Chapter 13: Brace yourself, Master.

Translated and Edited by: ynlucca.

Common Honorifics:
-san: A polite suffix, but not excessively formal.
-kun: A common suffix among friends and younger people.
-chan: A common suffix among people you’re close with, mostly used for feminine nicknames and girls, since it’s cutesy and childlike.
-senpai: A common suffix and noun used to address or refer to one’s older or more senior colleagues in a school, workplace, dojo, or sports club.

---

“…Can’t sleep, Master?”

Late into the dead hours of night, Miriya’s whispers echoed sweetly as she lay beside me in my childhood bed.

“…What are you doing?”

She lay next to me as if it were meant to be, but what if something went wrong? Ignoring my worries, however, she continued with an explanation.

“I thought I’d cast a sleep spell on you, as usual, but figured it might be better to talk it out tonight.”

“No, that’s not what I mean.”

“Oh, is the space too small? Scoot closet then. Cm’ere.”

“That’s not it either!”

My words didn’t seem to get through to her at all… Or was she purposefully not listening? Truth be told, these childish exchanges were quite comforting in their own right.

“Master, your cheeks are a bit flushed.”

“Well, duh. A beautiful girl is lying next to me, of course, I can’t help it.”

“Ah! You’re so unfair…”

She answered my words in equal bashfulness. While she was adorable as could be, I couldn’t lay a hand on my property—even if she allowed it herself.

It wouldn’t be right to indulge myself in someone I bought with actual money. I should at least retain the values I was brought up with. Changing that was a no-go for sure.

“Master, you still won’t lay a finger on me, even though I’m this close?”

“O-of course not.”

Though I spoke steadfastly of my values, it didn’t mean they were unshakable virtues. It was quite the opposite.

While I had forgotten many things, Miriya still said she liked me. So much so that she jumped in and followed me back to my own word. In other words, the conditions for me to act on our feelings were already there. What lacked was only my own will.

But perhaps she had said all those sweet words just to keep me from dying. Maybe it was just an excuse to protect her master from danger…

As my thoughts jumbled in deep confusion, she suddenly touched my arm.

“H-hey,” I started.

“Isn’t it fine? I already told you how I felt.”

“You… Wait, wasn’t it just an excuse to keep me alive?” I lay bare a gnawing doubt in my heart.

“If you truly believe that, I’ll shut your mouth right now with a kiss!”

“Heh. Unfortunately for you, a peck on the lips won’t—”

Huh? Somehow, this situation feels quite familiar… Realizing that this had already happened in the past, I rushed and acted quickly, pushing her shoulders away and barely avoiding her approaching lips.

“Ugh.”

“‘Ugh,’ my a*s! What were you trying to do?!”

“I was trying to kiss you. Tongue and all.”

“Actually, you don’t have to say it! What were you thinking?!”

“It’s just that I heard I could steal a kiss from you that way,” she noted.

“Leicia said that, didn’t she?! That damned tomboy!”

“That’s disrespectful, Master.”

Just as my mind glimpsed at that old friend of mine, memories flooded my mind like a laden wave—The bad and the good happenings in that other world.

“…I wonder if I’ll never see them again.”

Hearing my lonely sigh, Miriya comforted me with gentle words.

“You’re right, Master. But isn’t it still fine? That world was too harsh on you after all.”

She wasn’t wrong. I didn’t want to step another foot inside that damned hellhole, and that was true enough. However, it was also true that I met irreplaceable people in that place, as bad as it was.

If Miriya weren’t here, I wouldn’t have anyone else I could talk about that place and my experiences there. That, too, would be lonely.

…No, that’s not it.

There was one person who might have understood my side of the story had she talked with me before acting. It was the girl I ended up taking the life of, the one I couldn’t come to an understanding with even as our vitriol was spilled on each other.

“…Do you regret it?” Miriya asked as she wiped the tears that gathered in the hems of my eyes. They had flowed without me even realizing it.

“I don’t,” I shook my head. “I just felt lonely, in many ways.”

Miriya hid her expression at my answer. Then, she moved closer and buried her face in my chest.

“…Can’t I fill that void in your heart?”

I’m not dense, nor insensitive, even though I might seem that way. I understood what she meant, and it was exacerbated by the raging drumming of her heart. It was painful.

“It’s impossible for you, silly,” I said.

“…Do you hate me?”

Normally, I’d have retorted with our usual banter, saying something like, ‘Do I hate you? A slave that doesn’t treat their master as such?’ However, I felt something different this time.

“I love you a lot, Miriya,” I was honest.

“Huh…?”

