The Freed Slaves Are Obsessed

"Chuuuiiin!"

Lin, having finally found her long-missed master, leaped toward Karami with her limbs stretched out like a flying squirrel.

Thup!

Lin stuck herself to Karami's face, completely sealing it with her nine tails added to her limbs, leaving no gap.

"Uuuung, Chuuin! I missed you so much!"

Tears and snot streamed down as Lin sobbed uncontrollably.

She had been ostracized by her own kind for bringing misfortune, and despised by the Beastkin for bringing bad luck.

But it was Karami who first awakened affection in Lin. The twisted fate of a kitsune, the "reverse celestial," and the four-leaf clover that brings good fortune.

Without Karami, Lin would be nothing. Just a worthless fox.

"I'm sorry, Chuuin! I'll only do what you say from now on. I won't trap you! Please, don't abandon meeee!"

"Ugh, ugh."

"I can't understand a word you're saying. What should I do? Chuuin has come back a fool!"

"Of course you can't hear me if you're clinging like that."

"Is that so?"

Lin stopped crying and pulled herself slightly away. Karami took a deep breath.

"Is it better now?"

"I thought I was going to suffocate."

"You can’t die, Chuuin!"

Once more, Lin clung to him like a leech, crying.

Karami barely managed to pry Lin off and sat her on his arm, wiping her tear-streaked face with his hand.

"Why have you gotten so small?"

"I thought you wouldn't like the grown-up Lin... You like children, right, Chuuin?"

"Who would think that? I like Lin no matter what she looks like."

"Really? You don't dislike Lin?"

"Of course not."

Lin sniffled.

"Have you been behaving well without causing trouble?"

"Of course! But I wanted to go see Chuuin, and they kept stopping me, being so annoying and bothering me!"

Lin pointed an accusing finger, tattling.

Karami lowered his head.

Mirabel was staring at them right in front of him. Her desire to jump into his arms was apparent, but she patiently waited her turn.

However, Mirabel couldn't suppress her excitement. Her hands fidgeted restlessly, and her lips moved as if she wanted to say something.

"Mirabel, it's good to see you."

"Goodbye, Master!" she said, as if she'd been waiting to say it, with a bright voice.

"Did you manage well, Mirabel?"

"Yes! I kept Lin from going, just as Master ordered!"

"Well done."

"Hehehe."

Mirabel beamed happily at Karami's praise, but then looked at him with a gaze that seemed to say it wasn't enough.

It was hard to imagine this was the same woman who controlled Reapers, and Karami couldn't help but smile wryly.

"Come here, Mirabel."

As Karami bent down, Mirabel's face lit up.

She used his remaining arm as support and snuggled into him, rubbing her cheek against his. Each time she did, her soft cheeks squished like chewy rice cakes.

"Is this a witch’s outfit? It suits you very well."

"Thank you. Heheh."

The two girls took their places in Karami's arms.

Mirabel rubbed her cheek, feeling Karami's body heat, while Lin buried her head in his nape, inhaling his scent.

It was as though they were trying to make up for the time they had been apart, expressing their longing passionately.

"Master, is that elf with us a slave too?"

After getting some satisfaction, Mirabel glanced at Arpia, who had been standing off to the side.

"That's correct. This is Arpia. Arpia, these are Lin and Mirabel."

"Hello. My name is Mirabel."

Arpia observed the two carefully. The fox had nine tails, and its fur was pink—probably the fox girl from Bestia.

‘Mirabel... I’ve heard that name before...’

Arpia paused, thinking deeply, before exclaiming, "Ah!"

"That girl? The one who said she'd make it if you said 'water.'"

"That's right. She's my personal water purifier and my stuffed toy, you could say."

"But I thought you sent her to be with her mother?"

"She's at home with her mother."

"I heard she was sent somewhere close to the heavens..."

"She lives on top of a mountain."

"......"

She should’ve just said that from the start, instead of making people misunderstand.

Well, at some point, it had seemed strange. Karami had saved Victor's granddaughter and even taken in orphans wandering the back alleys to care for them.

As expected, he was far from the "Slave Reaper" that people spoke of.

‘That aside...’

Arpia's gaze shifted to Lin.

To be honest, Arpia didn't like Lin. She didn't know her name or what she looked like, but...

She thought Karami had left her because of Lin.

But now that she saw her in person... well...

‘She's just a kid, isn't she?’

A small fox Beastkin, no taller than her waist.

Lin, clinging to Karami and crying so sadly, didn't evoke jealousy—only pity.

She felt ashamed for ever having been jealous of such a little one.

Yeah, people should try to live with a good heart. Disliking others without reason is a bad habit.

