Gray found himself floating on a cloud, his head melting into silk fabrics that gave off the subtle scent of sweet cinnamon. He was currently staring at a white ceiling adorned with etches of what looked like angels.
"You're awake, dominus. Shall I prepare your bath?" a voice so soft and gentle it could've been an angel's, called out from the foot of his bed.
~Wait, what happened?~ he thought to himself, reluctant to get up.
"I think there's been a mistake. I'm not this Dominus pers-"Just then, the memories of the past day flooded his mind. He jerked up with a start, staring at the woman who had called him dominus.
It wasn't a woman at all, at least not a human one. The creature had pale-white skin, that glittered under the light of the room. A perfectly oval face, with deep golden eyes, and hair of the same color.
A silk garb draped over its form, following the creature's slender body through each and every supple curve. It was straight out of a fantasy. Human or not, this was dangerous.
Awe quickly turned to fear, as a jolt of panic shot through him, propelling him up the bed until his back hit the wall. "Wh-what did you do to me?"
"I have done nothing, dominus. You have not instructed me to do anything," the creature replied. There were traces of concern and fear in its tone, and despite being an alien, its expressions were strangely human.
Her reaction was somewhat comforting. At the very least, she wasn't trying to kill him, otherwise, he'd have been already dead.
"What is this place? Who put me in this bed, in this... room," Gray asked, now taking a moment to look at the room.
It was spacious. The walls were beige and lined with paintings that clearly did not belong outside of an art gallery. After focusing on them for a moment, he noticed that they were moving. He paid attention to one in particular, he was 100% sure it was the Monalisa, the only difference was that she was talking to someone.
To his right, a colossal window took up the entire wall space; veiled in beige silk curtains. It wasn't covered all the way, so some of the outside environment peaked through; a familiar beach with a gentle blue ocean.
"This is your suite, dominus. The system placed you here once the safe point loaded," the creature replied, however, Gray was still in awe at the room.
A flat-screen TV hovered on the wall opposite him; an episode of Frieren was currently playing. The detail was so immense that it seemed the characters could just walk out of the screen at any moment.
His bed, softer than clouds and covered in silks, was fit for a giant. And as spacious as his room was, it filled up nearly a quarter of the suite.
The creature was standing at the door —a large slab of dark ebony wood— toward the far left of the wall opposite him, waiting like an attendant.
"Shall I leave?" the woman asked, now shaking.
She was scared, though Gray had no idea why.
"No-no, you can stay. I'm just… what is a safe point, and why do you keep calling me dominus?" he asked, allowing his body to relax on the bed. Just then the silver necklace around her neck flashed red.
She shivered at this, her face downturned as she rubbed her arms.
"Forgive me, dominus. I am not permitted to speak of that title. But I can explain what the safe point is," she began.
"It is a haven, respite from the Reckoning. Here, luxuries from every corner of the coalition's influence are available to the Champions. That includes a… slave, to help better experience," she said, before quickly blurting out; "I was informed humans are not comfortable with the concept. The dominus may refer to me as he so pleases. I am only here to serve."
Gray took a moment to process all this.
~So when they meant safe point, it wasn't just protection from the monsters?~ he realized.
But beyond that, what the hell was all this about slaves and coalitions? The alien from the stadium had mentioned Earth taking part in trials and deciding its fate as a Vassal world, but they clearly hadn't been given the entire picture.
What were the trials? Why were they being forced to take part in all this? And where the hell was he?
"What is the coalit—"
Just then, the silver necklace flashed red once again, and the woman began trembling.
"Does it hurt whenever I ask questions I'm not supposed to?" he asked, feeling guilty.
The woman nodded her head.
"Am I not allowed to ask questions about the people that put you here?" he asked.
She nodded her head again.
~Of course, they wouldn't make it that easy. After all, the alien from yesterday said that the information they got was a reward.~ He slowly made his way out of bed. He was still dressed in his torn and dirty school uniform. And now that he was surrounded by the sweet scent of cinnamon, he was more aware of his stench.
"Is there anywhere I can take a bath? And get a change of clothes maybe?" he asked, the woman nodded her head, before approaching him.
She began taking off his tie. The small space between them felt hot, even inside his uniform he could tell that her skin was soft.
Once his tie was off, he took a step back.
"You don't have to help me undress. I only need you to direct me to the showers, and get me a change of clothes If you don't mind," he said, regretting his words almost as soon as they came out.
Despite his obvious... desires, it felt wrong.
"Ye-yes, dominus," the woman said. "How much shall I spend on your garments?" Right then a screen came up.
『[Safe point attendant] wishes to access your balance.』
『Please confirm access amount.』
『Current balance: 102 coins.』