“Ugh…”
As soon as my consciousness returned, a faint groan escaped from my throat.
Was it a side effect of fainting? I felt as if a fog had settled in my head.
Slowly lifting my heavy eyelids, the surrounding situation began to come into focus.
The sound of water crashing against the land and the cheerful cries of free birds filled the air.
“…the sea?”
What came into view was a vast beach meeting pure white sand.
It was such a different environment from my last memory.
‘It was definitely the forest, wasn’t it…?’
As my mind gradually cleared, I slowly recalled my memories before losing consciousness.
I was struggling to free Athena from her restrictions, and then her hand came down on my head. That was when I lost awareness.
Reflecting on the situation, I realized I had been defeated by her.
But, well, honestly, I never thought I could beat her in the first place.
‘If the protagonist in the late stages of the novel can’t take her on, how could I?’
To take her on, I might need to bring along the Demon King.
Clearing my mind of meaningless thoughts, I tried to assess the situation and move my body.
“Uh?”
My body didn’t budge an inch.
Looking around with my eyes, I checked my condition.
My arms were stretched out to the side, my knees were sinking into the sand, and gold mana surrounded me, as if binding me.
“Ugh…!”
No matter how hard I tried to exert force, the golden mana didn’t budge.
Finally giving up on escaping, a voice came from one direction.
“Are you awake?”
Following the voice, I was able to spot her.
She stood tall, resembling a radiant sun shining in the sky.
“Athena…”
She approached me and placed her hand on my forehead.
“Do you feel any pain? I checked you over, but just in case.”
Who do you think is responsible for putting me in this state?
Her brazen words started to spark irritation in me.
“Is that something you should be saying?”
As I shot her a sharp glare, she dismissed my annoyance and ruffled my hair as if I were cute.
I tried to shake her hand off my head, but the mana gripping me prevented any resistance.
“Heh… this will be hard to break. It’s a magic spell I crafted with great care. You’ve got quite a bit of strength, don’t you?”
“And where exactly is this?”
A picturesque beach that looked like it came straight out of a movie, but given the current situation, it felt all too alien to me.
“It felt too cramped where we were before. So I changed the scenery to a more open place. Do you like it?”
I wanted to ask why she was doing this to me, but I doubted she’d give a decent answer. I decided to get straight to the point.
“…what are you planning to do with me?”
“Are you curious about why I tied you up?”
Nodding in silence to affirm Athena’s words, she continued.
“Hera. Have you heard of a Master-Servant Contract?”
“Master… Contract?”
“Yup. It’s a pact promising to follow a master forever, allowing the master to have control over the slave.”
I don’t know. Such a magic had never been explained even once in the novel.
There were a few characters who were slaves, but I’d never heard of a Master-Servant Contract.
Seeing my silence, Athena continued her explanation.
“I guess you don’t know. Anyway, there’s one condition to fulfill this contract?”
She gently caressed my cheek, as if treating a precious treasure, and spoke.
“It requires mutual consent to formalize the contract.”
“If that’s the case, it seems I can’t agree. I have no intention of becoming your slave.”
I gave her a sly smile.
Anticipating my answer, Athena brushed it off and spoke lightly.
“So, what do you think would happen if we executed the contract without mutual consent?”
What would happen if the contract began without consent?
‘Wouldn’t it just be nullified?’
But her tone suggested otherwise.
“…what happens?”
With a grim expression, she made a hand gesture like something bursting.
“Your heart would explode, and you’d die.”
“Ugh?”
Her casual mention of such a violent outcome sent a chill down my spine.
Exploding hearts? Is she trying to scare me?
“Each person has mana that’s naturally accumulated over the years.”
She approached me, who couldn’t move, and started to gently stroke my belly while speaking.
“When forming a Master-Servant Contract, the master processes their mana and injects it into the body of the servant. Then the servant accepts it as part of themselves.”
“When the master’s mana and the servant’s mana become one, the master can manipulate the servant’s body whenever they want. But what happens if the servant rejects the mana that enters their body?”
She asked me, but surely I wouldn’t be able to answer that.
With a chuckle, she clapped her hands together.
“It’s like how cells fight off invading germs. The servant’s mana and external mana begin to collide. If the servant’s mana is stronger than the external mana, it’s not a problem; but if it’s the other way around…”
“If it’s the other way around…?”
“The external mana eventually makes the servant’s heart explode.”
“Ugh…”
That’s terrifying. The thought of one’s heart exploding is nothing I want to experience.