“What’s with that look? Didn’t you realize that from the very beginning? Why else would I buy such an expensive woman like you?”

“…In that case…”

“Hm?”

She raised her face from the embrace of my chest, her cheeks kissed crimson, and looked at me without trying to hide her embarrassment.

“In that case, would you…”

I hushed her lips, so close to mine, with my index.

“I am your master, and you are my sl*ve. We must never cross that boundary. And besides, we made a promise once.”

“I don’t remember.”

“Then I’ll remind you,” I said, placing my hand atop her pouty head and looking away. “I promised you freedom if I could afford it someday.”

That was a promise I’d made back in that other world, of course. And frankly, it was an impossible thing to give her back in that hellhole.

However, now that we were in modern society, things have changed.

“Miriya, do you know? In this country, human rights are universal, and our current relationship is prohibited by law.”

“I don’t want to know. I don’t wanna hear it!” She covered her ears and shut her eyes, resistant.

I continued despite that. “After everything was resolved, I started thinking a bit… My revenge is finished now, so—”

As soon as I had done the deed, I couldn’t find sleep, partly due to to the acute lump in my heart, and partly due to my thinking about our future… Mine and Miriya’s.

I’ll probably lead an ordinary and uneventful life from now on. I don’t have big dreams or hopes, and there’s no particular job I want to do. Heck, I don’t even want to work in general, nor do I know which university to go to.

Still, that’s only natural. Until just a while ago, I had been thrust into a world of bloody battles… For two whole years, I spent every waking day wondering if I’d survive the next. Those bloodstained days felt like a dream, yet they were cruel enough I wished they were just that.

To be honest, I’m tired. I felt like I’d already lived my life to the fullest.

—But Miriya is different.

She was bought by me and spent two grueling years by my side with neither freedom nor an easy life. Now that we’re here in Japan, she deserves that much, at least—to be free.

Maybe she can do amazing in this world as well. Her adaptability is astounding after all, not to mention her incredible intelligence.

She could graduate high school, go to a nice college, get a good job, and marry someone amazing as well. Grab ahold of the modern, ordinary happiness, y’know?

All I feel is guilt.

After the storm had passed in that other world, she should’ve been released from slavery as I was sent back home by that goddess’ hands. She had followed me here, so in this safer world, wouldn’t it be enough to let her go?

That’s why—

“Let’s dissolve the slave contract between you and me, shall we?”

My words were icicles that stopped her for a brief moment. Then, with the saddest expression I’ve seen on her face, she spoke, “How… How could you say such a thing, knowing my feelings?”

“I know because I’ve been tying you down. I’ve treated you like a convenient tool all this time!” My guilt consumed me. “Even if I didn’t realize it before, it’s no different than just using your feelings to my advantage!”

“What…?! How can you say all that so casually?!”

She brushed aside the hand I’d been stroking her head with and gripped it tight.

“I was happy to be bought by you, Master!” She matched her tone to mine. “At first, I was scared! Despite it, I still found myself drawn to you, so clumsily trying to protect me! Is that so wrong?!”

“That’s basically Stockholm syndrome. I’m also at a higher position in our relationship… Yes, that’s it. It’s that kind of feeling!”

“I don’t understand what you’re talking about! Ugh, why do I have to hear such blabbering two days in a row?!”

“Huh?!”

For some reason, our argument got pretty heated.

Reaching her peak of anger, she looked at me with a flushed face and tightened her grip on my hand even more.

“If you want to release me from the slave contract, I’ll attack you!”

“What are you on about?!”

“If you so much as intend to set me free, I’ll exercise that freedom! Fufufu, in that case, even if you tell me to stop, I won’t!”

“This… this is bad. You’ve gone off the deep end, Miriya…” Scary! Maybe it was dangerous to set her free after all!

“C’mon, go ahead! Weren’t you so set on releasing me!? It’s what I want now!”

“Isn’t there an option where you stay away from me?!”

“Such a thing doesn’t exist!”

Her eyes bore straight through the fibers of my very being. Not content with just gripping my hands, she wrapped her arms around my body.

“I told you already! I want to be with you forever, Master!”

“What… A bold declaration from my own stalker?!”

“What’s even a stalker? Ugh, seriously! Why do I have to deal with your babbling for two days in a row?!”

Then, before I could retort further, she cast a freeze spell on me, and I couldn’t lift a finger.

“I-I can only move my mouth!”

“It’s your fault for saying you’d abandon me, Master!”

“Wha…”

Miriya hugged my frozen body and crashed her lips against mine. Before I could complain, she’d sealed whatever I was going to say.

