37 Meeting with the slaves

Emp casually ate an apple while he waited for the servant to come back and not long after he finished it, she knocked on his door.

"Sir, this servant is back to guide you to the ritual room."

Was she not supposed to bring him the slaves?

He left the chair and opened the door of the room to join her in the corridor.

"I thought you were going to get them?"

"I did, but transferring the slaves to you is not an easy task and it cannot be done here."

"I see."

He understood that it was a bit more complicated than he had thought but wasn't really annoyed by it so he just obediently followed her. The girl had to remind him to lock the door before they left, he never had to lock a door behind him before so it had completely escaped his mind. It was yet another thing he would have to remember from now on. Marcellia had asked him to remember a lot already, just one more thing couldn't be that hard.

Aside from that, right now, he had to make an effort to remember the path they were taking to go there. He would need to return to his room later after all, getting lost on the way wouldn't be all that great. The girl guiding him told him a plate with his name would soon be hung beside his door to ease the life of everyone but for now, he would have to remember which door was his own by himself.

He was swiftly led to a room underground in which a huge circle of runes were carved on the floor. If this was what was needed for the slaves to be transferred to him, he could see why they wouldn't do it in his own room. The place was well lit by torches and three more people waited in the room when they arrived. There was one man standing straight wearing a black and green suit, a blonde girl in a simple green dress standing a bit further and a pale, red haired girl sitting beside the other one with her eyes closed. The blonde girl looked anxious when she saw him enter while the red haired one did not react at all.

The man introduced himself first when Emp arrived.

"Welcome, sir must be the new student, correct?"

"Yes" Emp answered simply.

"I am the head of the servants and also, as it so happens, the only one able to perform the slave transfer in this school. Does sir have any experience in slave transfer?"

"None, in fact, I have no experience with slaves at all, sealed or otherwise."

"I see, would sir like me to explain what he needs to know?"

"Yes please."

Emp gave him a relieved smile and the man nodded.

"Alright then, where should I start?"

From there, he proceeded to explain a lot of things, some of which Emp had already heard earlier like how he needed to take care of their needs as the school wouldn't. The most interesting came when he was talking about the seal and what it did. To explain it properly, he had the blond girl turn around to reveal her back and the seal carved into it. Somehow, the seal itself looked like a dog ruling over an army of ants. The man explained.

"Once a master is given, the seal takes a shape that represents said master so that anyone seeing it will be able to identify the master easily. This is my symbol, once the ritual is done, it will be yours instead."

Emp wondered what his own symbol would look like.

"The seal makes many things possible and many more impossible. With ensuring the loyalty of the slave as primary purpose, the seal as many functions to help achieve such a thing. First of all, if the master were to die, the sealed slaves would immediately follow."

"That sounds terrible, why would such a thing exist?" Emp couldn't help but ask.

"This is to prevent any thoughts of betrayal, as any hardship befalling the master would hurt them as well. If it can reassure you, the laws of the Steelwood empire only permits the engraving of the seal on born slaves, criminal slaves and cursed-blood slaves, those that would have no hopes of ever leaving slavery anyway."

Were people really that afraid of being betrayed? What was the purpose of betrayal anyway? Emp didn't get it. Maybe it was one of those things that was better if you were more prepared then not enough? The man followed.

"The seal also prevent the slave from revealing any personal information on its master without his express consent. The words would never leave their mouths despite their best efforts. This works for any information that isn't displayed on the hunting card. Not only is this great for their master secrecy but also really helpful to themselves as this makes them a useless target. It is pointless to torture someone for information if it is physically impossible for them to answer so they are often completely ignored by the foes of their masters."

Emp could conceive how such a thing could be useful. If you had a lot of secrets, you wouldn't want anyone near you while you worked unless you could be sure they would never say a word of what they saw. On the other hand, he wondered what kind of work needed such secrecy.

