Mushoku Tensei (LN) - Volume 18 - Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

Signs of a Family Falling Apart

TEN DAYS PASSED.

I spent that time living out of our company office while training from sunrise to sunset. When Orsted was around, I worked on building my stamina in the mornings, did mock battles in the afternoon, and took lessons inside the building in the evening. I made sure to clean my room before bed and organize documents. The cycle would continue over and over in this way.

On days when Orsted wasn’t around, I spent all day training. I would equip my Magic Armor and work on the different forms Orsted had taught me until I was too exhausted to continue. Then I would contemplate different patterns of coordinated attack. Sylphie would occasionally bring me a lunch box, and while she was around, I’d team up with her to see how my coordinated attacks played out in reality. She wasn’t here today, though.

The forms Orsted taught me were ones the Dragon God Urupen had developed and left behind four hundred years ago. He was known more colloquially as one of the Three Godslayers, which also made him one of Perugius’s comrades.

Among all the Dragon Gods in history, Urupen had the smallest mana pool, at least according to Orsted. He was the weakest of all the candidates for the title of Dragon God at the time, and no one thought he would manage to earn it. But it was Urupen who developed a whole new and unique Dragon God Style. With that, he was able to not only claim the title for himself, but also play an integral part in Laplace’s defeat. Urupen was still revered in modern times as the most prominent genius in history.

Urupen’s Dragon God Style involved using as little mana and power as possible to corner an opponent. Orsted managed to locate the book of secrets he left behind and successfully used it to teach himself Urupen’s fighting style and the quintessential technique: Holy Dragon Aura.

The part about not using mana wasn’t very useful for me, but the idea of pinning down an opponent with minimal effort was something I could get behind. Plus, his style of weaving martial arts with magic in close combat suited me and my Magic Armor well.

Today’s plan included mentally simulating coordinated attacks again. First up was my Stone Cannon. With a direct hit, it was capable of even injuring Orsted. Its potency was staggering—on the same level as the Sword of Light. That made it the natural linchpin of my coordinated attacks.

Next was Quagmire. I had used it so many times that it was the one spell in my repertoire I could conjure the fastest. It was best to place it at an opponent’s feet when they were charging forward at top speed, where it served as a good launching point for going on the offensive.

Electric took a bit more time to conjure than Quagmire did, but it was highly effective since it could pierce through a person’s battle aura and paralyze them. There were many times when Electric would work against opponents unaffected by Quagmire. It was best to couple them: use Electric first then follow it up with Quagmire. Once I had my enemy rooted in place, I could use Deep Mist or Frost Nova to throw them off-balance.

Stone Cannon was generally more than enough for pure offense. The rest of my spells were for stopping my opponent in their tracks or trying to limit their movement. No matter what it took, I had to make them drop their defenses so they couldn’t dodge my attacks or brush them off. Then I would finish them off with Stone Cannon. If I could pull things off in that order, I was practically guaranteed victory against any opponent…or so Orsted assured me.

Most important was making this sequence of attacks second nature. If I could do that, then it didn’t matter if my opponent pulled moves I’d never seen before. I would still be able to respond without delay.

To recap, this was main outline:

Quagmire → Enemy makes a move → I use magic to respond → they make another move → I respond to that with my magic again, pin them down, and hit them with a Stone Cannon.

Yep. Talking about it was easy enough. The main issue was some swordsmen could cut right through mana and magic alike, and there was no guarantee I’d get the drop on them every time. It was highly likely any supplementary magic I tried would be ineffective. That made it tough.

Incidentally, Orsted had taught me some spells above King-tier for multiple different elemental schools. I hadn’t accomplished much with that knowledge, though. Most offensive spells above King-tier apparently consisted of arranging a combination of spells from Saint-tier or below.

Let’s use the Emperor-tier water spell Absolute Zero as an example. All you had to do was increase the speed and potency of Frost, which itself was a combination of Water Cascade and Icicle Field. Absolute Zero let you skip drenching the opponent with Water Splash, instead allowing you to freeze a wide area in an instant.

