Chapter 33

As the sunset deepened, the archery practice continued.

To get to the conclusion, the arrows ultimately didn’t even reach near the target.

The arrows moved erratically, as if they had a free will of their own—sometimes failing to fly at all, or falling shortly after, or shooting up into the sky.

Even if Arfia was an elf and my slave, it was unrealistic to become a master archer in just half a day.

However, despite the dismal results, Arfia’s face as we returned to the castle wasn’t too bad. Perhaps it was because she had gotten to shoot a bow that she had never used before, but she seemed somewhat refreshed.

“Hmmm….”

“What’s wrong?”

Arfia stared thoughtfully at her own hands.

“I have blisters.”

“It’s because you shot the bow for a short time. Let’s go back and apply some medicine.”

“I’m fine. I’m used to pain. If I’m going to use a real bow, I’ll need to develop calluses anyway.”

“If you say so.”

We headed straight back to the Duke’s residence. By then, the sun had completely set, and business was in full swing. We descended to the basement to avoid the people.

In the basement were four familiar faces.

Victor’s granddaughter, Emili.

Matthew.

The twin sisters, Liri and Lara.

“W-will you really give me food if I come here…?”

“Of course! Breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and I’ll buy you clothes and toys!”

“But they say they beat and make slaves do hard work…”

“Don’t worry! Carami-brother won’t do that.”

And then, a child I had never seen before.

Blonde hair with brown skin. Her shabby appearance clearly indicated that she had been wandering around the back alleys. However, the face visible between her golden bob cut was quite pretty.

With a frail build, she would surely grow into a beauty.

“How about it, brother? I brought a girl as promised! Is this good enough?”

“Didn’t you just drag her here?”

“Do you think I see her as anything else? She even confirmed that she wants to be a slave.”

I did make her say it, but I couldn’t believe there was truly a child who wanted to become a slave. Well, it would be better than starving to death.

“It’s a pass mark. Good job, Matthew. As promised, I’ll buy you a sword.”

“Yay!”

I roughly shoved the dancing Matthew aside and crouched before the girl.

“Nice to meet you. You want to become my slave?”

“Yes, yes…”

“Are you really okay with that?”

“Yes, I’m okay…”

“Good. Then before we make the contract, we should introduce ourselves. What’s your name?”

“I-I’m Hani.”

Hani.

That’s a name that sounds like she would be a good runner.

Not bad at all.

“Alright, Hani. I look forward to working with you.”

I had no intention of letting a point fall through my fingers. I was about to use a soul-binding spell to bind Hani’s soul—

“Alright, I look forward to working with you. Carami-brother… Huh.”

—when I was interrupted.

“…Brother?”

Why is she calling me brother?

Is she a tomboy or something?

Or maybe a Japanese-style “boku girl”?

The youngest sibling raised among brothers?

Something about this feels off.

“Hani… No, Hani. What’s your gender?”

“……I’m a boy…”

What the hell.

Not a pretty girl, but a boy instead?

Not a beautiful blonde tanning beauty but a potential golden sun!

“I clearly said I’d only take girls. Didn’t Matthew explain that?”

“He did, but… he said you’d be deceived if I said I was a girl…”

Right. I almost fell for it.

I was just a moment away from forming a soul contract with a boy.

“Ah, I’m tired after playing all day. Should I sleep instead?”

Matthew suddenly turned his back and tried to crawl into his room.

“Matthew?”

“What?”

“Can you just look at me for a second?”

“I’m sleepy.”

“Hmmm, it seems it’s getting cramped here too, so maybe it’s time to implement first-in, first-out…”

Only then did Matthew turn back to me.

But his eyes were directed diagonally up.

“You knew?”

“Uh, well… I don’t really know what that means, but the local boys said as long as it’s good, it doesn’t matter?”

Matthew was babbling such words.

This ungrateful little punk is trying to assassinate me? Daring to plant a weapon in my courtyard? Especially a golden sun?

You’re not getting away with this.

“Matthew, there’s no dinner for you tomorrow.”

“What?”

“From now on, you’ll be doing all the cleaning underground.”

The children cheered.

In contrast, Matthew, who suddenly found himself in for an unpaid volunteer job, expressed his grievances.

“That’s not fair!”

“Where’s the unfairness? Here, I make the rules. If you have any complaints, you can leave.”

“I’ll tell Grandpa!”

“Go ahead.”

He seems to be under a misconception. Victor provides the location for payment, but all the money spent on raising you is from me.

I stood up, leaving behind the pleading Matthew. Arfia, who had been watching the situation, sighed and shook her head.

Pulling on me gently was someone who had changed from Hani-san to Hani-kun, in other words, the prospective golden sun.

“Then… I won’t get to eat…?”

A trembling voice.

Tears were welling in her eyes.

That unnecessarily pretty face added to my sympathy.

I shouldn’t be swayed. With that face, I could easily envision a future where she’d be like ‘Wow~☆ I’m with Mirabel right now www’.

