The carriage jolted as it rolled along.
Another carriage ride. What’s different this time is that we didn’t take a carriage enchanted to prevent shaking, in an attempt to save money.
The second difference is that Mirabel, who had been sitting across from me and staring at the ground, is now sitting on my lap.
I suggested she sit more comfortably, but she insists on this position. Is this really more comfortable for her? It’s fine with me since this position allows me to hold her.
I had my arms wrapped around her slender waist, holding her like a teddy bear. This is my chance to soak up plenty of “Mirabel essence.”
Meanwhile, Mirabel was making efficient use of her time by studying magic from the Soul Magic Book spread out before her.
I couldn’t help but feel curious about how exactly one learns magic from a book.
“Can you figure out what it is just by looking?”
“Hmm, when I look at it, knowledge just flows into my mind and I naturally understand. It’s like when you see an apple, you just know ‘this is an apple.’ When I see magic, I understand ‘this is such and such a magic.'”
“Does simply seeing it really allow you to learn magic?”
“When you see an apple, you can draw it, right? It’s the same here. I visualize the magical knowledge in my mind, and then I can use the magic.”
Though I know nothing about magic, even I can tell that what she’s doing isn’t normal.
Drawings of apples aren’t all the same. Mine might just be a red circle with a stem, while others could add shading and depth.
It usually takes effort to reach that level of skill. But Mirabel skips the process entirely, reproducing a perfect image like taking a photograph.
‘Is that even possible?’
But when you think about it, it’s similar to how in games, you just click on a skill book to learn. Here, it just takes a bit more time.
“Still, Miss, what does this have to do with getting revenge on that person?”
“It interferes with the soul. Meaning, I can continue to inflict endless suffering even after the person is dead.”
“Aha, that’s certainly like you, Master.”
Mirabel nodded in agreement at this straightforward explanation and turned her attention back to the book, studying the magic with even more enthusiasm.
You’re really serious about getting back at your father, aren’t you?
Well, it’s good that she’s putting effort into something.
“Passengers, we’ve arrived~”
The carriage stopped and the driver announced our arrival. I got out of the carriage still holding Mirabel.
“Here we are. Our destination, Praksh.”
I dramatically presented the cityscape to Mirabel with exaggerated voice and gestures.
At that moment, Mirabel’s mouth opened slightly, her eyes darting around restlessly. The hand holding the Heavenly Oath tightened.
Far from amazement, her expression was closer to one of shock.
She moved her lips hesitantly before speaking softly.
“Master, isn’t this…?”
“I received information that Mirabel’s father is somewhere in this area. He should be around here somewhere. But why the expression?”
I casually said this with a smooth tone while my lips involuntarily curved upwards, waiting for the expected reaction.
‘Of course she’s surprised. This is the place where she was abandoned by her father.’
I entered Praksh with Mirabel.
While she had been walking while holding my hand, now she clung to me like glue. At every small noise, she quickly turned her head, showing clear signs of anxiety.
This was the trauma from that day fully manifesting. To that extent, I bought her a brown robe from a clothing shop and had her wear it.
Even that wasn’t enough apparently, as Mirabel pleaded to be held. Having no other choice, I picked her up. She wrapped her arms and legs tightly around my neck and waist.
As we passed through the square…
The area where people constantly passed by had two decayed skulls on display. They must have been major criminals.
We bypassed those skulls and headed to the slave market.
Slaves screaming while confined in iron bars.
Slaves moving in lines with shackles and handcuffs.
Slaves being beaten for resisting.
Naked slaves being drenched with water.
A scene straight out of imagination, unpleasant from the perspective of a modern person. But for me, synchronized with a slave merchant, it only felt like home.
As I was looking around, a woman approached us.
“What brings you to the slave market?”
“I’m here on temporary business.”
Our gazes met.
Though I had never met this woman before, she was familiar. The reason being, she’s the NPC slave merchant from Praksh who provides detailed information in Mirabel’s liberation story.
