Kuro no Senki (LN)

There is a saying that when you're young, you can buy the hardships.

Hardship as a young man is a word that means building oneself up and leading to growth.

Rona wants to differ on this word.

I know hard work builds me up, but I think the 'buy it, but' part is different.

In Rona's experience, hard work comes at will.

I even have the nasty nature of being more powerful and coming back, even if I do it well.

Even more troublesome, hardship is also an unintentional masterpiece.

It strikes me like a cleverly hidden trap, or like a passageway, without any context.

No, don't you call the struggle you asked for from yourself before that a struggle?

If you started it yourself, you can stop it.

You call it hard because you don't have the option to stop it.

I guess the first person Rona said to me, 'Buy me the hard work you had when you were young' was a blessed person.

Otherwise you shouldn't be making money that would recommend struggle to others.

Because excessive hardship and misfortune distort humanity.

It would be better if humanity just distorted.

There is also the possibility of crushing death without withstanding heavy pressure.

I feel the pain. Will I die soon or will I be twitched and crushed...... Rona wants to pick the former, but apparently the latter is likely.

Dad, and Rona put their strength into their knee-holding arms.

I don't like it and hold my knees.

Just a little bit of reaching ahead is an iron lattice, and when you raise your head, there is a ceiling where you can touch it or not, so you just have to hold your knees.

Rona was trapped in a narrow cage.

Someone passes right in front of you.

I can see her figure seeping through the badly eyed Rona, but I could tell enough that she was wrapping her body in a cloth she couldn't even call her clothes.

No, I should say I could have imagined.

Because Rona is wearing a cloth that can't even be called clothes again, just like her.

As she is, Rona is a slave.

Three weeks ago he was a mercenary in a group of free city states, but now he was a slave.

With her knees in her arms, Rona thinks of her father.

Rona's father was a knight.

At least when the group of free city states were part of the Kepheus Empire.

My father betrayed the Empire in exchange for gold.

I think it's a serious act in knights, but at the same time I can't blame my father all the same given that a large number of knights have betrayed the Kepheus Empire.

My father betrayed the Empire successfully.

If my father made a mistake, he would have misjudged his talent.

I suppose my father believed he could capture more success than a crowd without a knight's title, but that seemed to be only a conjecture in view of the fact that in a few years he had exhausted the price of betraying the Empire.

Reflect if normal.

My father also reflected.

Reflecting and working seriously, I made the same mistake after a while.

Even then, in an attempt to hit a mountain, my father repeatedly started a business and failed, or was tricked into taking money.

Because she grew up in such an environment, Lorna started helping her neighbor's store to help her household by the time she got to her heart's content.

I sewed between them and learned to read and write from my mother, and taught swordsmanship from my father.

Most of all, my father just wanted to clear his worries with his swordsmanship archery.

At the age of fifteen, Rona began working as a mercenary.

Not because I was confident in my arms, but because I couldn't find a proper place to work.

There was no way for a legitimate proprietor to hire a person with a squanderer in her body, and Rona was so young that she didn't know that.

When five years had passed since she became a mercenary, Rona became known in the name of 'Picking Up Scraps'.

It means you're working like a piece of junk that a runaway mercenary would do.

Lorna didn't care for such ridicule.

Lorna's purpose was to make enough money for the three of us to live discreetly, and in fact, that's all we made.

But life didn't get any easier.

Instead of getting easier, my father's wasteful habits took a beating.

I had countless fights with my father about it.

I tasted the misery of arguing about gold only the same number of fights.

After the fight, it was my father who broke it first.

I had no choice but to forgive my father, who, after all, repeated his mistakes.

My lover couldn't.

Someone favored me, but when I found out about my father, I left Rona's.

The most glorious period of my life passed that way, and by the time I was thirty, my mother had died, so much less, that my father had also died.

There were no tears.

Lorna took the first step in her new life in a lucid mood that she would never be bothered by her father again... and fell into slavery because of the debt he left behind.

When the bid was won, Rona was moved to another room.

It's a pretty big room, with slave traders and their men.

Are you happy that you sold at an unexpectedly high price, the slave trader and his men said nothing.

After a while, the sound of the door opening sounded.

Rona raised her face reflexively, but her vision remained blurred due to the lack of glasses.

"... you kept me waiting"

No, there's no annihilation.

Slaver responds with a disgusting cat stroke.

