Chapter 8

Our group is one of the last to leave the labyrinth. Satou leads the way holding Tama's and Pochi's hands as we climb the spiralling staircase towards the exit. Liza, Bunny and I are just behind him. The only ones still in the labyrinth are a few soldiers standing guard at the door, waiting to see if any more people would turn up.

"Once we get outside, we should find something good to eat. Is there any food you want in particular?"

"Meat?"

"Meat, please, sir! We saw some huge meat on a carriage earlier, sir!"

Satou is asking about food. Well, I am hungry myself, but my first thought after fighting a life and death battle wasn't about where to get something to eat. I simply watch Tama and Pochi excitedly jump up and down at Satou's side. Maybe I misjudged him.

"Pochi, Tama. Meat certainly is a wonderful thing. But for slaves to demand it like that is reaching far beyond our means."

"Our…means?"

"Liza uses hard words, sir."

"Meat is a luxury."

Liza steps past me, scolding the young girls despite looking like she was drolling when she heard the word meat herself. But I am surprised that people would starve their slaves. From what I have seen, food isn't that expensive in this town. My meals usually only cost me a few copper coins at most.

"Well, we should celebrate getting out of the labyrinth alive. Why don't we get some meat?"

"Yaaay!"

"Thanks, sir!"

"If that is your will, master. I'll be sure to savour every last bite!"

The trio looks happy. Pochi and Tama jump up and down with smiles on their faces, and even Liza smiles despite her best efforts to keep a straight face. But why does Liza also appear to be making some kind of vow? With her fists clenched, it seems, and a serious look on her face, it appears as if she is making a sacred promise. She doesn't have to be so serious.

"What about you two?" Satou asks, looking back at Bunny and me. "It's my treat, so don't worry about anything."

"I am fine with anything," I certainly won't say no to a free meal.

"Same here," Bunny nods her head after glancing at me.

Before we can continue our conversation, we step outside for the first time in days. The sunlight is blinding at first and hurts my eyes, but I quickly adjust. When we emerged, we were met by the anxious faces and loud clamouring of the people who'd come out before us. Looking around, the reason became pretty evident.

The exit led into an empty space where the plaza once stood and has been surrounded by a makeshift wooden fence supported by sandbags. This fence must have been built in a hurry because I can see overturned wagons making up part of the wall. But the most concerning thing is the soldiers aiming crossbows and cannons at us. I hope they are pointed this way because the labyrinth's exit is right behind and not because we are here. Pochi, Tama, and even Liza and Bunny look nervous at the soldiers as Satou asks someone what is happening.

"Well, they're telling us we have to stay here until they figure out if any of us are monsters disguised as humans or infected with a disease from demons or anything like that," Satou says once he has retrieved the relative information.

I don't think anyone has any of the mentioned problems. Still, I guess after what happened in the plaza, the count and his army won't be taking any chances. We have to wait for an hour before some people arrive to assess us. Tama and Pochi must have been bored because they started using Satou as a climbing frame while we rested, with Bunny and Liza remaining on guard.

After waiting for an hour or so, some carriages arrived, and the quarantine operation began. Apparently, they'd be calling people over one at a time and checking them using a Yamato stone. The captain and the Oracle priestess were called first, then the magic soldier Zena. They'd be checking on military personnel first, so we'd be toward the end. Or so I thought.

"Excuse me, miss, can you please come with us," The captain who leads the soldiers suddenly approaches me. I stand up, and Bunny does the same, but the captain shakes his head. "I am sorry, but she can't come."

Not wanting to cause a scene, I leave Bunny in Satou's care. I followed the captain over to the area where the Yamato stone was set up. Several knights in shiny armour wait for me there, looking me over and making comments like I thought she would have been stronger. I have to go through the same process as when I got my ID the day I entered the city. Placing my hands on the Yamato stone, I speak my name, and it lights up like before.

Wow, I can't believe how much stronger I am now. I probably have a lot of points to spend when I have the chance. But I find the look everyone is giving me worrying. Is something wrong with my results? They stare at me wide-eyed and in complete silence for a few seconds before one of the knights finally speaks up.

"We need to inform the Earl right away," One of the knights says. "Prepare a carriage to take her to the castle."

