CH 7

A sunlit study. In front of a bookshelf, a man carefully fiddled with a transparent gem. Every time a ray of sunlight touches it, it sparkles into a straight line. He deliberately turned the gem in the sunlight, basking in its colorful reflection.

“Well. Tell me what happened”

“I apologize. The explosion occurred right after they left the salt island.”

The man with his back turned slowly.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. They’re currently in Einfork.”

He set the prized gem down gently in its case and ran his fingers through his blond hair.

“This was after they had already left?”

“Yes. They left the island earlier than expected.”

“And who made that estimate?”

“I apologize. My bad.”

The man in black dropped to the floor, his forehead touching the ground.

“Useless, the salt island was even wasted.”

“Now that he had nowhere to let his power run wild… He will definitely come back to the palace. If you give me one more chance, I will surely succeed!”

“Do you mean to blow up the palace?”

“I will prepare something to your satisfaction and report back to you!”

“You have a long list of excuses.”

“I’m sorry, if you’ll just give me one more chance!”

“I’ve already given you a chance.”

His voice was still soft. He tugged lightly on a string between the bookshelves, and then the door opened and another man entered.

“Ugh! Ugh!!!”

The man on the floor stiffened as if he were being held down by something. He couldn’t even open his mouth, he can only groan.

It looked like he was trying to struggle, but he couldn’t actually move at all. The man who had just entered walked straight over and snapped his neck in one swift motion.

“Tsk.”

“I’ll clean it up.”

The man who asked for a second chance left the room, without any breath.

“Whoa. It took longer than I thought.”

The man swept his golden hair back once more while sitting slowly in the chair. The sunlight spilled over his face, bright and shining.

“Right? Brother.”

His golden eyes were the only thing frozen in the otherwise warm landscape.

⚘

Three years later.

Clank, Rattle, rattle, Clank.

The carriage rocked incessantly, its tiny stone beak swaying with every movement. It was wrong to expect a comfortable ride, as it was originally a cargo wagon. But I’ve had one or two soothing rides with one before, but this one was too rocking.

Clank!

I groaned. Every bone in my body was screaming at me to stop. I’ve ridden in many carriages, but this one was out of this world.

I couldn’t figure out if it was the carriage, the driver, or the road. I couldn’t sit or lie down, so I stayed in one position or the other, and it was just killing me.

I took sleeping pills, but they wore off sooner than I expected. It was a total disaster.

For the first time in a very long time, an essential question came to mind.

‘Why am I a slave?’

Those nobles should better be thanking the gods of this world.

But what could I do but accept the fate that had been given to me. True, class was class, but a man must have money. It was an immortal truth, regardless of world or dimension.

‘Damn it.’

“It’s hard to find someone as good as you, Seth. How much do you want?”

“Seth, I think I can trust you with this shop, and I want you to be my successor.”

I’ve had a lot of offers and temptations on my way here from Port Pichedore. Everywhere I turned, they recognized my abilities and asked me to work for them.

They even offered me a raise. But when the time came for me to leave, I did so without regret.

I moved locations, saved money, moved locations, and that’s what I did for the past three years.

“Hey, get off.”

I was about to get off. I knew the carriage had stopped. But my body just wouldn’t listen.

“Ugh.”

I moved my joints one by one and slowly pulled myself out of the carriage.

“Hahaha. This is the first time I’ve ever carried a person in this carriage.”

“Here.”

I paid the money I had prepared. I was glad he didn’t do anything weird. I’d seen some people dumped in the middle of the road for all the money they had.

“Ugh. This is too much, how can you not smell that?”

These wagons were originally used to transport fruit. The problem was that the fruit was accompanied by an incredible odor. The flesh was said to taste heavenly, but the smell of the peel was unimaginable. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but I knew it smelled like something rotten.

Sniff. Sniff. I tried to sniff myself, but my nose was already numb. And I’ve been smelling foul odors my entire life anyway, so it wasn’t new to me.

“Is that the checkpoint?”

“Urgh… Don’t come any closer. Get in that line.”

There was a line at the gate. I stood at the end of the line and looked up at the gate in awe. I had suffered for three years to get here. I was finally about to enter the capital of the Empire.

I touched the cloth pouch inside my robe once more. Inside was a piece of paper more precious than money.

“Eew. What is that smell?”

The gatekeeper grabbed his nose. He snatched the paper I held out as if it were filth.

His eyes widened when he saw the words on the paper with his nose covered.

“Hey, look at this.”

He called his coworker over to check it out, and they both looked at me at the same time.

“What should we do?”

“Can’t we just tell her to go find her own way?”

“Won’t we get in trouble for that?”

“Then how? I even had to take a slave with me?”

“Aish. Wait here.”

One of the gatekeepers grabbed a piece of paper and disappeared. He was going to report to his superiors. I waited there, watching him hold his nose as people approached.