I could already use Absolute Zero. It was no big deal; I’d already acquired spells up to Emperor-tier. That was why when Badigadi said I could call myself an Imperial Earth mage when he saw my Stone Cannon. Ordinarily, there was no way to increase the potency of Stone Cannon, but in theory, it could be strengthened using the same process of combining spells like with Absolute Zero.

Since I had already learned up to Saint-tier magical spells in each of the four offensive schools, one could say I had already mastered all there was to master. As for God-tier spells, I probably wouldn’t be able to use them anyway. Apparently you needed an enormous amount of mana and extremely fine control over said mana, in addition to using an insanely long incantation and a magic circle to help control the spell. As Orsted told it, the potency of these spells was such that they could change the landscape. Some of the strange geographical features in this world were actually the results of such magic. 

Frankly, I was still pretty crappy when it came to drawing magic circles, and I didn’t see a point in using magic on such a grand scale. Solid foundations, practical experience, and combined magic—those were the three things I needed. Best to start from the ground up, as with all things.

“Rudeus.”

Orsted returned while I was immersed in my magic training. I immediately whipped around to bow to him. “Welcome back, sir!”

“Indeed.”

It was an employee’s duty to properly bow in greeting when the CEO showed up at the office. Having only one employee probably felt a little desolate to him, but we had to hang tight until Cliff concluded his research. When we eventually hired in more employees, I wanted to make them all bow their heads in unison to the CEO. So what if they called our company shady as a result?

“We have work,” said Orsted.

When I first started bowing to him and acting all polite, he commanded me to “act normal,” but he’d grown used to my antics by this point.

“You’ll leave in three days. I’ll explain the details to you now,” Orsted said.

“It would be my pleasure to carry out a mission for you, sir!”

I received my work commissions directly from Orsted himself. It seemed he’d already determined my next assignment.

“As usual, it’s not a particularly challenging job, but you should say your goodbyes to your family before you depart.”

“Yes, sir!”

And so, I returned home for a little while.

“Welcome back home, mew! Boss! Uh, no…not Boss…Master!”

The moment I returned home, I found our catgirl maid sitting by the main entrance, legs neatly tucked beneath her. What has this little minx done now? Did she mess something up?

“Yes, it’s nice to be back, Linia. But what in the world are you doing here?”

“Mewhaha… Well, I made a teeny tiny screwup, so I’m out here reflecting on my mewstakes.” Her ears sagged, looking as depressed as she now sounded.

“So that’s it.” If she was busy thinking about what she’d done, it was best to leave her be. I strolled past her and made my way into the house.

“I’m home!” I declared.

Lucie peeked from the shadow of the door leading into the living room. Ah, she’s going to make a run for it again, isn’t she?

 Much to my surprise, she instead darted out from the shadows and flew toward me, her little footsteps echoing as she latched onto my leg.

“Daddy! Welcome home!”

What’s going on? Why does she seem so happy to have me back here today?

“That’s right, I’m home, Lucie!” I reached down to lift her into my arms, but she darted behind me, clutching tightly to my robe. For whatever reason, she was being awfully affectionate today. Daddy couldn’t be happier!

“Mommy! Daddy’s home!” she bellowed.

“Yes, I heard you!” Sylphie called back, her voice echoing from the bathroom. “Hold on a second!”

“Moooommy!”

Sylphie must be in the middle of washing the clothes or cleaning the bath. Either way, Lucie called for her mother again and again. She eventually grew tired of waiting and relinquished her hold on my robe, scampering off toward the bathroom.

What was that all about? Well, whatever her motivations, there was no use overthinking it. Children would be children. I was always the one chasing her for attention, so maybe she decided to be considerate and indulge me for once.

I wandered aimlessly around the house. Lara and Leo were together in the living room, the former sleeping soundly. She seemed to be in good health today. From there, I moved to the kitchen, where I found Lilia prepping for our next meal. Her face looked quite heavy with exhaustion. What could be tiring her out so much?

