Chapter 76

"I made her cry..."

Watching the girl leave the room, I sat down on the bed. She was my savior and would likely become my master from now on.

Perhaps I pushed her a bit too hard. Her face had turned red and pale, and her eyes were moist. However, it seemed that she not only protected me but also listened to my wishes. She is a good girl, but if she thinks everything is fine, she is also foolish.

Does she understand... the reason we came to this world?

"Is it because you're bullying her?"

"What, you were awake?"

"Even though I was conscious, I couldn't get up... but I could move a little bit from the moment she entered the room..."

"So you were pretending to be asleep and eavesdropping. I think you're more twisted than I am."

His voice was hoarse and slower than usual. He didn't seem to be able to move his body yet, only turning his face towards me without trying to sit up.

"It seems we both managed to survive."

"Yeah... all thanks to her."

"Will I become her slave too?"

"Yeah... if you don't want to, I can cover your medical expenses. It would give me an excuse to stay by your side for a long time."

"You shouldn't bully someone you like... you're not a child who bullies the one they like, are you?"

We had met each other in this world. Although we had only known each other for about a month and a half, we had spent a rather intense time together.

When we first arrived in this world, we were confronted by a knight who pointed a sword at us, ordered us not to move, took away our weapons, and led us away. The person who received us was the third prince of the empire and a great general. There was also a man who looked similar to us and had apparently sold us out to the prince, leading to our capture.

They were waiting for us to appear and immediately restrained and led us to the empire. We were forced to train and serve the empire. We couldn't escape and were taken to a training ground. From then on, we spent our days training, with only two meals and some sleep each day. The reason for this was never clearly explained, but eventually, we were sent to level up outside.

Those who protested against the harsh conditions were killed in front of us, and we were told that we would come back to life, which was used to enforce a reign of terror. Some people broke down and were taken away, while others tried to escape and were killed. Over time, more people from other towns joined us, and the number of people increased. However, only a few of us, including me, understood what was happening. I could tell when people were lying, so I knew that the others were not telling the truth. Tiga, on the other hand, had overheard conversations between the third prince and his men, which helped him understand the situation.

Leus, noticing my discomfort with the false norms being imposed, came over, and Tiga, who had overheard the conversation, joined us. From then on, we trained together.

The third prince planned to use us to start a rebellion and overthrow the first prince, the crown prince, and the second prince, the prime minister. We didn't want to be involved, but we had no chance to escape. After a certain level of training and leveling up, we were assigned to specialized training based on our abilities. The third prince was particularly fond of my and Tiga's abilities. He promised to treat us well but intended to make us slaves. He tried to persuade us every day, sometimes using violence.

However, the situation took an unexpected turn.

"Why should we follow you?"

This was said by a usually absent-minded man. He had joined us from somewhere when the number of people had increased. He had black hair and purple eyes and was quite genuinely naive.

"What are you doing?"

"Yeah. I heard this leaf has healing properties. I want to give it to someone who is injured."

He would pick up healing leaves and distribute them to the injured, regardless of gender. He would often space out and forget meal times, so we would share our food with him. He was the kind of person who made you worry if you left him alone.

One day, this naive man suddenly stood up to a fellow townsman who was giving us orders.

"You just need to follow me!"

He slapped the man's cheek, which was the trigger. At that moment, the pent-up dissatisfaction of everyone present erupted. The naive man, surprised by being slapped, touched his cheek and tried to say something. But before he could, the man who had slapped him was killed by someone else. Honestly, I didn't understand what happened, but I saw red blood splatter.

Then, the knights present started to be killed one by one, and chaos spread. We couldn't understand what was happening. In the midst of madness, Leus, Tiga, and I remained calm. Well, there were a few others who were also calm, but more than 80% of the people were acting like madmen. When someone tried to calm them down, they were killed.

Leus, Tiga, and I, who had caused the chaos, pulled the still dazed man and fled the scene.

"Thank you... was it my fault?"

The man, who had a troubled smile, continued to act with us for a while but then said he was going east.

We offered to go with him, but he told us that the kingdom to the west had less discrimination and decided to go alone. Leus and Tiga have visible characteristics of other races, so we decided to go to the kingdom with less discrimination.

On the way to the kingdom, we faced a snake and were supposed to be its prey... but we survived by luck.

"...This is a difficult world. It's hard for us to live freely."

"That's because we chose special abilities."

The price we paid for not being able to trust others and trying to uncover things we didn't need to know. The ability to discern the truth, to see through hidden facts—〈Authenticity〉. There are many who would want this ability. That's why I liked the girl who didn't seek this ability.

"Is Leus okay?"

"Yeah. Actually, you can probably hear the voices of the people outside."

He chuckled in agreement but is a bit of a jerk. He pretended to be asleep to observe the girl and eavesdropped on the conversation between Leus and her outside.

Just as I can discern the truth of statements, he always eavesdrops on conversations and pretends to be a saint, hiding his true nature.

"Is she doing well?"

"He asked for our treatment... but it seems he didn't think it through. He came back to the nest without confirming anything."

"Haha... but thanks to that, we're still alive."

"Indeed. Well, you'll have to decide what to do from now on."

Whether to live as a slave with me or to go on the run with Leus.

Either way, we will part ways. But it's too late for that. We left behind dozens, maybe hundreds, of our fellow captives in the empire. In the end, to save Leus, Tiga and I accepted death again. We survived by luck, but we are also tired.

"Have you told her about the empire?"

"No. I thought it would be better to hear your opinion first."

"We can't keep it from her, but... what should we do about him?"

"True. But explaining him without actually meeting him might make him seem dangerous."

"True... do you think she will understand our story?"

"Well... she's sweet and listens to others, so I think she will."

Even though we don't fully understand what happened... the trigger was the naive black-haired man whose thoughts we couldn't read. He might have done something we didn't understand, but we can't definitively say he was a bad person.

"We need to talk to Leus. It seems he's being harsh with her."

"Damn... I just made my decision... I prefer a slower, more peaceful life."

"You're still young and adventurous, right? We have young bodies, so it's good to be active."

"Then, I'll leave him to you. I'll take it easy with a cute girl."

"That's a problem... I've already made my decision. So, let's work together from now on?"

In the end, since we won't hand over our abilities to the country, being a slave is the only option.

Besides, being used by a cute girl is better than being used by a man.

"Alright, Crow. Can you call Leus?"

"Sure thing..."

Leaving the room and announcing that I had woken up, Leus ran over happily.

"Sorry for interrupting."

"It's fine. Since you're awake, it's more important. Take your time. We'll talk again tomorrow, since today will be busy."

"Do you have something to do?"

"Delivering potions to the adventurer's guild. I need to do yesterday's work today."

"Do you need help?"

"No, I'll call you if I need you."

The girl talked to the priest for a bit and then left. Well... we need to move to an inn and discuss our future.