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The main mansion was massive with dozens of rooms, three stories not counting the underground, and everything looked incredibly well made. It was like the buildings of the Brimstone Conglomerate and only hammered home that her new master was a person of influence.

Meira had gone through everything in preparation for him to arrive. She had located the meditation chamber, the formation control room, the relaxation rooms, and even the bed-chamber. Considering D-grades no longer needed to sleep, the use of that room was obvious, especially with a bed that large, made to accommodate several people at once.

Once everything had been gone through, she had returned and was now waiting in the entrance hall. It took only an hour more before something happened. At the entrance to the courtyard appeared a single figure wearing black clothes and a mask. She looked through the one-way glass out and the door leading into the mansion as she subtly tried to study him as he also stood still and appeared to observe his new surroundings.

Soon enough, he began walking towards the mansion. Meira had already gone over hundreds of scenarios in her head of how this first meeting would go and felt as prepared as she could when he went through the door and laid eyes on her.

“Welcome, Master.”

She said the words with as much servility as she could, making sure to keep her head low to make it absolutely clear she knew her position.

“Thanks? May I know who you are?”

His answer was unexpected, especially his tone as she felt genuine confusion. His voice also seemed very relaxed and not as intimidating as she had feared. She dared raise her head as she met the admittedly frightening yellow eyes, but she tried to keep her cool as she answered.

What followed was even more confusing as Meira introduced herself, and her new master kept asking probing questions. At first, she began to believe it was a test for her to prove she truly recognized her position, but that became doubtful as he kept sounding so genuinely perplexed.

This wasn’t good. Meira’s new master had clearly not expected her to be there. Meira tried to calm herself down and make it clear she would be useful, but he kept seeming dissatisfied at her presence. If he decided to throw her out…

“Villy, what the fuck is this?” he suddenly said, as an aura of bloodlust poured out, making Meira shiver. Who was this Villy? What was-

Then suddenly, she felt something else. Like the entire world stood still, and an utterly oppressive aura appeared. Every fiber of her being cried out as she shivered, her mind unable to comprehend what exactly was happening. Yet she still knew… instinctively she knew, after spending so long within the Order, seeing the statues, and being bathed in their aura:

It was the Malefic One.

Her mind was jumbled as she couldn’t comprehend what was happening. Meira’s psyche was in disarray as the aura weighed down on her, and she felt herself slip in and out of consciousness, but she was mercilessly forcefully awakened again and again. She felt like death was upon her, tears streaming down her face as she wasn’t even able to open her mouth to beg for merc-

“Relax that fucking presence, man, look at her!”

Meira barely registered the voice of her new master, but it shocked her nearly as much as the appearance of the Primordial. How could he… how did he-

“Fine, fine. Geez.”

The words sounded not like they came from a god but just a person. As they were spoken, the presence crushing her subsided as suddenly it was like the god had never been there. She almost wondered if he had left, but her master’s next question confirmed it wasn’t so.

“Now tell me… why the fuck do I suddenly own a slave?”

Bloodlust assaulted her as Meira shivered again. It was more than she could take as she almost blacked out from sheer fear. It was different than that of a god… if the aura of a god made you feel like you could die at any point, the aura she was currently feeling made her think she would be killed at any moment by something just as scary as any diety. It seemed the same on the surface but was vastly different. Her mind was barely able to comprehend that the bloodlust was partly directed at her and the sentiment behind the question… he wanted to get rid of her.

“Now look at what you are doing!” the Malefic One spoke.

A moment passed as the bloodlust also subsided, and for the first time in what felt like forever, Meira could breathe again. Yet she was still shivering and crying as hopelessness and confusion dominated her mind. She couldn’t comprehend what was happening, but she knew she was the cause of it. She knew her new master was unsatisfied with her presence. As for why the Malefic One would suddenly appear… it almost felt like this was just an illusion, or maybe she was already dead?

“Sorry about that,” her new master said as she suddenly felt herself be helped up. Meira looked up and saw the scaled figure stand behind the masked man helping her as she shook at the sight.

“Hey, hey, relax,” her master said as she was gently pushed down, and she felt herself sit on some kind of chair. “Deep breaths, everything is fine.”

