Something Like Master and Slave
6. Something like owner and slave... more or less.
“Phew, treatment's all done. So, what happened? How'd you end up getting hurt like that?”
For some reason, Selina carefully wiped down her blood-drenched mace with a handkerchief as she asked.
“No big deal. Just got banged up in a fight.”
I cursed Selina inwardly and answered curtly. How the hell is that woman a healer?
“Aw, c'mon~ Tell me more details.”
Poke. Poke. Selina sidled up with a sly grin and prodded my shoulder with her index finger.
That was when it happened.
“Uncle Bellian.”
The indifferent voice calling my name drew our gazes naturally in that direction.
Syr stood there, staring straight at me.
“Oh~? And who might you be?”
Selina tucked away the mace she'd been holding in one hand, flashed a benevolent smile, and greeted her.
“I'm Selina. Nice to meet you.”
After her neat introduction, Selina looked at Syr and asked,
“And who are you?”
Watching the scene unfold, I felt cold sweat trickling down my back.
This is bad.
With Selina hunting that 'dangerous figure,' letting them meet like this was a disaster waiting to happen... What do I do?
“I'm Syr.”
Ignoring my inner turmoil, Syr answered calmly.
“With Uncle... it's something like owner and slave. More or less.”
Selina's face twisted into a complicated, subtle expression at those words.
Don't just say it like that—you're gonna give her the wrong idea!
Anyone would think it sounded weird. Sure, our relationship had ended up something like that in reality, but still.
“I don't know what you're thinking, but it's not like that first off.”
Selina's mood lifted considerably.
Lately, an ominous oracle had come down from the gods.
As a faithful believer, she couldn't ignore it, so she'd come here—and lo and behold, she ran into an old comrade she'd been dying to see again.
Lucky me.
Brimming with excitement, she'd approached Bellian.
But the excitement was short-lived; up close, she saw he'd been badly injured from who-knows-what.
Who the heck did he fight?
It didn't look that serious on the surface, but to her eyes, sinister curses clung to him, gnawing away at his life force.
She's such a weakling. Guess I have to protect him after all.
Left untreated, those curses could spell real trouble for Bellian.
So she'd tried to heal him herself, but the idiot had refused.
And not only that—he'd said he was going to some other healer?
Even back during their adventuring days, Bellian had always shied away from her healing.
Doesn't he realize what a golden opportunity this is?!
There were precious few in the world better at healing than her.
Sure, my methods hurt a bit, but it's better than suffering forever, right?
With that in mind, Selina had pulled out her mace and swung it at him.
She could have healed him normally, but among her options, this was the most reliable and effective.
There might've been some screaming, but she'd successfully finished the treatment. Just as she was about to chat more, a voice called out to him from somewhere.
Their gazes turned naturally toward the sound.
A red-haired girl stood there. Despite the injury on her face, Selina thought she was pretty cute.
Clearly connected to Bellian somehow, Selina greeted her casually and asked who she was.
“I'm Syr.”
But then the girl revealed her name and...
“With Uncle... it's something like owner and slave? More or less.”
...dropped a bombshell out of nowhere?
Selina glanced sideways at Bellian.
Bellian... has that kind of taste...?
She'd just learned something new about him. Did that mean she should...
“Arghhh... what the heck are you thinking?!”
As Selina mentally smacked her own head, Bellian's voice cut in.
“I don't know what you're thinking, but it's not like that first off.”
Oh. Guess it wasn't his taste after all.
“Is that so?”
Selina replied to my words.
Yeah, it was true our relationship had become something like owner and slave, but it wasn't by my choice.
Don't glare at me like that with suspicion in your eyes.
“Well, if you say so, then I guess that's that.”
Selina nodded, her expression relaxing.
She'd probably seen me as some heinous villain who needed to be handed over to the guards right then and there.
Ha! If that's what she thought, even I'd be hurt.
“Well then, I'll be off.”
Huh? She was just gonna leave after seeing Syr? Did that mean Syr wasn't the person she was looking for?
I brought Syr closer to Selina for a better look.
“You don't get any vibes from this kid?”
Selina tilted her head in confusion.
“Huh? Why her? Is there something wrong?”
Selina knelt down to meet Syr's eyes at her level.
Thump! Thump!
My heart raced with tension at the uncertainty. Had I said something stupid?
Should I just send Selina away now? If Syr really was the one she was after...
Would I have to fight Selina...?
“Ah! I get it. You want me to heal her too, right?”
Luckily, my worries turned out to be pointless.
Heal Syr too? Did that mean swinging that mace at her as well?
As I subtly tried to shift Syr behind me,
a warm, gentle glow flowed from Selina's hand, enveloping Syr.
In an instant, Syr's wounds healed over.
“All done. Now I'll really get going. Nice meeting you.”
With that, Selina walked off with light steps. I stared after her in disbelief.
...Hey, you could use healing magic without the mace this whole time???
Then why'd you... on me...
My neck cramped up, and I nearly collapsed. Ugh, stress.
Beautiful stained glass windows, crafted painstakingly by countless artisans, stretched out in splendor.
At the center stood a statue modeled after the goddess. This was the grand temple of the Oraclia Holy Kingdom—the sacred space where devotees gathered for pious prayer.
But right now, it buzzed with a heated conference, all thanks to a recent oracle.
“Sigh... an ominous oracle out of nowhere like this.”
“Tell me about it.”
The pope, cardinals, archbishops, and other high-ranking clergy of the grand temple huddled together, exchanging opinions.
“How's the investigation going?”
At the pope's question, one priest raised his hand. The pope pointed to him.
“We've dispatched believers to all the suspected locations. And the most suspicious one...”
Gulp!
The hesitant priest swallowed hard before speaking.
“The most suspicious spot... the Saintess Candidate went there herself.”
Silence blanketed the conference room the moment he finished.
And they all thought the same thing:
If I were the villain in that oracle, I sure as hell wouldn't want the Saintess Candidate showing up where I am.
Just then, the communication orb on the conference table lit up.
"Um, everyone... looks like God's gone senile or something."
No way that sounded like something a priest would say. Even a lowly believer would've been severely reprimanded for it.
“S-Saintess Candidate... what do you mean by that?”
The voice coming from the orb belonged to the Saintess Candidate herself.
"God says the evil aura suddenly vanished."
"Says the fate just flipped out of nowhere."
Sigh... A weary voice sighed from beyond the orb.
"Anyway, I'm heading back now."
With that, the orb's light faded.
Right before it did, a faint mutter of “Maybe I should switch gods” slipped out, but no one there heard it.
The high priests in the grand temple conference room fell silent once more.
Then one cautiously raised his hand.
“Uh... so what do we do now?”
“Pray to God, I guess.”
And so the high clergy began filing out of the room.
To them, the goddess statue in the conference room looked especially sorrowful today.
«Why the heck did fate suddenly change!!»
And for some reason, it felt like a voice echoed in their ears... Must've been their imagination.