Chapter 14
It's true that elven slaves are popular among nobles.
Their faces are pretty, their bodies toned and slender from living in nature, and by human standards, elves hardly age at all.
Add to that the rarity that nobles value most.
Despite it being illegal, nobles consider elven slaves the most desirable possession.
What about Franz?
Though he was also a noble, he had no particular interest in elven slaves.
'I can't live breaking the law.'
Having lived in this world for over 20 years, he had almost no aversion to the system of slavery.
However, owning elven slaves was still illegal.
He had no desire to take on such a risk unnecessarily.
That aside.
What kind of mind comes up with the idea of becoming a slave to save other slaves?
Franz was curious about what was going on in Hera's head.
Removing his hand from his forehead, Franz said,
"Forget it. What slave nonsense are you talking about?"
"But if I don't do this, I'll never be able to repay the debt I owe you."
"I'm telling you, it's just a favor."
"Franz, this is a matter of my pride. Even if you say it's just a favor, I want to repay you properly."
‘This is maddening.’
Franz clicked his tongue at Hera's old-fashioned personality.
If it were a significant debt, he could understand to some extent.
Like saving her life or preventing the World Tree from burning down.
But to act like this over a simple request that was just a casual outing? It was absurd.
Yet, it was also difficult to flatly refuse.
'Her intentions are good.'
Repaying someone's kindness.
How pure and beautiful an intention.
The problem was that the repayment involved breaking the law.
"Hera, elven slaves are illegal. And if we form a master-slave contract, evidence will appear on your neck. What about that?"
A master-slave contract.
In other words, a kind of promise between slave and master.
The slave can't harm the master, must obey orders, and so on....
Anyway, when a master-slave contract is formed, a special tattoo appears on the neck.
There's no way to hide that tattoo forever, so eventually, it would be revealed that Hera was a slave.
And if it came to light that Franz was the master?
'...It's prison time.'
No matter how he thought about it, there was no reason to take on such a risk and accept Hera as a slave.
If he needed a slave to work, he had plenty. If he called the magic tower, they'd line up.
But Hera still wouldn't budge from her stance.
"You don't seem to know. That evidence of the master-slave contract, it can be placed somewhere other than the neck."
"Placed somewhere else?"
"Yes, when I saw the captured elven slaves, it was always right here."
Hera pointed with both hands to a spot slightly below her lower abdomen.
It was that area where tattoos are often placed in fantasy worlds.
Franz couldn't help but let out a dry laugh.
Why, of all the many places, there?
Of course, it's the first place that comes to mind when thinking of tattoos.
And it's also the most attractive area.
Plus, it's not easily discovered even if the belly is exposed...
'Surprisingly practical?'
Not only did it transform an unsightly neck tattoo into something attractive, but there was also less risk of being discovered as a slave. It was like killing two birds with one stone.
This must have been the work of the Contract Magic Association.
When the dispatch ends, he should visit separately to praise...
'No, no.'
Franz quickly corrected his wandering thoughts.
The important thing now was to prevent Hera from becoming a slave.
A firm voice flowed from Franz's mouth.
"Still, no. Laws exist to be followed."
"Franz, there's something I realized while rescuing slaves."
"What is it?"
"Whether there's a law or not, it doesn't matter as long as you don't get caught. And me becoming a slave isn't causing trouble for anyone, is it?"
Even when learning a lesson, it always seems to be in the wrong direction. There's nothing to say about her being a villainess who could destroy the world.
Haah-.
A sigh escaped Franz's lips.
The conversation was going in circles, with no conclusion in sight.
If this continued, it would probably become an endless dialogue.
If in that process, Hera really became a villainess...
'Is being a slave better than that....'
In the end, Franz compromised with reality.
That's when it happened.
A warning window appeared before Franz's eyes.
<Warning!>
<Elven Archer Hera's emotions are running wild! If left unchecked, it could negatively affect the ending!>
In Franz's eyes, Hera was gradually losing her will.
Her head drooped lifelessly, and the light faded from her eyes.
"If not a slave, where else do I belong..."
