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41.37% The Freed Slaves Are Obsessed / Chapter 12: A ring around neck

章節 12: A ring around neck

The next day, after narrowly avoiding a disaster, I told Mirabel:

"Let's take the day off."

People, machines, animals—everyone needs proper rest. While it would be great if Mirabel could continue performing at her best, pushing her too hard would only lead to burnout. In Taosle, there's a fatigue system for slaves; the more you work them, the more their fatigue increases.

Once their fatigue is maxed out, their ability to function drops, and the chances of accidents skyrocket.

In the tycoon genre, everything runs like clockwork, so if one gear gets stuck, the whole operation suffers. Work and rest must be balanced to ensure smooth operations.

Since it looked like the dungeon wouldn't be appearing right away, I decided today would be a good day to give Mirabel a break. Besides, I was still a little concerned about what happened yesterday.

"Is there anywhere you'd like to go?" I asked.

"Somewhere I'd like to go?" she echoed.

"You've been working hard lately. Think of it as a reward."

Mirabel tilted her head, clearly confused.

She looked at me as if to say, Isn't it a slave's duty to work hard? I used to think the same, but it turns out that's not always the case.

I learned that when I was training beastmen slaves. Some of them worked hard, while others slacked off, feeding off the efforts of the diligent ones.

Ever since this game became reality, I've encountered plenty of lazy freeloaders. And some of them ended up as my slaves.

But who am I?

I'm Korean.

If I'm not pursuing maximum efficiency in any situation, it bothers me to no end. Especially in a tycoon game?

'Oh hell no. I can't tolerate inefficiency.'

I'd probably foam at the mouth if efficiency dropped even a little.

So, instead of punishing underperformers, I came up with a solution: rewards for good work.

'Only bad managers rely on punishment.'

I started giving rewards to the hardworking slaves—special meals, extra allowance, that sort of thing. Naturally, it made the others work harder in hopes of getting the same treatment.

That's why I felt it was time to reward Mirabel for her hard work.

"Anywhere is fine. Whether it's a place you want to visit or something you want to buy, just say the word."

"Then… a new outfit…" she began hesitantly.

"Wait a minute. Let me ask the real person in question. Miss Mirabel, you'd like maid outfits, right?"

"No…"

"Oh, she says she loves them. In fact, the Mirabel in my mind would be thrilled if I bought her a few more."

"..."

Mirabel shot me a cold, piercing glare.

You're the one who crossed the line, Mirabel. On this, I refuse to back down. Unfazed, I stared her down, determined not to yield.

The staring contest lasted for a few seconds before Mirabel finally gave in. It seemed like she didn't hate the maid outfits as much as she pretended.

She began to consider her next request seriously.

"Then…"

Finally, she spoke again.

As we walked through the city, Mirabel occasionally pulled out a snack to munch on.

'She settled on slime fries in the end.'

After buying a portion of slime fries at the market, we wandered through the city. Mirabel stuffed her cheeks with them like a squirrel, her mouth bulging. When she noticed me looking, she quickly grabbed a fry from the bag and offered it to me.

"Hmphf!" she mumbled, trying to smile through her full mouth.

"I'm good, thanks."

Mirabel's face fell in disappointment.

Her sad expression wasn't going to work on me this time. Last time, I let it slide, but not today—I saw that fry move just now.

After we finished touring the city, we ended up at a magical artifact shop. Ever since she began learning magic, Mirabel had taken a keen interest in magical devices.

Back in Libria, she had bought a couple of them, only to dismantle and analyze every one of them. Typical witch behavior, as if she were some kind of magical engineer from another world.

Mirabel wandered around the shop, her eyes sparkling with curiosity like a child seeing something new for the first time. I, on the other hand, stood there holding a staff, feeling like a boyfriend waiting for his girlfriend to finish shopping.

"Little miss, you seem quite interested in magical devices," the shopkeeper, an elderly woman, remarked.

"Huh? Oh, um, yes," Mirabel stammered, startled.

"Oh dear, I didn't mean to scare you. My apologies."

Mirabel flinched at the old woman's words, despite having become somewhat more comfortable around me. It seemed she still hadn't shaken her timidness around others.

The old woman smiled kindly at her, as if looking at her own granddaughter.

"That man with you, is he your brother?"

"No, he's my master."

"Master?"

"I'm a slave."

At the mention of the word 'slave,' the shopkeeper's eyes shot daggers at me, as if questioning how a scumbag like me could make such a sweet girl his slave.

