Master and Slaves

"Understood....... Now, let us eat dinner."

Freit spoke to me.

"Yeah. Cathy, leave the rest to you."

"Yes, Master."

I left Muriel to Cathy and walked to the dining hall with Freit.

Until we reached the dining hall, Freit walked in silence with a troubled face.

I found it hard to speak to the changed Freit and followed him in silence.

When we arrived at the dining hall, Helene was standing and waiting.

Noticing us, she bowed her head.

Freit raised his hand and sat down at the table. I also sat at the seat facing him.

Helene stood at the seat to my right.

"Please sit, Helene."

"It’s an intrusion."

Helene finally sat.

When everyone was seated, food was immediately served.

At first it was consommé soup.

In the mysteriously quiet dining hall, the sound of spoons hitting dishes echoed.

It felt heavy.

"Now, Helene. I received a message from Master. It seems they’ve started moving."

"!!!"

Helene showed surprise at Freit’s words.

And before our eyes, her face paled.

"You were prepared for that, weren’t you?"

"... Yes."

Helene nodded.

I had no idea what she was talking about.

Perhaps because she saw my puzzled expression, Freit asked Helene.

"I think it’s time to tell Hiroyuki-dono everything."

"Yes, I suppose. Freit-sama brought Hiroyuki-sama here for that, didn’t you?"

"Well, yeah."

Freit gave a wry smile at Helene’s words, then turned to me.

"That’s why I wanted to tell you the current situation, Hiroyuki-dono. So..., why did you come to the city of Lübeck?"

"To lift my curse. That was to report to Master Mateus. But from what I’ve heard so far, it’s probably not that...."

"Exactly. Everything was an excuse to keep Hiroyuki-dono far from the royal capital of Torres. Although your curse was unexpected."

Freit laughed with "haha."

"What was the reason?"

"Internal conflict in the military organization."

"......A coup?"

"Um, I’m not sure what a coup is...."

"Ah, sorry. But why did the internal conflict break out?"

"It’s because of Hiroyuki-dono."

"Me!?"

"Yes. The summoning was split between those who agreed and those who disagreed. The agreeing side was the king, Master, and the civil officials. The disagreeing side was the military officials. Baldo was also on the disagreeing side. However, after the summoning, the royal guard knights changed sides and agreed to have you killed."

I recalled familiar names.

But....

"Um, the people who wanted to spare my life were...."

"They didn’t exist at first."

"Mateus-sama...."

"Same. Master also said the summoned person should be killed."

"..."

"What’s wrong?"

Freit asked me.

"No... forcing me to come to this world and then killing me after I’m done...."

It wasn’t just someone else’s problem.

I had talked to Master about being brought to this world.

But I didn’t know I was supposed to be killed.

It seemed Master planned to kill me too.

"So... right. But in this world, it’s common. Use people, get used, and finish them when done. It really is common."

Freit spoke.

"But! But that’s...."

"Yes. It’s about you. So, will you just kill Tiria and Master Mateus and Helene over there out of rage?"

Helene was sitting beside me.

She didn’t speak and kept her head lowered.

"Or will you, unable to bear the sadness, lose your faith in everyone and take your own life?"

I lowered my head and looked at my palm.

It was like a lie, like I was in a dream, like a game world.

But I had decided to live here.

I had decided to live.

"At least, Master and Helene are still on your side now. You could use that. Like me."

Use... right.

Not trust, not credit.

Simply use and dispose when done.

That was this world.

That was....

"So... right. But that’s...."

"Do as you like. But remember this. More allies are better. Fewer enemies are better. Use your allies. Mine too. Master and Helene’s too."

I calmed down and thought.

Indeed, there were few allies in this world.

Master was an ally.

At least, for now.

I once tried to kill me, so I couldn’t simply trust or credit him.

"...So, it’s as Freit-san said. Haa. I understand. Let’s set that aside for now.... Ah~ Helene, continue from what we were talking about earlier."

"Understood. Then, after the summoning, the military officials were appeased and the plan was carried out. And we planned to have you die...."

Helene looked at me and sighed.

"At first, Baldo-sama developed a liking for Hiroyuki-sama, then the king, and finally Master. When the final one saw Tiria was attached to Hiroyuki-sama, the plan to have you killed was cancelled."

"Mateus-sama’s liking is a bit scary, but the fact that they developed liking for me is good."

"I see. And the biggest reason was King’s words. Thanks to King’s words, the civil officials on the scene agreed to protect Hiroyuki-sama."

As expected, the king had influence.

"However, the military officials who were originally opposed to the summoning and Fitzau-sama, who had broken his original promise, moved uneasily."

"To prevent that, the Torres king declared they were going to suppress the demon army, but this turned out to be a hollow excuse. They defeated the demon army that had lost its head, replenished their troops and supplies in their own territories. Then they gathered and rebelled against the capital."

Freit continued Helene’s explanation.

"If all the military officials rebelled, wouldn’t no one be guarding the capital?"

"The magic knight corps is under Master’s control. The royal guard is commanded by Baldo-sama. The soldiers are shaken, but Baldo-sama can handle it."

"But Baldo is...."

"Yes. Vice commander of the royal guard knights."

"That means...."

"Baldo-sama is trustworthy. More importantly, there aren’t enough soldiers."

