NT Rangers - Lad 29 - Not Bad Like This (Patreon)

“You're not bad like this.” Lad offered.

Yeong twitched she looked up in genuine surprise and turned her head, seeming to be trying to hide her face. After a few moments she glanced back.
“That's... A weird thing to say. Are you saying you want me to be a boy?”

Lad clicked his tongue. He brought her up and hugged her gently to him. He smiled. In this world, the roles were somewhat reversed. He had a body that was incredibly strong, and his skills had caught up, as well. He felt like he was finally capable of holding someone confidently, and protecting them.
“Not really my place to say what you should be. Just trying to let you know that you aren't bad, regardless of what you are. I'll still do this.” Lad kissed her on the forehead. Yeong's cheeks flushed bright.

“It's not going to be the same. You wouldn't like me if I was my old self. Like, completely.”

“Who was that, then?”

Yeong looked to be straining to remember. Lad continued to just hold her close, stroking her hair comfortingly.

“I was raised with the name 'Yeong' which means 'Hero.' But it's just a name. I'm less of a Hero that you. I'm certainly not as much of a Hero as my ancestor that Halmeoni ended up marrying. That's because my willpower and my rationality are very low. My only good quality was that my trait was a lesser version of the one my Ancestory Hero had.”

“What was that?”

“Adaptation.”

“Hmm. Sounds strong?”

Yeong nodded. “According to Halmeoni, anything that my Ancestor encountered, he would naturally adapt to it, which meant that he would become stronger just by fighting or experiencing things that tested him. I once heard a story that for a week straight he stepped an inch closer to a lava pool. Just for the sake of trying, he walked closer every day and on the last day of the week he dipped into it like it was a hot tub... Then from that point on he was immune to any kind of heat. If he found someone stronger than him he would just have to fight with them and over time he would become stronger than them naturally. If he landed in a strange land where he did not speak the language it is said that he would be able to understand over time just by absorbing what people were saying.”

“Sounds like cheating.” Lad commented truthfully.
“You have a lesser version of that? It sounds amazing.”

“I have a version of adaptation that is fractionally weaker, It's almost not worth mentioning, so I don't, but it still qualifies me as being the only Hero born into my family since my Ancestor.”

“Shouldn't that guy still be alive?” Lad wondered out loud.

“According to Halmeoni, once he lived a full, natural life he chose to die. She was happy and sad that I had a lesser trait compared to his full version, because according to her he was perpetually bored in his later years leading up to his death.”

“Damn... She lived so long after him. Did she have any negative feelings from that? Sounds like they could've potentially lived together forever but he chose not to. It's practically the same as divorce.”

“I don't know.” Yeong admitted.

“Sorry, we got off track. We're talking about you. Do you think this trait plays a part in in what happened to you? Could it be because of that.”

Yeong furrowed her brow, deep in thought. She was about to say yes, then shook her head. “No... No, that's not it, there's no way. Because my Adaptation is negligible.”

“What is it?”

Her expression became dour. “I had a rough experience during my time in the last word, my Halmeoni was a bad role-model in both and... Someone took advantage of me and- and I was brainwashed.”

“If you know these things then-”

Yeong looked up. “It's the first time I admitted it to myself and someone else. I think that it isn't my fault, right?”

“Yeah.” Lad nodded.
“It doesn't sound like it was your fault at all, Yeong.”

She bent her head back, opened her lip and kissed him. Her eyes shut and she pushed Lad back onto the bed, climbing on top of him.
“You were basically saying that you'll like me regardless of what I am?”

“More than that.” Lad lounged back, resting his head on the bed.
“I'd prefer the person I'm looking at in times like this to be you. You get what I'm saying, right?”

Yeong beamed. She stared down, running her hand over his muscular chest. “When we get out, we need to increase your training...” She winked.

“Geeze, you aren't going to say you prefer the real me?” He joked.

“The real you is the best. But this version is also a bonus.” Yeong admitted. She climbed off of him and sat on the side of the bed.
“I'm gonna think about what it means for it to be me that's standing before you. One I know I'll let you know.”

He stared at her curiously. “I'll be patient.” Lad closed his eyes. Even with his new body he could still feel tired. He could still feel hungry or thirsty. The simulation was impressive.

- One Week -

“Kara...” Kai panted.
“Are you having as tough a time as I am?” She was struggling to carry a small box up the plank leading onto the shift. Kara took the box at the top and placed it down.

The woman looked down and sighed. “Ah... That's right, you're basically a rich princess so you have zero ability for manual labor.”

“Tsk! What about you!?” Kai questioned.

“Sex is exercise, Princess. I have amazing stamina.” Kara said frankly.

“More to the point, if you can't show your worth they'll probably try to turn you into entertainment, understand?”

“E-entertainment?” All the fur on her ears stood up.

Kara pulled her up and out of the way. “Relax. If someone has their eye on you I'll put myself in the way. I'm more attractive and look like a better target because I'm stronger.”

“How does that logic follow? I get bullied all-” As she was saying that, a man passing onto the ship gave her perky rear a tap through the rags she was wearing

“See?”

“Orrans will bully you if you're weak and pretty, even if you pretend to be a boy.”

“That's why you said it was pointless to have a disguise...”

“Yeah. But, they also really like breaking down strong men and women. It's like a national pastime. See?” She pointed subtly up to the helm of the ship. Kai glanced over to see the captain, a large fat man in the attire of a seaman looking Kara over hungrily.

“My aloof nature, coupled with my exotic beauty and quiet strength make me a perfect target for a man wishing to corrupt and make something his. Basically...” She lifted a finger.
“I'm like a lightning rod for malicious perverts.”