“Miss Lilia, I’m back,” I said.

“Welcome home, my lord.”

“Are you feeling fatigued?”

“No.” 

Her face looked a bit paler than normal despite her denial. “I think maybe you should rest.”

Lilia shook her head. “It’s nothing to worry about.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

If she insisted, then I wasn’t going to push her on it, but it still made me worry that I might be pushing her too much. “If you’re feeling physically unwell, please don’t hesitate to take a break,” I told her.

“I appreciate your concern, but I truly am fine.”

I was going to take her word for it, but if it wasn’t physical exhaustion, perhaps it was something mental. In other words, anxiety. “Did something happen?” I asked instead, changing tack.

After a short pause, she answered, “A short time ago, Lady Eris left to go to the school.”

“Eris did? Why?”

“She claimed she’s supposed to teach Lady Norn swordsmanship today.”

Swordsmanship, huh? Ah, my pregnant wife really was a restless thing, wasn’t she? Maybe Eris was aspiring to be an instructor. I wouldn’t oppose that, of course, but I did wish she’d rein it in a bit while she was pregnant. She was making me worry.

“My apologies,” said Lilia. “We all tried to stop her from leaving, but before we knew it, she was gone…”

“Oh, it’s okay. Thank you for trying.”

Eris wasn’t the type to do what she was told anyway. No wonder Lilia was exhausted. Perhaps I needed to have a stern word with her myself… Though, it was debatable if she’d heed anything I said either. Hm. Sylphie was equally unlikely to get through to her, but Aisha was better than anyone at presenting a persuasive argument, so maybe she could convince Eris.

“That reminds me, where is Aisha?” I asked.

Lilia forced a smile. “She’s in the rear garden.”

As Lilia said, Aisha was indeed in the rear garden. She sat in a corner, her shoulders noticeable trembling from behind. As strong as she was, she seemed oddly vulnerable right now. Was she crying?

“Aisha?”

“B-Big Brother…welcome home.” Aisha glanced over her shoulder at me, her tone perfectly normal. I scrutinized her face but could find no sign that she’d been sobbing at all. “Haah…” But she did immediately sigh.

I noticed she had a shovel in her hand and was digging a hole in the corner of the garden. When I peered into said hole, I found a number of porcelain shards. I recognized the patterns on them. There was a cup handle in there too, which I also remembered from somewhere. I’d seen it on a fancy teacup Aisha had bought long ago with her own allowance. As far as I knew, she was incredibly fond of that cup. She would always use it whenever she had tea.

Aisha had allowed me to use the cup just once in the past. She’d worn a happy grin on her face as she declared, “You’re the only other person I’ll let use this cup.” She also said something like, “See? Doesn’t drinking from a good cup make the tea that much better?”

Honestly, I hadn’t seen any difference. The only thing that stood out in my mind was how happy she’d looked and that the tea had been quite tasty.

And now, her beloved cup had been shattered.

“Hey, Big Brother…” Her voice was low and threatening, like I’d never heard it before.

“…Wh-what is it?”

She was livid, fuming with quiet rage. Oh crap. Had I done something wrong? I had no qualms about apologizing if the situation called for it, but saying sorry when I didn’t even know what I’d done wrong would be like pouring fuel on the flames of her ire.

So what do I do? What could have caused this?

While I puzzled over it, Aisha turned her gaze to me and said, “Can we get rid of that cat?”

“Sorry?”

That cat? What cat? Oh, wait. She was probably referring to the feline seated at the front entrance with her legs neatly tucked under her.

Aisha shook her head. “Oh, I guess it would be wrong to get rid of her. We could sell her to those slave traders…or rather to Miss Eris’s family. Judging by the way they talked, her family would pay a high price for her, right? Maybe they won’t give us one thousand five hundred Asuran gold coins, but they’d give us at least half, right?”

“H-hold on a second. Calm down. Let’s have ourselves a seat, okay?” I conjured a chair with my earth magic and motioned for her to sit.

