Chapter 306: Settling the Accounts (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 306: Settling the Accounts (1)
A few days had passed since I cast the hate spell.
I’d done everything there was to do with the slaves and had my fill of fun.
It was entertaining, but I was starting to miss the girls I knew. I wanted to see their loving gazes, not their looks of disgust.
It was time to end the game.
The condition for breaking the spell was simple: whenever I wanted to.
Clap.
I clapped my hands.
It was time to settle the accounts.
It didn't take long after I clapped. Just as I was wondering why I couldn't feel any particular change, a huge commotion erupted.
Swoooosh!
A deafening roar, as if a war had broken out.
The sound was coming from outside.
Far away in the sky, a pink meteor was hurtling toward me.
“Masteeeeeeeer!”
I opened the window, and Rin zipped through the opening, wrapping her arms and legs around my face and clinging to me.
She had slammed on the brakes just before impact, so there wasn't much of a shock.
“Waaaaaaah! Masteeeeeeeer!”
Rin wailed her heart out.
CRASH!
At the same time, the door burst open as if it were being smashed, and the slaves rushed in all at once.
“Master!”
Every one of them looked startled, their faces pale.
There wasn't a speck of hostility in their eyes, only worry and guilt.
They remembered what had happened while they were under the spell. They knew what they had done to me.
I greeted them with a broad smile.
“I only cast a little spell, but you’re all welcoming me like we’re long-lost relatives reuniting. It feels like it’s been ages. Or is it just me?”
I said it as nonchalantly as possible, hoping they wouldn't feel too guilty.
“Sob, hic… I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“I… attacked Rami…?”
“I… slapped Master’s cheek… with this hand…”
The slaves were in shock, unable to believe their own actions.
They couldn't stand still, trembling like criminals.
‘I had a feeling this would happen.’
Though it seemed they hadn't considered this outcome at all.
It looked like it would take quite some time to console them.
*
Their faces were gaunt and deathly pale.
The slaves, gathered in one place for the first time in a while, were a mess.
One was curled into a ball, hugging her knees.
Another was squatting against a wall, her face buried in her arms.
Yet another was lying flat on the floor, staring at the ceiling with vacant eyes.
A stream of incomprehensible, curse-like muttering continued like a song sung in a round, while sniffling provided the harmony.
It was obvious they were berating themselves for cursing at me and threatening to kill me.
Before I cast the spell, the slaves had been so confident.
They had boasted that their affection would overcome the magic. That they would continue to love me, no matter what. They had shouted that this game wouldn't even be a game.
They had even competed to see who could break the spell first.
‘And yet, not a single one of them managed to overcome it.’
They had followed the script perfectly.
They had behaved exactly as I had imagined.
They had become excellent actors and played their parts wonderfully, making it all very entertaining. The problem was that they themselves couldn't accept it.
Well, it was a testament to how thorough Mirabelle’s magic was, but it seemed such a trivial excuse wouldn't be enough to convince them.
“Rin tried to kill Master… Rin deserves to die. Trash like Rin should just die.”
“I called him an inferior species… I called him an inferior species…”
Whispers of self-loathing and curses filled the air from all directions.
If I left them like this, they wouldn't just get depression; they'd turn into evil spirits. I decided to intervene.
“Don’t be so heartbroken. We agreed there would be no hard feelings when we started, didn't we?”
“But… but…”
“Thanks to all of you, I had a lot of fun. Your reactions were fresh and exciting. It proves that you’re the only ones who truly care about me. Thank you.”
“…”
“So, stop blaming yourselves. That’s an order.”
Since I, their master, had gone that far, the slaves reluctantly seemed to accept it.
This should have helped alleviate their guilt, at least a little.
“Now then, shall we begin the screening?”
“Pardon?”
“The fun stuff is worth watching over and over again.”
“…”
What.
Why are you all looking at me like that?
We have to do what we have to do.
If you all keep acting like that, I’ll feel too guilty to watch.
“Mirabelle, get ready.”
Mirabelle moved her broom.
Fwaat!
The curtains drew themselves automatically, and the room darkened. A screen appeared in the air, creating the perfect atmosphere for a movie night.
It was a video log of the slaves under the hate spell for the past few days. It had even recorded things I hadn't been aware of.
The slaves, their affection levels plummeted by the magic.
Mirabelle was the one to kick off the event.
Instead of the sweet morning kiss she usually used to wake me, she had let drool trickle into my mouth while I slept.
“Wow…”
“Mirabelle, you must have really hated Master.”
“N-No! It’s not like I wanted to do it!”
Despite Mirabelle’s excuses, the video continued to play.
—Don’t talk to my mom like you’re friends. Don’t you dare bother my mom.
Her gaze, as if she were looking at filth.
She saw me as an enemy, her guard constantly up.
