, however, it doesnât seem like this item is covered in bloodstain or any other mysterious stains.
Still unsure of how to use the item, Flamm cast Scan on the equipment.
Its name aside, it seems like the accessory that was meant to be wrapped around oneâs leg gave a disproportionately huge stat boost for its size.
Flamm put the leather gauntlet to a separate place and continued to search for another piece of equipment. As it was well known, the deeper you dig, the greater the treasure you may find. It might sound like a weird saying in this context, but true to the saying, the deeper she dug, the more usable equipment Flamm finds. Finding more and more Epic-quality items as she did, Flamm couldnât help but to smile, while Gadio who was looking over the girl digging through a mountain of cursed equipment looked at her bewildered.
Eventually, including the leather garter she found earlier, she collected three equipment in total.
Despite its seemingly exaggerated name, it looked like nothing more than a double prong leather belt with a deep color. Perhaps blood and such had seeped into the leather which caused its uncanny color, but since it doesnât particularly stink a certain way, Flamm didnât think too much about it.
Judging by its width and length, its purpose is more decorative than to be something to keep oneâs pants in place. Since its rarity is Epic, she should be able to materialize and remove it at will, but it seems that she will be able to wear it normally thanks to its normal appearance, though sheâll have to start thinking about it if she end up hearing mysterious death screams out of nowhere.
âAre you sure about that? The item had Pain Amplification enchantment to itâ asked Gadio, concerned over the girl who was nonchalantly wrapping the belt around her waist.
There were no immediate effects on the girlâs body, but the enchantment should have affected her body in some way.
Flamm abruptly sent a strong punch towards the stone floor. Her punch carried such power that the dull sound of her fist slamming on the floor could be heard clearly by Gadio and turned the girlâs knuckles blazing red, which was quickly healed by the girlâs regenerative power.
The girl repeatedly opened and closed her hands before replying;
âItâs got inversed and the pain got dulled instead.â
Gadio furrowed his brows after witnessing the girlâs unhesitant act of self-harm.
âSo it numbs your sense of pain, huh. Doesnât mean you should get reckless because it doesnât hurt though.â
So he said, but Gadio still felt worried. He witnessed how the girl fights when the two battled against Dainâs underlings, when the girl tends to recklessly charge into the thick of the fight. Understandably so since her Inverse magic would require her to physically touch the target.
That method of fighting is something that can bring fear upon her adversaries. Oneâs flesh and blood are not expendable, which would cause a normal person to think twice about getting hurt and losing something unnecessarily, but Flamm is someone who thinks and could do otherwise. This method of combat is truly something only the girl can doâŠbut itâs also because of that, the girl tends get injuries more than she needed. Now that she obtained something that abates the suffering of pain, Gadio could only hope that it doesnât feed into Flammâs habit.
The next item she equipped was a gauntlet that had yet another spiky design. The tips of her fingers are covered by black metals that seemed dangerously sharp. Just like the Soul Eater, perhaps cursed items are dyed jet black because it feed on peopleâs hatred.
Now that Flamm is wearing the new Epic-quality gauntlets, itâs time to say goodbye to her bloodstained Steel Gauntlets. It carried some memories with it since it was a pair of gauntlets she obtained just around the time she first met Milkit, but thinking about it again, it is weird that she felt an attachment towards a bloodstained gauntlet in the first place.
Just as she pondered about what to do with her replaced equipment, Gadio suggested; âyou donât need that cursed equipment anymore, right? Just leave it there somewhereâ, so Flamm took his advice and put her old armguard amidst the pile of rusty equipment as she gave the armguard a âthanks for everythingâ.
Focusing on her hands, Flamm turned her brand-new gauntlet into particles which turned into a blue seal engraved onto the back of her hand. The seal engraved on top of the Soul Eaterâs red seal made it look like an intricate pattern.
Just in case, Flamm also decided to stow away her belt, which disappears into particles and became a seal engraved right under her bellybutton, though since there wasnât any problems with how it looks, there wasnât a need to stow it in the first place.
Lowering her shirt, the girl decided to materialize the belt once again.
