Translated By: Niladri
[Akane's POV]
Since I was little, I admired wizards.
However, it was a dream that was impossible to realize for me.
"A——"
Whenever I attempted to speak, my throat would constrict, leaving me unable to vocalize. It was a condition I had since birth, preventing me from properly articulating my voice.
Unable to utter a sound, being able chant spells is out of the question.
Furthermore, I had lost my arm in the war.
Without an arm, I am also unable to draw magic circles.
After various circumstances, here I was being traded as a slâve by human traffickers.
The dreams of my childhood had nearly almost slipped away from my memory.
Yet, they persistently lingered in my thoughts, refusing to be forgotten.
(I'm bored--)
While being a captive of slâve traders and being bound by chains, I found myself with an abundance of idle time.
Since there weren't any buyers, I was forced to constantly remain shackled with chains which was agonizing in itself.
Eventually, I began indulging in fantasies inside my mind.
They were fantasies of becoming a wizard.
In the realm of imagination, I was indeed able to use magic.
I spent a significant amount of time living in that way.
One fine day, the person came and bought me.
His name was Erd Schmarken.
When he took me home, he cast healing magic on me.
[Erd's POV]
"With this...it's done."
I treated Akane, the newly purchased disabled slâve.
Akane was mute and had also lost her arms.
Once I restored her voice, Akane began speaking immediately.
"Uh-Uhm! Master...!"
"What is it……?"
"T-Thank you so much! I've always dreamed of being able to speak like this!"
"Well, I'm glad to hear that."
Now, what should I do next...?
I wonder if this slâve named Akane had any special skills.
Well, if she couldn't be assigned to any particular role in this household, I would just sell her to someone suitable.
As I pondered that thought...
Akane slowly reached out and proceeded to touch my arm.
"Huh……?"
"H-e-a-l—!"
Shockingly, Akane had used a healing spell on my arm.
"W-What's the meaning of this...?"
"Well... I noticed a scrape on your arm, Master..."
"I see... Thank you for that. But... I'm surprised. Akane, can you use magic?"
Until just a moment ago, Akane should have been unable to perform any magic due to her physical condition.
In addition, she seemed to have been a slâve for a long time.
Where on earth did she learn such magic...?
"No, I simply imitated what you did just a moment ago, master. Well... the truth is, I have always longed to use magic. Being able to actually use magic like this, it's all thanks to you, master!"
Upon hearing those words, I was astonished.
Simply imitated...?
Indeed, Heal is the simplest form of restorative magic.
While it may be possible to imitate it without using my Extra Heal spell...
But, can someone actually accomplish such a feat without ever having used magic before...?
"Well, you've never used magic before, have you?"
"Ye-Yes..."
Astonishing. Even though it's just a basic Heal spell, this is an incredible talent.
"Well... I've always admired wizards, so I had always been doingimage training."
"Even so... you're amazing."
Image training... Heart's desire huh?
Magic is the act of manifesting one's will.
The aptitude and power in magic are closely related to the strength of one's will.
But how strong of a will does it take...?
What kind of emotions has she experienced all this time...?
"Hey, Akane. Try using another magic spell. This time, an offensive one."
"Yes...! Gladly! Take this!Fire!"
Following that, Akane effortlessly unleashed the Fire spell.
This... might be an incredible bargain I've stumbled upon.
Akane is a prodigy in magic. Well, when it comes to healing magic, there's no one who can surpass me.
"You... You're amazing."
"No, it's nothing compared to your healing magic, Master."
"All right, I'll have you work as an adventurer slâve in our household."
"Adventurer…is that right…?"
"Yep."
I introduced Akane to Domingo and Otto.
Domingo, the melee fighter, and Otto, the archer. And now there's Akane, the mage.
With this, I believe we have formed a well-balanced adventurer party.
[Akane's POV]
Master gave me the opportunity to work as an adventurer.
Domingo-san and Otto-san, who work with me as comrades, are both wonderful people.
Moreover, I can freely use magic to my heart's content.
I finally have become the magician I've always dreamed of being――.
"Master, thank you very much! Being able to use magic feels like a dream! I feel a great sense of fulfilment every day during our adventures!"
"I see, that's good. I'm glad I bought Akane too."
The fact that someone truly needs me, brought me so much joy.
[Erd's POV]
Buying Akane was a great investment.
As an adventurer, she proved to be incredibly talented.
Although my proficiency with healing magic was high as expected... Akane was able to proficiently use various types of magic.
It was undoubtedly due to her unwavering dedication to mastering magic.
Having bought her for a mere 40G, it turned out to be a highly profitable venture.
This adventurer slâve business initially started with Domingo alone.
But now, they had formed a party of three and could efficiently complete quests.
They had already achieved the rank of B-class adventurers and were becoming somewhat well-known in the guild.
I hope they continue to earn a lot for my sake in the future
19
One fine day.
The party of adventurers approached me with a strange proposal.
"Erd-sama! We want to become stronger! Please help us to undergo training!"
"Haa..."
At the moment, I have no complaints about their earnings.
Since the mage Akane joined, they'd been able to take on even higher difficulty quests, increasing their efficiency. I didn't think there was any need for them to bring in more money.
