As A Result of Trying To Live An Erotic Slow-Life, I Have Become The Underground Ruler of This Upside-Down Otherworld - Chapter 16: Is Buying Someone Out Of Their Contract Legal?

Chapter 16: Is Buying Someone Out Of Their Contract Legal?

“I-I-I’m sorry…”

“Well, it was an accident on our side. You really don’t have to worry about it; rather, thank you.”

I comforted Serika, who was feeling down, while trying to figure out what to do with these ingredients.

“Master, I’ve finished the calculations.”

“Thank you, and?”

I stopped Mimia, who was trying to rush out to sell the magic stones with incredible enthusiasm.

I asked Towa, who was trying to see if this was reality, to find out the price of the ingredients Serika brought, but I’m not sure what to do with the information.

“The current market price is 3 gold coins per serving of Dragonpuppy meat, 5 silver coins per serving of Labrasia leaves, and 1 gold coin per flower. The total amount brought is approximately 270 gold coins.”

“Let’s run away at night.”

“I’ll go with you.”

“It was a joke…”

I only have 30 gold coins in savings, so there’s no way I can pay that.

“Um, um, well, this time, it’s, you know… Think of it as just a freebie…”

“I’ll just accept your consideration.”

“Auh”

Of course, that doesn’t make sense. If she had said that she wanted to bring something light so that I could test her strength, that would be one thing, but it’s not okay to bring it up after the fact.

The basics of business are trust.

That’s what the master always said, and I agree.

If I accept Serika’s offer and escape this difficult situation, I’m sure I’ll waver the next time I encounter a crisis.

I don’t want to just sit there with my mouth open, waiting for someone to come and help me. I don’t want to be a kept man.

“I’ll definitely pay. Serika, just stay calm, you haven’t done anything wrong.”

“Umm, yeah.”

But what should I do?

“Arius-san”

It’s not like I’m out of ideas.

“It’s okay you know? Even if you don’t become Mia’s groom, Mia will still give you everything.”

Mia says it worriedly.

Mia was initially trying to arrange for the money as if it were a matter of course.

No, that’s not okay. Just to let you know beforehand, it’s not that I dislike the idea of marrying Mia, alright?

“Ugh, yeah. I’m glad to hear that, but…”

But I stopped her. That doesn’t solve anything.

As a last resort, if I were to receive money from Mia, I would offer myself in exchange.

Should I say it’s a contract marriage, or would it be more accurate to say that I’m being used as collateral to receive money?

Either way, there has to be something in it for both of us.

“Master”

“I understand. You’re probably wondering what I’m so worried about, right? I get it, it’s that obvious.”

I know that this way of thinking is wrong.

Towa, Mia, and Serika are all treated as if they deserve to be treated badly in this world.

Then I should treat them that way, ignore the food money, own up Mia’s assets, ors make Towa go out and earn money.

“But you know, I told Serika as well, it’s not really fair. At least, it’s not fair according to my standards.”

I said I didn’t like it when beautiful women got away with anything.

I said I didn’t like it when kindness sounded like malice.

I said I was going to become a shut-in so I could live peacefully.

“Yeah, I’m selfish. The people around me have to follow my rules.”

Everything I do is for myself.

So, there’s only one thing to do.

“I’ll buy Serika out of her contract.”

“Huh?”

“Master!?”

“Arius-san!?”

Regrettably, there’s no way I can pay for these ingredient costs here, even if I were to pull out my hair or stand on my head.

So, what should I do?

“I’ll make Serika my property, and I’ll gradually give her 270 gold coins from my future income. In the meantime, I’ll take care of Serika as her owner and be responsible for her.”

“That’s…”

This is a chain, a trust-based chain that creates a master-servant relationship.

It’s trust, it’s all about trust.

If I tell Serika to wait because I’ll pay the money eventually, she’ll wait.

But for Serika, waiting is the same as giving up, because it’s not normal for her to complete a transaction for being an ugly woman.

I don’t intend to force her to forgive me once I become her master/ 

I’ll pay back the 270 gold coins with my ears lined up, and I’ll take Serika as a loan, using trust as collateral. It’s the master’s responsibility to take care of what he buys.

“Serika”

“Y-Y-Ywes!?”

I don’t know if this argument will work, or if she’ll understand, but it doesn’t matter.

I don’t want to rely on this world, I don’t want to break my own rules.

“I know I strayed far from what I said earlier about fairness… but Serika, do you dislike the idea of me becoming your master?”

I think I’m being a coward.

I know how Serika feels about me. I know she can’t refuse me because I’m her benefactor.

I’m forcing Serika to make a difficult choice, even though she hasn’t done anything wrong.

