“Guh!” The sudden gasp and kick against my leg, curled to my chest to stay out of the way, draws my attention up, eyes snapping open. Right there, I see a man, hopping and staggering to keep his balance. Did he just trip over me? Even though I'm curled up out of the way?

After flailing for another step, he spins back around. “Oh, sorry, I wasn't paying attention,” he apologizes, scratching his head.

Despite the shock, I'm immediately stricken by how gorgeous he is, shiny black hair in a short ponytail, with a sort of boyish, androgynous face I'm completely unaccustomed to seeing on a seasoned adventurer, especially since he looks older than me, in his twenties, and has well constructed gear, numerous magical runes making a show of his wealth and likely power.

Immediately standing back up, I bow and apologize. “No, I'm sorry, I thought I was out of the way.” But as soon as I straighten up, I catch his gaze locking onto my neck, and his expression drops, like flipping a switch.

He flings his hand out, faster than I can respond. It lands, a hard backhand right across my cheek, sending me staggering back a step before I go down, landing on my butt, hard.

“Ow...” I groan, holding my stinging cheek with tears in my eyes.

“Learn your place, scum,” the man scoffs at me, before turning on a heel and stalking off.

“Ow ow ow...” I keep muttering while I rub at the now sore spot. My other hand comes up to my chest again, my heart sinking. I want to cry...

This isn't fair...

A short time later, Arkida comes walking through the guild hall, looking left and right until she spots me. “Hey, Yumi, your quest is ready to go out.” When I look up at her, from my spot curled into a tiny ball on the floor, I catch the worry in her eyes, even as she tries to maintain her professional face, surrounded by adventurers on all sides. “Is everything alright?”

“Y-yeah,” I lie, keeping my face turned slightly so she can't see my bruised cheek. “I'm fine.” Pushing myself forward again, I get up and follow her. When we arrive, there are only two other people gathered so far.

One is a tank, a bulky woman who kind of reminds me of Ruwi. The other-

I freeze when I see the black haired man from earlier. Why is he here?!

His eyes lock on me, his pretty face instantly contorting into a venomous scowl. I flinch and cower behind Arkida before I can think better of it.

“What is she doing here?” the angry man demands, which draws a curious look from the tank.

Arkida answers stiffly. “This is Yumi, she'll be joining your party. Of course, you will all receive extra compensation for the quest, for accepting her.

“No,” the man answers without a hint of hesitation. “I refuse her anyway.”

“O-oh...” Arkida stutters a little. “Well, the rest of the party isn't here yet, so...” Ignoring her, his dangerous eyes bore into me, and I tense up so much I can't even look away.

“Girl, come,” he commands, and points straight down in front of him. With hardly a thought, I obey, scurrying to the spot he points to. “Sit.” I sit straight down on the ground in front of him, just on any hope that it makes him less awful to me.

Or maybe because I can't resist his overbearing commands at all.

Once I'm seated, he continues to glower down at me. “Fucking bitch,” he spits, and I flinch, lowering myself a little further beneath him.

I hate this.

I hate this so much...

Arkida, for her part, waves her hands uselessly, trying to help, but there's nothing she can do in her current position. Not when she's working.

With a regretful look back, she returns to the counter. Within a couple minutes, our remaining party members are brought over and introduced. A young man in robes, and an old woman, probably near the end of her fifty years, with a huge sword slung across her back.

Each and every one glares down at me, on the floor between them.

I feel trapped, sitting between all their legs, with them towering even higher over me than normal...

“So, I vote to kick her.”

“What? She looks high rated and obedient, I want the extra money,” the healer argues immediately.

“You, girl,” the old woman addresses me. “What is your rating?” She doesn't even have a domineering tone or anything. She just sounds certain that I will do as she says. Probably because I have no choice.

I lower my head. “SS.”

“SS my ass!” the black haired man growls, sending a quick kick into my stomach. The impact goes straight through my patched up leather armor, laying me out on the floor, groaning and gasping for breath.

Despite the sudden violence, no one even raises a voice in protest. Looking up at them through teary eyes, with their uncaring expressions staring down from above, a few sobs slip through my lips, despite my best efforts to stop them.

I have to stay strong, I have to keep working to live.

But do I really need to go through this for it?

Another hand goes up, the tank woman. “I could use the cash, I vote to keep her. That's two of four to keep, can't get a majority now, so she stays.”

“Fine,” the horrible, violent man sighs. “Let's get to it, then.” With that said, he heads up to the reception counter. I wobble back up to sitting, but I feel so listless and pathetic now, I just stare off blankly while he returns with an unfamiliar receptionist.

The man goes over the basics of our quest: orc slaying, Lukbonim Highlands, five and a half gold for the others, and just three gold for me, then onto the party members.