“—!”

The softness of her tender lips dominated my entire body. I could feel every thump of my heart against my chest.

After all, this incredibly beautiful girl was kissing someone like me—a worthless little guy. All the thoughts and worries from earlier were blown to smithereens as she kissed me.

“Master… I love you,” she whispered in my ear after gently parting her lips from mine. Then, she placed her hand on my chest and gave me one more gentle kiss. “My heart is going wild.”

“And whose fault do you think that is?”

“Yours, Master. For saying you’d abandon me…”

“I didn’t say that…”

“Again, it’s the same thing. But it’s impossible to just set free someone who doesn’t know left or right.”

“You can live on your own, can’t you? It’s way less dangerous here.”

“I can’t. I only know how to live as your slave, Master.”

“…Sophistry, I say.”

“I am my Master’s slave.”

She was so sarcastic, even at a time like this… Did she really like me at all? My questions were unnecessary to ask.

“…I can’t do or provide anything for you,” I lowered my head.

In this world—no, even back in the other one, I’ve been a helpless brat. Maybe even more so back there, lost in an unfamiliar land.

“Stay with me. That’s all you need to do.”

“…There’s so much more happiness in this world, out there.”

“I don’t need that. There’s no happier place in the world than next to my Master.”

“…For God’s sake,” I was about to scratch my head when I realized I could move my body again.

“I’ve already released the spell.”

“Sigh…”

“And?”

“Hm?”

Despite being free, Miriya’s embrace was still strong enough to restrain me.

“Please, tell me your feelings, Master. It’s not fair for me to be the only one expressing mine.”

“Ah… I’ve already told you I… I love you.”

“…Why do you say it so nonchalantly?”

“Well, that’s because…”

If I were to tell Milia that I’m not even sure about my own feelings, especially after hearing Serina say that she loves me, how would she react?

I do love Milia, that much is certain. But the feelings I have for her are more akin to familial love rather than romantic love.

—Or was that just another one of my excuses?

The truth is, I think my first love is still lingering in my heart like an unflickering flame.

Nevertheless, I was able to save Serina, and I want to talk to her more. I also promised to tell her about the other world.

That’s why I can’t express my feelings in such a half-hearted manner.

“Um, Miriya, well…”

As I searched for the right words to say, she tightened her embrace even more.

“Could it be, Serina Hiraoka?”

“Ugh!”

What an intuition, she has! I thought as her embrace felt stronger.

“Master… I can’t believe you can’t forget your first love… It’s not like you’re thinking there’s a chance because she said she likes you, right?”

“N-no way!”

“That’s right, isn’t it? It’s unthinkable that you’d weigh me, whose feelings burn this strong, against another girl… right?”

“A-ahaha…”

Comparing and weighing two people against each other is not a good idea, nor is it something I’d like to do! And even though I didn’t intend for it to happen, it seems like it’s turning out that way!

What should I do? I can’t say anything!

I know it’s my indecisiveness that’s causing this, but there’s no easy solution. After all, both of them are just too much for my feeble heart!

As I was sweating nervously, the door suddenly creaked open.

“Hey, big brother, you’ve been making quite a ruckus──”

Standing there was my little sister, Arisa.

Oh no, this situation was bad. Really bad. Why? Because it would look like we were both in a passionate embrace, and there was no way she could interpret it differently considering the situation.

In other words, Arisa already had her words ready.

“Whoa… Big bro, you two are all hot and steamy tonight…”

This isn’t a hot and steamy sorta situation! My whole body is being smashed to smithereens! However, ignoring my silent pleas, she shot me a glance and quickly closed the door.

“Whoops! Sorry to intrude. Take your time~!”

“Help me out here, will you?!” My cries echoed emptily through the room.

Upon hearing Arisa’s words, Miriya saw it as an opportunity and let out a mysterious chuckle, “Since we have your family’s permission now, shall we talk about your views on love tonight, Master?”

“U-um, Miriya? Your smile is kinda scary…”

“Shall I further express just how much I love you, Master? Oh-ho, you won’t be able to sleep tonight—that much I promise!”

“B-but, I still have school tomorrow… Rather, later today?! Hey?!”

Yet she didn’t stop.

“Brace yourself, Master! I love you so, so much!”

“I don’t like this at aaaaaallll!”

In the end, I didn’t manage a single wink of sleep that night.

---

Thank you for reading! Feel free to comment your opinions below!

Also, if you enjoyed my translation and would like to feed my caffeine addiction, click on the button below and graciously give me my fix—I mean, a cup of coffee.