episode_0059

“Ugh…!”

“Why are you suddenly in a huff?”

It was Thursday afternoon, and I was spending time alone with Pisces.

Come to think of it, after I found a house for her, we surprisingly hadn’t been alone together at home.

Perhaps feeling good about dragging me to her own home for the first time, when I first entered her house…

“Hehehe… now that I’ve brought you inside my house, my era isn’t far off…!”

She had been making sly, joyful sounds like that, but as we talked about what happened this week, what do you know? She suddenly got grumpy and sulked!

When I asked why she was sulking, she suddenly placed my hand on top of her head.

This was a sign that she was displeased and wanted to be petted, so I gently stroked her head and the back of her neck.

Then, the sulking Pisces made a purring sound and soon quietly confessed her dissatisfaction.

“I was worried you might be trying to increase your number of henchmen…! And ‘that woman’ really doesn’t appeal to me… The idiotic seagull is fine. But the naughty squawker isn’t…!”

Aha.

It seemed she was slightly anxious because of Emma, whom I recently acquired as a ‘slave’.

So… the story goes back to two days ago, Tuesday.

*

“You met with a black magician, didn’t you?”

“…..!!!!”

Emma’s eyes widened in horror at my casual, yet very meaningful, question.

But she quickly composed herself and yelled back at me!

“Don’t be ridiculous…! Are you trying to frame me now? Black magic… there are things you can say to a person and things you can’t…!”

The truly funny and sad fact here is that it’s true she tried to use black magic to kill me and my teammates.

Of course, she commissioned black magic but was scammed… She fell for fake black magic and her life plummeted into ruin.

That doesn’t mean her malice faded. Strictly speaking, she’s an attempted perpetrator of a black magic-related crime.

Just as attempting murder is punished as attempted murder, crimes related to black magic are not much different.

“Well… let’s go inside and talk slowly. After we talk, we can eat too, won’t that be nice? By the way, abandon any thought of just leaving. If you leave now, I’ll go straight to Professor Isera and report you.”

Our Professor Isera is the professor in charge of the ‘Enforcement Division’ of Leone Academy, a self-governing school body that supervises students’ criminal law violations.

Most academy students are well-behaved, but occasionally they commit crimes like vandalism, assault, or sexual offenses, which the school then deals with internally through the ‘Enforcement Division’.

And among these, there are rare cases related to ‘black magic’.

As it’s a place where people live, emotional entanglements, hatred stemming from competitiveness, and so on, naturally exist, and occasionally there are fools who try to resolve these with black magic.

Of course, it was almost unheard of for someone to find and utilize a proper ‘real’ black magician like Lergo….

Anyway, black magic usually involves ‘curses’, and this is a crime with very bad implications, so most cases go to formal trial and result in severe penalties.

As soon as ‘Professor Isera’ was mentioned, she shut her mouth and trembled, then quietly followed me.

I could hear her desperately racking her not-so-bright brain even as I walked ahead, but as always, making her efforts futile was the most enjoyable thing in the world.

Soon after returning to my office, we resumed the conversation that had been briefly interrupted.

“Alright. Shall we hear the self-defense of Ms. Emma Agnelli, the unfilial daughter and villain of the world who joined hands with a black magician?”

At my sarcasm, she first resorted to stubborn denial, and then her bad habit: the ‘Do you have proof?’ strategy.

“What proof are you talking about..?? Do you have proof I met a black magician? You’re just trying to exploit me now because you lent me some money, aren’t you?”

She acted as if she was truly wronged, a victim of innocent slander.

While feigning injustice, she even started hyperventilating slightly, then composed herself and continued speaking.

“Ras. It’s true I’ve disliked and looked down on you all this time. That’s all my fault. But, to accuse me of a serious crime without any proof… that’s filing a false accusation, you know? Let’s not go that far…”

Oh, really?

Filing a false accusation is what you tried to do to me before regression, and probably what you envisioned doing with your pathetic self in this life too….

And meanwhile, perhaps her over-immersion in her role continued to the ends of the universe, because the tears she shed were truly ‘the tears of a victim’ itself.

But she’s too stupid and sloppy, overlooking too much right now.

First of all, Emma only got away with using ‘Do you have proof?’ last time because her opponent was Irha.

Anyway, I decided to let her know how terrifying even a strong suspicion can become, even without perfect physical evidence.

“I don’t have perfect physical evidence. But that office itself is strong evidence. Can someone who’s learned magic enter and exit that place without feeling suspicious? Especially after seeing that woman named Spica just now?”

“What? What kind of…”

“Hmm… I’m much more skilled than you, and my mana sensitivity is good too. But let’s say my credibility is low since I’m just an academy student. Professor Isera and Professor Rosalie aren’t like that.”

Usually, the ‘rank’ of black magicians is determined by how much evil karma they accumulate through black magic.

This is because black magic’s mechanism is different from magic, which is a ‘skill’ that uses mana to calculate and execute spells; it’s closer to a form of sorcery or religious ritual.

In the case of black magicians who have strongly accumulated evil karma, the power and aura of the black magic they wield become stronger, and thus the risk of being tracked also increases.

