He Became the Only Ally of the Abandoned Warrior

Chapter 48

Ravin was what adults would often call a "bad seed."

When she brought the silver-haired girl to the hideout, Brak showed some interest because she was a girl, but after seeing her face, he quickly lost interest, as she wasn’t to his taste.

“How did you end up here?”

“Well, I was just picking people’s pockets, got a bounty on my head, and ended up on the run.”

“Can you fight?”

“Well, yeah, sort of.”

Ravin began pulling random items out of her pocket.

Brak, who had been scoffing, became quite amused as the items kept coming out of her pocket.

On the other hand, the adults in the group grew increasingly alarmed as Ravin produced items that belonged to them.

“Hey, that’s my dagger!”

Particularly, Groom, the knife-wielder, was furious when he realized his weapon had been stolen.

“You little rat!”

“Ah, enough. She seems useful, so let’s raise her as a fighter. She’ll be in the vanguard with Arsil.”

Brak, standing up, patted Ravin on the shoulder, praising her.

“You’ve got some talent.”

“Thank you.”

And then, taking advantage of her lowered guard, Brak grabbed Ravin’s shoulder and drove his knee into her stomach.

“Oof!”

“Don’t even think about touching our stuff again.”

“...Okay.”

And so, Ravin was accepted into the group with little friction.

However, her compatibility with Arsil was the worst.

“You crazy b***h!”

Waking up in the morning, Arsil swore when she saw Ravin snuggled up in Lee’s arms.

It was probably around this time that Arsil’s language started to get rough.

“Shut up, I was sleeping so well.”

“Get away from Lee!”

“No way. This position is just perfect. It’s so comfortable to sleep like this.”

Ignoring the nagging, Ravin rubbed her cheek against Lee’s chest, causing Arsil to explode.

“I haven’t even slept next to Lee yet!”

“Well, you can keep sleeping separately. I’ll sleep like this.”

“You... you b***h!”

From that day on, the hideout began every morning with a brawl between Arsil and Ravin.

The adults, who had few other forms of entertainment, even Brak, started betting on the daily scuffles.

The one who suffered the most was Lee, who got caught in the middle and beaten while trying to break them up.

Time passed quickly.

It couldn’t be helped, as each day was a fight for survival.

Arsil learned boxing from Brak, while Ravin was taught how to handle a knife by Groom.

As they grew, learning skills suited to their nature and talent, Lee endured harsh treatment under Spindle, getting beaten and burned as he learned to cook.

In fact, he mastered all sorts of skills except for combat.

By the time they turned thirteen, they were recognized as full-fledged members of the group, unlike the “other kids.”

But that didn’t mean their tasks changed.

If they performed well, they were given more work; if not, they were beaten.

However, their skills steadily improved through the days of honing their abilities to survive.

That day was no different.

By now, Lee was contributing more than Spindle.

He could easily gather enough food from the forest surrounding the Filthy Alley to feed over ten people, and when he even made jam from an unknown fruit, Brak uncharacteristically praised him.

And today, after finding a few large bird eggs in the forest, Lee made a special fried egg.

“Ravin, if you’re here, come down and eat.”

He spoke up towards the trees, but there was no response.

Lee sighed and reluctantly said the embarrassing line.

“I’ve actually been waiting for a man like you for a long time.”

“That’s not right!”

Ravin shouted as she leapt from a branch and landed gracefully.

“I’m a girl, so I should say I’ve been waiting for a woman like you!”

“No, I wasn’t waiting for you...”

“Shut up, idiot! You ugly thing! There’s no other girl who would take you!”

“I don’t really plan on living with anyone, though.”

“What?!”

“You said I’m ugly...”

“Who said that?! Who?!”

The silver-haired girl with messy hair demanded an answer, but was promptly interrupted by Arsil’s fist as she emerged from the bushes.

Surprised, Ravin jumped, but the punch landed cleanly on her jaw.

“Oof!”

“Who else would it be, you harlot? You’ve been mocking him for being ugly every chance you got!”

“Arsil!”

Ravin, who had tumbled over with a somersault, quickly stood up, while Lee scolded Arsil for her foul language.

“But she started it...”

“You could just find another way to say it. How you say things can change the meaning a lot.”

At first, he had been saying this to Ravin, but at some point, he was directing it more at Arsil.

Arsil, who noticed how visibly displeased Lee’s expression became whenever she cursed, was trying to be careful, but it wasn’t easy with Ravin constantly provoking her.

“Lee! The gorilla hit me!”

“Apologize, Arsil.”

“Why should I?”

Lee sighed again.

“Ravin, stop teasing Arsil to provoke her.”

“Ugh...”

Ravin, flustered by Lee’s scolding, looked ashamed, while Arsil, who had been gloating, also pouted at Lee’s next words.

“Arsil, if you don’t apologize, neither of you will get any fried eggs.”

“What? Why?”

“Can’t help it, Arsil’s will be cooked hard.”

“Ugh!”

Ravin took on a smug posture, which made Arsil tremble with anger.

“Mi... Mi...”

“What? Mi-mi?”

Ravin taunted, bringing her hand to her ear.

“Mi-mi-mi-mi-mi?”

“Mi...!”

“Is ‘Mi’ all you know? Where are the next two syllables?”

