The Freed Slaves Are Obsessed
Chapter 241: If There Had Been No Master (4)

The pink hue that tainted Mirabel's fading eyes was something unfamiliar.

The gumiho, who always bickered about everything, was now floating lazily, wearing a calm smile.

Mirabel struggled to pry her parched lips apart.

"Lin...?"

"While my name is indeed Lin, I think you'll find I'm not the Lin you know."

Her name was simply "Gumiho."

The fox god, feared by all, and the King of Monsters, who had no need for another name.

That had always been her motto, until it changed because of one human.

Her new name was Lin.

The name he called her by was "Big Lin."

The gumiho before Lin was her.

"How did you get here...?"

"Trickery is a fox's specialty."

Lin winked playfully.

Lin's situation was a bit different from that of the other slaves.

While they had grown slowly alongside Karami, Lin's path to their fateful encounter had been different.

Lin had spent her entire life trapped in a fox den.

Lin's fateful encounter had happened there.

Though her strength was the meager power of an ordinary fox, it was still better than Mirabel's, whose magic had been restricted.

She had blackmailed the fox elder to open a secret door and navigated the [N O V E L I G H T] labyrinth.

At the underground temple, she found a golden fox orb.

It contained the power of the Great Elder and the previous gumiho.

It was then that she gained strength.

There had been no friction among the gumiho. Once the power entered Lin's body, she had glimpsed her memories.

Memories of the owner who had warmly caressed the lonely gumiho.

Though it was only half-strength, it didn't cause major problems.

By absorbing the power of other monsters, she could easily replenish her own.

Knowing the resentment that had been held by the Black Bee, she released her heart and regained the power of the Moonlight Eye, thus becoming a perfect gumiho again.

At first, it had taken a long time, but no longer.

All she had to do was follow the path her master had cleaned for her.

Lin extinguished the fire and freed Mirabel.

"By finding me, does that mean...?"

"It means it's not real. The master didn't abandon us, and meeting him wasn't a dream."

At those words, Mirabel clutched her chest. A wave of immense relief washed over her, causing her eyes to fill with tears.

Lin easily shattered the red shackles that had been strangling Mirabel's neck.

Only then did Mirabel's magical circuits begin to function normally again.

Though it wasn't to the extent it had been before, the knowledge remained intact, so there was no issue using magic. She healed her wounds neatly.

"Do you know where we are?"

"From the information I've gathered, there's a force in this world that enforces causality. If you try to step off the preordained path, you end up back where you started."

"Is this... regression?"

"Another thing is, interference between slaves is forbidden. There's a strong barrier in place around this city."

She had been able to approach Mirabel because she was not technically Karami's slave.

She acknowledged him as her master, but there was no soul contract.

A verbal contract was all.

In this line of work, verbal contracts aren't always recognized.

"So, does that mean we were attacked in the real world?"

"To trap us all in one go would be difficult even for the gods. In this case, we'd have to say we came in voluntarily. It was probably your magic, Mirabel."

"Mine?"

Why would she cast such a nightmarish spell? No matter how hard she thought about it, she couldn't think of a clear reason.

"You’ll know more once we get out of here. Probably, the others are in similar situations."

Mirabel nodded.

Though she felt empty without her staff, it couldn’t be helped.

She rose with Lin and ascended into the sky.

"How did you know I was here?"

"Did you forget? We shared our memories."

They had shared their memories to get to know each other better.

The place where the slaves met Karami. If Karami didn’t exist in this world, she thought the slaves would still be around that area.

Since there was a barrier preventing them from approaching, it was easy to pinpoint their location.

"But you said if we try to step off the preordained path, we’ll go back to the beginning..."

"Yeah. That’s why I’m here. This is a clone with my personality. The real Lin is still in the fox den."

The so-called "Big Lin" and "Little Lin" were both gumiho, sharing a body but separate entities.

She was Lin, but not Lin; her stepping out of the fox den was not stepping outside the preordained route.

A trick only Lin could pull off.

"It’s a fox’s trick."

"Basic for a gumiho."

As always, Lin wore a mischievous smile, yet it carried a certain maturity.

****

When Mirabel used magic, everyone fell asleep. Karami quietly watched the slaves' condition.

None of them had a pleasant expression, as though they were dreaming nightmares.

Cold sweat and furrowed brows were the least of it. They trembled, occasionally writhing in their sleep.

The one who seemed in the worst state was Mirabel. Cradled in Karami's arms, she flinched, shedding tears.

He patted her back, but it didn't seem to help.

An hour passed.

When the magic wore off, the slaves opened their eyes simultaneously. Waking from the magic, they exhaled in exhaustion.

First, Elise.

She hadn’t faced much hardship.

She had wandered aimlessly, never finding a place to call home, but over time, she had managed to awaken.

While Elise wandered the world, Ashes had been trapped in an ice prison, unable to take a single step.

She had been locked in the prison until the magic wore off.

Then came Narsha.

Narsha realized that if she left the room or killed the knight, the cycle would loop infinitely, so she bound the knight and simply waited.

She had no desire to engage in shameful actions with the knight.

Rather, she preferred to remain trapped in the endless loop for eternity.

Then, Arpia.

She had suffered the worst among the slaves. Though, at some point, she had been drugged and rendered incapable of thinking for herself.