She protected Naredi from me, and when she was freed from her duties as my exclusive maid—a role she once took pride in—she had grinned with delight.
Mirabelle glanced at me nervously.
I sniffled, wiping away tears that weren't there.
“I could really feel how much you hate me, Mirabelle. I suppose that’s how you truly feel. I understand. From now on, I won’t ask you to do anything.”
“That wasn’t me!”
“You don’t have to make excuses. As your master, I know everything.”
“N-No hard feelings! You promised no hard feelings! Ugh… Next!”
The video changed.
It was Azyeth.
Azyeth, exuding a chill that could freeze one’s breath, like an ice princess of the harshest winter.
She had attacked me, even driven me away.
“S-Sorry. I’m so sorry…”
Azyeth couldn't even look at me, tears streaming down her face. She looked so heartbroken that I didn't have the heart to tease her. I just held her tight.
Now that everything was back to normal, it was only right to punish the despicable traitor who had tried to exploit a moment of weakness.
Azyeth’s eyes glinted coldly.
“You… I will never forgive you.”
Crack, crackle.
The air around Azyeth began to freeze.
Her chilling voice, colder than anything I had ever heard, was directed at none other than Skadia.
The one who had made her see me as an enemy, who had tried to make her rip up the fairy tale book.
—S-Sorry, Princess! This one did not mean to…!
“I’ll see you later…”
Everyone swallowed hard, intimidated by a presence they could never have imagined from the usually languid Azyeth.
I almost felt sorry for Skadia.
But he had brought it on himself.
It was a huge relief the fairy tale book hadn't been torn.
If it had been destroyed, Fimbulvetr might have descended upon the world.
“W-Well then, let’s move on to the next one.”
Mirabelle changed the screen.
It was Rin.
She had enjoyed watching everyone else’s videos, but she apparently couldn't bear to watch her own. She covered her eyes and plugged her ears.
She had blocked me from entering my own Dream Garden and fled to the Celestial Pavilion.
When I arrived, Rin had made her displeasure painfully obvious before storming off.
—Just looking at your face makes me want to puke, Rin.
When I teased her a bit, she had bared her claws and tried to stab me in the stomach.
—I’m going to kill you! I’ll rip open your belly and tear out your guts!
She had even finished with a magnificent threat.
“You were bragging about how confident you were, but look at you, running wilder than anyone else,” someone jeered.
“It’s always the loud ones who are the worst.”
Rin trembled, apparently able to hear everything despite her plugged ears.
“Hmph…! And you all did so much better?! Let’s see your clips!”
Mirabelle changed the screen.
“This time, it’s Narsha…”
“W-Wait a moment!”
Narsha hastily stopped Mirabelle.
“Is it really necessary to watch mine? It won’t be any fun at all.”
“Hey, Narsha, what’s that supposed to mean? We’re showing everyone else’s. To be fair, we have to watch yours too.”
“I-It’s really not interesting…”
She was clearly fidgeting.
Ignoring Narsha, the video began to play.
Unlike the other slaves, Narsha’s attitude toward me hadn't changed much.
It was due to her will to clearly separate her public and private life, hiding her extreme disgust for me.
“See? There’s really nothing to it.”
“Tch, how boring.”
“I told you so. Now, let’s hurry up and watch someone else’s. Quickly.”
The slaves were disappointed by the anticlimactic turn of events. Narsha kept glancing at the screen as if she were being chased, trying to get her turn over with as quickly as possible.
“Ah.”
The appearance of Narsha in a naked apron.
Dressed as a cow, being milked.
—Thank you…! Thank you for allowing me to climax!
And the grand finale of her panting and crying out.
Narsha’s moans echoed through the room.
Her face was one of pure bliss.
Narsha froze solid.
The other slaves grinned.
“What’s this? You were having all the fun by yourself?”
“And here you were, acting all high and mighty. Talk about living up to your cowgirl name.”
Narsha clenched her fists, trembling. Then she strode toward me and slammed her hands on the desk. BANG!
“Properly!”
“Properly?”
“Do it again, properly. Otherwise, I won’t be able to accept this!”
That wasn't a difficult request.
“I’ll be more romantic next time. Will that suffice?”
“…Fine.”
Having received my word, she meekly backed down.
“‘Romantic’? You still don’t get it, do you?”
“Get what?”
“Once you’ve been taken by force, the normal way will never satisfy you again.”
Rin nodded in agreement.
“It’s already carved into your body. Just how good it feels to be ravaged by Master. Eventually, you’ll be begging for it with your own mouth. Begging him to violate you.”
What were these two saying right in front of her?
“Narsha is not a pervert like you two. What you’re thinking will never happen. Right, Narsha?”
“…”
There was no reply.
She only glanced at me with half-lidded eyes.
It looked like I had awakened something I shouldn't have.