Vol 4 Chapter 7: The Enslaved Ogre

So this is the Demon Continent… it really is different from all the places I’ve been through…

In front of me was what you could describe as a wasteland. Rough, cracked red soil, with no signs of moisture in the slightest. Naturally, this meant no plants or greenery as well. There were only leafless pitch-black trees jutting out in the distance.

It really is true. Only a tiny part of the Continent is usable as farmland. The rest? All untamable wilderness that humans won’t even bother to take as their own. That’s why there are only a handful of settlements in the entire region, at least compared to the Holy Continent with its many cities, towns, and villages.

Unfortunately, there were no horses or carriages for us to rent or buy, making us have to walk all the way to Arborea. Horses were pretty rare in the Demon Continent, as the climate was just not ideal for horse farms. Any horses that existed were imported from the Holy Continent, and they were usually exclusively used for the humans’ military. This also meant that if a merchant was to move around his goods, he had to do it by using carts pulled by his slaves or servants instead. Usually, that would mean ogres and other physically strong demon races. On top of that, they would have to hire highly experienced bodyguards as well, as the Demon Continent was infested with strong monsters that would make mincemeat out of any newbie adventurers.

We made our way to the east—to where Arborea was. There were no roads in sight, so we had to rely on the sun and stars for our direction. That, and the trail left behind by other travelers. Apparently there existed adventurers that specialized in pathfinding, and you would want to hire them too to ensure you wouldn't get lost. We opted not to, knowing that they might just end up selling us out to the Church.

After just an hour of walk, we already met our first monster.

"Grrrrr…"

A twin-headed dog blocked our path. Its size was around the size of a horse and it had acidic saliva leaking out of its mouth. Cerberus Pup. It's a C-rank magic beast monster.

And Victoria had declared that she would be its opponent.

"Hark, o foolish beast! I, Ela, shall be your opponent!" She drew her rapier and pointed it towards the beast, all the while making a pose as if she was one of the Three Musketeers.

Sighing behind her, I decided to stay back and watch. Alright, Miss Chuuni Elf. Let's see your strength.

"Hyaah! Witness my Thousand Stab Lightspeed Technique!"

She charged forward and thrusted her rapier as fast as she could. Except that it was nowhere near as fast as the name indicated. The dog sidestepped her attack before countering by spraying its acid from its two mouths.

Yeah, she's not going to dodge it. I can already tell by that wide open mouth of hers.

"Wind Wall!"

Erecting a wall of hardened wind between them, I protected her from the attack. My range with the spell had increased significantly, thanks to my training with Ilymhyrra's magic dispel.

And then, I finished the dog with a simple Wind Cutter spell, bisecting the creature into two like it was nothing.

"H-hmph! That was wholly unnecessary! I could have taken out that monster on my own!" The knightess declared as she sheathed her blade.

"No, you're not." Felicia walked forward, venom on her voice. "You're too weak and stupid to even win against a mere C-rank monster. And yet you dare to spit on Lord Hugo's kindness. Apologize. Go down to your knees and beg for forgiveness."

"Oi oi there's no need for that." I walked forward as well with a smile, trying to defuse the situation. "But she's right. If you can't even defeat a C-rank monster, I'm now even more worried about taking you to that dungeon."

Now that I think about it, how did she even manage to leave Arborea and not get mauled by monsters in the first place? Did she pay other adventurers to guard her? Is this how she has been adventuring all this time?

"Do not worry." She turned to face me with a firm look. "I am blessed with good fortune. I made it all this time on my own after all."

"Liar." Felicia interrupted. "You must have paid adventurers to act as your escorts every time you step out to the wilderness. Luck? Ha! No amount of luck would make you survive as an adventurer, with how stupid and naive you are!"

Geez, what happened to the shy and depressed Felicia? Now that Victoria is with us, it's like she's returned to her old, confident self. Was it my speech back on the ship? Or is this because of her jealousy? You know what they say. A jealous woman is the scariest monster on Earth.

