Chapter 15: The Fall of the Slave
*Pashipashi*, my cheeks are being slapped? No, is someone kicking me? It's a strange sensation.
"Wake up, you scum, you worthless man!"
I'm being called.
I open my eyes, and there's a girl standing on my face, not in white panties, no, it's a strange scale.
It's Lina.
"You completely forgot about me, didn't you?"
Yeah.
I feel like I've experienced a fulfilling life for the first time. Playing with dolls is over.
No, it was never my hobby to begin with, let's emphasize that.
At that moment, I realized I was rolling on a hard stone floor.
Is it a hangover? My head is throbbing.
"It's not just a hangover. You were given medicine to make you more susceptible to spells," Lina says, unusually concerned.
"Yesterday, before you left, you filled a PET bottle with well water. Just drink it for now. You seem a bit dehydrated."
Strange. She's speaking like a real person.
Lina shouldn't know anything from my knowledge. Is this still a dream?
"You know, you always want to turn it into a dream ending when something inconvenient happens. It's a bad habit. Face reality properly."
She's right. Somehow, I'm being lectured by a middle schooler.
"With the increase in skill level, my abilities have improved. So, I probably have a more sound mind than you right now."
Finally, it dawns on me, and I look around.
A dimly lit, narrow stone space with iron bars. This is a prison.
My backpack is thrown in a corner. Lina must have come out of there on her own.
From inside it, as instructed, I drink the well water I packed yesterday in an empty PET bottle, saying, "Here you go, tea." It permeates through my stomach. Little by little, my head starts to clear up.
Let's try to recall my memories.
After dinner, just the two girls and I were in a separate room, intimately close, drinking heavily and feeling good.
Cecily intertwined with me naked, it felt amazing. Finally, after 18 years and 11 months, it was the climax... no, that's not it! That's a super important event, but it's not the current situation.
Finally, at the moment I was made to say something I didn't understand, something happened!
Suddenly, I felt like my neck was being squeezed.
Even though I touch it, there's nothing. But it's definitely there.
I bring up the status screen on my left hand.
"Job: Adventurer (LV4) / Slave (Ownership: Cecily Istorefi)
Skills: Doll Play (LV4), Clay Play (LV4)..."
I didn't look any further.
What is this?
"Slave (Ownership: Cecily Istorefi)"!?
Those words that prompted me before, incomprehensible words, but I remember saying something like "become a servant" to Cecily once. Is that what it meant?
"There's a priest spell called 'Oath.' It strengthens the promises between people, like a notary, making them unbreakable. Maybe that's it."
Then, that was Karina's spell. That's why I was bound to the contract of becoming Cecily's slave and couldn't break it...
Did they trick me?
Shock, embarrassment, frustration, and anger left me dumbfounded.
I remained frozen for a while, but I finally managed to think of something else to shift my consciousness.
Lina is different now. It's as if I truly having a conversation with a person.
I look at the status screen again.
Skill: Doll Play (LV4). So this is it. The skill level has increased.
Just as I imagined while testing it at the inn yesterday, apart from the job level, experience points for each skill accumulate as you continue to use it.
That's why the skill level for doll play increased because I "took a rest."
When I touch "Doll Play (LV4)," the details appear.
"I can talk to dolls," "I can change their clothes," "They can move," and "They become smarter."
"They become smarter." So that's it. The doll became smarter.
"So now you can say things I couldn't come up with myself?"
"Yes. It's just a small part of Lina-chan's overflowing talent, but she will become even smarter with each level up in the future. Call me Miss Lina, ehehe."
She swell her non-existent chest. However, does this skill also grow?
This seems to be the first skill that could be useful. Finally, I have something positive. Her voice still sounds like a Vocaloid, but perhaps her speech has become more natural because she's become smarter. If you didn't know any better, you might think she's just a normal girl with an anime voice.
At that moment, I sensed someone approaching. It put me in a bad mood.
"Are you awake?"
Cecily approached with two soldiers.
One of them seemed to be a menacing-looking prison guard. They were a Level 3 warrior.
The other one was a Level 5 adventurer. Among the troops, there were also adventurers with the job of "adventurer" instead of being warriors.
But that didn't matter.
"Hey, what the hell is going on?"
"What's wrong with you? That's a way to greet someone. Didn't you promise to be happy to help?"
I glared at Cecily, who had a surprised expression on her face.
"Don't mess with me! Why am I locked up in a cell? And why did you make me a slave?"
"You were drunk, so I put you in the jail to let you rest. I'll let you out soon. Besides, you swore that you wanted to become my servant and work for me. I was happy about it."
"This is not a joke! Who would risk their life to conquer a dungeon!"
Suddenly, my neck was choked, and I couldn't breathe. My heart felt tight.
As I tried to say that I wouldn't fight against Cecily's words, or rather, as soon as I had that thought in my head, a searing pain shot through me.
