A Cheap, OP Brawler

I also paid a little extra for the seat cushions they"d need to sit on the floor comfortably (not like I"d force them to sit on the floor most of the time, but just to be safe on certain occasions and locations) and "special outfits" tailored to their fitting, specifically maid uniforms. They"re not the skimpy, ecchi, French/Victorian ones that one might see in j.a.panese maid cafes though. These are more traditional where they give the "servants" a modest appearance as they work in a n.o.ble household one"s a.s.signed to. A more professional look with sleeves, skirts that stretch to the floor, and even caps big enough to cover Ren"s wolf ears. Erizora"s lone horn might be a bit of a challenge to cover, though. They"re both in dark colors with a white, frilly ap.r.o.n that"s removable as it covers the front of the set and ties together in the back.

Imagining the girls in those uniforms, it could be that they"re designed so demons and demis could attempt to live and walk amongst the humans—if you look past the holes in the skirts for those like Ren who have tails—and guests wouldn"t be as anxious having those of a different race serving them as the next might. Personally, I prefer this design over the "popular, modern" look back in j.a.pan since it gives an air of professionalism to the wearer that one could take seriously. If the head of the household is feeling frisky in certain roleplays, it makes taking advantage of his position over his servants more realistic and tabooer for the sake of thrills. That"s just my own take in this certain scenario, but I doubt I"ll have a lot of time to have such things with Ren and Erizora.

Of course, having a removable ap.r.o.n also gives the option of taking the "naked ap.r.o.n" look that I admit have wanted to see in person for myself at least once in my life.

Once I paid for it all in gold coins (since I"m not sure how Ms. Carmen would react if I paid with a few white gold coins), she then explained to me what I need to know about owning a slave. This includes the laws that come with owning a slave, confirming how the functions in my "Slaves" window works, and the consequences of mishandling them, mainly make sure they have a roof over their heads when sleeping, are not underfed, and/or physically abused to the point of death.

I got a little uneasy when she mentioned the law won"t even bat an eye when a slave gets raped unless it"s by someone who isn"t their owner without consent, to which the owner must file the report for charges against the offender for "abusing their property." When I asked her how s.e.xual a.s.sault/**** cases with regular women are handled, speaking as a foreigner from "overseas," it actually gets complicated as each territory occupied by the three kin have different laws. While there are guilds like the adventurer"s guild, merchant"s guild, and slave merchant"s guild who share the same rules within their industries at all locations, the territories governed by their respective rulers have laws that those who are in their boundaries must follow, whether they"re residents or travelers.

For s.e.xual a.s.sault cases in the Human-Kin"s Territory, it depends on how many of that offense you committed and to whom. Punishments range from probation with public notice and large fines if you have enough to afford the bail, to being enslaved for labor if you can"t pay it off. If n.o.bility is involved, the punishment could even lead to execution. It sort of shows how surprisingly progressive they are in terms of women"s rights, but I feel there"s still a lot that needs to be improved on and I could already see how they can be used against the falsely accused.

As for what goes on in the Demon-Kin"s Territory, where I"m in right now, it largely depends on how the cultures between races differ and maybe the cities they reside. There are traditions that some races must follow in terms of relationships and courtship, and then there are the agreed laws in the cities governed by their respective lords. It"s kind of a mixed bag of what"s involved and whether or not punishment should be enacted.

I mean, using Minotaurs for an example that Ms. Carmen explained to me, the males can fight to the death for courting the female of interest, and that could include one if not all of the combatant"s sisters. Kind of similar to Erizora"s Ogre courting traditions, but far more radical and gorier. Even if the females don"t like the victorious male, they"d still have to go along with him and be their mate as accorded to tradition. They even make it into a public event that people would pay money to see in a coliseum.

I only asked about how they"re handled since it was mentioned in our talk of slavery, but I"ve always hated **** and would never a.s.sault on anyone, whether they"re slaves or not. I just need to be careful of who I get involved with, mind my place, and I won"t have to worry about it. I will need to get to know Ren and Erizora more before I"m confident I can trust what they say without relying on their "Confession" set at 1, but as long as I treat them with respect and care as decent people, all will be well and good.

Finally, we moved on to the "Transfer of Ownership Ritual." This is to change the ownership and workings of the slave magic on the subjected slaves from the slave merchant to the new owner permanently before we get to the legal certifications on paper. To do this, Ms. Carmen had to pull out a unique black ink prepared beforehand poured into a gla.s.s along with a few drops of my blood mixed in it. Using Nyra"s blade, I cut along the scar I made on my palm earlier and let the blood drop in the gla.s.s. Ms. Carmen provided bandages for me to use for the wound, but I quietly chant "Heal" to close the wound again after the wrapping was done and will remove it later. Ms. Carmen then dips a brush in the stirred ink-blood concoction and draws a symbol on each of the girls" sternums.

