Chapter 47: Bragging About the Leash
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 47: Bragging About the Leash
It took less than thirty seconds to resolve the situation.
Narsha moved without restraint. Her afterimages created a red constellation in the slums, and the residents in her path fell like reeds.
Narsha had only ever held a dagger for self-defense. She was too busy managing her merchant group to have time for swordsmanship.
The fact that she had become such a formidable swordswoman was all thanks to the grace bestowed upon her by her master. Confident that she had used that power for a just cause, Narsha sheathed her sword.
Narsha checked to see if any stragglers remained. Concerned about traumatizing the children, she had only struck vital points. If not for the blood, they might have simply looked like they were sleeping.
She retrieved Lala, who was squeezing her eyes shut amidst the warm corpses, and then checked on Matthew.
“Are you all right? Can you stand?”
“Uh… Even if I’m not okay, I think I will be.”
“It’s admirable that you don’t want to worry anyone, but your wounds are severe. We need to get you treated right away.”
With Lala’s hand in one of hers and Matthew on her back, Narsha left the slums.
“Where should we go? Is there a hospital? No, in a place like this, we should probably go to the cathedral…”
“We can go to The Peacock’s Night Gathering. If Alfia treats me, it’ll be over in a flash.”
“…Alright.”
Narsha didn’t question the idea of going to a pub for medical treatment. She had a merchant’s intuition. She could read between the lines.
Following their directions, Narsha soon arrived at The Peacock’s Night Gathering.
Tinkle~
The bell on the door rang.
“Grandpa, we’re here.”
“You’re late. What were you doing that you’re only just…”
Victor’s nerves instantly went on edge.
Matthew, covered in wounds.
Narsha, wearing a rapier at her side.
The aura she exuded was anything but ordinary.
An enemy?
Victor lowered his hand, preparing to draw a dagger. A shadow flickered.
In the freezing atmosphere, Lala, oblivious to the tense energy, chimed in with a bright smile.
“This lady saved us!”
“Saved you?”
“Some scary men were bullying Matthew, but then she appeared and went shwick, shwish, shwick at an incredible speed.”
Lala reenacted the scene, mimicking a stabbing motion.
Fortunately, it didn't seem to be what he had feared. Victor let out a sigh and retracted his assassin’s aura.
“Matthew, you ignored me and went to the slums again. I’m sure I warned you not to go there because it’s dangerous.”
“But I couldn’t help it. There are kids there who need help, too.”
“Even so, you shouldn’t have gone alone. Lala was almost in danger, too. Next time, take Renard with you. That one has nothing but time on her hands.”
“Okay.”
“Miss Alfia will be here soon, so just hang in there. And…”
Victor stroked his beard.
“I thank you for saving the children, but who might you be, young lady? You seem to be a person of high standing.”
“My name is Narsha Bryan. I was just passing by.”
“I see, young lady. Thank you so much. If it weren’t for you, something terrible could have happened.”
“I only did what was right.”
“A kind heart to match your beautiful appearance. Oh, where are my manners? Please, have a seat. Let me offer you a meal. Hey, Renard! Come pour some water.”
Narsha took a seat, and a moment later, an employee in a waitress uniform emerged from the back. Her skin was dark, and her ears were unusually long.
A dark elf?
A pub with a dark elf on staff. That was an incredibly rare sight, even in the shops of a large city. Even to the noble Narsha, it was a curiosity.
Could that be the elf Karami saved?
The thought crossed her mind, but she immediately dismissed it. After all, there was no way someone saved by him would have such a rotten expression.
Renard glared at Victor, looking as if she were about to spew curses at any moment.
“Why should I have to wait on a human? What do you take me for? I am Renard of the Black Mist, not some pub waitress.”
“Short?”
“…Never mind.”
The day she fought Alfia. After cleaning up the corpses of her so-called comrades, Renard had tried to leave, but she was stopped once again.
“You can’t leave.”
“Why not! …I mean, why?”
