Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 341: Enslavement
“What do you mean, you failed!?”
　Hagen, leader of the C-plus Gray Vultures, had been drinking comfortably in a tavern when one of the hired thugs delivered the report. His face immediately turned red with fury.
“There were only two of them – a woman and a child – so we attacked while we had the chance. But they avoided everything and shouted for help. People gathered around us, and we had to leave before we were caught.”
“Then neither of them was injured?” the warrior asked on Hagen’s behalf.
“No. We weren’t injured either.”
“Nobody cares whether you were injured!” the swordsman shouted, wrenching a knife from the tabletop and pointing it at the thug. “You should at least have allowed them to hit you. That would have given us something useful!”
“I’m sorry! We’ll attack them again while they’re sleeping tonight.”
“They’ll already be expecting you. Enough. Keep the advance payment. It looks as though we’ll have to dirty our own hands.”
　Hagen’s anger boiled visibly.
“It won’t matter if the incident appears in our guild-tag records,” the warrior said drunkenly. “We can pay the deputy branch manager to erase it.”
“Don’t say that aloud,” the female mage warned. “Someone might hear you.”
“Baggage carrier!” Hagen called. “Run to the mayor’s residence. Tell him we’re acting directly and that he must prepare our payment. If he objects, remind him that he already embezzled the money, so pretending poverty won’t work.”
“Y-yes.”
　The small baggage carrier removed the heavy pack from his back and started toward the door.
“Are you expecting us to carry that? Take it with you.”
“…Understood.”
　The boy shouldered the burden again and ran through Caxart toward the mayor’s residence.
　Despite the enormous pack, he moved with remarkable speed.
　Before he noticed anyone approaching, another boy was running beside him.
　The baggage carrier stopped abruptly and jumped away in alarm.
“Hello. My name is Tauro. I lead the team your companions are planning to attack.”
　The boy froze.
“You’re going to ask the mayor for their payment, aren’t you?”
“How did you know?”
“Because I was inside the tavern. I heard everything.”
“That isn’t possible!”
　A hood concealed much of the baggage carrier’s face, but Tauro could now see that he was still very young – perhaps only slightly older than Tauro himself.
“They treat you badly,” Tauro said. “If their crimes are exposed, I can already imagine them blaming the baggage carrier and abandoning you. Would you negotiate with me instead?”
“Negotiate…?”
“Gray Vultures knows about Baronet Colon’s embezzlement and the deputy branch manager’s crimes. Sell me that information. If you cooperate, I won’t hold you responsible for what they forced you to do.”
“Who are you really?”
“That isn’t important yet. What matters is that continuing under Hagen will involve you in increasingly serious crimes, and he’ll sacrifice you the moment something goes wrong. You should leave while you still can.”
　Tauro studied the boy’s stance beneath the crushing burden.
“You carry equipment for a C-plus team and still move exceptionally well. You could succeed on your own if you separated from them. Is there a reason you remain despite their abuse?”
　The boy didn’t answer.
“You have a reason, but you can’t tell me. Is it [Contract Magic]? No… something stronger? Your team has a mage. Did she use forbidden slave magic?”
　The boy’s body jerked.
“Were you deceived into accepting the spell in exchange for becoming an adventurer?”
　His expression answered more clearly than words.
“I understand. I’ll try to remove it. Slave magic should be related to the dark attribute.”
　Tauro considered the structure of the spell.
　Using [Multiple Chanting], he simultaneously invoked [Purification], [Abnormal Status Recovery], and a dark-spirit spell-returning technique. He then balanced all three with [Magic Manipulation] (Extreme).
　The first attempt failed.
　The second failed as well.
“The direction seems correct. Then the problem must be the proportions…”
　Tauro adjusted the balance and tried a third time.
　Sparks crackled around the baggage carrier. An instant later, the sound of something breaking rang through the air.
“One activation condition for the masked special skill [&%$#], <One Who Has Overcome a Taboo>, has been confirmed. The restriction on [Light Spirit Magic] has been lifted.”
　The Voice of the World echoed in Tauro’s mind.
“I did it! The slave spell binding you has been broken. You’re free now!” For the moment, Tauro’s excitement over freeing the boy outweighed his surprise at the newly unlocked magic.