A Slave of Slaves

Chapter II

A Slave of Slaves

Enji hoisted the bucket out of the well and filled the one in the ground. Finishing that, he wiped the sweat falling into his eyes, grabbed the pail, and headed to the house. It was a two-story building with stone walls and a thatched roof.

The night before, once they made sure that he understood the language, the fox-eared woman, whose name was Eithea, had interrogated him until late. The mage had remained to hear his story and offer his thoughts, but it was Eithea who did most of the asking.

At first, they believed him to be some spirit, but after he began to tell them that he came from Japan, they were unsure what to make of him. In conclusion, they believe him to be from a distant land and that the elf’s summoning magic failed to bring a protector spirit, but got him in its place.

Enji didn’t try to correct them; instead, he decided to play the victim. Therefore, Eithea told him that until they decided what to do with him, he would be helping the slaves in the house to cover his room and board.

Speaking of the slaves. There were six in total. The two girls from the night before. Whose names were Silma, the cat-eared, and Popa, the dog-eared girl. The other four had not been introduced to him yet.

He found himself in a kind of European medieval world, where magic replaced technology and slavery was the norm. This was another world, a completely different one from the Japan he was familiar with. The village and surrounding farms, of one of which this house was located, were part of the Kingdom of Whitewall. He had learned as much from a few answers to his questions and from what he overheard them talking to each other. Yes, he has been sent to an isekai, a type of fantasy setting similar to those found in anime or manga. During the night, he had tried many of the standard tropes of the genre. He tried activating a status screen, reciting in-game commands to log out, and asking whatever goddess was appointed to him for guidance, with no effect. He didn’t feel different. There was no surge in power or newfound abilities.

He strode into a room at the far end of the house and emptied the pail into a large wooden basin. Next to it was Popa doing the laundry. She smiled. The girl continued with her labor, ignoring him. Enji couldn’t take his eyes off her. Her loose linen dress, drenched by the splashing water, clung to her figure like a second skin. Every once in a while, she would tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. Her human ear! She had another pair at the top of her head. Beast-like. More precisely, those of a dog or wolf, red, like the hair on her head.

Enji’s fascination was interrupted when he was smacked in the back of the head. He turned around. Silma, with a wicker broom, scowled at him.

“What?” Enji asked.

“Go outside and bring some firewood to the kitchen.”

“Okay.”

“What does that mean?” Silma squinted at him and readied the broom.

“It means that I agree. That I will comply.” He lifted both his palms in front to appease her.

She snorted and dismissed him with a wave. Enji hurried outside to the side of the house where the firewood was stacked.

“I have become a slave of a slave,” he mumbled to himself. It seems that Silma had misinterpreted Eithea’s decision to assign him to help the girls with their work and believed that he was another slave. “Should I complain to Eithea?” He desisted from the idea. He didn’t want to cause any more friction between himself and the cat girl.

He gathered all the wood he could carry and headed to the kitchen. There, he found one of the other slave girls busy with food preparation. He stood at the door, waiting for her to notice him, but she seemed to be concentrated on her task.

“Excuse me,” he said timidly.

“Oh. You startled me.” She turned around with a hand to her chest. “You are the new boy. Put the kindling over there.” She pointed to the far wall.

Enji did as she told him and studied her with a few glances. She was tall and graceful. Her hair, tied into a ponytail, was of a light brown hue, and her eyes were a deep blue. She seemed to be in her early to mid-twenties, and yes, she was human.

“Today we are having meat stew! Our mistress is anticipating a good reward and wants to celebrate.”

Enji suspected that the reward must be from the elf’s capture. He had asked Eithea about her, but she offered no answer, and Silma didn’t want to talk to him.

Seeing that Enji remained silent, the girl said, “My name is Nilsei,” without taking her eyes from the cooking pot.

“I’m Hasegawa Enji. Hasegawa is my family name, and Enji is my proper name.”

Nilsei dropped the ladle she was holding and stared at him in panic. “I’m sorry, my lord. I didn’t know someone as esteemed as you would be staying in this house.” She dropped to her knees. “If I had offended my lord, please, punish me accordingly.”

Enji looked at her, flabbergasted. At first, he thought that she was pulling a prank on him, but seeing how she trembled, kneeling before him, he realized that there must be some misunderstanding.

“Please, get up. I’m not a lord, and I will not punish or harm you.”

“But you have a family name! Only nobles have family names!”

Enji offered his hand to her. “Where I come from, common people have family names. I’m not of nobility, so don’t worry about me. And you can call me Enji. Is that alright with you, Nilsei?” He showed off his best smile.