What's your problem, lady? Want to fight? I might not be able to beat Mirabel, but I'm pretty sure I could take you.

Sensing her impending defeat, the old woman shifted her gaze back to Mirabel. That's 2-0 for me today.

The pity in her eyes, once directed at a cute girl, now softened into sympathy for a poor slave. The woman clucked her tongue, and Mirabel hesitated for a moment before turning away. Only from my angle could I see her expression.

'Wait… what was that?'

It looked like her eyes had just twisted with something… but when she met my gaze, she smiled sweetly, and the strange expression vanished. Maybe I imagined it.

"Let's go, Master," she said.

"Are you sure you don't want to buy anything?"

"There's nothing worth buying in a place like this."

"Ah… alright."

In the end, we left without purchasing anything.

"Do you have any other places you want to visit? If not—"

"No, I do," she interrupted, her voice firm.

With a confident step, she strode toward a jewelry store, her movements quick and determined, as if she were angry.

'Has she suddenly taken an interest in jewelry?'

As far as I knew, Mirabel had never cared about things like accessories. As a witch, she was more interested in dusty old tomes and magical artifacts, like the ones she had been examining earlier.

But, hey, she's a girl. It wouldn't be strange for her to develop an interest in these things at any time. Maybe I should encourage her, just in case she's hesitant.

"Haha, Miss Mirabel, are you starting to take an interest in—"

The words died in my throat when I saw what she was looking at.

She wasn't eyeing any jewelry.

She was looking at shackles—the kind you put on slaves.

…?

Why was she fiddling with those?

Worried, I asked, "You're not actually interested in the shackles, are you?"

"A little bit," she admitted.

What?

Of all the accessories in this store, why the shackles?

"I'm a slave, but I don't really have any kind of identifying mark, right? That's why people get confused, like earlier."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"But people keep giving you a hard time because of it, Master."

Well, yeah, in my case, it's particularly bad.

In a world where slavery is common, even wealthy families typically have one or two slaves, and some even have dozens.

But me? I only have one—Mirabel. Even considering that I'm a slave trader, people are unusually harsh on me.

The reason? It's probably because Mirabel is so pretty.

When people want to baby her, they naturally resent the fact that she's a slave.

I had no idea why she cared about that, but regardless, I was opposed to the shackles. As a slave enthusiast, I couldn't have her walking around in shackles.

"There's no need for that. I've long since gotten used to the negative looks."

But Mirabel shook her head vehemently.

"You don't deserve to be treated like that, Master. You shouldn't have to worry about me. Go ahead and pick one out."

"No…"

My head started spinning. This was turning into a scene straight out of some feminist manga where everything turns out all rosy in the end, even when limbs get cut off.

"Hurry up."

With Mirabel being so insistent, I had no choice but to comply. As I've said many times, Mirabel holds all the power here. I couldn't afford to upset her.

What should I choose?

Red was too flashy and looked like a collar. Gray was too dull.

I finally settled on a black shackle. It was simple and blended well with Mirabel's calm, dark atmosphere, making it look more like a piece of jewelry than an actual restraint.

"This one seems decent enough…"

"Then I'll take that one," she agreed without hesitation.

Click.

Mirabel, pleased, pushed her hair behind her shoulders and tilted her tiny face up toward me, her eyes closed, waiting. She looked like someone waiting to be proposed to.

The only difference was, instead of a ring on her finger, it was a collar around her neck.

'I give up.'

Resigned, I carefully fastened the black shackle around her slender neck. With a soft click, the clasp locked into place.

"All done," I said.

Mirabel stroked the shackle around her neck with gentle fingers, a faint smile of satisfaction curving her lips.

After visiting all the places we had planned, we ran out of destinations. So, we ended up aimlessly wandering down the road.

Mirabel walked beside me, her posture straighter than usual.

Whenever we passed other slaves, she would throw them a smug look, as if she were a rich lady flaunting an expensive handbag.

I had no idea why she was looking at them that way, but she was.

Watching her, I couldn't help but feel uneasy.

'Have I been raising her wrong?'

In the game, once you built up enough affinity, slaves would sometimes make advances, and once you passed the adult certification, they often became very forward with their affections.

What worried me was that it wasn't the right time for this yet. I hadn't spent enough time with her, nor had I given her anything significant besides The Celestial Oath.

And in this real-world situation, I couldn't realistically expect her to be as affectionate as she might have been in the game. She had even shown discomfort at receiving a dead person's belongings.

