The Weight of a Slave's Collar
I was startled by how much more pain she seemed to be in than I’d expected. “U-um, are you okay?”
“Cough, cough. It’s an electric shock. It won’t kill me, but it’s enough to cause real pain. Cough.”
“Then why on earth did you buy a choker with a function like this?”
“To punish a slave for her mistakes, of course. If I ever do something wrong, please use this to discipline me.”
“You’re even asking for corporal punishment yourself…”
She had prepared the very tool that would be used to punish her. It was a powerful declaration of her desire to be treated as a slave.
“I’m still an inexperienced slave in the middle of training. Please continue to educate me well from now on, Master.”
“Is a slave making demands of her master now?”
“Ah! I’m sorry, Master.”
I watched the back of her head as she bowed in apology and thought to myself. With Absolute Hypnosis, I could instantly turn her into a slave who obeyed only my words. But then she would be no different from a manufactured doll. That was why I strongly wished for her to grow into a slave who possessed her own unique charm.
And so, from the day she became both my slave and my prey, time passed while I trained her in between.
I did get scolded by Elisa for what happened with Suho, but thanks to the fact that I had completely claimed Ruya, I was eventually forgiven. When she wasn’t being trained, she treated me with the same warmth as before, yet the heart shape in her pupils and the choker around her neck proved that she was my slave.
And then the day of the preliminary meeting for the material-gathering request arrived.
I left the house with Ruya and headed to a place in the central district called the Hunter Café. Inside the taxi, she explained what kind of place it was.
“It’s basically just a café with really good security and private rooms. Hunters often hold request-related meetings there, so the name stuck.”
“I see.”
“At first it was meant to be a private-room café for couples, but after it gained a reputation as a meeting spot for hunters, they fully leaned into that direction and even opened chain stores nationwide.”
Ruya was chatting with a normal expression, but every so often she crossed her legs and rubbed her thighs together. She had been holding back her climax for several days now, and the accumulated sexual frustration was clearly showing.
The café we arrived at was filled with the murmur of various races. It wasn’t common to see races with clearly divided residential areas mingling without distinction, but since it was a gathering place for hunters, many different species sat together, engaged in conversation.
The first floor looked like an ordinary café, but the entrance leading to the second floor had an identity verification checkpoint installed—an unusual feature. Thanks to Ruya possessing a hunter’s license, we passed through the checkpoint and went upstairs.
On the third floor, in front of the reserved private room, hung a sign that read Bitnari Hunter Team. Inside, Gwangnam, Charlotte, and Ekaterina were already seated and waiting.
The moment Gwangnam saw us enter through the door, he waved his hand.
“Oh, you’re here? Nothing major happened while I was gone, right?”
“You’re the one who better not have caused any trouble.”
“Of course not. When have I ever been the type to cause accidents?”
“Your track record is just too flashy, that’s why. It’s been a while, Charlotte, Ekaterina.”
“Long time no see, nya~.”
While Charlotte waved her hand cheerfully, Ekaterina simply offered a quiet, meaningful smile in place of a greeting. She looked back and forth between me and Ruya with a deep smile, as if she had noticed something. When our eyes met, she gave me a wink and pressed a finger to her lips. I wasn’t sure why, but it seemed like she was saying she would keep it a secret, so I nodded.
Ruya sat beside Charlotte, and I sat next to Ekaterina. As soon as I took my seat, Ekaterina leaned in close and whispered.
“It seems you and Miss Ruya have become something special.”
“Yes… You’ll keep it a secret, right?”
“Of course. Hohoho.”
“Thank you.”
She smiled with her usual benevolent, gentle expression.
Once he confirmed everyone was seated, Gwangnam rummaged through his bag and pulled out some documents. He handed one sheet to each of us, cleared his throat, and began to speak.
“Ahem. The request we received this time is to obtain a fairy’s fruit from the No. 4 Great Jungle Dungeon.”
“A fairy’s fruit? We’re going to deal with those little troublemakers again?”
“It’s practically our team’s signature specialty. Even the big-name teams struggle to get their hands on them no matter how hard they try, yet we’ve already brought back five.”
“Have you already forgotten how much we suffered to get those five? Just thinking about having to listen to the fairies’ tantrums is already giving me a headache. Ugh.”
