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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: My Master's Obsession Knows No Bounds (2)
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I swing the sword held in my right hand.
A deep blue line cuts through the air, and an azure flash erupts. An icy wind, cold as a slab of ice, sweeps forth.
The movements continue seamlessly.
Spinning, I rotate my body, this time swinging the sword in my left hand.
A crimson line is drawn. A blood-red flash, accompanied by flames, begins to surge. The flames soon become a small fiery vortex, soaring skyward.
I swing the swords without pause.
Blue and red flashes erupt ceaselessly.
Ice and fire beautifully embroider the empty air.
-Clink.
The two swords slide into their respective scabbards with a crisp, clean sound.
"Haaah…"
I close my eyes, steadying my ragged breath. The violently fluctuating flow of mana gently settles.
With a nervous heart, I open my eyes and check the floating numbers in the air.
[Receive Swordsmanship and Magic from Daphne. (Progress: 10.00002%)]
"Finally…!"
It's been five years since I received this quest.
Seven years since I transmigrated.
[You can now proceed with other quests.]
[You can now escape from Daphne.]
I could finally break free from my damn Master's obsession.
****
Chirp, chirp, the sound of birds chirping fills the air, and warm sunlight bathes my face.
"Mmph."
Despite their efforts, I stubbornly resisted, refusing to open my eyes.
It wasn't because I was sleepy, or lazy. Not for such trivial reasons.
Of course, those reasons weren't entirely absent, but there was an even more compelling reason why I wouldn't get up.
'I need to grow taller.'
It was to gain even a little more height.
For that, sufficient deep sleep was absolutely essential.
Before I knew it, I was seventeen. An age when growth spurts should definitely be prominent, yet…
It's already been a year. The detestable number, 170 [cm], hasn't changed.
At this point, I'm starting to get anxious. Anxious that even in this life, I might not experience the glory of 1.8 meters.
'Damn it.'
The thought that even 170 was a result of rounding up almost brought tears to my eyes.
"Disciple. Why are you blubbering and acting like a damn fool first thing in the morning?"
-Thwack.
Amidst that, the familiar, tiresome voice.
And an unidentified piece of cloth flew onto my face.
My eyes snapped open.
It was a pristine white world. A pristine white world adorned with fluttering lace.
"…"
Looking past the lace, at the real world, I saw my Master glaring at me, hands on her hips, her eyes like hatchets.
"Disciple. Didn't this Master tell you to do the laundry on time? Must I, your Master, whose grace is as boundless as the heavens, wear underwear I've already worn?"
From her lips, utter nonsense began to pour forth like a machine gun.
Doubt filled me. How could she be so brazen, throwing unwashed underwear onto the face of her sleeping disciple?
"...Master."
Normally, I would have endured it, but today, my lips opened.
It was justified.
My mood was already terrible after confirming the despair-inducing height of 168.7 [cm] yesterday, and then I was subjected to an underwear terror attack first thing in the morning.
If I endured that, I'd be a complete idiot.
"No, I mean, it's not like anyone's been watching you for over a hundred years, and no one's going to in the future, so can't you just wear whatever's convenient?"
So I blurted it out. The true feelings I'd suppressed for nearly seven years.
"…"
Was she shocked? Or was she angry?
My Master's mouth hung open, and her eyebrows began to twitch uncontrollably.
Watching her expression, a sense of catharsis washed over me, like a dam breaking in a clogged stream.
For some reason, the air in the house felt refreshing, and suddenly, the world even seemed warm.
"Ah."
As my eyes darted around, I discovered the reason why the air around me and the world itself had abruptly changed, and I knew I had to utter my last words for the day.
-Whoosh.
-CRAACK.
Had she perhaps been watching a manga about a boy who dreamed of becoming a pirate king?
My Master was manifesting it herself.
A fiery fist in her right hand, and an Ice Age in her left.
Seeing that, I resigned myself and quietly closed my eyes.
I had momentarily forgotten, caught up in a fit of emotion.
This was a terrifying world where if you endured, you were an idiot, but if you didn't, you could become a true idiot.
****
Carrying a basket piled high with laundry, I arrived at a stream deep within the forest.
"Grrr…"
"Growl!"
"Grrr-grrr…"
Had they sensed my presence?
Three demon beasts, gathered by the stream and plotting something, turned their heads toward me.
One werewolf with a white mane.
One frog beast the size of a human.
One monkey villainously rubbing its hands together.
As beings enslaved by demonic energy, they glowed with red eyes, staring intently at me.
My mood already sour from being beaten by my Master like a dog on a hot summer day, I threw down the laundry basket, scowled fiercely, and barked a single command at them.
"Wash."
At that, they let out sounds as if they had been waiting, and began to rush forward at lightning speed.
"Graaah!"
"Growl!"
"Kee-kee!"
Towards the piled-up laundry.
The werewolf, 'Ha-yang', like a seasoned pro, sorted the laundry by type and color with flawless movements.
The frog demon beast, 'Keroro', deftly applied detergent to the laundry with its tongue.
The monkey demon beast, 'Seong-won-sung', angrily beat the laundry with a wooden club.
I watched them with satisfaction, then lay down in the hammock I had set up nearby.