“You, follow me.”

They were going to take me there after all. I thought they’d just tell me where to go, but apparently the capital is the capital. There must be some sort of procedure.

“Stay as far away as possible.”

The gatekeeper told me to stay back, but I didn’t care. I wouldn’t have gotten this far if I did. As I stepped inside the castle, I smelled something rich.

This was Belvaros, the capital of the Empire, where the imperial palace is located.

“There.”

The gatekeeper, who had been leading the way, pointed ahead. After passing through the capital’s bustling streets and residential neighborhoods, there was a secluded forest.

Right next to it, their destination showed its greatness. In the middle of a long row of white walls was a golden door.

The gatekeeper handed out the documents and the ornate door swung open.

“Wait here and someone will come out.”

The gatekeeper held his nose and scurried away, since he had already finished his job. I should have gotten used to it by now, but the smell was still disgusting.

“You must be Seth.”

As I stood there, looking around in confusion, a tall woman appeared. I bowed and greeted her, and she motioned for me to enter from the inside of the gate.

The paper I had been holding onto for three years had finally come into effect.

“You want to go to the crown prince’s palace?”

⚘

‘Yes. I need your help.’

‘I can only write you a letter of recommendation…. Does it have to be there?’

‘I want to do something that will help the crown prince.’

Feren shook his head as if he remembered me reading every book about the crown prince.

I was glad that I was able to persuade him before my hands and feet grew limp with all sorts of praises about the crown prince. You have no idea how much effort I put into faking a crush on an imperial hero.

‘Seth. I have a message from the palace!’

The crown prince’s palace sent a letter sooner than expected, saying that they would review my application favorably. The priest said it was as good as being hired. Of course, there was no such thing as a send-off for a mere slave, which is why I had traveled all the way to the crown prince’s palace on my own. It took me three years.

Yes. Three years….

It was a long, short time.

Slaves are basically not allowed to own money or property, but thanks to a special guarantee document written by the priest, they can be moved from place to place for a wage.

The document goes like this:

『You know what happens when you mess with a slave who is the property of the imperial family, so treat them right when they are speaking well with you. An officer of the High Priestly Guard is always watching….』

My original plan was to leave Port Pichedore once I had saved enough money, but in the aftermath of the Salt Island explosion, there were very few jobs available, and I ended up moving to a nearby town, then another, then another.

Finding a job wasn’t easy either, so I would often turn around instead of going straight to the next town. This is why it took me three years to travel a distance that could have been covered in just a few months.

If I had any money left, I would have to return it to the imperial court, but my pockets were empty after paying for the carriage, as if I had done the math deliberately.

“I am Solgar, the slavemaster of this palace. You’ve taken a lot of trouble to get here, hmmmm. I honestly forgot you were coming.”

I’ve been through a lot. Indeed.

“Thank you for accepting me.”

Solgar was fiddling with his nose. Do I need to tell him that it’s okay to cover his nose, because I’m not at all embarrassed? He was already flushed red heavily after holding back the smell.

“You’re from the salt island?”

“Yes.”

The two slaves behind him suddenly exchanged glances. They looked excited about something.

“They say there weren’t many survivors, so the gods must have helped you.”

“Yes, Sir. We were saved by a priest on the island.”

“I see. It must be the one who wrote that letter of recommendation?”

“That’s right.”

“He was such a good man to a slave”

“Yes. He was a lifelong benefactor.”

“But you’re a lot thinner than I thought. Are you, uh, strong?”

“Yes. Very strong.”

The corners of Solgar’s mouth lifted and fell slightly.

“Since you’ve traveled so far, I’ll give you two days off, and then we’ll begin your training.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Solgar patted me on the shoulder and walked away. They were the same, slaves… But in a completely different class. Apparently, slaves who work in the palace are the best of the best. My heart fluttered in my chest. I felt as if I had risen in status.

…I’ve seriously become a slave to the bone.

“This way.”

“Yes.”

I thought they would put me to work right away, but they gave me two days off. I don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve had a break. I guess people are meant to play in big waters. I followed the instructions with a light step.

“Oh, this is a newcomer.”

But the moment I entered the room, a chill ran down my spine. Both the person who led me in and the person sitting there had very bland expressions on their faces. My instincts were sending me warnings.

“Sit down, this will be over soon.”

The heat was coming from the brazier. No. No way.

“Ho-ho, you’re from the salt island, aren’t you?”

“Hey, wait a minute.”

They took the slave marker and pointed it towards my arm. When they loosened my clothes, I saw another mark that’s already engraved on it. It was probably there ever since birth, but since I had possessed this body, I couldn’t remember the details.

“Ugh!”

“There you go. Now that it’s in your arm…”

“Welcome to the crown prince’s Palace as a New Slave.”