Arthur was napping with his wards active. Nothing could possibly sneak through Inquisitorial wards and adding Shade, who was patrolling the perimeter, made it so he caught a few hours of sleep. As he promised his familiar, he harvested the best parts from the boar and stored them in his spatial storage. Still, he woke up long before everyone else and started burying the people who died in the attack. Thanks to Shade, his job was easy, and fortunately, he found a shovel in one of the carts. By the time he said his prayers for the fallen, Catherine and Benjamin had woken up. Now, in the light of the morning, he could take a better look at the people he had met. Catherine was in horrible shape and he needed to address her wounds and bruises, but he wasn't a medic. Hopefully, his Paladin recovery magic would be enough to heal her. She also needed a bath and proper clothes. Benjamin was a cheerful looking Human in his thirties wearing a well-made traveller's outfit. He looked somewhat like a traveller, but not exactly like a merchant. On the other hand, most of the merchants Arthur knew were Arcadians, so it was an unfair comparison to begin with.

  "Good morning." Benjamin spoke as he slightly bowed to Arthur who inclined his head in return to the man.

  "Good morning." The Inquisitor smiled and scratched the back of his head. "I was wondering, Sir Benjamin, if you happen to have any clothes for Catherine... And perhaps a washtub."

  "Ummm... I can certainly find some clothes for her, but a washtub?" The merchant gave him an incredulous gaze. "I don't think you should waste so much water, sir..."

  "While I appreciate your concern, I would prefer a simple answer." Arthur smiled.

  He could ignore many things and even, begrudgingly, turn a blind eye to a few others that would normally guarantee a violent response, but regular bathing wasn't to be avoided. The scorching sun was cooking him and he knew that without proper hygiene he would sooner succumb to an illness than an enemy. Besides, he wasn't willing to return to being a smelly primitive. So, he was going to get a bathtub big enough for him to soak Shade in it. Well... Or at least himself.

  "I have a small laundry tub you could use..." Benjamin shrugged.

  "Excellent! I kept the fire going, so I would be happy if you could bring it and the clothes while I prepare some food."

  "Oh... Right. Very well..." The Merchant returned to his cart followed by noises of frantic searching.

  "My Master, you don't have to concern yourself with me. It's good enough for me that you wish to set me free..." Catherine approached him with a puzzled expression.

  "Do we really have to go through this every time?" Arthur took a deep breath and smiled wickedly with a sudden realisation. "Look... Since you won't allow me to take off your collar, you have to listen to me. I want you to wear proper clothes. However... before clothes, I need to make sure you are clean, fed, and healed. So now, you will eat and drink until you are full."

  He carefully stirred the stew he had prepared earlier and nodded to himself. His cooking abilities were restricted to just a few things he could, mostly, throw into the pot and wait for them to be edible. The spices he had in his spatial storage were his ultimate weapon to increase said eatability and he dreaded the day he ran out of them.

  "But..." She started and he interrupted her.

  "That's non-negotiable."

  He raised his hand with a finger to shush her but, while he was stirring a stew, in a borrowed pot he found in one of the carts, he wasn't looking at her. That's why, instead of hovering in the air, his hand stopped on something soft. In impending panic, Arthur raised his gaze and, internally, sighed a sigh of relief as his finger was resting on Catherine's lips. The Nekomi looked slightly embarrassed but, at least, she wasn't arguing with him anymore. He poured her a full bowl of stew and added hardtack with a warning to let it soften a bit in the stew before eating it. The young woman sat down, defeated, and started eating. He took out his canteen, which was full of water, and placed it near Catherine.

  "Sir Ives?! May you come here for a moment?" Benjamin called him from his cart.

  "Sure!" He shouted back and walked towards the merchant's cart that stood in the distance.

  "I have three sizes of tubs available..."

  "I'm a simple man, Sir Alabaster. I want the biggest tub you have." Arthur raised his right arm with an open palm aimed at the merchant.

  "Right... It will be this one then." Benjamin gave him an unamused smile and pointed towards an oversized bucket that would, barely, allow him to wash himself properly. He could stand in it and, quite comfortably, wash his feet but there was no way he could actually sit in it."

  "Well... It can be a start, I guess." Arthur nodded with barely hidden disappointment. "How much do you want for it?"

  "Do you really have enough water to fill it?" Benjamin asked instead.

  Arthur rubbed his chin in an attempt to figure out how to respond. However, if water was as precious as he suspected, revealing that he was basically a walking water generator wasn't the smartest idea.

  "It isn't a problem." He shrugged and decided to give an explanation that was a truth and a lie at the same time. "The Priest I know told me once that you can use Purify on any kind of water and make it crystal clear. So I can reuse the water I use to wash or bathe."

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  It was Benjamin's turn to consider his answer. He looked at Arthur as if he revealed one of the greatest secrets of existence. After a moment, he snapped out of whatever business plan he started creating in his head and smiled. "In my shop in Howthorns, I have large, communal washing tubes for sale. Including one that you could use for your purposes, Sir Ives. So, I would be glad to sell you the bigger one and simply lend you this one until we reach the city. Is that acceptable? Of course, I will give you a huge discount for the rest of your life. Let's call it a life for a life."

  The merchant chuckled, making Arthur nod thoughtfully. Having contact with a friendly local trading company was something that might be very helpful for his quest to return home.

