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 43: I Never Wanted to See the Hero Afraid of the Heroine

Well…I can kind of understand what Lucia is trying to say.

As Lucia pointed out, Alice’s abnormal strength is partly due to me overdoing her leveling.

That being said, I only recently learned that Alice had mastered dark attribute magic, and I have no clue how it happened.

Also, Alice—or rather, the protagonist, Lucia, included—should have a level cap of 99 like the other player characters.

So why is Alice’s level at 999, and how does she have that much power…?

I favored Alice, so I used her until the very end, but compared to other characters, her abilities weren’t that exceptional.

The Empire’s invasion hasn’t fully happened yet, and with Lucia appearing, the story’s timeline seems to be deviating little by little.

Well…the exact cause is still unknown.

Although I’m trying to avoid standing out, the fact that I’m a reincarnator, an irregular existence, might already be distorting the very laws of this world.

It’s almost like the butterfly effect…

Even if I tried to explain this to Lucia, she wouldn’t understand or believe me.

Lucia seems completely convinced that I’ve been cruelly oppressing Alice as a slave.

Well…in a way, that’s not entirely wrong.

After all, I still haven’t freed Alice.

However, I haven’t stooped so low as to exploit my position as her master to take advantage of her.

As I struggled to find the right response and stayed silent, Lucia pressed on.

“Anyway…I will definitely rescue Princess Alice from you. You may think you’ve won just because you marked me with a slave crest, but I still have allies. The princess of this country is helping me. So, I’m giving you a fair warning: release me…and release Princess Alice immediately.”

Lucia stepped closer, her voice firm.

The princess of this country…Is she talking about Natalia from earlier…?

So Lucia knows Natalia…

To think that even in a small kingdom, the protagonist has built connections with a princess…that’s just the kind of charisma you’d expect from the hero.

I seem to recall that Lucia was originally supposed to be a commoner…

But maybe there was some retroactive lore about her being of ancient royal descent or something…

In any case, this situation has just gotten more complicated.

If Natalia finds out that I’ve enslaved her acquaintance, Lucia, I’ll definitely become a wanted criminal in this kingdom.

Sorry, Lucia, but for now, you’ll have to stay inside the mansion as much as possible.

At least until Natalia leaves this town…

Still…as soon as Alice disappeared, Lucia suddenly regained her heroic demeanor.

Just moments ago, she seemed like a frightened, fragile girl, but now she’s the noble hero from the game.

I was never particularly invested in Lucia—the protagonist—but since I played the game thoroughly, I had some attachment to every character.

Seeing the protagonist act so differently from their in-game character is strangely bittersweet.

In that sense, the current Lucia fits the image of the hero I had in mind.

But…now that she’s back in hero mode, there’s no way she’ll listen to anything I say.

So…what should I do…?

“Master.”

“Whoa!”

“Ah!”

Both Lucia and I yelped in surprise at the same time.

When I turned around, Alice had appeared in the room without us noticing.

Alice’s face looked quite stiff.

“What exactly were you doing…?”

Alice furrowed her brows, staring intensely at both me and Lucia.

It wasn’t until I felt her gaze that I realized how close Lucia and I had gotten as she confronted me.

In fact…we were practically touching.

“N-No…it’s not like that. We were just talking…”

I stammered, stepping back from Lucia in a panic.

But Alice’s expression and gaze only grew harsher.

Judging from her look, she definitely thought I was doing something inappropriate with Lucia.

“A-Alice! I swear, nothing happened!”

Lucia, the supposed victim in this situation, frantically defended herself to Alice.

Her demeanor was completely different from the way she treated me.

It was almost like she was about to grovel on the spot.

“…Lucia, it seems you still need more discipline.”

“Hii…N-No, please, Alice…”

Lucia’s eyes filled with tears, and her body started trembling.

Well, it’s no wonder she’s scared—after all, Alice did almost kill her once.

Still, Lucia’s behavior seemed a bit excessive.

