Master and Slaves

"Hey, Ito. What is Tenshou Shin-sama?"

Words Ito had said toward me when she regained consciousness.

There had been a -sama on the end, so was it someone important?

Did I resemble that person?

Thinking that, Ito said something outrageous.

"It is the name of the greatest god of my homeland. The god of the sun... ah! That time. I called Hiroyuki that..."

"You remember?"

From the time she woke she had looked deranged at once, so I had thought she had no memory.

"Yes. I am sorry about that time. The face resembled the face of the statue of the Tenshou god enshrined at the shrine of my homeland... But even a statue, no one has ever seen the god’s face. And the form is different too..."

"The form is different? I think I heard gods made people in their own likeness... wait. Was that it?"

I said that much and noticed.

I had no memory of being taught such a thing.

"Yes. People are said to be creatures modeled on a part of the Tenshou god. The form of the Tenshou god, in the telling, is ’the honored face has four faces. The right shows dawn, the front the sun at its height, the left dusk. There is a face behind as well, but it does not appear, hidden in the hair of night. The hands are six pairs, twelve, and each governs an hour. On the back are eight pairs of wings, sixteen, and each receives wind coming from a different direction. At the waist is a lion’s torso, and from that three pairs, six feet. Each points to a time. Behind, a deer’s feet that run as if leaping show the past. In the middle, thick elephant feet that support firmly show the present. In front, human feet that show possibility show the future,’ it is said. I cannot read letters, so I heard it from someone who read it..."

Ito said it flowing on and on, and at the end scratched her head and smiled wryly.

From Ito’s explanation, it was a form more like a monster than a god.

But...

"You mean I resemble one of those four faces?"

"Ah, no, four... or rather, the face behind cannot be seen, so the three faces are the same, and you resemble that face. Ah, come to think of it, I have heard the human part of that statue was made to resemble a hero the Tenshou god once descended upon. The face may have been made to resemble him too."

I had heard it from Tiria before.

Only my spirit was called to this world, and the body was not mine.

Maybe this body was that hero’s.

"What happened to that hero?"

"After his wish was heard, he could not bear the soul of the Tenshou god, and his body is said to have shattered to bits."

...Apparently unrelated.

Then it was a stranger’s resemblance after all.

Ito’s homeland seemed quite far.

"Um, what are you talking about?"

Maybe she thought the talk had reached a pause. Muriel asked me, timidly.

Muriel did not understand the words we spoke, so she did not understand the content either.

No. Except Yuki, they should not understand.

"Ah, I was asking about Ito’s homeland."

I explained to Muriel.

"Shall I make it so you can speak the words again?"

There, Sophia, who could use the magic "Translation," which could make the other party understand words they could not understand, entered the talk.

"Translation" was magic that made the one it was cast on understand every word the caster knew.

They could speak and hear, and also read and write.

Depending on the quality of the mana, even a voice or sound with no meaning, if the caster had taken it in as words, it could be made understood.

Further, it seemed one could even do things like conversation by eye, and something like telepathy.

To be able to do that much, one apparently had to knead in a great deal of mana.

But for how convenient it was, the basic mana consumption was also large, I was told.

"No, no need to go that far."

I gently refused Sophia’s proposal.

"Yuki, you can understand Ito’s words."

"Yes."

"Then I want you to teach her the words. As things are, it is inconvenient."

"Certainly."

I assigned Yuki the role of teacher of Ito’s words.

"Ito, have Yuki... this girl teach you the words."

"Eh? ...Y-yes."

I told Ito that too, but for some reason she answered while looking lost.

Tilting my head at that manner, we started on the way home.

...

"Ahahaha. Increasing your Dules again, Lord Hiroyuki, you are bold."

We parted from Azret on the way, and we, returned to Freit’s mansion, were guided to the living room by Lotte.

There, Freit, who had returned before us, sat at ease on the sofa.

Told there were faces he had not seen, I introduced Hexa and Ito, and was laughed at greatly.

"No, they are Ze-Dules."

I answered, sullen.

