Slave Management (1)
Slave Management (1)
I was sick of that dried-out bread.
I sat in the garden and tossed the bread into the air with a flick. Huh. Honestly, this was ridiculous.
Having to survive each day on a few lumps of bread like this. It was obviously going to take a toll on my growing body, and even on my mind!
"Hey."
"Uh, uh. Boss. What is it?"
Hector, who had been slowly repairing the wall, came running over. I gave a nod.
"What are those guys doing?"
"Th-they're working..."
"In your eyes, does that look like working?"
Hector's crew shuffled around the garden, fiddling with the broken iron fence, leaning on brooms and yawning, or repeatedly picking up leaves only to stop halfway.
I know it's work that can't be done by children's hands. But even so, shouldn't they at least show some effort?
"Maybe I've been too soft on them..."
"B-boss... but there's nothing more we can do."
Well, true. They had done everything.
Every morning they did the cleaning for me, and Hector was always the first to volunteer for little errands.
Of course they picked up my meal rations for me, and when I skipped evening prayer because I couldn't be bothered, they even covered for me by saying I'd gone to the bathroom.
...Looking at it this way, they're basically just subordinates, aren't they? He was a convenient guy, at least.
I stared at him blankly. Seeing the big guy scratch the back of his head and grin was a little funny.
Had I actually grown attached or something?
Come to think of it, what would happen to these guys once I left for the church headquarters? Once they aged out of the church, they'd probably end up as back-alley thugs or something.
"Hey."
"Yeah?"
"Do you have a plan for the future? Once you get out of here, what are you going to do to make a living?"
"Uh, well..."
Hector scratched his head.
"I was thinking about joining a place called Black Steel..."
"What kind of place is it?"
"...A band of righteous thieves?"
"So a thug den."
I called Hector's crew over. From the left: Pavel. Linden. Marie, and...
"...Rotasha?"
"It's Natasha?!"
"Close enough."
"What do you mean, close enough?!"
I shoved the fuming girl aside and looked at them. Five in total. Future thugs. Well, the girls could always sell their bodies.
There wasn't much an orphan could do in this city. Wait on merchants, get sold off as slaves, get absorbed by another crew and run errands for them... well.
Most of them just scraped along at the bottom of life and then went broke.
"Hey. Hector."
"Yeah?"
"Don't you want my power?"
I casually stirred up Ember. Their gazes gathered on it. Maybe because they were still kids, their eyes sparkled brightly.
"B-but that's a god's power, isn't it? The damn Sun God Church..."
"Daaaamn?"
"...Th-the Sun God Church. But... no matter what you say, Boss, I don't want to join that place."
"What if I'm not telling you to join the church?"
"...Huh?"
The means by which priests could bring in believers.
At C rank, the Sacred Mark gained an additional effect: the ability to grant a Sacred Mark to someone else.
But there was a limit to the number a single priest could take in, and the granted Sacred Mark started at F-rank. The 'Blessing' or 'Healing' skills that priests born with Sacred Marks possessed did not exist for them either.
On top of that, it deleted all the other skills they originally possessed. They became literal blank slates. With nothing but Divinity F and Sacred Mark F left in a wiped-clean skill window, they were basically idiots whose levels had been preserved.
You could see it as a strange skill loaded with penalties.
But weren't these guys basically blank slates already?
"Don't trust the church."
I'll give you a way to survive.
And while I'm at it, I'll finally say goodbye to this dried-out bread.
"Trust me."
. . .
The half-convinced children gathered offerings. They skipped meals and ran errands for adults, using every coin they earned to buy bread.
"Boss. If we just pickpocketed..."
"And get yourselves killed if you're caught? Forget it. If you get locked up, there's no one to get you out."
"B-boss, you could..."
"Me? Why would I?"
After two weeks, a fair amount of bread had piled up. It was enough to fill one sack and then some.
Still, I'd thought it would at least be double this.
I clicked my tongue. The kids sitting upright flinched and trembled. After making sure no one else was around, I looked down at them.
"Once we do this, there's no going back."
"Th-then let's not..."
"What?! You want to swear that much loyalty to me?! I have no choice. What admirable kids."
"S-something's weird..."
"I understand your feelings well."
I grabbed Hector's shoulder and swallowed back the tears threatening to spill.
"'Once a boss, always a boss'... I'm so moved."
"I never said anything like..."
"Now. Let's begin."
[Crown of Ash activates.]
[You may choose which skill to enhance.]
Sacred Mark.
[Ra lets out a sigh.]
[Ra says she absolutely cannot do this and orders the offerings removed.]
[Holding up the dried-out bread, she asks what she's supposed to do with this.]
