CH 58

*Namuel’s POV

"Um..."

"What is it, Marquis Namuel?"

"May I ask why you bought that slave?"

As he asked that, Namuel looked down at the slave who was sitting on the floor of the carriage. The slave who received Namuel’s gaze was startled, and then he curled up his body a little smaller.

He was very conscious about not to make any noises while paying close attention to his surrounding, which was very typical of slaves. So, to be honest, Namuel did not understand the reason.

Was it because of his beautiful face? Honestly, I admit it. This person is very beautiful.

The appearance of his water-colored hair with his moist pink eyes was a kind of beauty that was worth paying attention to at least once even if the one looking wasn't interested in that kind of thing.

...But when it comes to beauty, you will find a lot of them if you look around among the best slaves in the slave market. Other than that, nothing seems special.

Just in case, Namuel even scanned his body with magic, but he still thought that there was nothing more than his beauty. So, Namuel’s eyes were full of questions.

Seeing him like that, Myrdin laughed lowly. Then he said,

"Did you scan the slave's body with magic?"

"I didn't know why Myrdin-nim is interested in him, so I tried it."

"Yes, that's a perfectly right attitude. The spirit of inquiry is what a mage needs the most."

The old wizard nodded his head, smiling happily at his successor's attitude. Then he stroked the back of the crow who was sitting on his lap.

The crow, which was enjoying Myrdin’s touch while making a pleased cry, jumped a little and landed on the slave's lap. As the crow did so and the helpless slave flinched, Namuel touched his forehead.

Myrdin wasn't the only one who didn't understand why Rainelle liked this slave.

The old wizard chuckled as if it was funny to see Namuel groaning in a strange situation for no apparent reason.

"Heh heh heh. You don’t understand?"

"...to be honest, yes."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sure it's hard to understand why Rainelle and I are doing this even though there's nothing special about this slave even after you checked him with magic."

After saying that, Myrdin, who looked like he understood, added another thing,

"---Well, sometimes you'll need something like this too. Why don't you just think that it's for fun?"

At those words, Namuel furrowed his eyebrows. It was because he wasn't quite sure about Myrdin's behavior which also seemed as if he was playing a joke.

"Myrdin-nim, that's..."

"Oh, of course I know how absurd this is. But sometimes you need a stimulus like this, don't you?"

As Myrdin said that, Namuel let out a long sigh, feeling that the grin of the old wizard was somehow evil.

"...you're really mean."

"My curiosity and mischief have not died down even as I get older. Hahahaha."

Myrdin's face was full of mischief as he said that and skillfully stroked his white beard.

"---Well, that’s that, but in the case of this slave, there are a couple of exceptions."

"...?"

Not understanding the words, Namuel blinked, but Myrdin just turned his gaze to the slave as if he had no intention of continuing. And so, Namuel’s eyes also moved to the same direction.

The eyes of the two wizards turned to the slave. It was clear to the slave that they were talking about himself, but he had a face that showed he was afraid because he couldn't figure out their intention.

The crow seemed to feel the fear of the slave. While making a small cry, the bird grabbed the water-colored hair with her beak gently and then moved in to the slave's arms.

At the action of the crow, the slave stiffened. Under the eyes of Namuel and Myrdin, the slave’s hands wandered in the air, not knowing where he should put them.

'Hmm, she never did that with me.', thought Namuel

The slave was stained with blood and dust, but the crow snuggled into his arms and inflated her feathers as if she was in a good mood.

Namuel made a complicated expression.

It’s fortunate that I’m the one who sees this scene, but what if it was the Emperor?

...Namuel shook his head slightly to get rid of that thought, which made him feel dizzy just by imagining it. Then he called out to Rainelle in order not to turn his imagination into reality,

"Rainelle-nim, would you mind coming over here?"

"Caw?"

Rainelle tilted her head while cawing, then she quietly moved to Namuel's knee.

Then she dug into his arms as if she knew what Namuel thought.

Namuel smiled involuntarily as Rainelle cawed while continue digging in, flicking her tail feathers, and rubbing her head against his stomach.

Namuel knew that she can change into a human form (as he was not quite comfortable with humans), and he knew that she was a rare beauty, but her current appearance was unbearably cute even in his eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have bothered you."

Rainelle let out a cry in response. It was like she said said “don't worry”, so Namuel smiled awkwardly.

"Ah, yes. Rainelle-nim, may I take this slave with me?"

Rainelle, who was in Namuel's arms, looked at Myrdin. The crow looked at him while tilting her head, then she nodded while cawing.

"Thank you. Heh heh, I promise you this one thing: I won't treat him like his previous owner. You wouldn't want that, would you?"

You wouldn't want that, would you?"

Myrdin laughed broadly at Rainelle’s behavior of making a loud cry as she nodded her head.

"Hahahaha, I can't beat Rainelle-nim at all. Then I'll do that."

With that said, the old wizard turned to the slave. The slave who received his gaze shrank, but he was not as anxious as before.

The carriage carried them throughout the road.

"Have you been having fun, Rainelle?"

"Greetings, Your Majesty the Emperor."

Rainelle flew from Namuel's shoulder, who knelt on one of his knees and bowed, and landed on Karmeut's shoulder. Then she rubbed the Emperor's cheek with her beak.

A gentle smile hung on the corner of the Emperor's lips at the crow's charming behavior.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty. I did as I please..."

"No, I have no intention of reproaching you, as it must have been what Rainelle wanted. It seems like she had a good time, so it's rather fortunate."

Karmeut's fingers gently stroked the black feathers. The crow made a soft cry as if she felt good at the touch. She repeatedly clamped Emperor's golden hair with her beak and released it. She was playing with it.

