"Where'd you hide your stuff, kid? Where'd you go again?"
Delopin's dungeons.
Karami is being interrogated by Myra, the Inquisitor.
As a priest of the Church, Myra's social status is somewhat above that of a noble.
The Templars didn't want to argue with her, and since they didn't know the details of the situation, they delegated full authority to her.
"I don't know, I must have dropped it on the way here. You were chasing me so hard, I was scared out of my mind."
"And you expect me to believe that?"
"How can you not be scared if you're going to dismember a limb when you hit it?"
"You are."
You're a scaredy-cat, man.
A human brought the storm!
You shouldn't try to understand the mindset of monsters, it'll only make your head hurt.
With that thought, Karami sagged back in his chair. He sighed and bemoaned life.
"Haha, that was very important to me, too."
Karami puts on a full-on performance. His expression was as bitter as an emperor who had lost his world, and it almost made Mara blink.
"What the hell was that, anyway?"
"It was a book. It belonged to a goblin shaman."
"A goblin shaman's spellbook. There are some who have them from time to time."
If it was rare, it was rare, if it was common, it was common.
"But it's not valuable enough to risk your life for?"
If you're rich, you're a goblin. What the goblins had was not good enough.
It's written in an unintelligible language, and even if you take the trouble to decipher it, it's full of useless information. I'd sell it all for a silver.
To Myra, Karami seemed to be a man of strictly sensible values, so it didn't make sense to her that he would pretend to be a member of an order with a piece of junk.
"That depends on who made him."
"Who made him? The Goblin King? He's not human."
"More like it."
Operator or Goblin King.
That's what it is.
Myra couldn't help but chuckle at Karami's brazenness.
"By the way, you're so carefree. Usually when you come in here, you're all up in arms about everything you've done wrong."
"That's usually the case with people who have something to be angry about."
"Is that what you say, Karami the Slayer?"
"And how did you find that out?"
Not everyone in the world knows who a slave trader is, no matter how infamous he may be, except in places where the slave trade is active, and out here in the countryside, if you tell them you're a slave reaper, they'll just grunt at you.
Myra shrugged, as if it were no big deal.
"I've done some research. Apparently you did something pretty big in Libria, got into a fight with the head of the mages' guild."
"The Guildmaster there was a man like you, a man who cuts St. Pantheon to fit his own narrow vision, who acts without looking back."
"I'm sorry about that. That's why I'm still talking to you, and why I'm letting you get away with it. Any other man would have broken a few fingers already."
"Thank you."
I really appreciate it.
No fingers broken. The way you were jumping at me earlier, I'd pop your head open like a watermelon.
As this tension-free interrogation came and went, Myra slumped down on the table, as if she'd lost her pulse.
"So you're not going to tell me what you're really up to?"
"Actually, I gave the Book of Madoh to a slave."
"So it is. But what's so great about it that you'd leave it with a slave and get caught instead?"
"It's no big deal. It's a grimoire of spirits."
How the hell do you know that.
Could it be the slave trader's intelligence?
Questions bubble up as I talk to Karami.
"She's more docile than I thought, isn't she?"
"It's my job to bide my time until he learns the magic in the book, and when he does, I'll return it to him."
"And when do you think that will be?"
"He's a capable child, so it should only take a few days."
Karami's words were laced with trust. It's as if he's treating her like a pampered daughter, not a slave.
"You seem to be treating her quite well. Why do you kill slaves, is that your preference?"
"I don't kill them, I set them free. It's more of a hobby than a taste."
"Scumbag pervert."
"...."
Karami stopped answering the questions, tired of explaining himself. He'd realized long ago that he wouldn't be believed no matter what he said.
He turned his head and stared out over the bars.
I worry about the girl, who must be alone by now.
"She's doing okay, right?
I have no choice but to believe she is.
***]
A world where even the moonlight is obscured by clouds.
The room is dark without a single ray of light.
It's like someone's inside.
Mirabelle is capable of magic, let alone candlelight, but she hasn't bothered to light a candle. She just sits there, face buried in her knees.
How much time has passed since she entered this room?
I can't tell.
Solitude has a way of blurring the passage of time.
Mirabelle was used to solitude.
She was alone in the wagon where she was sold into slavery, alone in the cage where she was kept until she was auctioned off.
