Chapter 8

Even as the old faces among the slaves are disappearing, the total number of slaves remains unchanged.

New ones keep coming in.

Last year, Jurelle, Mido, and Kukure left with tears in their eyes. The former slaves who thanked me profusely before leaving. I don’t understand why they thanked me so much, but I was more worried. After all, Jurelle and Mido were so weak. Could they really make it outside?

In their place, the farmers Pere and Tener, and the hunter Joshua came in, all of whom were so strong. Of course, they were all young men.

But having strength isn’t always a good thing.

“What the hell, you!”

“Shut up, you moron!”

Excess energy leads to fights.

Allen, who recently came in as an adventurer, often fights because he can’t adapt to the environment here. Today’s opponent is Joshua.

It’s not that this time is special; such fights happen quite often. Usually, Tataruk, the head slave, would mediate. It seems that former adventurers are often assigned to mediate.

But this time, because the adventurer often causes trouble...

“Hey.”

“Yes.”

I became the mediator.

It’s time to clean the stables and take care of the horses. The head slave takes the horses out to the pasture, and during this time, we clean the stables and change the straw. It’s supposed to be a busy time...

But the two who started fighting are making the horses move away, so I have to calm them down and bring them back here. The head slave, who was bundling the horses’ reins, signaled for me to go mediate.

They seem quite angry.

Not Allen and Joshua.

The head slave.

After all, it’s about the horses. If a horse gets injured, it could anger the master. That’s not something a slave should do. It could cost more than just a head. Are these two even sane?

Allen claims he was tricked into becoming a slave and often insists that this isn’t where he belongs. But since he has the slave mark, he knows he can’t do anything about it.

Joshua, on the other hand, seems to have a habit of teasing people, which doesn’t go well with Allen’s quick temper. I’d like to separate their roles, but the jobs in the stables, like cleaning and handling waste, tend to build up frustration, so they are rotated. If I skip their turn because they might fight, it would cause resentment among the other slaves.

I was included in the rotation just in case, but I didn’t expect them to actually start fighting near the horses.

Without hesitation, Allen swings his fist, and Joshua tries to lock his arm. What are you two going to do about your work from tomorrow?

This is troublesome.

“Hey.”

““What?!””

Taking advantage of the moment when their attention is diverted, I punch both of their faces about seven times. To avoid trouble later, I do it evenly.

Tataruk says that when a person’s brain is shaken, they can’t stand and might even faint, so I tried it. But it doesn’t work on monsters, so it’s only for human use.

Is Allen really an adventurer? He seems so different from Tataruk.

I lift the two unconscious bodies and carry them to the dining hall. I’ll also fetch some water while I’m at it. I tell a female slave who is peeling vegetables to roll them in there. After that, I fetch water for the dining hall and return to the stables to resume cleaning. The knight from earlier is gone.

Working alone is easier. Why do they assign so many people?

After finishing the physical labor, I head to the corner of the garden. Recently, this has been my free time, assigned as the lady’s break time. But the number of whips doesn’t decrease. Recently, she even said, “I want to try it too,” which made the master increase the number of whips I receive. I’m not involved in this, you know.

And, Lady, please don’t bring the whip with those expectant eyes. I’ll run. Whether I get hit or not, I’ll still get the whip later, so I’ll run.

It’s an honor I don’t deserve.

The lady has always loved chasing. Slaves can only cry and be happy each time.

The number of whips that time was terrible. The next morning, all the slaves looked at me curiously. They must have been surprised that I wasn’t beheaded.

Recently, I’ve been getting nervous in the corner of the garden. When I asked Sadome if this was love, he denied it with a grim expression. Then what is this? My stomach hurts when I see the lady.

Since the lady isn’t here yet, I’m reviewing the letters Jurelle taught me and the magical language Sansita taught me by writing them on the ground. I still can’t use magic. Indeed, there’s no benefit, Sansita.

After writing for a while, the bushes start to rustle.

It’s the lady.

She emerges from the tunnel in the bushes, which she can no longer crawl through, and stands up, breathing out.

“Good afternoon, servant.”

“Yes, Lady.”

I remove the leaves from her clothes. Today, she’s wearing a light blue dress with a white ribbon in her hair. She always wears her hair in the same style, with curls hanging down on both sides.

“It’s getting cold. If you don’t wear something thicker, you’ll catch a cold.”

“What? You sound like Kela.”

Indeed. If I caught a cold, I might lose my head.

Maybe not going out is also an option.

“Are you worried?”

“Yes, I am worried.”

What’s so funny? The lady giggles.

“Really, that worried?”

“My heart is about to tear.”

Oh, my neck, my neck, stay connected.

“Servant.”

“Yes, Lady.”

“I’m going to the capital next year.”

“Congratulations.”

“Is it? Is it a good thing?”

This conversation feels familiar. When was it?

“The capital is full of dangers. There are bandits on the road, and bad influences at school.”

That’s probably information from the master.

“My father is protesting to my mother about sending me to such a place. He’s worried. Are you worried about me, servant?”

“Of course, I am.”

Please, please, don’t let the lady change her mind...! Oh, a life without whips is so close, and yet, Master, you bastard.

“I’m so worried.”

“Right. Well, naturally. Then there’s no problem.”

What?

The lady grins. She’s always done this since she learned to do strange pranks, like whipping or attacking the slave quarters.

I start to sweat. After all, the number of whips always spikes when she shows this smile.

“I’ll take you with me to the capital. Be happy.”

“That’s impossible.”

The lady’s eyes narrow.