Volume 2 Chapter 19
The guards efficiently tied up the unconscious masked men, sealing their mouths with tape to prevent them from chanting spells.
I had to say, the Winton Empire’s anti-magic measures were quite crude. This method wouldn’t work against support magic that had already been cast. If one of them had activated and maintained 《Flight》 beforehand, they could have shot up into the sky and escaped capture.
“Your Highness, I am Verustov Jesfor, Captain of the City Guard. I apologize for arriving late to your rescue. Please forgive me.”
“Rise. It was my own carelessness this time. I didn’t expect these men to use such a cowardly tactic as knockout gas.”
“Yes, Your Highness. I will ascertain the identities of these men as soon as possible.”
The rising captain had short arms and shifty, rat-like eyes under his saucer-shaped helmet, giving off an air of sycophancy completely unbecoming of a soldier. Like the other soldiers, he had a long-handled staff hanging from his left hip and a sheathed longsword on his right, but he wasn’t carrying the long spear that the others held.
“If I may ask, Your Highness, who are these two slaves?”
“They are my new… friends! Alice and Laura.”
Being called a friend by the princess was a bit of a surprise, but it felt strangely unnatural.
“But… they are lowly slaves, Your Highness! Please, do not jest. A noble and a slave can never be friends. It is the difference between a person and livestock!”
Unmoved, Princess Bonnie remained stubborn.
“Silence! I am not jesting. I intend to revoke their slave status.”
“Absolutely not! This is a rule established by the nobles and the King. Even Your Highness does not have the authority to release Colosseum slaves at will.”
“Then I’ll buy them from the Colosseum. That should be fine, right?”
“The festival requires four teams. We can’t find replacement slaves on such short notice. Besides, the bets from the nobles and merchants have already been collected by the Colosseum. If Your Highness forcibly buys these slaves, it will surely cause dissatisfaction among the nobles and merchants. The consequences would be severe. Please, Your Highness, reconsider!”
“…”
Bonnie closed her eyes, lost in thought.
Everything the captain said was true. To oppose the slave system was to oppose the entire kingdom. It wasn’t a system that could be changed on a whim; there was a massive industry supporting it from behind the scenes.
“Your Highness, you don’t need to worry about us. We’re very strong. We’ll definitely win in the Colosseum,” I said to comfort her.
“Yes, you’re right. I was worrying too much. Someone like you… no, if it’s Alice…”
Her words were cryptic. It felt like Bonnie was worried about something but didn’t dare to say it out loud.
“This is your reward for protecting me.”
A golden light appeared in Bonnie’s hand, and a slightly heavy pouch materialized from within.
《Storage》? That meant Bonnie was nearly a Seventh Tier mage. Otherwise, the mana cost of simply opening a storage bag would be too much for a Sixth Tier user of 《Storage》 to handle.
“Your Highness, giving money to these young slaves is like letting a child walk down the street with a bar of gold! In my opinion, simply having had the honor of protecting your esteemed person is reward enough for them!”
“Shut up, Verustov. This is my decision. Is there any rule that says slaves can’t have money?” Bonnie’s tone was as cold as ice.
It was both willfulness and a clear dissatisfaction with the slave system.
“No, there is not.”
The captain lowered his head, his face filled with trepidation.
“Alice, Laura, this is your reward.”
“Tsk. W-Why aren’t you kneeling to receive Her Highness’s gift?”
“There’s no need to kneel. Just treat me as you would a friend. Alice, Laura, we’re friends now, right…?”
“Huh? Oh, yes. The… the Princess is my friend.”
“Really? You’re not lying to me?”
“Really.”
“Hmm?”
“I said it’s true!”
You’re getting a little too excited, Your Highness! We’re just ordinary friends. Besides, is it really a good idea to be friends with a demon?