I shouldn’t get distracted…

“Am I… getting kicked out again?”

Seeing her pitiful figure, a heavy sigh escaped me.

“Sigh, it’s dinner time now, so let’s eat and think it over. Before that, we should wash up first.”

I called to Matthew, who was groaning on the floor.

“Please clean up Hani. Then I’ll let you eat together.”

Matthew perked up.

“Alright! Hani, let’s go!”

He took Hani’s hand and disappeared together. It doesn’t seem bad that they look friendly, but usually, boys don’t hold hands even at that age.

‘Could it be that he brought her because it’s his preference?’

Arfia snickered from the side, causing me to stop thinking as I felt dizzy.

***

“So! Am I being weird or what?”

“It’s nighttime. Please lower your voice.”

“Do I look like I’m in a position to lower my voice?”

In the middle of the night.

In other words, sleep time.

I hadn’t been able to sleep well lately since there was no Mirabel to hold onto, and Arfia’s yelling only made me sigh.

There are four rooms in the basement.

Victor and Emili’s room.

Matthew and Hani’s room.

Liri and Lara’s room.

And the last one is mine and Arfia’s room. So, it means that Arfia doesn’t want to share a room with me.

“Why do you and I have to sleep in the same room? There’s even a twin room.”

“We don’t know what might happen. Being next to each other allows us to react in case of an emergency.”

“Does that mean you think I might run away?”

“Could be.”

Arfia glowered at me from the bed across the room. Her green eyes shone fiercely in the dark. I get what she’s worried about, but can’t she see that I’m a gentleman to my slave?

“Don’t worry. I won’t do anything. Just yesterday, you got up just fine.”

“……”

Even after saying that, she was still not reassured, and after looking at me with suspicion for a while, Arfia finally turned her back and lay down.

She pulled the blanket up to her shoulders, forming a barrier.

I understood that. Coming out of a forest where she had lived her whole life and sleeping in the same room with a man she doesn’t know must be very unsettling for her.

As the master, I need to show some leniency.

I lay down and pulled up my own blanket.

“Good night.”

Hmm, it seems the air in the room is pleasant with Arfia here.

It feels like sleeping in the forest, so I think I’ll sleep well.

***

The dream Arfia always had was always the same.

A curse that took the form of a nightmare.

Thorny vines rising from the ground wrapped around her body, slowly tightening, and that nightmare didn’t just end as a dream but continued into reality.

“Gah…”

In the morning darkness, a painful moan escaped.

Arfia, who had been tossing and turning on the bed, curled up like a ball. Her chest was tightly clenched, as if self-harm was less painful.

The spirits awakened from their drunken stupor.

They started rampaging as soon as they got up.

I wish they’d all just leave my body. But simply harboring that wish only made the spirits struggle even more fiercely.

I need alcohol.

Arfia waved her hand weakly while lying down, but didn’t catch any alcohol. It’s strange. I’m sure I placed it somewhere within reach.

Ah, this isn’t my home.

I was captured as a slave.

The good news is this place is a bar. A strong drink would easily put those spirits to sleep.

Arfia struggled to rise, lifting the blanket. Her sweaty body felt disgusting. Looking around in her hazy mind, she found Carami sleeping across from her.

At that moment, she recalled his admonition.

– Many kinds of people visit here in the morning. There are mages and great mercenaries. If by any chance they discover your identity, don’t go up in the morning.

For some reason, she didn’t understand well.

She only vaguely sensed that she wanted to hide her existence.

Should she just ignore it and go up?

Was there any reason for her to understand Carami’s situation?

– A master trusting a slave is as natural as the laws of nature. Is there any other reason needed?

…….

Why am I thinking about this now?

That man is the vicious criminal who abducted her and made her a slave. He’s the murderer who has made countless elves face death.

Enslaving and torturing powerless children, he’s the typical villain…

But why do his eyes from the day keep coming back to her mind?

Despite her continuous worries, she couldn’t discover the cause.

Arfia lay back down on the bed. Right, let’s just hold on today. Next time, she could simply keep some alcohol in her room beforehand.

Let’s endure just a little longer.

I’m used to pain.

The penalty for not drinking was harsh.

The pain intensified.

The thorns clawed at her spirit and scraped her soul.

Endure.

Endure.

I’m used to pain.

I’m used to pain…

She repeated it like a mantra. It was a useless struggle, but it was all that Arfia could do.

Swish, swish.

Then she felt a strange sensation.

What kind of feeling is this?

Hmm… right.

It feels like what it would feel like to pat someone on the head. Though she wasn’t sure, since she had never received such a thing.

Today’s dream is a bit peculiar. This kind of thing has never happened before.

It felt rough and yet soft.

Though it felt awkward, this mystical imbalance wasn’t so bad. It seemed to distract her from the pain too.

Touching an elf’s body indiscriminately was out of the question, but this time she’d allow just a little petting.

….

Don’t sneakily touch my ears.

They’re sensitive.

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