I Bought a Slave Because I Was Bored

After being kidnapped by Rinoa, I was tossed onto the coachman's seat like baggage.

Inside the carriage were Rinoa and Vivi, while outside, escort knight Jain rode alongside us.

The carriage, with no destination I could make out, emerged from underground and headed up to the surface.

It had been months since I'd seen sunlight, but there was no time to feel glad about it. The carriage didn't stop; it moved farther and farther from the city and then into a forest path.

Deeper, and deeper still.

An ominous feeling came over me.

‘They're not planning to bury me in the forest, are they?’

Cruelly, no one cared about the circumstances of a slave like me. The carriage only stopped after traveling for quite a while longer.

It was in front of a villa. A lake and a garden spread out around it.

The scenery, where nature and architecture blended harmoniously, was beautiful enough.

‘It's a prison.’

To my eyes, it looked like nothing but a prison. A prison where I'd rot for the rest of my life.

-Whoosh!

Soon after, a sense of weightlessness snapped me out of my thoughts. My body floated briefly in the air, then was thrown down like a sack of cargo.

"What are you staring at blankly for? When the carriage stops, get down on your own. Do I have to bring you down every time?"

Jain looked down at me, sprawled on the ground.

Unbelievable. If I'd gotten down on my own, he would have definitely complained that I was moving without permission.

The carriage door opened and Vivi got out. Rinoa followed after her.

The maids came out in a group to greet Rinoa at the manor.

"Welcome back, young lady."

"Mm."

"And the boy beside you is...?"

"A gladiator slave. I bought him this time."

Bought him this time.

The way she says it.

It sounds like she just went shopping at a supermarket.

"If Lady Rinoa finds out you bought a slave without permission, she'll be angry…"

"I'll handle that. It's none of your concern."

"I'm sorry."

The maid immediately bowed her head.

The atmosphere is brutal.

I had a ton of things I wanted to say just now, but I wasn't sure if I could blurt them out here.

It felt like I'd be inviting retaliation.

"Young lady, what should we do with this boy?"

Jain asked.

Rinoa's gaze fell on me, sprawled on the ground.

Those unreadable eyes showed nothing.

Rinoa, who had been silently staring at me, then—

"Wash him."

She tossed out a single word.

"Pardon?"

"He stinks, so wash him. Clean him up, make him presentable. Then bring him to me."

Having given the order, Rinoa went into the mansion. Leaving us behind without a care.

‘What the hell is going on…?’

I wondered if I was the only one who didn't understand the situation, but fortunately that didn't seem to be the case. Everyone else looked about as confused as I was.

The order had been given, but no one moved first. Everyone was too busy watching one another.

Glances meaning ‘you take him’ passed back and forth. The first to speak was a maid.

"Sir Jain, please take him and wash him. He may still be a boy, but he's old enough to know better, so I don't think it's proper for us to wash him."

"No. Women like you would probably be more thorough than a man like me. If I do it and the smell doesn't come off, wouldn't that be a problem? You go wash him."

"……"

He'd been the arena's greatest gladiator just a little while ago, after all.

Right now he looked like a child caught between a divorced couple. They were both trying to give up custody.

Was I really supposed to go through all that hardship just to end up being treated like this?

That's heartbreaking. So heartbreaking.

"Um, I'll just wash myself, so please just let me use the place."

"...Understood. I'll show you to the bath. But after you're done, I'll inspect you, so make sure you wash thoroughly."

***

"We're here. You can wash here."

The place the maid led me to was an outdoor bath behind the manor.

It wasn't a noble's luxurious marble bath, but the place, with several huge wooden tubs, was fairly clean.

The maid handed me a cloth, a hard-looking bar of soap, and a small bottle of unknown contents.

"What's this?"

"Perfume oil. It's not something a slave would normally use, but to get rid of a stench this bad, there's no helping it. Use it all."

Do I really smell that bad?

I tried sniffing myself quietly, but I couldn't tell. After spending months like this, my sense of smell had long since gone numb.

"I'll leave the clothes you wear after you wash here, so throw away whatever you're wearing now... what even is that? Anyway, toss it far away. I'm going to burn it."

"Um..."

"Her Highness is sensitive to smells, so wash every inch of yourself thoroughly. Got it?"

"I said I get it..."

"I'll be nearby, so don't do anything strange and wash quickly. And don't even think about running away."

"Haa..."

I must have looked very uneasy, because the maid kept repeating her warning several times before disappearing around the corner.

Seeing the shadow behind the wall, it looked like she really did intend to keep watch.

"This is insane."

I never imagined that, at my age, I'd be watched by a woman while washing.

I feel like I'm losing it.

"Let's just wash first."

I took off my clothes and threw them far away, then scooped water from the tub with a bucket.

Warm water, with steam rising from it. I poured it straight over my head.

"Uwaah."

An old-man groan escaped me. In the arena, I always had to use cold water, so how long had it been since I'd had hot water?

The warmth melted the tension I'd been carrying ever since I came to this other world.

If it were up to me, I'd want to throw myself straight into the bath.

‘Then I'd probably get beaten.’

So I had no choice but to pour water over myself to wash away the dust and work hard to untangle my hair matted with blood and sweat.