"Now you're finally earning your keep."
Though, I've never actually fed them a single meal.
I have every right, and more, to say such a thing.
Because I was a benevolent person who spared these demon beasts, even though they, as mere monsters, committed the grave sin of radiating killing intent in front of me.
Not only that. I'm even giving them a chance at rehabilitation, using work as an excuse.
If not me, then who else could possibly discuss their 'worth' with them?
"You guys are really lucky, you know?"
When I asked, they, despite being demon beasts, nodded with obsequious smiles.
Honestly, it wasn't a lie.
If I weren't the 'Vessel of Sin,' these guys wouldn't be having a chance at rehabilitation like this; instead, they'd be crossing the rainbow bridge and having their asses kicked in the afterlife.
In fact, the demon beasts I encountered before I thought of using the 'Vessel of Sin' ability have long since departed. To that world beyond the rainbow bridge.
'Such commendable creatures.'
Watching the piles of laundry being processed in an instant, a satisfied smile once again spread across my face.
On the other hand, I felt regret.
Why hadn't I thought of doing this sooner?
These tamed demon beasts not only acted as household appliances, taking care of bothersome chores like they were now…
But also, possessing demonic energy, they even served as totems, preventing my Master from approaching.
'What exactly is that intangible chain?'
I still hadn't figured out the true nature of the chain that bound my Master.
The only thing I'd managed to figure out was that the chain reacted to demonic energy.
Well, it didn't matter. No, in fact, I was grateful.
After all, thanks to it, I could occasionally have time to myself, just like now.
"Graaah."
Already done? I turned my head and saw 'Ha-yang' respectfully presenting the laundry basket.
"Good work. You really are the most useful demon beasts I've ever encountered."
Was it because they seemed particularly commendable today?
Or was it because I'd just been pitifully beaten?
Praise that I normally wouldn't utter escaped my lips.
"Grrr-hmph."
"Growl."
As if moved, 'Ha-yang' licked his paw, seemingly embarrassed, and 'Keroro' shaped his long tongue into a heart.
That's a bit grotesque, though.
"Kee-hee, kee-hee, kii-rook!"
Just then, bright laughter rang out.
I turned my head and saw 'Seong-won-sung' clutching its belly and laughing.
What could be so amusing? Curious, I followed its gaze.
It was my face.
"Ha-yang."
Massaging my swollen cheeks and the bumps on my head, I called 'Seong-won-sung's' senior in a gentle voice.
"Aren't you going to manage your junior?"
After uttering just that one sentence, I quietly closed my eyes.
It wasn't that I didn't want to step in myself, but I was too bothered. More importantly, I had a lot to think about today.
Graaah. Growl.
Amidst the werewolf's roar and the monkey's wailing.
I opened the Status Window.
----
[Name: Camel Hyacinth]
[Age: 17]
[Level: 32]
[Strength: 37]
[Stamina: 43]
[Agility: 41]
[Magic Power: 28]
[Traits: Vessel of Sin, Deceiver of the Scales (Lv.9), Heavensight (Lv.9), Swordsmanship (Lv.17), Divine Sword (Lv.MAX), Starlight (Lv.7)]
----
Looking at the results I'd achieved over seven years, my heart swelled with emotion.
I couldn't count how much effort I'd put in, or how much I'd suffered, to grow this much.
'This should be enough.'
Assuming my control holds up.
This Status Window was more than sufficient not only to prevent the original protagonist, Fran, from forming his harem, but also to defeat all the bosses that appeared in the game.
'Spring is coming soon.'
It was time for the main episodes I remembered to begin.
So, it was time to gradually break free from my Master and head to the academy.
'The problem is whether my Master will willingly let me go.'
I highly doubt it.
-"The academy? Why bother when you have this Master?"
-"Do you perhaps wish to play house? Or do you wish to defy this Master's words and be devoured by 'Lust'?"
-"As if it wasn't enough that some cunning wench, be it Rose or whatever her name was, has been pestering my disciple lately… Camel, I'll tell you this one more time. If, by any chance, you continue to defy this Master's words…"
-SLICE.
The knife she held, and the sweet potato that was split precisely in half.
Recalling my Master, who smiled savagely as she trailed off her words, goosebumps crawled all over me.
'Why did she suddenly change?'
A sudden question arose. Why had my Master changed so drastically?
It made no sense. She had been so prickly at first.
Now, she acted as if she couldn't live without me.
'The signs were there ever since I saved Rose.'
Come to think of it, it seemed to have been like that since the day after she hugged me and slept.
After that day, Daphne would tell me, as if brainwashing me, not to exchange more than ten words with any woman, and she forbade me from staying out overnight, or even going out in the evening.
If that were all, it wouldn't be so bad.
What's more, once a week, Daphne would surely come into my room and even check the tracking magic embedded in me while I pretended to be asleep.
"…"
As I reminisced about the past years, having been born a man yet living like a chick in a chicken coop, a sudden wave of self-loathing washed over me.
How long had I been lost in that self-loathing?
I bit my lip, making a resolution once more.
"I'll escape."
Even if it's just to live like a man.
And more broadly, to prevent the world's destruction.
I absolutely had to.