I thought I bought Rona and the man handed the gold to the slave trader and signed the contract.

"... though I'm narrowing my eyes"

"Oh, I have bad eyes. I'll give you my glasses for a piece of gold, if you don't mind?

Ha, and the man sighed like a fright.

"Anyway, it belongs to this guy, right?

"It's mine now."

"I don't have a choice."

As soon as the man received the glasses from the slave trader, he let Rona grip the glasses.

When you wear glasses, your vision brightens.

The world that was seeping regained its contour, and Rona stared at the man who bought herself.

Is the man about thirty years old?

He's wearing clothes that resemble military uniforms, and even from the top of his clothes, I can tell that the man's body is being forged.

Your face is quite neat.

I also get the crude impression, but the thin, ragged laughter floating in my mouth was giving the man a mild impression.

"I'm Kane. Well, what, I'll be your boss. And then your position... ah, does that mean equipment?

Rona became dazzled by the word equipment.

Handle things.

Does that mean being offended in place of a man as an equipment?

"Don't you dare, keep this on. They're waiting for the carriage outside."

"Yes."

Kane took off his jacket and handed it to Rona.

The jacket was plain to look at, but well sewn.

"Follow me."

"... Yes"

Kane walked out as Rona wore her jacket.

I was trapped in a cage, so every time I stepped out of it, my body hurt like it was stirring.

Outside the building, the light of day irritated the back of the eyeball so painfully.

Will she be able to escape, Lorna glanced around and gave up immediately.

I don't know where I am right now.

I don't even know how much power Kane has.

There's no way you can get away with not knowing everything.

"That's mine... anyway, it's a carriage"

……

A fine boxcarriage stopped a short distance away.

I'm glad I didn't have to run, Rona exhaled in relief.

Kane must have a high status because he possesses so many boxcarriages.

You should be in a position to move at least many people.

"I'll have my boss see you after this. My boss says Chrono, Lord of the Marquis of Elakis and the Count of Cado next door... well, he's a good guy"

As Kane urged, Rona got in the carriage.

It was my first experience riding such a fancy carriage, so I felt a little more uplifted, but I was distracted remembering that I was a slave.

Perhaps I will be paid down by his men after being held by a man named Chrono.

Wouldn't she be able to get in somehow, Rona thought desperately as the carriage rocked her.

Where the carriage was intended...... After arriving at the Marquis residence, Rona was led to Kane and passed to the office on the top floor.

"... I'm coming in"

Kane opens the door.

Beyond that was around twenty, maybe under twenty.

That's how young he was, a brunette young man.

The face that leaves behind her childhood is in the cute range from Rona's point of view.

But it would be premature to make it cute.

The young man's right eye...... I have a wound that I think depends on the blade from forehead to cheek.

Maybe the youth have experience of standing on the battlefield.

If you look, the young man's finger holding the feather pen stood in verse to tell the story of his familiarity with swordsmanship.

"I bought it. His name is Rona, a former mercenary of the Free City Nation."

"Kane, let him get dressed."

I'm making a report, so I guess the brunette youth is Chrono.

Kane's tone is familiar for his boss.

Maybe Kane and Chrono are half-brothers.

Is Kane, for example, a concubine child who has no right to succeed the housekeeper?

I thought the report came first.

"I'm not complaining if I'm a little late."

Rona was in a hurry for Chrono's attitude, which was too calm.

Slave of a woman yourself...... I don't see her starving while letting her go buy a sex slave.

Lorna has no male experience, but she has one that goes so far as to get close.

A creature called a man is a beast to judge comprehensively from the slightest experience and the knowledge he has eavesdropped.

He's a creature who talks about love and makes his nose rough.

No, if you think about it carefully, Chrono is a nobleman who rules two territories.

You can choose any woman you want.

The fact that he buys sex slaves like that is special...... can't it be considered due to hounding preferences?

Purposefully buying an ex-mercenary may also be the result of being judged hard to break.

Dazed and unpleasant sweat erupts.

"Oh, you don't look well, do you?

"The results of the medical examination should be good."

Chrono pointed out that Kane apparently was given parchment by a slave trader...... stared at the results of the diagnosis by the doctor.

"Maybe I'm tired."

"I was hoping you'd say hi."

Kane and Chrono stared at her, and Lorna clapped her neck.

Greeting must be a hidden word that means letting them play.

"I think it's important to say hello."

