章節 24: Elaina

"You were really once a guy?" The elf said as she stared at me in disbelief.

I had told Elaina everything that happened to me, from the moment I awoke two weeks ago, from my days as maid to the banquet. I did not leave out a single detail, except the more intimate parts like the night before. Those were a little too personal.

I had a natural instinct to trust the girl so I had no thought of leaving anything out. Either way, our fates were tied together.

She had been quite especially quite horrified at the mention of my [Obedient] perk. It was not a nice perk to have.

"That's all you have to say about my story?" I asked. There had been so many weird and terrible things to happen to me from waking up in a new body to meeting half of the current demon lords.

I was still haunted by the things that had happened to me. I had been raped, humiliated, and kidnapped. Forced to the brink of depravity to satisfy my mistress. Even worse, forced to enjoy it.

A few times during our conversation, I had found myself growing aroused for inexplicably no reason, the excitement making me grow damp below. Fortunately, I was at least able to distract myself when telling my story.

The last two weeks had changed me. I had been broken in some way. Perhaps in many ways, even if the new situation had helped me hide it a bit.

And yet she asked about my gender of all things? I guess it was a little hard to believe…

"There is no way that you were ever a guy. I can't see it."

"I really was. At least until yesterday when the spell was completed." Why was this girl so fixed on this one point?

"So you really can't remember anything past two weeks ago?" Did she just move on?

I sighed. This woman was too stubborn.

"No, nothing at all. Whenever I try to think about it, my thoughts begin to blur." I explained. "But this definitely isn't my real body."

"Hmm, it can't be a coincidence." Elaina muttered with her head down, lost in thought. "Are you sure that this isn't your real body?"

"What you don't believe me again?" I scoffed. This woman was truly infuriating.

"Nope, I believe you." She said without a hint of doubt, before she added, "After all, the same thing happened to me."

"What!?" I jumped up in shock.

If the same thing happened to her, were we actually connected in some way? Was this why I felt so attached to her?

Contrary to my shock, she just stared at me dismissively. "Sit back down and close your mouth. You look like a fish with it wide open. It's time I tell you my story now. Then after, I will you about the thing that will help us escape."

Thing? Did she have something on her? All she wore was her dress and some sandals…

I stopped thinking about it and quickly planted myself back down obediently on the concrete floor, ready to listen to her story. I was actually very interested in her life and couldn't hide the excitement I felt. What kind of life did she live in the past two weeks? It must have been much more fascinating than my boring story.

Unexpectedly, Elaina's life had been pretty uneventful, even less interesting than mine.

Two weeks ago, she awoke in a small crate in a boat, locked away and unable to move. She could not remember anything, similar to me. Finding herself entrapped in a dark container, she screamed for help through the air holes until her mouth went hoarse. But no one came to save to her.

In the time she was locked away, she studied her system and managed to use some basic light magic to create a source of light, some water magic to stave off her thirst and even a bit of plant magic for food. However, her magic was pitiful and could not break her out the wooden box.

Despite being locked away, she never gave up hope, shouting for help at regular intervals. She also tried to use her magic to escape. But it was of no use. She didn't know how long she remained in the crate, but she guessed that it would have been around four or five days when her cries were finally answered.

It was a sick, old man who freed her. He was severely underweight and combined with sagging skin covered in red spots made for a ghastly appearance. It was clear this guy was infected with some sickness. At first Elaina had been full of hope when she was freed, until later when she realized who this man was.

This was not her saviour, but her kidnapper.

She followed the man, only to be given off to someone, an ugly woman by her desacription. At that time, she was able to put together the whole story from the discussion between the old man and the ugly woman.

The slave trader had kidnapped her somewhere in the southern continent. She had been frail with a sickly appearance and unable to resist when the man found her. As she was an elf, the slave trader did not hesitate to pick her up. However, as he thought she might be sick and afraid it might spread, he locked her away in a crate only to be fed food and water until he reached the northern continent and could find a trustworthy healer.

His actions were for nought though. The plague spread through the boat and their was nothing he could do to stop it. In a manner of days, half his crew had been infected. At that point, they ignored the elf out of fear and stopped feeding her, even when she cried out for help. By the time they reached the northern continent, only a skeleton of his crew remained. Of course, since she lost her memories and only awoke inside the crate, she had not known of any of this.

Fortune was still on the slave trader's side though. When the subordinates of the Demon Lord of Envy came to investigate to make sure the plague did not spread to the rest of the city, they ordered the captain to gather everyone on board. It was at this time that Elaina was remembered and freed.

Weak and ignorant, Elaina was brought out to be inspected. As a mere slave, she would usually just be killed off, not worth the price of healing. But as an elf, her worth was quite a bit more, at least enough to check her Status. And this was when they found out that she was not just an elf, but a high elf.

Being a member of a thought-to-be extinct race, the subordinates of the Demon Lord of Envy immediately bought her, which was when she was locked away in this cell.

While she was given food and water, her situation had not changed much. She was still locked away, her freedom taken from her. She was only brought out once, the time when I met her at the slave auction.

"Wait I don't understand. You're saying the Demon Lord of Envy sold you at a slave auction and then bought you back?" I asked.

"Yes, that is what happened." She leaned back lazily, her green skirt rising up and showing off her slender legs. "At first it didn't make much sense, but after hearing your story, I can understand why she would do it. She's using me, and you as well, as bargaining chips against the Demon Lord of Lust. She wants something from your former mistress, and she intends to get it by selling us."

"At least, this explanation would solve a few of the questions I had. Like how I was locked away here and ignored. It also explains how I wasn't even searched when I was brought here, or why the male guards are scared of even touching me. It is obvious that we are quite important to the Demon Lord of Envy, or should I say our value as slaves is important."

That would make a lot of sense. I was not searched either. In fact, outside of the Burned Man, I hadn't met anyone else. They likely were scared of touching me and pissing off the Demon Lord of Lust.

So if I failed to escape from here, I would likely just end up back with Lilith, unless she refused to buy me back.

"So can you tell me your plan now?" I asked.

If I failed to escape now, I would never escape under the nose of Lilith. Some part of me almost wanted to go back, to surrender. The pleasure, the satisfaction…

I shook my head. Those thoughts were dangerous. I did not want to go back.

"Of course. The first stage of my plan is quite simple." She looked at me, her gaze exploring my innocent body. Her smirk made me unconsciously shiver.

"All you have to do is use your a body."