There are many countries in the world where s*avery still existde, but the Temple forces have long campaigned for the abolition of s*avery.
Perhaps it was successful, the Federation of Gireshtal declared the liberation of s*aves more than 40 years previously, the second among the five major powers (of course, the first was the Holy Kingdom of Diletta, where the Temple’s influence was strong), and Ciel-Terra, where the political influence of the Federation was strong, followed suit.
… If so, Mialanze wondered, what she was now.
“If you’ve forgotten, I’ll tell you! Livestock!!”
Yes.
She knew that without having to be told by the head housekeeper, Mrs. Brenke.
Livestock, … kept by the Marquis Seebach, an aristocrat at the court of Ciel-Terra.
There were no laws governing the treatment of demi-human races in Ciel-Terra.
Taking advantage of this, if s*aves were forbidden, they should be treated as livestock, and they are being treated even worse.
There were so few demi-humans in the country that they did not even know how many there were in the country. They didn’t even bother to make a law to help them. And Mialanze knew from past experience that even the Temple was unreliable in this country.
Mialanze was half Cat-Beast Ketsee and half human. In human terms, she would be about 17 or 18 years old.
Her features, however, are quite human-like, with sharp nails that are harder than those of a normal person, amber eyes whose pupils fluctuate greatly depending on the light, and large triangular ears on top of her head.
If left unchecked, her entire body would be covered in the same glossy black hair as that on her head, but it was shaved frequently.
Mialanze, who lived with her parents in a forest in the south, had her parents killed by “poachers” and was then sold into Ciel-Terra.
Her master, Marquis Seebach, was very fond of Mialanze.
However, the way he was fond of Mialanze was twisted in a bizarre way, and he took pleasure in watching Mialanze suffer in agony.
Mialanze was treated as a servant of lower rank than any other servant in the house, and was told to take care of any errand as long as it did not involve death.
She would start early in the morning cleaning the fireplace, prepping meals, sweeping, washing clothes, carrying cargo, and cleaning the stables…
The amount of work was physically impossible to complete, and if she was late, she was berated for being a lazy slacker.
At the end of the day, the Marquis was so pleased to see Mialanze, battered and bruised, that he would even take her as a plaything.
Mialanze wore a conventional maid’s uniform and a rugged-looking, black, smeared, leather collar with a bell.
It was the “S*ave Collar”, a magic item that made her do whatever he said, regardless of her own will. Mialanze could not escape from this collar and could not refuse to obey various commands.
It was an expensive magic item, so it may be a sign of favoritism that Mialanze even had to wear such an item. Although it was 100% unnecessary love for Mialanze.
Incidentally, the bell had nothing to do with the function of the item, but was added afterwards at the suggestion of the Marquis so that those around Mialanze would know where she was.
Today’s work was a little different from usual. Preparations were being made to flee the capital in the wake of the invasion of the “Rose Princess of Hellrage”.
In front of the mansion, there were more than 10 horse-drawn carriages, including one that had been bought from a street market, and the servants were carrying the luggage to be loaded onto the carriages.
But even in this situation, in the end, what Mialanze did was much the same.
Carrying a pile of luggage three or four times the size of the others, Mialanze staggered along.
–O God. If You exist…
” Ah!”
Mialanze’s foot caught on “something” and she fell, hurling her stack of luggage away from her.
When she looked up, she saw a maid smiling sarcastically at her. She couldn’t see what was in front of her because of her luggage, but she had the feeling that her foot had been tripped. But Mialanze was not allowed to talk back.
“You lowlife! You scum! How dare you defile our precious master’s luggage!”
“Aah!”
Madame Brenke immediately jumped in and slapped Mialanze squarely on her bottom with a broom that was nearby.
An insidious laugh erupted from the surroundings.
… This was a show.
–Why did you create this world in such an ugly and painful way?
Her parents were killed and she was forced to live this terrible life with no time to grieve.
“Rose Princess of Hellrage” …
If she killed her master, the Marquis, would this kind of life end?
＊ ＊ ＊
“Daaaaa!!”
The final blow, the end of the accumulated damage.
A great sword swung with a force that seemed to crack the earth crushed the Skeleton Champion.
