Teresa of the Faint Smile

Far across the mainland, on the coast of the ocean, was a moderately sized town. A quiet and humble place that welcomed travelers. Carts full of materials and logs moved throughout the place as citizens tended to their jobs. In this continent, every town had its own leadership. Only the largest and most thriving places would have soldiers to defend the lands. People had to take care of themselves.

There was a crowd gathering in the middle of the market square. Countless people were frozen in fear while staring at the scene before them. A Yoma had appeared. It stood before a plethora of half eaten corpses, a teenage boy in its grasp.

"It's a Yoma!" Someone exclaimed. Only then did the civilians understand what they were looking at.

Even though the term 'Yoma' was widespread, it was different than actually seeing one in person. These monsters tended to kill their prey quickly and silently. Humans would only see the remains of the brutal feast once the deed was done. A Yoma feasting in broad daylight was abnormal, unless it was starved or extremely powerful.

"Once my identity is known, we won't be able to relax in this town. You may have finally been able to sleep in a soft bed instead of camping out. Are you sure?" An attractive voice spoke quietly.

Two figures were conversing in the middle of the crowd. The tall one was covered in a dark cloak which hid her appearance. Holding her hand was a young girl with bright green eyes. She looked up at the woman and nodded.

"Mnn." She hummed in agreement. A smile adorned her face.

"Good grief." The woman sighed. It was hard to say no to the little angel.

Without wasting any more time, the tall woman threw her cloak into the air, revealing her form. The iconic armor of a claymore was revealed. With one hand on her hip and the other carrying her pristine weapon, she casually approached the Yoma.

"A-A claymore! What's a claymore doing in our town?" One of the civilians exclaimed.

Similar to others in the Organization, she sported platinum blonde hair with silver eyes. This woman was different however. There was an innate confidence. It was as if the concept of elegance had descended onto a single person. A slight, almost imperceptible smile could be found in her expression. Her long, curly hair gently waved down to her chest. She was like a doll.

" I swear…Here I was hoping to relax in this town, but thanks to you, my plans are ruined." She complained to the hulking beast.

"Grrrrr…" It responded. There didn't seem to be any clarity in its eyes. A small fry it was.

"Oh God, someone please save that boy!" A random lady exclaimed from the crowd.

"You guys are really such nuisances." The claymore complained once more to the beast.

The Yoma dashed toward the elegant woman with the boy still in its hand. Not even making use of its arms, it opened its mouth. A row of sharp teeth was revealed as drool fell from the edges. The claymore charged as well. As soon as they reached each other, she swung her massive sword.

SLASH

A head fell to the ground along with purple blood. The crowd watched in shock at how easy the monster had been dispatched. With a click of her tongue, the woman sheathed her claymore.

"Tch. I guess we can't relax in this town either now." She grumbled with a sigh.

"Yaaaaaaay!!!!"

"She did it! She killed the Yoma!"

"Oh my goodness, she's amazing!"

"Momma, did you see? Did you see?! She went whooosh! Wham! Yah!"

The crowd burst into cheers. Others that were hiding around the corner also came out to celebrate. It immediately became a festive atmosphere, with the woman as the source.

"Wha-Ehhh?" An expression of confusion and shock could be seen on her face.

Even though claymores fought and killed Yoma, they weren't normally seen in a good light. Their otherworldly appearance only reminded the humans of Yoma. As such, they would close their doors in fear when a silver eyed witch passed through. It could be understood why the claymore had a confused expression.

"Thank you so much! You are our savior! Please allow us to reward you in thanks!" An elderly man exclaimed while approaching.

He seemed to be the town leader. The woman could tell by how people moved out of his way as he approached. The faint smile on her face remained.

"No reward is necessary. A man in black will come later to collect…actually, nevermind."

"Huh?"

"Nothing."

She was no longer part of the Organization. She was on the run, being hunted down by her own kin. Allowing them to profit from her actions was no longer a necessity. It felt good to be free.

"It was merely something I did in passing. No reward is necessary."

"Teresa!"

The young girl ran over to the top ranking claymore. Teresa couldn't help but pat her head as the little one looked up to her in contentment. She then focused on the old man.

"I know. In that case, would you arrange some lodgings for us? For this child and myself. We've traveled far and would like to get some rest." The elegant woman said.

"Certainly!" The man agreed.

…

…

…

"Hihihiheheheh!" The child giggled.