Aisha fished a broken shard out of the hole, which she threw at my feet before plopping down on the chair. “See that? It’s not particularly expensive, mind you, but it’s not something you can get your hands on anymore. The person who made it died, and the shop that sold it went under.”

“Well, anything like that is going to break eventually, you know,” I said, conjuring a chair for myself and taking a seat in front of her. I wanted to try to get her to calm down a bit first.

“I know that. I’d hardly get that pissed off over a single broken cup.”

“All right.”

For starters, it seemed Linia had been the one to break the cup, which upset Aisha. She claimed she wasn’t angry, but she was clearly fuming.

“It’s just…I don’t think that cat is cut out to be a maid at our house. When she tries to wash dishes, she breaks them. When she tries to clean the house, she shatters mirrors. When she tries to wash the laundry, she gets the sheets covered in fur.”

“Everyone fails when they first start out,” I reminded her. “Linia may look a little rough around the edges, but she actually comes from a pretty noble family and has been kinda spoiled.”

“Well, I…!” Aisha raised her voice and started to say something, only to swallow her words. Perhaps she meant to argue that she never made such mistakes when she started out. “When she was cleaning the living room, she nearly splashed water all over poor little Lara, you know?”

“She did what? H-how did that happen?”

“She was cleaning some place high up and carrying a bucket of water in one hand and a rag in the other. Then she somehow lost her balance and started to fall.” Aisha paused and said, “Well, I guess that didn’t end up being that big of a deal, though.”

Did that rotten cat not even know how to clean? Thinking back, I had gone into her dorm room once before. It had been quite the pigsty as I remembered it.

“Not that it was good that she did that,” Aisha amended. “But I wouldn’t protest her employment here over something so trivial. Miss Norn is even worse than that and a slow learner to boot.”

“Excuse you. No need to take potshots at Norn.”

“Potshots?” Aisha furrowed her brows. “Oh, well, it’s not like I’m trying to badmouth her or anything. My point is, that cat isn’t that bad at learning things. Once she makes a mistake, she tends not to repeat it. But still…” She breathed a sigh. “That furball won’t apologize.”

“Oh?” She wouldn’t apologize? Well, that certainly wasn’t good.

 “Whenever she makes any mistake, she doesn’t act the least bit ashamed and just says, ‘Mewhahaha! My bad, my bad. I’ll be more careful next time, mew!’”

For what it was worth, that probably was Linia’s way of apologizing. But an apology doesn’t carry much value unless the person receiving it feels satisfied by it. If you only get further under the other person’s skin, then your apology is meaningless.

“That’s not good,” I said.

“You think so too, right?”

Personally, I’d probably forgive Linia, but Aisha was her boss. She needed to have a crystal-clear understanding about that.

“So, come on, Big Brother. Let’s fire her, please? I’m begging you. I can’t take working with her anymore.”

It was rare for Aisha to speak so disparagingly of anyone. Her patience really must be at its breaking point. Even so, nothing that catastrophic had happened. The shattered cup was merely what pushed her over the edge after a number small, trivial offenses. On their own, they were simple to laugh off and forgive, but they’d piled up enough for Aisha to lose her patience.

Yeah, but even so…

“I get what you mean. Linia does have a habit of getting carried away, and she has her shortcomings as well. Still, this must be a hard situation for her. She’s probably only acting cheerful because she’s trying desperately to acquaint herself with her new surroundings. Maybe that’s why it looks like she doesn’t feel ashamed at all for her mistakes. But you did say she hasn’t really repeated the same screwups, right?”

I figured Linia must be doing her best. People had a habit of making the same mistakes, but it was possible to reduce the chances of that happening. That was the point of reflecting on one’s actions. If Linia hadn’t repeated the same slip-ups, then it was obvious that she was trying to improve. When I saw her at the front porch, she seemed to be genuinely thinking about what she’d done. I got the impression she felt bad about it, too.

