3 bar menu

Chapter 61: The Light and Darkness of a Slave

 

---

I was taking a break from working and was standing there spacing out.

I had named myself as King, but my everyday life hadn’t changed.

I received reports from Yuria and gave my slaves their orders.

Most things could be left to them, but thanks to the population increasing, my workload hadn’t really decreased.

DORECA in hand I ran about here and there.

If anything had changed it’d be that I was able to take a short break to drink some tea that was made without using a DORECA.

After finishing my break and my cup of tea I stood up.

「Alright then, there’s been quite a demand for a park, so I guess I’ll make one.」

I exited my office and walked around Ribek.

「Nee-chan, how much is this?」
「It’s 1,990 Yen.」
「Not even 2,000? I’ll take it.」
「Please come again.」

I happened to pass by the market on the way.

It had originally been an open lot, but businesses had popped up here and there, eventually turning it into a market.

Recently it was becoming even more lively.

Now you could even see people from different towns here, instead of only those from Ribek.

Many different people came here, mixed together, and did business.

Unlike under Marato, the people are lively and energetic.

「Milord, listen to this, there’s a rumor of a new town just beyond Bisk. It popped up I think.」
「What town is it? How many people and where?」
「Umm….what was it? I heard but I can’t remember. The people I heard it from should still be in Ribek, I’ll ask if I see them.」
「If you remember tell one of my slaves.」
「Milord Milord, I heard from some travelers that there are some dragons to the south. Here take this map.」
「It’s not that far huh…I understand I’ll go subdue them.」

As I was crossing the market, people called out to me one after another.

They all said various things.

There were quite a few requests, but information was pretty abundant as well.

It became a place that not only gathered people and goods, but information and rumors as well.

The more information the better it circulates, but overall I’m taking it easy.

It gave a feeling that the rumor mill was really starting to turn.

This was another job. Listening, talking, and dealing with the information.

As I did this I eventually arrived at my target location.
(TN: this past paragraph was practically meaningless nonsense ~_~)

Today’s job, the construction of a park.

There was an area here that was like a little air pocket in the bustling town of Ribek.

On the edges of this empty area were several different types of materials.

Mira was waiting for me there.

「Master!」

She trotted over.

「I was waiting.」
「Un, we’re making the park here?」
「Un!」
「But you had a good idea didn’t you…making a park.」
「I heard from Risha and Lilia. Then I thought that it’d be good to make a forest inside town.」
「That was good, nice job.」
「Ehehe.」

—Magic has been charged by 10,000—

I praised her and patted her head which resulted in a charge.

「Ok then, let’s start.」
「Ok!」

I took out my DORECA and remembered a park that I had seen back on Earth before setting the magic circles.

I planted some trees, placed a bench or two tentatively, set a (small) spring, and dug a sand pit.

Mira placed the materials that she’d brought one after another into the magic circles.

「You brought exactly what we needed.」
「I heard what materials we needed from Risha and Lilia so I could prepare them.」
「Good girl」
「Ehehe」

—Magic has been charged by 10,000—

Mira moved quickly as we both built up the park.

Since we had the ground work pretty much set, it only took about an hour before the park was almost finished.

The magic cost was only around 50,000. The charges along the way surpassed that number.

The final magic amount had increased rather than decreased.

I had made a park, but our expenditure was in the black.

「Amazing.」
「Yes, Master is amazing.」
「That’s not what I meant.」
「?」

Mira tilted her head in confusion.

‘Then what’s amazing?’ is what her face looked like.

「I thought that my slaves are amazing.」
「Then it is indeed Master who is amazing. Since slaves without a Master won’t be slaves.」

Mira said with a big smile. (TN: The interactions make me feel like in this world slavery is seen and treated differently from our world. It’s not necessarily an undesirable thing for this race.)

「I see. Then the opposite is also true. I wouldn’t be a Master without my slaves.」
「Master has four slaves, he’s a Super Master.」
「Did you hear that from Lilia?」
「Yes desuno!」

Mira imitated Lilia.

Her voice and tone were pretty funny.

Then after a bit more effort, the park was completed.

The children had heard rumors of me making something new so they came to play, we left slowly as I glanced back at the children making merry.

It was yet one more part of the world that was rehabilitated.
****************************************
At night, I was sleeping when I was suddenly awakened.

「Master.」

I rubbed my eyes and looked to see that it was Mira.