"Then," The man moved on. "the seal gives the master the ability to inflict pain upon his slaves. The pain can be as little or as much as you want but will never cause any real injuries to the slave. It only makes them feel pain as a form of punishment or as an incentive to comply to an order. This pain does not require contact to be activated, only a thought from the master."

This didn't seem like a pleasant thing to do. The only pain he inflicted on someone else before was to kill them. It had felt really strange but at least, he thought that they must have not been pained for long since they died so quick.

He didn't wish to make others feel pain but on the other hand, maybe sometimes it was a necessary thing, like when the healing mage had inflicted pain upon him to heal his wound. The pain was a necessary part of the process of healing.

"Lastly, the seal has one last benefit, by focusing on it a little, a slave can use it to sense the general whereabouts of their master. They can be left anywhere and they will always find their way back to the master."

That was a really useful ability. the only disappointing part was that it didn't work the other way around. The man moved on from sealed slaves in general to the two girls in front of them.

"As for the two of them, they were picked at random in our remaining slaves. You got unlucky this time but to be fair for everyone, we cannot change them for anyone. Sir will have to forgive us."

"Why am I unlucky?" Asked Emp confused. Sealed slaves seemed like something really amazing, why would it be unfortunate for him.

"Well..." The man said with slowly, trying to find a good way to put it.

"The first one has nothing wrong with her. Through her documents we know she was a born slave and was in the service of a merchant before she was sold to us. She is obedient and has every skill set required to take care of an estate. She can cook, clean, sew, knows her letters and numbers and even has some skill in management. Her only negatives are that she is a woman so she won't be able to do the more physical labors and she can be a little loud. Those don't matter much here in the school though so she is quite a fine slave."

The blonde girl showed a small smile from the praise but kept quiet to not disturb them.

"This one on the other hand, she is a cursed-blood."

Emp was quite surprised by this. He thought cursed-blood didn't look like humans but the girl really seemed like a normal one, aside from her red hair that was unusual in this sea of blond people. The other slave was also surprised and almost made a step away from the red-haired girl.

"She is one from the bird tribe but she lost her wings, she is also mute and rebellious. Even with the seal, she refuses to listen to any orders and attacked her last master. Being one from the bird tribe, she is really weak and has no useful skills at all. Our only criteria for buying students slaves is for them to be sealed so we often get a few unusefull slaves but this one might be the worst we've ever had. The slaver swore she had some potential but I wouldn't put too much faith in his words."

This really seemed like a troublesome girl, even the other slave seemed unsure on how to react. On the other hand, he was really curious. He had never met a cursed-blood before, it was a great opportunity to learn about them. Anyway, it wasn't like he had a lot of work for them to do.

"It's alright, I lived fine on my own before, even if I did not receive any slave I would have been fine."

"Thank you for your understanding sir. Are you ready to proceed to the ceremony?"

"Yes, I am, What do I need to do?"

The man started explaining that the circle of runes in which they stood had for only purpose to transfer salve ownership. It was a huge magical array that had been tuned specifically to match the head of the servants. It was all very complicated but the reason it was so specific and complicated was very simple. If it had been easy to transfer a sealed slave, the seal would have been pointless.

In order to prevent the theft or betrayal of sealed slaves, a set of very specific instructions and conditions had to be followed before one could claim the ownership of a seal.

First, the old master, the slave and the new one all had to be present.

Second, both masters had to be willing to do the transfer, having one unconscious would not do. The magic circle had to be engraved in order to match the soul of the original owner, only him could set up the finishing touches of such an array.

Then, a ceremony had to be performed in which one familiar in sealing magic had to chant the transferal spell and all three persons involved had to drip their blood on the magic array.

Finally, the blood of the previous master had to be replaced on the seal by the blood of the new one. If everything went as it should, the seal would change to reflect the new master.