The castle? I feel a shiver run down my spine. I feel like I am in trouble. Big trouble. I really don't want to meet this Earl. In all the books I read, high-ranking nobles are always only after woman's bodies. But I can't complain with all the soldiers around me. I might be able to escape, but the Earl could punish Satou and the Demi-Human girls if I were to get away. I will just have to take it and pray the nobles in the books I read don't exist in this world.

I was brought to the castle in a carriage that looked so expensive I was afraid to sit down with how dirty I currently was. It didn't get better once I reached the castle, and the knights led me down corridors to a guest room where I could wash up. I am told a change of clothes will be brought to me shortly, along with a bathtub. Before leaving, the knights tell me the Earl will want to meet with me either later today or tomorrow, and I will have to stay confined to this room until then. I sigh as I settle down onto the soft couch. It is a shame that I have dirtied such an expensive looking sofa.

The room isn't too bad. There is a large queen-sized bed, a wardrobe full of clothes, a comfortable sitting area with two sofas, a wooden table between them, and even a stone fireplace. The view isn't too bad either, and it is nice there aren't any bars on my window.

<0>

Meanwhile, in his office, Earl Roswald Seiryuu stars at the report in his hand. His eyes were wide as he reread the document repeatedly to make sure he wasn't mistaken. Finally, he puts it down and looks at the three people in the room.

The Commander of his knights, sir Renaut, stands wearing golden armour and wielding a long spear that barely avoids scratching the ceiling. Despite his aged wrinkled face, his blue eyes are as sharp as ever, and he still has enough grey hair to cover his head. His Court Magician, lady Alison, strokes her chin as she thinks over what has happened. Despite being in her early sixties, she is still a thing of beauty. Short blonde hair, emerald green eyes, and his skin have aged better than most women her age. Finally, there is Chester Wells, a count's second son and currently the man in charge of the Earl's intelligence network. He is a young man barely in his twenties with short red hair and matching red eyes. He may be weaker than most men, but his information is rarely wrong.

"Is this information accurate?" The Earl asks, setting the report down on his desk.

"Yes," Sir Renaut nods. "I was present when she was tested on the Yamato stone and can testify that no foul play occurred."

"I find it strange that a hero would enter our town right before disaster strikes," Lady Alison says. "It might be possible that she had something to do with it."

"That's impossible," Chester quickly speaks up. "My informants tell me she didn't have the hero status when she arrived in the city. According to Sir Thorne, she was involved in an accident just outside of the city and lost her Identification Papers. When he reissued them, the Yamato stone showed she didn't have the hero title."

"I still think it is suspicious," Lady Alison says. "I don't think we can trust her just yet."

"For now, we will gather more information about her," The Earl tells them. "She still needs to be questioned about what happened, so w will decide what to do with her later."

"It's a shame your plan of making her a retainer won't work now," Sir Renaut comments.

"It hasn't failed. It has just been postponed," Chester tells him. "As soon as the Season of the Demon Lord is over, she will be up for grabs. If we play our cards right, then recruiting her in the future is a possibility."

"Yes, but it will be tricky to keep her away from the other nobles once they learn of her," The Earl shakes his head, rubbing his temple. "It will take a lot of political manoeuvring, but for now, I will report this to the king and introduce her to my daughter."

"That's a good idea," Chester nods. "They are about the same age, and giving her some company wouldn't hurt in the long run."

"Just make sure she is probably guarded," Lady Alison. "We still don't know much about this girl, so we can't let our guard down."

<0>

The dress they gave me was lovely. Soft, comfortable and I don't feel too hot despite the heat of the day. If only it would stop me from sweating whenever someone pays me a visit. The first person was a young female official who questioned me about what had happened before entering the labyrinth and my time spent inside. She wasn't scary. She was very friendly and kind, in fact. I just could relax when I felt like a criminal. Still, I am better than most. I hear from this official that most people are being locked in the dungeon. At least Bunny, Satou and his girls aren't among them. I let out a sigh of relief when I heard they were together in some noble's home Satou had saved in the labyrinth. Not only that, but I learn I am now Bunny's owner. According to the official, a slave is treated as an item in a dungeon. If their master dies, they belong to whoever finds them.

