Chapter 8: Thanks for the Meal
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 8: Thanks for the Meal
Had she grown that attached to us?
The moment I said we were leaving, Colton's kind face turned deathly pale. He looked like a man who’d just been dumped by his lover.
“L-Leave? What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“I think her current level of magical skill is sufficient.”
“Sufficient! That child is destined to become a Great Archmage! She still has a mountain of things to learn!”
I know.
A Great Witch, to be precise, not a Great Archmage.
But if you were me, would you entrust a kid this talented to the likes of you? A mere association head? Do you have any idea how many people in this world would kill for the chance to take her in? You’re not the final destination, just a stop along the way.
Since I couldn't say that out loud, I buried the thought and offered a different reason.
“Haha, there are more important things than that. As her master, I’m going to help her achieve her desires.”
“Are you referring to the revenge you mentioned before?”
“My, you have a good memory. Mirabelle’s father is the cause of her current state. For her to move forward, doesn’t she need to sever the wicked ties of her past?”
Colton vehemently shook his head, clearly disagreeing.
“Absolutely not. Revenge only begets more revenge, and its end is nothing but emptiness. Patricide, of all things, is absolutely out of the question. Miss Mirabelle, you must not fall for his scheme. Come over here. I will release you from the soul shackles that bind you.”
He can do that?
I wanted to applaud Colton’s magical prowess, but this was a problem for me. If the shackles were broken, she’d be liberated against my will.
Mirabelle stood between us, unsure of what to do. I placed a hand on her shoulder and whispered in her ear.
“People always say it like a mantra. That revenge only brings a sense of futility. That it shouldn't be done because it only leads to more revenge.”
“That’s obvious—”
I cut Colton off before he could interject and continued.
“But Miss Mirabelle, think of it this way. If a mosquito sucks your blood, you have to kill it, don’t you? Are you just going to let a pest that stole your blood and left you with an itch get away?”
“You have to… kill it?”
Of course.
And why stop at just killing it? I’d dismember it, stuff it, and then post online about my glorious kill.
“That’s right. You have to kill it. Would you feel empty after swatting a mosquito that’s been bothering you? No. You’d feel satisfaction, and you’d be able to focus on other things with a clear mind.”
“That’s a logical fallacy! We’re talking about a person, not an insect! And her own family, at that!”
“Whether it’s an insect or a person is completely irrelevant. What’s important is that he caused harm, and Miss Mirabelle received an irreversible wound. Miss Mirabelle is simply delivering a just punishment. And how much more just can it be when the verdict is delivered by the victim herself, not a third party?”
“Miss Mirabelle! Don’t listen to him!”
“Miss Mirabelle is not in the wrong. It’s all that man’s fault. Do you think he’ll have a change of heart if you just leave him be? A man who sold his own daughter wouldn’t hesitate to sell someone else’s, would he? He must be dealt with before someone else becomes a victim. Miss Mirabelle, you are walking the righteous path.”
My Master of Negotiation skill was in full swing.
I fed my plausible bullshit directly into Mirabelle's ear.
Revenge against her father was Mirabelle’s life goal. It meant that the cute, kind Mirabelle had been wounded so deeply that the fact her target was her own flesh and blood didn’t matter.
Don’t you dare try to deny the depths of this girl’s darkness without even beginning to comprehend it, you damn NPC.
Mirabelle, who had been listening as if entranced, finally made her decision. She turned to Colton and gave him a deep bow.
“Thank you for everything you’ve taught me.”
“M-Miss Mirabelle?”
Aww, my Mirabelle. Whoever raised her taught her such good manners.
Colton’s shock quickly turned into a murderous glare directed at me. His eyes could kill, but his mouth let out a crazed laugh.
“I see. So that’s what it was. No matter how much she’s polished her newfound talent, her soul is not something that can be meddled with so easily… You’re not an ordinary slave trader. You’re a black mage.”
Excuse me?
“Your little speech just now confirmed it. Your words contain a strange, unknowable power. You must have used it to manipulate Miss Mirabelle’s mind and incite her. She’s been brainwashed.”
What the hell are you talking about?
This bastard starts spouting nonsense the second he feels cornered.
As if that wasn’t enough, Colton began to cast a spell. Ice crystals formed around him.
“Just wait a moment, Miss Mirabelle. It may take a long time, but between the two of us, we can surely break the spell.”