Emp and the man had to go through all that twice and the ceremony itself wasn't something Emp could have called short. The part where he had to drip some of his blood was the worst, not because he was afraid of getting hurt but instead, because he kept wondering if there was a better way to spill some of his blood than to just stab a knife into his finger.

The first ceremony was used on the seemingly depressed redhead. After it was done, the seal on her back changed to look like a crenelated hammer in a crowned book. All the others went closer to look at the seal with curiosity. The crown was probably because he was supposed to become emperor but he had no idea on how to interpret the rest.

"The crenelations are often a symbol of protection like the shield as they remind one of a wall. Books are often the symbol of knowledge and hammers are usually linked to artisans. The crown of course symbolize ruling over things although the combination of those four seems a bit odd. That is just their usual meaning and usage in traditional family crests though, it might not apply to your seal. Mine, for example, is a dog ruling over ants, it has nothing to do with usual crests." The man explained.

It didn't really help Emp understand why he was represented in such a strange way but, he still had learned something new so he was happy.

Next, they did it all over again for the blond slave and the same seal was formed on her back. The man nodded in satisfaction and got a small stack of parchment paper from the inner pocket of his suit.

"Those are all their information as well as the ownership documents. They are now yours as well." He said as he placed them in his hand. "Sir is now free to do as he please with them. The classes will only start in a month, in the meantime, nothing is required from sir by this establishment. Sir may spend his time as he wishes. May sir have a wonderful evening, if sir would excuse me now, I have to go back to my other duties."

"Oh, yes, good evening to you as well. Thank you for your help."

"It was my pleasure to be of use."

And with that, he bowed once and left, leaving Emp alone with the two slaves. Thinking about this, were was the other girl gone? She must have left during the overlong ceremony. It was fortunate he thought about paying attention to the way here beforehand. He shoved all the papers in his bag and turned towards the two slaves.

Now that there wasn't anyone to tell him what to do, he felt a little lost. Aside from the very first day he had been created, it was the first time there wasn't a clear objective for him to go towards. It was also the very first time he was in charge of anyone.

He was free to do whatever he wanted but he didn't know what it was he wanted exactly. It would probably be better to go back to his room first. He just had to tell them to follow him he thought. But, how should he start a conversation with them? What was even their names and how should he address them?

He should probably start by asking that, but then, he would have to give his own name to them as well. This brought another question to his head, how much should he tell them about himself? Until now, he had really met only three people, Chinui, Galana and Marcellia. For each one, he had done something different.

To Chinui he had told everything. It taught him that his story was strange and some of it could put him in trouble but he still had told most of it to Galana and she did not believe him. Then, he said almost nothing to Marcellia but it didn't feel all that great to keep secrets.

For Galana, he didn't really mind if she didn't believe him but those two would spend most of their time with him from now on. If they were to believe he was insane, it would be really unpleasant. Since they were to be his servants rather than his friends, they had no need to know anything.

On the other hand, the whole point of them being sealed was in order to be sure that they would never betray their master and his secrets. It felt like a waste to leave them in the dark.

He also had no idea on how to speak to a servant, would it not be easier to just address them as he would normally for anyone else? In any case, he had to say something now because the poor blonde girl was about to collapse of nervousness from how long it took him to say anything. Would he be that anxious as well if he was given just like that to some person he didn't know? Probably, it must be a distressing situation, maybe not all that different from being created and left in the middle of nowhere with no real objective or direction to go towards. He could somewhat understand her plight.

"Do not worry, I was just lost in thoughts. I was wondering how much to tell you about me."

"Master can tell me anything he wishes, his secrets would be safe with me even without the seal." She answered quickly.

"Maybe later but first, what is your name?"

"My name? It's Harriett Sklavsang but master can call me however master like."

"Harriett then, and what is her name?" Emp asked pointing at the other girl.

"No one knows, I don't think that the man who sold her to the school knew either."

Emp nodded in understanding and got the book of answer from his bag. Even if they didn't know, the book would, there was no point to complain about it.