'Damn it, what's really going on?'

A day spent trying to normalize Mirabel had somehow made things worse.

Several anxious days passed, and finally, the dungeon appeared.


next chapter

章節 13: Dungeons (1)

The dungeon that had appeared in Delofin.

We stood in front of it alongside other adventurers.

If I had to summarize a dungeon from the game, it would go something like this:

Monsters appear.

You go in, defeat them.

Receive rewards.

Rinse and repeat endlessly.

From what I had gathered, this one wasn't much different. You go in, collect magic stones or other monster by-products, and sell them for money.

There's even a profession built around this—adventurers who make their living by slaying monsters. However, to sell the loot, you need to be a member of the Adventurer's Guild.

'I signed up ages ago.'

Naturally, I can't use magic or wield a sword. If I had to fight a goblin one-on-one, I could probably just about survive.

Still, I joined the guild for one reason: to enter dungeons. Unlike in the game, entering a dungeon in real life requires being a knight, a mage, an adventurer, or a priest. You need to qualify as one of those four.

And this was no longer the kind of game where I could just leave everything to my slaves' auto-combat settings.

'If I mess up, I could get seriously hurt or even die.'

Unlike before, when injuries would heal over time or with treatment, there's now a risk of permanent damage. In the worst case, I could die. No way was I sending my cute slaves into such a place alone.

I had to be involved too, using all available resources like information and items.

"The danger level of this dungeon is rated F to G. Everyone is free to enter," said a guild employee, using a magical tool to measure the dungeon's danger level.

As expected, since this was the first dungeon of the storyline, the difficulty was at its lowest.

With a low difficulty comes weaker monsters, which means less money to be made. As a result, some adventurers hoping for a big payday decided to bail, leaving only the rookies behind.

'Good.'

If I had to deal with competition, it would've been a headache. If someone snatched the reward I had my eye on, I'd have to buy it from them at a markup.

But I couldn't relax just yet. There were still other adventurers around.

"Miss Mirabel, let's head in."

"Yes."

We stepped through the dungeon entrance, and a momentary sensation of weightlessness swept over me.

When I regained my senses, we were no longer in the field overlooking the city but in a dark, pitch-black cave with no trace of light. The way behind us was blocked by a wall.

To escape, we would have to find a teleport stone somewhere in the dungeon or defeat the boss to access one.

I turned on the portable magic stone lantern I had bought earlier, casting some light.

"I can use magic for that," Mirabel offered.

"No, I'll handle it. You just focus on the fighting."

In terms of combat, I was completely out of the equation. Mirabel was the only one who could handle a fight. I needed to make sure she could focus entirely on the battle.

If I'm going to get a free ride, this is the least I can do.

"Let's get moving."

We began our journey through the dark cave.

The dungeon was a maze. Since it had just appeared, it was completely uncharted.

For the record, I had no idea what the layout was like either. This wasn't an RPG, and Taosle never bothered to give detailed descriptions of dungeon geography.

Exploration was a 2D turn-based side-scroller. My thousands of auto-combat runs were of no use here.

Fortunately, there was one thing going for me.

"Let's turn right."

Aside from the fact that everything was now real, the game did have one useful feature: the item shop.

It sold items not just for slave training but for all kinds of situations. Before entering the dungeon, I had purchased one such item.

[Dungeon Map]

This is a dungeon map.

A simple enough description. Once inside the dungeon, the parchment would automatically reveal the structure and layout.

It was only a 500-point item, but in a situation like this, it was incredibly valuable. Only I had access to the dungeon's layout now.

For the record, it wasn't something I could sell. Most shop items were one-time use.

"You're amazing, Master."

"Haha, thank you."

Mirabel shot me a rare look of admiration. That kind of gaze is always welcome. Let's see more of it.

With the power of the map guiding us, we continued without hitting any dead ends. At one point, Mirabel signaled me to stop.

"Wait. There's a monster ahead."

It was the first monster encounter since entering the dungeon.

A low growling noise echoed.

Green-skinned and short, it was a goblin—a classic monster, often one of the first to appear in fantasy worlds alongside slimes.

"Can you handle it?"

"Of course."

Mirabel confidently aimed The Celestial Oath. A dark blue magic arrow infused with her power shot forward, exploding the goblin's head.

Ugh.

Blood and chunks of flesh splattered everywhere in a grotesque display.

Fortunately, it was just disgusting and didn't make me throw up. I had to thank Karamir's soul for keeping me desensitized at moments like this.

