It's Convenient to Have a Slave
Having a slave was convenient. The reason I wanted to buy more was simple: party hunting. Taking on monster-slaying requests alone carried too much risk. Gathering untrustworthy party members, on the other hand, meant a high chance of getting stabbed in the back. Just like Syucali right now.
"Strip."
"Yes..."
Annoyed, I decided to take Syucali again. She wiggled her hips in delight. Once someone became a slave, they had to obey my every whim—whether I was black-haired or male made no difference. Her body could no longer escape my grasp. If I told her to undress, she undressed. If I told her to spread her legs and take me, she had to. She might even die if I ordered it. Yet Syucali clung to me with a joyful expression, looking far more satisfied than I was.
"Master Kang Seo-ja, you're amazing♡"
"Wash up and get ready to leave."
"Yes..."
She struggled to her feet and headed for the washbasin. I retrieved my robe and light armor, putting them on one piece at a time.
"I'm ready."
She wore tight leather clothing with shorts that exposed her thighs. One solid hit from a monster in that outfit would probably leave her on the brink of death.
"You can hunt monsters dressed like that?"
"Yes, I can."
Her words were hard to believe, but she must have had her own methods. Otherwise she wouldn't have built an information network of this scale while remaining a C-rank adventurer.
We arrived at the Adventurers' Guild and stood before the request board, Syucali at my side.
"What kind of requests do you usually take?"
"Me?"
"Who else is here besides you?"
"You, Master Kang Seo-ja."
I glared at Syucali. She opened her mouth in surprise, then slowly turned her head toward the board.
"W-well... this one... and this one..."
She hurriedly pointed at requests she thought I would like.
-[C] Wanted: Venomous Snake Rasri — 15 gold
-[D] Track Bento — 8 gold
-[C] Exterminate Giant Variant Snake Occupying the Bridge — 20 gold
Every request suited a thief's tastes: capturing a wanted criminal, tracking someone for information, hunting a single variant monster. Maybe even capturing me had been one of them.
"Was trying to catch me also part of a request?"
"No... Rare slaves sell for a good price, so I figured I'd do it on the side..."
In the end, it was all about money. As a rare male, I would fetch a high price no matter where I was sold.
I need to get stronger, fast.
I'd survived this time thanks to luck and Syucali's mistake, but next time I could easily end up bound and sold to a slave trader.
"Take a C-rank request."
"Yes, Master Kang Seo-ja."
"Let's see how useful you are. If you're not, I'll sell you the same way."
"...I'll do my best."
Syucali nodded, her eyes burning with motivation. It was the first time I'd seen her look so eager. She hadn't even worn that expression when trying to train me.
-[C] Exterminate Giant Variant Snake Occupying the Bridge — 20 gold
The request she chose was one of the hardest C-rank quests—borderline B-rank. If she was pushing herself this far, it was because she really didn't want to be sold.
"Taking a C-rank request this time?"
The man at the reception desk looked at me with mild surprise.
"Not me. I'm planning to party with the person beside me."
"That adventurer is... Black Blade Syucali."
"If you recognize her, hurry up and stamp it. I don't have time."
"Understood."
He stamped the request form and handed it to Syucali. She tucked it carefully into her bosom and walked outside. As I moved to follow, the receptionist whispered quietly.
"She's dangerous. She might threaten you."
"..."
He wasn't wrong. I'd already experienced it firsthand—drugged, trained, and nearly sold.
"Thanks. I'll be careful."
Clink.
I slipped him one silver as thanks. He wasn't just any guild receptionist. He probably knew the rumors about every adventurer, not just Syucali.
"This is...! Thank you, adventurer!"
Creak...
One silver for information that could save my life isn't much.
Outside the guild, I looked at Syucali.
"Let's go."
"Yes, Master."
Her footsteps were nearly silent as she led me out of the village. The giant variant snake's location was along a river some distance away. We couldn't make it there and back in a single day, so we'd have to camp. Of course, all the camping preparations fell to Syucali.
"Isn't that heavy?"
"It's fine..."
She carried a visibly heavy pack on her back. Maybe it was because I'd lived in Korea, but watching a woman haul that load made me feel oddly guilty. She was the villain who'd tried to sell me, yet I couldn't help feeling bad.