"What is her name?" He asked the book. Harriett seemed intrigued about what he was doing but kept silent while he read the answer.

"Celtine Estelli, this is your name correct?"

The until now lifeless red-haired girl raised her head and eyes to him. She was clearly wondering how he guessed her name. Harriett seemed impressed as well.

"It really seems to be the case! Master, may I ask how you did it?"

"It is because of the book of answers." He said while showing them the book. "Whatever question I ask it, it always know the answer."

If it was willing to give it to him though, that seemed to be a completely different matter.

"That's impressive master. Can it really answer anything? Could it even tell you the locations of the gods trial grounds?"

Emp had never thought about it before but the book could probably do it. He would have to be really precise with his question though or the book might just answer with something unusefull like 'somewhere' or 'on the continent'.

"I am sure it can, if it exist or if it is possible to do, I am pretty sure the book knows the answer, it was given to me by the god Sage himself after all."

"Does master mean to say that he already completed a trial?" Asked the slave excitedly. Her eyes sparkling with admiration.

"I did but that is not what I meant. Let us talk inside my room instead. Would the both of you please follow me?"

"Of course I will, master." Answered Harriett obediently. "But I don't know if she can even stand on her own." She said talking about Celtine.

The girl in question got up from the ground with difficulty and staggered towards them. She seemed to have a really hard time doing so.

"Wow, she is stronger than I thought." Praised Harriett

Not only did she seem unused to walking, she also seemed feeble. It made for something really hard to watch without letting out a sigh. Let's not even talk about the stairs they would have to scale, the simple corridors seemed like they would be a desperate fight for her. If he let her go on like that, it would take forever to get back to his room. Of course, Emp had nothing to do and did not really mind if it took a long time to go back but he felt the girl was pitiful and there was no point in letting her go around like this.

It would be best to just pick her up. Storing the book, he got closer to her in a single step and half kneeled just in front of her. She seemed wary of his action but extended his arm to her anyway.

"Here, use my arm and my knee as holds to get on my shoulders, it will be easier that way."

Celtine didn't know how to react to such a demand and a surprised Harriett complained.

"But master, you can't do that, she is just a slave, and a cursed-blood. What will people think if they see you with her on your shoulders? You should have me help her instead."

It was true that Emp would not like to look crazy or strange, he had a lot of clothing problems before because of that. He had no doubt that it would be harder to do all that was asked of him if he was labeled as strange but, the city of Bêtéclair had already taught him a very valuable lesson. To him, everyone in the streets were dressed extremely strangely but it seemed fine to them all. They were completely unfazed by the clothes they all wore or even by his armor which earned him the weariness of those living in Starfall.

What was weird for someone wasn't necessarily seen in the same light by the rest. Whatever he did, it was bound to be thought as strange by some like how Galana had proven to him many times and normal for others like he had seen in this city. If whatever he did would be seen as inappropriate by at least one and thought normal for at least one other, why hesitate at all? In the end, if he always did what he thought was right, he could just say that those disagreeing were the strange ones. Was it not part of what an emperor did, to decide what was right and what was wrong?

"None of that matters, I am just helping a girl in trouble. Also, you are not that strong either, it is way easier if I do it myself."

Thinking about it, he should probably apply the same rule to what he was to tell them later. It was pointless to hide them truths about him for fear they would think of him as insane. In the end, he still had to live with those truths and those girls. Would it not be easier on them if they knew what he was going after?

Harriett did not protest anymore after that but Celtine hesitated for a while. Emp had no way of asking her why she was hesitant so he could only urge her on.

"Why are you hesitant? Just climb on, no need to torture yourself with this. I do not know anyone of your kind yet so I do not feel anything good or bad towards you if that is what you are afraid of."

She looked into his eyes some more and finally did what he had asked her to do. Using his knee as footing and holding hishead with both of her hands, she managed to get her leg around his neck and sit herself on his shoulders.