We encountered a few more goblins after that, and each time, Mirabel disintegrated them with her magic.

We didn't manage to collect any magic stones, though.

Mirabel was still struggling with fine control, often shattering the stones along with the monsters.

But that wasn't a big deal. We weren't in desperate need of money, and goblin magic stones didn't sell for much anyway. Raising another slave and freeing them would be a better investment.

'Things are going smoothly.'

It's to be expected. Using an SSR-level character on the first stage? If it was difficult, that would be strange.

We came across a small chamber after a while, which looked like a resting area.

"Miss Mirabel, do you need a break?"

"No, I'm fine. Don't worry about me, Master. Let's keep going."

"No, I'm tired. Let's rest for a bit."

"..."

What? What's with that look? Do you think walking through a stuffy cave with this fragile body is easy?

In the end, we decided to take a break. I'm lucky I'm the master. If I were the slave, I might've gotten beaten with a staff.

There was a clean-looking stream running nearby, but we didn't need to drink from it. After all, we had a mage in our party.

Using water Mirabel had conjured, I quenched my thirst and washed my hands.

After a brief rest, I shared some information with Mirabel before we resumed.

"I'm predicting that this dungeon is likely a goblin nest. So far, we've only encountered goblins."

Mirabel nodded, indicating that she had figured as much.

But this next part, she probably wouldn't know. Just as I was about to continue my explanation, Mirabel interrupted.

"I can sense an evil presence deep within the cave. It feels like there's something that can use magic."

Oh?

She could sense that?

I was impressed. As she suspected, the dungeon boss was a goblin shaman. That was exactly what we were after—a skill book it dropped, albeit with a low chance.

"That's very useful information."

Mirabel smiled slightly, clearly pleased with the praise.

At that moment, another party entered the rest area from a different path.

"Don't freak out, will you? You almost got us all killed!"

"You're the one who freaked me out with all your shouting!"

Sharp voices echoed through the chamber.

The group consisted of two men and two women, all young rookie adventurers around Mirabel's age.

As they bickered loudly enough to make the chamber reverberate, their eyes finally landed on me.

"Huh, there's another party here? I thought we were the first ones."

"That's because you were dawdling!"

"Why do you keep picking fights with me? Is it that time of the month?"

"Excuse me?!"

Ugh, so loud.

This can't be good for Mirabel's emotional well-being. I have to make sure she only sees the best things.

"Haha, they seem to be getting along well. Miss Mirabel, let's leave before we disturb them."

"Yes, Master."

Just as we were about to continue on our way, a voice called out.

"Wait! Take me with you!"

The boy, carrying a wooden shield and short sword, came rushing toward us, blurting out nonsense.

Sensing danger, Mirabel pointed her staff at him, causing the boy to freeze in his tracks, maintaining a safe distance.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked.

"I noticed you don't have a frontline fighter or scout. Let me join your party. I can take on the frontline role."

The boy stared at Mirabel while saying this, then quickly looked away before sneaking another glance, his cheeks turning red.

'This country bumpkin dares to set his sights on my daughter?'

I was about to speak, but the girl who seemed to be the party leader beat me to it.

"Hey! What are you talking about? If you leave, what are we supposed to do without a frontline fighter?"

"All you do is complain. This is your chance to realize how important I am."

Um, we don't want you in our party, buddy. He was really just drumming up his own performance.

Mirabel looked at me with a face that asked, 'Should I take him out, Master?' No need for that.

I gave the boy a hard shove, sending him stumbling forward.

"Huh?"

The boy flailed awkwardly, barely managing to keep his balance, only to fall flat on his face in front of the girl. He looked back at us with a betrayed expression, as if he had been wronged.

Right then, a wall of earth shot up between us, blocking his view. It was Mirabel's magic.

"You're dead!" the girl yelled.

"W-wait, hold on!"

The sound of scuffling and blows followed. It seemed the boy was receiving his punishment for trying to abandon his party in the middle of a life-or-death dungeon run. He had it coming.

"Let's go."

I had Mirabel cast a spell to block off all paths leading to the boss room, just in case we encountered anyone who might try to steal the skill book.

We ran into a few more groups of goblins along the way, but it wasn't even fair to call it a fight—Mirabel dismantled them effortlessly with her magic.

Finally, we arrived at the boss chamber.

Just as I had predicted, the boss was a goblin shaman.

There were a few regular goblins accompanying it.

And…

'Huh?'

Two hobgoblins were also present.


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