Chapter Fifteen "Counter Proposal"

Clementine stepped out of the room a steaming bucket in each hand, each of which had several washcloths inside. The cloths were filthy and the hot water was black. A sign of unsanitary conditions of the girl, who Clementine had rescued, that girl had been in. She was no surprised by the fact because she could recall vividly her own past.

She placed the buckets some distance away so that the pungent odor coming from it couldn't drift into the girl's room. Clementine walked up to a door and knocked on it. There was no response, but she sensed someone moving inside, so she quietly pushed the door open.

The girl sleeping on the bed had just regained consciousness. She sat up, still drowsy. She was completely different from how she had been before. Her filthy blonde hair now glowed with a beautiful luster. Her emaciated features had regained their fullness. Her cracked lips were now a healthy pink. On the whole, she was beautiful, although her looks might be better described as a soft-spoken prettiness rather than being drop-dead sexy. Her age was now plain to see. She looked like she was in her late teens, between 15 to 19, although the shadow on her face from her years in her man-made hell made her seem older than she actually was.

"I trust you are completely recovered. How do you feel?" Clementine asked as she entered the room.

There was no answer. Her hollow eyes did not seem strong enough to look at Clementine. No, the truth was, she had not expected her to answer her. That was because she could tell that her blank expression belonged to someone who was distracted and crestfallen.

"Are you hungry? I brought something to eat." Clementine continued to ask.

She had bought the meal from a restaurant, bowl and all. The porridge in the wooden bowl was made with colored soup stock. It had some sesame oil in it to taste, and on the whole it radiated a mouthwatering aroma. The girl's face twitched in response to the fragrance.

"Come, help yourself." Clementine taunted playfully.

Seeing that the girl had not yet completely withdrawn into her own world, Clementine placed the wooden bowl and its spoon before the girl. She did not move, but Clementine did not urge her to eat. After a long time had passed, the girl's hands moved slowly; the movements of one afraid of being brutally beaten.

Clementine let out a sigh. The physical wounds had been completely healed, but the pain which had been branded into her memories still remained. She knew very well what the girl was going through. Thinking back to her experience made Clementine shiver. The physical and mental hell that she had lived through as a child until a member of the Black Scripture had discovered some talent and whisked her away from the terrible fate that she would've likely continued to live.

The girl picked up the wooden spoon, dipped it into the porridge, then brought it to her mouth and wolfed it down. Her throat worked, and the porridge slid into her belly. The girl's eyes trembled slightly. It was a small movement, but it was sufficient to convert her from an intricately-made doll into a real human being. Her other hand trembled as it moved to take the bowl from Clementine.

Clementine supported the bowl, shifting it to a place which was easier for her to reach.

The girl grabbed the bowl to herself, then took scoop after forceful scoop of the porridge as she devoured it. If the porridge had not been cooled until it was just right, her frantic feeding frenzy would probably have scalded her tongue. Broth leaked from her mouth and stained the blouse of her pajamas, but she did not care. She was more drinking than eating it. After finishing the bowl with a speed that was completely unlike her previous self, the girl held onto the bowl and exhaled deeply.

With her humanity restored, her eyelids closed slowly and ponderously. The combination of a full belly, fresh clothes and a clean body combined to soothe her spirit, and she began to feel fatigue kicking in. However, just as her eyes narrowed into a line, they snapped open and she curled up into a frightened ball.

Clementine quickly reached for the small Arcane Tome that hung from her belt. She placed one hand on the Arcane Tome and the other on the girl's shoulder. Without making saying a words, she commanded the Arcane Tome to search for a calming magic spell. Clementine began to activate and use her Magic Circuits like her master had instructed her. She felt her body being used as a channel to activate the magic spell stored within the Arcane Tome and pulsing into the girl's body.

"Your body must need sleep. Don't push yourself and have a good rest. You will not come to any harm as long as you stay here. I guarantee this: when you wake up, you will still be in that bed." Clementine gently asked, wondering if the calming spell was working.

The girl's eyes moved for the first time and looked directly at Clementine. Her blue pupils were dull and lacked vitality. However, those were not the eyes of a corpse, but a living person. Her small mouth opened and closed. Then it opened and closed again. This repeated itself several times. Clementine watched her tenderly. She did not urge her to do anything; she simply watched in silence.

"Ah…" At last, her mouth opened, and several nearly inaudible noises emerged. Then, she quickly added. "Thank… thank you."

"It's fine. You are safe here with me, and in this house," said Clementine as she fingered her adventurer medal from underneath her shirt and brought out so that the girl could easily see.

The girl's eyes widened a bit more, and her mouth began to tremble.

