I sat in my cell, a frown on my face. I knew exactly where I was, or at least what world I was in, for several reasons. I was in the world of Rising of the Shield Hero, but not during the storyline, somewhere around ten years before that.

There were two reasons I knew what world I was in, the first was because when I had first woken up a week ago, a bunch of Balloons had been nibbling on my feet. After sufficiently freaking the fuck out I had managed to pop them. A moment later a status screen had popped up, declaring that I, Ashleigh Amelia Anderson III, was now level two. After freaking out yet again, and managing to determine that I was in fact, not dreaming, by bashing my head into a tree, I was decided that my best chance at survival was leveling up as quickly as possible. But before that I had checked my stats.

Ashleigh A. Anderson III

Age: 21

Level: 2

Class: Vassal Hero - Dagger

Weapon: Legendary Dagger

Otherworldly Clothes

ATK: 30

MAG: 19

DEF: 13

MDEF: 13

AGI: 40

Skill(s)

Sneak Attack: Deal double damage on first strike to unaware targets.

Light Feet: Make no sound while moving in light armor.

It was pretty clear to me that I was the standard DnD Rogue. I was almost as easy to kill as a Wizard, but I was much faster and fairly deadly. After that I went out and started killing any small and weak monster I could find, unlocking several more daggers, and making my way up to level 10 in just under a weak.

That was when my luck ran out and I ran into a group of bandits. They had surrounded me and, while I could have easily killed them, I decided to surrender when they said that I would probably fetch a nice price. If they were going to try to sell me into slavery, I'd wait until they brought me to a Slaver, kill them all and free the other slaves.

I didn't have a slave crest on me because the bandits that sold me had also sold others, and the slaver had run out of that magic ink by the time they reached me. So now here I was, sitting in a cell, across from a ten year old girl. A girl with red hair and green eyes, wearing a rather fancy dress.

Malty S Melromarc, we had been in the same cell for about a week now, getting to know each other. From what I can tell, she's at an age where she's spoiled and a bit rude, but nowhere near as monstrous as she was in the Manga or Anime. And now it was my time to throw my plan into action.

"Princess, I have an idea on how we can get out of here,." Malty looked up from where she had been sobbing into her hands. "But you're going to have to play along if you want it to work." She sniffled and wiped her nose on her arm.

"What do I need to do?"

"Just accept my invitation." I closed my eyes and imagined a screen appearing in front of her. She let out a gasp and I opened my eyes, seeing her staring at me.

"Are you a Hero? Like my Papa?" I nodded and moments later a message flashed in front of my eyes.

Malty S Melromarc has joined your party!

I smiled, not bothering to check her stats, and looked at her. "Alright, now here's the plan."

An hour later Malty was lying on the cell floor, my blood staining her dress. Even if it was Malty, I wasn't going to stab a kid. The guards had a regular patrol schedule and moments after she laid down a guard passed by the cell, panicking when he saw that the Princess was injured. "Shit shit shit shit!" He opened the cell door and came in, barely paying attention to me as he fretted over the girl. He didn't even have time to realize that I had cut his throat before he fell to the ground.

You have reached level 12!

Malty S Melromarc had reached level 7!

By the time all the guards and slaver were dead and all the slaves freed, I was level 14 and Malty was level 10. Also, I was surrounded by royal guards who were pointing swords and spears at me. I probably should have considered the possibility that the King and Queen knew where Malty was and had mounted a rescue mission, but I didn't. Shit. "Uhhh..." I looked around the room we were currently in, there was blood everywhere, several dead bodies, and an unknown woman, covered in blood and holding a dagger, who had a demented smile on her face while standing next to a kidnapped Princess. Really, I couldn't blame them for their reaction. "This isn't what it looks like?"

Honestly, I'm pretty sure Malty was the only reason I wasn't killed on the spot. Instead I had been transported to the Melromarc Castle dungeons and I was sitting in a different cell. I looked at my stats for the first time since I had reached level 2.