From the moment she was abandoned, she had been alone.
In the cage, on the same axis of time as eons, Mirabelle vowed to trust no one. She had been betrayed by no one but her own flesh and blood.
Still, she never got used to the solitude. Getting used to it and adapting to it were two different things.
Even if the person she longed for was a slave trader.
A slave trader.
Karami the Slave Reaper.
Karami was an unusual man.
From the first moment he met her, he burrowed his way into her heart, calling her by the name she'd declared she'd abandoned, and his awkwardness drew her in without warning.
The thought of a master being imprisoned for his slave makes me laugh.
But the main reason Mirabelle favored Karami was the soul shackles. As long as it is bound, she is not alone.
He said he wouldn't abandon you if you showed value, so if you're good enough, you could stay with him forever. You don't have to be abandoned.
Even if it means dying.
That's what Colton said.
I wonder what his master is doing now.
He's probably being held captive by an evil priest and tortured horribly.
Not being fed properly.
No sleep.
You must rescue him as soon as possible.
Only then will she be free.
Mirabelle opened the Book of Mark. It was filled with unrecognizable words. Yet somehow, just by looking at it, she knew what it was about.
It was as if knowledge flowed into her head.
In the ease of that knowledge, Mirabelle could understand Karami's intentions, for he had told her to come and learn the magic contained within.
Heavenly punishment.
That was Karami's intent.
He meant to bring punishment to all those who interfered with his noble plan of liberation.
Karami was the rotten water of the common parlance.
So much so that his subconscious mind confused reality with games. There were times when I thought to myself, "Isn't it a bit like dragging slaves around if you own a dog and take it for a walk?
I learned a lot of information from playing games.
I missed a lot of information because I played the game.
Despite being aware of the fact that a lot of things have changed now that the game is a reality, it's impossible to know everything.
This was also true for items dropped by monsters.
For example, the Magic Tome dropped by the Goblin Shaman had a 100% chance of being a [Soul Magic Tome], but now it might be a [57 Tips for Obtaining the Soul of the Great Teacher☆: Heavenly Punishment].
Sometimes what you take for granted is not what you think it is.
Without knowing the details, Mirabelle began to master magic at a transcendent rate in order to fulfill Karami's orders.
***]
How many days have passed since you entered the prison?
Not very long.
The sun has risen twice and set three times, and I've eaten eight times, so three days have passed.
Prison treatment was better than I expected.
When I was first possessed and worked as an innkeeper, I slept on a crested cot in a stable, but here I'm sleeping in a bed, albeit a cheap one.
I've never had it so good as a prisoner.
It's all thanks to Myra's accommodations. I've been taking care of business at the last tavern, and since I'm not a very faithful man, I'm going to pay back what I owe.
It's not a bad thing for me, so I didn't refuse. I don't know how to say no.
He said he'd let me go sooner or later. She was a good talker.
Of course, he said he'd check on it, but at this point, I don't care if he takes it away. I'm sure Mirabelle has learned how to communicate with spirits by now.
She's so good.
You don't know, do you?
Maybe she's learned the entirety of the Book of Mado.
My journey with Mirabelle is coming to an end, and while I'm sad to say goodbye, I still have a long way to go. I can't afford to dwell.
'Next main storySurely the slave was an elf?
You bought an elf slave? Are you out of your mind? I don't need to hear that.
He's a low-level character, even among elves.
I need to plan ahead.
It's the only way things will go smoothly.
There was a time when I thought the same thing.
It all started after the mysterious earthquake.
At first, I thought it was Myra coming down from the basement, making another floor noise.
And indeed, she did come down. But even when she was right in front of me, it didn't feel like an earthquake.
So what is this.
Is this a real earthquake.
Just as I was thinking this, Myra turned pale and said in a rush.
"Wasn't that kid an ordinary wizard?"
"Yes, he was, but why?"
"Because of him, there's a ruckus outside!"
Had Mirabelle's cuteness caused him to explode?
I hope so.
When Myra and I walked outside, there was a thunderstorm in the blue sky, with Mirabelle at the center of it all.
Mirabelle smiles at me, a huge smile on her face.
"I've come to save you, Master."
As she spoke, Mirabelle's state changed.
[Mirabelle, the Forsaken Witch]
>]
[Reaper's Agent: Mirabelle, Witch of Judgment]