Will I End Up As a Hero or a Demon King (WN)

Chapter 169

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Chapter 169 – Slave Magic

“Y-you can also use the Slave Magic?”

“I’ve never actually used it. But you don’t want her to kill you, so you’ll follow me, right?”

When I smiled at him, the man, who still seemed to be barely maintaining his sanity, smiled and nodded, showing his teeth.

Even as a slave, he seems to be very happy about this, so he really doesn’t want to die.

Or maybe, as the detailed explanation says, it’s because the slaves had a lot of freedom, depending on how it was used.

I’m confused by the completely different skill content from before, but I follow the detailed explanation and go through the steps.

“Now then―first, please tell me your name.”

“Alphiba.”

“Um, what about the other one?”

“Ha-hahii! Please, spare me! I’m going to work properly from now on! I’m going to live an honest life, so please spare me!”

“…..”

This one is no good.

He said what he wanted to say and then collapsed like a turtle.

The man next to him, Alphiba, also looked at him coldly, as if he had given up on him.

“Alphiba-san, do you know this person’s name?”

“Ah, yes. That is Hazet.”

“So, Alphiba-san is a ‘voluntary slave’ and the noisy Hazet-san next to you is annoying, so shall I make him a ‘forced slave’?”

When I told him this, the man who had turned into a turtle crouched down and went crazy, but perhaps because he had seen the skinny man’s slave contract so far.

Alphiba understood quickly and stuck out his head, so I reluctantly put my hand on his greasy hair.

“The content of the slave contract is as follows… ‘To speak only the truth’ and ‘To obey my orders’… By the way, do you think the second is possible?”

“Isn’t that a bit of a broad condition? I’ve never heard of anything like that in Fonder’s slave contracts.”

Hmm, it’s hard to find the right balance…

Well, I guess I’ll have to test the details one by one if I have to.

“Then, for now, it’s enough to say that you will only tell the truth and will not harm anyone. If necessary, we can renegotiate the contract. The conditions for cancellation are: you must prepare 500 gold coins and 5 million beeke and give them to me. How about that?”

The man also seemed to have decided that this was only a temporary contract, and he readily agreed.

“I will be your slave. I agree to the terms.”

At this point, I didn’t know when the contract would be completed, so I looked at the status screen.

Unlike the contract I had when I was working, this contract did not have a signature, seal, or contract document.

As I was worried that this verbal exchange would conclude the contract, I learned that 2 costs and 30 magic had been consumed, as indicated in the explanation.

I immediately opened my eyes, but there was no sign of the black magic spilling out of my hand that was resting on the man’s head.

Amazing… as expected, this is a world where magic and skills exist.

It seems that the contract has definitely been concluded.

However, nothing else has changed.

“…So when you become a slave, there’s no pattern that appears on your body?”

“There are cases where they carve ink into the slave’s body so that you can tell which slave is which at a glance. But if you don’t want it done, there’s nothing to be done.”

“I see.”

If the explanation on the status screen is correct, then this man is currently in a ‘soul-binding state,’ and that statement is not a lie.

Then it’s this turtle man next.

That’s perfect. Next, I’m going to try the ‘forced slave’ thing.

I cut the tip of my finger with a dagger and smeared the blood.

It looks like some kind of shady black magic, but what I’m actually doing is almost the same.

I will control part of a person’s actions.

I will perform the ritual.

“Hazet-san, I will now perform the forced slave contract―are you listening?”

Even though I ask him this, he continues to loudly demand his innocence and freedom.

Since I have no obligation to be patient with him, I grab the man’s cheek, force him to open his mouth, and drip my blood from my fingertips into his mouth.

“Agh!Aghhhhh…!”

Now, my magic power should be in this man’s body.

“Hazet-san, I have three wishes for you: “Speak only the truth,” “Harm no one,” and “Answer the questions asked of you.”―Slave Magic Forced Contract.”

Hmm… This one costs 30 in both cost and magic power.

Now, I have been able to make both voluntary and forced contracts according to the explanation.

The preparations are complete.

All that remains is to determine whether these two are white or black. Shall we begin the interrogation?

▽ ▼ ▽ ▼ ▽

“Good job. Did everything go well?”

As I waited alone in the first room for the ‘treatment’ to end, Ria walked up to me.