Her blue eyes moistened, and then overflowed. The girl opened her mouth and then wept piteously. Soon, she could hear the sound of cursing through the crying. She cursed her fate. She resented the fact that it had ever existed. She was filled with hatred that nobody had helped her until now. Her wrath was directed at Clementine as well.

If only you had saved me earlier. The girl thought furiously before she remembered that she should be grateful for the fact that she had been saved.

After receiving Clementine' kindness and humanely treated, it was as though part of her had broken down under the strain of everything she had endured until now. No, perhaps it might be better to say that after having her humanity restored, she could no longer bear her painful memories. She tore at her hair, and the strands snapped quietly as she pulled. Countless golden fibers were tangled around her slender fingers. The porridge bowl and the spoon rolled to the bed.

Clementine watched silently as the girl went mad. Her hatred and curses was directed at the wrong person. She was clearly looking for a scapegoat. Perhaps said person would be unhappy, maybe even angry. However, there was no anger on her face. Her wrinkles were filled with kindness.

Clementine leaned forward and hugged her. It was like a father embracing her child. There was no malice there, only an unending kindness. Her body stiffened for a moment. Then, as she realised how different this embrace was from the men who sought only to violate her flesh, her body slowly relaxed.

"It's fine." Clementine repeated those words like a mantra, gently patting her on the back, like she was comforting a crying child.

The girl moaned and then, as she slowly came to understand what Clementine was saying, she buried her face into Clementine' chest and cried all the louder. However, the context of her tears was slightly different from just now. She finally managed to stop crying after some time had passed and the front of Clementine' clothes had been soaked by her tears. She slowly extricated herself from Clementine' arms and lowered her head to hide her blushing face.

"Ah… I'm… sorry…"

"Please, do not worry about it." Clementine smiled, and then stepped away from her. "Alright. Have a good rest. We will discuss the future and other things when you wake up."

There was nothing that magic could not do. Her body had been restored through magical healing. It was the mind that was the problem. She bore emotional scars that normally took a long time to heal, and sometimes never healed. At one point she had contemplated of erasing the girl's mind of the terrible memories she had been forced through and witnessed. That decision had been quickly shot down when Clementine remembered her own past. How that terrifying time of her childhood had been a large part of the person she currently was. There was no way Clementine could erase the girl's memories not when it was now an important part of her.

"The future…?" The girl asked in confusion as she tilted her head.

"I am getting to far ahead of myself. Please forget that I mentioned it," said Clementine. "My name is Clementine. Can you tell me your name?"

"Ah… I… Tsuare…"

"Tsuare… How are you feeling? Is there anything you would like before I leave you to get some rest?" Clementine asked.

"No… You have already done a lot for me." Tsuare replied, gratefully.

"Alright. Have a good rest today. We'll discuss the future tomorrow."

"All… right…"

After verifying that Tsuare was back on the bed, Clementine took the bowl of porridge and left the room. When she opened the door, she was surprised to find her master standing there. He was probably eavesdropping on them, not anything Clementine could do about it.

"What's the matter, master?" Clementine asked in a forced, but respectful tone.

"Clementine. May I ask how you intend to with her? If this is for using her as a tool than you will not allow you too," said Shirou in a scathing tone.

For a moment, Clementine was surprised that her master had the nerve to accuse her of such a thing. That notion was quickly understandable given what her master had come to know of her. She had been a psychopath that liked nothing more to hurt and kill people. Her master had yet to see this side of her that he was currently seeing.

"I was doing as you always seem to do. Rescue people." Clementine replied in sarcastic tone. Before Shirou could say anything, Clementine stormed out and left Shirou wondering what to do with the situation that he had happening in his home.

- O -

Clementine opened the main door. As usual, she had gone to the Adventurer's Guild in the morning and recorded all the requests on the notice board in her notebook before the adventurers could take them.

She passed through the door and entered the house.

"Welcome… back… Clementine-sama." Tsuare greeted in the maid outfit whose long skirt covered her legs.

Clementine liked what was happening. Tsuare was showing that she was starting to recover as she seemed less depressed and acting independently without anyone's instructions. If one thing that had bothered her was that Tsuare refused to simply sit in bed and recover. She had outright demanded that she would work in this house. Her excuse being that she felt uneasy about being treated as a guest on top of being rescued by Clementine.

"I'm back, Tsuare. Did work go well?"

Tsuare nodded. "It went… well."

"Is that so. That's good to hear."

Clementine walked, and Tsuare walked with her.

"What are we having today?" Clementine asked.

"Po… potato... stew…"

"I see. I look forward to that, then. Your food is delicious, Tsuare."

She blushed and lowered her face as Clementine praised her with a smile. Her hands nervously grasped at her maid uniform's apron.

"You, you are too… kind…" Tsuare stammered.