Her name was definitely Camilla, if I recall correctly.
“Ah, I see. You’re a fellow merchant~”
On the other hand, Camilla, who probably had no information on me, correctly guessed my profession right away.
This must be because slave merchants are connected through a network. Just a glance at someone’s eyes can roughly tell you. ‘Ah, this person has that greedy look, they must be a slave merchant.’
“What brings you here? Selling? Or buying?”
She said this while eyeing Mirabel clinging to me like a koala with a greedy look… Suddenly, I stopped myself from saying something.
“Haha, this is like a plush doll, not for sale. I’m here to inquire about something. Sorry for the interruption, this is who I am.”
I presented my identification card from the slave merchants’ guild to Camilla. Her pupils dilated upon confirming it.
“So you’re that rumored slave god! I’ve heard so much about you. I’m a huge fan.”
“Haha, thank you.”
Indeed, I’m quite popular in places like this.
“I love that tale about stacking one hundred water spirits into a tower and burning them to create a Tower of Flames. The flames reached the moon, right?”
What are you talking about?
What madman in this world would do such cruel and heartless things?
“And wasn’t there something else? Ah, yes. Recently, you abducted the daughter of Baron Briant, right?”
“Huh?”
“The act of pretending to return her only to take the dowry was quite impressive. Wow, you’re amazing to do that to nobility.”
No, I’ve never done that.
I clearly saw them having a touching hug with their parents.
“Because of that, there was quite a commotion at the Briant household, where they declared they would hunt down the god. Be careful, they’ve even put a bounty on your head. If it were anyone else, I would have called the knights already, but since you’re a fellow merchant, I won’t report you. Slave merchants need to work together.”
Camilla went on and on about things I, as the actual person, had no knowledge of. Though I wanted to clear up the misunderstanding immediately, there was something urgent that needed resolution.
“Thank you for the information. But we’ve gone off-topic. I came here to ask a question.”
I handed Camilla a silver coin. In this field, paying an information fee is basic knowledge when seeking information.
“What is it? I’ll tell you what I know.”
“Wasn’t there a major incident in Praksh a few months ago?”
“Incidents happen every day somewhere. What kind of incident?”
“Hmm, for example, wasn’t there a case where a man sold his witch daughter as a slave?”
The moment those words left my mouth, the characteristic cunning smile of a slave merchant disappeared from Camilla’s face.
Her snake-like eyes that could see through one’s true nature stared straight at me. Her voice lowered.
“How do you know about that? It’s information that only a select few in Praksh even know.”
I didn’t respond. I just gave her a meaningful smile.
Realizing the meaning soon after, Camilla returned the silver coin I had given her earlier. Only then did I give her the answer she wanted.
“Where would I have learned it? A witch traveling with me could be risking decapitation. This is information that a slave merchant must not be unaware of.”
“…That’s correct. Ah, I just lost money for nothing.”
Camilla licked her lips in frustration, having been outplayed.
This is rightfully my money, young lady.
“But why are you asking about that? It’s not really a topic anyone wants to bring up.”
“Something happened, it seems.”
“Don’t even mention it. Someone reported seeing a witch being sold to a slave merchant, so the knights swarmed in and took all the female slaves away. You know, right? Female, especially young ones, are more valuable.”
“Of course I know.”
“And they threatened that if we didn’t comply, we’d be executed for sheltering the witch. It was a situation where we were going to lose our lives, and we had no way to stop it. When we returned the slaves, none of them were normal children anymore. Do you have any idea how much loss occurred during that time?”
As if having a terrible nightmare, Camilla winced and felt sick.
“So what happened after that? Did they find her?”
“They did find her. She was among the slaves. They even executed her publicly in the square. Didn’t you see it on the way here?”
Having said that, Camilla remained silent.
I then tossed a gold coin at her, which she skillfully caught.
“Wow, a gold coin. But why?”
“Because you’re holding back something else.”
“Holding back? That’s all there is.”