Nilsei hesitated for a moment before accepting his hand. He helped her to her feet. Realizing that she still held his hand, she pulled hers away, blushing profusely.

“My lo—excuse me, Enji, do you need anything?” She fidgeted nervously.

“No. I was waiting for your instructions.”

She opened her eyes wide. “I would never dare to make you do anything!”

“Well... I’m supposed to be helping around the house.”

“Not me. Not here.” She gestured for him to leave with small, timid waves of her hand.

Enji understood that she was uncomfortable having him around, believing that he was of a higher social position. He felt sad because, at first, she seemed like an easygoing person he could talk to, but now a barrier had been set between them due to having a family name.

He headed outside. The house was situated in a grassy plain next to a brook. Several sheep-like animals were grazing nearby, and poultry were kept in a fenced coop. The blue sky was almost cloudless, and a cool breeze blew from the mountains toward the forest nearby. Looking at the sun, which he found normal, he remembered the two moons from the night before. The larger one, bigger than Earth’s, was red, and the smaller one was blue. “The tidal action must be a nightmare to predict.” He remembered from his science class the effect of the Earth’s moon’s gravitational pull on the oceans.

Sitting by the brook, he threw pebbles into the water. I need to talk to that elf. He figured that if he wanted to return to Japan, the one who brought him here could know how to send him back.

Enji pulled his smartphone from his pants pocket. Eithea had returned all of his belongings the night before. The battery was halfway spent. He checked the time and date. Eighteen hours had elapsed since he was summoned here. He turned the phone off to conserve the battery. When he had woken up, Eithea had already left for the town nearby. Silma had said so. Enji wanted to find the elf girl, but Silma had not given him a chance to explore the house. She’s been on my case since I woke up.

Shouts and noises came from the direction of the house, interrupting Enji’s thoughts. He stood. He couldn’t see what was causing the commotion from this side. Running, he turned the corner to get to the front of the house. He almost fell when he suddenly came to a halt. His heart nearly stopped due to what he saw.

A monster? The creature that was attacking the girls must have measured close to three meters. It had dark green skin and was only wearing a ragged loincloth. It brandished a tree branch like a club. Popa and a small boy were keeping the monster at bay with their long knives, protecting Silma, who lay prone on the ground. Enji’s legs felt like noodles, but he knew that something must be done, or it was just a matter of time before the monster reached the girl on the ground. He looked around him. There was nothing he could use as a weapon in the surroundings, or so he thought. He grabbed a couple of fist-sized stones. The first one he hurled missed. The second hit the monster in the back of the head, eliciting a loud grunt and forcing him to turn around.

The monster, now that it was facing him, could be described as the archetypal orc of magical fantasies: with a bald head, broad nose, and bloodshot eyes. Snorting in anger, the orc approached the new enemy, or prey, slowly. Enji, paralyzed with fear, trembled. He wanted to run, but his body wouldn’t let him. The monster was almost on top of him when fire seemed to spill from the back of his head. The roar that the orc uttered nearly made him piss his pants. With one hand, trying to extinguish the flames on his head, the orc frantically brandished the club in his other hand in a wide arc, missing Enji by a few centimeters.

He felt a hand on his arm and was pulled away. He was about to scream when he saw that the one who had pulled him was Nilsei.

She pushed a spear into his hand and said, “My lord, let’s get rid of this nuisance.”

In a trance, he watched as Nilsei circled the orc, stabbing him with her sword at each opening.

“Now, my lord!” Nilsei shouted.

He reacted without thinking by thrusting the spear into the orc’s exposed armpit. The orc let out another blood-curdling roar. He pulled the spear and waited for another opening.

Nilsei was not the only one fighting the orc. Popa, using two long knives, and the small boy with a short sword, were continuously wounding him. Enji heard someone chanting, and his eyes found Silma some distance away, concentrated with one arm pointed at the orc. She finished her chant, and on cue, Nilsei, Popa, and the boy jumped back.

From Silma’s palm, a fireball, the size of a basketball, shot to the orc’s head. The orc with his head on fire performed a grotesque dance, uttering terrifying screams, trying to extinguish the flames.

The orc finally collapsed. It was dead. Enji had to hold the urge to throw up. The smell of burned flesh and blood was overpowering.

“My lord, we defeated it,” Nilsei said, smiling at him.

“What do you mean by ‘my lord’? Silma approached them, her forehead scrunched, and her mouth contorted in a grimace.

Oh boy! Enji smiled and said, “Are you all alright?”