I can't believe we cared so much.
When I told him I was leaving, Colton's gentle face turned white. He looked like a man who'd just been broken up with.
"Go, go? What do you mean, all of a sudden?"
"I think your magic is good enough for now."
"Enough is not enough! That child is a child who will become a great mage in the future. He still has a lot to learn!"
I know.
I'm not technically an archmage, I'm a witch.
But would you entrust such a talented child to you, a mere union leader? There are so many people in the world who would love to take her. You're not the destination, you're just a stop along the way.
I couldn't say no, so I buried it in the back of my mind and said something else.
"Haha, there's something more important than that, I'm going to help you achieve what you want as the owner of this child."
"Is that the revenge you were talking about earlier?"
"Ya~You're right, Miss Mirabelle's father is the one who made her the way she is, and in order for this child to move forward, don't you think she needs to cut ties with the past?"
Colton shook his head furiously, as if he didn't think so.
"Not at all. Revenge begets revenge, and it only ends up empty. It's a murder for the living, and a murder for the dead. Miss Mirabelle, you must not fall prey to his machinations. Come this way, and I will break the shackles of your soul."
He can do that.
As much as I want to applaud Colton's magical prowess, I'm afraid I can't. Because once the shackles are off, I'll be free.
Mirabelle is caught between the two of us. I put my hand on her shoulder and whispered in her ear.
"They say that revenge brings nothing but heartache. That revenge invites more revenge, so you shouldn't do it."
"Of course-"
Colton interrupts, and adds.
"But, Miss Mirabelle, think of it this way. If a mosquito sucks your blood, shouldn't you catch it? Would you just let a pest that's been stealing your blood and making you itch go?"
"Catch...it?"
"Of course.
I'm going to dismember it, then taxidermy it, then post a post saying I caught it.
"Yes, you have to catch it. Do you think I'm going to be happy that I caught that mosquito that's been bothering me? No. What you get is a sense of satisfaction, and you can focus on other things with peace of mind."
"It's a logical leap: it's not a bug, it's a person, and it's her family!"
"It doesn't matter that it's a person and not a bug, all that matters is that he caused harm, and that Miss Mirabelle has been irreparably hurt, and all she can do is to mete out a just punishment for it, and how just is that when it's decided by us and not a third party?"
"Miss Mirabelle, don't listen to her!"
"Miss Mirabelle, it's not bad, it's all the man's fault, and if you let him get away with it, do you think he'll reform? A man who sold his own daughter can't sell someone else's? It has to be dealt with before someone else is harmed. Miss Mirabelle is on the right track."
Your Master of Negotiation skill is in full effect.
You speak plausible words directly into Mirabelle's ear.
Revenge on her father is Mirabelle's goal in life. This means that cute, sweet Mirabelle is so deeply wounded that she doesn't care that her opponent is flesh and blood.
Don't try to deny it, you little NPC, you can't even fathom the depths of her darkness.
Mirabelle, who has been listening mesmerized, finally comes to a decision. She turns to Colton and gives him a navel gazing bow.
"Thank you for teaching me so far."
"Mmm, Miss Mirabelle?"
Oh, my little Mirabelle. Whoever raised her has good manners.
Colton's embarrassment turns to murderous intent as he glares at me. He looked like he could kill with his eyes alone, and his mouth spewed out a string of words.
"I see. I see. Even if you've only just honed your talent, her soul is not something you should interfere with... You're a warlock, not a common slave trader."
What?
"I'm convinced by what you just said. Your words are imbued with an unidentifiable saihan power, and you must have used it to tamper with Miss Mirabelle's mind. She is now brainwashed."
What are you talking about?
This guy will say anything to get a rise out of me.
As if that weren't enough, Colton casts a spell. Ice crystals form around him.
"Please be patient, Miss Mirabelle. It may take a while, but between me and Miss Mirabelle, we'll get you out of this."