My second visit was another official, this time a man in his mid-thirties. He takes my cores and pays me fifteen copper coins for them, and the belongs from the deceased that I collect. I was surprised when he told me the families would pay me a reward for this and that I could keep the money I found. I tried to tell him I didn't need a reward or the money, but he said it is the way things work in this kingdom and wouldn't take no for an answer. In the end, he left, leaving the money with me. When that man returned with a bag of money, I was happy when I accepted it. I wish I could have refused.

My third visitor was the person that scared me the most. I was shocked that when the maids brought me lunch, someone elegant and looked like they were some fairy tale princess joined me. I was too afraid to speak when I first learned who she was, and I kept asking myself why the Earl was letting his daughter see me when people thought I could have some kind of disease or be a monster in disguise. But I guess that was why a pair of knights accompanied her.

"Good day, Hero Kura," The noble lady says with a flawless curtsy. "My name is Henrietta Seiryuu. Might I have the pleasure of joining you for lunch?"

"Of… of course," I stutter, still feeling stunned by her elegance. "It will be my pleasure, lady Seiryuu."

"Please just call me Henry," She smiles radiantly. "And please sit down. You don't need to worry about manners or etiquette and just be yourself. Everyone here is aware of your common birth and won't judge you for using the wrong fork or speaking out of turn."

Henry wasn't as bad as I thought she would be. She told me about her life in the castle and asked me about my time in the labyrinth. We talk for hours over lunch and then an endless supply of tea. Eventually, Henry makes a few complaints about her caring too much about his sister. I was surprised to learn was Zena. We had parted ways by the time the sun was setting, and I was exhausted after being too nervous to sleep last night.

Collapsing onto my bed after dressing in a silk nightgown that was probably worth more than anything I owned. I close my eyes and try to sleep, only to be surprised when I see I have one hundred and ninety points to spend levelling up my skills. That's good. I have plenty of new skills, but the first one I level up is the etiquette skill after meeting Henry. I raised it to level five for now and max out the Shiga Language after Henry used some words I didn't understand while I was at it.

Next, I max out my Evasion skill and raise my One-Handed Sword skill to level six. I then move on to my new skills levelling up my Trap Release to level five, and finally, I move on to Danger Sense. It seems the most useful skill I have unlocked recently. I raise the skill to level eight, leaving me. I decided to spend them levelling up my Sprint skill to level six and both the Evil-Eye and Petrification Resistance to level one. I really hope I don't get caught up in another labyrinth, but it was a great way of levelling up.

When I wake up, the maid is already waiting for me putting breakfast down on a small table. As far as prison cells go, this one isn't so bad. I quickly change before sitting down to eat when the maid gives me some bad news. The Earl wants to meet me in an hour. I take a deep breath and force my breakfast down. I hope the Earl is as friendly as his daughter.

An hour later, I am brought before the Earl. He stands up from a chair at the far side of the room as soon as I enter and comes to meet me. He is a tall man and smiles, but I don't let my guard down, although he has a goatee that does not suit him, which makes me want to laugh. We meet in the middle of the room, and he extends his hand.

"My name is Earl Roswald Seiryuu," The Earl says as I shake his hand. "I am currently the ruler of Seiryuu County. It is a lease to meet with you, Hero Kura."

"The pleasure is my Earl Seiryuu," I reply in a shaky voice.

We are currently standing in his audience hall. It is a large room the size of a football pitch and dressed up, making me constantly mistake it for a throne room. The chair that the Earl was sitting on was raised a few inches on a small marble stage. The floor has a red carpet running down the middle, and every window offers a great view of the surrounding city. I can barely breathe in here with several knights in the room watching my every move. One mistake, and I could be killed. I take a deep breath and hope for the best.

"Our kingdom hasn't had a hero since the Ancestral King Yamato founded our nation," The Earl tells me. I am sure people will be happy to hear a hero has appeared to fight the Demon Lord."

Demon Lord? If I have to fight a monster stronger than that demon back in the labyrinth, then I really wish I never earned the hero title. I might have been better off letting that masked hero fight alone and just hid behind the soldier, hoping for the best.

"I am sure the king was happy when he read my report about you," The KING! I feel worse by the second now there is a King that knows about me. "Unfortunately, not everyone is convinced you are the hero." I feel a little bit better now. Maybe with insufficient support, no one will make me do anything, and I can search for a way home. "But that just means we have to find a way to make people believe you truly are a hero. The best way would be to have the king whiteness you using the Yamato stone, but several powerful nobles will make that difficult. So we will start off small, finding situations worthy of a hero. I would like to invite you to say with me until we can get people to recognise your status."