"Nah, Domingo. You guys are working hard enough as is."
"No, we want to be of even greater service to Erd-sama!"
"Well, if you insist..."
And so, I decided to accompany them in their training.
The training method went as follows.
First, two out of the three would engage in a serious duel.
After the battle, I would heal the wounded participants.
The remaining person would take a break while acting as the judge.
Next, they would continue to repeat this, alternating between them.
The goal was to become stronger by repeatedly healing the injured muscles and reinforcing them.
Additionally, by repeatedly sparring over and over again, they would push themselves to become stronger and stronger.
Normally while questing, they would generally only fight monsters that can be handled without much difficulty.
Taking risks like this once in a while and engaging in intense battles were necessary to become stronger.
Man, they're really pushing it..."
The three adventurers of the adventuring party were really going all out, as if they were seriously trying to take each other's lives.
It didn't take long for limbs to be severed and eyes to be blinded.
I wondered if it's because they trusted my healing magic so much, but wasn't this relying on it a bit too much?
"Uwah..."
"Gyaaaaaaaa!!!!"
Guwaaaaa!!!!"
The three of them mercilessly traded blows.
And one by one, I would attend to their injuries, diligently healing them.
"Oi oi, you guys should take care of each other..."
Honestly, even though it's for the sake of getting stronger, I was a little taken aback by far they were willing to go.
Just because they can be cured, they had been pushing themselves too far even disregarding the pain…
However, thanks to that, their combat abilities steadily grew.
Domingo had become an entirely different person since I first met him at the slâve market, currently sporting a muscular and macho physique.
Otto, on the other hand, developed massively robust arms from his intense archery training, to the point where he could be mistaken for a monster in the darkness.
As for Akane, her magical power and proficiency as a mage had been steadily increasing.
It appeared that when I healed Akane's body, her magical energy also somewhat recovered.
After all, magic was deeply intertwined with one's mental and physical well-being.
In any case, through the cycle of repeatedly getting injuries followed by healing, the three of them attained an extraordinary level of strength.
The adventurer group grew stronger and finally earned the title of A-rank adventurer.
One day, when they returned...
"Ouch ouch... almost died this time..."
"Uughh... dying..."
The three of them returned, covered in blood.
They were seemingly on the verge of death, with several limbs severed.
I quickly rushed to their side and administered treatment.
"Hehehe……Thank you, Erd-sama. Thanks to you, we survived."
"You guys... what happened...!?"
I inquired of them.
They've never had injuries to this extent before, it shouldn't have happened until now.
Well, of course, when you're battling monsters, it's natural to sustain some minor injuries.
But this...
Could it be that the quest ended in failure...?
"That's... We decided to challenge a quest with a slightly higher degree of difficulty. We are slâves after all, so we thought it wouldn't matter even if we died... You see, it's Erd-sama's birthday, isn't it? So we really wanted to achieve a great achievement for you... That's why we decided to challenge a nearly impossible S-rank quest... And this is the result."
That's how Domingo explained.
I got mad.
"You idiiiiiiooooottssssssssss!!!"
"Eh…………?"
"You, there would be no point to it if you dieeeeeeeeeeee!!! (Me raising you guys would become meaningless)"
"Erd-sama..."
"Who cares about achievements?! (What I want is a stable income)
Treasure your life more! (Because dying will ultimately result in a net-loss)
I don't matter! (What matters is money)
If you guys die, then I...! (I'll lose my stable income, won't I?)"
I explained with tears in my eyes.
It seems like they haven't fully understood my intentions.
I need them to start taking care of themselves more.
Just because they are slâves doesn't mean their lives are cheap.
I must find a way to change their ingrained mindset on slâvery.
"Erd-sama I'm sorry. We will work harder. We will become stronger! To the point where Erd-sama wouldn't have to worry about us!"
"No, you're already strong enough. Please continue accepting quests only of moderate difficulty."
"Erd-sama...you worry about us to such an extent...you're so kind..."
[Domingo's POV]
"You idiiiiiiooooottssssssssss!!!"
"Eh…………?"
When I explained what had happened, Erd-sama suddenly became angry.
He admonished us similar to how a parent scolds their child who stayed out playing late at night.
"You, there would be no point to it if you dieeeeeeeeeeee!!!"
"Erd-sama..."
We were just slâves, and yet Erd-sama said those words with a serious expression.
"Who cares about achievements?!
Treasure your life more!
I don't matter!
If you guys die, then I...!"
Eld-sama pleaded with tears in his eyes.
I couldn't help but feel moved by his appearance.
Only this person would say such a thing as "treasure your lives" to us slâves.
Even though we slâves are supposed to be disposable, to be worried about us like that...
What's more, he even shed tears...
"Erd-sama I'm sorry. We will work harder. We will become stronger! To the point where Erd-sama wouldn't have to worry about us!"
"No, you're already strong enough. Please continue accepting quests only of moderate difficulty."
"Erd-sama...you worry about us to such an extent...you're so kind..."
I realized I couldn't allow myself to die, as I wanted to repay Erd-sama's kind-heartedness.
For this person's sake, let's strive to become stronger and stronger.
I made this vow in my heart.