"It's true," the knightess replied, still with the same firm look. "As one who is born under the undying star of twilight, I am blessed and cursed by my good fortunes."

"... That's it. I'm changing my mind." Felicia turned to face me. "Milord! Let's leave her behind! Clearly, she has no need for us with that 'luck' of hers!"

"Well, if she's as lucky as she says she is," I smiled at the ex-necromancer. "I want her along for the dungeon. Dream Orbs are pretty rare after all, even on the higher levels." It's like when a chance for an item drop is determined by the total luck of the party. With my terrible luck, it would be a looong time until I can get one.

"Hmph, if you say, so Milord." Felicia pouted before walking back towards Victoria. "Listen to me, you little brat.” She pressed her index into her chest as she loomed over her (she was just a little bit taller than her). “Lord Hugo is my benefactor. He saved my life, risking his life and reputation in the process. I won’t hear any disrespect towards him from that mouth of yours.”

“Disrespect?” The knightess tilted her head. “I only have the utmost respect towards him. He is a great warrior, for someone so young. Just like Lady Ashleen when she was in her youth.”

“Don’t you dare compare him to that fantasy character of yours!” Felicia was now straight up yelling.

“Lady Ashleen is real. Very much so. She saved me from the jaws of evil. I can attest to that.”

Once again, Victoria recited her delusion without so much of a flinch. I would be impressed, if I didn’t pity her. Too bad there was nothing I could do for her in that department. I could save her body, but her mind? That’s a whole tincan I didn’t want to open.

Haah, just my luck. First time I got the chance to travel with a beautiful elf lady, she’s not all that right in the head.

------

We promptly resumed our travel, heading east following the guidance of the sun. In this region, they said there was hardly any rain, if any, so the bright crimson-tinged sky could be used reliably, both at day and night.

Oh, I hadn’t mentioned the sky, had I? The sky here, instead of pure blue like a normal sky, had a reddish-brown tinge to it. It’s almost like the place was in perpetual dusk. When I asked Felicia why it was, she couldn’t answer. “I knew nothing about the sky, Milord. You have to ask those weather mages if you wanted the answer,” she said with a disappointed look. Weather mages was, of course, mages who specialized in weather magic. Like the Magocracy’s Selendia, who invented a much more efficient rain spell.

We met a number of other C-rank monsters in the road. Felicia disposed of them swiftly using her shadow magic.

And then, night fell. It was time for us to make camp. And since we were still in the middle of nothing, we had to settle to sleep underneath one of those pitch-black leafless trees. For firewood, we used the branches from said tree. Their dryness made the perfect bonfire. With a flick of my wand, I lit up a pile, making sure my fire wasn't too strong.

As I helped Felicia with our tent, however, I realized that Victoria didn’t bring her own tent, as she just sat there, leaning on the tree, gazing at the stars above.

Oh great, I actually forgot to ask her about this matter. I just assumed she would already have a tent inside that large bag of hers. She had two bags with her: one large one on the back and one small one slung over her shoulder on the front.

“Hey, where’s your tent? Don’t tell me you didn’t bring one?” I approached her with a frown.

Tilting her head to look at me, she replied, “Tent? I don’t need one. I prefer sleeping outside.”

“...What. Are you serious?”

“Yes, I am serious." She smiled. "You can just leave me out here, Sir Hugo. Enjoy your time with Miss Felicia."

I scratched the back of my head. Didn't expect this from her. Maybe it's because of her elven heritage? "Alright then. Suit yourself." Returning to Felicia, who was still busy setting up our tent, I reported the matter.

"She wants to sleep outside?" Her eyebrows furrowed. "Hmph, good. If she thinks I'm going to make her tent for her, she's gravely mistaken."

My gaze moved towards the tent we would be sleeping in. It was decently sizable, designed to fit two people comfortably inside. We should be able to sleep separately if we wanted to. And since we have to take turns staying awake to guard against monster attacks, we will have to do that anyways.