Blikip, Rank sixteen Mender. Miria, Rank twenty six Rampart. Winamet, Rank sixty two Destroyer. She stops the receptionist there, saying that at her age, we can treat her like a Rank twenty or thirty. Isn't that a kind of wide range...?

And then there's Genripl, the party leader, a Rank thirty two Thunder Hammer. What kind of class is that, a melee mage? He's only in light leather armor and has a number of different weapons, now that I'm looking; a couple swords on one hip, and dagger on the other.

I'm shocked out of my confused examination when Genripl plants a boot on my chest and pins me to the floor. “Urgh!” I groan under his heavy weight.

“Rank ten?” he demands angrily, black hair shaking as he eyes the others, and I realize that his response is due to the receptionist getting to my information last. “Anyone care to change their vote on whether we kick her?”

“Nah, I still want the money,” comes from Miria, the tank.

Then Blikip, the healer, laughs. “Either she dies, or I manage to save her and get her as a slave. I see this as a win.” When he puts it like that... I shudder under Genripl's boot. Should I drop out of this quest myself? Try a different one? With a different group?

Won't they all be the same?

“Fine.” He removes his foot from my aching chest, a shake of his head sending his hair flaring in a way that's disgustingly attractive. How can someone so horrible look as good as he does? I wish he was ugly and everyone hated him...

Then the guild receptionist suddenly speaks up again. “I'm required to inform you that if you return from the quest with her enslaved, you need to prove it's under contract and not by illegal enslavement during your quest.”

The receptionist shrugs, drawing the same gesture back from the healer, who says, “Eh, fair.”

“Tch,” Genripl clicks his tongue. Wait, he wasn't thinking of doing that, was he?! But the guild would obviously know he did it illegally if it's during the middle of our quest together!

With a cold sweat breaking out over my body, I look up at him again. It seems like he hates me so much, how awful would having a master like him be...? The thought makes my heart hammer with terror.

Should I drop the quest after all?

No, no, they know they can't enslave me. I'm not sure if another group would even know that. Or maybe the guild receptionists are required to explain that to every group I join?

How am I supposed to go on quests like this? Will they all be this bad? My arms come to wrap around myself, my breathing suddenly coming in pants. Some part of my mind realizes I'm having a panic attack.

“Girl, come!” The command cuts through, and I look over, half ready to cry, where Genripl is glaring at me.

“Y-yes, sir!” I call back, trying to distract myself. Anything to get my mind working again. I rush after him and the others as we leave the guild, into the city. The dread clawing at my mind forces me forward. Have to keep moving or it'll get me...

We walk a little ways, and I hang at the back of the group, silently focusing on staying upright, before the healer says that everyone can call him 'Blik' for short. “Win,” comes from the old woman, in response.

“Gen.” Then he turns to me, teeth gritted. “Except you. If you call be by name, you'll regret it.”

He raises a hand, and I flinch away. “Yes, sir!” Through squinted eyes, I see him turn forward and keep walking. Why is he so violent? I keep rubbing the bruised spots on my chest and try to make myself keep moving and breathing.

After we leave town, my breath eventually slows, the blood rushing in my ears settling until I've finally recovered.

After the panic has receded, I feel exhausted, but I can finally think straight again. What do I do now? Keep going, or turn back? Will I really be safe working with these people? Would another group be any different?

For that matter, I already took the quest. I know adventurers will get penalized for abandoning their party, but it would be fine if I went straight back to the guild, right?

...Right?

Sighing, I slouch forward. I can't afford a fine for abandoning the quest, so I should just go along and keep out of their way. Just do my part, and it'll be fine.

When I start casting while we walk, Gen is immediately in my face. “What are you doing?” he demands.

Cringing in anticipation of another blow, that animal fear jumps right back to the front of my mind. I squeak, “Casting my spells so I can get stronger!” He squints, but clearly can't find any fault with me this time, because he eventually backs off. Right, just have to keep doing what I should be doing, and even if he hates me for no reason, it's not like he can complain. That helps me calm my nerves.

Besides that, it ends up being a very quiet trip. Gen's glaring eyes are always on me, making me anxious, but I don't do anything that could give him an excuse to go beyond angry looks. Just ignore him and do my job...

I'm really grateful that I'm so used to walking that even with my mediocre Stamina, I can keep up with the others now. Needing extra breaks would definitely bring Gen's wrath down on me.

We go off-road almost immediately, walking off through plains and forested areas, eventually arriving at the base of a mountain. We circle around, coming to a more steady incline. Putting the company from my mind, I focus on our surroundings instead.

I swear, no matter how much of this world I walk, how my situation in life changes, the scenery never disappoints. Idyllic green grass and distant vistas stretch out before us, low lying forestation behind, with the ever-present suns and moons overhead, each with their own color, tinting the entire landscape in unique hues from time to time as we rise.