The Pervy King and the 88 Elves
King Bardov’s condition had been wretched all day after yesterday’s strange events.
It had been fine to slip into the room where the hero’s party member Lowell slept and secretly watch her lying there. The moment he lost consciousness, however, he collapsed unconscious on the floor and slept until morning.
“Hah hah hah…”
Even for just a short while, after glimpsing the helpless form of the sleeping elf Lowell on the bed, the king could not stop the lewd smile that kept creeping onto his face.
Then he learned that the Lowell he had planned to leave today would not even wake until tomorrow because she was ill. Bardov had to wonder if this was the luckiest day of his miserable life.
But…
His fortune did not end there.
“His Majesty!!”
The royal guard captain Sebid had burst in without knocking, his urgent words spilling out before he could catch his breath.
“What is the commotion?”
“I-it’s nothing…!”
Why was Sebid sprinting here so fast that he could not even finish a proper sentence? Bardov tilted his head in confusion, yet the captain’s next words hit like thunder.
“Lord Lowell… is sleeping in the World Tree Garden.”
“What?”
“He is deeply asleep. We royal guards approached several times to wake him, but he would not stir.”
“R-really?!”
“Yes.”
The king’s eyes blazed as he rushed out of the throne room, Sebid following close behind. The moment they stepped into the World Tree Garden, the sight that greeted them stole every ounce of composure from the king.
The elf Lowell lay motionless beneath the tree, sleeping so peacefully it looked as though someone had carried her there unconscious.
“On this earth… she is even more beautiful than I imagined…”
Bardov circled around her, studying every exquisite detail of the sleeping beauty, when Sebid’s voice cut through the silence.
“Your Majesty… Lowell said her body was not well. She must have fallen into a deep sleep… so deep I doubt even lifting her would wake her…”
“Indeed…?”
“Now would be the perfect moment, Your Majesty, would it not?”
“.....!!!”
The king jolted. The chance Sebid had spoken of was already burning in his mind.
“But… is this not too dangerous? The Emperor is still looking for her…”
“Does the Emperor’s search matter, Your Majesty? Simply fill her with the slave collar and lock her away in the secret room. No one will ever know.”
The two of them trusted the slave collar completely.
This device bound strength, mana, and even spirit magic, while preventing any escape from the wearer’s side. No matter how formidable the hero party’s Lowell might be, she would never break free.
“And the crown prince can be told she simply vanished. What could he do?”
“Exactly… with us both keeping silent on the matter… hah hah hah…”
Bardov had no time to worry about the crown prince or the Emperor right now. His mind was already filled with nothing but the new slave he was about to claim.
“I will approach with my subordinates and slip the collar on unnoticed.”
“G-good!”
Sebid led the prepared slave collar and a few knights into the garden. The royal guards, already tense, slowly edged closer, every sense on high alert for the pointy-eared elf who might wake at any moment. They reached right beside her, yet the sleeping Lowell showed not a single twitch. The guards exhaled in unison.
Then…
Slowly…
Inch by inch…
Sebid lifted the slave collar and pressed it against Lowell’s neck. In one fluid motion he locked it in place.
“Kyahahahaha!!”
From a distance, King Bardov finally released the laughter he had held back for so long. The sound echoed through the garden as Sebid and his men hurriedly carried the unconscious Lowell toward the secret room where the other elves were imprisoned.
****
He had only meant to play possum, but after staying up all night because of the perverted king yesterday, he had fallen into a deep sleep without realizing it.
The garden had once been filled with the gentle flow of a stream and the sweet scent of grass. When he opened his eyes again, he was inside a dark room where not even the faintest trace of that scent remained.
Thick mana.
A bed.
A stuffy chamber that did not even let in the breeze.
Soon after, the women in the room pressed in around him, staring at him with wide, curious eyes.
“Who…?”
No one answered his question. Instead, from all sides, he heard soft sobs beginning to rise.
“Even Lowell was taken…”
“What are we going to do now…”
“Hic…”
He could not tell how many elves were here, but their quiet, shared sobs were already filling the entire room.
“Lord Lowell… My name is Cariel.”
“Elves…”
At that moment one woman stepped forward, showing the pointed ears that matched his own. She introduced herself.
“Yes. Everyone in this room is an elf.”
With his eyes finally adjusting to the darkness, Cariel’s words let him scan the room once more. The weeping elves around them were unmistakable. They were the very slaves he had sensed.
The room was decorated with colorful lace and flower petals. In the center steamed a large tub filled with rose petals. The elves themselves wore nothing but the barest scraps of clothing that barely covered their bodies. It was the kind of scandalous attire you would expect from a pleasure house.
“I never thought even Lowell would be caught…”
Cariel’s face had gone blank with shock at the sight of another elf in the room. She and every other elf sitting nearby wore the same empty, defeated expressions.
“We were all so happy when we heard Lord Lowell had come here… even for just a little while.”
“Why?”
“We thought maybe the Lord would rescue us from this place. But… this is how it turned out…”
The other elves wore the same stunned faces. They, too, had been clinging to the hope that the news of another elf’s arrival would be their salvation.
“Let us escape together.”
The moment Lowell spoke, the weeping stopped. All the elves turned to him with desperate eyes.
“Lord Lowell, do you not realize what that thing around your neck is?”
Cariel pointed at the thick, ornamented collar still locked around Lowell’s neck.
“This is…”
“The slave collar. Wearing it seals away your strength, mana, and spirit magic. And even if you manage to escape this room, the pain it causes will be so severe that you won’t go far.”
Cariel explained how impossible escape would be while wearing the collar. She then gestured around the room. Every window, pillar, and door was warded with magic circles that blocked both sight and sound. No one could find them from the outside.
It was no wonder Lowell had not been able to locate the place.
Yet even with such thorough blocking, the elves’ scent had still betrayed their presence. That spoke of an astonishing ability.
“How long have you all been imprisoned here?”
“Everyone’s time is different. Mine is the longest.”
“How long…?”
“Ten years.”
Ten years in this hell…
Or rather, ten years as Bardov’s plaything before they had even thrown her into this room.
“The elf in the corner arrived last week. She is barely twenty.”
“Impossible… she was almost taken…”
“No. She escaped Bardov’s grasp yesterday, but I do not know how long her luck will hold. Tomorrow…”
Elves lived long enough that a twenty-year-old was still a child in human years.
“Have you elves ever been rescued from here by your kingdom’s forces?”
“Never. Not once.”
Lowell knew the elves had an organization dedicated to rescuing their citizens sold into slavery. Yet Cariel’s words suggested that organization was not functioning properly.
“There is another elf here who was only five years in a slave market. Not a single elf from the kingdom ever came to save her.”
If the kingdom could not find them even in the relatively easy-to-search slave market, then the problem ran deeper than anyone realized.
“Lord Lowell, be careful. The perverted king has been hunting you since yesterday. He is utterly depraved. If you sense danger, tell me and I will free you.”
“Eh? Why me?”
“Because you have been taken here as well…”
“I came here on purpose…”
The moment he said it, Lowell realized he had not mentioned the most important reason for his presence.
“Ah? Did I not say?”
“Yes?”
“I came to rescue you all. Not to play with this perverted king.”