“Great, see you later the-“ the Malefic One began.

“No, we aren’t done!” the human said as he turned to the god. “Now explain to me why the hell this is a thing?”

Meira just stared as she desperately tried to understand what was going on. How could a mortal yell at the Malefic One? Why was the Malefic One here to begin with? Why did the Primordial not seem offended or to care?

She was just lost for words as all she could do was try to make herself smaller and hope to fade away as the two began talking right in front of her.

Jake had a damn headache as he shifted between looking at Villy and the poor elf that looked white as a ghost and like she was certain death was right around the corner. He always forgot how much the aura of a god really wore down others, and Villy had clearly not bothered holding anything back.

Villy looked at Jake as he explained. “I tried to tell you before, this has nothing to do with me. Do you really think I descended down and ordered what kind of slave you would get? No, my interfering would only have been for you to not get one, as it is customary for one with your performance. It was entirely done by members of the Order, following regular procedures.”

“Leads to the question of why the hell that is a procedure,” Jake shot back.

“Think about it a bit. Think about why I have no qualms descending before you and talking openly like this even with her present. Think about how no one else can observe within this residence – besides me, of course – and consider why the only assistant provided by the Order is a slave. It all comes down to the basic principle of trust,” the Viper explained.

Jake had taken a deep breath as he calmed himself a bit and let the Viper keep talking.

“As a member, you might need assistance to handle some things within the Order. Maybe you need someone to fetch you alchemical materials, deliver a message or an invitation, or a plethora of other mundane tasks not worth your time. A slave like this can also help you in the alchemy lab as a great test subject, take care of your garden, or just help you relieve boredom. The point is, having someone so close and working with you will inadvertently lead to them finding out some of your secrets and have access to valuable items you own. This is ignoring the fact that it would be annoying and stressful to constantly be on watch within your own home. A slave like her fixes all that as there is no threat of a leak or that they act against your interests,” Villy kept explaining.

The Viper seemed to be finished with his point, but Jake still stood annoyed. He didn’t like it nevertheless, and when he looked at the elf just staring down onto the ground, trying to hold back her tears and biting her own lip, he just felt even shittier.

“I still don’t like it, and I don’t see any reason to repeat an old conversation on the topic. You know my stance, and you knew I wouldn’t like it. You could at least have given me a heads-up,” Jake said. “Why not just have it be a servant who signs a contract of confidentiality like Lillian did?”

“Why warn you when you should have been able to figure something like this out yourself? You knew the Order had slaves, and I can see you even recognize why it makes sense. As for why it is not just a contract? Well, those contracts have the huge issue of being limited in scope, impossible to revise without consent from both parties, and can even be circumvented in many cases through smart wording or even just mental manipulation. Like if someone made an illusion to make them look like you perfectly, that girl on Earth could spill the beans and be none the wiser. She would still be hit by the backlash after the fact, though, once she realized she was fooled, but at that point, the damage is done. That doesn’t happen with slaves, as the limitations are far more extreme, especially the kind deployed by the Order. In fact. Even if she was fooled, she would be unable to say anything as the system itself would make her clamp up,” the Viper explained. “Oh, and finally: for her own protection while within the Order.”

Jake didn’t bite into anything in the first part as he knew he had no legs to stand on when it came to arguing the efficiency of contacts and whatnot. Even the second part, Jake understood within a second. “Because of the rules?”

He remembered the wording and believed it wasn’t a coincidence it had used “under control” rather than any other phrasing.

“Bingo,” Villy smirked. “Attacking her would mean attacking an extension of you. Killing her would mean the destruction of your property, and dependent on how mad that makes you, it could lead to heavy punishment. Also, with the slave contract, everyone knows she would be useless to try and extract information from.”

“Even if I see the logic,” Jake said. “It doesn’t make me like it. I don’t need a slave and would rather just do all the mundane stuff myself rather than force someone else to. So just tell me how I break this thing. Just set her free and let her do her own thing.”

“Sure, I could do that,” Villy smiled agreeably. “But you should be nice and also just kill her right away then. That would be far kinder than release a freed slave within the Order only to be picked up by someone else with a, let’s just say, lesser moral character.”

