“Thank you so much, Sora! Honestly, I can’t thank you enough!”
Three days earlier, after bringing Miroslav back to Ishka, Raz was extremely grateful and relieved to see Miroslav was safe. His face was even more haggard than the other day, as though he hadn’t slept a wink since he’d asked me to rescue her. He’d probably been afraid it would turn out to be a repeat performance of the Lord of the Flies incident, where he’d been the first to fall unconscious and the party had blundered as a result. Plus, if he lost Miroslav because of his negligence, this time he’d have no one to blame but himself. The guilt and regret had probably weighed on him heavily.
When he’d seen her alive, he’d jumped for joy, completely forgetting his animosity toward me. Miroslav also cozied up to him, turning on the charm. Her eyes were moist, her cheeks blushing as she held Raz’s hand. Anyone seeing her would think she was a maiden in love. You’d never guess she’d been the one to attack Raz and knock him unconscious while they were on the mountain. Knowing the truth, I was impressed and, quite frankly, frightened by her talent for acting.
Still, based on what she’d told me while we were on the mountain, perhaps that was because her behavior toward him might not entirely be an act.
While talking with Miroslav in the Skim Mountains, I’d learned exactly what the red-haired mage had been aiming to accomplish. She wanted to leave Raz and come back to me instead. I’d already planned to use her as a soul source alongside Lunamaria and Iria, so I had no reason to turn her away—especially when I’d learned that she’d fought the mountain’s dangerous monsters by herself specifically for that purpose. However, she did give me one condition: that I would leave Raz alone for good.
To make a long story short, I agreed. After all, I’d never intended to do anything more to Raz in the first place. But I did warn her that if Raz ever attacked me first, all bets were off. Miroslav seemed to understand that, and ultimately, we decided we were going to make him leave Ishka. Raz had given his reason for leaving as wanting to do some soul-searching and start from scratch, but in truth, Miroslav had egged him on to make him think it was something he should do.
As for Miroslav herself, she’d announced her intent to leave Raz and join my clan instead. She’d told him it was to repay me for rescuing her, and he seemed to understand. Well, “understand” is a generous term—he was probably just aware he was in no position to oppose. After all, he believed he was the reason Miroslav had been exposed to such danger.
If there was any concern, it was that Raz would reunite with Iria upon returning to Merte. How exactly would he react if he learned that Iria had sworn her loyalty to me? And what attitude would he take toward me when he saw how I’d changed her? What’s more, if Iria came to my side as well while he was in Merte, Raz would definitely suspect something was up. So it was probably in my best interest to head to Merte and pick up Iria before he got there. It would also give me an excuse to see Priestess Sela.
Come to think of it, I had already talked to her about Claimh Soras’s food. Perhaps I could use that as a pretext to invite mother and daughter to Ishka together. Not to move there, but just to show them the town and sightsee some. Naturally, the three brats could come as well. Plus, since I didn’t plan to eat Sela’s soul, there was no need to rush. I could take my time winning her over with a more subtle, indirect approach.
That left just one more item on the agenda, which I took care of next: the matter of Seele’s status as a slave. The next day, I took Seele, and Lunamaria as well, to Fyodor and asked him to remove their collars.
“You want to emancipate them both. Do I have that right, Mr. Sora?” In a room within the association’s building, the narrow-eyed slave trader asked me to confirm.
“That’s right,” I said with a nod. “Please.”
“Very well, then.” Fyodor mumbled something I didn’t understand, then touched both Seele’s and Lunamaria’s collars. Despite not having any joints or connecting pieces, they came off right away. Seele, who’d clearly been a ball of nerves up until now, blinked in shock. Lunamaria also looked bewildered as she raised a hand to her neck.
Fyodor faced them both with a big smile. “The deed is done. And don’t worry; we’ll also strike both your names from our registry. Miss Lunamaria, Miss Seele, congratulations on your newfound freedom!”
Seeing the oddly overjoyed Fyodor, neither of them quite knew how to react and settled for small nods. That made sense—after all, a slave trader was telling them, “Aren’t you glad you’re no longer a slave?” It was too bizarre for them to take his words at face value. And indeed, his brief comment about striking their names from the registry had had everything to do with the slave collars they’d been wearing.
Back when I’d first bound Lunamaria to my service, I’d wanted the slave trader association’s help specifically for that collar. That was what I’d stood to gain. But what did the association have to gain from helping me? Well, my promise to hand her over to the association in the event of my death. Once I died, rather than being released, she would become the association’s property. That was why they’d gone so far as to let me borrow their precious slave collar technology. In the event I’d died, I could have ordered the association to free her in my will, but I would have had to compensate them monetarily beforehand in order for them to honor that request.