The Possessor Mistook the Genre for 20 Years

13 – The Elf Desires Slavery

It is true that elf slaves are popular among the nobility.

Their faces are pretty, their bodies are firm and slender from living in nature, and by human standards, elves hardly age at all.

Moreover, they possess the rarity that nobles value most.

Despite it being illegal, nobles consider elf slaves the most desirable possession.

So what about Franz?

He was also a noble, but he had no particular interest in elf slaves.

‘You can’t live by breaking the law.’

Having lived in this world for over 20 years, he had almost no aversion to the institution of slavery.

However, elf slavery was still illegal.

He had no desire to take on such a risk.

That aside.

What kind of mind comes up with the idea of becoming a slave to save a slave?

He was curious about what was going on in Hera’s head.

Franz removed his hand from his forehead and spoke.

“Enough. What slave?”

“But if I don’t do this, I’ll never be able to repay the debt I owe you.”

“I’m just doing it out of kindness.”

“Franz, this is a matter of my pride. No matter how kind you are, I must repay you.”

This is driving me crazy.

Franz clicked his tongue at Hera’s stubborn personality.

If it were a huge debt, he might understand.

Like saving a life or preventing the World Tree from burning down.

But it was nothing like that, just a light request for a casual outing, and yet she was acting like this.

It was hard to flatly refuse her.

‘Her intentions are good.’

Repaying someone’s kindness.

How pure and beautiful an intention that is.

The problem is that the reward would be an illegal act.

“Hera, elf slaves are illegal. And if you make a master-slave contract, there will be evidence on your neck. What are you going to do about that?”

Master-slave contract.

In other words, it’s a kind of promise made between a slave and a master.

The slave cannot harm the master, must obey orders, and so on…

Anyway, when a master-slave contract is made, a special tattoo is engraved on the neck.

There’s no way to hide that tattoo for life, so eventually, it will be revealed that Hera is a slave.

And if it turns out that the master is Franz?

‘…It’s prison.’

No matter how much he thought about it, there was no reason to take the risk and accept Hera as a slave.

There are plenty of slaves willing to work. If you call for them at the Magic Tower, they would line up.

However, Hera still did not give up her stubbornness.

“You must not know yet. The evidence of the master-slave contract, it can be engraved somewhere other than the neck.”

“Engraved somewhere else?”

“Yes, if you look at the elves who were captured as slaves, it’s always here.”

Hera pointed with both hands to a spot a little below her lower abdomen.

It was the spot where tattoos are commonly engraved in the fantasy world.

At that, Franz let out a hollow laugh without realizing it.

Of all the many places, why there?

Of course, it’s the first place that comes to mind when you think of tattoos.

And it’s also the most attractive spot.

Moreover, even if you expose your belly, it’s not easily visible, so it’s a spot that’s not easily discovered…

‘Is it unexpectedly functional?’

When it was on the neck, the tattoo was unsightly, but now it was transformed into an attraction, and there was less worry about being discovered as a slave, so it was like killing two birds with one stone.

And this must have been done by the Contract Magic Association.

When the dispatch is over, I should go and praise them…

‘No, no.’

Franz corrected his thoughts that had momentarily strayed.

The important thing now was to stop Hera from becoming a slave.

A firm voice flowed from Franz’s mouth.

“But still, no. Laws exist to be followed.”

“Franz, there’s something I realized while rescuing the slaves.”

“What is it?”

“Whether there are laws or not, as long as you don’t get caught, it’s fine. And becoming a slave doesn’t really inconvenience anyone, does it?”

Even if the lesson learned always seems to be in a bad direction, there’s nothing to say about being a villainess who would destroy the world.

Sigh-

A sigh escaped from Franz’s lips.

The conversation was drawing parallel lines, with no conclusion in sight.

If this continues, it will probably become an endless conversation.

If, in the process, Hera truly becomes a villainess….

‘Being a slave is better than that….’

In the end, Franz compromised with reality.

It was then.

A notification window appeared in front of Franz’s eyes.

＜Warning!＞

＜The emotions of the elf archer Hera are running wild! If left unchecked, it could negatively affect the outcome!＞

Hera, as seen through Franz’s eyes, was gradually losing her will.