Seeing the two of them, Namuel could not even talk about what had happened at the market.

'...well, it's rude to get involved more than necessary.'

Namuel thought so to himself, convincing himself that didn’t need to say everything. He quietly sneaked away from the Emperor's gaze.

***

*Rainelle’s POV

"You really wanted to go out of the palace that much? I wish you'd told me."

Karmeut gently stroked my feathers and spoke in a sad voice, so changed into my human form. I changed on Karmeut's lap, so ended up sitting on his lap, I tried to ignore it and said,

"Ummm... But Karmeut seems to be busy, though. And..."

As I spoke, I remembered the reason I went to the market with Namuel.

Didn’t I go out to choose a present? Why did I simply return?! Um, um... ah, ah-ah-ah!

I felt my face heat up.

When I remembered why, I almost escaped from the room. It felt like I was sitting on a needle cushion.

"By the way, you're already in human form... I guess ‘it’ wasn't as bad as I thought?"

Meanwhile, Karmeut's voice that reached my ears was more cheeky than usual.

"Wh, what?!"

"Hmm... Can you tell me how ‘it’ was?"

I couldn't stand the tapping of my lower lip by his index finger as he said that. Who can stand it?

"Caaw!! (Karmeut!!)"

"Pu ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

After biting Karmeut’s finger because of his laughter, I moved to the top of the closet. There, I lamented my simplified head.

Argh! Even if I deny it, there's nothing I can do about it! My mind has become simple! It became simple! I was human, oh my God!

Still, I'm glad I possessed a crow, sniff sniff... Crows are intelligent enough to be one of the top smart birds, or even animals, so...

For some reason, it felt like water was flowing from my eyes, so I swiped my eyes with my wings. Of course, there were no tears, but I think I would have cried if I was a human.

No, no. Wait a minute. But I am not particularly pitiful today, am I? He was a slave, but I met such a handsome man!

As I recalled the fact that I had met a handsome man, I felt that the sense of despair from becoming a simpleminded being was fading away.

That person, he's trully handsome~

If it was a BL game, he would have definitely been a target. Mm-hmm. Is he one? The world is wide, tastes are diverse, and that person has a face that I want to see cry...

He's such an innocent-looking beauty. If I imagine him leaving high school with his pink eyes welling up with tears---!!

...let's stop. I feel like I'm a pervert. By the way... he's been on my mind.

I feel like I've seen him somewhere. Maybe he’s one of the targets in the game? Seriously! What am I going to do with my head? The fact that I can't remember the game I played a few years ago and that my mind become simple are overlapping! Crazy!!

I fumbled through my memory with anguish. First, there was the emperor character Karmeut, the knight character Galenos, the wizard character Namuel, and two more target characters.

One was a hidden character that came out only when certain conditions were met, and there was one more! Come on---! Roll, my head! Work, brain cells!!

But no matter how hard I tried, the memories didn't come up.

Sniff, sniff... Even when I was human, I wasn't good at studying, but like this, it’s getting worse!

I can't believe I'm a bird! I can't believe I'm a bird!

***

*3rd person POV

"Now, you can use this room. If you need anything, tell the servants. And..."

Myrdin took the slave and explained this and that to him, and then he became silent for a moment. It was because he realized that the eyes of the slave, who looked around in bewilderment and helplessness, were close to panic.

"...if you have any questions, you can ask."

"---um, I..."

The slave could not easily speak. After hesitating for a while, the hesitant slave finally managed to open his mouth after Myrdin gently told him that it was okay,

"I, I'm a slave. So, I... in a room alone, or something like that... Something like that..."

"...hmm. So what you mean is, you're a slave, so you want to faithfully fulfill my nightlife like a slave and sleep on the floor, right?"

The slave did not answer. That was what he had been doing all his life. Other than that, there was nothing he was good at. Like a slave, he crawled, licked, and spread his legs.

However, the things this old wizard was telling him were like a dreamlike story, which were never allowed for slaves.

That was why he was rather afraid. It was so painful to accept acts of torture every day that he tried to run away, but he was a slave deep within. A person who was accustomed to being directed, cared for, and trampled upon by someone. That was him. A mere 'thing' without a name.

Did Myrdin understand his confusion? The old wizard said,

"I'm sorry, but I'm over ninety years old. No matter what kind of beauty I get, I can't accept. That's why I didn't buy you for that purpose."

"Th, then..."

“Of course, the favor of His Majesty’s beloved crow is one of the reasons.”

Hearing ‘His Majesty’s beloved crow’, the slave remembered the crow with a golden necklace and striking purple eyes.

A shiny bird that showed him that someone truly cared for him. And...

Her human figure that was as pretty as a glowing light. As he recalled the feeling of seeing a goddess in front of his eyes, the slave clasped his hands.

"That's why I didn't ‘buy’ you. Maybe she felt something through you."

At those words, the slave looked at the old wizard with a puzzled expression. Seeing him like that, Myrdin responded with a kind smile.

"If what I feel is right, you don't have to be a slave anymore. Rather, you can live with respect from others."

Because the situation was so dreamlike, it was rather unrealistic for the slave, so the slave did not answer.

He even thought: ‘That can't happen, can it?’

He didn't know if he would be sold if he said that. Then he might be sold to a violent owner for being cheeky.

It was unclear whether Myrdin knew or not that the slave thought that way, but he continued to speak,

"There is so much work to be done from now on. So, be prepared. If all goes well, you may be able to meet His Majesty's crow."

At those words, the slave's lips trembled softly. Then he knelt before the old wizard and lowered his body.

Watching the slave's actions, Myrdin smiled as he stroked his beard. As if he knew that the slave would do that, his smile somehow seemed detached.