“Yes. The men are finished too, and they’re all asleep.”

“Sorry for the inconvenience. It seems that the men were also treated like slaves and ordered to do things.”

That’s right.

As a result of the interrogation, the men were surprisingly white.

Actually, they were more like gray.

They had signed a slave contract, and there was no doubt that they were being restricted in their movements by this skinny man.

So, there was no choice but to hand them over to the town guards, but that meant that the memories of Rea that had been implanted in the men would become a source of fear in the future.

Especially the other two, who were shaking to the point of making a rattling sound, were still reeling from the traumatic fear they had experienced.

To be on the safe side, I also had to make the surviving men forget about Ria’s existence.

As a result, the person who caused the trauma-level fear was replaced by me.

I instinctively want to say, “Why?” but there’s no other convenient way, so there’s nothing I can do.

“Is everything else okay?”

“I think so. I can use the carriage outside to move everyone, so I’ll put them on it and take them to the city using Flight. When we fly, I won’t feel the weight, so I think I can make it if I can just lift them up first.”

“…Okay. Then I’ll go back.”

As she said this, I quickly grabbed her arm, which had started to disappear in the mist.

This is not good.

“Ria, I have something really important to talk about tonight, so I want you to come back down. I’ll tell you everything then.”

I didn’t want to lie.

So I told her while I stared at her.

If she had tampered with the man’s memory, then, of course, she would know what I had done to the men.

In other words, I thought it better to assume that Ria already knew.

Still, since Ria hadn’t said anything, I decided I should be the first to tell her.

“Okay. I’ll call you with the Oracle when I go down.”

As I watched Ria turn into a mist, I mumbled a quiet “thank you” with many different thoughts in my head, and I think she smiled slightly.

“Well, let’s get back to work.”

My body still felt pretty sluggish, but I had to get back to the town as soon as possible.

First, I went to the room where no one was.

I thought it was probably a storage room, and sure enough, in addition to the food, there were many wooden boxes, barrels, and leather bags of various sizes, as well as equipment that seemed to belong to Sefo-san and the others.

There was so much here that it would fill a wagon.

At this point, I realized that it would be impossible to get everything in one trip, so I prepared for a round trip to the town.

My next target was the men.

I had heard that they were asleep, but I didn’t need to be polite to the men, so I kicked them awake. When they saw me, their eyes widened, and they rolled to the other end of the room with the quick movements you would expect from cockroaches.

“Ahiyaaaaahhhhh!! P-please spare me!!!

“Uwahhhhh!!! Please, please, please… I beg you, please!”

No, no, they’re really annoying.

Is what these guys are feeling now the same kind of fear I felt during the mock battle with Ril that made me tremble and think only of escaping before?

If you think about it like that, it’s not so hard to understand. Still, if they escape, the story won’t progress, so I quickly go back and forth with them to change the slave contract.

“Don’t leave this room,” “Don’t hurt anyone,” “Just tell me the truth.”

Since the two men with severe injuries and the two men with normal bodies were given the same forced slave contract, there should be no problem leaving the men there.

Since I was told that there were no outside companions and that a black market transporter would be coming to pick up the two hunters and some of the girls in a few days, it is safe to say that there is almost no possibility of anyone appearing at this location during the temporary absence.

After leaving the room where the men were held under house arrest, I went to the room where the girls were gathered.

It was the smallest room, but a large, thick cloth was spread out on the floor, and there were special water jugs and bedding, so I imagined that it was somehow a room for important people.

The girls were sleeping there, crowded together, so I gently woke them up one by one, unlike the men.

“(Some children had rings on their fingers-was that the cause?)”

The rough rings, which felt large even without considering the thinness of the fingers, were worn on the fingers of eight girls in all.

The needles were not exposed but covered from above with a cap made of the same material.

As far as I could see, there were two types of rings, so those worn by only two people were the poisonous type, like the Kazura blood poison I was stabbed with.

The rings worn by the other six must be the paralyzing ones that affected Amalie-san and the others.

“(These rings don’t fit the children at all.)”

I was able to understand the content of the children’s slave contract from the men who I had enslaved.

“Do not harm the user.” “Cannot leave the user.” “Cannot call for help.” “Attack the designated target.”

It’s a disgusting contract.

