01. The Slave with the Jewel Eye (2)

Who am I? And where is this place?

I couldn’t answer either of these questions that could be song lyrics.

Why?

Because I don’t know.

“Fuck.”

I don’t even know my own name.

I have no idea where this place is.

All I remember is that I was a male office worker who died.

“Why?”

Why did I wake up in this godforsaken world?

“Why me?”

Out of 8 billion people on Earth, why did I have to suffer like this?

No one answers no matter how many questions I throw out.

They say suffering in youth is worth buying, but this isn’t suffering – it’s hell itself.

Maybe I really died and went to hell?

But did I do anything bad enough to deserve hell?

Thoughts pile upon thoughts.

Questions lead to more questions.

Lethargy and depression get swept away in the waves of my mind.

Negative emotions gradually dilute in my head.

Alright, what should I do now?

“Should I just wait quietly?”

The method of doing nothing and not exerting any effort, as the man said.

I turn my body to look out the window.

The two moons hanging in the night sky had lowered slightly.

If I kill myself, it’s over-Since my plan is blocked, I have to live even if it’s dirty.

That said, I have absolutely no intention of living as a human pig.

When dawn comes, I’ll be ‘processed’.

I’ll lose my limbs and become a toy for some noble bastard with perverse tastes.

I feel like livestock locked in a cage.

But I can’t just sit here like a chicken in a coop or a pig in a pen waiting to be slaughtered.

Then I should move.

“Ugh…”

The floor is cold, but I can’t help but groan after sitting for just a while.

My legs that suddenly started circulating blood feel numb.

But I moved.

First, I checked the window.

Even stretching my arm as far as I can, there’s no sign of reaching it.

“How much have I shrunk…?”

Pouting, I look at my palm.

The manly hand with bulging veins is gone, replaced by a small, short, and soft hand.

The toes I see below are also incredibly tiny.

I can’t help but feel irritated.

If they were going to send me to another world, why not make me some badass alpha male?

Instead of this tiny little girl the size of a mouse’s balls.

“Sigh…”

No one will listen even if I complain here.

After letting out one sigh, I move again.

This time, the door.

As I felt when I kicked it, it’s extremely sturdy.

Densely packed wooden planks reinforced with metal plates.

-Clank clank

Just in case, I grab the doorknob and shake it.

Of course, that bearded bastard locked it from the outside.

Stinking bastard.

After confirming that even the uneven stone walls have almost no gaps, I finally reached a conclusion.

“Escape is impossible.”

Unless someone opens the door from outside, I can’t leave this room.

Then, what should I do now…?

The room only contains useless straw piles and a smelly bucket.

“No choice.”

Just in case, I move the bucket next to the door.

“Blegh!”

An indescribably foul smell makes me nauseous.

This is why I didn’t want to touch it.

The reason for moving it is simple.

I plan to dump it on whoever comes in.

Fortunately, the bucket isn’t too heavy, so even these thin arms can lift it.

Next?

“It’ll work out somehow.”

***

How much time passed?

The two moons had lowered further.

Meanwhile, I was struggling with a piece of wood I found in the corner.

I tried to sharpen it to make a self-defense tool, but it’s harder than I thought.

I also listened carefully to sounds from outside.

After all, escaping requires something to change outside the door.

“Huh?”

The anomaly happened in an instant.

At some point, the air grew heavy.

The moment I noticed it, I could tell commotion had broken out outside.

“What’s going on?”

Clutching the piece of wood, I approach the door and press my ear against it.

I hear something exploding and screams.

And they’re getting closer.

-Thud thud thud thud

Someone is running in a hurry.

They’re approaching the room I’m in.

-Thwack

-Gahk!

-Crash

With a small popping sound, the running person collapses right in front of the door.

He starts begging someone.

-Huff huff, P-please spare me. Please spare me.

A familiar voice.

It was the bald man who came into my room earlier and mocked my fate.

-I won’t sin anymore. So please, just this once-

-Thwack

The man’s desperate plea is cut off by another popping sound.

The bald man was a huge brute.

I naturally realized that what killed him must be a monster.

-Click clack

Unexpected footsteps approach.

Holding my breath, I stare at the door.

-Click

The monster’s presence stops right in front of the door.

The arm holding the bucket trembles violently.

