Chapter 165
It was the day they took down the cult’s assassination squad.
Hera had mentioned that she wanted to talk for a moment, although, given the circumstances, it had ended up fizzling out.
Anyway, having heard those words earlier, he had no choice but to accept.
Franz gave up on his dream of a pleasant sleep and raised his body from the bed.
When he opened the door, Hera was naturally standing there.
“What is it?”
“It is nothing much… But would you like to take a walk together for now?”
Hera avoided his gaze and held out her hand.
Resting on her hand was a luxurious leather strap, rolled up neatly.
“Is she telling me to take it?”
Franz, who was about to take it without knowing why, stopped right before his hand touched it.
He ended up seeing that the end of the leather strap was connected to her neck, or more accurately, her choker.
The true identity of the leather strap was none other than a leash.
Since she asked to take a walk, he naturally thought they would just be walking together. But at this rate, wasn’t it just like playing with a pet?
Of course, it was similar in the sense that they were walking together…
It was different. Anyway, it was different.
“Hera, why this?”
“O-Often, when slaves go outside, do they not wear a leash like this?”
Wasn’t taking a slave out for a walk already an uncommon situation to begin with?
Franz thought so, but he didn’t bother saying it out loud. It seemed like it would only backfire.
“Let’s head outside for now. Doing this here is a bit much.”
“Let us do that.”
Franz slipped out of the villa with Hera.
The cool night air tickled his cheeks, and the brightly shining moon illuminated the world in place of the sun.
The night had a peculiar atmosphere of its own.
“Hera, do you still want to be a slave?”
Franz asked in a rather serious tone.
Up until recently, he had been certain that Hera’s feelings were genuine. She had always said such things, and she had actually tried to act like a slave.
But lately, it had been hard to find such words and actions from her, so he wanted to confirm it directly.
“May I speak honestly…?”
“Yeah, tell me honestly.”
“I am not sure. In the past, I was consumed by my debt and wanted to become a slave, but now, whether as a slave or something else, I only want to develop a slightly better relationship.”
Having confessed her feelings openly, Hera raised her head and looked at the moon. Her calmly settled eyes held complex and subtle emotions.
Unlike her, Franz was simply glad. He had suffered no small amount of emotional distress because she kept saying she would become a slave.
And above all, the fact that he wouldn’t have to perform the eccentric act of taking a walk while holding a grown woman’s leash…
“Still, I would like you to hold this.”
“…You said it was fine even if you weren’t a slave.”
“T-this is just my preference…”
This was another quite shocking statement.
If she wanted to become a slave, it would at least be rational, but this meant she was literally doing it just because she wanted to.
“Still, I should respect her preferences for now…”
Franz decided to just think of it that way and move on. It seemed like digging too deep wouldn’t do either of them any good.
Anyway, if it weren’t for a particularly important reason, it would be better to refuse.
So, he was just about to say something.
“However, that is not the only reason. The King of Ganiphus said that wearing this leash makes one submissive to one’s Master. I wish to test that.”
The moment he heard her words, countless questions bloomed in Franz’s mind.
What kind of structure did the leash have to produce such an ability?
Was making someone submissive without being coercive a type of mental manipulation?
Just what was the scope of a Master, and what kind of creatures could the leash’s effects influence?
In the end, to sum it up, it was like this.
He was incredibly curious about the unknown world the object in front of him would reveal.
So, what else could he do?
“…Give it here.”
A mage was not a being who could hold back when faced with the unknown, so Franz ultimately had no choice but to grasp Hera’s leash.
And so, the walk began.
Franz and Hera started walking with the night sea as their backdrop.
“Hera, how does it feel right now?”
“Nothing has particularly changed. I feel like I would definitely be able to tell if there were something that would provoke a sense of resistance, though…”
Something that would provoke a sense of resistance…
Making Hera do such a thing made him feel quite guilty, but hadn’t she also agreed that she wanted to check the leash’s ability?
As long as he kept it within reasonable bounds, she probably wouldn’t have any complaints.
“Try crawling on all fours.”
“L-like this…?”
Hera placed both hands on the ground and began to crawl slowly on all fours.
