When a Corporate Slave Guy Reincarnated as a Mob Villain (Slave Trader), He Used His Knowledge of the Game to Raise the Heroines to Be the Strongest, Unintentionally Turning Them Into Yanderes, and Before He Knew It, He Was Completely Breaking the Story - Chapter 13-14

Chapter 13: If the Protagonist Dies Early, the Game Will Fall Apart

Still, my gaze is irresistibly drawn to Alice’s beauty.

When Alice’s large blue eyes, framed by her long eyelashes, meet mine, I can’t help but feel flustered.

I’ve seen her terrifying strength—no, her power—up close so many times.

And yet, despite that, I feel this misplaced emotion.

Could this be what they call a bewitching beauty?

No…maybe it’s just the overwhelming contrast between her appearance—her beauty—and her strength that’s throwing me off.

Or perhaps I’m just a foolish human driven by primal instincts.

“I-I mean, I was just wondering if your body is okay, Alice…” I say, trying to cover up my true feelings with a half-truth.

The truth is, I’m really only thinking about myself.

Well…it’s not entirely a lie to say I’m worried about Alice.

“……”

For just a brief moment, it seems like Alice’s face twists slightly…but then she quickly returns to her usual expressionless self.

And then,

“Of course. I’m not weak enough to be troubled by enemies of this level.”

She turns her face away from me and moves away.

It seems what I said didn’t sit well with her…

“Heh…Master…Master was looking at me…my body…He used the sacred seal twice…He used my body…He was thinking about me…After all, Master…hehehe.”

Alice moves toward a pile of collapsed rubble, swinging her fists with force while muttering something to herself.

Is she venting her repressed anger toward me on those objects?

…That’s fine, but with every punch Alice throws, the rubble turns into dust…

I shake my head and pretend I didn’t see her behavior.

R-right…more importantly, Lucius is the bigger issue right now.

I crouch down to check on Lucius.

His condition is worsening.

His consciousness is fading.

There’s not much time left.

What to do…I start thinking.

If I leave him like this, Lucius will die soon.

A young man, dying because of my orders, right in front of me.

To be honest, it doesn’t sit well with me, and I feel a pang of guilt.

But…if Lucius dies, my death flag will disappear.

In other words, I’ll be saved.

Essentially, I would have overcome this game’s scenario—this fate.

For me, this would be the perfect scenario—a happy ending.

But…it might not be that simple.

In a game, there’s an ending.

But no matter how much you wish for it, the world doesn’t end.

Just like in my previous life, no Armageddon comes, no nuclear missiles fly.

No matter how big the earthquakes or pandemics, my gloomy life didn’t change…no, it only got worse as the years went by…and it just kept continuing.

And now, my second life will continue in this world.

The butterfly effect…one small thing can lead to big consequences.

Whatever the case, if I let Lucius die here, the course of this continent—no, this world—could drastically change.

That would mean losing my one advantage—knowing the future of this world.

Moreover, even more immediate problems suggest it might not be wise to let Lucius die now.

Lucius is the man destined to lead the anti-Empire resistance—later the Allied Forces.

He has a charisma that I lack.

Well…since he’s the protagonist, it’s only natural he’d be set up that way.

In any case, in the game, influential people who adore Lucius begin to appear one after another.

These people become his comrades, and rebellions against the Empire spring up in kingdoms across the land.

Thanks to Lucius’ charisma, the Allied Forces, which started small, grow in strength.

Eventually, their power surpasses even the Empire, the continent’s dominant force, and the Empire collapses.

That’s the broad storyline of Lunatic Wars.

Of course, there’s also the classic plot where the Empire is thrown into chaos when the servants of darkness or ancient monsters suddenly revive…

But putting that aside, the point is that the Empire’s downfall is largely driven by Lucius’ personal charm.

If I—already despised as a slave trader—were to kill such a figure…

There’s no doubt that those people would fly into a rage and swear revenge.

—

Chapter 14: What Happens to the Story After the Protagonist Becomes a Slave for a Mob Character?

The anger that was supposed to be directed at the Empire might easily turn toward me instead.

Even the Empire has fallen.

A slave trader like me, from the outskirts, would be crushed in no time.

And it wouldn’t be a reasonable retaliation, but an emotional one.