I didn’t respond, just smiled knowingly as her eyes met mine. Camilla returned the smile but didn’t last long.
“Woah…so you really are the ‘god’ they say you are. I was genuinely impressed by that little trick a moment ago. How the hell do you know all this stuff?”
Muttering this, Camilla glance around before whispering secretly in my ear.
“This is highly classified information…but the finding part was a lie. Among the slaves taken by the knights, one didn’t return.”
“Wasn’t that the witch?”
Camilla vigorously shook her head.
“It was a case where the parents, adventurers, died during an expedition and the child started stealing bread, ending up as a slave. She couldn’t possibly be a witch.”
“So they switched the target?”
“That’s right. If people found out the witch escaped, it would cause panic and the knights would lose face.”
In other words, they just used a slave who wouldn’t cause much trouble for the show.
“And the real witch?”
“I don’t really know much beyond that point. There are many slave merchants in the world. She could be hiding somewhere in the city, or she might have left. Anyway, the story ends here. Honestly, I’ve more than earned my worth.”
Camilla turned to leave, indicating she didn’t want to continue the conversation. I tossed another gold coin. Somehow, it was in a blind spot, but Camilla caught it like a money-obsessed ghost.
“You’re generous. What is it?”
“Let me ask one more thing.”
“You’re quite the spender. What is it?”
“Do you know if the witch’s father is around here?”
This question elicited a bitter laugh from Camilla, perhaps even a sneer.
“You’re surprisingly inexperienced, aren’t you? Wasting money on such obvious things.”
Camilla turned to look at the path we had walked.
“The person who covered for the witch always has one response.”
The commonly known final chapter of Mirabel’s liberation story.
We had already passed that place. Knowing everything, I intentionally stopped by the slave market to elicit this story.
“If one gold coin can get you narration, would you abstain?”
There was no voice for the main characters.
It just wouldn’t be feasible to do full dubbing due to the costs.
This was an opportunity to hear the character’s voice instead of just having text scroll by, simply by giving some coins. Absolutely couldn’t pass that up.
Also, there was the purpose of satisfying my personal curiosity, but also to allow Mirabel, who was listening with her ears secretly open despite hiding, to follow the flow of the story.
‘Now, Mirabel should know what she needs to.’
As dawn broke and the magical stone lamps went out in the early morning,
I stood in the central square with Mirabel, who had descended from my arms. Given the time, the once bustling square was now deathly silent.
In the center of the square, atop a tall pillar,
Two skulls were on display.
One of the smaller ones was the slave girl who had taken the witch’s role and died.
Next to that skull,
A black eye socket filled with endless darkness. A firmly closed mouth that seemed to hold secrets that could not be told.
Below that skull attached to a small plaque it was written:
-Traitor who harbored the witch-
*
The typically known conclusion of Mirabel’s liberation story.
We had already passed that location. Despite knowing everything, I had intentionally stopped by the slave market to draw out this story.
“If you can hear narration for just one gold coin, could you really abstain?”
There were no voices for the main characters aside from the protagonist.
Full dubbing would be too costly.
This was an opportunity to hear the character’s voice instead of just having text scroll by, simply by handing over some coins. Absolutely couldn’t pass that up.
Also, there was the personal satisfaction aspect, but also the purpose of allowing Mirabel, who was listening with her ears subtly open while hiding, to follow the narrative flow.
“Now, Mirabel should know what she needs to know.”
As the sun set and the magical stone lamps were still unlit in the dead of night,
I stood in the central plaza with Mirabel, who had descended from my arms. Given the time, the once vibrant plaza was eerily silent.
In the center of the plaza. On a tall pillar,
Two skulls were displayed.
One smaller one was the slave girl who played the witch’s role and ended up dying, as mentioned by the slave merchant.
Next to that skull,
Its dark eye sockets filled with endless void. Its tightly shut mouth, seemingly holding unspeakable secrets.
Below that skull, a small plaque read:
-Traitor who hid the witch-
