Master and Slaves

I headed back the way I had come to return to the inn first.

"Ah, Master!"

Cathy came running from ahead.

Muriel and the others were walking behind her.

We had just reached the inn I had taken.

"Ooh. How was it? Did you find any clues?"

"Well... even though we asked alone, everyone made suspicious faces... It seems Ilma is the target...."

...I see.

I was hiding Ilma under my cloak, but because Ilma had no legs below the knee, she looked unnaturally short even when carried by Muriel.

Ilma lowered her head guiltily.

"No, it’s not Ilma’s fault."

I stroked Ilma’s head to cheer her up.

"Then there was absolutely no clue...."

"No, there was something. But...."

Muriel looked troubled.

"What is it?"

"There was someone who knew you, but they didn’t know where Helma lives."

Cathy answered instead of Muriel.

The girl at the inn had been the same.

"She was playing at the square. It seems she only comes when the weather is good... She’ll go to the square tomorrow, so I thought I’d check then."

Muriel continued.

"I see. Then maybe I have a clue?"

"What do you mean, Master?"

Muriel asked.

"Well, I met a girl at the square who said she saw Helma. She told me she would take me to Helma’s mother if I brought Helma’s mother. She said to come to the back of the stage."

"Is that true?"

Cathy looked at me doubtfully.

"Hm? Are you saying you don’t believe me?"

I teased Cathy a little.

"N-no, not at all! It’s not that... um... I wonder if that girl was telling the truth... aah."

Cathy desperately tried to explain while flustered.

"Hehe, I was just joking. Yeah, it’s worth checking out. She said she does acrobatics outside the town."

"Ah, I know. Everyone was talking about it."

"It seems it’s the final performance today. So we probably can’t go today."

Muriel added to Cathy’s explanation.

Ah, right. I had forgotten that.

"I was going to bring Muriel with me today. I thought I’d also watch the acrobatics on the way."

"Understood."

"Um, um, can we all go with you?"

Cathy asked me with a tearful face.

Tiria and Ilma were also teary-eyed.

"Ah, no, everyone is going. Yeah."

I had planned to go with all of them from the beginning, but somehow I felt hesitant.

"We did it!"

Cathy hugged Tiria happily.

Tiria looked just as happy as Cathy.

"Then let’s go."

"Wait a moment."

"Um, excuse me, but it seems the show starts about half an hour from now."

"Half an hour...."

"Ah, um, one hour...."

Cathy looked at her wristwatch.

Ah, right.

Cathy had a watch on her wrist.

So she hadn’t been robbed.

Well, it looked like a plain watch anyway.

"I see. Then...."

Ah, I remembered.

I had been given food by the innkeeper’s wife.

"Let’s eat first."

""""Yes!""""

Muriel and the others answered cheerfully.

We entered the inn in front of us.

...

"Ugh, it looks like I ate too much~."

Cathy covered her mouth with her hand and muttered with teary eyes.

The moment we entered the inn, we were caught by the landlady.

And she served us a mountain of food.

We had to finish it all together: me, Muriel, and Cathy.

"I ate too much too... Muriel, are you okay?"

I asked the Muriel walking beside me.

"Yes. If I eat too much, I won’t be able to maintain the body befitting a Master’s Dule."

So Muriel hadn’t eaten much.

"..."

Cathy glared at Muriel.

"Is that to say that Muriel-sama ate because Master worked hard to eat for her?"

"!! ...I’m sorry, Master. I will accept any punishment..."

"No, it’s fine, it’s fine. Muriel! Stop kneeling in the middle of the road!"

I hurriedly stopped Muriel from kneeling on the street.

"S-so, what about Tiria?"

"Um, yes. She ate a lot."

Tiria smiled brightly.

At the inn, Tiria had eaten like usual on the floor without using her hands.

Since we had carefully chosen the room, no one had seen Tiria eating, but...

Or rather, there were almost no people around, which is more accurate.

It was dinner time, yet the inn wasn’t busy.

And Ilma...?

"Was it really okay?"

"Yes. I can’t even taste food."

Ilma hadn’t eaten anything.

Te-Dules apparently don’t eat.

Ilma had been leaning against the wall beside Tiria the whole time, watching us finish our meal.

According to Muriel, unlike other Dules, Te-Dules are... things.

They don’t eat or defecate.

They can breathe without discomfort.

Ilma breathes because she had been "living" until now.

By the way, other Dules can live without eating or breathing, but they get hungry without food and suffer without breathing.

They also gain some weight or change their body shape; eating too much makes them a little chubbier.

"If you want anything, tell me."

"Um, Master’s...."

"Ilma, don’t be spoiled."

The moment Ilma tried to speak, Muriel quickly stopped her.

Heh, she’s a good mother.

"Well then, it’s almost time... ah...?"

Right after leaving the town, there was a tent.

It wasn’t for a few people; it looked like it could hold hundreds.

This was exactly like...!!

I see.

Acrobatics... meant circus?

I had thought it was something like juggling, fire-breathing, or riding a unicycle.

I hadn’t expected such a large-scale thing, so I was surprised.

"Uwaa, it’s big."

Cathy let out a sigh of amazement.

"Yeah."

I nodded at Cathy’s words, but if it was a circus, it wasn’t that much bigger than in my previous world.

Well, the scale was just too different.

We paid the entrance fee to a staff member who looked like a circus worker and went inside.

The ticket was one copper coin... about 1,000 yen.

Inside was like a tiny version of a circus tent.

The front half was the seating area with about ten wooden benches for five people each.

The back half was the stage, with two large pillars on either side.

The audience was sparse; only we were there.

"Master, please look this way!"

I was pulled by Cathy and sat on the frontmost bench.

Cathy sat on my right, grabbing my arm.

Muriel sat on my left, holding Ilma.

Tiria was sitting on the floor at my feet.

"Uwa, I’m so excited~."

Cathy rested her head on my shoulder and squeezed my arm tightly.

This felt exactly like a date between lovers.

Tiria’s gaze from below was painful.

Muriel was...?

"Muriel?"

"...Ah, yes. What is it?"

Muriel had been looking down the whole time.

She looked up at my voice.

"...Are you worried about Helma?"

"That’s... actually, I’m not very worried."

"Hm? Why?"

"When I was looking for Helma, I heard a lot of stories... She seems to have many friends. Everyone who talked about her said she’s a bright and kind girl. After playing at the square, an elderly woman always comes to pick her up and she goes home happily..."

"I see... then what now? Should we just go back?"

When I suggested that, Muriel was surprised and then looked gloomy.

"!! That’s... I..."

Muriel’s eyes swam and she stayed silent.

I said nothing and waited for Muriel’s words.

"...As a Dule, I want to welcome Helma as Master’s Dule too. I wanted to as a mother. Until now... But..."

"Does Helma’s happy life make you hesitate?"

"...Yes."

Muriel slowly nodded.

"But Dules can’t live as humans. Especially if it’s a Te-Dule like Ilma-chan..."

From the side, Cathy said to Muriel.

"That’s... yes."

"Anyway, let’s ask where she lives. Muriel, you want to see Helma’s face, right?"

"...Yes."

I took Muriel’s hand.

I could feel it trembling slightly.

It was the conflict between Muriel as a mother and Muriel as a Dule.