Her head drooped powerlessly, and the life faded from her eyes.

“If not a slave, then where do I belong…?”

“Fine. Do as you please.”

“Really…?!”

“Yes, be a slave or whatever you want.”

Franz watched the notification window disappear and let out a hollow laugh inwardly.

It was truly absurd that she would fall into depravity just because she wasn’t allowed to be a slave.

‘But she has a point.’

The condition Hera set was only after rescuing all the elf slaves.

However, there are probably over a hundred elf slaves in the world.

They are likely scattered all over the continent.

So, by the time Hera rescues all the elf slaves, Franz might no longer be in this world.

A misconception brought about by the lifespan difference between humans and elves.

In the not-too-distant future, Franz would realize something was wrong, but for now, he knew nothing.

* * * * *

The sun that had illuminated the world slipped beyond the ridge, and darkness descended upon the world.

In the sky, only the crescent moon leisurely displayed its elegance.

In the midst of this, two figures stood hidden in the darkness before a grand mansion.

They were Franz, the mage of the hero party, and Hera, the elf archer.

The plan was very simple.

Once Franz disarmed the traps, they would immediately proceed to rescue the elf slaves.

Gidrick, the mastermind behind all the incidents, the rat trap, and any witnesses were all to be executed.

Soon, the gazes of the two standing side by side met in midair.

‘Shall we begin?’

Franz slowly extended his hand forward.

Then, waves of mana began to radiate from Franz.

Like a small pebble falling into a calm surface of water.

Trees, animals, people, magic circles.

Franz’s mana, spreading out, detected other foreign mana.

It wasn’t really magic, just mana detection.

It was just that the range and accuracy were overwhelming because it was Franz.

‘You worked quite hard.’

From teleporting to another place when stepped on, to spewing flames, to gushing torrents of water, and so on.

The inside of the mansion was densely packed with trap magic.

Since the rat trap wasn’t the type to work diligently, Gidrick must have given him a considerable amount of money.

‘The elf slaves…’

There were clusters of mana huddled together in the mansion’s basement.

As the output of mana detection increased, the long ears attached to the mana clusters were clearly felt.

As Hera had said, these seemed to be the elves.

‘Then Gidrick and our rat trap…’

Gidrick and the rat trap were together on the top floor.

They were probably having some sort of conversation.

Not that it mattered what they talked about.

Well, everyone has a plan.

Until they get punched in the face.

“Alright, let’s start by disarming the traps.”

Stupid mousetrap, you should have picked your targets more carefully.

Franz chuckled and snapped his fingers.

Snap.

A short, concise sound echoed in the silence, and simultaneously, all the traps set up throughout the mansion were disarmed.

By now, the guy must be startled.

The traps he spent days setting up disappeared in an instant.

And to protect his pride, he would keep it a secret from Gidrick.

Just imagining it made Franz happy.

“Hera, let’s go. The elves are in the basement.”

“Got it.”

At Franz’s signal, Hera dashed off and effortlessly leaped over the high wall.

It’s amazing every time I see it, that such physical ability is basic for her.

Anyway.

“Now, let’s get to work on this side too.”

It was finally time to meet the esteemed mousetrap senior.

* * * * *

The mousetrap, or rather, the trap wizard Derin.

He was dining with Gidrick in the mansion’s dining room when he felt an unusual sensation.

“The traps have been disarmed…?”

If they were being disarmed one by one in order, he would have thought an intruder had come, but with all the traps inside the mansion being disarmed at once, he was simply puzzled.

Something seems to be happening….

But he couldn’t bring himself to tell Gidrick.

It’s been a year since he left the tower, and he finally caught a big one, so he couldn’t give up now.

“Hmm? Derin, is something wrong?”

“Oh, just a slight stomachache…”

“Oh, that’s serious. Go ahead.”

Derin left his seat to check the situation with his own eyes.

And hurriedly moving his steps.

Suddenly, a voice began to echo in his head.

[Ah-, did you receive the gift from Senior Mousetrap?]

It was a telepathic message from Franz.