Cracked helmets, crumpled armor, dismembered bodies, and lightning magic swords blown away…
This was the end of the evil undead monster that had destroyed so many villages. It did not seem to rise again.
“… Phew!”
The young man who wielded the great sword, Zeft, wiped the sweat from his forehead.
He was only 22 years old and still lacked dignity, but he was still the strongest adventurer in Ciel-Terra.
He was the leader of the country’s most powerful party, the “Sub-Zero Crystal Spear”, a 6th class Elite adventurer.
“Good job. As expected of the leader of “Sub-Zero Crystal Spear”!”
The first to run up to Zeft was a girl in light armor.
…At least in appearance.
Sunset-colored eyes that twitched and moved a lot, and porcelain white skin. Long honey-colored hair that was tied up in a single bundle while on a request.
Armor made from the leather of a Worm, a minor dragon, was a common design for female adventurers, called “corset armor” or something similar. The body-fitting clothing was typical of a thief, but the skirt was even more striking. TheHer absolute body was radiant (the clothes were made to protect from the cold).
Tracy, a thief. Currently cooperating with “Sub-Zero Crystal Spear”, but not belonging to any particular party, a 6th class Elite adventurer who traveled from one party to another depending on the requests.
Despite Tracy’s endearing, girlish appearance, he was a man in his … mid-thirties.
His youthfulness and appearance, whose significance was not clear, led adventurers to whisper that he was “the first of the Seven Wonders of Ciel-Terra”.
“If it weren’t for Zeft, we probably wouldn’t have won.”
“Well, it was only because of Tracy’s help.”
The women in the party (a Priestess and a Fighter) exchanged blank glances as Tracy hoisted Zeft up.
“What’s wrong with the leader? He’s got his nose in the air.”
“I mean, Tracy’s a man.”
It was not that they were jealous or anything, but that they did not understand why Zeft, who was supposed to be a heterosexual man, was flirting with Tracy.
But Zeft’s fellow men, the Magician and the Tank, shook their heads.
” You don’t understand … he’s like another person to everyone. He’s like a character in a story.”
“It’s a man’s dream. A dream.”
“Eh… what’s that? Why are we talking like we don’t understand …?”
The men nodded to each other, leaving the women’s questions behind.
Tracy generally didn’t cause any human-relations problems, although he took on many parties, and he always seemed to enjoy himself and be a mood-maker. He knew what was going on, had a good sense of humor, and had a cute appearance. At the same time, he understood the distance between men and women in casual relationships, so it was no surprise that he became an idol of the adventurers.
“… Huh? Hey, hey, someone’s coming.”
“Enemy reinforcements?”
“I don’t think so…”
Tracy’s ears caught the sound of something.
Soon, the others could hear it, too.
Over a snow-covered hill, a guild official riding a Wendigo came at full speed.
“Greetings, “Sub-Zero Crystal Spear”! Please return to the capital immediately! The named monster “Rose Princess of Hellrage” has led approximately 4,000 undead monsters to attack the royal capital!”
“What!?”
“4,000!?”
“Are you kidding me!?”
Everyone’s face stiffened except Tracy’s at the unbelievable news.
“Damn it…! We’re going back as fast as we can!!”
Zeft was about to rush back to the base camp where he had left his horse and his luggage, but Tracy pulled him back.
“Huh? You’re going? Can we make it in time if we go full speed now?”
“Maybe… But! If we go back, even one more person might be saved, it’s not a waste! Let’s go, everyone!”
“”Yes!!”” “”Yes!!””
The others responded in a harmonious tone.
The group moved in a flurry of activity, and Tracy muttered something to himself.
“Oh, so you’ve moved after all, “Rose Princess of Hellrage”. I thought it would be around today if you were going to do it, so I kept away from the royal capital… Aaaaah. I wonder if this country where I was born and raised is at its end.”
A peculiar named designation. The mysterious activities of Iris. The “Dragon’s Throat” vanished. The missing Night Pythons. The duke who was a central figure in the royal faction. The Skeleton Champion’s route of travel…
Tracy had a network of contacts among adventurers all over the country, and various information would flow to him as needed. Flexibly combining this information, Tracy was able to formulate a theory that was close to the truth.