In total, Flamm has 5 items equipped on her, and as a result, Flammâs total status are as follows:
Totaling 7,661, sheâs about as strong as a mid-tier A-ranked adventurer, and thatâs excluding her Inverse power, her regenerative power and her Cavalier Arts. The girl is truly incomparable to the time when she was sold away as a slave by Jean. Flamm too felt that her body grew lighter, her mana flows in her body, and her five senses are keener than itâs ever been.
âOkay, umâŠcan I take the three I put on?â
âSure, do as you like with it. Not that I can use it anyways. Cursed Equipment tends to fluctuate greater than normal equipment, so itâll be a lot more useful if someone can find a practical use for it.â
âI guess the compensation is pretty huge on its own.â
The more someone trains, the more someone fights, the stronger they become and the higher their stats become, but that rule doesnât apply for Flamm. On one hand, one can say that Flamm had the advantage of being able to equip cursed equipment, but if sheâs not wearing one, she wonât be able to fight even an F-ranked monster.
âI wish the Inverse power would work in the way that Iâd be able to get stronger by just lazing around.â
âThe world isnât that kind.â
âHow I wish it is. Pretty sure no one would complain about it anyways.â
Gadio exhaled at Flammâs remark, before muttering languidly, âTell me about it.â
Exiting the basement room, the two climbed back the staircase they came from, and as they emerged on ground level, a little something came dashing to Gadioâs chest.
âPapa, play with me!â
It was Hallom, whose selfishness gauge is completely filled out. Pattering from the far side of the hallway, her mother Celena approached the three.
âHallom, you canât just leave mama alone while we play hide-and-seek! Thatâs too cruel!â
âI guess youâre still you for being so easily deceived, Celena.â
âUghâŠI canât help it now, can I? Is there any parent who could refuse the wavering puppy eyes of their daughter!?â said Celena, raising her voice in an attempt of hiding her embarrassment.
âCome on, papa~ We can play now, right? Your errand with that person is now over right?â
âThatâs true, but youâre being rude to our guest, Hallom.â
Gadio tried to pet the little girlâs head gently to get her to cheer up, but it doesnât seem to bear any fruits, while Flamm started to feel bad for causing discord between the threeâs family time.
âSorry about this, Flamm.â
âAh, donât mind it. Thatâs just how much Hallom-chan really loves you.â
Of course, Gadio had felt a bit of reservation in honestly expressing his joy. Gadio does not dislike having Hallom around. If Hallom is not his best friendâs daughter and his heart has not been stolen by an existence he referred as TheaâŠperhaps he could still consider the option of having Celena as his wife.
âAlright then, Iâll excuse myself since it seems like I might intrude upon your family time.â
âHuuh? Are you going home already, onee-chan?â
Flamm blinked her eyes repeatedly as she heard Hallomâs unexpected response. Since the little girl hasnât paid any specific attention towards her, Flamm thought the girl never had any interest in her in the first place, butâŠ
âLetâs play together, onee-chan!â
âCome on, Hallom, donât trouble her like that! Forgive her for saying something weird, Flamm-chan.â
âNoâŠI donât mind. Am I not going to be a bother?â
âOf course not. If anything, Iâd be glad if you can hang out with her for a bit.â
Now that even Gadio asked her, thereâs no way she could refuse now, so in the end, with Hallom dragging her by her hand, the two spent hours playing together in the little girlâs room. She refused the familyâs invitation for dinner and exited the mansion by then, and the curtain of darkness had already fallen upon the capital.
Itâs likely that Milkit was waiting for Flammâs return at home, so Flamm hastened her pace towards the west district, not wanting to miss dinnertime.
âOh my, is that Flamm-san that I see?â
However, as she did, someone called out to her. The man who did as the two passed by each other was Reach whom Flamm had never seen in a long while. Wearing a black vest on top of his white Y-shirt, he had quite a rough style with him.
Judging by the fact that he wasnât escorted by his guards and his hands were empty, it was likely that the man was simply out on a casual walk.
âSince you came from that side of the city, I assume you were visiting Gadio-sanâs mansion, no?â
âWell, yeahâŠwait, did I ever tell you Iâm friends with Gadio-san?â
âIâve heard that you started living together with Eterna Lynnbow. I didnât think that the person accepting my request for gathering herbs were Flamm Apricot the Hero, but after this far, Iâd be blind to not notice. Iâd say youâre a cheeky one for keeping it a secret, Flamm-sanâ said Reach jokingly.
