That Time a Shut-in for 300 Years Continued to Make Antiques , but All of It Turned out to Be Cheat-Level Magic Tools - Chapter 20

“The collar, it came off.”

“Mine too…”

The two who had been slaves looked utterly bewildered, as if they had been tricked by a mischievous fairy. It must have seemed unbelievable.

Meanwhile, the middle-aged couple at the inn were pointing at the two, their hands trembling.

“It’s impossible! That collar can only be removed by a slave trader!”

“But it’s come off.”

“Yes, it has, but what a foolish thing to do! Removing a slave’s collar on your own is a serious crime!”

“Is that so?”

I decided to ask Mei for confirmation.

“If nothing has changed in the last ten years, then yes.”

I see. Well, it’s not a problem.

“Uh, everything these two said is true. There are actually people who specialized in unlocking these collars, and getting caught means facing severe punishment.”

“Ah, then it’s no problem.”

“Uh, I can’t keep up. But, it’s really no problem?”

“Yes.”

After responding to Carol, I picked up the collar and approached the noisy pair.

“…What?”

“Hey, what exactly is going on here?”

“Well, as you said, just removing the collar would be a problem, right? So I exchanged the recognition of slavery and matched the numbers.”

Both looked as flustered as fish out of water, their mouths opening and closing.

“You fool! I don’t know what you did, but slave information is recorded!”

“That’s right! If you change who the collar is registered to, the records will quickly reveal it!”

Well, I understand their feelings.

“That’s not a concern. I used this.”

I held up a pen for both of them to see, and the couple blinked in astonishment.

“What in the world is that?”

“This is a magical device I’ve created, called the Spell Record Pen.”

“A magical device? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“This device can rewrite the spells that are applied. That’s why I was able to remove the collars from the original two and place them on you. I’ve also changed the ownership.”

“But! Whatever you do, the slave records—”

“And this device also solidifies the causal effects that accompany the changes it makes.”

I continued to explain, but everyone except Mei seemed puzzled.

“Simply put, this pen adjusts the slave records according to the changes I’ve written. Even the records held by the slave traders now bear your two names.”

“Whaaaat?!”

“That’s impossible! You’re making this up!”

Despite their protests, the fact remained. The pen could even rewrite causality.

The pen was indeed powerful, but it was specialized for rewriting only. It needed to adhere to the base of the spell and could not be radically altered from its original state.

“Well, this means you two are officially freed from slavery.”

“I… I can’t quite feel it.”

“Me too…”

Perhaps it was inevitable. They never imagined they could be freed from slavery so easily.

“What happens to these two now?”

“That’s up to Carol.”

“Free? As in freedom?”

Carol tilted her head slightly, prompting me to continue explaining.

“You could think of it as the roles of master and slave being reversed by changing the magic in the collars. In other words…”

“Eh? I become the master!?”

Neko Mimi fluttered her ears back and forth, her tail standing tall as she expressed surprise. Urel, who was listening beside her, appeared utterly stunned as well.

“Yes, that’s right. From today onwards, you two are their slaves.”

“Don’t joke with me!”

“There’s no way this is allowed!”

“Oh, but it is allowed.”

I stated confidently. Despite the age of the magic device I had created, which wouldn’t be out of place as an antique, I was sure of its effect.

“That’s how it is. Carol, these two cannot defy you now. So, what will you do?”

“They really can’t defy me?”

“That’s right, they can’t. So, you’re free to do whatever you want.”

I deliberately provoked a reaction to see what conclusion this cat-eared girl would reach.

“If that’s the case…”

“Damn! What do you plan to command?”

“You’re planning to disgrace me, aren’t you!”

The latter was something I didn’t want to see.

“Let’s work.”

“…Huh?”

“Work?”

“Yes. Both the lady and the gentleman here haven’t been working seriously until now, which seems a waste.”

“…Huh.”

I had anticipated how things might turn out. It wasn’t the worst scenario imaginable, but it was certainly the correct one.

“This is no joke!”

“Exactly! What do you think we bought slaves for? It’s no joke—Ah!”

“Ugh, oh nooo!”

“Eh? What’s happening?”

“Why the sudden scream?”

“Ah, the collar’s effect must have activated.”

As I explained, both of them tilted their heads in confusion.

“Originally, if you disobeyed an order, it would chastise you with severe pain, but I changed it to nightmares. It’s meant to cause psychological damage in a short period and quell any thoughts of resistance. You two seem to have an aversion to physical pain.”

“That might be true.”

Carol looked somewhat relieved. Physical pain might cause hesitation, so it was indeed a good decision to change it.

“Mental anguish is more tormenting than physical pain. While one can get used to physical pain, psychological distress is much harder to endure. Just now, the two were writhing before us.”

“Looks like Carol can rest easy now. It seems there won’t be any problem managing the slaves.”

“Rest easy? Problem?”

“Yes. Actually, I based the enslavement collar on Urel’s restrictions. So, even though they’re slaves, unjust treatment is prohibited.”

“Eh, meaning?”

“It means if Carol had resorted to torturing out of resentment, she might have been punished.”

Mei continued explaining, and Carol looked surprised.

“I was being tested?”

“Sorry. But it was important. If a slave’s negative emotions outweigh the positives, nothing good comes of it. But now you can rest easy. You’ll manage this inn well.”

“…Heh! I’ll be managing this inn!?”

“Wait, wait a minute! Who decided this on their own!?”

“So, what authority do they have!?”

As they awoke from the nightmare, the couple started complaining.

“Hey, hey, have you forgotten what you’ve done? Although they’re slaves, excessively unfair treatment is forbidden. You’ve never given them proper rest, and their food and housing were insufficient. Just looking at these facts, you’d owe a significant amount of compensation.”

“Such, to such slaves, compensation?”

“But it’s true. I’ve learned a bit since coming to town. Plus, most of my gold coins are nearly gone.”

“What? I don’t know about that! I haven’t spent any!”

“…Eh? You—”

“It seems your husband likes to gamble quite a bit. Wasn’t he absent for a while today? That’s what this is about.”

“N-No, you again! I told you to stop because you’re weak!”

“No, just…”

“In any case, you’ve touched my gold coins as well. Including that, I’ll forgive you by reversing the roles of slave and master, and give you the management rights to this inn.”

“That’s… impossible…”

“What a mess…”

The couple slumped, defeated by their own actions.

“By the way, my slave collar has also been removed.”

“Ah, that’s right. I needed two enslavement collars, ideally those commonly used, so I had to make use of yours.”

“For that, you spent a lot of money on me?”

“Yes. However, it wasn’t entirely without calculation. So, Urel, how about you manage this inn with Carol? You’re good at arithmetic, born into a merchant family, and skilled in management. Carol is good at customer service and appealing, which will attract guests. If you two team up and treat this couple well as slaves, this inn is sure to succeed.”

The two exchanged glances, then nodded vigorously.

“Thank you! I’ll do my best!”

“I will too!”

Yes, things seemed to have worked out for now.

“But when you think about it, even if you said it was a calculation, doesn’t this leave Edson-san without any benefits?”

“No, that’s not the case. Actually, I’ve been thinking about needing a base for future plans. I’d like to make use of this inn for that purpose.”