With the looting done, I debate for a moment whether we should even mop the floors up, but decide against it. If someone walks through the boss room and sees a bloody chamber with us desperately trying to scrub the floor clean, we would have to fight them to the death as well.
As it is, it’s evidence that the count’s son was murdered here- at least if they have some blood sample identification method- but beyond that we won’t be implicated in the crime.
It’s better to just dip. I would love to continue our labyrinth grind, however, not only would I have to rest again to regenerate my mana, but with ‘stealing’ the twin servants and now this noble’s murder, we are probably better off just continuing in a few days’ time when the scene cools down.
Maybe they even had some artifact watching Luke’s life signs, and it alerted them of his demise and exact location as well. Better be safe than sorry.
Yeah, let’s just leave and have dinner.
“Umm… Quinlan, I couldn’t help but notice that you and the other girls act as if you could communicate with each other without speech. Is your team synergy that good? I really have a lot to learn…” Aurora spoke up with great uncertainty.
“He has a telepathy skill.” Ayame responded in my stead.
“What?! You mean the legendary mind speaking ability?!” Aurora gasped cutely.
“He is opening teleports for instant traveling to a city a good distance from us, he is a primordial entity with like 6 classes active at all times, he keeps going through body transformation after transformation just to be even more of an alpha stud, he drank the potion that nearly killed you and didn’t even get a momentary stomachache or slight discomfort, and you think telepathy is too much for this shameless guy?”
The platinum-haired beauty gazes at Ayame for a few seconds before nodding. “If you put it that way then yeah, you’re right, but then why have I not been invited?! Quinlan, you almost gave me a heart attack when you seemed to agree to sell Blossom and once again when she randomly assaulted them!
I thought you would not keep me out of things…” By the end of her response, she was in a state of having teary and incredibly accusatory eyes.
“Master can only speak with his slaves using the ability!” Blossom came to my rescue valiantly.
“Huh…?”
“It’s called [Master’s Link], a spell I unlocked after getting level 10 in the Slave Master class.” I clarified.
“Oh.”
I attempt to cheer her up. “Sadly that’s just how it is. I will try to involve you in more of our tactical discussions moving forward.”
Aurora freezes up and stares into my eyes, then hugs me firmly. “Should I…?”
My petite samurai spoke up before any of us could. “Yes, you should. He could even swap you back to your Alchemist class with a simple thought, and since you seem to love being his little girl, he could even allocate your free points for you. I bet that that kind of invasion of your personal boundaries by him would be right up your alley.”
“Really?! Then I wouldn’t even have to pray at the temple… But still, a slave…?”
“I know that it sounds bad, but it only really has benefits in our case if you think about it. There’s no differentiation between how he treats us, his slaves, and you, his free lover.
If you become his slave his class will also level up faster, giving us even more such abilities.” Who would’ve known that Miss Samurai would be the one trying her best to convince girls to become my slaves of their own free will? Not me, that’s for sure.
Aurora hugs me around my waist with great strength, “I mean… If it’s being daddy’s… Then maybe…?”
“Alright, alright.” I ease her tensions by embracing her back. “You can think about it in your free time. Let’s go eat, I’m famished. [Warp Gate]”
The four of us step through the swirling portal and our inn room welcomes us on the other side. We quickly undress our gear and switch into civilian clothes.
Much to my chagrin, as I glance out of the window I see that it’s not exactly dinner time yet. I tell the ladies to enjoy some recreational activities, anything they prefer.
Aurora leaves for the temple to switch back to her Alchemist class, and also asks for a couple of silver coins so that she can buy ingredients she needs for a few potions.
Strangely, Blossom also asks for some money, and when I ask what for, her answer is uncharacteristically elusive. “Blossom has something she wants to do… Master can’t know yet!” I’m fully aware that she has a good head on her shoulders, despite being a certified airhead, so I see no reason to hold out.
As for Ayame and I, we decided to visit our two new servants.
“So, you see, this is why I prefer fresh herbs over dried ones. The taste is worlds apart, the fresh ones bring so much richness and life to the dish, while the dried ones are kind of bland. Though to be fair, I really like dried oregano and a few others.” Mavena, Lucille’s daughter, is busy instructing Anna and Beatrice, our two new servants we picked up randomly in the labyrinth.
As typical peasants, I would imagine they had planted their own herbs on their land, but maybe that isn’t a trend over here. If one lives on sustenance-level nourishment, they might want to plant more hardy crops like potatoes and corn instead of fancy greens. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
The two brunette girls listen to her words seriously. It seems they treat their new servant roles like their lives depend on it. Which might as well really be true from their point of view, after all, we are a group of immensely strong combatants who could do whatever we want with them should we harbor ill thoughts.
The best way to protect themselves is to show how dedicated they are, and how we can’t just find other servants like them anywhere else.
I admire their strong will to live. Not many people would have the self-preservation instincts to notice that our group might be their salvation in their miserable position, much less act on it instantly.