Master and Slave
At the edge of the sky, the sinking sun painted the world in crimson, weaving a breathtaking sunset.
The soft crash of waves against the shore made a pleasant white noise, and the cries of seagulls overhead wove through it all like a song sung in harmony with the sea.
It was the kind of scene that would normally leave someone staring blankly out at the water, lost in their own quiet feelings. And yet there I was—
So… so embarrassing…
—with my face burning scarlet.
I was curled motionless in Athena's arms.
The moment the pain had released me, she had pulled me close, and I had sobbed into her chest without end. Only after crying myself out did my shattered mind begin, little by little, to put itself back together.
As the terror and rage of that agony faded, a new feeling rose in their place: sheer mortification.
How long was I crying…?
I lifted my head just a fraction. Athena's shoulder, where I had buried my face, was soaked through with my tears.
I… I cried that much…?
I couldn't bring myself to look up. No matter how hard it had been, bawling like a three-year-old in her arms… my pride felt completely demolished.
No. Wait. Whose fault is this in the first place?!
Thinking it over, every last bit of this was a situation Athena had created. If she hadn't tried to make me her slave, none of it would have happened. So the reason I had cried so wretchedly wasn't because I was weak-hearted—it was entirely her fault.
Once I redirected the blame squarely onto Athena, the embarrassment slowly twisted into resentment toward her.
I jerked my head up to glare at her—
"Heh. All done crying?"
—only to find her wearing the warmest smile in the world as she brushed the tears from my cheeks with her fingers.
"Nnh…"
It was strange. I ought to have hated her to death. And yet the moment I had resolved to become her slave and the pain had vanished, something inside me had shifted. No matter how hard I tried to resent her, somewhere deep in my heart there was a thick, stubborn urge to lean on her.
Two contradictory feelings existing side by side. Even so, that didn't mean I liked her. The dislike still outweighed the desire to depend on her by a wide margin.
She had forced a master-servant contract on me and planted pain so vicious I had wanted to die. I would never forget what she had done to me. I might have agreed to become her slave—but that didn't mean I was going to obey her quietly.
"You really hate me a lot, don't you, Hera."
"H-huh…?"
H-how did she know?
She struck the bullseye as if she had read my mind. My eyes trembled violently; she gave both of my cheeks a gentle pinch.
"Hera. My mana is inside you now. I may not know everything, but I can at least tell how you're feeling."
What kind of nonsense was that? That was basically cheating. So I wasn't even allowed to hate her in peace?
"Th-that's…"
She only smiled, as if none of it bothered her in the slightest.
"Hate me all you want. You're never getting away from me now anyway."
Her smug remark sent a surge of indignation flooding up my throat. I pulled free of her arms as I spoke.
"…What makes you so sure? You don't think I'll run?"
"Oh my. Back to talking casually already? What happened to calling me Master?"
"Ugh! That's—!"
Shame flared hot all over again. The memory of calling her Master—I had tried so hard to bury it, but the desperate way I had cried out to her was burned too vividly into my mind to erase.
I wasn't in my right mind back then…!
Before I could even start making excuses, she spoke first.
"Hmm… It's fine. I'll just teach you that sort of thing slowly."
She trailed a finger along my jaw, tickling me.
"You asked what makes me so sure, didn't you? I'll show you."
She wore the face of a little devil. Every time that smile appeared, a bad feeling had always followed close behind.
"…What… are you going to do now?"
"Relax. I won't use methods that hurt you anymore. Though it might get a little… hot."
I stumbled backward. She flicked two fingers together with a sharp snap.
Fwoosh—
The instant the gesture ended, I heard something catch fire.
"…..Huh?"
The heat rose from within me the same way it had before, a slow, creeping burn.
B-but… this feels…
It was nothing like the pure horror of last time. Before, it had been agony that felt like my flesh was melting. This was…
"Hnnngh?!"
…a heat that set my insides writhing with restless need. Warmth wrapped around me from the inside out, and my whole body began to burn hotter and hotter.
"W-wait— nnh… ahh…!"
It's too hot…..!
A maddening itch prickled somewhere deep inside me, and the desperate urge to vent this heat and ease the stifling pressure took over my thoughts completely.
"Ah… hh… hahh…"
Strength drained from my legs. I collapsed onto the sand. As I twitched and squirmed under the unbearable heat, Athena stepped in front of me.
"This way, no matter where you are, I can torment you with my mana."
I couldn't take it anymore. I clutched at her leg and begged.
"I-I get it, so— hahk…! …Please… stop…!"
"Seems like you're missing a certain form of address at the end there."
"Hey!!! …Nnh?!"