âPlease donât call me a Hero. I was barely of any help when I was in the team.â
âI donât know what happened, but you deserve to be called a Hero for what you did to save my wife.â
âAah, speaking of which, how is your wifeâs condition?â
The last time she met Reach was during the time she got back from Enichidae after successfully gathering the herb he requested her to. The medicine was administered ages ago, so the result should show anytime soon.
âSheâs currently recovering thanks to you. Itâs just like magic.â
âHahaha, I wonder if itâs fine for us to laugh at this joke.â
âI couldnât help but to bite my lip when I first hear it, even though I knew that we need the medicine precisely because magic couldnât heal her.â
Though itâs not that Reachâs wife understand the situation, Reach made sure that she wouldnât tell anyone about her method of recovery. It might partly be because the woman naturally had a good head between her shoulders or it was because she was Reachâs wife that she gained that wisdom, but there are little to no chance that she would expose their secret.
âOh, Reach-san, what a coincidence to meet you here.â
As the two were chatting, another woman came and greeted Reach. Her outfit cannot be described by anything other than flashy, donning a fur-decorated red coat that also had corsages filled with large flowers stuck to it. Her nails glows in seven different colors and her fingers were decorated by gold rings sporting huge jewels, while her opal hair is a mix of blond, pink and blue.
âAre you out on a walk as well, Satyllus-san?â Reach said, smiling to the woman as he looked over at the burly man escorting the lady as well. Unlike the smile he showed Flamm when he talked to her, his current smile is nothing but a business smile.
With her thick makeup and intense perfume, the woman seemed to follow a certain pattern to the point that Flamm, who was not born and raised in the capital, had heard of her before.
Satyllus Francoise. Owning several branches of businesses, she is naturally Reachâs rival in business, though perhaps because their businesses deal with different things, the relationship between the two is not that hostile since at least the two were still able to pull up a business smile as they meet and have a small talk  with each other.
âYes, I thought it would be good as a change of pace. Still, it is not a bad little walk since I get to meet you. By the way, is that slave one of yours, perhaps?â The womanâs cold-hearted stare, that which looks down on slaves, turned towards Flamm.
Flamm herself was used to being looked down upon but being used to it doesnât mean she stops being pissed about it. Just when her stare starts to turn into a glare, Reach jumped in between them.
âBelay the thought. The girl is a truly excellent adventurer, Satyllus-san.â
âAra? Sheâs completely unarmed though? Do you know any sort of quests she can take with that getup?â
âWe canât know her true strength just by looking at her outward appearance and the numbers. At the very least, I have complete trust in this girl.â
Not knowing why he would say that much about her, Flamm fidgeted, shifting her footing and changing her posture as an awkward feeling overcame her. Even though she knew it was nothing but lip service, she couldnât help but to feel uneasy.
âHmm,â muttered the woman. She looked closely at Flamm from the tip of her toes to the top of her head, perhaps curious as of why a man on Reachâs caliber would say that much about a girl.
However, her gaze suddenly stopped just as she observed the girl, and with a quiet âhm?â, she furrowed her brows as she turned perplexed, likely that she had just used Scan on her and checked her status.
All she must have seen were flat zeroes.
ââŠwell, if Reach-san says that much, Iâm sure this girl is someone excellent.â
âYes, sheâs someone truly reliable.â
âSince she doesnât belong to you and her face isnât that bad, I thought she can be used in some way, but seems like I have to give up.â
ââŠused?â Flamm asked, tilting her head, confused about what Satyllus is talking about and what sort of use sheâs referring to. That one sentence explained Flamm that sheâs the type of person whose sense of humanity was so warped that Flamm intuitively thought that it would be better for her not to get too close to the woman.
âAah, how I wish a cute slave will come falling from the skyâŠReach-san, be sure to let me know if you come across any cute slaves, okay?â
âIâm sorry, but I have a principle not to own any slaves.â
âIs that so? What a waste. Thereâs no tool as convenient as a slave, you know? Ah, thatâs right, let us go to the market together once. You might be surprised how much youâll be enjoying yourself there.â
Saying with a bewitching laugh, the woman turned around and walked away. Until she disappeared from her sight, her domineering cackle still echoed around the street.