The gumiho's clone had come to her. Casting illusions on the mentally twisted Arpia, she made her dream happy dreams, sparing her from pain.

Thanks to the gumiho, Mirabel and Lin, who had fled to safety, woke as the time ended.

Outside, only one hour had passed.

But for the slaves, it felt like an eternity.

All of them looked exhausted.

Among them, Arpia looked especially dazed. Like someone just waking from a dream, her focus was faint.

"How was it? Did your curiosity get resolved?"

"......"

"Lin seems unaffected."

Well, Lin had already gone through the trials of the gumiho. There was a world of difference between those who had experienced it and those who hadn't.

"It wasn't a pleasant experience, was it? I’m sorry. I guess it shouldn’t have been done."

Though they were curious, the responsibility for not stopping them when they knew better was hers.

At least, the fact that it was a magical world should have remained in their memories.

None of them spoke, as they all seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"It’s not like that, Master."

At that moment, Mirabel, who was nestled in Karami's arms, lifted her head and spoke in a soft voice.

"I've realized just how precious you are, Master. I can't do without you."

As Mirabel raised the corners of her lips, her cheeks gently lifted from the smile, and her breath brushed close to Karami's face.

"Thank you for saving me, Master."

The other slaves also wore faint smiles.

From their souls, Karami felt their gratitude transmitted directly to him.

"I see. Thank you for saying that."

It wasn’t an entirely bad time.

****

Once a week, Karami would share his bed with one of the slaves.

Today was Mirabel's turn.

As usual, Karami waited in the bedroom, and before long, Mirabel, dressed in pajamas, came to see him.

However, Mirabel didn’t come into the room. There were sounds of a struggle from the door.

Something feels off...

Soon, Mirabel entered, but she wasn’t alone. Narady was trailing behind her.

She was wearing a one-piece pajama.

"Mirabel I can understand, but why is Narady here with you?"

"I think there’s a lack of bonding between you and Mom. If we sleep together, I’m sure our relationship will improve."

"Your mom already has your dad. How can she sleep with another man?"

"If it's Master, Dad would understand! Right, Dad?"

In Mirabel's hand was a skull.

Unsurprisingly, there was no response.

Mirabel tossed her slippers aside and climbed onto the bed, claiming Karami’s side.

With a bright smile, she grabbed Karami's arm tightly.

The two of them stared at Narady, who was standing awkwardly.

"Come on, Mom."

"Sigh..."

Narady, unable to resist Mirabel, finally climbed onto the bed.

"Ah, Master. This."

Mirabel pulled out a set of shackles, identical to the ones around her own neck.

"What’s this?"

"I want you to put this on Mom. As proof that she’s my mom, as proof that she belongs to you, Master."

"Mi-Mirabel?"

Mirabel firmly grabbed Narady’s hand as she looked at her in confusion.

"I don’t like it when other people do it, but if it’s Mom, it’s okay. I think I’d be happy if Mom wore the same shackles as me."

"Mirabel, even so, this..."

Mirabel handed the shackles to Karami and pushed Narady toward him. Karami looked between the shackles and Narady, then gave a sly smile.

"What would you like me to do? Of course, I won’t force you."

"Mom, you’ll do it, right?"

Mirabel looked up at her with an innocent gaze, earnestly pleading.

Narady was a mother who was endlessly weak to her daughter. If it was her daughter, the one who had saved her life, she could endure any hardship, both as a mother and as a woman.

"...Do as you wish."

Mirabel's face lit up with a smile.

"Mom says it's fine, Master!"

"I see. Then, Mirabel, would you like to put the shackles on Narady?"

"Me?"

"I think it would be better that way."

Though Mirabel didn’t understand why it would be better, she was a faithful slave who would obey her master’s wishes.

She received the shackles back from Karami and extended her hand toward Narady.

Narady hesitated, then, in resignation, closed her eyes, lifting the back of her head slightly with her hand to make it easier to put the shackles on.

In that moment, Mirabel placed the black shackles around Narady’s neck.

Click.

Mirabel gasped in awe as she looked at Narady with the shackles on.

"Wow. Just like I thought, it looks amazing on you, Mom. You’re the most beautiful person in the world right now."

"...Really? Is it that much?"

"Yes!"

"Thank you for saying that, Mirabel."

Narady gave a bittersweet smile.

These two are making me feel something strange.

It was bad enough that the mother and daughter duo had come to the bed, but now the daughter was putting slave shackles on her mother. It was a scene that felt deeply depraved.

Karami’s sadistic instincts hit their peak.

He yanked the two of them toward him. Mirabel and Narady ended up lying against his chest.

"To think two beautiful witches are becoming my slaves... As a master, I am very happy."

"I’m so happy I get to sleep with both Mom and Master! I really like both of you! Mom, you like it too, right?"

"Mm... If Mirabel likes it, then I like it too."

Karami gently stroked the heads of the two women who lay against his chest. He felt a great sense of satisfaction, as though he had taken another step closer to being a true master.

From now on, he would live life doing whatever he pleased.

The next morning.

"Good morning, Master!"

"Ah, good morning... Master."

Two maids, with similar faces and identical shackles, greeted him with a different kind of morning greeting.

[0]

Narady

[8]

Mirabel

A number appeared above the heads of the two.