(Somewhat) Commendable

Haruto let out a sigh, relieved that I (somewhat) seemed willing to hear him out. Yet he looked like he was having trouble deciding where begin with his impossible task of rationalizing being a slaver. 

He just kept opening his mouth, then closing it again. "You.. erm, we were all really very worried about... always coming in looking like you hadn't slept, back in the other world, before you—"

"Shut it! I don't want to talk about that!" That was becoming my one rule: never, ever talk about the other world. As far as I was concerned, the past was the past and this life was the only one that mattered now.

"Okay... then what would you prefer to discuss?" he asked.

"Slavery—your role in it. Explain," I demanded as I held my palms up again.

"Master Haruto was a most kind, most dutiful master!" interjected Fahna. "He never mistreated me, not even once!"

"Was? You mean you're no longer his slave?" I turned back to Haruto, waiting for him to explain himself.

"Well, I freed her, of course," he said with an embarrassed smile, which somehow made him look even more handsome—despite his horns. Actually, now that I though about it, he may have been the only Satyr I found attractive. 

They didn't really have the kind of romantic appeal of Elves, Vampires and Werewolves that all the girls from my world were obsessed with. In fact, the only love affair from mythology I could remember that actually involved a Satyr was with the Greek god Dionysus, who was male.

I lowered my palms, even though my mana had regenerated enough to cast another Ice Shard. His HP had regenerated back up to 96% anyway. He probably has a high Spirit stat...

"That's right," confirmed Fahna with a proud nod. "I fulfilled all of the duties he required of me, then he said I'd earned my freedom after only 10 months—"

"Ice Shard!" I screamed as my rage stormed back through me with full force.

Crit! 3 damage.

"Ow—why—"

"You kept a slave for 10 whole months?!" I was simply beside myself.

"Like I said, it was complica—"

"Moon Beam!"

1, Resist, 1, Resist, Resist, 1, 1.

"Stop hurting Master Haruto!" pleaded Fahna. "I enjoyed every moment of serving him—which is why I continue doing it to this day, which I'd do even if he hadn't made me pinkie promise to stay by his side before releasing me!" 

I kept thinking I'd reached the fullest extent of my anger, yet every answer she gave somehow made me more incredulous than the last. "You extorted her too?! Holding her freedom hostage until she swore a vow of loyalty to you?!"

"Please don't misunderstand! Master Haruto and I have developed a special bond with one another. Truly, every moment by his side is pure bliss, no matter in which way I serve him. Be it massaging his hooves, washing his clothes, helping him bathe—"

"You vile little perv!" I screamed at Haruto, followed by another Ice Shard before my mana was depleted again.

Miss. 

Boy how I hated when my attacks missed or he resisted them... 

He was beat red now, shaking his head and trying to get Fahna's attention, as if to stop her from revealing anymore of his uncouth behavior.

Unfortunately for him, she didn't notice and bulled ahead: "Indeed, he never made me do anything I didn't want to do—at least not after the beginning..." 

I must have had a truly terrifying look on my face because Haruto looked absolutely petrified.

"What did you make her do against her will?" I demanded.

"Please don't get angry at him—it was for my own good!" pleaded Fahna.

"Shut it—I wasn't asking you!" I snapped. Clearly she had an extremely severe case of Stockholm syndrome. 

Haruto finally gave up and hung his head in shame. "I... forced her to fight monsters with me..."

"What... really?! That's all?!"  

While that may not have sounded particularly admirable, I felt a huge relief, because I feared it might have been something much, much worse. "But why? You are a Cloud Tamer and we're nowhere near a desert... Why were you so desperate for help that you felt the need to buy a slave?"

"Well, because players can no longer resurrect after they die—not since the Acquisition changed the rules. So now it's extremely dangerous to go questing alone," he answered.

It was truly then. We really only had one life in this world, just like the other. Only the other wasn't filled giant spiders and other deadly horrors (although what it lacked in that regard it certainly made up for with all its corrupt officials). "Okay... so why not just make friends and form a party? Why would you need a slave?"

"I dunno, it's not as easy as you think..." He gave Cici a meaningful look, but she merely regarded her nails with a bored expression.

Was the situation similar with her? She certainly didn't have slave energy... if I had to wager, I'd say she was some kind of mercenary.

I looked to the Behemoth in his party, who was so quiet throughout this entire dramatic exchange that I'd completely forgotten he was there. I took the opportunity to check his stats:

Lucien: level 21

Race: Behemoth

Class: Mentalist (Wordsmith)

Kraft: Perfumer 

He was currently squatting against the wall, reading a book, and seeming entirely unconcerned with our drama. 

Oh, how I envy him... 

Hopefully I'd have a moment to talk with him later, because he seemed like a rather interesting character. I was also curious to see him in action, as I knew very little about Mentalists, and even less about their Wordsmith specialization.

In any case, he didn't seem like a slave either, maybe he just joined this party out of his own need for survival.

"It seems like that the Acquisition heralded in the arrival of a new player base, one which is pretty toxic, in case you haven't noticed," said Haruto, drawing my attention back to him and reminding me of my fury.

Reems and his party came to mind as he mentioned this new toxic player base, and I couldn't help but agree. In fact, pretty much everything Haruto said made sense, except for one thing: "You said you had to force her to fight?"

"Yeah... she was really skittish in the beginning, huh Fahna?" he turned back to her with a beaming smile.

"I-I was a pacifist, but... master Haruto made me realize that fighting was necessary to survive!"

"Buying a slave, and forcing her to fight beside you as a last resort..." that sounded a lot like the plot of the first volume of an isekai story I'd read a while ago. A rather sweet an endearing one, from what I remember.

I lowered my palms again and let out a sigh. He was lucky I had a soft spot for handsome boys who managed to keep kind hearts, despite dealing with hardship.

I suppose I should have conceded the duel, so that we could finally get down to business—but then I remembered how he ran off with my best friend.

"Ice Shard!"