Confirming her disappearance, Flamm stiffly dropped her shoulders and heaved a massive sigh.
âThatâs Satyllus Francoise, huhâŠI guess weâll have a tendency of coming across someone like that in the East District.â
âAs you might have seen, sheâs a vixen with a truly awful hobby.â
Flamm was taken aback by the manâs sudden statement, covered in poison.
âIâŠI didnât expect you could say something like that, Reach-san.â
âEven I canât turn a blind eye upon it, you see. Her outward appearance is a manager of clothing and bookstores, but I also know sheâs involved in darker dealings.â
Perhaps detailing how much he abhors the woman, the man completely abandoned his efforts of making a business smile.
âCanât you directly prosecute her if you know that much?â
âI did look her up before, and I did manage to compile enough evidence to prosecute her, but since I know of her business management, I also know that her connections with the church is solid, which is probably why she can hide her dark dealings in plain sight. If I play my cards wrong, I might be the one whoâs going to be erased.â
Flamm couldnât help but to completely agree with the man. She knew that the church would probably even murder the CEO of the Mancathy firm if they need to.
âYou seem to know a lot about the church.â
âSince the previous generation we had disputes regarding medicinal herbs. Even now if we bring up the subject of medicinal herbs, we still will clash against each other.â
The churchâs misdeeds go over just the issue with their research. Even if it would risk the livelihood of the people, their own conveniences are top priority.
If only there is no institution such as the church, more people should be able to earn better, and more people should be able to attain greater happinessâŠand the people who thinks that way should not be limited by that one man alone, but the fact that no one can publicly declare that completely illustrates the influence the church had.
âThatâs why I had to turn a blind eye to Satyllusâ awful hobby. In fact, I heard that she was in contact with a certain twisted slave trader recently and she could manage to purchase some slaves illegally.â
Flamm sighed. âWhy didnât she go through the legal ones?â
Slavery itself was legal. One that went through proper procedures to become slaves can be traded in sexual slavery through institutions approved by the kingdom.
âShe said that normal slaves are comprised of people who already gave up hope, so their reactions are uninteresting. She also disliked the fact that normal slaves are subjects to their own set of rights, and itâs a major inconvenience for someone whose hobby is to torture people.â
âTortureâŠâ
âTo be exact, she said that she had the desire to âbreak anything thatâs beautifulâ,â Reach said, delving into further details. Perhaps he didnât come through that information by coincidence and instead he got that information from actively investigating the woman. âThough I heard that this slave trader she was dealing with got killed just some months prior. Traders or owners getting killed by their slaves is not an unusual story, but I heard the scene of the crime is so gruesome, with the room filled with corpses and everything. Itâs not that the information is disclosed publicly though, since heâs an illegal trader after all.â
Flamm could recall the scene of an illegal merchant trader and countless corpses. As a matter of fact, she personally knows the culprit who killed the merchant; it was herself.
âIt seems like those guys are fumbling around to look for a way to collect slaves illegally, butâŠwait, you seem troubled, Flamm-san. Is there any problem?â Reach asked, looking at the girlâs face worriedly. However, the girl had a bigger problem than to pay attention to what Reach had said.
Illegal slaves, torture, the desire to break anything beautiful, and finallyâŠthe dead slave trader.
The puzzle pieces clicked together, and Flamm came towards a single answer.
That womanâŠSatyllus wasâ
âMilkitâs former masterâŠâ
âand the person responsible for injecting poison into Milkitâs body.
Flamm glared at the corner Satyllus disappeared into, taking a deep breath to withstand the impulse of simply running after her and chopping her up to pieces, as failure in doing so would lead to Reach prosecuting her for what she did in the past.
Still, even if she regained her senses temporarily, the fact stands; she now knows the person who hurt Milkit, and the feeling she harbors in her heart probably wouldnât disappear until she can do anything about that person.
Perhaps it was because Flamm had went through the death of countless people, or perhaps it was because thatâs just how far she would go in reflection of her strong bond with Milkit; Flamm had no hesitation in her heart.