And no, we’ve decided that Victoria isn’t reliable enough to be part of our nightwatch routine. So she can just sleep all the way through the morning every night. How delightful.

No wonder Felicia has been grumpy ever since we left the port city.

That night, nothing of significance happened. Felicia took the first watch with me coming in second. And sure enough, as Victoria promised, she slept without a care in the world, even with the biting chills of the wind. I don’t know how she can sleep in that cumbersome armor of hers though.

When the sun rose in the morning, we resumed our trip.

-----------------

Nothing of significance happened for the next week. We resumed our trek through the seemingly endless wasteland, fighting off weak monsters that thought we would be easy prey due to our small number. Now there were B-rank monsters in their ranks. I expected A-ranks to show up soon the further we went.

Victoria continued her tentless, and whenever it was my turn to stand watch over the camp, I couldn't help but stare at her peaceful sleeping face. She really is cute. Multiple times I had the idea of fondling those large boobs once again, but I, who wanted to be a decent man for once, refused the temptation every time. If I really want to grope some boobs, I should just go to Felicia. I'm not going to be a shitty husband who goes to the brothels to satisfy himself, just because his wife bores him.

For food, we had some dried meat with us. However, Felicia was all too happy to cook us some fresh ones from the monsters we defeated. Sure, they might be monsters, but it didn’t mean their meat couldn’t be delicious. As long as you knew how to prepare them, they could be just as delicious, if not more, than the more ordinary lamb or chicken meat.

We found a tiny oasis village after a week of our travels. It was populated by a mixture of demonic races, from the bird-like ones to the ones looking like lizards, proving Felicia's words on the northwestern part of the continent being a melting pot of demons, compared to the south where you could still find enclaves of demons only from a specific race.

We decided to stay for the night, as we all desperately needed a bath. Thankfully, the village did have a hot spring bath that we could use.

Only it wasn’t a mixed bath.

And I was too much of a gentleman to peek. Felicia would be fine with me peeking at her, but with Victoria and the other women around? Not a chance.

And thus, I was stuck spending my evening bath with some beefy middle-aged ogre and an old man with a turtle shell stuck on his back.

What a disappointment.

----------

Hmm? What’s that?

Two days later, as the sun was sinking down, we found a convoy of wagons on the route we took. Squinting my eyes, I could make out around thirty hand-drawn wagons, placed in a circle so they made a makeshift wall for the people inside. With them, there were around sixty, no, seventy people. Judging from their attire, most of them were mercenaries charged with protecting the convoy, with the rest being the slaves used to pull the carriages. There were no monsters around them which meant they were simply taking a break from their trip.

"A merchant convoy, most likely." Felicia, who was standing beside me, spoke. "They didn't seem to be soldiers, judging by their clothes." She turned to face me. "Should we avoid them, Milord?"

"There's no need for that, is there?" I smiled. "It might even be too late for that anyway. Since this is a flat plain, they should be able to see us as well."

"You have a point." She conceded. "Still, we should remain vigilant. That large of a convoy—only a wealthy merchant can afford that."

"Ehem!"

Turning my head around, I saw Victoria standing there pouting with her arms folded under her chest.

"Sir Hugo! Miss Felicia! I would appreciate it if I am allowed in your conversations as well! I know you two are lovers but that doesn't mean you can just ignore me like this!"

Heh, lovers. She came into that conclusion entirely on her own.

Not that she's wrong, of course.

Felicia sent her a cold glare before walking away, no doubt feeling there was no point talking to a brick wall like her.

--------

We made our way to the resting convoy. Or rather, we happened to go near it since it was actually right at the direction we were heading. Before we could go past it, however—

"Hey, you three! Come here for a sec!"

Turning around, we saw a middle-aged man walking towards us. He was one of the mercenaries, carrying a curved sword on his waist. His features were human, with a light brown beard and a square-shaped jaw. He had a scar on his right cheek, contrasting the smile on his face.  He towered over all of us and even with that smile, I couldn't help but feel slightly intimidated.