-Click creak

As the door slowly opens, faint moonlight outlines an elegant silhouette.

Shorter than I expected.

Not really short, but smaller than the monster I imagined.

The person opening the door is a woman.

Though wearing a brown cloak, her slender figure is clearly visible.

Jet-black hair and pale white skin.

She’s the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen, including media from my past life.

But her ominously flickering red eyes make it impossible to relax.

My body shakes uncontrollably.

The bald man seemed rough and violent, but the woman standing before me now radiates danger incomparably greater.

She was indeed the one who killed the man.

I finally put down the bucket as it became too heavy to hold.

The already heavy air now feels suffocatingly dense.

“Hahk…”

I instinctively realize it’s killing intent emanating from the woman.

Then the woman staring intently at me opens her mouth.

“Jewel Eye?”

A slender finger slowly reaches out.

Its destination is…

My eye.

“Ah.”

I wet myself right then.

Splish-

***

Jane Batory.

The kingdom’s greatest magical genius and youngest royal court mage.

Also a noble who declared she would never marry.

Jane is in a very bad mood right now.

Because the king who appointed her as royal court mage saying she wouldn’t have to work suddenly dumped a task on her.

Of course, for her abilities, it’s as easy as eating soup, but that doesn’t make it any less annoying.

The king’s order was to raid the slave merchant guild’s headquarters.

The extremely mundane reason being that while slavery itself is legal, tax evasion displeased him.

The job is simple.

Storm the slave guild’s base and confiscate the ledger containing transaction records – that’s it.

Honestly too trivial for a genius mage who could turn a city to ashes in an instant if she wished.

‘I’ll finish quickly and go back to masturbate.’

With that simple thought, Jane moved hastily.

Kill those who resist, kill those who flee.

One particularly fast bald man was annoying, but she eventually severed his legs and killed him.

Actually, his path overlapped with the guild leader’s room.

If he’d fled elsewhere, she would’ve let him go.

The bald man died right in front of a door.

Unlike other places, this door had magic cast on it.

A wave of her hand completes the four stages of magic.

Will-Detection-Harmonization-Manifestation

-Click

After dispelling the reinforcement and locking spells, she senses a presence inside.

It holds an extremely peculiar magical power.

-Creeeak

Slowly opening the door and entering, the source of the magic becomes immediately visible.

A small child frozen in fear holding a dirty bucket.

White hair and yellow eyes.

Like a lily of the valley transformed into a fairy.

But Jane focused on something else.

“Jewel Eye?”

Proof of mixed blood with demonkind.

Moreover, the clear, transparent color undoubtedly indicates high-ranking demon blood.

Jane unconsciously reaches out.

“Ah.”

A small gasp escapes the child’s lips.

The floor starts getting wet.

‘Am I that scary?’

Jane’s hand, originally heading for the eyes, changes direction.

To the child’s soft, white cheek instead.

“Oh.”

The unexpectedly smooth, tender texture briefly captivates Jane.

But that’s all.

Though novel and cute, Jane doesn’t touch what isn’t hers.

She’s not desperate enough to feel the need.

The troops waiting outside will handle this.

-Click clack

Jane turns to leave the room.

The unexpected thing is the child who feared her now following.

‘What should I do…’

Shaking off the attention isn’t easy.

When Jane flicks her fingers, criminals’ heads burst like balloons.

The following child jumps in surprise each time.

Yet still follows.

Though one thing has changed.

The child is now tightly gripping Jane’s cloak.

‘What should I really do?’

Jane is simply at a loss.

In the end, the child follows Jane until the raid concludes.

Actually, keeps following afterward too.

Exiting the guild building, a waiting knight approaches.

“Lord Batory.”

“Cleared inside. Just need to organize the items now.”

“The ledger…?”

“Here.”

She hands over documents taken from the guild leader’s room.

Only then does the ledger-receiving knight notice the child hiding behind Jane.

“Lord Batory, you can’t arbitrarily take items found inside.”

Jane unconsciously looks down at the child.

The child also looks up at Jane.

Their eyes meet.

An inexplicable impulse.

Jane Batory realizes this impulse’s name is greed.

Her cloak instantly wraps around the child.

“Don’t know. Taking it.”

“Lord Batory?”

And so Jane accidentally picks up a little jewel.