Franz immediately averted his gaze from her.
It was hard to bear watching a comrade he had once fought back-to-back with perform such an act, no matter if it was for an experiment.
“That’s enough. Get up.”
“Understood.”
Hera stood up and brushed the dirt off her hands, pat, pat-.
Franz forced himself to ignore the guilt blooming in his heart and opened his mouth.
“For now, the leash’s ability seems certain. You carried out the order to crawl on all fours without any resistance.”
“Franz, if you wish it, I could roll on the ground instead of just crawling on all fours. That was the same even before I put on this leash.”
It was truly a joyful thing to be trusted, but apart from that, he wished she would refuse such requests.
Anyway, it seemed difficult to continue the experiment any further.
Because he didn’t have the confidence to make her do anything that would provoke more resistance than crawling on all fours.
“Let’s do the rest next time. This wasn’t your purpose for calling me out in the first place, was it?”
“If you say so…”
Hera trailed off, alternating her gaze between his eyes and the hand holding the leash.
He could tell what her intention was without even having to ask.
She was worried he would let go of the leash.
In truth, since the experiment was over, there was no reason for Franz to keep holding the leash.
He had participated in such an eccentric act only for the purpose of exploring the unknown.
However,
“Should I play along a little longer…”
Asking for the leash only to let go the moment his goal was achieved would be a petty move.
Since there was no one watching, it should be fine for a little while.
And so, Franz and Hera’s bizarre walk continued a little longer.
Crunch, crunch-.
They took their steps, treading on the fine sand.
“Hera, so what was it you wanted to say?”
“It is a bit late, but I wanted to say thank you. Thanks to you, I was able to repay my debt to Count Genes, even if only a little.”
Speaking of Count Genes, he was the owner of the villa and the man with an elf wife.
Hera said she attacked Count Genes to rescue the elf, so that debt still lingered in her heart.
“If I had met him alone, I would not have been able to tell him to come to the Great Forest. Even saying such a thing would have felt like a sin. So, it can all be attributed to you. Thank you for lightening the burden on my heart.”
“Forget it. What’s there to be thankful for? It’s not like I did anything huge.”
“It might be like that for you, but not for me.”
Franz scratched his head awkwardly.
It was because this atmosphere itself felt entirely awkward to him.
On the other hand, he also felt that she was amazing.
Because he knew very well how hard it was to express one’s feelings honestly.
“Anyway, you are always like this. Perhaps it is because of that part of you.”
Cutting her words off midway, Hera let out a soft chuckle, pfft-.
Her green hair fluttered in the wind blowing from the dark sea.
“If you’re going to speak, finish your sentence.”
“Well, I am sorry, but that will be difficult. It surely would not be fun if I told you now.”
What did she mean by fun? He was in a situation where he felt like he was losing his mind.
But since it didn’t seem like she would tell him even if he pried any further, he decided to just give up.
He didn’t want to waste energy on something with no possibility.
Not long after that, Franz returned to the villa with Hera.
“Then, sleep well.”
“You sleep well, too.”
With that short greeting, the room door opened and closed.
Having finished his outing and returned to his room, Franz let out a sigh and lay down on the bed. It was finally the moment to fulfill his dream of catching up on lost sleep, so he was truly overjoyed.
As he closed his eyes, his consciousness began to drift far away, as if he would fall asleep at any moment.
Right after Franz entered his room, three tightly shut doors opened simultaneously as if on cue, but he himself was completely unaware of this fact.
* * *
The next day.
Rarely, Franz greeted the morning in good condition. It seemed the ancestors' proverb that sleep was the best medicine wasn’t wrong after all.
Later, while they were all having breakfast together, Franz spoke.
“Why don’t we all go to the sea today?”
They had gone through the trouble of coming to the seaside, so wouldn’t it be too much of a shame to only enjoy it with their eyes?
They had to actually dip their bodies in and splash around to say they had properly enjoyed the sea.
“I would like that.”
“I do not particularly mind either.”
“We’re playing in the water, right? Sounds fun.”
“If it’s just dipping our feet in, then well…”
Up until this point, Franz had no idea just what kind of disaster his proposal to go to the sea would bring.