Ah.
"We worked hard to get that, Ra. Just take it, please."
I quietly turned my back to the kids. I lowered my voice and whispered.
"Just raise it a little. It's only one rank!"
-You lunatic!
Her voice shot back immediately.
-Enough! Do you think a god's majesty is a joke?! Using my name however you please was bad enough, but now this?! You call these scraps of bread offerings?! There's a limit to how much of your whining I'll indulge!
"You were going on about some doomed world-line or whatever?! You're the one who dragged me here! Now that I think about it, it seems like you're trying to get me to do something... if you're going to use me, at least do this much for me!"
-So now you're telling me to take responsibility?! I spoil you a little and this is what I get, you insolent brat! This is a matter of causality! I have limits too! I can only grant a request when the exchange is at least somewhat balanced... and this is practically garbage!
"Yeah, take responsibility! Take responsibility! I don't care—deal with it! I'm offering to increase your number of believers and you're turning me down! What kind of god does that?!"
-You... damn... brat...!
Ra's voice let out a sigh. All the dried-out bread vanished, and a 'crack' sound rang out.
-...This is the only time. Really, the only time. There won't be any more. I won't indulge your tantrums anymore, and if you pull this kind of shit one more time, I'll cram all of this into your mouth myself.
"Thank you. God!"
-Show some piety! You damn brat!
[Sacred Mark is greatly enhanced.]
['Sacred Mark' skill grade (D) -> (C)]
[Holy Arts related to Sacred Mark become stronger.]
[Divinity is enhanced, allowing you to sing miracles.]
Status Window!
[Zahard Balton] [Level: 7]
[Race: Human] [Class: Apostle of the Sun God]
[Class Unique Skills]
-Sun God's Love: Sun-God-related skills you possess grow rapidly.
-Sun God's Grace: Your Sacred Power recovers rapidly.
-Sun God's Blessing: You can handle the Sun God's Sacred Relics without risk.
-Sun God's Prayer: You are immune to mental corruption.
[Possessed Skills]
-Sacred Mark (C): Grants resistance to all Demonic Force. Can grant a Sacred Mark to others. (5/5)
-Divinity (D): Can draw upon the Sun God's divinity to a certain extent.
-Healing (F): Slowly heals minor scratches.
-Blessing (F): Mood improves slightly.
-Ember (E): Produces a stinging flame on contact.
-Prayer of Fire (D): Praying warms the body to a certain extent. Physical abilities increase slightly.
-Holy Water Production (F): Makes water clean.
-Sacred Barrier (F): Creates a wall the size of a fingernail.
-Weapon Blessing (F): Makes a sword very slightly sharper.
-Purification (F): Makes curses embedded in the body feel unpleasant.
-Song of Fire (F): The Sun God Church's basic swordsmanship. Controls the body, if only slightly.
-Crown of Ash (EX): Offering tribute raises the grade of Sun-God-related skills.
"Everyone, hold out your hands!"
I clenched my fist. As if branding them, I struck the children's outstretched hands.
"Ack!"
"Th-that hurts!"
"What is this?!"
A half-formed mark was branded onto the children's hands. Exactly five of them, and it fit perfectly.
Now there was only one step left. Getting their consent.
"You guys."
I stared at them blankly. Still, at the very last moment, I'd let them choose what they wanted.
"Do you want to spend your whole life as someone else's underling, get caught up in gambling and turf wars, and die without leaving your name behind? Or do you want to live properly, even if it's juuuuust a little hard?"
"P-properly, you mean..."
"Like a human. Huh? Eat what you want like a person, sleep when you want to sleep, and try your hand at the things you want to do."
Hector stared at me blankly. I grinned.
"You weren't born to eat dried-out bread your whole life. The choice is yours."
Hector looked down at the back of his hand.
"...I hate the Sun God Church. But..."
Drip.
A single tear fell. The grief of becoming an orphan and the sorrow of having spent his life licking other people's assholes slid to the floor.
"...I want to live like a human."
"Then let's try living."
I held out my hand to him.
"Like a human."
"...Yeah. Boss."
"Yeah."
I smiled wickedly.
"I'm your boss for life."
A belated look of realization flashed across Hector's face, but it was already too late.
What could he do? It was already too late.
I looked at the Sacred Mark clearly branded on his hand.
"Let's go, slaves."
"S-slaves?"
"Ahem. My dear subordinates."
Now that I had workers, all I had to do was put them to work.
"You only live once, so shouldn't we live it in style?!"
"R-right."
"No helping it now."
"What do we have to do, Boss?"
"First..."
I cracked my knuckles.
"Time to train. Move."