Primordial Villain with a Slave Harem

Chapter 1977: Trapped

Celia lowered her eyes. Seraphiel held out a hand for the treatment notes Aurora had finished reading before the girl could begin apologizing.

"I’d like to see him and hear what they tried."

Aurora passed her the papers, and Sera turned them toward Marielle.

"She hired us to investigate what happened to him. His condition is part of that. If we rush out to kill whatever lives there, we might destroy the very thing we need to bring back."

Marielle looked toward Quinlan, evidently expecting the man signing the forms to settle his companion.

He stood beside Seraphiel and rested his hand against her waist.

"We’ll do as my wife says so long as Celia lets us see her father."

Marielle stared at him, then raised her chin.

"I am leading this expedition. You signed under my name, so you will fall in line."

"That is true. But I won’t agree to ignoring our only witness."

He kept his hand at Seraphiel’s waist while the elf leaned against him, the treatment notes still held before her.

"We’ve barely signed and you’re already being insubordinate?" Marielle hissed. "Perhaps I should have expected this from a man who lets his women decide everything for him."

Quinlan chuckled.

"My job is to help complete the quest. That’s what we’re doing. If you intend to stop us because you don’t like my wife’s - our party’s only healer’s - advice, you can give my circlet back."

Her fingers rose to the silver band among her curls.

"You gave me this as security!"

"The deal was that you’d get it if we are so useless we sabotage the quest. Examining the survivor is part of investigating what happened to him. You can’t forbid us from doing it, then claim we were useless."

He turned his helmet toward the clerk.

"That’s what we agreed, isn’t it?"

She pulled the joining form closer, tracing the recorded duties with her finger.

"Yes. The security covers their contribution to the contract. It doesn’t make every disagreement grounds for keeping it. If you disputed their work, the branch would review what happened."

Marielle’s mouth opened, but her gaze dropped to the papers before she answered. Her name sat beside the very conditions she had checked before signing.

She had imagined watching these fools fail, then taking their lovely artifact home. Now she would have to explain why she had prevented their healer from doing the work written on that same sheet.

The women around Quinlan were enjoying her predicament with undisguised sadism. Lucille’s smile grew as Marielle caught her watching the hand still clutching the circlet.

"Well? Give it back, then!" the woman with the mug called.

"Hahaha! He totally played the dumb bitch!"

Laughter burst from the little gathering. The archer caught her friend’s sleeve, bending toward her while another woman tried unsuccessfully to smother a snort.

Marielle turned on them.

"Do you have something to say to me?"

Her growl cut through their laughter. The archer straightened, suddenly conscious of the staff in the Grade Three mage’s hand, and her friend raised her mug to hide her mouth.

"No, no. Please continue."

Marielle glared at her until she looked down into her drink. Seraphiel made no attempt to hide her own smile.

The mage turned back to him. He waited with his arm around his wife, quite content to let Marielle decide how much longer everyone would be standing here staring at her crown.

Celia stared at the black helmet. She had been afraid to address him, and the air with which he carried himself still made it difficult to find her voice.

Yet the woman beside him had asked to see her father. She had read the notes. She was already treating him as someone worth visiting, and this scary man was backing her up to do so, instead of hurrying to get paid.

Celia wanted that so badly that her eyes began to sting.

"I... I’d like you to come. My home’s doors are open to you!"

Marielle’s gaze returned to her, and Celia tightened her grip on the bow.

"Please..."

Celia kept her eyes on Marielle, waiting for an answer. If she had to ask again to bring this healer home, she would.

Andre rolled the map closed.

"We need supplies anyway. We can leave properly prepared in the morning."

Marielle smoothed her new sleeve, then picked up her staff.

"At dawn. If you aren’t ready, you can hear about your father when we get back."

"I will be," Celia promised at once.

Seraphiel smiled at her.

"Let’s meet your father."

While the clerk counted out their thirty-crown provision advance, Lilith returned from the boards with a different notice.

"We’re taking a road inspection. My senses are telling me there will be higher-level monsters than advertised," the Spellblade grinned, prepared for bloodshed.

"It’s in a different direction. We’ll see you back at the inn before you leave," Jallen added.

"Try not to miss us too much," Kitsara winked at Lilith.

"Yeah, yeah. I’ll struggle through it somehow."

Scar caught Quinlan’s eye while Void murmured against her ear.

Scar relayed."> <She wants a private word before we split up,> Scar relayed.

Quinlan waited until the clerk had handed Andre the provision money, then followed Celia and the others out of the Guild.

At the edge of the square, Seraphiel stopped with Celia to ask which way her house lay. Quinlan drew Scar and Void into the side street beside them, where his companions screened them from the passing traffic.

Void slipped down from Scar’s back and leaned close enough to speak beneath his helmet.

"Mm... Before you go. Could you enslave me?"

Quinlan looked at Black Fang.

She inspected the buildings across the street.

"You too?" Quinlan asked Void.

"Scar can pass things on... but then I have to ask her to ask you." Void yawned. "I’d like to bother you myself."

Scar folded her arms.

"She means whenever she wants."

"Mm. Yes. Also because Miss Rogue over here uses her undead body with reckless abandon sometimes... If she dies, what then...?"

"Makes sense," Quinlan nodded then wryly chuckled under his breath. "The second aloof woman of the day asking for slavery. Thalorind is a wild place."

"I’m not aloof. Also, wait, what?" Her voice rose as her head snapped toward a certain Venomborne Terror. "Don’t tell me... So that’s what that was about."

A soft smile found Void’s lips as she next looked at Seraphiel. "That’s why she cast healing spells on a healthy Black Fang... To mask the mana expenditure..."

With Scar standing between them and the square, he cast [Subjugation]. The sleepy mage accepted it with a satisfied little hum, and he opened a conversation with her through [Master’s Link].

"> <Reply by thinking of talking to me mentally. Might take a few tries but->

"> <Scar is the cutest ever.>

"> <...That was quick. And yep. Agreed. Not many can rival our cutest ghost girl.>

"Master." Scar spoke with a flat expression. "You’re thinking of something weird, aren’t you?"

"Me? Never."

"Accepting [Subjugation] tired me out... Please..."

"...Haaah," a weary exhale left Scar’s lips as she turned, presenting Void her back.

"Yay!" Void gave a happy little giggle and hopped onto Scar’s back, wrapping her arms around the rogue’s shoulders.

"It doesn’t even take any energy to accept," Scar grumbled as she caught Void beneath the thighs.

"Mentally..."

"Mentally you’re challenged, yes."

"Hey... Cruel..."

The two kept bickering as they went after Lilith.

Quinlan watched them leave, then rejoined Seraphiel as Celia pointed out the street leading to her house.

It was time to undertake Unbound’s first quest, a quest that would prove worthy of Unbound’s introduction!