Summoned and Unwanted

“Yes. The bottom of my foot hurt, but I was told it was the branding process.” Awa leaned back and touched her foot. “But I do not know what it looks like.”

“If you have become Vincent’s retainer and want to marry him, does it mean you are willing to fight to the death alongside him in the...”

“Yes!” Awa exclaimed fearlessly, interrupting Mimi.

Mimi looked around her for the second time. “Well, it should not be as dangerous as fighting the unkillable monster.”

“Does it mean you know something about the huge undead bear?”

“Undead bear? Huge? That sounds worse than what my father and I fought against yesterday morning.”

Awa pointed her finger at a tall tree in the distance. “I think it was twice or thrice as tall as that tree. Maybe more.”

Mimi lowered her gaze. She smiled warmly. “You always surprise me, hehe.”

.....

“Did you fight against an undead monster too?” Awa curiously asked.

Mimi gently shook her head. “No. It was alive. It was a strange mid-sized great grizzly bear with a strange appearance. It felt like a magic beast and a demonic beast combined into one.”

“Huh! Vincent also said the great Orso was a magic beast and a demonic beast combined into one. He complained how Orso had different mutant blood, and they combined or something.”

“Are you saying Vincent defeated another bear?” Mimi asked. She was shocked to hear Vincent had to fight an almost immortal bear and later defeat what Awa explained to be a kingdom-level crisis.

A figure swiftly appeared beside Mimi. The man had his lips steaming as if they were toasted. It made Awa wonder who the strange man was.

A piece of burnt flesh in his hand with yellow blood squirming as if it was alive. The yellow blood squirmed as if it tried to regenerate, but the firm grip it was being held with wasn’t going to let it do as it pleased.

*Tsk* “Damn it. This is disgusting to do after sucking that little shit to extinction.” He said with a face full of disgust.

“Father. Please do not attack this Dullahan. She was also chosen by Vincent. That is why she has the sweet smell of Vincent’s mutated blood.”

“Sweet blood? Have you gone crazy to this level?” He said while looking at Mimi with a gaze of disgust.

Awa stared at the man Mimi called father. *Gulp* “Tell me, did you try to kill Vincent?” She bravely asked.

*Tsk* “This Dullahan is as prideful in her noble blood as the others. She is asking a question that can displease me and make me kill her to appease my anger.”

“Ahem!” Mimi loudly cleared her throat. “Please do not mind my father.” She requested.

Mimi looked at her father and asked while frowning, “Did you come here to ask Awa a question?”

“You. Dullahan with a pungent scent. Tell me all the details that happened here.” Vlad ordered in a menacing voice. He did not want no or an excuse for an answer.

Awa nodded. She recounted what happened from the moment Vincent had saved her. She told Mimi and Vlad about all the enemies Vincent had fought against in such a short time. She made their worries come true after explaining how dangerous this forest had become by the mysterious appearance of powerful hostile beings.

*Tsk* “This is getting annoying.” Vlad complained.

Vlad looked at Vincent with a strange gaze. From one angle, Vlad looked at Vincent with disgust, while from another angle, Vlad looked at Vincent with astonishment.

“Use poison to fight poison. Use mutation to fight mutation. Kill a monster with a monster.” He said while pondering the reasons why Vincent could kill the mutated without a destructive and overwhelming attack.

Killing the undead bear was plausible with the kind of destruction currently all around him. However, the way Vincent killed Orso was not a thing Vlad could understand.

An environment-destroying attack didn’t kill Orso. It was killed with ordinary-level attacks such as decapitation.

Vlad looked at Mimi. “I will need to interrogate him after he wakes up. I will hunt him down until he talks to me.” He said menacingly before turning around, placing the piece of burnt meat, trying to regenerate in his mouth, and jumping in the hole.

“Ahem. Sorry about that. My father is baggage of headaches, hehe.” Mimi said apologetically. “Looks like your people and little monsters are coming to see what is happening.”

Awa turned around and saw all the Dullahans and the Cefeyes approaching. Everyone was helping one of their people move.

Awa placed her hand on her knee and slowly stood up. She turned around and looked for her parents.