He stopped some steps away from us. Folding his hands, showing off his massive biceps, he spoke. "Adventurers, I take it? Just the three of you? That's a rare sight." Knowing the dangers of the Continent, most adventurers would travel in a larger group. Strength in numbers and all. "Judging by the direction you came from, you're heading to Arborea, I take it? It's a shame. If you are going to Korlopur instead, then you guys are welcome with us." Korlopur was one of the human city-states, located to the north.

"You are correct in your assessment." Felicia answered with her own smile. "We are indeed heading to Arborea. Now, if you'll excuse us—"

"Hey, why don't you two stay for the night? Don't worry. The boss always welcomes adventurers to share a bonfire with his entourage."

"Oh?" A smirk appeared on Felicia's face. "How generous of him. How about it, Milord?" She turned to face me. "Should we take the offer?"

Hmm, let's see here… it can be dangerous, sleeping near strangers you know nothing about. But on the other hand, we are also safer from monsters. And the sun is almost entirely gone anyway. We can't go that far if we choose not to accept his offer.

"Well, I—"

“HOW DARE YOU STEAL FROM ME YOU FILTHY DEMON?!”

A loud, masculine voice echoed through the air, stopping our conversation completely.

And then, Victoria ran right towards it.

I exchanged looks with Felicia, nodding to each other before we chased after them.

"H-hey! Wait!" The man who greeted us yelled to no avail.

It didn't take long until we found the source of the commotion.

In the middle of the wagon circle, there were two men. One was an overweight middle-aged man, wearing an expensive-looking fur coat and hat. The other was an ogre. In human age, he looked to be about in his late twenties. He was topless, only wearing ragged trousers as his clothes. If his skin weren’t bright red, and covered in dust and grime, he would probably be the type that was popular with the ladies, thanks to his abs and muscles.

And, most important of all, he was the man's slave, as he was holding a chain that linked into the collar on the ogre.

The slave was kneeling in front of the man, seemingly in great pain, judging by the gritting of his sharp teeth. He didn’t let out a single scream, however.

“Apologize! Beg for your master’s forgiveness! Only then I will end this torment of yours!!” The fat man yelled as he hit him over and over with his stick.

“...”

“Apologize, damn you! Or do you want her to suffer my wrath as well?”

You idiot!

The ogre leaped forward, punching his master right on his abdomen. "...L… her… alone…"

"G-gah!"

Blood spurted out of his mouth. He fell on his knees, holding his abdomen before rolling on the ground, yelling in a way that could only be described akin to a toddler.

"Aaah! The pain! The pain! It hurts! It hurts! You'll pay for this, you insolent slave!"

His mercenaries rushed to the scene, escorting him off the premises. Other mercenaries threw chains after chains over the ogre in an attempt to bind him down, with one of them grabbing the chain connected to his collar. The ogre tried to fight back, but to no avail. He quickly returned back to gritting his teeth. It seemed that whatever was torturing him had resumed doing so.

“...Yeah, sorry about this. Didn’t want to show this ugly scene to visitors like you for sure.”

I looked to my left and saw the middle aged man from before standing near me. He was scratching his head with a sheepish look on his face.

“That ogre is our most problematic slave. Used to be a champion of the Ixon Colosseum. He did something to offend the Demon Lord there so he got shipped off to us humans as a slave. The boss paid a good sum for him, thinking he'd be an excellent bodyguard. Only, as you could see here, he's too violent for that job. So the boss gave him that Peace Collar to manage him better. Or so he thought. Even with the blessing of the Saint purifying his demon body, he was still as wild as ever."

"Peace Collar?" I raised her eyebrows.

"You two aren't from around here, are you?" He chuckled. "The Church sold them to demon slave owners. It's the perfect tool to keep these inhuman folks in line. Since they're demons, they're weak to the blessing of the Saint. As long as you hold the chains in your hand, you can order it to send unimaginable pain to every inch of your demon's body. I must say, for once, those holier-than-thou folks have the right idea. These demons can't be trusted. Not after all the crap they did a millenia ago."