"When are you going to stop laughing, Clare?"

The two could now be found in the bedroom of a spacious inn. This was the first time in months that they'd been able to enjoy such a soft bed. They'd always slept outside the cities, so as to not cause fear and mass panic. Clare finally stopped giggling.

"But I mean, I've never seen you look like that. You were so surprised at everyone rejoicing." The little girl commented.

"Well, that certainly was a first. To be sincerely appreciated like that. I thought it was pretty nice. Saving people without it being tied to any reward."

Teresa looked outside the window and gazed at the endless buildings. A look of peace and tranquility adorned her face. Clare crawled from her bed to Teresa's before laying down on her lap.

"Teresa, can I sleep with you?" She asked while closing her eyes.

"Hmm? We're fortunate enough to have two beds here. No need to squeeze into one…"

Her words stopped as she realized it was useless. The human child had already fallen asleep. Her breathing was even as exhaustion finally beckoned her to dreamland. Teresa smiled while looking at this little angel who changed her life.

The lines between good and bad were blurred. It was the ultimate rule of The Organization to not kill humans. It didn't matter what the reason was. This was set in place to show the people that claymores were on their side. Unfortunately, things weren't so easy.

A moment had come where Teresa was forced to kill bandits. It was either that, or watch as they took her little Clare after pillaging a town. A town the claymore had just left her in. Now the woman was on the run. When her punishment came, Teresa killed the claymores who were going to behead her. She had decided to live her life for someone else, instead of hunting Yoma. For Clare.

"Rest well. We'll settle down in this town for a while." As soon as Teresa muttered these words, her eyes widened.

Three powerful Yoma auras had entered the city. They were controlled, contrary to the normal wild ones. It was the auras belonging to her fellow claymores. Her executioners had come.

'The enforcers sent after me for deserting the Organization…I have to suppress my Yoma aura to the utmost limit so they don't sense me.' She thought while hiding away from the window.

Clare was fast asleep in bed. She had no idea how much danger they immediately found themselves in. Even though humans couldn't be killed by claymores, it was unknown what the higher ups would do.

'If I can avoid detection somehow and sidestep them…As if such a tactic would work.' She sighed in resignation.

A previous conversation she had entered her mind. When she was escaping, and ran into HER. Number 0. What a scary encounter that was. Even though Teresa was the strongest of all the ranks, her instincts screamed at her regardless.

____________

"You are the first person in the history of the Organization to kill their executioners. And you're Number 1. How unexpected."

"Are you going to kill me?" Teresa asked the scary woman, whose silver eyes seemed void and empty.

"Should I?"

There was a moment of silence. The Number 1 claymore was sweating from the pressure that wasn't even there. Nevertheless, she shook her head.

"You shouldn't."

"...Why?"

"I've decided to live my life for someone else. I only want to strive to make someone happy! Is that such a bad thing?" Teresa answered in an elegant manner.

"Then…" The voice was now beside her ear. Teresa's eyes grew wide at the speed Number 0 just moved. She couldn't even track it. The scary claymore grasped her chin. The woman's hollow eyes looked into Teresa's clear bright ones. "I'd like to see what that would consist of. I'll be watching you…if you disappoint me, your death will be swift."

With those words, she vanished like a ghost.

…

…

…

"Is this it?" Sophia asked.

"Looks like it." Ilena responded.

Number 3, 4, and 5 could be found at the entrance of a specific inn. They stared up into an empty window, where the aura they sensed resided. Noel smirked.

"Hah! She's sure staying at a fancy place!" She exclaimed.

"...Here we go." Ilena ordered. It was time to get busy.

Sophia and Ilena finally entered the building. Ignoring the clerk and walking up the stairs, Quick Sword Ilena went straight toward Number 1's room. Sophia stopped beside the man and set down a bag of gold coins.

BONK

"Wha-This is too much money!" The man spoke with a bit of fear.

"It's fine. Just think of it as the price for the entire inn." She said.

Immediately after, she unsheathed her claymore while pacing back and forth. Her gaze was glued onto the ceiling. Her actions made the man extremely nervous.

Ilena opened the door to see Teresa of the Faint Smile. She sat on a chair with her arms crossed. One leg rested on top of the other, the slight smile always on her doll-like face.

"Long time no see, Ilena. Glad to see you're looking good." She greeted.

"I'm here for your head, Teresa."

"And are you capable of that?"

"...Hmph."