Not long after, we part ways, and I am glad he isn't trying to be forceful with me. I hope the nobles continue to block me from being recognised as a true hero so I can live a peaceful life. I return to my room and sink into a bath that was prepared for me. Staying here isn't so bad.

<0>

The next day I was able to visit Satou and the Demi-Human girls. Pochi and Tama quickly hug me when I enter their room until Liza scolds them and pulls the girls away. I assure her it is alright, but she still says the girls need to learn how to behave, so I drop the subject. Satou greets me next, followed by Bunny, and I think I saw a smile on her lips for a split second. Now that I get a closer look at her, Bunny is covered in sweat for some reason.

"It's good to see you again, Kura," Satou greets me inviting me to sit down. "I heard that you have been staying as the Earl's guest."

"Yes, I have," I nod. "It looks like you guys have had a good place given to you as well."

"Yes, Viscount Belton has been very kind to us," Satou responds as a maid appears, offering us tea. She also laid out some snacks as she kept glancing at me. "I also heard that you have become a hero."

"Yes, I have," I shake my head. "And now I have to deal with an annoying political system so people will recognise me."

"Sounds rough,"

"I haven't even started yet, and I am already tired,"

"Satou…."

"Ah, the Hero Kura …."

It doesn't take long until two more people arrive. Zena walks in, calling out Satou, only to stop when she sees me, and the well-dressed priestess stares at me wide-eyed. It takes them a minute to get over their shock and join us on the chairs and half a cup of tea before they are able to talk to us. They finally seem to calm down after a while.

"So um, Satou… Hero Kura…" Zena nervously glances at me. "I'm glad to see you are doing well."

"You two," Satou replies. "I hear you both have been hard at work."

"Yes. Since there's a shortage of magic users, we were released almost immediately. However, we've been working at the temporary garrison by the dungeon exit ever since."

"That sounds rough," I mutter.

"Well, my role is just to communicate with the team investigating the labyrinth, so it's not too bad. The sorcerers have the biggest job—they're working until their magic dries up, trying to build a magic barrier, so the labyrinth doesn't expand under the city."

"It's not only the sorcerers who are busy. We servants of God are also working to consecrate the stone monument at the shrine built there. I haven't had any time to sleep in these past three days."

It sounds like that should be resting instead of visiting us. If I were them, I would have gone straight to bed when they told me I could have a break.

"The encampment by the entrance has a temporary wall around it. They've been quelling rumours in town by paying the minstrels to restrict what information they release, so I'd imagine we can have you free in a few more days."

I wish that would apply to me two, but I think I will be kept under lock and key for the rest of my life. That just leaves one problem, but that can wait for now. I look at Bunny then Satou. As soon as Zena and the priestess leave, I will need to talk with them. That opportunity arrives an hour later. It's perfect. Liza is putting Pochi and Tama to bed after they fell asleep, leaving just me, Satou and Bunny.

"There is something I need to discuss with both of you," I speak up after taking to a deep breath. "Bunny." I look up at her. "I what to ask you what you want to do next? I will not order you to follow me since I will likely be facing dangerous foes, so I want to know what you want to do?"

"I will go with you," Bunny answers without hesitation. "Slave or not, I am a warrior, and fighting strong opponents is my calling in life."

"She has been training non-stop since we got here," Satou says, and for the first time, I see Bunny blush. "She has been waiting for you to come and get her."

"I see," I nod my head. "Then Bunny, I look forward to fighting by your side. I am sorry I can't take you with me yet, but I promise as soon as the appropriate people have been released from the quarantine in the castle, I will take you with me. I am sorry I cannot do it soon, but I need your contract transferred to me. All the people capable of doing that were caught up in the labyrinth incident like us."

"I will continue waiting until that day," Bunny smiles.

"Satou," I turn to him. "Can you please keep looking after her for just a little bit longer?"

"Don't worry about it. She is more than welcome here," Satou nods. "Besides, she has been a great help in teaching Pochi and Tama the basics of swordsmanship."