「What’s wrong? Why are you here now?」
「An emergency situation.」
「Emergency situation?」

I saw Mira’s serious look and was shaken from my sleepy stupor.

I changed my clothes and left the room. Mira guided me to the entranceway.

There stood a man that I recognized.

I definitely knew him…but who was he?

「It’s the jailer Master.」

Mira reminded me.
Oh it was that jailer huh?

It was the one who was in charge of Seiya.

He had an apologetic look on his face, and when he looked at me—–he knelt to the ground in a splendid dogeza.

「I apologize for my incompetence!」
「What’s wrong? What happened?」
「Truthfully……the prisoner has escaped.」
「Escaped?」

I doubted my ears.

I couldn’t believe it.
**********************************
We headed off to the prison in the middle of the night.

As we entered the building, I saw the interior was wrecked.

「Could this be……」
「This was deconstruction!」

Mira said in surprise.

Yes, it was deconstruction.

One of the functions of the DORECA. You could pay a large amount of magic to deconstruct things.

The destruction inside the prison bore the hallmark features of deconstruction.

It should have been perpetrated by Seiya who had the same DORECA as myself.

「For him to be able to do this……it’d need quite a lot of magic.」
「Yes…..quite a lot.」
「And he shouldn’t be able to do it with a normal card th——no wait!」

I realized something more important than what type of card he’d need.

The destruction of the prison would need huge amounts of magic power and Seiya’s source of magic power was…….

「What happened to Seiya’s slave!? What happened before they disappeared!?」

I had a bad feeling about this.

Seiya’s method of charging magic was through violence.

He’d kick and punch his slave to achieve the needed power, it was the direct opposite of me.

Furthermore, that method had pretty terrible efficiency.

When he hit her, he’d only receive 100 or 200 at most.

For the power to break out of prison he would’ve needed to commit some heinous act.

「What happened!? She shouldn’t be dead right? Mira go tell Maya to search for Seiya and bring some panacea with them!」
「Ok!」

Mira began to sprint to carry out my orders when,

「Well….he abandoned her.」

Mira and I froze.

「…..huh?」

This was completely unexpected. It was a conclusion far and away from what I had considered.

I couldn’t help but doubt what I was hearing.
*******************************************
In the guardroom near the prison, Seiya’s slave was lying there unconscious.

Her body was in terrible shape——it was to the point where I almost couldn’t bear watching.

「Mira」
「Yes!」

Mira ran over to her all flustered. She took out the panacea and tried to get her to drink.

She was at death’s door as only a portion of the panacea went down her throat. This would be a close one.

「……Do it. Even if you have to force it down her throat, get her to drink the panacea!」
「YES!!!」

Knowing the panacea’s effects, Mira obeyed me and forced it down her.

Soon the effects were visible, as we watched her wounds begin to heal.

The unconscious slave had some color return to her skin, but even so Mira looked grim.

I asked the jailer.

「What the hell happened?」
「Umm…..since a while ago the man was kicking and hitting this girl. He called her useless, idiot, garbage, etc. and used excessive violence.」

I could easily imagine Seiya doing so.

「I was going to stop them, but this girl accepted it. Furthermore, I’d received your order to let her do as she pleases except allowing escape…..so I was torn between action and inaction. And so….」
「I see…I understand the situation. You weren’t really in the wrong, it was my mistake…I underestimated Seiya.」
「Umm….w-will that girl be alright?」

He said as he glanced at her furtively.

He was definitely blaming himself for not stepping in.

「She will be, we’re giving her medicine……eventually she should open her eyes. It’s medicine that I made.」

After hearing my last comment, the jailer seemed slightly more at ease.

「I see, if it’s your Lordship’s medicine then it should be alright.」
「I’ve troubled you. I’ll deal with the rest here, so you may go.」
「Understood.」

The jailer nodded and left.

I saw him off, then turned to look at Seiya’s slave.

I met Mira’s eyes.

「To not even open her eyes after drinking Master’s panacea….this is awful.」
「…….yeah.」
「Master!」

I heard a voice from behind me and turned my head.

I saw Risha, Yuria, and Lilia standing there.

The three of them looked worried. It seems they heard what had happened and ran over here.

I jerked my chin. The three of them took my place as I walked outside.

I stared at the starry night sky.

Seiya had left and abandoned his slave here.

Up until now I had tried to turn a blind eye…but it was impossible to do so any longer.

「You’ve lost any and all qualifications as a Master.」

Boiling rage threatened to explode out of me as I tried desperately to suppress it for now.

---