Chapter 93 (1/2)

Early morning of the following day.

We all gathered in front of the house with our luggage.

Our week of living together is over, so everyone will be going home.

Since returning to my hometown, I've been thinking.

Should I stay in town or go out again?

And if so, what will I do?

...Thanks in part to Marianne and the other girls, I have been able to recover, at least a little.

However, the hole in the chest has not yet closed.

Perhaps I have not yet been able to organize my feelings.

I was betrayed, then I learned the truth and I took action against my tormentors. That sequence of events was too big for me, I still don't know what to make of everything that has happened.

So I've decided to go on a trip... One more time.

I think it will be the best thing to heal this broken heart of mine.

Nei and Soara came to say goodbye.

”Come home soon, I'll cry if you don't.”

”I don't plan to be gone for very long.”

”Toru, don't think you have the freedom to go to distant lands again, you have to come back. You now have many responsibilities to answer to.”

”Uh... Responsibilities?”

What kind of responsibilities are those?

Sometimes Soara says things that are difficult to understand.

Kaede and the others said goodbye to Nei and Soara, while promising to meet again.

The girls seemed to have gotten to know each other better over the past week.

”Frau, if you will.”

”Leave it to me!”

Frau spins in a circle just above us and sprinkles us with her fairy dust.

My body began to float.

We should be able to get to Pione's house by the end of the day.

Or more realistically, in the middle of the night.

With me in the lead, all the girls soared high in the sky.

They all arrived safely at their homes. Now we can continue our journey.

Our destination is the country of Lastoria.

It is a large country with smaller countries like Northstar under its umbrella.

It is also a sea-facing nation, and is the only one of the surrounding countries that has the technology to build ships.

Furthermore, there are many tourist attractions and you can enjoy the marine cuisine that can only be found here.

By the way, I have already made a master-servant contract with Kaede and Frau.

It turns out that there was a slave trader in the town where we stopped.

”I can't believe I'm back to being Master's slave. I feel like I've regained something important.”

”You're overreacting. When you sign a contract, you can't resist me. Are you sure this was a good idea?”

”That's what I want. I want my master to control me, I want to be under his mercy.”

”You know Kaede, sometimes you say things that are very hard to hear.”

”Really?”

Kaede looks at me with a pouty face.

I don't think it's normal to want to be dominated.

But she is Kaede, after all.

This kind of statement is pretty normal for her.

We are currently going through the forest.

If we follow the road, we will be able to enter Lastoria in no time.

”How far do we plan to go with this trip - is there a goal or something?”

”Kyui.”

Says Frau while riding on Panda.

Honestly, I have no answers to that question.

I simply decided that I wanted to travel.

An objective... Hmm...

Kaede tugged at my clothes.

”Um, Master, there's a place I want to visit, can we?”

”A place you want to visit? Isn't it your first time here?”

”It's my second time, to be exact. In fact, I used to live around here before I became a slave.”

“...??”

What a strange way of putting it.

If you've lived in Lastoria, you can't say it like you've visited.

You lived here once and then you suddenly didn't? Is that what you're trying to say?

”Let's go there.”

Kaede pointed to a cliff in the distance.

It is too small to be called a mountain, and too big to be called a rock, it is a huge rock like a tower created by nature.

I wonder what's in there.

”What are you doing? It's not that way!”

”Kaede wants to visit a place.”

”Eeeh…? I wanted to eat candy in the city.”

”Kyu～”