There’s a reason why notorious black magicians dig burrows like rabbits and hide all over the back alleys, concealing their identities two and three times over.

“Especially Professor Rosalie, when it comes to tracking black magicians in Sephiroth, she’s unrivaled, you know? Four years ago, she even caught two of them in Delphi.”

And our Rosalie Maman, who comes from the highest ranks of the Celestial Temple clergy, is on par with our adorable Pisces when it comes to tracking and apprehending black magicians.

Pisces’s black magic isn’t based on ‘evil karma’ but on black mana derived from her ‘bloodline’, making it difficult to detect, yet Ms. Rosalie caught on to Pisces being a black magician a long time ago.

‘You say she’s Ras’s subordinate? Don’t you think Ras accepted her as a subordinate because he has a plan? I’d be very grateful if Ras explained it in detail later. Honestly, Ms. Pisces is just pretty and cute. I like her because she’s insignificant and pitiful.’

Of course, our Maman did generously overlook it like that when I carefully asked her about the matter.

But if it’s not a trivial Pisces issue, but Emma visiting the workshop of ‘a truly vicious black magician’ Lergo? There’s no way the professors would generously overlook that.

Moreover, if they saw the debt collection show while passing by, it’s a fact that any adult with a bit of life experience would know Emma used private loans.

“You, a student, and a noble at that, used private loans that you’d never have a reason to use. Furthermore, the office you frequented, the woman sitting there… all of it reeked of black magic’s distinctive mana fluctuations. What do you think would happen if I suspected your involvement and reported you? That loan shark office would still be there… Black magicians are good at sensing trouble and fleeing, so they might not have a problem.”

“….!!”

She was dripping cold sweat, unable to even glare at me.

“You’ll realize how strict and swift both national law and school rules can be, won’t you? If your family was a prominent marquisate, you might be able to crush it with power and stall for time… but the mere Agnelli Viscountcy?”

And at the same time, this was a very bitter and disgusting reality.

This was why I couldn’t use Leon’s use of black magic to expose him.

For a nobody like Emma, the moment a suspicion of colluding with black magic is raised, all processes—investigation, arrest, detention—proceed swiftly and strictly.

But if the suspect is Leon, who is closest to the imperial throne, he can play the ‘show me solid proof’ card, resist, and interfere with the investigation as he pleases.

Of course, he was meticulous from the start, making sure his connection with Lergo could never be found by placing various prohibitions on Lergo beforehand…

That’s why, rather than trying to use Lergo to expose Leon, I chose to cleanly kill Lergo so Leon couldn’t use him anymore.

“Of course, if you have nothing to do with black magic? Then there’s no problem. I’m not making a false accusation to kill you; there are just suspicious circumstances, so I’m merely… yes, reporting you as a ‘law-abiding citizen’.”

“But… if you… if you report me… and let’s say I’m found innocent. Then, what about my damaged honor..? People will see me as a noble lady who tried to use black magic, won’t they?”

Seeing her searching for honor that didn’t exist made me furious. You *did* try to use black magic, you brat. Argh…!!!

Of course, I elegantly blocked Emma’s escape route as she tried to flee, claiming to protect her paltry honor.

“If you’re innocent? Then the debt you owe me will be fully forgiven. Plus, I’ll generously give your poor family compensation for damages. And why are you so concerned about honor? What honor do you have left to lose?”

“Ugh…!”

“Honestly, I don’t need to explain all this to you in such detail. I could just go and report you right away. The only reason I’m bothering to tell you all this is because I want you to be honest for once.”

Actually, it’s not such a grand reason; I just want to torment her.

She doesn’t deserve to repent, or to receive the ‘redemption’ that sometimes appears in Marisa’s favorite ‘regretful heroine’ novels, which incites reader rebellion.

“So tell me, Emma Agnelli. Why did you try to use black magic on me? Why did you cast such curses on me and my teammates? Even taking out private loans to do it.”

“…..!!!!!”

The one with overwhelming superiority in information and overall circumstances, even if they just roughly piece things together and press the other, their words quickly become truth and law.

“It was strange. Out of all the students, only the five of us, simultaneously experienced similar symptoms of lethargy and pain… We kept visiting the infirmary and getting examined, but there was nothing wrong.”

“Ras. Wait, please listen to me…”

I looked at Emma, who had turned the color of dead tree bark, and firmly seized and pressed down on her brazen shoulders.

My cute henchmen usually get their pretty heads stroked, or at most a light flick on the forehead if they make a mistake, but Emma needs to start with a shoulder press.

“Kyaaak..!!!!”

“I’m asking why you did it, Emma. Are you still trying to escape with lies? Let me tell you beforehand, blood collection has already been done and preserved. For Professor Rosalie, it’s not impossible to trace the residual scent in the blood and find traces of the black magic curse.”

This is actually a lie, but it’s not my problem.

Anyway, under my ultimate intimidation, she wailed and finally admitted her fault for the first time.

“I-I’m sorry. I hated you so much. You meeting Lizley, and throwing her away like a worn-out shoe to go around with other women… all of it… No… I’m just sorry, it was all my fault.”