She was so mean. She knew exactly how much I hated it, and she still forced me to say it. I glared up at her with a fierce look—only to find her watching me with a faintly flushed face and a soft smile.
"I'm not letting you go until you say it."
"Y-you little…"
But she truly had no intention of releasing me. She simply stood there and watched. I clenched my teeth.
…It's just a title anyway.
If all she wanted was a few words, I could manage that. I had already said it once. It wouldn't be hard. Steeling myself, I opened my mouth timidly.
"Hahh… M-Master…"
"I can't hear you."
"Ugh…"
I squeezed my eyes shut and raised my voice.
"I said I get it!! …Just let me go already… Master…"
"Hmm… I don't love the tone, but fine."
The moment she finished speaking, the heat rampaging inside me went still. A faintly unpleasant aftertaste lingered, but with the crushing pressure gone, I finally felt like I could breathe again.
"Uugh…"
"It didn't hurt, though, right?"
I shot her a sharp look for that ridiculous comment. Still, I decided it was safer not to irritate her, so I swallowed the annoyance.
"Now you understand? Why you can't escape me."
"…Why go this far just to keep me?"
"Didn't I already tell you? I fell for you at first sight."
The words she had spoken when she told me to become her slave—apparently she had meant them. I simply could not understand her.
"But why a slave of all things?! We could have been friends."
Who in their right mind demanded that someone they liked become their slave? If she had simply asked to be friends instead, I never would have hated her this much.
"Friends?"
Athena's expression went strangely hollow.
"I have no use for a flimsy relationship like that."
She stepped closer and gathered me back into her arms.
"If I'm going to make you mine, this is far more certain than some hollow pretense, don't you think?"
"Even so—!"
"Shh."
As if she had no interest in hearing more, she pressed a finger to my lips.
"You just have to listen to me, Hera."
Under that overbearing command, I couldn't manage a single rebuttal. I worked my mouth uselessly for a while before finally giving up.
"…..So what are you planning to do now?"
Athena smiled and brushed my bangs aside with her hand.
"We're going to my mansion. You can live comfortably there. Of course, you'll have to stay right by my side."
"…"
Right. From now on—whether I liked it or not—I had no choice but to accept it. I could not escape her. The collar around my neck was clenched tight in her fist, and she had no intention of letting go. Come when she said come. Go when she said go. I didn't know what she wanted from me, but I certainly didn't have the right to refuse…
I clenched my fists and steeled my resolve.
"On one condition."
She looked at me with clear interest.
"A condition?"
"I'll become your sl… slave, just like you want."
The vow I had made to myself. The people most precious to me right now.
"There are people I want you to protect."
Even if I became Athena's slave, I would still protect them.
.
.
.
"No."
"W-what?! Why! You could at least do that much…!"
"No."
Huh? This wasn't how it was supposed to go.
"Someone like you could handle it no problem!"
"No, Hera."
"Y-you stubborn—!"
"What was that?"
Snap—
"Hyaaahn?!"
"Talking back to your Master?"
"Nnh…! I-I get it already…!"
.
.
.
I explained Dania and Lily to Athena. How I had met them by chance in the west, grown close, and spent the past six months living together like family. How precious they were to me, and how I had sworn to myself that I would protect them in this lawless place. If I left with her, there would be no one left here to look after them—so I begged her to keep them safe.
Under a hero's protection, no one would dare threaten them. Who would be insane enough to lay a hand on people belonging to a hero? And if it was Athena, she could even arrange for Dania and Lily to move to the Empire, even though they were citizens of Drax. There they could live peaceful, safe lives among good neighbors—not among criminals.
But—
"No."
She rejected my plea without a shred of hesitation.
Why not? All she had to do was say a single sentence—"These people are under my protection"—and everyone would fall over themselves to bow and scrape. So why refuse?
"Why on earth not?!"
I was offering to become her slave! And she couldn't even spare one word in return? I wanted nothing to do with a master this petty.
"Hera. You seem to be thinking some very insolent thoughts."
"Hic?!"
Athena regarded me in silence for a moment, then shrugged.
"It wouldn't be difficult. I just don't feel like doing it."
"That's what I'm asking—why?!"
"Why?"
She raised a hand toward me and held up one finger.
"First. I don't like that there's someone you prioritize over me."
"What? That's completely unreason—"
"Second. I have never bestowed my grace on anyone. And I never will."
Except you.
Athena chuckled softly, stroking my hair, then lifted a third finger.
"And last. You said this was a condition in exchange for becoming my slave?"
Her hand closed in my hair and yanked my head up so that our eyes met.
"Nngh!"