"Right. We're going to have a long relationship, so I need you to take care of your body."

We've known each other for a long time...... Kane and Chrono don't seem to be going to throw Rona away easily, but it's also horrible to think about what they're going to do.

"Get some rest today"

Chrono's voice was gentle, but the kindness was horrible to Rona.

The room, guided by a maid named Alyssa, was more splendid than Rona's house, which was in the group of free city states.

Now that it's a servant's room, I'm reminded how I lived in poverty.

"If you need anything, I'll take it with you?

"No, I don't"

Lorna clapped her neck.

Alyssa is Chrono's maid.

Ask him about the detours and he'll be reported.

But I can't even be prepared if I don't ask anything here.

"Master Chrono, what is he like?

"... he's a fine man"

There was some time before Alyssa answered.

I guess there is something about the fact that there was a time before I could answer.

"What's wrong with women?

"I don't think they have..."

Alyssa clouded her words so hard to say.

Is it that I am not dissatisfied but not satisfied?

"What happens to me?

"I don't know what Mr. Krono thinks, but after all the education, I was wondering if he would be transferred."

Education… will it make you understand your position?

Is the destination underground or, livestock huts?

No, there is also a line called torture in the dungeon if Chrono is the owner of a hunting preference that has gone off track.

"Take your rest today"

"... Yes"

In the end, Rona fell preoccupied with one thing.

The moment the door opened, Rona woke up reflexively.

You surprised me, Alyssa was stiff with the door open, but walked out like nothing had happened and stood by the bed.

"Good morning. Are you back in shape?

"... a little, my stomach"

Rona leaned forward and moaned.

My back feels heavy from my shoulders, but nothing else.

In short, it was a pseudo-morbidity.

But when I put it in my mouth, I felt somewhat sick in my stomach.

"If you don't seem well, I'll call a doctor?

"Yes, no, not enough for you to do that"

body up, Lorna hastily denied it.

"Really? It's an important body, so don't push it."

"... Yes"

For forty-one pieces of gold, I felt like Lorna had heard Alyssa if she didn't enjoy Master Krono.

"If there is no problem...... after bathing in the water, Mr. Krono will explain Rona's work"

"Since morning?

"Don't worry, we'll have meal time"

Oh, I can't feel any relief, Rona said, getting out of bed in a depressing mood.

Bathing... literally, bathing in water.

Naturally, in order to bathe in the water, the water must be carried and the water boiled.

If it were to be soaked in a tub, it would require more effort than bathing in water.

Only the wealthy, even in the group of free urban states, could devote so much effort to removing dirt.

In the case of Rona, a poor man, he was limited to drawing water from nearby wells and washing his body, or occasionally, using public baths.

So bathing in the bathroom set up in the noble hall was Rona's first experience, as was using perfumed soap.

Scary, Rona stood up in front of the office smelling of perfume.

This is all the luxury I've ever had.

What will they do after this?

I was scared and scared.

Looking to the side, Alyssa waited with her spine stretched out for Rona to open the door.

Oh, excuse me.

It really hurts my stomach.

Could you just give me a little more time to rest in my room? Oh, can't you?

Right, and Rona plays alone in her heart.

When I never opened the door to my will, Chrono sat on his chair and Kane was leaning against his desk.

Rona stands in the center of the office.

"You look great."

"Right."

"... Huh!

Lorna snapped her neck and turned away.

It's not the clothes given to slave traders that are wrapping Rona's body, it's skirts about the length of her knees and an undecorated jacket.

Finally, my underwear isn't decorative either.

"... Rona, about what you do"

The first person to open his mouth was Chrono.

"Wow, I can handle a sword! Rank was not high in the group of free city states, but they were mercenaries!

"Rank?"

"You're like a mercenary character. The guild reviews and rates the number of times you've done your job, the success rate of your job, etc."

When Chrono looked up, Kane briefly explained.

Apparently, Kane has a certain knowledge of the mercenary guild system.

"I don't know how you feel, but that's not what I bought you to do, is it?"

Chrono kept his weight on his back and had a bitter laugh.

Rona scolds herself for being likely to be captured by despair.

He listened to me.

It may survive if it shows a more beneficial use than crushing it.

But Rona couldn't pronounce herself.

There is minimal upbringing.

I had chosen a safe job, but I am also used to rough things up.

But I don't know what to appeal to.

"I'll do anything."