Kai looked at her in disbelief. “Why do you sound almost proud of that?”

“I am proud! Listen, princess. When we get out of port here you're going to see the skills that allowed me access to the Aura of more than a thousand men. I stopped doing this kind of thing after I found my love, but since we're in here and I lost my hard-earned Soma, I have no choice. I'm gonna have to go back to living like a Fox. I've never failed so my track record is one-hundred percent.” She bragged.

Kai looked at her. “It's one-hundred percent because you're here, right?”

“Obviously.”

“So aren't you just ignoring all the close calls and all the worlds in which you're easily conquered by some random, lucky guy?”

'That's-” Kara gulped. Kai could see she had an expression that suggested Kara knew she was right. A bead of sweat rolled down her forehead.
“Sh-shit! Why'd you shake my confidence?” Kara held her head in her hands, her crimson hair falling down over her face.
“I'm starting from square one here. I'm a literal virgin in this world and on the ocean there's no Aura from anything living other than a Human for miles so I'm completely-”

“You been standing around for an awful long time talking, ladies!” The Captain hinted with a wide, gross smile.

Kara panicked and lifted two full, heavy boxes with a bestial grunt. She took them down the ramp. “Kara!” Kai shouted, blushing with embarrassment.

The Captain seemed annoyed. “Your friend just carried the boxes she brought up back down again...”

“I'll go get her to bring them back!” Kai ran down after her, shouting.

The Captain rubbed his chin and muttered once she was gone. “Not bad... Once we're out at sea I'll see about putting them in my cabin.”

“Captain.”

“Yes?”

“Word came down from the Patrician. Our ship and two others chosen for speed, lead by a Slayer for the purpose of hunting Heroes.”

“A Hero hunt... Leaves a bad taste in my mouth. We should be hitting softer targets, but if it's a Slayer it's possible and the gold from the Patrician is good. Real good. Anything else?”

“There's one more sign-on, but it's for a Mercenary position.” The First Mate stated.
“There he is now.”

The Captain watched a hooded figure with wisps of blonde beneath the cowl approaching up the ramp. He was tall and lithe, at least a head taller than the captain who was a few inches shy of six feet. As the Captain stared up he could see intimidating green eyes staring down at him.
“What are you?” The Captain asked.

“Aurar. Sixth Ring.”

The Captains beady eyes opened wide and his brows shot up. “Sixth? We can't afford you.” He said sharply.

“I'm here for an even share. Part of the spoils and a promise.” He uttered with a deep voice. Mana crackled between his fingers. The Captain took a cautious step back and the First Mate gulped.

“Y-yes? What promise?”

The Aurar smiled. “Even if it's out of the way we're going to kill a Prince, as well as the Heroes.”

“Hey!” The Captain looked to his first mate and lowered his voice.
“It's not public that we're going to straight up kill the Heroes, right? We're supposed to be quiet about it?”

“Yeah, but, it's basically common knowledge that it's what we're gonna do in the end.” The First mate whispered back.

“What if we add a Prince to the list?”

“He said 'even if it was out of the way.' That could mean anything, so it's not good...”

“I can guarantee you both he's close to the Heroes. Not far away. If he is you can forget that promise. No.. Let's just say, I'll make it worth your time if it becomes too troublesome.”

The Captain held out his hand. “Deal.”

-

“Why are you two still here?” Lad asked the boy and his sister. He shook his head.
“Never mind, stay as long as you need. Ignore me.” They just stared back at him the same way they had for the past week.

`They probably think I'm a total bastard, despite saving them.` He entered the sitting room with Yeong.

“How goes?” She asked.

“Being a Villain is extremely tiring.”

“Of course it will be, when you insist on paying back the people you wrong.”

In the past week, all in the name of gaining infamy as a Slayer Lad raided a group of adventurers that were stopped at the port, beating them publicly and ridiculing them; only to then repay them and offer them healing items later on. He found his way to the Black Market and stopped a slave revolt, only to buy up all the slaves and let them go in a safe location after. Yeong was a great help, as with her acting he was able to command and show himself 'mistreating and breaking' his Aoian Slave in public. Finally, his last act was to blackmail some merchants in the city for protection fees in the area that he was able to carve out as his. It was the one evil act he did not mind doing, as he made sure to only target the most exploitative businesses. He kept his conscience clean, but the end result was...
“I look like a complete Tyrant. I met that Patrician finally and made my proposal. Three fast ships and I'll take the Heroes heads. He 'liked' me. Apparently I reminded him of his late son before he got fat. Made me feel gross.”

“So our time of departure is set?” Yeong asked.

“Yep. Not only are we on the boat, I am basically leading the expedition. It went better than planned. We're going to leave tomorrow morning, meet the crew. I'll start looking at pulling Kara and Kai under my protection with the influence I have once we're settled in there.”

“M-master Slayer!” Lad felt a tug on his arm, the the other. He saw the two siblings, One with brown and the other with dark blonde hair. The boy and girl were looking up at him with a determined expression.

“What?”

The girl spoke. “Master Slayer, take us on as Slaves.”

Lad cringed. “Why?”

It was the boy's turn to speak. “Even if you let us go, we have no way to make it by ourselves.. We would rather be your Slaves than to live freely and get taken advantage of. You are a Slayer... Serving you gives us status.”

“It also puts you in danger...” He grumbled.

“Yeong?”

She looked at Lad and shrugged. “I don't got a good answer to this.”

Lad considered the benefits and consequences. `It'll give me legitimacy to have more slaves, but if I use these two for that and put them in potential danger, I would have to take responsibility for anything that happens to them. Can I handle that? It's not safe with me, but they're also right in that they aren't exactly safe anywhere else as freed slaves...` He sighed.