However, Tracy did not know that René had become stronger by eating someone’s soul, and he did not expect her to bring an army of 4,000 undead with her.
Although he had told the adventurers he knew that it might be better to stay out of the capital for a few days, he wondered how many of them had managed to escape.
“René-sama…
I heard she’s a beautiful girl, so I kind of want to meet her, but then I don’t think I’ll make it out alive. Stop thinking about weird things. I’ll leave secretly at a proper point.”
＊ ＊ ＊
A place far away from Ciel-Terra.
Dark clouds were swirling and the earth was dark even in the daytime.
From the perspective of the human race, it was built as a “vacant land that was not the territory of any nation” …, but in essence, it was a territory of the demon race that people could not enter.
It was commonly referred to as the Demon King’s Territory.
However, the Demon King’s Army had been losing ground for several decades, and the size of the area known as the Demon King’s Territory was already about half the size of the Kingdom of Noacurio.
On the other hand, the Demon King’s Army was able to defend itself well because of the number of high-ranking demons in such a small area, but there was no plan to go on the offensive and recover territory.
In such a demon territory, there was an old stone tower standing alone.
A wrinkled, ugly, boy-like demon with bat wings…, a High Imp, jumped into the window near the top floor of the building, which seemed to be decorated with numerous magical artifacts.
“Are you here?”
“Hey, hey, errand boy. You can come in.”
When the High Imp landed on the window sill and called out in human language, a woman’s voice answered from inside.
The room that the Imp entered was a room so littered with tools, machine parts, and catalysts that it seemed as if a dozen or so magic artifact technicians lived there.
Unintelligible metallic objects were placed here and there, sometimes piled up in the corners of the room. At first glance, it looked like a junkyard, but in fact, the magical artifacts randomly placed there were magic items that could buy a whole city. It was a treasure trove of items that would make anyone who saw it drool.
Rare materials for mixing potions were lined up on the shelves in the back of the room.
The owner of the room sat at a large desk lined with glass laboratory equipment.
A woman with suspiciously glossy amethyst-like eyes and suspiciously glossy dark purple hair. She was dressed in the traditional witch style of a black wide-brimmed mountain-tall hat and black clothing. Except for the amount of revealing.
She was tall and had flesh where it belonged. Dressed in clothes that were almost as tight as lingerie, she was like a young maiden, generously exposing her white, glistening skin.
She was dressed like a succubus, but she was a human being. If beings who have lived for hundreds of years without regard to their original lifespan could still be called human beings.
“Did you get that thing?”
She was writing on a piece of parchment with her lab equipment in the corner of her desk, and asked without looking up at all.
“Not yet. I’m having trouble procuring it… The workshop is urging me to finish the formula for the golem-mounted cannon within the next day or two.”
“I’m reminding you… Yes, yes. The day after tomorrow.
” I told you so.”
After saying all that, the High Imp flew away, and she, who was supposed to be writing impatiently, immediately threw away her quill and jumped onto the sofa.
She was just pretending to be busy.
“Nnghhhh, I have no use for a scampish demon army that can’t even provide me with a single beautiful boy to experiment on for s****l desire.”
With a flick of her finger, a bottle of wine and a glass flew into her hand from somewhere in the room.
She took a sip of the blood-colored wine that had been poured into the glass, the bottle tilting itself in mid-air, and snapped her fingers.
An image appeared in a giant crystal ball the size of a human being placed in front of the sofa.
The image, a bird’s-eye view of a perspective looking down from the sky, showed a castle and city surrounded by solid walls…
And it showed an army of the undead encamped outside of it.
“Now, now, the Great Spectacular War is about to begin. It’s a big game in which the army of the Evil God may take revenge on the human race for the first time in a long time. Let’s watch it carefully, shall we?
… Rose Princess. Are you good enough to command this great witch, Everis?”
(TLN: Character Designs + Illustration from the Side Story I will someday translate, maybe. Anyway Design 1: Everis, Mialanze, Tracy, Design 2: Hilbert, Oswald (Duke Keely) , Iris, Alastair, Diana, Catherine, René)
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