Slave Light and Shadow

Break time between chores. I just stared off into space.

They made me a king. My days didn’t change.

Got a report from Yuria. Gave orders to Risha and the other slaves.

Most of it’s now handled by the slaves, but the town’s grown, people too—still, I’m just as busy as ever.

Racing around with DORECA, doing this, that, everywhere.

Biggest change? I can now sip tea made without DORECA.

A break. I finished my tea and stood up.

"Right. Time to build that park they wanted."

Stepped out of the mansion’s office. Walked through the town of Rebeck.

"Sis, how much is this?"

"1980 en."

"Not even 2000 en? Fine, I’ll take it."

"Thanks again."

On the way to the destination, passed by the market.

It used to be an empty lot, but lately shops had just gathered on their own, turning it into a market.

And lately, it’s gotten busier and busier.

Not just residents of Rebec, but people from other towns too—now you see them wandering through.

Different folks mixed together, haggling, selling, bartering.

Unlike in the Malarth era, there’s life in the air. Everyone’s bright-eyed, moving.

All that effort… paid off.

“Lord, hey, listen—there was word a while back that a town beyond Beesk, further south, is starving. Can’t we do something about it?”

“What town? Where is it? How many people?”

“Um… I forget the name… I heard it, but can’t recall now. Oh, wait—someone from there is still in Rebec. I’ll ask them next time I see them.”

“Ask one of the slaves when you do.”

“Lord, Lord! I heard from a traveler earlier—there’s supposedly a dragon’s nest down south from here. Here, take this map.”

"Not that far off. Got it—next time, I'll take care of it."

As I pushed through the market, voices called out one after another.

Everyone had something to say.

Most were requests, but info from outside the territory kept coming in too.

Not just goods and people—rumors and gossip had started piling up as well.

We moved based on that intel. Made things a lot easier.

Felt like everything was just… clicking into place.

Even while moving, it was work. Talking, listening, sorting through it all.

And so, I reached the place I'd planned.

Today’s task: the park’s construction site.

A gaping, floating pocket of open space in the middle of Rebeck’s town.

At the edge, various materials were stacked up.

Mira was waiting.

"Master!"

She hurried over, breathless.

"Been waiting."

"Yeah. We’re building a park here, right?"

"Yep!"

"Still, I gotta say—you really thought this one through. A park in the middle of town?"

"Risha and Rirya told me about it. I thought it’d be nice to bring a forest right into the middle of town."

"Correct. Well done."

"Hehe."

——Magic power charged by 10,000.

Praise her, stroke her head, and the magic charges up.

"Then let’s get started."

"Yep!"

I pull out DORECA, picture in my mind the park from the town in my old world, and begin setting up the magic circle.

Plant trees around the perimeter, place benches at random spots inside, set up a small stream, dig out the sandbox.

One by one, Mira tosses the materials she prepared into the respective magic circles.

"Nice and efficient."

"I asked Risha and Rirya what we’d need, and got everything ready."

"Good girl."

"Hehe."

——Magic power charged by 10,000.

Working together with Mira, quick and smooth, we build the park.

The groundwork was solid—within an hour, the park was starting to look like a proper one.

We’d burned through fifty thousand units of magic, but Mira had charged us more than that during the time.

In the end, we actually had more magic left over.

Built the park. Made a profit.

“Amazing.”

“Yes, my master is amazing.”

“No, that’s not—”

“?”

Mira tilts her head, eyebrows raised.

That look—like she’s trying to figure out what I meant.

“I was just thinking… slaves are amazing.”

“Then my master is definitely amazing. After all, a slave isn’t a slave without a master.”

Mira says it with a grin so wide it almost splits her face.

“Huh. True. The reverse is true too. A master without a slave? That’s just embarrassing.”

“My master, who owns four slaves, is a master of masters.”

“Did Rirya tell you that?”

“Yes, my master!”

Mira mimicked Rirya.

The tone of her voice was slightly amusing.

Then she did a little more, and the park was finished.

Ignoring the children who’d come running at the rumors, we slowly withdrew.

Another piece of town, another piece of world, reborn.

☆

Woken in the middle of the night.

"Master."

Rubbing my eyes, I saw Mira standing there.

"What is it? At a time like this?"

"An emergency has occurred."