With those words, Colton cast his magic. Ice crystals shot out, scattering cold in all directions and aimed at me.
Wow, no matter how badly I want Mirabelle, I didn't expect him to cast a spell so casually.
But I do have a beautiful young witch maid that I've invested heavily in. Mirabelle holds her wand out in front of her, and a translucent veil forms in front of us.
Ka-ang!
"What?!"
Colton's magic fails to penetrate the barrier and shatters into ice. Unlike his panic, Mirabelle calmly continues her magic.
Fireball.
A fireball created from thin air. But it's hardly a fireball. Flamestone. A rock big enough to blow up a building in one shot.
Even fireballs could be meteoric depending on who was using them. Mirabelle aimed her staff at Colton.
I swung my arm in a sweeping motion.
"Go, Miss Mirabelle. Direct attack! Fireball!"
But Mirabelle didn't move. She glanced back at me.
"Sin, I don't think you're supposed to shoot magic at innocent people...."
"Ah."
I'm all for killing her dad, but not this. I've indoctrinated her, but she's got weird beliefs.
If he doesn't, so be it.
I'll just have to go along with it.
"Mr. Colton, I won't hurt you, given your good intentions up to this point, but if you try to stop us any further, you'll pay the price."
"Ugh...."
Colton gritted his teeth.
He'd be furious. I'd be, too.
His life was denied to him by a kid who'd been learning magic for less than a month, but what can you do, that's life.
If Colton were my slave, I'd comfort him and find a way to make him better, but he's not, and I don't plan on enslaving him.
"You've been through a lot, Mr. Colton."
Leaving Colton behind, Mirabelle walked out of the Guild building, her guard still up, and only when she was out of sight of the Mages' Guild did she sheathe her staff.
"That must have been nerve-wracking, but good job."
Colton taught me so well, I can't believe how neatly I handled myself for my first real test.
I patted her on the head with pride, but this time Mirabelle didn't resist. She just hung her head low and looked sulky.
I take this opportunity to pet her to my heart's content. I stroked her soft, warm head in a circle. But it was too much, and Mirabelle pulled away.
I quickly tidied up the messy hair.
It's a shame, but it'll have to do for today. She'd let him in once, so there would be plenty of opportunities in the future.
"Where are we going now?"
"We're going to a nearby city called Delopin."
There's a dungeon in Delopin for beginners.
It's the only dungeon you can explore early on that you won't even bother with later on. It's so easy, literally, that it can be cleared with just a few ordinary slaves.
If a Mirabelle wearing the Celestial Oath goes there, she's a goner.
"Go get a spellbook, sell some gems, get Mirabelle some experience.
Training plan in place!
***]
"Where the fuck does a slave trader think he's going to get in here?"
This shit.
I've heard that soldiers are underpaid, but that doesn't mean you should try to steal their money. They try to extort money from everyone they meet. They're not knights, they're just raw thieves.
If you think about it, the Templars were the natural enemies of the slavers in the game.
They'll come to you from the beginning to the end of the game to collect taxes. If you couldn't pay, you had to sell your slaves.
They'd take them in game, they'd take them in possession. The Templars can't be good if they want to be good.
I took a gold coin from my pocket. At 20 gold each time, it won't take long to drain my pockets. I gave too much in Libria the first time, trying to pretend I was in front of Mirabelle.
Fortunately, he was satisfied with that and let me go.
"Let's stop at a tavern and eat first."
I was going to stop at an inn first, but I was too hungry. We found a table at the largest tavern in Delopin and sat down.
I ordered cornbread, lamb steak, and mushroom stew. It's a lot for a commoner to eat, let alone a slave, but Mirabelle, used to it, doesn't seem to mind.
Yes, eat a lot. We have a dungeon to run.
I thought it would be an uneventful meal.
"Julius, shall we have a drink?"
"You had one yesterday."
"Yesterday was yesterday, today is today. A drink a day keeps the spirit going, doesn't it?"
Until the priests walked into the tavern.