They were sealed from any means of breaking the current situation, and the adults who came to help them were paralyzed by the orders they received――

I removed all the rings from their fingers, saying that the children didn’t need such things.

Those who woke up woke up the others in turn, and when everyone was awake, I opened my mouth.

Since Ria’s existence was erased, it should be assumed that I did everything to save them myself.

As a result, about half of the girls hugged each other and looked terrified, clearly seeing me as a source of fear.

And about half of them―especially the girls who were wearing the rings―had dark, sunken eyes, and there was no sign of joy at being freed and saved.

In fact, I got the impression that their emotions had died.

“I’m going to send you all away in a special way, so please follow me to the entrance first. If I can’t carry you all at once, I’ll take the little ones first.”

“””?”””

Well, I guess they don’t understand.

Still, the two hunters acted like guardians, urging them to move, and each of them stood up and followed.

About 90% of the women were naked, but there was no choice but to give up here.

So that they could at least hide a little, I took off the cloth that had been laid out in the boss’s room, collected it, and gave it to Amalie-san for everyone to use.

“(Now it’s just a matter of how much I can lift…)”

As soon as we arrived at the entrance, I started to prepare.

I placed the wagon―or rather the part that could be called a wagon―in front of the entrance, and then I got under it and supported the back of the wagon with my back, lifting one side slightly.

“It’s probably a little hard to get on, but please get on one at a time.”

I’d never tried anything like this before, so I didn’t know how many people I could carry at once.

It was easy at first, but my back cracked every time the kids climbed on.

“U-mm, where’s the horse? And why are you carrying it?”

“There is no horse. I’m carrying it.”

“?????”

I completely understand your question, Estelle-san. I totally understand.

But please don’t give me that look like you’re looking at an idiot.

I’m serious, and I don’t have much time to chat.

There are 22 children in all.

When about 15 of them had boarded, my back started shaking, and I couldn’t help but cast the Body Strengthening skill I had saved in my heart.

I couldn’t use it from the beginning because of the time limit, but it makes things a little easier.

“Please keep going! As fast as you can!”

I guess there’s not much room left in the back of the wagon.

The whole back of the wagon began to shake, and I could see the children being crammed in like a game of “push and shove” as they were pushed further and further back.

The children, whose eyes were not shining, were picked up by the two adult hunters.

“These are all children!”

“Then you too! Hurry up!”

“(My back is at its limit!)”

Did they sense my impatience? The ladies, Estelle-san, quickly climbed in… and then… Guhh!!

I felt a jolt of electricity run through my back, and stars danced in my vision.

As expected from an adult! As expected from a hunter!

I can’t say it out loud, but it’s really heavy!

I couldn’t help but make a strange sound like “Kufuuuuuuuuuh-n,” but thinking that no one would see me under the wagon, I whispered, “Wind, blow up from below with all your might.”

Something like an air current is created that supports the load from the feet, and the load on my back is slightly reduced.

This is my biggest chance!

“Everyone is on board!”

As soon as I heard Amalie-san’s voice, I moved.

“(Shyaoraaaa! Jump―and then, Flight!!)”

I didn’t do a detailed analysis of the situation, so I don’t know the exact conditions.

But I thought that if the cargo bed wasn’t just on the ground but on my back, then as long as I could make even the slightest upward movement, I could fly.

And it was just as I expected.

Whooosh!

I soared into the air, imagining that I was releasing magic power downward to counteract the sudden weight loss.

This was also good practice for the magic carpet role I flew with Ria on board.

I could never have risen into the air lying down like that with so many people on board.

It was only possible because I had practiced with Ria, who would never die, no matter what.

And then…

“Kyaaaaaa, we’re flying! We’re flying!”

“It’s amazing, amazing, amazing! I can see so far!”

“I’m going to die!!! Woee… Woeeee…”

I heard a cheerful, childlike voice from above, and I couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief deep inside.

These are children who have suffered emotional trauma.

So I thought I’d give them something that might help them forget their troubles for a while.

It was probably a good thing that I kept the fact that we were flying a secret for as long as I could.

There were also some adult voices that sounded like they were about to die… but…

I thought that maybe the children who hadn’t shown their emotions before would feel a little happier now.

With that in mind, we slowly made our way back to the town of Lipsum, taking about 20 minutes.

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