To me, who was suffering even from simple ailments, it was unimaginable.
“Are you planning to kill me…?”
As I spoke with a hint of timidity, she slightly blushed and smiled brightly.
“Oh my. How cute, Hera!”
She ruffled my hair as she spoke.
“Don’t worry. I’m different from others. I can ensure you won’t die. But…”
The smile began to fade from her face.
The kind demeanor was nowhere to be found, replaced by an oppressive gaze.
“You’re going to feel a lot of pain.”
“Wait…Ugh?!”
In an instant, Athena pried my mouth open and shoved her hand inside.
Then she started pushing her fingers down my throat.
“Cough?!… Ugh… Ack…”
Nausea began to rise from my throat, but I struggled to suppress it, feeling something enter my body.
As her hand finally withdrew from my mouth, a shimmering transparent line connected us like a spider web.
“Cough… Hah… Ugh…”
Desperately gasping for the breath I had lost.
After a while, I gradually felt my chest stabilize.
Regaining my composure, I immediately shouted at Athena.
“What the hell was that!!!!”
As I glared at her with murderous intent, she replied with a serious expression.
“I’m really sorry, Hera. I didn’t want to put you through this. I just really want you.”
“Are you serious!! What do you think of people— Cough?!!”
Thud
Suddenly, it felt like my heart had fallen to the ground.
Something unknown was happening inside my body.
‘What… what is this…’
My body started to grow warmer, and a throbbing pain began in my chest.
Soon, a small pain began to spread, and—
“Ugh?!”
The mysterious agony had already engulfed my entire body.
It felt as if a small fire was spreading, gradually burning me from the inside out.
I grit my teeth and waited for the pain to dissipate, but as time went on, the intensity only amplified.
The escalating agony felt like molten lava melting my insides.
“Aaaaaaaaaaah!!!!”
As I screamed in despair, Athena firmly grasped my face with both hands and brought her face close to mine.
“Hera. This pain will vanish the moment you accept me.”
Though Athena said something, I could hear nothing over the pain that threatened to tear me apart.
“AAAAH!!!!!!!”
My heart raced wildly, teetering on the edge of explosion.
It felt like an imminent detonation could happen at any moment.
But it felt as though something unknown was preventing my heart from bursting, lingering solely in torment.
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
“Ah…”
I had lost track of how much time passed.
My throat had grown hoarse from unable to scream anymore.
My reason had long since vanished.
‘I want to… die…’
As the unbearable pain continued, my mind screamed for them to just kill me.
Why do I have to endure this suffering? What wrong thing did I do?
I was just a normal person who liked to read novels!
No way.
No way, no way, no way, no way, no way, no way, no way, no way, no way, no way, no way, no way, no way, no way, no way, no way, no way, no way, no way, no way, no way, no way, no way, no way, no way, no way, no way.
I want to die.
But I don’t want to die. Someone, please save me…
Hmm, someone… help me…
I’m losing my sanity.
Thinking started to dwindle, and all I could do was yearn for release from this horrifying agony.
As my vision blurred, a single light came into focus.
Golden eyes, shining warmth like the sun.
Athena.
If it were her…
Though I really didn’t want it, could she possibly pull me out of this pain?
Slave.
She told me to become her slave.
The one who plunged me into this hell, but the only person I could rely on right now.
I hated her to death, but if she left me now, I felt as though I could never escape this suffering.
“What… no…”
The original work?
What meaning does the original have?
The contents of the novel provide me no help in my current situation.
As long as I can leave this place, I don’t care what happens.
Even if I have to become her slave.
I squeezed out words from my throat, trying to speak while looking at her as much as I could.
“I… I’ll… be your slave… p-please… help me…”
And so—
“I… I am your master.”
As I finally managed to speak, the moment felt like a lie, and an instant later, the pain vanished.
The agony that had been killing me turned into a warm sanctuary that enveloped me.
“Ah…?”
The spell that bound me also faded away as the pain disappeared.
With my body toppling forward—
“Really great job, Hera. I promise this will never happen again.”
She cradled me in her arms.
As if to commend me, she began to gently pat my back.
In her warm embrace, I…
“Huh… Hic… sniff…”
Relieved from the pain and overwhelmed by the pent-up frustration, I began to cry in her arms.
The more I wept, the tighter she held me.
Why did I feel this way?
As much as I wanted to shake her off right now, I couldn’t help but feel how comforting her embrace was.
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