With those words, Colton finally unleashed his magic. The ice crystals shot toward me, scattering a chilling frost in all directions.
Wow, I know you want Mirabelle, but I didn’t expect you to just start flinging magic around like this.
But I have a beautiful witch-maid I’ve invested heavily in. Mirabelle thrust her staff forward, and a translucent barrier materialized in front of us.
Clang!
“What?!”
Colton’s spell shattered into shards of ice, unable to penetrate the barrier. While he stood there in shock, Mirabelle calmly followed up with another spell.
Fwoosh.
A ball of fire materialized in the air. But it was far too large to be called a mere fireball. It was more like a flaming boulder, large enough to blow the building apart in a single blast.
Depending on the user, even a Fireball can become a Meteor. This was one of those times. Mirabelle aimed her staff at Colton.
I swung my arm out in a dramatic flourish.
“Go, Mirabelle. It’s a direct attack! Fireball!”
But Mirabelle didn’t move. She glanced back at me.
“I… I don’t think it’s right to shoot magic at an innocent person….”
“Ah.”
So killing her dad is fine, but this isn’t. I was the one who drilled it into her, but she sure has a peculiar set of principles.
If she won’t do it, she won’t do it.
What choice do I have but to go along with it?
“Mr. Colton, in light of your kindness until today, I will not harm you. But if you try to stop us any further, you will pay the price.”
“Grk…”
Colton gritted his teeth.
He must be furious. I would be, too.
His entire life’s work had just been invalidated by a kid who’d been learning magic for less than a month. But what could he do? That’s life.
If Colton were my slave, I would have comforted him and found a way to help him grow, but he wasn’t. Besides, I had no intention of ever taking a male slave.
“You’ve worked hard, Mr. Colton.”
Leaving Colton behind, we exited the association building, our guards still up. Mirabelle only lowered her staff once the Mage’s Association was out of sight.
“That must have been tense. You did well.”
It was her first real battle, and she’d handled it so cleanly. Colton had taught her very well.
Feeling proud, I reached out to pat her head, and this time, Mirabelle didn’t resist. She just lowered her head, looking a little shy.
Ooh. I had to take this chance. I stroked her soft, warm hair to my heart’s content. But I must have overdone it, because Mirabelle ducked away.
She quickly smoothed out her ruffled hair.
A bit of a shame, but I had to be satisfied with that for today. Now that she’d allowed it once, there would be more opportunities in the future.
“Where are we going now?”
“To a nearby city called Delphine.”
Delphine had a beginner-level dungeon.
Later on, it wouldn’t even be worth a second glance, but it was the only dungeon available for exploration in the early game. It was so easy, as its name suggested, that even a few ordinary slaves could clear it.
If Mirabelle, equipped with the Heavenly Covenant, went in there, it would be a slaughter.
‘We’ll go there, get some grimoires, sell some magic stones, and raise Mirabelle’s experience.’
The training plan was coming together perfectly!
*
“A slave trader trying to get in? Get lost!”
Son of a bitch.
I’d heard that soldiers’ wages were low, but that didn’t give them the right to steal other people’s money. Every single one I met tried to extort me. They were called knights, but they were no different from common highway robbers.
Come to think of it, the Knight Order was the natural enemy of slave traders in the game, too.
From the beginning of the game to the end, they’d show up to collect taxes. If you couldn’t pay, you sometimes had to give up a slave.
I was robbed in the game, and I’m being robbed now that I’m in it. There was no way I could have a good opinion of the Knight Order.
I took a single gold coin from my pouch. If I gave them 20 gold every time, my purse would be empty in a flash. I’d given way too much back in Riveria, trying to look impressive in front of Mirabelle.
Perhaps because he was a soldier in a rural city, he was satisfied with that and opened the way.
“Let’s stop at the tavern and get something to eat first.”
Normally I’d find an inn first, but I was too hungry. We found a table at the largest tavern in Delphine and sat down.
I ordered cornbread, lamb steak, and mushroom stew. It was a lavish meal that even a commoner, let alone a slave, would find extravagant, but Mirabelle, now used to it, ate without any hesitation.
That’s right, eat up. We have a dungeon to run soon.
I thought it would be an uneventful meal.
“Julius, shall we have just one drink before we go?”
“You drank yesterday, didn’t you?”
“Yesterday was yesterday, and today is today. A drink a day keeps the doctor away, you know?”
That is, until the clergy walked into the tavern.