"...I see."

I fell silent. Hearing a person casually saying slavery and their torture being good is the harshest reminder that I have spent 12 years in an alternate world, filled with its own morals and codes. People like him are commonplace, while people like Fiora are extreme rarities. Not that Fiora is anything like your average modern Earth girl, of course.

And magic slave collars. You gotta have that in a fantasy world, I suppose. At least it didn't seem to be the mind-controlling kind.

"Hold it right there, you villains! Can't you see that he's in pain? You can't treat him like that!"

...Oh no.

Before I realized, Victoria had walked forward to the mercenaries, pointing her rapier as she demanded the ogre's release. Looking at Felicia's befuddled expression, she too was caught off-guard by this development.

"Eh? Who are ye' again?" One of the mercenaries spoke. "Get out of the way, missy. This one's dangerous. Will rip your head right off if you let 'im."

"My name is Lady Ena, the one and only apprentice to the legendary holy knight Ashleen! In the name of justice, I demand you to release him at once!"

Urgh, here she goes again. It really is like babysitting a kid.

"What the hell are ye' blabbering about?"

"Sir! Excuse me! Please ignore what she says! She’s a bit touched in the head, you see!” I gave him a smile before dragging the knightness away.

“W-wait, what are you doing? Can’t you see? That ogre needs our help!” She protested.

“Shh, not now, idiot.” I replied in a harsh whisper. “What do you think will happen if you continue antagonizing them? You really think you can take them all on?”

“Hmm?" She tilted her head. "Won't you fight with me, Sir Hugo? You're a Warrior of Justice too after all." She smiled.

"I'm your bodyguard. Not your personal warrior." I huffed. She's not wrong. No one here looks particularly strong. But does she think slaughtering fifty people to save a single slave is a wise decision to make?

No, she doesn't think at all. That's the problem here.

We stopped once we were outside the circle of carriages. Felicia looked like she was ready to give her a tongue lashing, but I gestured to her to stay put for a bit.

"Look, I didn't like what that fatty did to him either. But we have to know the circumstances better before making any judgment. He said the ogre stole from him, right? What if that was true? Should we still help him? Maybe he really is as bad as those mercenaries said. Fighting for justice is good and all but you can't be blinded by your own self-righteousness."

"But they say justice is blind!' The knightess pouted.

"That's not what that saying means!" I pressed my thumb and finger to my forehead. Urgh, I can feel it. A headache is coming.

“Shall I investigate, Milord?” Felicia spoke. “I can use my shadow magic to sneak into where that ogre is being held with ease. To be honest, I share the same sentiment with her, as much as I despise the fact.” She sent a venomous glare towards Victoria. “That level of cruelty, it’s simply unacceptable.”

“Yes, you can do that,” I replied. “Meanwhile, I’ll ask the hired goons about him and fatso.”

“Oh oh! Can I join in please?” Victoria clasped her hands together. “I can investigate—”

“No! You stay here!” Felicia and I shouted at the same time. Wow, that was a perfect sync there.

“Alright…” Like a defeated puppy, she whimpered, looking down all teary-eyed. “I’m just a squire after all… I must be a burden to you too...”

“Yes, you are a burden to us,” Felicia said in the coldest tone possibly. “So just stand here and do nothing. We’ll play the hero for you.”

Well done, Felicia, saying the words I don’t have the heart to say.

Still, couldn’t you have said it nicer? Even if just a little bit? She looks like she’s going to cry at any second now.

I sighed, before giving the knightness the biggest smile I could muster. Placing my hand on her shoulder, I said, “Don’t worry. If he really is innocent, then I promise to save him.”

If I had decided to save Felicia, why should I hold back on saving others? Sure, it might lead to the Church discovering where we are sooner, but I’d rather have that than to hold back, hiding from the world like a coward. I need courage, and what better way to cultivate that than to do reckless things over and over again until it becomes normal?

Then, I can finally be the man I always wanted to be.