“Screw it, let's hit the town and recover anyone we can,” Merith decides with a growl in his voice, as everyone stands gathered around. He must be pissed they got away too. Looking over the rest of the group, it's immediately clear that everyone feels the same.

They... feel like they've failed their people, don't they?

Turning away from them, I try not to look at Tess on the ground. Apparently, after Crichilm woke up, he beat her unconscious. As much as I loath her now, I'm glad I didn't have to see or hear that... Just looking at her prone form on the ground, the bruises all over her face... It's enough to turn my stomach.

Still, as much as I hate her for what she did, I get it. No matter how terrible a person she is, she was forcibly enslaved by her enemies. As soon as she had a chance to escape, she took it. If it was just that, I wouldn't feel so offended, but she went out of her way to tell them to be careful of me, to help them capture and enslave the altraska.

Which again, makes perfect sense. They're her enemies. It makes sense and I hate it. This is the problem with blood feuds, both sides are justified in attacking their enemies, because the same would be done to them.

Except the humans are at fault for all of this! They're the ones who arrogantly think they're superior to the altraska. They started it.

Ugh, I hate this, all of this...

With such thoughts, I follow along on our trek toward Thanifa. My first human town on this Plane. Where I'll be, essentially, attacking people of my own race... Do I really have to participate? I don't have an option to just leave this between them, do I? I'm squarely on the altraska side of this war, despite being human myself...

Isn't there some way I can identify myself as an otherworlder? Some way to separate myself from the horrible prejudices rightfully aimed at the humans of this world?

What do I need to do, scrawl 'otherworlder' across my shirt? Ugh, that might not be a bad idea...

It's a couple days' walk before we start to encounter humans, presumably leaving Thanifa. For the most part, they're adventurers. Some are really powerful too, but they inevitably fall to our large group of adventurers, some, like the party leader, who appear to be extremely high level themselves.

Some of them go down fighting, but for the most part, the altraska manage to knock them out and enslave them with the slave crest crystals they all carry for this exact reason. I don't even know how to feel about it. They're horrible, arrogant racists, but does that really mean they deserve enslavement?

The altraska are hardly any better. Sure, they aren't arrogant, basically just responding to provocation, but they still relish in the suffering of the humans they capture. Does either side deserve enslavement for their actions? Or maybe both sides deserve it?

The whole situation is shit...

Of course, Master Liina notices my reservations and has me tell her all about what I'm feeling, but unfortunately, there isn't much she can say either.

“That's just how things are here.” And she shakes her head sadly. That's it? They hate, kill, and enslave each other, and there's no use worrying about it because there's nothing we can do about it?

That's... terrible...

Then we reach the outskirts of the city. Hiding past the treeline, barely able to peek toward the bustling human town, we gather for a meeting, all of the new human slaves trailing behind gagged, with strict orders to stay still so they can't run off or warn anyone. I try not to go near them, or look at them too much as the adventurers begin to speak.

“So, what's the plan? We hit the town and kill as many as we can? How many slave crest crystals do we have left?” one woman asks.

After a quick count, we find about thirty left. Compared to the population of that town, it's not a lot. But that hardly matters.

Sure, a thirty member adventurer party is ridiculous for a quest, but compared to all of the adventurers in town? We'll have a handful of minutes to hit them before their adventurer guild empties, pouring way more opposition at us than we can possibly deal with.

Actually, what's our escape plan anyway? Just flee into the forest? What about the human slaves? I guess they'll just order them to follow?

And what about getting back the captured altraska? How do we even do that? They probably have slave crests with orders not to run away...

I ask Master and her response is that normally we would need to use special crystals specifically for removing crests, but one option would be removing their slave crests by essentially overwriting their slave crests with new ones.

Normally, it would require the master to resist their slave being taken, but that won't work against a bunch of slaves being taken at once. Once the crests are overwritten, we can just release them.

So, we can either enslave more humans, or save the captured altraska? If I had to choose between more needless bloodshed and enslavement, and righting a wrong, it wouldn't even be a question.

“The problem is we don't know where our people are,” Master Liina explains, prompting a round of disappointed nods from the others. “Our chances of finding them in the handful of minutes we have before we need to retreat are very poor. It's just not something we can rely on.”

Damn... I bite my thumb, annoyed that we're stuck here, about to commit more atrocities instead of doing what's right, just because it's easier. If only I could walk in there and find the slave market, but they'd notice my collar...

I cock my head a little. “Master, I have an idea.”

“Oh? Is it a good one?”

“If you remove my collar, the humans won't notice I'm a slave, and I can search the town for the slave market. Then we'll be able to rescue the altraska.”

“For real?” someone scoffs, and I see that it's Crichilm. “As soon as she goes into that human town, she'll just get her slave crest removed and tell the humans we're here.” Of course, there's a round of agreement all around.

I bite my lip. Of course they won't believe me or agree to go with my plan. I'm a fucking human. I look back up at Master Liina, silently asking if she should tell them I'm an otherworlder.