At the moment Arpia was blaming herself, Lin, who had been inhaling Karami's scent, subtly lifted her head. Lin and Arpia’s gazes met across Karami’s shoulder.

I should show tolerance as an adult.

Arpia smiled softly, an adult's warm smile.

Then—

Hmph.

Lin's eyes curved into ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ a sly grin, the corners of her mouth rising almost as if to flaunt her superiority, snuggling into Karami and mocking Arpia, as though enjoying the show.

With that mocking expression, Arpia’s face stiffened. Even so, she did not jump to conclusions.

‘Ah, it’s just an overinterpretation. It's nothing, really.’

It must be the drug messing with her head. She thought of this little fox girl as a rival.

Arpia blamed herself, but she was certain her judgment was not wrong.

Tch.

Lin planted a deep kiss on Karami's nape.

"Lin? Even so, that...?"

"Huuung, Chuuin! You don’t dislike me, right? You like me, right? You won’t abandon me, right?"

"Well, I didn’t abandon you, you know. Anyway, you shouldn't do that in public."

"I got it! Perfectly!"

Lin, with skill honed through practice, smoothly changed the subject and shot another grin at Arpia.

Only then did Arpia realize that she hadn't been mistaken. Her woman's intuition was spot on.

That wasn’t just a little fox girl.

She was a seductive beast wearing the guise of a child.

She couldn't let her guard down from this mental attack.

Arpia, too, did not step back, responding with a smile.

Although both were smiling, neither gave the impression that they were truly happy.

"Master, why have you come here?"

"To see Lin!"

"I came to ask Mirabel for something."

"Lin...?"

"I wanted to see you, too."

"I knew that without you saying it!"

With so many kids around, it was really exhausting, huh?

Karami sighed.

At least it was a relief that Mirabel was easier to deal with.

Drip, drip.

And wasn't Mirabel now shedding round tears?

‘What's going on with her?’

Karami was taken aback.

"Mirabel, what's wrong?"

"I'm sorry. I'm just so happy that you need me, Master..."

Karami had taken Mirabel in after she was abandoned even by her father. He had told her that even if she was a witch rejected by the world, he would never cast her away if she had value.

But now, Karami was leaving her.

It meant her value had diminished.

Mirabel, no longer wanting to be abandoned, had done her best to prove her worth.

She had traveled the continent, studying magic with her fragile girl’s body, eventually becoming the head of a magic tower. She had learned tens of thousands of magic books.

Even though she had the ability to find Karami again, she held back.

She couldn’t go to him first.

She hoped that her master would need her.

She longed for the day when he would recognize her value once again.

That day had finally arrived.

"What should I do, Master? Please give me any order, anything!"

"Before that."

Karami looked around.

"It seems like the city is in turmoil."

"The prayer people have gone mad! They're biting people!"

"Is that so?"

It wasn’t anything surprising.

The cult was connected like a web, with the god at the center. What happened in the Holy Kingdom was now affecting Bestia too.

Elise, who had taken the place of the Saintess, must be manipulating the clergy. If that was the case, everywhere the cult existed would be in chaos.

"Let’s head to Cheonsangru first. It’s been a while since we’ve been there; we should greet them. There’s a lot to talk about."

On the way to Cheonsangru.

Since Lin and Mirabel had finished cleaning up, there were no attacks from the fallen believers.

Even if they did show up, they would be dead before entering Karami’s sight.

Still, it wasn’t a peaceful journey. There were countless skirmishes between the slaves, with Karami at the center.

"Darling, you've been living here without me?"

Lin's eyes twitched.

"...Darling?"

"Yeah, our darling. You keep calling him Chuuin, but what, is he a pet? If you need a master, should I raise him for you? Can he even control his bodily functions?"

"Hrrrng~ What do I do? Lin doesn’t follow ugly people."

"Ugly... I guess you still don't know how to judge people since you’re still a kid. Us elves are on a whole different level compared to beastkin, who are just animals."

Unlike elves, who were called fairies from birth, beastkin were seen as animals turned human.

Beastkin believed they had received the gods' blessing and gained intelligence, but many races thought that perverse humans had relations with beasts and gave birth to offspring.

Because of this, beastkin were despised by most other races.

Especially to elves, who were inherently superior in their racial beliefs, beastkin were no different from animals.

"An animal speaking human language. The world has really changed, huh?"

"Chuuin, they’re calling Chuuin a monkey."

"Hey, when did I say that? Stop making things up. You were the one who insulted the master first. If I’m ugly, does that mean our darling is a goblin?"

"Just pitiful..."

...What are these two?

Karami stayed silent, but for some reason, his heart hurt.