Just moments ago, Lucia had been so brave, like the true protagonist, but now she was a shadow of her former self.

Come to think of it, in the original story, Lucius—no, Lucia—was somewhat dominated by the heroine Alice.

Maybe…their relationship was always meant to be like this.

—

Chapter 44: I Want to Avoid Becoming a Wanted Man by the Empire

“…This is why it’s dangerous to let any women into this mansion. No matter who they are, they end up falling for you when you’re around, Master. Ugh…Being so attractive has its downsides too, it seems. If it’s already like this, what will happen when you ascend to the throne? I can’t ignore the existence of concubines, but as the rightful wife, I’ll have to manage them…No, if I have children, I’ll be able to monopolize Master as his legitimate wife…”

Alice mutters under her breath, cloaked in a dark aura, her head down.

Wh-What should I do with Alice when she’s in this mood?

I know from experience that it’s best not to engage her right now.

When Alice gets like this, it’s because she’s venting her pent-up frustrations towards me.

“Alice, has Linus arrived yet?”

Suddenly, Mylene pokes her head in, with her wolf ears twitching.

Alice snaps out of it at the sound of her voice, looking up quickly.

“Ah! Yes, Master. I have something important to report.”

Mylene interjects, rolling her eyes.

“You still haven’t told him? Geez…Forget it. I’ll explain. Wasting time because you don’t want anyone in the mansion…And this is urgent. Honestly, you’re so jealous.”

After a tired sigh, Mylene clears her throat.

“Linus, there’s a serious situation. The Empire…Imperial soldiers have arrived in this town!”

Mylene, looking unusually serious, delivers the news.

“Wait, what? What’s going on?”

I ask her for more details, and it turns out something significant is happening in town.

About fifty Imperial soldiers, wearing military uniforms, have entered the town and gone to the mansion in the center — the estate of the count who governs this town.

It’s rare for Imperial soldiers to come all the way to this frontier town on an official mission.

When I purchased my slaves, I usually had to go to the Empire’s borders myself.

Though the number of soldiers is small, their presence means it’s likely an official mission.

Could this mean the Empire is making some sort of move?

However, in the game’s storyline, there was no event where the Empire invaded this town.

This place had no relevance after the early “Slave Trader Subjugation” event, and there was no reason to visit again in the story.

Even the small kingdom this town belongs to is barely mentioned, described only as a vassal state of the Empire in a brief explanation.

This is also why I didn’t know about Natalia.

She doesn’t appear in the story at all.

Of course, as a princess of a small kingdom, she might have had some role in the future conflicts between the Empire and the other kingdoms, but…

At least from the game’s perspective, this kingdom’s involvement wasn’t significant enough to warrant much attention.

That’s likely why the story never mentioned it.

Either way, I have no idea how to handle this situation.

As I fold my arms, deep in thought, Mylene speaks up.

“Linus, leave it to me to handle those soldiers…I’ll take care of the Imperial troops!”

Mylene tries to appear calm, but her eyes are gleaming fiercely.

She looks ready to charge out at any moment, filled with bloodlust.

The Empire is her sworn enemy — her parents were killed by them — so her hatred for the Imperial soldiers is intense.

Even just dealing with the regular human soldiers of this small kingdom earlier was a challenge for her.

If she faces Imperial soldiers, Mylene will likely attack without hesitation, even if they don’t strike first.

“M-Mylene, hold on a second—”

“Yes, Linus! Don’t worry! That small group of Imperial soldiers is no match for me. I can take them all out with these claws…I’ll cut off every single one of their heads.”

…Mylene clearly isn’t listening to me.

She’s already assuming a fight with the Imperial soldiers is inevitable.

If this continues, not only will I become a wanted man in this kingdom, but I’ll also be targeted by the Empire.

I have to stop Mylene somehow…but how?

In the worst-case scenario, I could use the slave mark to restrain her, but after what happened earlier, she already holds a grudge against me.

I want to avoid using the slave mark as much as possible.

I need to find a more peaceful solution…but how…?