The difference between a Ze-Dule and an A-Dule was large.

A Ze-Dule could easily be freed from being a Dule by breaking the accessory that held the soul, but freeing an A-Dule was hard.

But...

"A Dule is a Dule."

Freit said it while laughing.

According to Freit, that was a reason only one who had them could say, and from the view of ordinary people and the Dules, they were Dules without doubt.

"One cannot have an A-Dule, so one makes a Ze-Dule. That is all it is."

And from the Dule’s side, the degree differed, but both were forced into lack of freedom.

But that did not seem to be what Freit had wanted to say.

"Do not forget that a Ze-Dule is a Dule too, and that a Ze-Dule is the Dule of one who cannot have them."

This time he said it with a serious face, as if admonishing.

In other words, do not speak as I had just now and stir jealousy without need.

True, Freit was right.

I would be careful.

"You seem to have done other shopping as well. How was it?"

I spoke of the weapons, armor, and the house.

Of course I also thanked him for the finery dresses.

"I am glad they pleased you. That shop makes good things. Those girls will surely shine."

Freit looked at Muriel and the others.

Muriel and the others bowed their heads too.

"Soon I mean to introduce Lord Hiroyuki to everyone. That way, your freedom in the battle will increase. It must be in time for then."

𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

...Advancing the talk on his own without telling the person. Freit’s bad habit?

I would remember it.

"By the way, did you find a house?"

"Yes. There was a good house in the East District, so I decided on that."

"Ah, that house. A noble of the Araborg Kingdom used it, but he fell from power. Because of that, the other nobles shied from it as well, as a house with a history. Nobles are superstitious. To a merchant, it looks absurd."

I see.

Well, that had nothing to do with me.

"What about other people? Why did they not buy that house?"

If there was another history, that would be trouble.

"Let me see. For us merchants, the location is poor, maybe. That whole area is a villa district for nobles. If the surroundings of one’s home are all good customers, it is hard to live, is it not? Others who seem to have money... mercenaries will not stay in one place, and adventurers are far from the city’s exits, so it is inconvenient. Retired mercenaries and adventurers would find it hard to maintain. A scale like that needs at least ten servants."

Was that so.

Uh, did I have that kind of money?

Something cold ran down my spine.

"Well, Lord Hiroyuki has that many Dules. Maintenance costs are as good as none."

Maybe because my face had gone pale, Freit followed up there.

But I needed money to feed the Dules.

"Now then, as for the battle, it will likely be in about twenty days. Lord Hiroyuki is one of the main forces, so until then, please rest and sharpen your spirit slowly."

Freit said that and stood from the chair, as if the talk was over.

"Then... ah, yes. From the day after tomorrow we will carry out a bandit hunt. In name, it is to cut off worries behind us before the battle, but in fact it is to give battle experience to low-skilled soldiers and adventurers unused to fighting in large numbers, I am told. Then, I will take my leave. Lord Hiroyuki, please take your time."

He finished speaking alone and left the room quickly.

"Hah."

I sighed deeply and leaned on the sofa.

Had Freit always been this talkative?

He gave me no time to say anything.

Was he trying not to hear my talk?

And the feeling of being rolled in the palm of a hand was the same as with Helene.

"Hah."

I let out a second sigh and stood.

"Master, do your best."

At Cathy’s words, in a sense someone else’s problem, I went limp, but stroked Cathy’s head and returned to our room.

...

Freit was going to a meal that doubled as a meeting of the city assembly, so I and my Dules ate dinner alone.

Ito looked at the dishes as if they were rare, carried them to her mouth timidly, and at the taste flapped her drooping dog ears like wings and melted her face.

Hexa ate single-mindedly.

Her standing cat ears were turned forward, so she was probably focused on the meal.

The Dules and I were struck dumb at that way of eating.

Anyway, dinner ended, and I was at ease on the sofa in my room.

I was savoring the black tea Cathy had poured when Ito sat formally beside the sofa.

"Um, I-I am inexperienced, b-but p-please take care of me!!"