"An emergency?"

Mira’s serious face snapped me awake.

I changed clothes and stepped out of the room. Following Mira’s lead, we reached the mansion’s front gate.

There stood a man I recognized.

Definitely someone I knew… but who was this guy again?

"The jailer, Master."

Mira whispered from beside me.

I remembered—this was the jailer.

The one who guarded the Holy Night prison, and the one who’d given me all those warnings.

The man looked at me with a guilty expression—then dropped to his knees.

"Sorry!"

"What's wrong? What happened?"

"Actually... the criminal escaped."

"Escaped?"

I doubted my ears.

I hadn't expected that.

☆

I arrived at the prison cell in the middle of the night.

Inside, the first thing I saw was the ruined cell.

"This... could it be?"

"Looks like it's been dismantled."

Mira, who’d come with me, said, stunned.

Yeah. Dismantled.

One of DORECA’s functions. Use high magical energy to dismantle something made with DORECA.

The destruction of the cell bars was a telltale sign of that dismantling.

Only someone who wielded DORECA—Saint Night herself, locked in here—could do this.

"Can’t believe she could... that takes a serious amount of magic."

"Yes... a serious amount."

"And that shouldn't be possible with a normal DORECA... wait—no!"

Something far more important than the card had just clicked into place.

Breaking this prison took an enormous amount of magic. And the source of Saint Night’s magic...?

“Where’s Saint Night’s slave? What was their condition before we took them?”

A bad feeling shot through my head.

Saint Night’s magic charging—requires violence against the slave.

Punching. Kicking. Charging magic by harming the slave. Exactly the opposite of how I do it.

And it’s incredibly inefficient.

Each punch or kick only gives you a hundred, maybe two hundred magic points.

To break this prison, you’d need a massive amount of magic. Meaning they’ve been beaten badly.

“How bad? Don’t tell me they’re dead. Mira—contact Mya. Send someone to search for Saint Night. Get them the universal cure.”

“Yes!”

Mira turned to run.

“Actually… they were left behind.”

My movements froze at the gatekeeper’s reply.

……What?

An answer so far beyond expectation it left me reeling.

I doubted my own ears.

☆

Inside the guard post beside the prison, the slave of Saint Night lay stretched out.

Her body was in tatters—too broken to look at.

“Mira.”

“Yes!”

Mira rushed to her side. She poured the universal medicine into her mouth, struggling even to get it down.

Even breathing was a fight.

“…Force it. Break her mouth open if you have to—just get it down.”

“Yes!!!”

Knowing the medicine’s power, Mira did as ordered, shoving the remedy in despite the resistance.

The effect was immediate. Wounds closed, healed in seconds.

The slave’s face regained a little color, but Mira still stared with a grim expression.

I turned to the guard.

“What was the situation?”

“Um… he’s been hitting and kicking that girl for a while now. Always calling her stupid, trash, stuff like that—violence through the bars, every time.”

A familiar scene. Just another holy night.

“I tried to stop it… but she just took it in silence. And the lord said to leave her alone unless we were releasing her… so I couldn’t stop it. That’s why…”

“I see. I get it. It’s not your fault. I was the one who underestimated the night.”

“…Um… is she really okay?”

The guard glanced nervously at the slave, asking.

Sounded like he was blaming himself for not stopping it.

“She’ll be fine. I gave her medicine… she’ll wake up soon. —It’s my own concoction.”

Adding that last line, the guard’s face relaxed a little.

“Ah… if it’s the lord’s medicine, then she’ll be fine, right?”

—You’ve done well. The rest is ours to decide. You may go now.

—Understood.

Nodding, the guard stepped away.

After watching him leave, I turned toward the slave of Saint Night.

Mira’s eyes met mine.

—Even after drinking her master’s panacea… she won’t wake up. That’s cruel.

—…Yeah.

—Master!

A voice called from behind. I turned only my head.

There they were—Risha, Yuria, and Rirya.

All three wore worried expressions. They’d come running after hearing the news.

I gave a slight nod. As they moved toward the slave, I stepped outside in exchange.

I looked up at the stars.

Leaving the slave behind, Saint Night.

I’d pretended not to see everything before. But this time… I couldn’t.

—You’re not her master anymore.

Anger bubbled up, fierce and hard to hold back.