“Nonsense. That furball probably doesn’t feel the tiniest bit of remorse. I mean, her attitude is all weird to begin with. She acts super subservient to Miss Roxy, Miss Eris, and Leo, but she’s kind of cheeky when it comes to Miss Sylphie.” Aisha’s lips curled outward as she pouted, insistent that Linia was in the wrong. She sure could be stubborn.

“You think she has an attitude with Sylphie?”

“I mean, she’s way more casual with her than with Miss Eris. And sometimes she calls her ‘Fitz’ too.” 

It was a while ago and didn’t last all that long, but the two had been at odds when they attended the University of Magic. In a way, they probably were a lot less formal with each other. I shrugged. “That’s probably just because they’ve known each other a long time.”

“I hope that’s really all it is, but ever since Linia’s arrival, the whole house has been weird.”

Weird, huh? Now that she mentioned it, we’d never had this kind of problem when Roxy or Eris came to stay here. “Anyway, I’ll make sure she apologizes properly if she messes up again,” I said. “As for the things she’s destroyed, we can add that to the debt she owes. I’ll also lecture her about fixing her attitude and acting like a proper maid. After I do all that, would you be willing to give her a little bit longer and see how things play out? For me?”

“Ngh…” Aisha grunted, lips still gathered in a pout. She snapped her eyes shut and turned her head away. Seeing her act this way, I suspected she really just wanted to vent her frustrations and that her anger had all but subsided.

“Hey, come on, Aisha. I know she’s a mess, but she is my friend.”

After a very, very long pause, Aisha finally said, “Well, I guess I can forgive her this one time for your sake.” She hopped to her feet and faced me. “But, Big Brother, even ignoring how I feel about the matter, things aren’t going to end well if they keep up like this.” Then she went back into the house.

I made sure to give Linia a thorough talking-to after that. She gave me a perfunctory, “Yessir, mew,” but seemed a little too casual about it for my liking. I hoped she took my words to heart.

Later, when Eris returned home with Roxy, I warned her against doing any intense exercise for a while. She folded her arms and frowned at me, huffing, “I know that!”

I could tell this was an instance where she said she understood but really didn’t. At least she wasn’t charging outside and brandishing her sword everywhere. Once her tummy and thighs grew a bit bigger, she’d probably start taking it easy. That didn’t stop me from worrying, though. I hoped the baby was hanging on in there. You have Eris as a mom and me as a dad, so I’m sure you can do it. Go, baby, go!

Thanks to Aisha’s sullen mood, dinner that evening was unusually gloomy. When we finished our meal, Sylphie whispered to me, “Linia hasn’t gotten used to living here yet.” She wore a guilty look as if she felt responsible. There was no reason for her to, but perhaps because I was leaving the house in her care, she felt like it was her duty.

As Aisha warned me, perhaps things really were headed in an unfortunate direction. Would it be best for me to step in and deal with it before I left for my next assignment? Or was it wiser to stand by a little longer and watch how things played out? Hmm…

***

I decided to sleep alone that night since it was both Sylphie and Roxy’s time of the month. Frankly, after going without for ten whole days while training, it was kind of rough not getting any. I had little recourse otherwise, though; these days happened.

“Rudeus.”

As if sensing the needs of my libido, or perhaps spurred on by her own, Eris showed up just outside of my bedroom. She had her arms crossed as usual, legs braced in a wide stance. She’d been wearing warmer pajamas lately, but today was clearly a special occasion since she was wearing a negligee I only normally saw her in when we were having sex. The thin fabric barely covered her bulging belly.

Tsk, tsk, Eris. Your tummy will get cold wearing that.

“We’re doing it,” she declared.

“No, we are not.”

Our baby was too precious. It was the rule here not to have sex when one of the girls was pregnant.

“But you want to, right? I already heard Sylphie and Roxy can’t do it.”

“It’s fine,” I assured her. “I’ll just go without today.”

“You’re my husband. There’s no need for you to go without.” Eris promptly grabbed my hand and yanked me to my feet. She was so powerful that I had no choice but to be dragged along into the bedroom.