Next I scrubbed hard with a rough piece of burlap, washed again with soap that barely felt like soap, and poured on more water.

After repeating that for a long time, my body finally felt clean and soft.

"Are you done yet? How long are you going to keep washing?"

"Almost done."

I wiped off all the moisture.

"She said to use the perfume oil too, right?"

When I opened the bottle the maid had given me, a strong, piercing floral scent rushed out and hit my nose.

It was pretty strong, but it seemed more than enough to cover the stench. I applied it all over my body.

It was time to get dressed. I unfolded the neatly folded clothes on the floor, and they turned out to be a small servant's uniform. The fabric felt remarkably smooth.

"Good grief, what a hopeless young lady."

So this is why they say if you're going to be a servant, you should do it in a great noble's house. Even a single outfit was on another level.

After finishing the most uncomfortable bath of my life, I went back to the maid.

"I'm done."

"You really took your time. Anyone watching would think you came here to have your body remade from scratch... I guess..."

The maid, who had been radiating annoyance up until then, widened her eyes when she saw me, as if she'd seen something unbelievable.

"What's wrong?"

"....You're the one from just now? The one who looked like a walking heap of filth?"

"That's harsh. A heap of filth?"

"Wow... I can't believe it. A bath alone can change a person this much."

My past self.

Just what kind of state had I been in?

"More importantly, didn't you say you were going to inspect me?"

"Huh? Ah, right. Spread your arms out to the sides."

I spread my arms as told. The maid came over and started sniffing all over my body.

It was awkward.

I really went through every possible kind of humiliation.

"Mm. Looks like you washed thoroughly. You don't smell weird anymore."

"That's a relief."

"Now let's go to the young lady. She said to bring you after you were washed."

I trailed after the maid into the manor.

It wasn't the first noble's manor I'd entered. When I first came to this other world, I'd been to the manor of a male master.

That place had been impressive too, but this was on a different level. If this was a manor, that place was a shack.

"If I came here alone, I'd get lost."

"Don't worry about useless things. You won't be wandering around by yourself anyway. And watch what you say in front of the young lady. Say something rude and you'll get kicked out."

"If I got kicked out, I'd be grateful. That'd be freedom."

At my joke, the maid let out a sigh instead of answering and stopped in front of a large door.

The maid knocked and said politely,

"Young lady, as requested, I've washed the slave and brought him here."

A little while later, a low voice came from inside.

"Come in."

The maid opened the door and motioned for me to go in.

‘Can't you come in with me?’

I sent her a look, but it was no use. With the feeling of a sacrifice being offered to a tiger's den, I went in alone.

Inside, Rinoa was reading a book, and Vivi was eating a snack on the sofa.

Without even looking away from the book, Rinoa said,

"You did wash properly, right?"

"Of course. As you said, I washed thoroughly so I wouldn't smell."

"Mm."

And then, silence.

If you call someone over, shouldn't you at least say why?

I'd already run out of patience long ago, so I brought up the point first.

"Um..."

"You want to ask why I bought you?"

Damn it, you brat.

You know perfectly well what I'm going to ask, so why are you acting like that and pretending otherwise?

I thought hard about the reason on my own, but no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't find a convincing answer.

What if she bought me because I was in her way and wanted to kill me?

Honestly, that would make sense. It would be closer to the Rinoa I knew.

But what on earth was the reason for breaking a promise just to buy me? What did she gain by keeping me by her side?

As I stared at her, demanding an explanation, Rinoa shut her book with a thump.

She lifted her head, looked at me, and said indifferently,

"Just because."

"Huh?"

"I bought you just because. I was bored."

"What kind of answer is that..."

The answer was so hollow it made my solemn resolve from moments ago look pointless.

I was depressed today, so I bought bread.

That's right. I bought a slave because I was bored.

Why?

I don't know. Shut up and just empathize.

What is this, some kind of thing like that?

Once you're a princess, I guess you buy a person instead of bread to kill time.

"Whatever reason I buy something for, it's my own business. Do I need to report every little thing to a slave?"

"That's not it, but... understood. Then what am I supposed to do here?"

"Do nothing and stay quiet. That's your role in this mansion."

"What?"

-Ding!

As soon as Rinoa gave the order, a notification window appeared.

======

『Master's Command』

You have incurred Rinoa's displeasure. For one week, stay out of her sight and keep as quiet as a mouse.

Reward: Skill proficiency gain x2 for one week

======

"No, um..."

"Get out. I'm going to read."

I had been kicked out, but I was too flustered to move. Rinoa's eyes narrowed, clearly displeased.

"Can't you hear me telling you to get out? Don't make me say it twice."

In the end, I left as if I were being chased out.

Apparently they had been eavesdropping on our conversation, because the maids had their ears pressed tightly to the door.

The sight of them scattering in a panic as soon as I came out was hilarious. Then they dragged me far away from the room.

"What did you talk about with the young lady? How did you end up here?"

"Did she say she'd call you separately at night... or something like that?"

To the maids, I must look like 'Rinoa's secret little slave for hobbies.'

"I don't know either. She said to do nothing and stay quiet."

"...That's it?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"What, that's boring."

What? Boring?

Boring?

I'm literally about to die here!