“You fool!”
Before Baiya could even open her mouth to describe Molly’s symptoms and suggest a treatment, Molly barked an order. The pirates promptly threw Baiya out and forbade her from stepping anywhere near the captain’s quarters again.
Baiya sat on the deck in a daze for a while. Eventually, she headed down the stairs and returned to the cabins in her designated section, waiting for the dead of night.
In the deathly silent room, Baiya concentrated on organizing the information she had gathered. She realized that if she treated this experience like a game, she had just triggered a side quest — curing Molly’s terminal illness.
‘Molly knows everything. That pirate girl has secrets she can’t share.’
The moment she claimed she could cure Molly’s illness, Baiya had carefully watched the expressions of everyone present. Aside from Molly, no one believed her. Their faces were filled with mockery, ridicule, and even cold murderous intent. Molly’s expression, however, had been one of extreme shock.
“What are you talking about? You can cure Molly? Don’t be ridiculous! Do you even know what kind of illness she has?”
“As for the name, it’s likely ‘The Girl’s Brand,’ right?”
As soon as she used transmission magic to whisper the name of the condition, Molly had cut her off. She didn’t give Baiya a chance to say another word before having her removed. This reaction made one thing clear to Baiya: Molly was indeed aware. She knew exactly why she was sick.
As a Slave Girl who had escaped from Amidal, it was impossible for Molly not to know what the “Girl’s Brand” was. Precisely because she understood the nature of this poison so well, she was unwilling to reveal it to the other pirates, choosing instead to hide the fact that she was terminally ill.
Baiya lay down on her bed, resting her head on her arms as she stared blankly at the floorboards. After connecting the keywords “Slave Girl” and “terminal illness,” Baiya had searched through her data and found the toxin known as the Girl’s Brand. By reviewing the symptoms of the poisoning, she was certain that the true identity of the ailment torturing Molly was indeed the Girl’s Brand.
While investigating the source of the toxin, Baiya discovered that this poison was deeply linked to Amidal.
In the world of **[SLAVE]**, various major nations had different ways of controlling Slave Girls. These girls were national-level humanoid killing machines, possessing racial talents that were both powerful and terrifying. To keep this power firmly in their grasp and prevent it from backfiring, one of the measures Amidal employed was forcing the Slave Girls to consume a poison called the Girl’s Brand.
Amidal didn’t even feel the need to hide this method. The ingredients required to concoct the Girl’s Brand were extremely expensive and rare, including several legendary medicinal herbs. Furthermore, not every country possessed more than a dozen Diamond Rank alchemists. As the largest and most powerful slave-owning empire, Amidal didn’t worry about other nations copying their methods. It was a matter of pride in their wealth and foundation!
Baiya reviewed the materials needed to brew the Girl’s Brand. She used her interface to estimate their value, categorizing the quality of the materials into four levels to make them easier to understand: N (Normal), R (Rare), SR (Super Rare), and SSR (Superior Super Rare). If necessary, she could even add UR (Ultra Rare) and LR (Legend Rare). The results showed that the first two items on the list, dragon bones and sea dragon bones, were both classified as SSR materials. Looking further down, there wasn’t a single ingredient with a quality lower than SR. Baiya wondered if she should be impressed by Amidal’s bottomless pockets; this was a technique that was truly difficult to replicate. The cost of the materials alone would stop any ordinary alchemist in their tracks.
The rarer the materials, the worse Baiya’s mood became. The Girl’s Brand was an SSR-grade poison created by grinding the bones of thirteen types of ancient monsters into powder as secondary ingredients, using the essence blood of an ancient specter as the primary ingredient, and absorbing the malice and resentment permeating a battlefield. Supplemented by the blood of the deceased, twelve Diamond Rank alchemists had to refine it together for ten days to complete it.
Baiya learned that the Girl’s Brand would not take effect immediately after being swallowed. Instead, the toxin would hide within the heart. It was a controllable poison; the controller could trigger it at any time and place to kill the victim. The controller could be designated by the alchemists who refined the poison using a secret incantation, and the target of control could be changed at any time.
It could be described as a dragon-slaying poison, and it certainly had that level of power. Despite its delicate name, it was an incredibly aggressive and lethal toxin!
The terrifying aspect of the Girl’s Brand lay in its lethality. No matter how powerful a creature was, it would die instantly once the poison was triggered. In one of Amidal’s external experimental reports, they had used the Girl’s Brand to poison an entire vampire clan. They had also captured a Slave Girl who had been held by the vampires; her foreign bloodline originated from a Vampire Prince, making her an exceptionally rare Slave Girl. Baiya categorized her as an SSR-rank Slave Girl, hoping she would never have to meet her in the future.
The regenerative abilities of the vampire race were among the best of all races. A Prince-level vampire could regenerate from a single drop of blood even if their head was cut off, their heart destroyed, or their entire body obliterated. Baiya understood what it meant for an entire clan to be wiped out; every single vampire, including the Prince, had died.
The Girl’s Brand was an incurable poison. It was no wonder Molly had no hope for herself and even hid the matter. She didn’t want the comrades who cared about her to hear such tragic news. She had already prepared herself to die alone.
Baiya wouldn’t allow Molly to have such thoughts. That pirate girl was going to live a long life, and Baiya would be the one to find the solution!