Could this be the effect of the spell called "Oath"?
It was like the ring that was put on Sun Wukong's head.
When the pain subsided, Cecily erased the complex expression she had briefly shown and spoke.
"Do you understand? You can't defy my words. You swore to God."
Then she gave instructions to the Level 5 adventurer.
"Hodger, check this person's skills for me."
"Yes, ma'am. 'Party Formation.'"
When the man declared that, there appeared choices in my mind, as if asking for my consent.
However, Cecily said, "I acknowledge you as the master of the slave," and the choices disappeared. It felt like the man called Hodger and Cecily and I were connected in some way.
I see, so this is the skill called "Party Formation."
It means making others my party members. So, what happens then? I thought about distributing experience points equally, but is there anything else?
"Level 4 adventurer, as Lord Sebastian said. The skill is..."
Does it even reveal other people's skills? I see, so this is the effect of Party Formation.
"Hmm, what's this?"
"What's wrong?"
Hodger showed a perplexed expression.
"Well, it's a strange skill name that I've never seen before."
"I want to know that. This person is likely to have been granted unique and powerful skills like the former hero. After all, he defeated an Orc Leader at level 1, so he should have special powers, not just a mere level 4."
Cecily explained this to the man without using the term "reincarnator."
But that's just bragging.
"Well, what would that be? Playing with dolls? Playing with clay?"
"Huh?"
Cecily's voice turned upside down.
"What do you mean? Tell me the skills you have without hiding anything."
She looked at me suspiciously.
"No, it's just like that person said. My skills are 'Doll Play' and 'Clay Play.' To be honest, I don't know what they're good for. I'm more curious about it than anyone else..."
"Then how did you defeat the level 6 Orc Leader?"
Even if you press me with that, it's troublesome.
I don't even know why I managed to survive.
"Well, um, it was just luck, you know? The opponent happened to trip right in front of me, and there was a sword lying there, so I just stabbed him with it."
"Don't mess with me!! After all the feelings I poured into this... No, no! You've betrayed my expectations! Is this guy messing with me?"
Please don't get angry. I'm the victim here, right? You did it on your own, didn't you?
Even if you tell me to take responsibility...
The rough-looking level 3 warrior who had been silent until then timidly spoke up.
"Cecily-sama, time is running out..."
"Damn it! Damn it!"
No, I had played the role of a seductive beauty last night, so it might be better not to break character to that extent...
"There's no other choice. Hey, you, become my servant and accompany me. You'll join Karina-sama's personal guard."
When Cecily declared that, a soldier opened the iron-barred door and thrust a spear at me.
Pushed and rushed by the spear, I prepared myself and left the prison.
Somewhere along the line, I had hung the leather bag that Lina had hidden on my waist like a water bottle, but no one suspected anything.
I left most of my belongings at the inn and was provided with the equipment of a low-ranking soldier in the barracks.
It was a RPG-like starting equipment, consisting of a slender one-handed sword and a small wooden shield, a leather chest armor, and a hat that seemed like it had grown some hair.
Still, if I were forced to fight, it would be better to have some armor.
They gave me leather sandals as footwear, but since I was more accustomed to sneakers that covered my feet and seemed easier to run in, I declined them.
There were a few other young soldiers who were around the same age as me, and they were staring at me. However, a man who seemed to be a captain or someone who knew the situation instructed me, "Get ready first!" and left the barracks with the captain-like person and another large soldier, leaving only the two of them with me.
The two of them led me to the stable of the Truma.
The large soldier brought two horses and made them sit in front of me, then he easily mounted one to show me.
"You try doing the same."
What? Just like that, huh?
"Truma is smart. If you imitate me, it will understand what you want to do on its own."
Even if you say that...
Seeing that I was hesitant and being underestimated by the Truma, when I tried to mount it normally, it shook its body, tried to stand up first, and didn't let me ride easily.
After being thrown off more than ten times and covered in bruises, I finally managed to stand up.
"What will I do?"
"Well, if you just move forward in front. It won't expect you to fight while mounted."
Seriously, am I going to the battlefield like this!
I can only see a future where I'll be the one getting beaten.
The two of them seemed to be in a hurry and said, "That's enough, follow us!" and mounted their horses quickly, sandwiching my Truma from the front and back, and started moving.
Then, without me giving any instructions, or rather, I couldn't, it started walking in sync with the others on its own.
This is convenient. But it feels kind of pathetic...
As we headed from the stable to the training ground, there were already seven or eight mounted soldiers lined up. At that moment, Carina and Cecily were coming down the slope from the mansion, riding on Trumas.
The soldiers placed their hands on their chests and saluted Carina, and immediately the signal for departure was given.
And so, I ended up being framed and reduced to the status of a slave, forced into combat against my will.