Ashleigh A. Anderson III

Age: 21

Level: 14

Class: Vassal Hero - Dagger

Weapon: Legendary Dagger

Otherworldly Clothes (Blood Stained)

ATK: 103

MAG: 86

DEF: 50

MDEF: 51

AGI: 142

Skill(s)

Sneak Attack: Deal double damage on first strike to unaware targets.

Light Feet: Make no sound while moving in light armor.

Bloody Butcher: Be it man or beast, you gain power when you kill. +10% to STR upon first kill during combat. Lasts for 10 minutes or until combat ends. Stacks up to 5 times at higher levels.

"That's her Papa! She's the Hero who saved me!" The sound of my cell door opening caused me to turn my attention to the girl who had spoken.

I smiled. "Hey there Princess." The red haired child smiled and waved at me. Standing next to her was her father, Aultcray Melromarc XXXII.

While he didn't look happy at me referring to his daughter so casually, he didn't say anything about it. Instead he motioned for me to stand. "My daughter says that you rescued her, is that true?"

I nodded, figuring it would be best to be honest. "It wasn't my plan at the start, I figured the only people who would buy from bandits would be illegal slave traders, so I let myself get captured in order to free any innocent people they had." I looked over at Malty, who smiled and waved at me. "I changed my plan when I figured out who my cellmate was."

"I see... She also said you claim to be a Hero." I nodded.

"Yeah, I'm a Vassal Hero like you. I'm the Dagger Hero." I summoned my Dagger to my hand, changing it into it's Red Balloon Dagger form, which was exactly what it sounds like, a balloon animal in the shape of a dagger.

Aultcray looked at the dagger then back to me. "I see..." He turned and looked at his daughter. "Malty, are you sure you want this?" She nodded vigorously and Aultcray turned back to me, closing his eyes before sighing. "After hearing the guard's reports of what you did, I am hesitant to do this. But Malty insists that you are both trustworthy, and the perfect candidate for the position that would prevent her kidnapping again." He opened his eyes, giving me a look that I think meant something like 'choose your words carefully'. "Know that you will face no repercussions should you refuse."

I raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Refuse... What?"

He took a deep breath before letting it out. "I offer you a position in direct service to the royal family of Melromarc. Will you be my daughter's bodyguard?"

I blinked, looking between Aultcray and Malty, who looked extremely hopeful. I stood there for a minute considering my options, on one hand, I'd be working for Aultcray and Malty. On the other hand, Malty wasn't a complete and utter monster yet... And maybe, maybe, I could keep it that way... "I'll do it on one condition."

He looked a little angry at the fact I had the gall to demand something of him, but nodded. "If it is within reason."

"I'm not like you, I'm not from this world." His eyes widened slightly. "In my world, there are countless historical records of nobles and royals who, due to being spoiled in childhood, grew up to be complete monsters. I don't want that to happen to your daughter. My condition is that you let me help you and your wife guide the development of your daughter's personality, so she knows right from wrong and isn't remembered as a monster."

His face turned red. "How dare you insinuate that my daughter-"

"I'm okay with that!"

Aultcray turned to face his daughter in shock. "Malty? Are you sure?" She nodded.

"I... I think that Miss Dagger Hero is a good person, and..." She blushed. "I don't know for sure, but think that I might have been taken because I was mean or rude to someone."

Aultcray was silent for a moment before turning back to me. "Your condition is... Acceptable. But know that, should I feel you overstep your bounds, I will have you thrown back in this cell, and you'll never see the sun again." I smirked and nodded.

"You have nothing to worry about, I just want the best for your daughter." I made a gesture, trying to convey that I was asking to approach his daughter. He nodded and I walked forward walking to Malty and crouching down to look her in her eye. I smiled when I saw that there wasn't and cruelty or hate in her gaze. "Nice to properly meet you Princess. I'm Ashleigh, the Dagger Hero, and it looks like we'll be spending a lot of time together."

Her eyes widened slightly and she curtseyed. "I am Malty S Melromarc, Princess of Melromarc. It is an honor to meet you Dagger Hero."

I smiled. "Please, call me Ashleigh. My people don't care for titles."

She slowly nodded. "Very well, Lady Ashleigh." Good enough.

And that's how I became the bodyguard, companion, and conscience of the ten year old Malty S Melromarc.