“Just take her someone else then,” Jake argued. “Take her back to where she originally came from, or just on some weak world or something. I know Earth is not an option, but there should be plenty of places where a D-grade can thrive.”

“Probably. But why would I? I didn’t cause this mess, so why would I fix it?” the Viper said without much care. “In fact, I’m going, to be honest. The moment you called out directly to me, released your aura, and didn’t bother hiding anything anymore, that ship sailed. It isn’t like the memories can be scrubbed from her head, and I don’t trust any contract less than a soul contract that may as well be a slavery one to keep her quiet. Even such a contract would be proof in itself of her association with the Order or at least someone powerful at one point, leading to her life being messed up as a result. So if you truly wish to set her free, just know the likely result is death or worse.”

At this point, Jake wanted to punch a wall. He looked down at the elf as he regarded Villy again. “We both know that is bullshit. Shit, you can just place her on some fringe planet no one has ever heard about, and even if she knows some things, so what? I am the one at risk here if anything leaks, which is a risk I am willing to take.”

“You seem adamant, huh,” Villy said with a smile. He didn’t look angry or disappointed or really like this conversation was of any consequence but remained oddly neutral. Like he truly didn’t care what Jake decided to do. “But how about I propose another path?”

“What?” Jake asked.

“Let her decide,” Villy smirked.

Jake turned and looked at her again. Meira had kept quiet throughout after her shaking had stopped, and by now, she just looked down at the ground with empty eyes. She didn’t move even an inch and looked more like a statue than a person.

“Hey… you can speak your mind here. Nothing will happen no matter what you say, I promise,” Jake said, trying to assure her. She finally reacted as she looked up at him. Jake tried to be encouraging and had even removed his mask to look less scary, hoping that would help.

He also did all he could to hide how shitty he felt. Jake felt like he really was the bad guy with a young woman sitting and crying beside him as he stood there arguing with his snake god friend.

“Go on,” Jake urged her.

“Master, I-“

“Just don’t call me Master,” Jake insisted. It felt like something crept up his spine every time she said it. He had barely gotten used to being called Lord Thayne, so there was no fucking way he was having any of that “Master” crap.

She looked a bit taken aback as she managed to stammer out. “My… My Lord, please allow me to serve you in any way I can; I swear I will do my utmost to prove myself useful!”

Jake felt like she missed the point. “I said you can be honest. This isn’t a test or anything like that. You have my word. Nothing bad will happen, so speak freely. Do you have any family or a home to go back to or anywhere you want to be taken?”

Meira, however, stuck to her words. “Ma… My Lord, I am speaking true. I wish to remain within My Lord’s employ and prove myself useful.”

“Why?” Jake asked probingly.

“I… believe remaining under My Lord would be the wisest, and I swear I shall prove useful by any means possible,” she insisted again.

“And why would it be the wisest?” Jake also repeated.

“Man, Jake, think for a second,” Villy cut in. “Even the biggest idiot can figure out you are quite the personage with everything happening, so why wouldn’t she want to stay? Shit, I am sure that if people truly knew about you, there would be plenty of powerful people willing to enslave themselves to you by choice.”

Jake didn’t have anything to comment on that as he just groaned again. He looked down at the elven woman and saw she looked determined. In the end, he just sighed. “Fuck me sideways with a tire iron and call me a hippo… this is some bullshit.”

Villy just made a huge grin as if he had won something while the poor elf just looked utterly confused at Jake’s nonsensical outburst.

“Well then, I shall leave it to you,” Villy said as he bowed with exaggeration. “Think about it on the positive side… finally, you have someone besides me you can be perfectly honest with and not bother hiding anything. Even that City Lord you kept secrets from, so won’t it be refreshing to have someone you can vent to about your Bloodline, the annoying snake god that keeps bothering you, and even be a full-on heretic around?”

Jake looked over at him. “I thought you said you were leaving?”

“See, just like that!” the Viper said as he disappeared without a trace.

Jake just sighed for the tenth time today as he looked at the elf. She looked down on the ground again as she clenched her fists, and Jake honestly had no idea what the fuck to do or say as he found himself in one of the most awkward and uncomfortable situations of his life. He would much rather be fighting that damn Hydra again.

“Fuck me…”