"Just old on to my forehead to steady yourself."

If he hadn't been able to see her legs around his head, he would never even have known she was there because of how light she was. Maybe Harriett could have helped her in the end.

Because of the armor he was still wearing, it mustn't have been comfortable to sit there. Especially the row of fangs around his neck must have been painfully annoying. After she adjusted her dress to be more comfortable, she entwined her fingers over his forehead and he took hold of her ankles as got himself back up.

With how small they both were, they wouldn't have any problems going through doorways so they shouldn't come across any problem on their way there.

"It's a good thing we... Maybe I shouldn't say this out loud." Said Harriett in bewilderment. "It's not my place to complain but... Maybe master should have carried her in your arms instead."

"I was scared of hitting her head in a doorframe. Also, you saw her back too, She would have been hard to hold without hurting her I think. This is way easier."

"Of course master, if you say so."

"Let us go back to our room then."

After that, Emp went back to his room without a problem and without coming across anyone.

Once there, he sat both of the girls on chairs and proceeded to tell them everything he could think of about himself. He also remembered the ring of allegiance he possessed while talking about the treasures he received.

He had never tested it before, he had made one copy but didn't give it to anyone. He felt that the two girls who couldn't betray him would be perfect to test them out. He would then know how it worked and would be sure the information he received from it would be accurate.

He made two new copies of it and gave one to each girl.

"Put them on, those are magic ring. They will change in appearance depending on what I think of you, this was the gift from Love."

He decided to not tell them about the information gathering part though. After all, the goal was to test the rings. If they knew they risked to foil the test.

"Can we really have such a thing master? Is it not wasted on us?"

"Not at all, I can make as many as I want. Just take them, I want to know how they will look, I am curious."

Harriett accepted the ring and put it on under the curious gaze of the other two. From a plain iron ring, it turned into a simple wooden ring as soon as it was settled on her finger.

"I see, since I just met you, it turned into a simple wooden ring, I wonder how it will change in the future."

Seeing that nothing happened to her partner, Celtine put on her own ring as well and it also turned into a wooden ring, but her own seemed to have a gash in it. It curiously looked like a wound, almost bleeding sap.

"Hers is different." Observed Harriett.

"I am not sure why. Since it should reflect what I think of you, I think it may have to do with how weak and wounded she looks to me." Theorized Emp. "This is interesting."

After that and his story were over, he found himself very hungry and decided to cook some of his remaining fish. He barely had the time to get the ingredients out of the bag when Harriett interrupted him in order to cook in his stead.

Since she really wanted to do it, he left her to it and sat back down. Celtine of course didn't make for a good conversation partner but Harriett still had some questions about his story so it ended up fine.

Nothing that special happened afterwards. Surprisingly, Harriett readily believed him and his story. She even seemed really impressed by it. Celtine didn't seem to be listening all that well and in the end, didn't seem to care if the story was true or false.

He had talked for a long time and he was getting pretty tired so he decided to wait for the next day to ask them about themselves.

He told them both goodnight, went to his bedroom, lifted the hammer like usual and went to bed after having recalled his other self. Nestled under the covers, he watched and fiddled with his own ring to figure out how it worked.

He found out that if he thought about either of the two girls, the clouds drifting into the ring would gather to form her face. The golden threads on the surface of the ruby ring would twist by themselves and forms words: Harriett Sklavsang, alive or Celtine Estelli, alive. The words were small and should have been hard to read but when he was looking for them, they seemed to jump out by themselves and were instead really easy to observe.

Even if Celtine's ring was different, it didn't give any more information than the other. He should have given one to Chinui as well, maybe he would have seen more information than just if he was alive or not. If he wanted to test the functions of the ring any further, he would have to improve his relationship with them.

He would think about that later, for now, he couldn't resist the call of sleep empowered to unbelievable levels by the bed. The last thing he thought was that he forgot to tell the girls to wake him up.