Yes, this required Ren and Erizora to remove the tops of their slave rags and taut their b.r.e.a.s.t.s to the sides—not so much for Ren with her modest size, but definitely so for Erizora—for Ms. Carmen to draw the symbol legibly in the center. They flushed greatly in their faces and some parts of their bodies that are bare as I watch the process intently. Once I realized what I was doing, I had to quickly apologize and look away to respect their privacy.

Turned out that wasn"t necessary, as part of the ritual included me actually touching the symbols with my bare fingers and pour my magic into them, getting the slave rings around their necks to identify me as their new owner, in a sense. Something akin to the newer smartphones on Earth having those fingerprint IDs. Ms. Carmen said that there was usually pain involved for the slaves when they"re first branded, as they would fight and struggle for their right to be free and be their own person. If there wasn"t a hint of pain shown on them, whether if they"re being branded the first time or being transferred to a new owner, it meant they"ve totally submitted themselves and accepted in their hearts the new master they"d serve from now on.

Even if they couldn"t tell a lie, I was still a little unconvinced that they"d want to be my slaves so badly, but if what Ms. Carmen said was true, that might be why they had smiles on their flushed faces as I poured my mana in their symbols.

I have to admit that I was feeling light and warm in my chest knowing now that these two girls chose me to spend the rest of their lives with.

To answer Nyra"s earlier question of why I wanted them as my slaves now, it is true that their backstories sympathize with me. I lost my mother due to an illness not too long ago and I could never see the remainder of my "family," Mom"s other friends who were my aunts, again after getting killed and transferred to Raiza.

A stinging pain hits my chest as I think about it, but I try to choke it down for the time being until I find some time and s.p.a.ce to myself.

Anyway, it seems Ren and Erizora have lost their own families in particular circ.u.mstances and were left to fend for themselves against the world, and all that they seek is companionship. Someone they could lean on while they try to do the same for them.

Honestly, I chose coming to this world over being reborn with a clean slate or be sent to heaven partly not just because Mom gave me this opportunity, but I found it as more of a self-enacting punishment. To make amends after beating all of those people back home and take their money as part of my former "job," even if my intentions for going into such work seemed justified at the time. h.e.l.l, even if I was angry at the time my female coworker stabbed me, now that I"m looking back on it with a clearer mindset, that might"ve been the result of my own karma catching up to me. I figured being sent to a world where more danger lurks in every corner than back home, fighting in such a place for the rest of my life seemed fitting for my own demise. Raiza would serve as my h.e.l.l that I"d try to make the most of my time with.

I don"t find redeeming Ren and Erizora making up for my sins on Earth as I"m doing this more out of my own selfish need of companionship and protection like they"re seeking. If they wish to be set free from slavery, I would give it to them without argument and let them do as they please.

I admit that I haven"t been so terrified of handling such a responsibility like taking in a slave in my life before now; however, Ren and Erizora embraced me from both sides with smiles on their faces by the end of the ritual. Aside from the incredible feeling of their bare b.r.e.a.s.t.s against me, I felt a little more relaxed than I was at the beginning.

[You have achieved the "Slave Owner" t.i.tle!

[The "Slaves" status page is now accessible!

[Ren has now become your slave. Scroll to the "Slaves" page to set your parameters.

[Erizora has now become your slave.

[Ren"s Affinity is now unlocked. Current level of Affinity: LV 1; Total Affinity Level: 1

[Conditions met: Affinity Points (AP) are now available.

[You may now use the Affinity Skill: "Werewolf"s Fangs!" Cost: 4 AP

[Erizora"s Affinity is now unlocked. Current level of Affinity: LV 1; Total Affinity Level: 2

[You may now use the Affinity Skill: "Ogre"s Rage!" Cost: 4 AP]

The last couple of notices that relate to "affinities" were strangely in light pink windows instead of the usual light blue color.

Well … that"s new.

Nyra asks.

I will definitely need to ask Ms. Obina at some point but in the meantime … let"s not worry about it for now.

After the long stream of notices appeared before me, I eased the tensions I didn"t realize I had in my shoulders and returned the embrace to the girls. With this, Ren, the White Werewolf, and Erizora, the Ogre/Human hybrid, I"ve now a total of three people in my soon-to-be new adventurer"s party, as well as the ever-growing, strange, yet awesome new family in this world.

Oh, make that four if we include Nyra, the Pixie who dwells in my tanto, into the mix. Yeah, this will certainly grow into a strange family, all right.

~~

To finish off our business, Ms. Carmen used the same ink to write out the certificates, one for each person owned as my slave. At her suggestion, she also prepared two "receipts" of sorts that signify the same thing while her father"s business keeps the certificates for records. Whenever I enter a new town, I should show the post guards the receipts I"ll be carrying that certify Ren and Erizora are under my care. This happened while Ren and Erizora changed out of their rags and into the new clothes provided for them.

