Chapter 16 (1/2)

After a little bit of this, a little bit of that, I was rescued and returned to Leon’s estate. Having arrived earlier, Aira and Palmira were waiting for me, alongside the slaves who had probably been rescued with them.

When the two of them saw me, they ran up to me and pulled me into a hug.

“B–Big Sisteeeeeeer!”

“I’m glad you’re safe.”

Welcoming me back in their respective fas.h.i.+ons, they buried their faces against my chest and stomach.

Aira was clearly crying, and even Palmira had something of a quaver in her voice.

Well, it couldn’t be helped.

I gently stroked their heads.

Still, where were they found?

I looked around, but for the time being, there were only a few soldiers around. I didn’t catch sight of any familiar faces. Just when I was about to contact Irene telepathically, it occurred to me that she might be busy at the moment and stopped myself.

Sure, our part of the work was done.

But there was still the post-operation cleanup. And as far as I could tell, there weren’t many soldiers on duty here. Maybe they were right in the middle of wrapping up.

Now that Aira and Palmira had calmed down, I asked them, “So where’d you end up?”

“By the time we noticed, we were in a completely unfamiliar room…”

“Looking around, it was full of slaves.”

To summarize, it seemed they were teleported into a holding pen prepared ahead of time on the suspect s.h.i.+p.

I was surprised. I hadn’t expected the door to be a one-way trip straight into the holding pen. How should I put it, that operation really stressed efficiency.

Anyway, while they were panicking because I’d been left behind and they couldn’t reach me, they contacted Irene with their position. Apparently waiting in the area on standby, Rupert and the Second Platoon quickly stormed the s.h.i.+p. That was how they were rescued.

In other words, at least that part went according to plan. And then some. 1

I thought back calmly. If I hadn’t resisted so conspicuously back then, I might have been sent with them and saved myself some pain.

…What’s done is done. I decided not to dwell too much on it.

“Oh yeah, have you guys seen Leon? Leon — ”

The other slaves were clearly in a weaker state than us, their expressions half joyful, half anxious. Watching the soldiers and maids lead them into the mansion in groups, I suddenly remembered about Leon, and I turned to the other two.

My rescue from the mansion had been the work of Vyde and the First Platoon.

And that was all, so in the end, I didn’t see Leon either.

Now that I thought about it, it wasn’t just Leon, but Leopard and Regnum too. Contact with Irene had been voice-only; she wasn’t around either.

“I don’t see him around here.”

Palmira shook her head.

“But with all the commotion going on, he might have been here.”

Basically, she was saying she didn’t really know.

Just what exactly is that guy doing? Even though I thought he would protect me when push came to shove.

…Nah, well, what can you do, right?

“You three, please come inside too!”

Before I knew it, the transfer of the other slaves was basically finished.

A maid called to us from the other side.

For now, it was all over… A lot had happened.

“Well… I did my best. You guys too. With this, our work here is done.”

Bap. I settled my hands on their shoulders as I spoke.

The two looked relieved by my words, and they both gave me small nods.

“Okay then, shall we?”

I didn’t know how long I’d stay, but even though I hadn’t spent more than two days here, I felt that it was a place I could go home to.

And so, when I pa.s.sed through the foyer at the maid’s urging, the thought came to me. ‘I managed to come home safely.’ I felt it from the bottom of my heart.

–

–

Herded into the baths with the other slaves, I scrubbed myself clean again.

By the time I finished changing into the plain clothing provided by the mansion, the sun had already set. So, in the s.p.a.cious dining hall of a different barracks than before, I had my meal together with the slaves. It wasn’t as sumptuous as yesterday’s, but modest, like everyone else’s.

Nothing I could do about that.

Unlike us, the other slaves were in a weak enough state that maybe they couldn’t stomach richer food. Of course, the usual concern of money might’ve been the restricting factor here.

After all, the lavish spread we had was meant for guests. So considering our social position, rather than modest, this was a luxurious feast.

Given the lives we, too, had led until yesterday, it wasn’t as if I thought of this as a step down. So the meal, perfectly appetizing by normal standards, I finished without complaint.

After that, bedtime.

Because there was no s.p.a.ce, each person received one thin blanket, and then everyone huddled together in the barracks.

Unsurprisingly, it was nowhere near as comfortable as the bed I slept in yesterday, but even so, it was no problem at all.

There was something nostalgic about it. When I was an adventurer, I almost always slept like this. Actually, just having a roof was an improvement.

About that — I’d probably be leaving this place tomorrow, or possibly the day after, and get back to my life.

It would be a little lonely, but that was fine.

Rather, it was better this way; it meant leaving no attachments behind.

It’s just, I want to see Leon one more time so I can tell him all my grievances against him.

Well, I’ll be able to sooner or later. I haven’t collected my pay yet.

Not worrying about it too much, I covered myself with the blanket and slipped into darkness.

–

–

“…Alright, what the h.e.l.l.”

Waking up, that was the first thing out of my mouth.

I was lying in, you guessed it, the bed I’d been using until yesterday. I could see the usual canopy above me.

When my thoughts got that far, I sat up in the bed.

Then, I turned to look there.

“Good morning.”

“…Yeah, mornin’.”

As I should probably have expected, Leon was sitting in his usual seat as if his presence was totally normal. Looking a little tired, he greeted me brightly.

I gave him the proper greeting back. More or less.

Then, I sat cross-legged, turned to Leon, and began to interrogate him.

“…First of all, how about you kindly explain to me why I’m sleeping here?”

I wasn’t going to ask him the dumb question ‘Why are you here?’ anymore.