<0>

Nidoren. A chubby slave dealer who is the kind of person I would usually avoid but today, I have no choice but to do business with him. He seems to have a good relationship with Satou that I find suspicious. Still, I am better off not digging into the details. But I am grateful that Nidoren said he'd take care of the paperwork for the girls' ownership free of charge as thanks for our help, so we went to meet him in the slave market. This place is just as bad as last time, but at least there is no longer anyone locked in cages. We walk straight to one of the tents, where Nidoren emerges smiling when he sees us.

"Sir Satou, Hero Kura," Nidoren bows his head as we approach. "It is a pleasure to see you both are doing well."

He hands us some contracts that we quickly read through and sign, making us the official owners of the girls. I feel dirty doing this, but I don't complain. This is just a typical transaction in this world, and I will have to get used to it. I would have liked to leave now that everything was done, but instead, I got trapped in a conversation and agreed to view some unsold slaves. I really need to take a bath after this, but I doubt I would feel any cleaner.

Since the girls he wanted to show me were left over from the auction, it was no surprise that they all had certain quirks. I paid little attention to his explanation until finally, we were down to the last two he wanted to show me. When I saw them, I was shocked to see it was those two slaves I had seen before.

The first girl has long black hair and an oriental-looking face. If she lived in Japan, she could easily become an idol with those looks. Smooth pale skin, dark blue eyes and a body with a promising future. It hurts me to see such a girl in this situation. Still, it looks like luck was on her side, and no man has tried to buy her for nightly activities. A first, I thought she could be like Satou and me, but when Satou speaks Japanese, she doesn't react.

"M-my name is Lulu." She introduced herself in a half-whisper. Apparently the shy type, she immediately lowered her head after speaking, hiding her beautiful face in her hair.

"She might be difficult to look at, but she does possess the 'Etiquette' skill!"

What is Nidoren saying? Is he blind? How could anyone call such a beautiful young lady ugly? If he wasn't a friend of Satou, I would have slapped him and made him apologise to Lulu. The next and final slave Nidoren introduced me to was the violet-coloured hair girl who I'd seen with Lulu. Her round, wide eyes flicker between Satou and me pleadingly.

"I'm terribly sorry, Sir Satou. She's normally so clever that even her ill-omened purple hair would seem like a trifling matter. Still, she appears to have been captivated by your charms… or maybe she somehow heard of you, Hero Kura?"

"It's a pleasure to meet you… Sir Satou… Hero… Hero Kura…" Her voice is childish, but there is something else about the way she talks that grabs my attention. "My name is Arisa. I became a slave after losing my kingdom, but I could give you any information about this world that you'd like to hear. I'm almost certain I would be of great use to you in various ways."

Her way of speaking and how she conducts herself are like someone twice her age. I might be imagining, but she reminds me of students I would interview for part-time jobs. However, I object to the last thing she said. I don't believe that either Satou or myself will require a child for sexual favours, do you? But something else catches my attention. What did she mean by? "I could give you any information about this world" It makes me think she somehow knows Satou and I are from Japan. Satou puts her through the same test as he did with Lulu.

"AAAAH! I hate spiders! Get it off! Ew! This is the worst!"

Yes, she is definitely from Japan. All Satou whispered into her ear was: "There's a spider in your hair," In Japanese. I am not sure if this girl is like us, but I am sure Satou and I will find out soon.

<0>

Bunny and I return to the castle. I had told people about her, and she would be staying with me, but there were still harsh comments. They still let us in without any problem. I take her to her room. It is not as fancy as my own, but it isn't terrible either. She has a bed, desk and a trunk, but that's it. I'm sure no one will mind if she decorates it.

"This will be your room while we are here," I tell her as the maid dismisses herself.

"It's fine," Bunny says, looking around.

"There is something I have been wondering about," I say, causing Bunny to spin around and look at me. "Are you really okay with me calling you Bunny? I know you said you can't go back to your real name but isn't there something else I can call."

"Call me whatever you want," Bunny shrugs. "Masters decide their slaves names."

"Then how about Peal," I suggest. "I think it suits you more than Bunny."

"If that's what you want,"

"Then that's what I will do,"

Bunny, now named Peal, complains, but I can see a smile on the corner of her lips. I turn away from the scene, ready to head back to my room for the night, but something catches my eyes. What a strange bird. It was darker than any I had seen before and appeared to be watching me, but it flew away before I could get a good look at it.