When I showed everyone that the bruise had completely vanished and assured them I was fine, the one most surprised was actually the very person who gave me the bruise—Renge.
She exclaimed.
「What the hell’s going on ssu!? That bruise should’ve lasted at least thirty days, ssu yo!? Not even a healing potion(large) would clear it up that fast ssu! Don’t tell me you used some rare elixir on it!?」
So apparently rare elixirs do exist, huh?
And yeah, looks like a regular healing potion(large) wouldn’t have been enough after all.
「Whatever, doesn’t matter. Fact is, the bruise was never there. That’s our story. And with that, everything’s wrapped up nice and clean, yeah?!」
Gahff!
Who’s the lunatic diving headfirst into my wound!?
「Grr…」
Are you crying or glaring? Pick one, not both.
「You totally pushed yourself too hard…」
「I didn’t, I didn’t. I swear, I didn’t do anything.」
「Something smells burnt… Like roasted human meat.」
…Okay, wow.
Guess her sense of smell really is dog-tier.
「Just your imagination.」
「Wendy’s face is all melty, and Shiro’s all gloomy. Something definitely happened. Uuuu…」
Aaaugh!
That’s where the wound was! Don’t grab it like that—gah!
「Ugh, seriously, don’t worry about—ugh!」
The other side now!? Who was that!?
「…Something smells burnt.」
「Yeah. You totally did something reckless…」
「That’s definitely the smell of roasted human meat.」
「Hmm.」
Oiii, Renge-san?
You’re kinda blatantly ignoring your “I hate men” character setting right now, aren’t you?
Also, I just noticed—she’s actually pretty short. About the same height as Sorte, I’d say.
…Not that she doesn’t win out in other areas.
「Ow!」
「You just had a pervy thought!」
「I did not! And you definitely grabbed the wound on purpose!」
「Knew it! Something happened! Waaah!」
「You’re such a pain! This girl’s a huge pain in the ass!」
「Waaaahhhh!」
「You too!? What is going on with everyone!?」
Why is Renge clinging to me and crying now!? I don’t get it anymore!
「Ano, sorry to interrupt while you’re all enjoying this touching moment, but… this doesn’t mean we’re back to zero, you know?」
「Oh, come on, Yasis. Just hang in there, would you?」
「I’m afraid not. I had to pay a penalty to the shop owner, and I also covered the compensation he was supposed to pay you… so I’m sorry, but Renge-dono will still have to become a criminal slave.」
「Ehhh…」
As I gently patted the heads of the two still hiccupping and sniffling girls, I couldn’t help but wonder—what the hell had all my hard work even been for?
「We have taken your efforts into account. Therefore, in place of the compensation, we’ll arrange for you to purchase her at a discounted price. That way, it’ll look like you’re just buying a slave who assaulted you and doing as you please with her.」
「Ahh… that’s messed up.」
「Well, if you’d rather see her sold to someone else and forced into who-knows-what, that’s your call.」
He says it’s my call, but that look on his face tells me he already knows what I’m going to choose.
I mean, this is probably the best compromise Yasis could offer.
He’s been playing along with my absurd lies this whole time, after all.
Still, I can’t decide without asking Renge.
「That’s the situation. Renge, what do you want to do?」
「I wanna become one! I wanna repay youuuu!」
「Yeah yeah, here—wipe your tears already.」
I offered her a handkerchief (from my old world), and she ignored it completely, smearing her snot-covered face all over my shirt.
That shirt was a favorite—Wendy picked it out for me, damn it…
「Me toooo! I wanna be one toooo!」
「You don’t need to! There wasn’t even a letter about you or anything!」
「Don’t careeeeeee!」
「That doesn’t even make sense…」
「「Waaahhhhhhh!!!」」
「You’re both like children! Just get off me already, you mutts!」
「「We’re not dogsssss!!」」
God, this is such a pain…
Hey, Guildmaster, I can see you chuckling over there.
Mind helping me peel them off?
If not, I might just stop supplying your potions altogether. Hey. You hear me?
「Wendy, help me out here.」
「Not my problem. You brought this on yourself, Master.」
「Shiro?」
「Shiro is currently reflecting.」
「Aina!」
「Hmm. I see no issue. If Renge becomes my liege’s slave, then naturally, we too must follow the same path.」
「Guildmaster!!」
「You’ll manage just fine, young master.」
「Adventurers!!」
「Go explode!」
Wait, what!?
What kind of cold shoulder is this!?
If you’re asking whether I want this—well, yeah, of course I do!
But this kind of thing… shouldn’t it happen way later down the line?
Like, after I’m more settled in, with plenty of money and a way bigger house?
I mean, I’ve practically got a full party here already.
Yeah, it’s a bit front-heavy, but we could totally raid a dungeon.
I haven’t even been in this world that long, and I’m already at five slaves!?
At this rate, I’ll have fifty by next year!
「Wait a sec… criminal slaves live in my house, right? Yeah, too bad. Not enough room.」
「No worries. We’ve already modified the two large upstairs rooms—they’ll fit just fine.」
「I know that!!」
「You don’t want us, Master…?」
「Grrrrr…」
Ahhh, geez.
Fiiine! I get it already!
Just please—please—stop looking up at me with those teary eyes.
Honestly, what kind of man can withstand that? Only some sadistic, twisted freak of nature, probably.
「Haaah… Fine. I’ll do it.」
「Excellent. Then we have a deal. But rest assured—they’re criminal slaves, so the price is a steal: all three for just ten million nohl.」
「Haaah… Put it on a payment plan. I don’t have that kind of cash right now.」
「Understood. Shall we head to the workshop then?」
「You want me to make it now? I’m exhausted! I just want a bath and to pass out already!」
「Oh dear. Then I suppose someone else might swoop in and purchase them first.」
「Fine! I’ll make them! Just go get the materials from the tool shop or whatever!」
「Very good. I’ll send one of our people to fetch them.」
Yeah yeah, I’ll make them, alright!