"Fine. Do as you wish."
"Really...?!"
"Yeah, slave or whatever, do what you want."
Franz watched the warning window disappear and inwardly let out a dry laugh.
It was just too absurd that she would fall into darkness because he wouldn't make her a slave.
'Still, I have a plan.'
Hera's condition was only after rescuing all the elven slaves.
But there are roughly over a hundred elven slaves in the world.
They're probably scattered all over the continent.
So by the time Hera rescued all the elven slaves, Franz might not even be in this world anymore.
An illusion caused by the lifespan difference between humans and elves.
In the not-too-distant future, Franz would realize something had gone wrong, but for now, he remained blissfully unaware.
* * * * *
As the sun that had illuminated the world sank behind the mountain ridge, darkness descended upon the world.
In the sky, only the new moon leisurely flaunted its figure.
Meanwhile, hidden in the darkness, two figures stood before a massive mansion.
They were Franz, the magician of the Hero's party, and Hera, the elven archer.
The plan was quite simple.
Franz would disable the traps, and they would immediately rush in to rescue the elven slaves.
Gidrik, the root of all this trouble, Mousetrap, and any witnesses were all to be executed.
At last, the gazes of the two standing side by side crossed in midair.
'Well then, shall we begin?'
Franz slowly extended his hand forward.
As he did so, waves of mana began to spread out from Franz.
Like a small pebble dropped into a calm water surface.
Trees, animals, people, magic circles.
Franz's spreading mana detected other heterogeneous mana.
It wasn't particularly magic, just mana detection.
Only the range and accuracy were overwhelming because it was Franz.
'You've been quite diligent, haven't you?'
From traps that teleported you elsewhere when stepped on, to ones that spewed flames, to those that gushed out fierce streams of water, and so on.
The inside of the mansion was densely packed with trap magic.
Since Mousetrap wasn't the type to work hard, Gidrik must have paid him quite a sum.
'The elven slaves....'
There were clusters of mana huddled together in the basement of the mansion.
As Franz increased the output of his mana detection, he could clearly sense the long ears attached to the mana clusters.
It seemed these were the elves, just as Hera had said.
'Then Gidrik and our Mousetrap....'
Gidrik and Mousetrap were together on the top floor.
They were probably having some kind of conversation.
Not that there was much they could accomplish by talking amongst themselves.
Well, everyone has a plan, they say.
Until they get hit, that is.
'Now then, let's start by disabling the traps.'
Stupid Mousetrap, this is what happens when you pick on the wrong people.
Franz let out a snicker and snapped his fingers.
Click-.
A short, crisp sound rang out in the silence, and simultaneously, all the traps installed throughout the mansion were disabled.
He's probably startled out of his wits right now.
The traps he spent days setting up have all vanished at once.
And to protect his pride, he'll keep it a secret from Gidrik.
Just imagining that scene brought joy to Franz.
"Hera, let's go now. The elves are in the basement."
"Understood."
At Franz's signal, Hera dashed forward and easily leaped over the high wall.
To think that was just her basic physical ability, it's amazing every time he sees it.
Anyway,
'Well then, shall I get to work on my end?'
It was finally time to meet the esteemed senior Mousetrap.
* * * * *
Mousetrap, or rather, Trap Magician Derin.
As he was dining with Gidrik in the mansion's dining room, he sensed something off.
'The traps have been disabled...?'
If they were being disabled one by one in order, he would have thought an intruder had come, but all the traps inside the mansion were disabled at once, leaving him perplexed.
It seemed like something was happening...
But he couldn't bring himself to tell Gidrik.
It had been a year since he left the magic tower, and he had finally landed a big job. He couldn't give up now.
"Hm? Derin, is something wrong?"
"Ah, just a slight stomach ache..."
"Oh, that's troublesome. Go take care of it."
Derin left his seat to visually confirm the situation.
As he was hurriedly moving his feet.
Suddenly, a voice began to echo in his head.
[Ah-, Senior Mousetrap, did you receive my gift well?]
It was a telepathic message from Franz.