“We’re short-staffed. The number of kids has grown, and it’s too much for an old man alone, so you’re going to help. You have the right to refuse, of course. If you’re confident you can escape, that is.”
The right to refuse. How generous.
That thought lasted for a moment, but it was bullshit. For the past month, she had attempted to escape, but she was caught every single time.
She couldn't escape.
And every time she was caught, her workload only increased.
Eventually, Renard revised her plan. Since he was an old man with not long to live, she would just wait for him to die.
For a long-lived elf, it was but a fleeting moment, so waiting was no trouble at all.
Thump.
Renard placed the glass of water in front of Narsha and walked away. Narsha stared intently at her retreating back.
What a strange pub.
And that was the end of that thought.
Narsha was enjoying the food and drink Victor had served when the bell rang loudly and a group of people entered. The clean scent of the forest wafted in.
“Alfia-niiim, the spirits keep causing trouble and won’t help me.”
“When that happens, you have to force them to their knees. That’s the only way to make them listen.”
“But the elders said we have to coexist in harmony?”
“The Master’s words are more correct than theirs. Look, I, the Master’s slave, won, didn’t I?”
The little elf nodded, thinking she had a point.
“If I become his slave, can I become like you, Alfia-nim?”
“Of course. So let’s practice hard until the Master returns.”
“Yes!”
It was truly a rare sight.
Even with the Great Forest nearby, for elves—such a reclusive race—to be gathered like this in a human city… It meant that one of them had to be his slave…
Narsha’s eyes narrowed.
It wasn’t hard to find her.
Only one of them wore the face of someone who had been saved.
“Hm?”
Alfia, who had been looking after the children, felt the gaze and turned her head. Her pupils dilated the moment her eyes met Narsha’s.
Alfia recognized her at a glance as well. It was a sense that could only be shared between those who had experienced complete liberation.
“You…”
“To meet someone who has received his profound grace in such a faraway land. This must be fate.”
Alfia was wary of Narsha. She was well aware that Karami had been involved with several slaves before he met her.
But Narsha was different.
A sense of kinship, as a fellow slave.
And a sense of rejection stemming from that very kinship.
Isn’t there a saying? I wanted you to be happy, but not this happy. That was exactly how Alfia felt right now.
She was teaching the young elves so they could grow and see a view ‘similar’ to her own, but she never wanted them to surpass her.
Narsha was someone who had the same experience as Alfia. And at the same time, she was someone who coveted something more than just the master-slave relationship.
“Huhu. How cute.”
Alfia radiated hostility. In contrast, Narsha covered her mouth with her hand and let out a demure smile.
“Since fate has brought us together, shall we have a chat? You have no idea how my heart is pounding now that I’ve found someone with whom I can share my feelings.”
A difficult opponent has arrived.
Alfia secretly steeled her resolve.
*
“Who’s that pretty lady?”
“She looks like Karami’s slave.”
“Her too? Karami is amazing.”
Matthew, whose wounds had been healed in an instant by Alfia’s spirits.
Matthew, Emily, Lili, Lala, Hanni, and even the elves Alfia had brought with her.
The children, who had become friends while playing together, hid their small bodies in various corners of the pub, all staring at one spot.
There, Alfia and Narsha sat facing each other across a round table, which, for a moment, one might mistake for Karami himself.
It was a fascinating scene even for children who knew nothing of the world. Renard, feigning disinterest, nonchalantly wiped a table, but her ears were perked up, while Victor shoveled a handful of peanuts into his mouth.
Outwardly, the situation seemed to be in Narsha’s favor.
Narsha sat with impeccable posture, while Alfia had her arms crossed and was shaking her leg erratically.
The atmosphere was thick with tension, as if blades were floating in the air.
After a period of mutual assessment, it was Narsha who spoke first. A gesture of consideration from a senior to her junior.
“Let me introduce myself properly. I am Narsha Bryan, the only daughter of the Bryan County in the Traul Kingdom.”
“Alfia Liliand.”
Though she didn’t say it out loud, Alfia was practically radiating ‘I don’t like you.’
