Slave Harem in the Labyrinth of the Other World (LN)

Volume 4 - Ch 1.04

Yes. I am absolutely sure that that is how I want to leave it, so do not worry about it anymore, master.

Uhm. . . you really mean it?

Yes. I really, really mean it.

Roxannes eyes were shining with determination like I have never seen before in them. Looks like she really is serious about keeping her will as it is without making any alterations to it whatsoever.

Also, this might be just me getting a little bit sidetracked, but this whole situation looks kinda as if she was a Knight who is swearing allegiance to her new lord. Yeah, given the development of this worlds civilization, I would not be surprised if it could be seen in such a way.

Okay Roxanne, fine. If that is what you wish for, then we can keep our contract exactly the way it is now.

Thank you for your understanding, master.

But I feel that I should at least ask: why are you willing to go to such lengths in regards to this matter?

Because I think that master is a truly wonderful person. . . no, I think that you are a great man. Even though you are so young, you are already so strong, and you have more amazing abilities than I can possibly count, and you are adept and capable at using them. Even though now we are starting pretty small, I am sure that given enough time, you will definitely be able to achieve great things one day. Based on my experienced, if anyone else would be in the same position as you they would allow it to go over to their heads, but not you. You are still kind and compassionate towards someone like me, who you should be treating like nothing but a lowly slave, your personal possession, so I feel like I have to return that kindness to you in any way I possibly can.

So in the end, it all boils down to her sense of loyalty, similarly to how it was with the samurai in the Edo period and their lords in Japan. If my guess and observations about her are correct, she probably longs to live her life in accordance with the warriors code, upholding all of its noble values such as loyalty and honor. And if that is the case, then rejecting her here, it would be a straight-up insult to her and all that she stands by and aspires to become. So the only thing that I can possibly do here is. . .

All right Roxanne. I see that you are serious about this, so I will accept your feelings. However, there is still one thing that I feel like I absolutely have to say: even though you praised me so much, I do not thing that I will accomplish anything great, or even worthy of mentioning in my life.

And I am sorry for being so blunt about it, but I wholeheartedly disagree, master.

You are free to do so, but it will not change the facts. Then again, maybe I was the one who said that in the wrong way, so allow me to rephrase that: I am here right now precisely for the sake of not doing anything that would put me on everyones radar.

I am not an original inhabitant of this world after all, so why would I do anything to change it in any way. If someone like me, who bends the rules of this world simply by having access to a tool that allows to change my abilities and characteristics in any way I see fit began to take unnecessarily flashy and eye-catching actions, it would only cause unwanted confusion in everyone around me and quite possibly caused me to gain attention of the big-shots of this world, and that is something that I would like to avoid at all costs. The only thing that I want right now is a quiet, simple life where I would not have to worry about anything, and for that to happen, I have to constantly be on my guard against getting drunk on the power that is in my possession. I mean, do not get me wrong, it is all well and good to possess the strength and use it in good faith, but if that strength leads to carelessness and reckless behaviors fueled by the belief that I am invincible and nothing will be able to harm me, it will bring doom upon me sooner rather than later. Just as the flames that are isolated from the oxygen that would empower them are naturally going to disappear all on their own, I should also make sure to extinguish my own fire without spreading it too much.

I. . . I am afraid that I do not understand.

And you do not have to understand. Just know that this is what I think about myself. Now come on, we should finish eating breakfast before it gets all cold.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . Understood, master.

It was done in a kind of a forcible manner, but I managed to convince Roxanne not to pursue that subject any further.

With all that being said though, the matter of the will does not affect the second reason why I want to go to Vales Slave Shop. If we are not making any adjustments to Roxannes will then you do not need to go with me if you do not want to, but it remains a fact that once we will reach the eighth floor in the Labyrinths we will have to be facing against a maximum of four monsters at once, and because of that, I think it is high time for us to acquire more members for our Party, since it can be hard for just the two of us to fight effectively from now on. At the very least, I think that what we would need the most would be a good warrior who would fight at close distances, since while we explore the Labyrinths I tend to fight more with magic, which is effective at longer distances, but makes it so that there will be situations that I would not be able to handle with it, like those ones where the monsters that were not interested in me at all are suddenly changing their minds and end up targeting me after all. That is why I thing that another member of the vanguard who could fight together with Roxanne would be ideal, but if you have your own opinions on the matter, then please, go right ahead and share them with me.

This is an important matter that we have to discuss, but it does not change the fact that this is still a kind of an awkward topic to talk about right after we had that little spat about changes to Roxannes will. Be that as it may, it is a conversation that needed to happen eventually. I guess I have become a little more talkative due to my guilty conscience from basically tricking Roxanne into green-lighting my idea of creating a harem for myself. . . but wait, do I really need to feel guilty about this? No, I do not think I do! After all, it is not set in stone that the next Party member I am going to acquire for myself will be a woman. Yeah, exactly! Since right ow the person we require the most would have to be a Dwarf with Master Smith Job and a warrior at that, then the image that naturally comes to mind is that of a short, muscular, bearded man hammering away at the weapons and armor pieces on an anvil. . . although I cannot say that a prospect of having another girl in our Party is not an enticing one. Just thinking about scenarios such as waking up in the morning with Roxanne and another beauty at each of my sides. . . or having my body washed by them during a soapy bubble bath from the front and the back at the same time. . . hehe, hehehehe. . . . .

Oh crap. Just imagining it right now is already awesome, and when I think that this fantasy might very well be turned into reality. . .

However, the biggest unknown right now would be the price I would have to pay for another slave. Roxanne herself was already expensive since she possessed the unrivaled beauty, had a kind and caring personality and could also detect enemies in the Labyrinths through her sense of smell alone. . . and she was also serving me pretty well in bed, so even though I had to go through a lot to get her, ultimately it was all worth it.