Speaking of clothes, Ms. Carmen also provided me notes that tell of the girls" measurements in case I need to get them new clothes and underwear. I couldn"t read Padimonian, but I already knew what their measurements were with my "Size Up." Still, it would be good to have it on hand as a sort of reference to see if I can learn a little of the language on my own time.

Lastly, Ms. Carmen said she"ll be packing up her tents to return to Alluga for the time being within the next week. She"s aware of me being able to use [Portal] and is giving me this opportunity to make a hop, skip, and a jump to the Human-Kin"s Territory in case I want to come back at a later time. She is charging a fee for it, which makes sense as there are not many opportunities for most to travel so far within a short time, and so the price matches. I figured it would be nice to see a little of what Alluga has to offer while I"m there, so I put in a reservation to come along with her while giving her three gold coins for the fee.

Ms. Carmen also mentioned how her father, the business" main head, would like to see me from how unique I sounded when she reported my activities last night. I"m not really aiming to redeem more slaves for the time being if that"s his aim, but I figured it wouldn"t hurt to talk to him. We agreed the first thing we"d do when we get to the city is to visit his office.

When I was asked for any other questions I had, out of reference, I asked Ms. Carmen if there are ways to prevent the girls from getting pregnant since Erizora serves a prime example that interbreeding between humans and demons is possible. One method she explained was this weird goo made from grounded special herbs that Nyra"s not surprisingly familiar with as she must use a bunch of this stuff for her own plays back in the day. It acts as a lubricant as well as an absorbent for s.e.m.e.n when applied in a woman"s nether region. They"d have to be sc.r.a.ped off and reapplied again when one wants to do multiple rounds, however. The slaves in her father"s business are apparently also given a free sample of the stuff upon redeeming for their owners to use at their own discretion.

When I asked if there was anything else, she told me something interesting about a Null Spell appropriately named [Contraception]. Those who"re capable of using this spell are paid very well in brothels as it not only acts as a better lubricant than the herb goo, but it lasts for two hours inside the woman"s body even with multiple rounds and it increases the stimulation for both males and females when applied to both of their s.e.xes. It sounds like it kills the sperm inside s.e.m.e.n before it even gets to fertilize the egg going by what she"s explaining to me. I"m only guessing because her wording makes it sound like this world isn"t advanced in health science enough to even know what sperm is.

She said I could try to find someone capable of using that spell and see if they could lend me some, or find shops that sell jars of it as it doesn"t go bad as long as it"s preserved properly, but I think I already know someone who can after hearing about this spell if my track record for this stuff is consistent.

As an additional bonus, Ms. Carmen pointed out a few places in Dondegarm that are like the love hotels back in j.a.pan where people go to pay money to occupy a room and have their fun time in private, a few of which that has staff knowing the [Soundproof] Null Spell. I asked for more details on it and I knew immediately that this "certain someone" is capable of using the second new spell I heard of today.

Ren and Erizora took the opportunity to say good-bye to their slave colleagues before we left since we most likely won"t be seeing them again for a while. I admit that things got a little awkward when that cat girl from earlier approached and got too close for my comfort, and even more so when Ren and Erizora suddenly grew very hostile towards her. Like, the making themselves big while growling that made her literally run with her tail between her legs kind of hostile. Even Nyra pointed out how she could sense the bloodl.u.s.t wafting from their forms, a complete first I"ve seen from them. When I asked them what the deal was later, they said the cat girl is a newbie slave who"s notorious for doing little physical labor and thinks just acting cute and flirty would be enough for a potential owner to redeem her. They overheard her once how she"d wish to live in a life of luxury in a capable person"s home and just lazes about when she"s not acting as her master"s plaything.

I know there are slaves who submitted themselves to the industry by choice, but I had no idea they got into it with those motives in mind. Doing nothing but eat and sleep, other than submitting themselves to be their owner"s s.e.x toy, that sounds like a shut-in"s paradise. I didn"t think there are people with such naivete in this industry. I"m glad Ren and Erizora b.u.t.ted in when they did, but I can"t help but pity her a little when she realizes how cruel reality will be later. Maybe it"s because she"s at a younger age than Ren and Erizora that she has such a positive outlook, but I digress. I took the "those who don"t work, don"t eat" philosophy pretty seriously back home while growing up. Ren and Erizora look to be ready to work at a moment"s notice, and they"re hard enough warriors to handle battles while they keep up with me. We won"t be in a life of luxury for a while, so that cat girl would have a hard time being with us, anyway.

I realize later that I never looked up to see what her name was. It just goes to show how little I cared for her if her affection is partly an act like Nyra warned me, contrary to what Ren and Erizora were feeling from Lili"s house after learning of their redemption up to now.

I might sound like a total degenerate now, but if I actually find more girls around here who have similar feelings like these two, if they"re willing to get along, maybe forming a large harem might not be too much of a stretch to achieve as I originally thought.