Tsuare's cooking was hardly a gourmet spread. She made simple, everyday dishes. A far cry from what her master was able to whip out. Shirou Emiya was a master chef in terms of what he was able to cook up, but Clementine would prefer Tsuare's cooking over her master's anytime. Clementine had some peace of mind knowing that Tsuare was the one cooking because she highly doubted that Tsuare would try anything to put anything suspicious inside her cooking not with how highly she regarded Clementine.

Clementine stopped halfway, because she had heard something like two hard objects colliding. It was a very soft sound; probably nobody but Clementine would have heard it. That disordered noise repeated itself again, and she was certain that it had been deliberately made. She opened the room door and stepped into the corridor, focusing her senses. She walked to the main door, where she lifted the cover of the door's peephole.

Outside, Clementine saw a plump man. The plump man was neatly attired, and she wore well-tailored clothing. She had a weighty badge on her chest which reflected a coppery light. Her sweaty red face was also packed with fat and had an oily sheen to it, probably from too many rich meals.

What caught Clementine's attention the most wasn't the plump man himself. It was the soldiers standing close to him. The insignia and the uniform the soldiers wore matched what Clementine knew was worn by the Re-estize Kingdom's Royal Army.

At the back of the procession was a strange-looking man. His pale, sallow skin looked like it had never seen the sun before. Keen eyes and his scrawny face looked like some predator. His dark clothes hung loosely about him, and he must certainly have weapons about his person. She radiated a scent of blood and malice, which prickled on Clementine' sixth sense.

Clementine frowned. She had no idea why what looked like a government official, soldiers and shady individual were doing here or what they wanted. The thought that her activities had been watched and that she had been tracked down did come to mind for a moment. Such a notion was unlikely. She found it hard to believe that someone had been able to observe and stalk her without her knowledge. As an assassin, she was one of the very best given that she had once served the Black Scripture and was still able to escape their grasp after betraying them.

Maybe it was magic…Clementine thought as magic wasn't something that she could fool and she lacked her usual equipment she had back during her Black Scripture days that allowed her to detect and deceive magic.

"Who is it?" Tsuare asked, nervously.

She quickly made a decision. There was no way she was going to leave Tsuare to be with her when she confronted the group waiting on the other side of the door. Something told her that things could easily turn bad. If things did go bad the last thing she wanted was to be protecting someone while she fought for her life. It would only distract her and prove to be a weakness.

"It's okay. Please get Emiya-sama. He might be needed for this," said Clementine as she thought of an valid excuse to send Tsuare away and alert her master if things went bad.

"Of course, Clementine-sama," said Tsuare as she bowed and headed to get Shirou.

Only when Clementine was sure that if anything happened that Tsuare was a safe distance away did Clementine open the door.

"...May I know who is calling?" Clementine asked as she opened the door.

"I am Inspector Stefan Havish," reported the fat man at the head of the group. "I trust you know that the Kingdom's laws prohibit the trafficking of slaves… That law was proposed by Princess Renner herself and put into effect after being reviewed by Parliament. The report I received indicates that the inhabitants of this domicile have violated that law. Thus, I wish to investigate the matter." Stefan paused to let Clementine contemplate what she had heard before continuing. "May I come in, please?"

Clementine hesitated what to do. Inspectors were public officials who maintained order in the Royal Capital. One could say they were the commanders of the guards who patrolled the Capital, and they had far-reaching authority. The sort of attention that her master had said to avoid attracting. She thought of many excuses to deny entrance, but chasing the visitors away might lead to greater trouble in future.

A creepy smile crept on Clementine's voice that unnerved the visitors. Her master might had ordered to not gain the attention of the authorities, but they were already here. Her previous orders stated not to gain attention so complying with the authority would only gain more attention. She could turn this situation where she could turn into a nightmare for her master. A small, but a satisfying revenge.

"If I may, could I have an audience with the master of the house? While it cannot be helped if the master is not in, we are here to conduct an investigation. Things will go poorly if we return empty-handed."

Stefan smiled. There was no sign of humility in that smile. It concealed undertones of intimidation through the abuse of power.

"Before that, I would like to ask, who is that man behind you?" Clementine asked as she sensed the same vibe, a kindred.

"Hm? His name is Succulent. She represents the establishment which reported this incident to me."

"I'm Succulent. Pleased to meet you."

After seeing Succulent's cold smile, Clementine' felt a sense of kinship deepen. His cold smile was like that of a cruel hunter mocking his prey as it stepped into his trap. He must surely have made all the proper arrangements with all the appropriate parties before strutting up to her, bold as brass. That being the case, Stefan was most likely a proper official. They would surely be prepared for any refusals on her part. That being the case, she ought to see what they had in store for her.