  "Sure it is." Arthur smiled and grabbed the wooden tub. "What about the clothes?"

  "Oh, don't worry! I'm still searching for them but I'm sure they are somewhere here. Knowing myself, I put them at the bottom of one of the cargo crates. I'm not a clothing vendor but it's always good to have some clothes to sell in the inventory..."

  "Oh, by the way! The stew is ready if you want some." Arthur grinned at the man. He was starting to like the merchant. "I had to use some food I found in the broken barrels so as not to let it go to waste."

  Arthur hasn't mentioned that he stored most of that food in his spatial space. Some of the vegetables looked quite fresh while most of the remaining could be useful after drying them in the sun. Even the meat jerky and other salt-preserved meats looked appealing so he saved them. Having secured much of the food, he bought himself more time to learn the economic situation of this place. Knowing what costs what would be one of his most important knowledge tidbits to survive in Saftia.

  "We can't let that happen..." Benjamin smiled. "I'll go grab some and then return to searching."

  Arthur nodded and returned to the Nekomi who was finishing eating another helping of the stew. She looked happy as she turned to him but her gaze changed to confusion when she noticed the fairly large tub in his hand. Benjamin was trailing behind him with a cheerful smile on his face and some metal eating utensils in his hands. The merchant scooped food from the pot and returned to his cart after he waved a morning greeting to her; Arthur was patiently waiting for him to leave. He asked her to follow him behind a destroyed cart that was toppled sideways, creating a sort of wall, and placed the tub on the ground.

  "It is probably a stupid question, considering how you were treated, but do you have anything to cover your private parts?" He asked and she saw that he was slightly embarrassed.

  "No, my Master." She replied and felt her own rapid blushing. It was the first time she had blushed since she had been robbed of her dignity. Catherine lowered her gaze and added with a breaking, bitter voice. "But you don't have to worry. Many times I was ordered to undress myself before potential buyers so... So.. I don't mind that you will see me, my Master. At least you were good to me."

  "Gods damn it, Catherine! I need to inspect your wounds and heal you to the best of my, admittedly, barely adequate abilities." He groaned. "Please don't make it more awkward..."

  She looked at him in shock. Heal her? Just how much more incredible could this man be? But she was surprised by his honest reactions. While she wasn't convinced about his claims and, clearly, made up homeland, his reactions were different from what she was accustomed to. His golden hair was also unprecedented in the Kingdom, making his claims somewhat more believable. He was still looking at the tips of his armoured shoes, the only part of his clothing that was visible from under the dark blue cape he was wearing despite the already hot sun. She took off her worn-down linen garb, which had been her only clothing for the past eleven months. Catherine covered her lady parts with her hands and tail and turned around.

  "I'm sorry, Master..." She said with a lowered head. "I... I didn't want you to see this."

  Arthur raised his gaze and froze. Suddenly her strange behaviour and rejection of his offer to free her immediately made terrible sense. Between her shoulder blades, directly in the middle, she had a large brand burned on her skin.

  "I... I don't know the meaning of this symbol, Catherine." He said as he touched the ugly and badly healed scar.

  "It's a mark of the slave and another reason why Solvis was unable to sell me, even if he wanted to. If anyone could burn that mark on me, it should have been a new owner." She said with a trembling voice and heard his sigh.

  "Oh, how I hate this place..." He said, which surprised her. Then she almost screamed when she was drenched with water. However, it was fairly warm but not hot, pleasantly cooling her body which was already sweating from the morning sun. He extended his hand over her shoulder in which he was holding a bar of soap. "Clean yourself as much as you can and call me once you are ready to be rinsed off."

  Turning, she noticed in the corner of her eye that he had moved behind the impromptu wall. She swallowed, seeing that she was standing in water that reached half-way up her calves. Catherine looked at the white piece of soap in her hands and moved her gaze to the wagon-wall he stood behind. With a slightly confused but happy smile, she eagerly began to wash herself. The last time she had used so much water to bathe herself was, probably, when she was still a little girl. Maybe, when she was a five-year-old and her father allowed her to play in the fresh water prepared to serve as washing water. This time she followed the strange man's request willingly, without the need to bend to the orders of the slave collar she was wearing.

  From the moment she met him, everything had changed. In his presence, she felt like a person again, not a thing to be bartered and sold. His offer to follow him, be his guide, and most importantly, to set her free was like all her dreams coming true. But... She was afraid. She knew how hard it was for a woman to live in Saftia alone so, if she wanted to survive, she needed him to be her Master. Someone powerful enough to kill a level thirty Steelfang Boar, in complete darkness, with a single arrow, could probably protect her from everything. If she hoped to have any semblance of a normal life that wasn’t ruined by Griss Vul, she needed to stay with Arthur Ives. He was so different from other men she had met...

  "Oh, you must be joking, Benjamin..." Arthur's voice, coming from behind the toppled cart, startled her but she managed to stifle her surprised squeak. "You don't have anything else?"

  "I'm afraid that these are the only clothes I have that would fit her at all. Once we reach the city, I will happily get you to a clothing store I personally like, Sir Ives."

  "You know what? Fine." She chuckled to herself hearing Arthur's sarcastic voice.

  She began to accept that he probably was from some distant country. He was suffering culture shock and she was starting to enjoy how amusing his reactions were.

  Thank you all for reading.

  I wish you all a great day and as always I wait for your comments.

  A big thanks to and who edited the chapter!