Golden eyes that looked ready to burn everything to ash until nothing remained. Meeting that gaze sent fresh fear crawling up my spine.
"Hera. You're already my slave whether you like it or not. The only thing you can do with me is beg—not bargain."
"Ugh…"
"So the answer is no. Understood?"
Arrogant, high-handed, and utterly self-absorbed—and yet she possessed overwhelming power that made all of it somehow acceptable. She was right. I was in no position to set conditions.
Even so—
"I fell to being a slave because of you… You could at least do that much…!"
"…..Looks like I'm going to have quite a lot to teach you once we get there."
Terrifying. She might be gentle with me now, but she could turn on a dime and torment me whenever she pleased. And yet—no matter how much she frightened me—I could not abandon Dania and Lily.
How was I supposed to persuade her? Talking like this would never work. She had said the only thing I could do was beg.
In that case…
"Once we reach the mansion, you'd better be ready—"
I gently cupped both of her hands in mine.
My body began to tremble with shame. But I clenched my teeth, hardened my heart, and looked up into her eyes with every ounce of pleading I could muster.
"M… Master…"
"……"
She went still, watching me under the weight of my desperate gaze.
"If Master would do this for me… I… I would be so happy…"
"….Hmm."
I stared at her with naked longing until, little by little, a smile began to break through her blank expression.
"Please… I'm begging you… Master…"
"….."
Humiliating. In that moment I discarded the last scrap of manhood left inside me. The coquettish pleading I had never once attempted in my life felt like it was carving my pride away in thick chunks.
It's fine… This is for Dania and Lily…
If she still refused after I had gone this far, then all bets were off. I steeled myself with that bitter resolve—and after staring at me for a long time, she pinched my cheek hard.
"Ow!"
"I don't love that you're doing this for some other girls… but fine. All right."
She stretched and squished my cheek this way and that, mangling my words.
"Reahhy? You mean ih?!"
"Dania and Lily, was it? I'll make sure no one lays a finger on them."
Success… I had done it!
Dania. Lily! From now on, you won't have to worry about a thing.
No matter how much it had improved, Drax was still a ruined city—pitifully shabby compared to the Empire. But if they moved there, so many things would change. Food. Clothes. Neighbors. Their whole environment. Every part of their lives would become so much better. Imagining Lily smiling happily in the Empire filled my chest with a quiet warmth.
"Th-thank you."
"I have a condition of my own, though."
So I wasn't allowed to set conditions, but she was? The unfairness of it burned—but she was the master and I was the slave, so I couldn't complain.
"…What is it?"
"When it's just the two of us, I don't care. But from now on, whenever there's even one other person around, you call me Master—just like you did now. Honorifics and all."
"Ehk? D-do I really have to? I'm already a slave anyway…"
Calling her Master only when we were alone would have been infinitely better. Doing it in front of other people would be mortifying. And if I ever had to call her Master in front of Dania and Lily—
Hera… so that's your taste?
Sister…
—I could already feel those looks. I was not that kind of person. I did not need that kind of misunderstanding!
But Athena did not take the words back.
"People should know who you belong to, don't you think? If you don't like it, we can forget the whole thing."
That was not an option. I had endured far too much shame to win this favor. I squeezed my eyes shut and accepted her terms.
"F-fine…"
"Hmm? Straight back to casual speech?"
"Y-you said it was fine when it's just the two of us…"
"Pfft. All right. Sooner or later you'll be calling me Master even when we're alone."
Absolutely not.
I had no reason to use honorifics for someone as high-handed as her. If she ordered it, I would grit my teeth and obey… but deep down I would never truly accept her as my master. I might have agreed to become a slave, but this was a master-servant contract forced on me. There was no genuine loyalty in it.
"Having another bad thought, are we?"
"Eep."
Athena bonked me lightly on the head with a finger, then stretched both arms high overhead.
"If that's everything, shall we head out? Keeping the barrier up this whole time has worn me out."
"…Yeah."
I had no idea how long I had been gone, but Lily and Dania would be waiting outside.
They'll like the Empire… right?
I suddenly couldn't wait to bring them the good news.
Athena raised her hand. Golden mana unfurled once more and wrapped around her. She snapped her fingers—
—and the crimson sunset, the clear and refreshing beach, vanished in an instant. The familiar scenery returned: shabby buildings, an atmosphere that felt faintly ominous. Drax, the city where I had been living.
"Ugh…"
As my eyes adjusted to the change, I looked up at the sky to check how much time had passed.
In that split second—
Whoosh—
Someone came flying at me and threw their arms around me. The person locking their arms around my waist as if they would never let go was—
"Sister…. where did you go…?"
—my precious little sister. Lily.