‘There’s something wrong with how the poison is manifesting. If it were a normal trigger of the Girl’s Brand, Molly would be dead for sure. However, she only shows the corresponding symptoms. Why?’
While researching a cure, Baiya found this suspicious point. She didn’t think Molly’s regenerative abilities were stronger than a vampire’s. The pride of the Sea Dragon Clan lay in their noble bloodline and their ability to manipulate the ocean.
Baiya was certain that the sickly state she saw Molly in was a symptom of the Girl’s Brand. This wasn’t the first time Molly had suffered an episode, meaning these symptoms had appeared before. According to the original plot, Molly would still be alive and well three months later. If she counted the number of episodes that would occur over those three months, Baiya simply couldn’t believe that the Girl’s Brand was functioning normally.
‘I suppose I don’t have to worry for today.’
After understanding Molly’s current situation, Baiya realized she didn’t need to panic yet. This particular flare-up wouldn’t kill Molly. She could have a peaceful night’s sleep.
In the middle of the night, Baiya, having spent the entire day unsuccessfully researching a way to break the girl’s poison, dragged her exhausted body toward the kitchen. She prayed that the kitchen guards wouldn’t be too strict. She was so hungry her stomach was practically sticking to her back!
Two tall, brawny pirates were guarding the kitchen door. Today, First Mate Raymond had given special instructions: they had to be on high alert for food thieves!
During his clash with Baiya, Raymond had noticed that she seemed to have put on a little weight. That was not how someone who had been starving for several days should look! After racking his brain, he had sealed off the only way Baiya could obtain food.
If Baiya knew about this, she would have beaten him to a pulp. Unaware, she could only lament her bad luck.
‘I should just go back.’
Utterly disappointed, Baiya retraced her steps to her room. She lay on the bed for a long time before she finally managed to fall asleep despite the hunger.
The next morning.
“You’re a good person! You really are a good person! I’m so grateful!”
“Hey, hey, eat slower. Be careful not to choke.”
“It’s fine! My stomach can handle anything right now!”
On this brand-new day, Baiya had woken up famished. she sought out her only acquaintance, Jia Yi, and begged him for food. Busy with work, Jia Yi couldn’t get rid of her and finally had no choice but to bring her a standard breakfast from the mess hall. This led to the scene of Baiya devouring the food.
“I’ll be counting on you from now on! No, until the Boss recovers, please, I’m counting on you!” After eating her fill, Baiya set her sights on Jia Yi. She really had no other options left.
“Absolutely not!” Jia Yi refused without hesitation. He patiently explained his situation to Baiya. “Newbie, I can’t get involved with you. If Lord Raymond finds out I’m helping you, my life will be over.”
“I might be transferred to the hardest, most exhausting post and be bullied just like you. I can’t endure that kind of treatment.”
“This time was already an exception. I used the excuse that I’ve been eating more lately just to get this food. You have to understand, everyone knows I usually eat very little. The cook is already getting suspicious. I can barely look after myself!”
No matter how shamelessly Baiya pleaded, Jia Yi didn’t dare risk his own skin. He wasn’t some saint; she couldn’t just keep pestering him!
Baiya’s answer was that she couldn’t stop. Jia Yi’s mouth twitched. He really shouldn’t have agreed when Molly asked him to mentor this newcomer!
“Eh, is there really no way? No loopholes in the rules to exploit? I’m the newcomer you’re training, after all. Take a little responsibility.” Seeing that Jia Yi wouldn’t budge, the pleading look on Baiya’s face vanished, replaced by her usual calm. Jia Yi wondered if he should say women were fickle; even a young girl wasn’t to be underestimated.
“Responsibility? No, no, no, Newbie. I believe I have fulfilled my responsibility,” Jia Yi said irritably. To him, Baiya was now synonymous with “trouble.”
“Can’t you show a bit more compassion and help a poor, defenseless, and disabled person like me? Won’t your conscience hurt?”
“What nonsense! After hearing that, not only does my conscience not hurt, but it feels great. Newbie, you are surprisingly good at destroying your own pitiful image. Sorry, I can’t feel any sympathy at all right now.”
After a brief clash, Jia Yi still held his ground, becoming even more determined to distance himself from Baiya.
“Fine, fine, keep your principles. Just tell me one thing: where else can I get food?” Facing someone as inflexible as Jia Yi, Baiya could only settle for the next best thing and look for another way out. In truth, she hadn’t expected Jia Yi to help her wholeheartedly. Good people like that usually didn’t last long in this world.
Getting useful information from him would be a win.
“A way to get food?” Eager to get rid of Baiya, Jia Yi frowned and began to think. He had to find a way to send her away.
Since she wanted food, he would give her a path. Whether she could succeed or not was up to her own ability.
“Newbie, you can use money to buy food.” Jia Yi feigned seriousness to hide a crafty smile. In reality, he could already foresee the terrible situation Baiya might face next.
“I don’t have any money. Give me some!” Baiya’s eyes lit up as she nodded with certainty.
“Why didn’t you say ‘lend’ me some?!” Jia Yi was a bit stunned.
“Because I have absolutely no way to pay you back!” Baiya declared loudly with total confidence.