“Mi...”@@@@

“Hah! Lee, did you hear that? She can’t even speak properly...”

“Shut up, you crazy b***h!”

The second punch landed as a clean hit to Ravin’s jaw.

She was out cold for a few seconds before waking up and grinding her teeth as she held daggers in both hands.

The sound of the horn echoed again.

“What’s that sound?”

“It’s the signal that the battle is over. It means the soldiers that were coming have been defeated.”

“What’s the result? What happened?”

“Only we blow the horn, so if you can hear it, it means we won.”

“Thank goodness...”

Lina sighed in relief and sat down.

But soon after, the group returned to the hideout.

Drunk on victory, Brak entered with Arsil, his arm slung around her shoulder.

Arsil, who usually seemed displeased, looked happy for a change.

“Lee, who’s this little lady?”

Brak’s eyes widened as he noticed the white, pretty young girl.

“How dare you...”

Lina started to retort, but Lee quickly grabbed her wrist in panic.

Seeing this, both Arsil and Ravin’s expressions instantly hardened.

“He’s the Boss. The leader of this place. We’re all under his rule.”

Shocked by Lee’s explanation, Lina straightened herself, lifted the hem of her dress slightly, and greeted him.

“Nice to meet you. My name is Lina. I happened upon this place by chance. Please be generous...”

“You’re the illegitimate child of the noblewoman those soldiers were chasing, aren’t you?”

“...!”

“I don’t know which noble family she belonged to, but here, I’m the king. Did you hear what he said? Yeah, everyone here is under my rule.”

Though his words were insulting, Lina held back.

Finding her amusing, Brak chuckled and then kicked Arsil in the butt.

Though she got up quickly after falling ungracefully, Brak didn’t even glance at her.

“You’re dismissed.”

Brak beckoned Lina closer.

“You should stay by my side from now on.”

“What?”

“If you’re by my side, no one else will dare touch you.”

Everyone in the hideout understood.

This white, pretty young girl.

Brak intended to claim her as his own.

The smart girl understood this immediately too.

She didn’t like it.

Lina wanted to be a power in her own right, not someone who relied on others' authority.

But for now, she had no foundation.

Though still young, the ambitious illegitimate daughter nodded.

“Okay.”

Lee, on the other hand, lowered his head.

That night, as they lay down, Ravin asked Arsil a question.

“Hey, was sitting next to Brak always like that?”

“How would I know?”

“You were sitting there, so if you don’t know, who does?”

This time, even Lee pricked up his ears, focusing on their conversation.

“I don’t know. I just responded to his jokes, laughed, chatted, and then he taught me boxing. That’s it.”

“Hmm... I see.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Well, I just thought, from what I saw today, sitting next to Brak means... you’re always on standby or something...?”

For someone like Ravin, who was usually direct, this was an unusually roundabout way of speaking, but Arsil understood.

And naturally, she was furious.

“You crazy...! If that were the case, would he let me sleep separately every night?”

“Maybe it’s because we’re still kids? Look, I’m just now starting to grow breasts.”

“Huh...? You’re growing breasts?”

“Yeah, right here.”

“Wow, you’re right. They’ve gotten a little bigger.”

“Hey! Don’t touch them! It hurts a lot, like I’ve got little lumps.”

“Sorry.”

Amazed, Arsil apologized sincerely, looking dazed.

“I’m jealous, you’re starting to grow breasts.”

“Heh, just wait. Someday I’ll have a super curvy, nice body.”

At this point, we need to take a moment to wipe away our tears.

Meanwhile, Lee, now beet red, was squeezing his eyes shut, pretending to sleep.

But then a voice called out, making him jump up.

“Hey, Lee, are you there?”

“Lina!”

Both Arsil and Ravin were immediately irritated by the difference in Lee’s tone when calling Lina compared to them.

Especially Ravin, who openly growled at Lina.

“What are you doing here?”

“Brak told me to sleep here.”

“There’s no place for you here. Go sleep somewhere else.”

Arsil snapped at Lina, but Lina just stared at Lee.

Lee hurriedly gathered some straw and made a soft bed for her.

When he finished by placing a blanket over it, Lina nodded in satisfaction.

“Well done, Servant Number One.”

“Thank you.”

Arsil glared at Lina’s casual tone.

“Who are you calling Servant Number One? Don’t talk to Lee like that.”

“He’s the first servant I gained here. Do you want to be my servant too? No. You’re too uncouth. Didn’t Brak just kick you in the butt earlier?”

“You little...!”

“Enough, Arsil. Let’s just sleep.”

Surprisingly, it was Ravin who stopped Arsil.

The quick-witted girl knew that getting into a fight with Lina wouldn’t win her any points with Lee.

“Damn it, as if Ravin wasn’t annoying enough already!”

“Why did someone from a different world come here and start bossing around our guy? Should I stab her in her sleep?”

“Lina’s skin is so white even at night.”

“Damn it, why am I stuck in this place...!”

Lying in a row—Arsil, Ravin, Lee, and Lina—they each got lost in their thoughts before eventually falling asleep.

Morning

“...”

“...”

Arsil and Ravin stood, looking down at Lina, who was curled up behind Lee.

“Do we have to put up with this again?”

“No, not at all.”

From that day on, every morning in the Filthy Alley began with a brawl between Arsil, Ravin, and Lina.