“I’ve heard time and again that elves are beautiful, and the rumors are true. And you, Miss Alfia, are quite cute as well.”
Alfia’s eyebrow twitched. The word ‘cute’ didn’t sound like a compliment at all.
“You keep calling me cute. I’m older than you… I mean…”
“Older than me?”
“Older than…”
“Older than me?”
“…”
Alfia, who had been about to say something, finally shut her mouth.
She had realized just in the nick of time that it was a fatal misstep. As a woman, once she uttered those words, there was no taking them back. It would be over in that instant.
Fortunately, she had avoided the worst-case scenario, but that was all. She couldn’t find anything else to say.
“Hmm~ How cute.”
Narsha hummed.
She had been one step away. It was a little disappointing that Alfia had stopped right before the trap, but Narsha had still reaped a decent harvest.
Emotional.
Poor at arguing.
With a single exchange, Narsha had grasped everything about Alfia. It was child’s play to toy with an opponent whose weaknesses were laid bare. A one-sided trampling began.
“It seems you too have received the Master’s grace, Miss Alfia. Looking at you reminds me of the advice I gave the Master that day.”
“A-Advice?”
“Yes. The Master didn’t want to leave my side, but I strongly advised against it. I told him that he was destined to bring salvation to the world. I implored him to go out into the wider world and save more people.”
“What does that…”
“Thanks to that, you were able to become so radiant, Miss Alfia. It seems my choice was the right one. I’m truly moved.”
In short.
You were saved thanks to me.
If it weren't for me, you never would have met Karami.
You should be grateful now that you know.
There were some logical fallacies in her interpretation, but the general gist was the same.
Of course, it was a lie.
They’d never had such a conversation.
Karami had left in an instant.
But that was the nature of arguments. Asymmetry of information. Even if one spouted lies, the other had no way to verify them. The line between truth and falsehood blurred.
The effect was especially potent when the opponent was emotional. As proof, Alfia’s eyes darted back and forth, unable to focus.
“The Master must have led you to the path of liberation and left immediately. His business with you was finished, so he went off to save someone else.”
“Urgh…!”
“To think he would follow my advice so faithfully. It’s the greatest honor a slave could ask for. I can die without regrets.”
Alfia couldn’t offer any rebuttal, her lips just trembled.
With every word Narsha uttered, her memories with Karami were chipped away. Her precious connection was being reduced to someone else’s mere achievement.
Unacceptable.
“Don’t lie! He and I are bound by a thousand-year vow!”
“A thousand-year… vow?”
“That’s right!”
Alfia shot to her feet, went down to the cellar, and returned with a carefully wrapped leaf.
“Look!”
With dubious eyes, Narsha read the words written on the leaf. The words reunion, faith, and vow caught her attention. Narsha’s pupils trembled, and a fine crack appeared in her poker face.
“See? He didn’t leave, he’s just away for a little while!”
“B-But this alone…”
“I have proof, you know.”
“Proof…?”
“Yes!”
Alfia suddenly began to take off her coat and top, unabashedly revealing her skin.
Holding her clothes to keep them from falling, she proudly showed off the brand engraved on her flawless, pale back.
“See this? It’s proof that I am his eternal slave.”
This, too, was a bluff.
The brand engraved by the Scroll of Spirit Usurpation was merely a tool for controlling spirits; it had nothing to do with being a slave.
But to Narsha’s eyes, it looked just like a slave’s brand.
Now that her soul shackles were gone, Narsha had no way to prove she was a slave. The moment she saw the brand, she even felt a pang of envy.
“You don’t have one of these, do you? Are you even really his slave?”
“Kuhk…”
With a single attack from Alfia, the tables were turned.
Narsha bit her lip in frustration while Alfia smugly lifted her chin, her lips curling into a victor’s smile.
Meanwhile, in a corner of the pub.
“Hey, Master.”
“…What is it.”
Renard, who was now sitting next to Victor and chewing on peanuts, spoke.
“Is being a slave something to be proud of?”
“Don’t ask me…”
A scene that shattered common sense.
Victor’s head was spinning.