“I like fairies, nya~.”
“They may be mischievous, but they are fundamentally a kind race.”
They began to chatter noisily about the existence known as fairies. I sat quietly, listening, and ate the food and drinks on the table. Taking a bite of the small slice of cake, the sweet flavor delighted my tongue.
The Bitnari Hunter Team’s meeting took the form of the three pro-fairy members passionately trying to persuade the lone dissenter, Ruya. They emphasized that the fairies, who were especially fond of Ruya because she possessed the most spirit power, were an essential part of the request. However, Ruya, who clearly hated the idea, remained indifferent despite their continued persuasion.
Since I wasn’t even part of the hunter team, I was just blankly watching when Ekaterina gently poked my side and spoke.
“Couldn’t you persuade her, Miss Elisha?”
“Me? First of all, why are you all so determined to take this request?”
“They’re offering a lot of money.”
“Ahhh…”
Ekaterina held up five fingers. I couldn’t tell exactly how much, but since it was the notoriously difficult-to-obtain fairy’s fruit, I could guess it was an enormous sum. After all, why would a hunter team take on dangerous dungeon requests if not for money and fame?
“Please. Our temple is in urgent need of a large sum of money right now.”
“Is there some problem at the temple?”
“To spread our doctrine more efficiently, we rented a building close to the central district, but the rent is so expensive it’s hard to manage. And the number of believers isn’t increasing easily… It’s difficult in many ways.”
“Uh, um.”
Seeing her with those drooping, gentle eyes, her fragile face, and her hands clasped together in plea, I couldn’t help but feel sympathy. After thinking for a moment, I decided to help her in exchange for her keeping my relationship with Ruya a secret.
I used the control device I kept in my pocket to send a very faint electric current as a signal. Feeling the tingling at her neck, Ruya looked my way and mouthed, “What is it?” When she saw me mouth the word “Accept,” she immediately nodded and spoke as if she were reluctantly giving in, expressing her approval.
Watching her, Ekaterina’s smile grew even deeper as she quietly offered a prayer.
“Alright! Since Ruya has agreed, the next request is decided—obtaining the fairy’s fruit!”
“Fairies, nya!”
“Haa… So when are we leaving?”
“I already reserved the gate in advance, so tomorrow…”
“How can you make the reservation without even listening to the answer!”
“Ow! My ear! Let go!”
Gwangnam, who had committed the atrocity of scheduling the departure for the very next day after the team meeting, was thoroughly scolded by a furious Ruya. Even Charlotte, who usually took Gwangnam’s side, turned her head and pretended not to hear, as if this was simply unacceptable. After barely escaping Ruya’s grip on his ear, Gwangnam spoke quickly and bolted.
“Ah! Anyway! Meet at the gate management office at 9 a.m. tomorrow!”
“You’d better come prepared!”
“Let’s go together, nya~!”
“Thank you for accepting my request. See you tomorrow.”
Gwangnam practically fled the room, with Charlotte and Ekaterina following after him. Ruya let out a sigh and sank back into her seat, gathering the documents as she spoke.
“Seriously, when is that guy ever going to grow up?”
“Are fairies really that unpleasant to deal with?”
“They’re complete children. And not just any children—they’re kids with enough power to outmatch most veteran hunters. Once they get in a bad mood and start throwing tantrums, there’s no reasoning with them.”
“So that’s why even the large hunter teams failed.”
“The most famous story is about a hunter team from the neighboring country of Japan. That team was practically a national army, made up of elite hunters. They tried to seize the fruit with a coercive attitude toward the fairies and suffered near-total annihilation. Out of over a hundred members, only two barely made it back alive. The fact that even a team formed from a nation’s elites was wiped out caused a huge stir not only in the hunter industry but in the media as well.”
“They really are incredibly strong.”
No matter how much humans couldn’t use magic power or spirit power directly, that very weakness became a strength, allowing them to use magic tools through external devices. The sword Gwangnam had swung was a high-output magic blade, and his light, swift movements were made possible by magic equipment that enhanced physical ability. For an elite hunter team equipped with all kinds of gear and possessing considerable combat power to be wiped out meant the fairies’ strength was truly immense.