It took a second or two to spot her mother approaching. In her hands were the bag of supplies and the gold identification card.

Beside Amie was Zero walking beside her as if it was protecting her. Behind them were two Dullahans carrying Lamin carefully.

“Mimi... can I know if you have a way to save my father? He lost a lot of blood, and he was in bad condition for weeks.” Awa asked while tears welled in her eyes.

Mimi gently shook her head. “That is a thing I can not do. I do not have healing potions or scrolls. The minor regen potions I have can not save a life. I am sorry.”

Awa became devastated to hear these words. Her father could only be saved by Vincent, but not only was he unconscious, but he needed to recover from the side effects his body was currently suffering from.

Mimi placed her hand in her pocket. She took out a shirt and a bandage. She removed the fabric covering Vincent’s body and asked, “Can you help me put these on Vincent?”

Awa was too devastated and depressed to help accept Mimi’s sudden request. She looked at her parent, approaching slowly. They were going to take a minute or so to arrive.

Awa felt terrible to leave Vincent, their savior and the man she had feelings for, lying on the ground with underwear and torn pants.

Awa stopped looking at her people and limped over to Mimi, Plow, and Vincent. She lowered to her knees and helped Mimi wrap a bandage around Vincent’s uninjured waist and later wear a winter shirt.

“Even if you are sad about losing your father, you still helped Vincent keep his secret.” Mimi smiled warmly. “I like you, Awa.”

Awa gently nodded once while her expression of sadness could not leave her face. She didn’t want to lose her father, yet she could do nothing to save him...

A thought of hope suddenly flashed in her mind. She turned her gaze to Mimi and asked, “Can I know if you have medical plants on you? O-or at least know if there is something like that nearby?”

“Awa... I don’t think this destruction has left anything like that to survive.” Mimi gently shook her head. “Furthermore, most I know about plants are the dangerous ones.”

Awa didn’t give up. She looked at the hole where Vlad was doing a mysterious thing inside. “Does your father know?”

“Do you know how to make medicine with herbs?” Mimi asked casually.

“Vincent said I awakened into an alchemist. He said this was the class my soul desired. Now I can see why. I can save my father if I can have ingredients with healing properties.”

‘An alchemist? Didn’t Plow tell me Awa was a powerful Dullahan? How can an alchemist have combat skills, and how can a Dullahan awaken into an alchemist?’ Mimi deeply pondered.

Vlad swiftly appeared beside Mimi and Awa. *Tsk* He clicked his tongue and complained, “This is annoying.”

Awa felt shocked to hear these words. Hearing Vlad mention becoming annoyed because of her request was like the tread of hope becoming brittle.

Awa didn’t know if Vlad knew a way to help save her father, but she also didn’t know if he would tell her by the way he acted.

*Tsk* Vlad clicked his tongue again, causing Awa’s heart to beat anxiously. She saw him move his steaming lips and heard him say, “I have more important things to do, yet I am always being disturbed.”

At this moment, Awa understood how powerless to save her father’s life she was. She clenched her fists tightly and looked at Vlad with a firm, determined gaze.

“Please...” *Thud!* A loud noise interrupted Awa, and a cloud of black dust and ash suddenly appeared between them and the approaching Dullahans and Cefeyes.

Dust and ash dispersed quickly, and a group of humans appeared.

Mimi smiled and told Awa, “Your father can live now, as I expected but didn’t tell you since it is better not to give false hope.”

Awa moved her gaze to the group of humans wearing luxurious military clothing. She saw three men and five women, eight humans in total. Two were old, and the rest were middle-aged.

*Tsk* “Lucas. So we see each other again.” Vlad said in an annoyed tone.

“Hehe. You look pleased to see us, I see.” Lucas joked.

“Stop joking. I want to know how the explosion occurred and how this land has become unhabitable.”

Lucas glanced at Vincent. He became surprised, yet not at the same time. “Maybe a powerful mage came to test out their spells. What do you think, Karta?”

“I saw you glancing at Vincent.” Karta gently shook her head. “Why is he always at the center of the commotion again?”