Instead, she asks. “I want a show of hands, how many here would rather save our people, over taking more human slaves?” There's hardly a moment of hesitation before nearly every hand goes up.

Master Liina shows them all a big, toothy grin. “Ok, that decides it. Yumi.” She pulls me up from the crouch we've all been in to stay low during our meeting and stares down at me with an intensity that puts me a little on edge.

“Go into the town, find the slave market, and return here, as quickly as you can, causing as little disturbance as you can,” she orders.

“Yes, Master.”

Her smiles softens. “That's my good girl. Now-” She reaches up and as she takes my collar, says, “Release Slave. Confirm.”

The whole world opens up around me, suffocating after my time safe and protected by Master Liina. But no, it's just temporary. Just for now, until I get back.

“Now, go.”

I bow deeply. “Yes, Master.” Then I turn and run off into the woods quickly, while the other adventurers are still too stunned to react. I hear the commotion explode just behind, but it's short-lived. Calls at Master Liina, calling her a traitor, or that she's stupid.

No, she just trusts me. She knows I'll return to her. I don't know why she went as far as releasing me instead of just removing my collar though. Maybe she expects someone to check my crest?

But at the same time... The temptation of freedom is incredible. It's so... I don't now, like the world around me is sparkling.

It's absolutely terrifying and I feel like I'll be crushed without someone like Master Liina to take care of me, but it's such a horrifying thrill! I quickly move through the forest to approach a gate away from where the adventurers are hiding, and join other humans traveling normally along the road toward the gate.

Yeah, I look just like any other ordinary human adventurer now, don't I?

I... kind of am, actually.

It would be so easy. So easy. To just... leave. I wouldn't even need to go into town and rile them up, tell them about the impending attack. I could just get directions to the next town over, and start walking. It would be that easy.

But I won't. I would be leaving Master Liina behind. As thrilling as freedom is, I've seen how useless I am at being free, at taking care of myself. I couldn't even manage my own damn periods properly.

No, staying with Master Liina where I'm safe and comfortable and happy is so much better. Even with the extra rules I need to follow to be a proper slave, it's just so much easier than a life of freedom.

So I walk right up to the gate. A guard there stops me, looking me up and down. I'm... not even nervous. I smile at him pleasantly, and he asks who I am.

“I'm a traveling adventurer.”

“Crest please?”

“Sure.” Master Liina is so smart.

I have to fiddle with the buckles on my armor a little to loosen it, another reminder that she normally helps me into and out of my armor. Once I loosen it and pull my shirt aside, he takes note of my ordinary blue adventurer crest, and waves me through.

“Enjoy your stay in Thanifa.”

“Thanks. Could you give me directions to the adventurer's guild?” Even without Master Liina here, her trusting me enough to do this all on my own... I'll definitely do it right.

The gate guard politely directs me. Because I'm human. To hide all my feelings, I thank him pleasantly, and head on my way. It's a straight trip, right to the guild, where I see that yes, there are a lot of adventurers in this town too.

I try to take note of any that look particularly powerful on my way up to the reception desk. It's so weird, everyone looking so... the same. All humans. There's so much less variety compared to the wildly different variations of altraska.

Then I reach the counter where the similarly human receptionist greets me with that arrogant, self-satisfied smile, which I return pleasantly. When asked what I need help with, I make a simple request for directions to the slave market, and he gives them gladly.

Humans are all so nice and polite, as long as you look like they do...

I follow the directions until I arrive at the right place. It's an open air market with a number of cages scattered around, numerous slaves huddled in each. Not just altraska, I see a handful of other moon-races as well.

I turn away from them. I've seen what I came to see, based on the location of the market and the adventurer's guild, I choose the gate that will get us in and out the fastest, and walk my way there. Yeah, this route will work. Along with the distance to the adventurer's guild, we can get in and out of the town practically before they know what hit them.

I pass out of the gate easily, just shuffling in with the usual human crowd, and head down the road, turning off into the woods a little while later.

That was so easy, because humans trust humans...

I head back toward the meeting point, careful to watch for anyone following in the forest, until I arrive. Master Liina is there, waiting, but everyone else is gone.

“I've returned, Master,” I say with a big smile.

“That's my girl.” She rubs my head lovingly. “How did it go?”

“I mapped out the way to the slave market and determined the best path there. We can make it in and out before the human adventurers can respond. But... where is everyone?” I ask.

“Hiding over there because they didn't believe you could do it.” Then she pulls me along with her, to an area nearby with thick, heavy brush. Master Liina stands there, arms crossed. “Hey idiots, she came back exactly like I said. Doubting my slave... Hmph,” she huffs, annoyed.

Following her words, the hidden altraska begin poking up out of the thick brush. Woah, I couldn't see them at all... They all stare in awe.

“You... trained a human to obey you without a slave crest? Even when you release her into a human town? How is that possible?” Of course, it's Crichilm who asks.

“I told you, she's my good girl. I trust her, because she trusts me.” Rubbing my head, she looks down at me. “This is how a master and a slave should be,” and I smile.