“A…ri…us…sama”

Yeah, I knew it.

“I-I’m really happy. Um, well, I gathered these ingredients because I wanted Arius-sama to be happy.”

“Yeah”

“But, but I’m a sister, you know? An adventurer. I’m different from Towa-san and Mia-san; those two are a little… no, they’re really, really enviable.”

“Yeah”

“I couldn’t give my all without a reason. But if I could become something for Arius-sama, then I could dedicate myself completely. I wouldn’t hold back or hesitate. I could be of use…”

To be honest, I knew it.

If all I needed to do was follow the rules here, there are ways to make a lot of money, like working at a national male brothel or quickly opening a flag shop and selling my body without being picky about clients.

But I can’t. I just can’t.

Living a normal life in the normal standards of this world is impossible for me.

If I could, I would have spent my whole life working at the master’s store. That’s why I’m trying to create my own little world in this Ronyan’s small garden.

“Ah, ah, ah, um!”

“Yeah?”

“H-Here’s to a fruitful relationship.”

“Likewise”

I stroked Serika’s head as she started to cry, and then I realized something.

Ah, that’s right.

Towa, Mia, and Serika are all basically the same as me, they can’t live a normal life in this world.

Once I’ve decided that, there’s something I have to do.

That’s to go to the church and buy Serika.

—Master, the church is off-limits besides sisters and women who want to become sisters. I’m sorry I can’t stay by your side

—I’m sorry, Arius-san. Be careful, Athelina… I haven’t heard many good things about that church.

“This is Athelina Church.”

“Um, Arius-sama, is this your first time at a church?”

I looked up at the church door in front of me, with Serika, who still seemed a little stiff.

“I’ve never been to a church before, but I’ve seen one in the city I used to live in. But… this one is much bigger and more impressive.”

I didn’t expect to be looking up at the door.

I’m not that tall, but it’s clearly over three meters tall.

“Those who pass through this gate, abandon all desires.”

“Huh?”

“This door is the entrance for women. Th-That meaning is buried there, um, over there.”

She pointed to the top of the door, and I squinted to read the barely legible letters.

“It’s hard to say…”

“People who come here are basically, um, criminals, you see. Um, the entrance for men is over there. It’s protected by a magical barrier so that women can’t enter, so just wait inside, okay?”

“Okay”

The entrance she pointed to was suddenly normal… not really.

“Bad taste…”

The door knocker is gold-plated, which is a bit much.

“What’s this statue?”

There are two statues on either side.

I don’t mind hermaphrodites, but they’re really ugly. (T/N: Futa.)

“That’s our god, Afron-sama’s statue.”

“Huh, this is Afron-sama?”

I heard a slimy voice from behind.

What should I do, I don’t want to turn around, but I don’t want to keep looking at this statue either.

Which part of this shows that she’s a goddess of beauty?

I mean, maybe she’s the most beautiful woman in this world, but she’s a hermaphrodite.

“Welcome to Athelina, are you here to join the faith?”

“Haha, no.”

Ugh… it’s intense… like a mix of a cockroach and an orc, or maybe that’s exactly what it is.

“That’s a shame, but how about it? Why not take this opportunity to learn about the teachings of Afron-sama?”

“Well, if I become interested… I came here today to talk about buying someone out of their contract.”

“Hoho… It seems you have a beautiful heart as well, wonderful. Please come in, I’ll show you around.”

“Thank you”

A beautiful heart, huh?

Oh, this is really tough.

I was stared at my ass, then stared at my penis to observe its shape, and then my face was licked with those slimy eyes.

This man is a homo, it seems.

“Oops, I’m sorry. Your hand… there’s a little step there.”

“Oh, I’m fine. I don’t want to trouble you.”

“Hmm, you’re so pure.”

Pure my ass… please spare me the trouble…

Is this what they mean when they say there are no good rumors about this place? Is this it? Mia.

Kuh… Kill me…

No, I can’t, I’ll definitely be fucked if I say that.

“Arius-sama!”

“Yeah, Serika”

I’m saved, Serika, you’re my god. It’s healing.

“Oh, Serika and… is it true that you want to buy her out of her contract?”

“Yes, I want to buy Serika out of her contract.”

That’s right.

“Hmm, hmm. That’s wonderful…”

He laughed in a dirty way.

“Um…”

“It’s not easy to talk while standing. Please, come this way.”

Oh, this is dangerous, this is bad.

“Arius-sama”

“It’s okay”

I stepped on the floor, which should have been hard, but it felt soft and unpleasant.

“Let’s go”

“Yeah”

I began walking down the hallway, decorated with tasteless embellishments.