If that happens, I’d be hunted for the rest of my life.

I already have enough enemies as a slave trader.

This isn’t the time to think about retiring…or rather, running away.

Even if Alice doesn’t come after me, I’d have to fear retaliation from someone else.

To successfully follow my FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) plan, I must avoid that at all costs.

“Ugh…Ah…Mother…Father…everyone in the village…I wanted to see you all one last time…”

Lucius, his eyes unfocused and distant, muttered as if confessing his sins.

…In the end, all the reasoning and excuses aside…

The truth is, I want to save Lucius.

Or perhaps, I just don’t want to feel guilty.

Either way, this world is both a game and not a game.

The people living here are not so simple as to be treated like characters in a game.

Pain, blood, and tears—they’re all real.

And even after five years, I still haven’t fully adapted to the rules of this world.

That’s right…I’m still not strong enough to just stand by and watch someone cry and scream in front of me without helping.

I’m, after all, just an ordinary person…no, just a mob character.

I can’t be a villain or a hero.

I take a deep breath.

Then, I cautiously touch Lucius’ body.

Next, I focus on my hand and activate my unique skill…engraving the slave mark onto the target.

Soon, Lucius’ entire body is wrapped in a mysterious light.

Has it activated…?

It seems like Lucius is almost completely drained of strength.

There are certain conditions to activating the slave mark.

The first is that I must directly touch the person’s body, like I am doing now.

This is relatively easy.

But the second condition is more difficult.

The target must be in a near-death state.

To summarize, my skill is to forcibly enslave someone by touching them when they are close to death.

…It’s no wonder slave traders are hated. It’s a cruel ability.

Though, it doesn’t work on people more than ten levels above me, so it’s not as useful as it sounds…

By the way, I didn’t place Alice’s slave mark.

It was Linus, the slave trader, who engraved the slave mark on Alice.

I’m sure of that.

But that was before I reincarnated…before I woke up as the slave trader.

Did Linus find Alice in a near-death state and make her a slave by chance?

Or did he drive her into that state himself?

I hope it’s the former.

But…I still haven’t been able to confirm that with Alice.

She hasn’t mentioned it either.

Well…it’s not something we can easily talk about face-to-face.

Back to the present situation.

Why did I choose to engrave the slave mark on Lucius to save him?

I don’t know any healing magic.

My unique skill only allows me to engrave the slave mark.

So, how would that heal Lucius’ injuries?

The answer is simple. The slave mark has a secondary effect…no, a side effect.

By engraving the slave mark, the person fully recovers.

It would be pointless if they died after becoming a slave, so I suppose the spell includes that intention.

In any case, by marking someone with the slave seal, no matter how severe the injury, they are healed instantly.

Even status abnormalities—illnesses—can be cured.

In a way, it’s the most powerful form of healing magic.

But the downside—becoming a slave—is enormous.

Well…to be exact, there’s one more side effect.

However, it’s not a big deal.

It might be an issue for women, but Lucius is a man, so it’s fine.

The mysterious light that enveloped Lucius’ body gathers in one place—his lower abdomen.

Finally, the light shines brilliantly, blinding me for a moment before it disappears.

I check Lucius’ body.

The darkened skin on his abdomen has now become smooth and healthy.

The wounds on his face and body have also vanished.

Lucius seems to be unconscious, but his expression has softened, almost peaceful.

With this, Lucius won’t die.

It looks like a wonderful healing spell at first glance…

But something that wasn’t there before has now appeared on Lucius’ body.

On his lower abdomen, there is a deep red mark, like fresh blood—the slave mark.

Yes…in exchange for saving his life, Lucius has become my slave.

When Lucius wakes up, even if he tries to resist again, he will no longer be able to harm me—his master.

Even though Lucius has a unique skill that could erase the slave mark, it’s no problem as long as I forbid him from using it.

I can’t help but smile bitterly at the thought.

In the end…aren’t I just thinking about myself?

Well…I never claimed to be a good person.

I’m just an ordinary guy, a regular human.

I let out a sigh and slowly stood up.

Alright then…even though he’s a guy, it’s a bit awkward to leave him lying around naked for too long…

And as handsome as Lucius may be, I don’t really want to keep looking at a naked man either.