"...I understand. I shall inform the my master forthwith. I hope you will be so kind as to wait here for a moment," said Clementine.

"Very well, we'll wait, we'll wait."

"However, please be swift about it. We do not have all day."

Succulent sneered at her, while Stefan shrugged.

"Understood. Then, please excuse me."

Clementine turned towards Shirou's room. He seemed not surprised like usual when she entered his room. She didn't even need to open her mouth to explain. Shirou seemed to understand what was going on. Something that no longer surprised Clementine as he seemed to know everything that went on inside and the nearby vicinity of the house. No doubt something to do with magic given that her master was a master mage.

"Wear this and escort the visitors to the lounge, but of course not the guards," said Shirou as he pointed a pile of clothes before he left the room.

Clementine wondered what her master was ordering to wear. She walked over to see when the neatly folded clothing failed to reveal their true nature. It was only when Clementine unfolded and held the cloths in the air did she realise what she was going to wear.

Curse you, Master! Clementine screamed in her mind as she blushed at what she was being ordered to wear.

When Clementine returned to the front door, she got surprised look from the visitors. Their faces said that they had not expected to see such a beautiful woman. Stefan's expression slowly turned lewd, his eyes roving around Clementine's body. There was a dark look of lust in his eyes. In contrast, Succulent's face gradually tightened up, unwilling to relax.

"Please come in," said Clementine. Stefan and Succulent entered the house, and the soldiers tried to follow Clementine spoke up. "I'm sorry, but the soldiers will have to wait outside."

The soldiers looked slightly annoyed and were about to enter when Stefan and Succulent gestured to them not to. Clementine escorted the two men into the house and into the lounge, where Shirou bade them take a seat on the sofa opposite him. The blushing Clementine walked and stood behind Shirou.

"My name is Shirou Emiya. What would be the problem?" Shirou asked.

Shirou's question brought an exaggerated cough from Stefan, and he said. "A certain establishment reported that someone had taken away one of their workers. At the same time, I heard that the person responsible had killed another worker. Someone, who is said to work for you, has kidnapped and killed."

"I hope you have ample evidence before you accuse someone, who is working for me. The crimes that speak of are very severe crimes. Kidnapping and murder. This sounds more like someone trying to slander my good name and my staff," said Shirou in disapproval.

"Emiya-san, one of the people at our… establishment has gone missing and another missing. We questioned several witnesses that said that the maid behind kidnapping one of our employees and murdered another," said Succulent.

"Stefan-san, I believe you should trend very carefully about yourself over the matter you have come here for. Succulent-san here is part of the Eight Fingers. It would tarnish your reputation as an inspector if it was found out that a government official was openly working together a criminal organization," said Shirou in a slow deliberate manner.

Stefan and Succulent was caught in unexpected surprise by when the organization that Succulent represented was so casually revealed. Any sharp individual might had figured that Succulent was a criminal given his shady nature. What neither Stefan and Succulent had expected was the exact criminal organization that Succulent worked for to be figured out so easily.

"I would also be careful of who you are dealing with. I am no simple man. Please look at these two items," said Shirou as withdraw the chain hanging from his neck and placed on the table between him and his guests.

Both men were shocked by the small medal that was placed before them. It was not just any piece of metal strung up in a chain that was placed before them. A medal to adventurers had to identify themselves. The medal signified that the wearer was the most powerful of adventurers, adamantium-class. An individual that had arrived at the pinnacle of personal human might. If the medal wasn't surprising enough, it was the next thing besides the medal on the chains that made Stefan's and Succulent's eyes widened and backs stiffen. What they saw was a ring. Not just any ring. It was the ring bearing the crest of the Re-estize Kingdom's Royal Family. A gift to symbolize a close connection.

Shirou knew that he had struck gold. His visitors were looking at the chained medal and ring in disbelief. It was time to hit harder while the iron was still hot.

"Clementine, you are the one that is being accused. What did you do?" Shirou asked while connecting to her mind. Don't mention about the killing.

"There was no kidnapping. That 'kidnapped employee' happened to be at death's door. I did take her away. That is a fact. However, she had requested that I take her away from the dangerous workplace that she didn't want to work at." Clementine replied.

Stefan and Succulent looked at each other in a troubled manner. What they had been expecting to deal with had been best been a rich merchant or low-level noble and their personal attendants. Not an admantium-class adventurer with close ties with the royal family.

"I think we can all agree that the whole reason for you coming to my home is now pointless, gentlemen. Instead, I have a proposal to make. How about helping your country, the Re-Eztise Kingdom? Why don't you tell me what you know about the Eight Fingers and clean this kingdom of the dangerous threat?" Shirou asked with a creepy smile that unnerved Stefan and Succulent.

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