"You're full of motivation."

Yeah, yeah, and Chrono nodded satisfactorily.

"At least be gentle"

"Whether you feel kind or tough can be a personal difference. Honestly, I don't know how much work I'm going to do."

I don't know how many people to deal with.

That alone is tough for Rona.

It is also hard not to have criteria for judgment.

"I thought ex-mercenaries would be fine."

"No, I've never done anything like this before... you know, I don't know if you can believe it, but I have no male experience"

"No, no, because we don't need male experience"

Oh, and Rona dropped out of despair.

"... hey, Master Chrono"

"What?"

When Chrono asked, Kane was leaning his neck suspiciously.

"From now on, am I the only one who doesn't feel that the conversation is subtly engaged?

"If you ask me... especially the last part isn't meshing."

Kane and Chrono looked at each other and stared at Rona.

Stared at by the two of them, Rona screamed small.

"Question is, Rona... what do you think you can make me do?

"... a man's opponent"

Ahhh, and Chrono dropped, and Kane looked up to heaven as bewildered.

"Kane, did you explain?

"I didn't. I guess I was trying to explain it here."

"Yes, but"

Chrono coughed up at first sight and corrected his residence.

"Lorna, what I want you to do is do clerical work."

"Is that some kind of hidden language?

"Yes, actually... because there's no way!

Rona snapped her neck at Chrono's scream.

"... Master Kane said I was equipped"

"Kane?"

"I couldn't find any other appropriate expression. You're positioning slaves in the property of their owners."

When Chrono glanced, Kane made an excuse.

"No, well, I don't want to deal with things, but there's the laws of the empire, the slave traders... there's all kinds of things, all kinds of things"

Goño Goño and Chrono also had excuses.

"And anyway, Rona's job is administrative. I'll pay you well, and if Rona wants to buy herself back, I'll take care of it. Then sign the employment contract…"

Chrono took a bunch of paper out of the drawer...... the contract.

I don't know, and Rona carried the bread to her mouth in the corner of the dining room.

I'm glad I didn't have to be a sex slave, and I got a legitimate job, so I feel like I might feel a little easier, but I feel like ~ something.

I know why.

Rona longed for a legitimate job, but that was before she became a mercenary.

He spent nearly fifteen years as a mercenary and gave up getting a decent job.

So confusion and anxiety are greater than joy.

Ha, and Rona sighed.

Forty-one pieces of gold… it takes three years and five months to repay even if you repay one piece of gold a month.

I had given up my marriage.

No, I was a little hoping someone would marry me even if I was older like myself if I didn't have anything to do with my father, but I don't think any man would mind telling me I was a slave.

Tilting their gaze, the elves were having breakfast.

No, there is one elf with an eyelid, and the two who remain are human.

Even for that person, he is younger than Rona.

At that age, Rona sighed.

If you were ten years younger, you could have found salvation in your present situation.

Oh, I hate youthfulness, and Rona carried the soup into her mouth.

"... Rona, would you mind?

Rona finished her meal, and after a while, she was reluctantly called out.

When I looked up, a little fat middle-aged man stood across the table.

Is the age a little over forty?

Mixed hair with gray hair is thin in density and has many visible areas of the scalp.

His face is fat, but he looks good... no, he looks weak.

"My name is Sitter. I am in charge of affairs in the territory of Mr. Krono."

"Thank you."

The sitter had a low back for the head of the affairs.

"Mr. Rona will serve in Count Cado's territory, which means that until then, he will be working as an apprentice, with the intention of Mr. Krono to grasp the whole picture."

"Oh, yes, I get it"

Rona stood up hiding her anxiety.

That night, Rona fell into bed when she returned to her room.

I thought it might help a little until I moved to work, but my first day made me feel bad about my lack of self.

Wrong place to carry the documents, stood up in front of the merchant who came to apply for the documents, it was already scattered.

"... when I became a mercenary"

No, it was worse than it is now.

Back then, Lorna had an unfounded confidence that she could be refreshed and active, and was struck by the gap between image and reality, as she is now.

"Let's not get depressed"

Rona sat in bed and stared at a bunch of paper.

What's written on the paper is a precaution in doing your job.

Relying on its content and memory, Rona imagines an overall picture of her work.

I didn't wish you would have explained it to me first, but I guess it's a state of hand exploration there.

Rona grinned when she had the chance to complain.