“Each fairy is powerful, but above all, there are simply too many of them. Just the ones living in the No. 4 Great Jungle we’re heading to probably number in the thousands.”
Just imagining being chased by thousands of fairies sent shivers down my spine.
“Anyway, we’re leaving first thing tomorrow, so let’s go home and pack.”
“Alright.”
For now, I decided to follow her suggestion and return home to prepare for the request.
After taking another taxi back home, I followed Ruya’s guidance into a room on the third floor. It was packed with all kinds of survival gear. Shiny survival knives decorated the walls, coats organized by camouflage pattern, and neatly arranged camping equipment all clearly showed what kind of profession a hunter was.
Ruya took out a small belt pouch that had been specially stored in a safe and handed it to me.
“It’s a bag enchanted with spatial magic. It’s incredibly expensive, so even I only have two—including the spare.”
“Ah, this is the bag you were wearing at your waist when we first met. You mean all those camping supplies fit inside this tiny thing?”
“It may look small, but the interior space is about the size of one pyeong.”
“Whoa.”
“Impressive, right? Spatial magic is one of the most highly regarded spells in modern magic.”
If we had spatial magic like this, it felt like it could revolutionize logistics in our dimension, which currently relied entirely on train transport.
“Could you teach spatial magic to our dimension later?”
“There’s no problem with teaching it, but it’s quite a high-level spell. It requires a mage of considerable skill, and it also needs a lot of rare materials to maintain the magic circle.”
“Hmm.”
As expected of an elf—a race skilled in magic—Ruya knew how to use magic, but she wasn’t at a particularly high level. That meant we would need to find another high-ranking mage, but I had no idea how to go about that.
“Let’s start packing first.”
“Okay.”
Following Ruya’s guidance, who had far more experience as a hunter, I packed the luggage carefully. Since the hunter profession required a specialized license, the related supplies were both varied and luxurious.
At one point, she lifted a small stone with one hand and shouted.
“A hunter’s essential item! Portable toilet installer!”
“This tiny pebble is a toilet installer?”
“If you rub the pattern in the center with your finger and set it on the ground, it automatically digs a hole and creates a natural portable toilet.”
“Ahhh…”
I had wondered what kind of device a portable toilet would be, but it was just something that dug a hole for you to do your business and then bury. Seeing my lukewarm reaction, Ruya emphasized again.
“This is really useful when you’re camping out. Once you try it, you’ll be hooked.”
“I don’t excrete in the first place.”
“Huh? You eat food but don’t poop? Now that I think about it, I’ve never seen you go to the bathroom separately.”
“Everything gets broken down inside my body, so there’s nothing to come out.”
“Ugh, this is when I really envy a full-body prosthesis.”
She glared at my body and trembled with frustration. Suddenly, Elisa’s earlier comment that cyborg technology in this world hadn’t developed much came to mind.
“Why hasn’t cyborg technology developed much here? You have magic and advanced scientific technology.”
“There is technology for prosthetic bodies that replace body parts. However, it’s only permitted for medical purposes, so it’s heavily restricted and extremely expensive. Besides, there are far superior healing methods using magic and divine power.”
“Ah, so since there are so many alternatives, the need is low.”
That made sense. If the cost was the same, it would be better to heal your original body with magic or divine power rather than go through the trouble of mechanization.
At that moment, Elisa, who had been silently listening to our conversation, suddenly spoke.
Only after hearing Elisa’s words did I remember that I still hadn’t told Ruya about Las living symbiotically inside me.
Contrary to my hesitation, Elisa spoke as if it were a simple matter. Indeed, Elisa was merciless toward others, except for me and a few close acquaintances.
Elisa told me to stay her kind doll and granted me pleasure. As my body trembled from the thick, sweet ecstasy that felt like it was melting my brain, Ruya looked at me curiously and asked.
“Why did you suddenly close your eyes and start shaking?”
“Haa… Elisa gave me a reward, so I was enjoying it.”
“Ah, is Lady Elisa here right now? Could you give us a moment alone to talk?”
“With Elisa? Why?”
“She’s my master’s master, so I want to greet her properly and ask her a few things.”
Hmm, I suppose that makes sense. From Ruya’s perspective, having her master’s master inside the same body must be quite burdensome.