Even amidst that, I roughly dismissed her nonsense about blaming me until the end, and tried to gauge if I could link Lizley based on her reaction.

No, I can’t.

Her head hasn’t been knocked hard enough yet, or perhaps she truly loves him… Anyway, it’s not the right atmosphere to bring Lizley into this.

Moreover, and most importantly, Lizley and Emma are just somewhat close; they haven’t formally established a vassal relationship, so there’s no way to link them.

The current Lizley has no overtly suspicious activities, and Leon will protect her from behind, so it’s impossible to simply push accusations and get rid of her.

The problem with Emma is different: not only the private loans, but the Orca office itself, which until recently was Lergo’s workshop and therefore practically a black magic den, is already evidence, so she can’t escape.

Since I had already gained a lot, I decided to rein in my greed and focus on Emma, who was now in my hands.

“Good. Since you’ve honestly admitted to the charges, I won’t go and report you immediately. You hate me enough to kill me, but I’m not quite at that level.”

Of course, just killing her wouldn’t satisfy my anger, and I especially thought handing her over to others wouldn’t be enough for revenge.

“Instead, you and I are no longer typical classmates. So Emma, you are thoroughly my slave.”

“S-Slave…”

She muttered in a dazed voice, as if wandering through a nightmare.

“Sephiroth prohibits slavery. But even before the law, if you had any conscience, you shouldn’t expect to be treated as my equal. To use private loans to curse me, and then come asking me to pay off your debt instead. In some ways, aren’t you far more terrifying than a black magician? Your shouting at me not to make false accusations seems trivial in comparison…”

I strode over and opened the cabinet, where a shabby maid’s uniform, casually tossed there by the sharp-witted Heidi, was hanging.

Seeing how worn the clothes looked, it seemed like she’d gone out and bought them from a used clothing store in the meantime.

I threw the slave’s clothes at her face and commanded.

“Those are your clothes now. Let me tell you beforehand, you are not a servant; you are my slave. From now on, you’ll wear those clothes and work here every day. The kind of work that ‘commoners’ you used to ignore do.”

“Uh… uh….”

I channeled mana to exert pressure through the dazed, speechless girl, then pressed her down.

Grabbing the hair of the girl who couldn’t even scream from the pain, I merely whispered like a demon.

“From now on, if you don’t answer my words properly even once more, I’ll send you straight to trial with the evidence, slave or not. Don’t talk back to me, just obey. Don’t ask for forgiveness, and don’t pretend to repent. If you truly repent, take your own life that day. Then I might forgive you a little.”

Of course, I knew she wouldn’t take her own life, and I also knew that if I gave her even a little opening, she’d try to stab me in the back again.

“O-Okay… I’ll do as you say—”

Slap-

I roughly slapped the slave’s cheek for speaking informally, and she whimpered, looking at me.

“Don’t you dare speak informally or sit at the same table as me, you slave. Don’t even secretly hope for the kind of subordinate behavior Irha does for me at the academy. She’s a friend I cherish, and a cute henchman who volunteers to do it because she wants to. In my eyes, you’re something less than livestock. Always use polite language, and tack on ‘Master-nim’ precisely.”

“…Yes… I unders-tand… Master-nim…”

Seeing her spirit utterly broken, like a sick chicken, I felt no apology, no guilt, no “was I too harsh?” — just a refreshing sense of satisfaction.

“At the academy, act as you normally would. However, since you’re disgusting, don’t think about talking to me, and keep your mouth shut as much as possible so I don’t hear your voice. After the academy, work here until curfew.”

“Yes, Master-nim…”

And so, without even writing a single contract, I made a viscount’s daughter my slave.

*

“Ugh…! Master-nim will listen carefully to Pisces’s request not to excessively grant salvation, right?”

“Yes. I’m listening very well to that. I know what you’re worried about, but don’t worry. You are a ‘henchman’, and she is a ‘slave’. For me, a ‘slave’ is not an object of salvation.”

My long-held belief is that there’s a tremendous difference between a henchman and a slave.

“First off, the nuances are different. ‘Henchman’ sounds cute, doesn’t it? ‘Slave’ just sounds pathetic from the start. You agree, right?”

“That’s certainly true.”

Gently stroking her as she swayed prettily, I explained further about the difference between a henchman and a slave.

“A boss takes care of their henchman. Sometimes, they even bleed or risk their lives to prevent the henchman from getting hurt. If they’re sick, they take care of them, buy them snacks, and make sure they eat. Even if they make a mistake, it’s just a light tap on the head and it’s over.”

“And for a slave?”

“If a slave can’t work, I sell them off. Whether they’re sick, happy, hungry, or whatever… I don’t care about a slave’s condition at all. In the end, a slave is just a human shield. At least, for me.”

At my sincere explanation, my top henchman, Pisces, beamed, finally relaxing.

“Ohehehe..! What a relief!! Anyway, hearing that, being a henchman is the best. At this rate, a henchman is even better than a lover.”

Meanwhile, I briefly thought of Irha, who plays the role of my henchman at school, but quickly stopped myself, fearing Pisces might get sulky again.

Perhaps it’s a society where henchmen are treated better than their bosses.