"Then, I’ll have to help...."

"You can kill people? Will it help if you’re here? It’ll be easier without you. You might get in the way. And don’t waste Master’s goodwill like that!"

Helene raised her voice.

Tears were in her eyes.

Yeah.

Master was in the capital.

He was in a place he couldn’t protect.

Helene didn’t want to come with me either.

She had probably wanted to stay by Master’s side.

"...Right. Sorry."

"No, I’m the one who’s sorry."

Helene bowed her head to me.

"...But why tell me this now?"

"That’s... I thought you’d take it as gratitude from Master."

"That’s not right. Revealing a coup to outsiders is forbidden, right?"

"I’m sorry. I couldn’t say anything more than that...."

"Haa, I get it. So, when does Helene return?"

"As Master’s order, I stay here."

"I see. It’s really fine?"

Freit asked Helene.

"It’s Master’s command."

"It’s not about whether it’s Master’s command. It’s about whether Helene wants to stay like that."

"I can’t stay. I want to go back to Master right away."

"Then go. You can go with the resolve to be punished. Go back and protect Master."

...I couldn’t say anything.

I had been entrusted by Master.

I understood Master’s feelings.

I wanted him safe.

I would feel the same.

But I understood Helene’s feelings.

So I couldn’t say anything.

"..."

"I...."

"That’s not the case. Prepare horses. After dinner, use them to return. Leave Hiroyuki-dono to me."

"Freit-sama...."

"That’s the plan, Hiroyuki-dono. I want you to stay here for a while. Also, about the curse, I’ll send an escort. Go to the ruins tomorrow. But please return immediately. I don’t know what might happen."

"...Yes, understood."

I nodded at Freit’s words.

The dinner continued as usual.

The silent dinner where no one spoke unlike before.

Only the sound of dishes echoed in the wide dining hall.

......

"Thank you, Freit-sama."

"When you’ve calmed down, come report."

In front of the Freit residence.

A servant-like man was waiting with the horse.

He bowed his head to Freit in front of him.

We saw him off along with Freit and his slaves and me and my slaves.

"Hiroyuki-sama, I’m sorry I couldn’t guard you till the end...."

"No, more importantly, please tell Master Mateus I’m grateful. She saved my life. And tell Master I’m sorry."

"Apologize...?"

"Yeah, please."

"Haa, understood."

Helene tilted her head but nodded.

"Thank you."

"Eh? Ah, it’s fine. It’s Master’s order."

"Even so, thank you."

"Ahaha, um, me too, thank you. It was fun to be with Hiroyuki-sama."

"Ah, please rely on me again."

"Yes."

I asked for a handshake from Helene.

Helene also, with hesitation, returned the handshake.

"Everyone, you can’t cause trouble for Hiroyuki-sama."

""Yes!""

Cathy and Tiria answered energetically.

"Sophia, you too."

"Eh? Yeah, understood."

Sophia nodded with surprise.

"What’s wrong?"

"You called my name, so I was surprised."

"Oh, then as usual...."

"It’s fine. I allow you to call my name."

"Haa. Well, anyway, stay energetic."

"You too."

Helene and Sophia shook hands.

"Then, excuse me.... Ha!"

Helene mounted the horse gracefully and rode away.

Because it was through the city, she slowed her speed, but even at night it disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"She’s gone."

"Yeah."

Cathy stood beside me and hugged my left arm.

On the opposite side, Tiria leaned against me.

Both were crying.

"We’ll meet again."

""Yes.""

Helene had kept the reason for her return to the capital a secret from both of them.

Sophia didn’t know either.

As for Muriel, she was still sleeping, so she wouldn’t know Helene had left.

I would tell Muriel tomorrow, but I wouldn’t tell her the reason.

It was better that way, as I discussed with Helene over dinner.

Especially because it would cause Tiria trouble.

After solving that issue.

"Then, let’s go inside the house."

Freit told us.

I and my slaves followed Freit into the house.

"Then, we’ll return to our rooms."

"We’ll return to our rooms too."

"Tomorrow, at breakfast, I’ll talk to Hiroyuki-sama about the curse. There’s also Muriel."

"Yeah. Thank you for your consideration."

"No, no, we’ll talk tomorrow."

"Good night."

I left with Cathy, Tiria, and Sophia to the room where Muriel was sleeping.

"Now, everyone, since Muriel is sleeping, be quiet."

When I entered the room, I heard Muriel’s breathing faintly.

I leaned against the wall instead of sitting on the chair beside Muriel’s bed.

There was only one bed in this room.

Freit had said I could use the adjacent room, but I decided to sleep here.

Well, it was for Muriel’s care, but if I did that, my slaves said they wanted to sleep here too.

So all of us would sleep here.

Cathy and Tiria lay down beside me.

Sophia leaned her back against the wall facing me.

She looked a little envious for a moment, but no way....

"Then, good night."

"Good night, Master." "Good night." "Good night."

I spoke quietly, and Cathy, Tiria, Sophia answered with quiet voices too.

Was I tired today?

I immediately fell asleep.

......

The next day.

We all gathered for breakfast with Freit’s group.

"Can the slaves join too?"

"Yes, there are people I want to introduce to Hiroyuki-sama and your slaves, so."