Chapter 55: The Slave Bracelet – Part 1
My name is Wolka.
I am a member of a gang based here in the city of Arcel, and just recently, I was appointed as one of its new executives.
The very first task my boss assigned me, as a newly minted executive, concerned a certain woman.
She was a young adventurer in this city, barely seventeen or eighteen. My boss had apparently been obsessed with her for some time, even sending his subordinates to try and claim her favor—but those attempts ended in failure.
The man who had been my predecessor as executive, Hasea, was expelled from the organization as punishment for this failure. Expulsion in our line of work is tantamount to a death sentence, and I had no doubt he had already been eliminated.
And now, the dangerous and high-stakes task that Hasea could not handle had been entrusted to me. It was a clear sign of my boss’s confidence in me, yes—but also a job fraught with the risk of repeating Hasea’s fatal mistakes.
“Well, there’s no need to worry,” I murmured to myself with a faint smirk.
Unlike Hasea, my intellect was in a different league entirely. He might have plotted a few strategies here and there, but at the end of the day, he was just a muscle-bound brute, relying on force above all else. Compared to a cunning mind like mine, his was nothing more than child’s play.
“Heh… heh… I already have a flawless plan in motion. Failure is absolutely impossible,” I said, a thrill of anticipation running through me.
I immediately summoned my subordinates to put the plan into action.
“Here is a magical item known as the ‘Slave Bracelet.’ Take it and fit it onto the target’s wrist,” I instructed.
This ‘Slave Bracelet’ is a counterpart to another item known as the ‘Control Bracelet.’ Whoever wears the Slave Bracelet cannot defy the commands of the person wearing the Control Bracelet. If we could get that girl to wear this, she would be entirely under our control. It was a potent and rare tool—one I had found in the black market of the royal capital. I had preserved it carefully, never using it, for it can only be used once.
But this time, I would not hesitate. I would strike at the right moment without holding back. Those who rise to the top are the ones bold enough to seize opportunities and act decisively. Like me.
My subordinate, however, looked uneasy.
“…B-but she’s an adventurer, and a B-rank at that. Using force directly might be difficult… And the rumors say it’s her first time in a dangerous area—”
“You dare question me?” I snapped, my gaze sharp as a blade.
“I-I… I’m sorry…” he stammered, shrinking back.
“A B-rank or not, she’s still just a girl. The best place to strike is inside a dungeon. Attack during her adventure, and with numbers on our side, it should be easy enough.”
“Y-yes… understood…”
Hmph. Foolish. To argue with someone like me is to reveal one’s ignorance. The stupid should simply follow orders without question.
◇ ◇ ◇
“Sena! Watch out!”
“Huh? W-what—hey!”
“!!?”
A Skeleton Knight lunged out from a side corridor, sword flashing. But Sena’s reflexes were sharp—she dodged with a fluid sidestep and immediately counterattacked. With a precise swing, she severed the undead warrior’s head and both legs, leaving it utterly incapacitated.
“Instantly taking down a Skeleton Knight… even veteran adventurers struggle against them… And you’re still a rookie, right?”
“Hmm… maybe. If Ani-chan hadn’t taught me, it might have been dangerous,” Sena replied thoughtfully.
“You should have sensed it sooner. But well… it is undead, so it’s hard to detect its presence,” another teammate noted.
“This area is crawling with undead. No room for carelessness. We need to stay alert,” Sena added firmly.
The team—Shifa and her companions—had descended into the dungeon as usual.
The stone corridors here were intricately laid out, twisting and turning through what was known as the Ruins Area. While not as deadly as the Water or Volcano Areas in terms of sheer environmental hazards, the monsters lurking here were notorious for their strength, making this a notoriously difficult region to clear.
Even with their experience in two other difficult areas, they could not afford to be complacent.
Eventually, they reached a comparatively safe space and decided to take a brief rest. The room was relatively large with only two exits, so even if monsters appeared, they could handle them without too much trouble.
“By the way… isn’t it almost time? That kid should be returning soon,” one of them said.
“Yeah. If nothing went wrong, they should be back shortly,” Sena confirmed.
“That kid? Who do you mean?”
“You remember, right? I mentioned our party’s wizard before,” Sena explained.
“Oh… I kinda remember? Or maybe not?”
“Try to remember better… They’re currently at the Magic Academy in the royal capital.”
“The… Magic Academy?”
The Magic Academy was the only institution in the country dedicated entirely to teaching magic in a formal, specialized way.
“They’re a graduate from there,” Sena said with a hint of pride.
“Really? But if they’ve already graduated, why are they going there?”
“The professor who trained them is very thorough. Every few years, they call their students back to the school to test their current abilities. If their skills have diminished, they make them undergo rigorous retraining,” Sena explained.
“Whoa… that sounds tough.”
“And the royal capital isn’t exactly close. You have to go there specifically for this,” she added.
From Arcel to the royal capital would easily take a month by carriage.
“A month…?” Sena mused, unable to imagine it. She had only recently traveled outside the city for the first time—a two-night, three-day trip—and had never been to the capital before.
“I wish I could go just once,” she murmured.
“Huh? That’s unusual for someone as ridiculously lazy as you. A month-long trip isn’t easy. The carriage is uncomfortable, there’s nothing to do, and you might even have to sleep outside,” a teammate warned.
“Ugh… never mind then,” Sena said.
“Giving up so quickly!”
“Ah… if only I could just fall asleep and wake up in the royal capital…”
“…You really are something,” the teammate muttered.
Just then, a group entered the room from the entrance. Though they had been talking casually, their attention never wavered from keeping watch.
“…Adventurers? They don’t look like it,” someone noted.
“Be careful. I have a bad feeling,” another whispered.
“Ugh… and here we were trying to rest…”
Immediately sensing the hostile aura, the team tensed, ready for whatever was coming next.