"And your way of speaking is pretty unique too, isn't it? You emphasize 'Master' so strongly."
Gloria, who had been wondering why Mimi's oddly irritating speech pattern was like that, immediately fired back with a question of her own.
Fox beastkin were technically canines, after all.
So why did she have to tack on that cat-like 'nya' at the end of her sentences?
Even Gloria, who was generally indifferent to everything except matters involving her master, couldn't help but be curious about the reason.
It wasn't as if fox beastkin had some special oral structure or anything.
Mimi decided to graciously satisfy Gloria's curiosity first, prioritizing it over her own, since the Sword Saint had forgiven her so quickly.
The truth was, the reason wasn't all that complicated anyway.
"It's 'cause Master likes it when I talk like this nya! He said beastkin are most charming when they end their sentences with nya~? It's common knowledge, even in Goguryeo nya!"
"I see."
Gloria was immediately convinced.
If it was what her master wanted, then Mimi's speech no longer bothered her.
On the contrary, she felt a twinge of envy that beastkin could use such a special, alluring way of speaking that wouldn't suit ordinary humans.
'Nya? Master. It's Ria nya... Hmm... Would that not suit me?'
She tried mimicking it in her mind, but unable to guess whether her master would like it, Gloria shook her head lightly to dispel the thought.
If she met her master again someday, she'd leave the judgment to him—that seemed the surest way. With that, she quickly put the matter aside.
"So why do you call him Master nya? No, what does Master even mean nya?"
"Ria."
"Hm?"
"Just call me Ria."
As fellow slaves, Gloria couldn't keep being addressed so casually, so she told Mimi as much.
Mimi beamed, thinking that Ria was treating her more comfortably now because she'd apologized quickly, just as Master had said.
Master's words were always right, after all.
Her ears flapped rapidly in delight, and her six tails swished this way and that, expressing her joy.
Gloria found the sight fascinating but soon lost interest.
"Okay, okay! I'll call you Ria nya! So, what does it mean nya?"
"I heard it means the same as 'Master.' But Master said there's a reason I should call him that, so I do."
"A reason?"
"Yes. Before the witch cursed me, I had platinum blonde hair. When he heard that, Master said a blonde, blue-eyed swordswoman suits 'Master' better than 'Owner'—it's even in Goguryeo."
"Ooh! Ria knows about Goguryeo too nya!"
"It's Goguryeo, not 'Goo-goo-ryeo.'"
Gloria touched her gray hair, now noticeably brighter than when she'd first met her master, and recalled her grim past before him.
"What a beautiful child. And with such outstanding talent to boot—I can't help but feel jealous. Heh heh heh."
Those were the words of a witch who had happened to pass through her village, commenting on Gloria's unusually striking appearance from childhood. Born the daughter of peasants who farmed for a living.
Gloria, waiting in front of her house for her parents' return, had no idea what the strange old woman was saying but smiled politely since she was an adult.
"Ahh! Great Demon God! You have pitied me and led this luscious fruit to me before it could ripen, to serve as fertilizer for your imminent resurrection!"
The curse the witch inflicted was utterly vicious.
The face everyone in the village had praised became barely recognizable as human—eyes, nose, mouth, and ears in the right places, but everything else twisted in a way that instinctively repulsed anyone who saw it.
Her platinum blonde hair, which had shone brilliantly in the sunlight, turned into dull, frizzy gray worse than ashes.
And for some reason, she was always low on energy, plagued by chronic lethargy.
Her parents, returning late, recognized her by her body and wept bitterly in grief.
But that year brought a poor harvest, and soon the entire village began looking at her with uneasy eyes.
Even her parents, who shouldn't have.
Gloria, unable to leave the house properly due to the changed gazes and her hideous face, noticed one day that her once-cold parents were suddenly kind, even giving her a delicious dinner.
She passed out mid-meal and awoke to find herself a slave.
Days of beatings from slave traders who couldn't even sell her.
At least she remained a virgin—her repulsive face spared her sexual assault. A small mercy.
'Thanks to that, I could offer my purity to Master.'
The man who named her Gloria, saying the first step of isekai romance began with her, and she was his glory.
The Master who praised her figure as it filled out with proper meals, saying it was killer.
The Master who gifted her a helmet to cover her face, for her sagging self-esteem under hateful stares.
Even with such a face, he always wanted her helmet off at home and acted unaffected.
Once, venting her rage, Gloria had screamed, Don't you find me disgusting? Isn't it just my body you need anyway?!
Master had merely tilted his head as if puzzled. "Why would I? You're my possession. Sure, you taste good, but you're precious to me just as you are~ That's it. Possessions are great! They don't stab you in the back! So how could I not love you?"
From that day, her old name vanished from her mind.
Just Gloria. That was her name.
'He left in the end, though.'
Gloria tried to smile bitterly, but exhaustion from her harsh childhood and the hellish three years since wore her down—her expression refused to cooperate, so she gave up.
In truth, the curse had stiffened her facial muscles permanently—that was the main culprit.
After Master left.
She learned of the incident involving a man named Jake and suspected some similarity to her own relationship with Master had caused him to vanish.
She hadn't earned her revered Master's trust.
In the end, she was a worthless bitch.
So she killed the man named Jake, who wore an expression like he was merely surviving without living.
Stabbing his groin repeatedly with a dagger, making it as painful as possible.
She staged the scene to look like a runaway slave had returned to commit the crime.
'For daring to disturb Master's peace. Repay with death and fall to hell.'
And so that she could kill him again if they met in hell someday, Gloria prayed at his grave.
To outsiders, it just looked like a friend paying respects.
"Ria?"
Had she been lost in thought too long?
Gloria shook her head lightly, signaling it was nothing.
Mimi, still curious, pointed at Gloria's face—or rather, the helmet covering it entirely.
"Why are you wearing that nya?"
"Ah. This..."
The iron helmet she'd habitually worn to hide her repulsive face.
After Master vanished, she hadn't taken it off even in her lodging except when bathing.
But in front of this girl, maybe it didn't matter.
Thinking that, Gloria removed the iron helmet.
"Whoa! You're so pretty—why hide it nya? Master would love it nya! Master likes pretty things nya! So I like them too nya! Hehe."
The repulsive face from the witch's curse was gone from the helmetless Gloria.
Apart from her stiffly frozen mouth seeming a bit unnatural, her features had returned to their proper places—truly an appearance worth the witch's premature jealousy.
Yuha, talented with the sword but held back by flawed stamina, would take monster hits for her in prolonged fights, trusting his regeneration.
But after Yuha left.
Gloria, berating herself as useless with only sword talent, threw herself into dungeon hunts without holding back, growing stronger.
Hoping a useful version of herself might prompt Master to take her back.
She took massive wounds she'd never suffered before.
But through the Yin Seal linking her to Yuha, she finally borrowed his regenerative power.
And belatedly learned it healed not just wounds, but the witch's curse too.
She was shocked his ability manifested in her, then moved that it was easing the curse bit by bit.
'Just how many graces will you bestow upon a deficient girl like me...?'
Gloria could only be grateful to Master.
From a brute with nothing but strength, hope bloomed that she could become a woman worth looking at. She pushed her body to the limit, conquering dungeons.
Her astonishing clearance speed and breathtaking swordsmanship earned her the title of Sword Saint in Dungeon City.
"Thank you for the praise."
Gloria's confidence in her looks returned, if only a little.
She hoped Master thought the same.
"For now, we should head to the city, talk more, and gather information."
But the massive something that began appearing in the distance made that impossible.
you can read more at novelshub.org