「Aina, Sorte—you two gather any ore today?」
「We did. Plenty of high-quality stuff, too.」
「…That haul was supposed to be used to buy their freedom, wasn’t it.」
「It’s fine. So long as I’m with you, my liege, I figure life won’t change much.」
「True, but still… I’m counting on you two to keep gathering materials on our adventures.」
「Masterrr! I’ll do my best ssu! I’ll work super hard, I promise ssu!」
「Yeah yeah, Renge, I’m counting on you too.」
「You can do whatever you want with my thighs tooooo!」
「…Oh.」
「Master?」
「Eep! N-Nothing!」
What a terrifying honey trap.
I mean, come on—if someone tells you to do whatever you want with those luscious thighs, what are you supposed to do?
「Hey, boss, boss!」
「Hm?」
「Go explode!」
「Why’d you have to call me over just to say that!?」
「Aaagh! Our beloved Madonnas! Our idols!」
「Then why didn’t you lot do something about it!?」
「You sure about that? ‘Cause if we had, you’d be dead right now…」
「If that happens, I’ll have all my slaves crush you to death. I’ll call on Reinrich-sama for backup!」
「You really do rely on others for everything, don’t you!? Don’t you ever handle things yourself!?」
「You think I can handle this!? You know what? Fine. When I get home, I’m gonna cook up some nasty potions! I’ll make sure every single one of you is permanently impotent!」
「What the hell kind of terrifying drug is that!? So it was true—he really is Reinrich’s apprentice! Stop him, boys!!」
「Mwahahahaha! Shiro, protect me! I’ve made up my mind—every last one of them is gonna be impotent for life!!」
Yeah, screw it. I’ve officially lost it.
Can’t even blame them if they hate me at this point.
If I were an adventurer, and some other guy suddenly had three gorgeous girls as slaves, I’d hate him too.
So I have no choice—I have to invent a self-defense potion.
Permanent impotence… That’s one scary-ass weapon for any man.
If you’re planning to kill me, then I’ll take your pleasure and your legacy with me!
If I go down, I’m taking everyone with me! I’ll make sure you’re all impotent for liiiiiiiiiife!!
「Don’t let him get away!」
「We’re trying! But this little one’s way too strong!」
「Aina! Sorte! Renge! Help me escape! Wendy, let’s go!」
「Yes, Master.」
「Don’t just say yes! Our manhoods are in real danger here! That face—she’s serious!!」
「Please move, ladies! Our… our precious parts are in peril!」
「No can do! Lord gave the order!」
「Nope. Can’t let you through. We belong to our Lord now.」
「Heh… ‘Lord,’ huh? Sorte, looks like you’ve finally accepted him.」
「I have not! It’s just… he is our Lord now, okay?! Nothing I can do about it!」
「That’s rich, coming from someone who was bawling like a baby just minutes ago ssu.」
「You were too! And anyway, it’s your fault we’re still slaves in the first place!」
「Then we should just disband the party! I don’t mind being the only one loved by master!」
「Huuuh!? What happened to your ‘I hate men’ thing?!」
「Master doesn’t count! And if you keep acting like that, he might not like you anymore, you know ssu?」
「I’ll change! I’ll make him like me too! Just you watch!」
「「「「「KILL THAT BASTARD!!」」」」」
Mwahahahaha!
Too late!
I’m already far, far away!!
「Guess I can’t show my face at the Adventurer’s Guild for a while.」
「Fufu. Then shall we relax at home together for a bit?」
「Yeah. Once we settle in, I’ll throw a welcome party for the three of them.」
「I’ll help out, Master.」
「Thanks. We’ve still got a ton to do, after all.」
「It’s your own fault. You should really think things through before you act, Master.」
「Oof. That one stings. But hey, it’s not all bad, right?」
「Well, sure. The girls are safe now, but… I do think there were better ways.」
「Maybe so. But hey—let’s just look at the results!」
All’s well that ends well.
Sure, the adventurers probably hate my guts even more now, but they saw the whole thing go down. Maybe they’ll go easy on me.
Still, now that I’ve got five slaves, I really gotta step up my money-making game…
Should be about time for that pocket money skill to level up, right?
It’s stuck at 100,000 noll—would be nice if it jumped up to 500,000.
「Master…」
「What is it, Wendy?」
「Even with more people around… will I still have your affection?」
「Of course! In fact, when we get home, let’s lock ourselves in the alchemy lab together.」
「Y-Yes, Master!」
「Uh, hello? I’m still here, you know.」
Yasis?!
Wait, he actually ran after us and caught up!?
And not even out of breath!? I didn’t sense him at all!
「Ah, don’t worry—I’ll wait in the living room. I’ll also make sure no one goes near the lab, even if they come back. Two hours, would that be enough?」
「Stop being weirdly considerate! We’re not gonna do anything!」
「Oh? You’re not?」
「Wendy, show a little shame!」
「If I get embarrassed, I’ll lose!」
Lose what!?
Actually, you won’t lose, Wendy! You’ll be fine!!
「Ahaha. It’s nice to see such a loving couple.」
「Yes! I’m very happy.」
「Me too!」
Home should be coming into view soon.
The others are guarding behind us, so it should be safe, but we’re still running full tilt.
Man… I’m really looking forward to that bath tonight.
First thing I’m doing when we get home is getting it ready—that much, I swear.
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