"Haa... Give me at least half."
"N-no, it's all right."
"Hand it over when I tell you to."
"Yes..."
Syucali passed me part of the camping gear.
"Half is this much? You really were overdoing it."
"A slave can't make her master carry luggage..."
"If you get exhausted, the request will be delayed."
"Yes, Master Kang Seo-ja."
She smiled faintly. The smile looked like she'd read my thoughts, and it left a bad taste in my mouth.
We walked for a long time after leaving the village.
"Awooo~!"
A wolf's howl echoed from the sky.
"Wolves!"
"I know. Get ready for battle."
"Yes!"
Syucali opened the pouch on her thigh and drew her twin daggers. I pulled my sword from its sheath. I'd hunted wolves on the farm before, so I could handle this calmly.
"Grrr..."
"I'll take the front."
"It's dangerous...!"
"Do as you're told."
"Ah... Yes!"
Syucali vanished from in front of me. She dodged the charging wolf's fangs and unleashed her noble swordsmanship.
Swish!
Her blade cleaved through the massive wolf's head, then severed the foreleg of the next one lunging forward. Blood sprayed along the sword's edge, filling the air with a metallic scent.
"Yip!"
The wolf without its foreleg howled in agony. At the sound, the entire pack hesitated. Their morale had dropped. They were living creatures too—they could feel fear. Only overwhelming hunger would drive them forward now.
"How dare you attack my master... Die."
Syucali had somehow gotten behind the pack. Crescent-shaped twin daggers gleamed in her hands. Her body began to spin, and she leapt into the middle of the wolves with the force of her rotation.
Slashslashslash!
"Kyaaak!"
"Keek!"
"Kaaah!"
I'd thought the wolves would tear her apart, but they didn't. Instead, wolves were being shredded by her black blades. As time passed, more and more wolf corpses littered the ground. The survivors had long since fled after witnessing the massacre.
Syucali wrung the blood from her long hair with both hands and licked her lips.
"I should've left all the camping gear with you."
I'd always thought thieves relied on speed rather than strength. But the thieves of this world possessed tremendous power in addition to agility.
Is she stronger than a blue-hair?
Maybe in this world, thieves were overpowered.
"Let's go."
"Yes, Master."
Still reeking of blood, we continued along the path. I wanted nothing more than a bath, but this world didn't allow every convenience. All we could do was survive the fights, fill our stomachs, and complete the request.
"A bath..."
I shook the wolf blood from my hands as the sunset slowly darkened.
"I'll wash you when we get back."
"You're doing something I didn't order."
Syucali walked toward me as if it were obvious.
"I'm your slave now, Master Kang Seo-ja."
"It's scary when you say that while dripping blood."
She'd clearly tried to sell me at first. She'd even hated me for being black-haired. But watching her now...
"I'm sorry. I'll go wash up at the nearby stream!"
It seemed her fear and disgust toward me had disappeared.
"I'll go with you. I'm feeling gross too."
"Yes!"
We reached a flowing stream and rinsed off the blood as best we could.
"We should spend the night here," Syucali suggested. I nodded. The sky was growing darker, and this was the time monsters came out to hunt.
"Shall I prepare dinner?"
"Go ahead."
Syucali quickly gathered firewood and built a campfire. If I'd been alone, I'd have had to do it myself. Having a slave really was convenient—it freed up my time. I used that time to head to the stream and draw my sword.
Thwack!
Using noble swordsmanship, I thrust deep into the water.
"Pretty big."
Maybe because this was another world, even this narrow stream held large fish. I skewered five or six on my blade and returned to the fire. Syucali had set up a small tent and laid out the cooking tools.
"You caught fish! That's amazing!"
She greeted me with an awkward show of surprise. She looked like a tail-wagging puppy. It almost seemed like she was happy to be a slave.
"Quiet. Monsters will come if you keep that up."
"Don't worry. I've set plenty of traps around us."
As expected of a tools expert, she was good at installing traps too.
"Convenient."
"I'll prove I'm useful, Master Kang Seo-ja!"
She was already plenty useful. In this world, the chances of spending long periods outside the village were high. What you needed then was safe camping. For the time being, Syucali would probably have to stay in my party.