Oh crap. I don’t like how things are going. If we do it once, we won’t be able to put on the brakes and stop there. And that was the problem. Forget how much she was exercising already during her pregnancy—we couldn’t add to the physical activity.

“Wait, Eris. Let’s stop. It’s not good to do it when you’re pregnant. We’d both regret it if you had a miscarriage or something. I absolutely can’t take that. I mean it.”

“I know that. That’s why I’ve been watching myself this whole time.”

Watching herself? Going to the school and walking the dog—she called that “watching herself”? Well, sure, it was probably good to get some exercise instead of remaining sedentary the entire time, but, uh, still. Maybe it was just a matter of us having different ideas of what was appropriate. Maybe I was just being a worrywart.

No, no. That’s a completely different matter altogether.

“And that’s why, here!” Eris dragged me all the way to the side of the bed and pulled back the blanket.

“M-mew…” Linia was underneath, lying in my bed. She was wearing something similar to Eris’s nightgown, looking beguiling even as she curled her body inward.

“If you can’t have me, then have your way with Linia!” said Eris.

“Meew…” Linia glanced up at me with resigned determination, as if she’d given up fighting against this. The fabric of her negligee was so transparent I could almost see the peaks of her breasts. She had a tight waist but proper muscles over the rest of her body, which made her legs nice and thick. Her cat eyes gleamed in the darkness.

Rather than feel aroused by this sight, I was so dumbfounded that I gaped at Eris. “What is going on here?”

“I told you! Linia!”

My Eris was telling me to have sex with Linia? Despite her affectations of nonchalance, she was actually quite the jealous one and used to pout when she caught Sylphie and I fussing over each other…but now that same girl was telling me to sleep with someone else?

“Uh, Eris, doesn’t this kinda…you know, count as cheating?”

“It’s not cheating since she’s a slave. That’s what my grandfather and father always said. Besides, it’s no secret since I’m right here, so there isn’t a problem!”

Sauros, Philip, get your butts over here and take a seat on the floor. Keep your backs straight! Miss Hilda? Miss Hilda, are you there? Please scold these two men for me. Your husband has taught your daughter some very weird and inappropriate things!

“Ahh, Mommy and Daddy back in the Great Forest…your poor little girl has become a slave and now she’s going to be a sex toy starting today, mew…” Linia muttered under her breath, saying some kind of a prayer. 

So she wasn’t willing after all. It was best to put a stop to this. I couldn’t let her be dragged into Eris’s selfish whims.

“As for you, Pursena…I’ll be leaving you in the dust, loser. Victory’s mine this time, mew. Suck it.”

Okay, I guess maybe not so unwilling after all. Maybe it was okay if she consented then?

“Linia,” I said, stretching my hand toward her.

Linia’s whole body jumped. “Mew?!” She stiffened up, but didn’t try to run.

I slid my hand past her thighs to her tail. She had the kind of supple muscles you’d expect of a carnivore, but she was soft in all the places a woman should be, too. My hand traveled up her back, feeling along her waist. It was tight and toned, tempting me.

“I-It’s my first time. Go easy on me, mew.”

I didn’t respond to her request.

“I-It’s scary if you don’t say anything, mew! Mwehehe, you know wanna… Just kidding! Meeew?!” 

I gathered my strength and lifted her princess-style in my arms. I made my way toward the adjacent room while carrying her, using my foot to manipulate the doorknob and nudging it open. Darkness spread out before me in the cold hallway. And that was where I unceremoniously dropped Linia.

“Mrooow?!”

She landed with a thump. I slammed the door in her face and locked it for good measure. There. Now I can rest at ease. The evil has been expunged.

“Hey! Boss, aren’t you being a little cold?!”

I can’t hear you. There’s no more enticing monster cat in my house, no siree. My fidelity remains intact.

“Hey, Rudeus! What are you doing?!” Eris had trailed me, nearly clinging to my back, but her protests weren’t going to sway me.

