Chapter 9. In deep shit
Rin had been pacing a furrow into the dirt outside the cottage. The sun was dipping lower, and the "discreet" shopping trip had long since exceeded a reasonable timeframe.
"Why is she taking so long? She should be back by now," Rin muttered, his worry finally outweighing his annoyance. He set out into the village, tracking Milim's specific mana signature. It led him toward a quiet, shadows-drenched alleyway.
Rin rounded the corner at a sprint. "Milim! What's taking... you..."
His words slowed to a halt as his silver eyes took in the scene. It looked like something out of a nightmare, or a very.... questionable novel. Milim was pinned against the cold stone wall by a tall, armored man who appeared to be trying to undress her. One of her legs was hitched over his shoulder as he fumbled with the fabric near her waist, ignoring her frantic squirming.
"How do I take this off?" Finn stammered, his face a mask of clinical, albeit frustrated, focus as he tried to keep her restrained.
"Hey! Hey! Don't touch there!" Milim spat, wiggling violently to keep his hands away from her Soul Seal.
"If you would just sit still, this would go faster!" Finn countered. "I don't want to be doing this either, but if I don't, I'll be in a massive amount of trouble, and I can't afford that right now!"
Rin stared, his brain struggling to process the visual. How did she manage to get herself into this? And who the fuck is this guy? He shook the confusion away, replaced by a surge of protective rage.
"Hey! Get your hands off of her!" Rin shouted, his voice ringing through the alley.
Both Milim and Finn snapped their heads toward the entrance.
"Who are you?" Finn asked, his blue eyes narrowing as he assessed the slender, silver-haired girl standing before him.
"I'm her master," Rin growled, stepping forward as his mana began to hum. "So get your hands off of her. Now."
"Rin, run! It's not safe!" Milim cried out, her ears flattened against her head in terror.
Finn let out a long, weary sigh and finally lowered Milim's leg, stepping back to stand at his full, imposing height. He brushed off his gauntlets and turned his full attention to Rin.
"Thank goodness the 'master' finally showed up," Finn remarked, his voice dropping into a professional, icy tone. "I don't know how someone as young as you obtained a Fox Spirit, but that's not a detail I care to investigate right now."
He reached for the shackles at his belt. "Little girl, you are under arrest for breaking Imperial Law regarding the possession of unregistered high-rank monsters. You're coming with me."
Rin didn't wait for the armored knight to finish his lecture on Imperial Law. As Finn stepped into Rin's personal space, reaching for his shackles with the confidence of an SSS-Rank warrior, the "defenseless girl" posture vanished.
A thick, shimmering silver tentacle erupted from Rin's back with the speed of a whip. It lashed out, slamming directly into Finn's visor with a wet, heavy thud. The force was enough to lift the armored man off his feet, flinging him backward like a ragdoll. Finn's body hit the stone alley wall with a bone-jarring CRUNCH before slumping into a heap, motionless.
"Is... is he dead?" Milim whispered, her eyes wide with terror as she stared at the unresponsive heap of steel.
"No, just knocked out," Rin said, his breath hitching as the adrenaline surged. "His mana was focused on his hands, not his guard. He didn't expect a Level 2 Slime to have that kind of physical output."
Rin scrambled over to Milim, his fingers morphing into fine, sharp blades to slice through the magical restraints. As soon as she was free, he grabbed her by the arm and began dragging her toward the mouth of the alley, steering clear of the main village road.
"We need to go. Now," Rin hissed. He didn't look back at the knight, but his grip on Milim's arm was iron-tight. His voice, usually calm or playfully annoyed, was now vibrating with genuine fury. "And you? You better have a good explanation for this, Milim. How did the 'Saint of Steel' track you, and why was he trying to peel your clothes off in a damp alleyway?"
They reached the dense thicket of trees bordering the village, the shadows providing a temporary veil. Rin finally let go of Milim's arm, turning to face her with his silver eyes glowing.
"Talk," he commanded. "Before the rest of his squad realizes their captain is taking a nap in the dirt."
Milim leaned against a gnarled oak tree, her face still flushed a deep crimson that clashed with her white hair. She avoided Rin's gaze, picking at the grass with her sandals before finally letting out a long, shaky sigh.
"A Soul Seal isn't just some fancy tattoo, Rin," she began, her voice small. "It's a metaphysical anchor. When a Spirit or a high-ranking monster forms a contract with a master, that seal is where the two souls actually... touch. It's the valve for mana transfers, healing, and commands."
The "Saint of Steel" wasn't trying to be a creep — at least, not in the way it looked. He was performing a forced identification scan.
"He was looking for the physical mark of the seal to identify your "Mana Frequency". By scanning the seal, a Knight can trace the connection back to the Master, even if they're miles away. Most familiars place their seal on their hand, shoulder, or neck for easy access. Placing it... where I have mine... is considered "High-Intensity Intimacy".
"In the eyes of Imperial Law, placing a seal in a private area implies that the Master and Servant have a... very close relationship. He called me perverted because, to a straight-laced Knight, that's like walking around with a giant sign saying we're "extracurricular" partners."
Rin stared at milim contemplating what he did to get stuck with such perverted people
"I didn't do it to be "lewd"! I put it there because it's the hardest place for a bounty hunter or a Knight to scan without a fight. I was trying to protect your identity, Rin!"
"So, technically," Milim whispered, looking up at Rin through her bangs, "if that Knight had scanned the seal, he would have felt your soul. He would have known exactly who you were — or who you used to be. I bit him because if he touched that mark, the shock of your SSS-Rank soul signature might have blown his head off... or yours."
"Wait, so can Finn track us right now through the bite or the mana he felt?"