“Eris, please don’t get the wrong idea about me. The person I want in my bed is you. I don’t need that cat.”

“R-really? If you’re sure, then I guess…but I can’t do it with you ’til the baby’s born. Got it?”

“Of course, I understand.”

And there you have it.

“Boss, open up! If you leave me out here like this, you’re gonna leave my pride as a woman in tatters, mew!” Linia was beating on the door, but I ignored her. As far as I was concerned, she didn’t even exist. Yep! Nothing out there but the wind. 

“Boss!” Linia said again, this time raising her voice even louder. “I’m beggin’ ya, mew! I’m sick of Aisha picking at me constantly!”

Perhaps she and Aisha really did have clashing personalities for her to say something like that. It was strange. Aisha had sewed that maid outfit for her only days earlier, and they seemed to be on good terms then.

“I wanna be your lover at least so I can rise in rank here, mew! I don’t care if you just use me for my body, mew. I’m beggin’ ya, Boss! Please! I’m definitely not hoping to get pregnant with your baby so I can give birth and become your fourth wife, which would in turn completely erase all the debt I owe. Honest, mew!”

Oh. So that is what you were planning. Then again, I couldn’t really blame her for it. She owed us such an exorbitant amount that it would take more than a lifetime for her to pay it all back. Even so, I had no intention of using her as a sex slave. It would be a lie to say I had no interest in getting dirty, but Linia was my friend. I wanted to stay friends. I already had two daughters, and after that conversation I had with Aisha this afternoon, she would be livid if I slept with Linia now. Roxy and Sylphie probably wouldn’t look too favorably upon it, either. If I gave in to momentary lust and cheated on them like this, that might cause our whole family to collapse. I couldn’t let that happen.

“Gwaaah! Waaaah! Aaaah!”

A cry echoed through the house. It appeared Linia’s shouting had managed to wake Lara. Well, now what? Perhaps I should open the door for now and at least shut Linia up?

In the second I hesitated over what to do, a door outside burst open.

“Hey, Linia! Do you have any idea what time it is right now? You woke up both Lucie and Lara!”

“Meowch! Fitz! I-I’m so sorry, mew. I didn’t mean anything bad by it, honest, mew!”

“My name isn’t Fitz, it’s Sylphie! Anyway, it’s late, so keep it down!”

“Y-yes’m.”

Sylphie’s scolding was enough to silence Linia. I could hear the reluctant thumping of her footsteps as she slowly dragged herself away. It was probably safe to assume she’d retreated to Eris’s room, where she usually slept.

Lara continued crying for a short while after that, but she quieted down soon enough. With that, silence fell over the Greyrat household once more.

I couldn’t help feeling bad for Linia. While part of this was admittedly her own fault, she was being kept like a pet with no real way to return the money she owed. Her job performance was abysmal, and she was struggling to work amicably with the head maid, Aisha. With no other option, she thought to sell her body to her master in hopes he’d take a liking to her, only to be rebuffed instead. For all I knew she was crying into her pillow right now.

An uneasy atmosphere had settled over the house. Aisha was gloomy, Lilia was exhausted, I’d heard Sylphie shout for the first time in a very long time, and Lara was sobbing her eyes out. Maybe Eris’ jaunt to the school earlier and her attempts to let me have sex with Linia was her way of dealing with the mood in the room. Don’t get me wrong, her actions made it clear she didn’t really understand how to handle what was going on, but she was trying in her own way.

Regardless, tensions were growing. The worst part was that Linia, the main culprit, didn’t even seem to realize her attitude was the cause of all of this. I always thought she was the type who could read the room. Maybe she wasn’t emotionally stable right now, given that she’d become a slave, was shouldering enormous debt and had barely escaped being sold off to some people she didn’t know. If that was the case, it was my duty as the person who forked over the money to buy her to find some way to resolve this.

Starting tomorrow, I guess I’ll look for a job she can do that doesn’t involve cleaning, laundry, or cooking.