Madam Cho had a glass of red wine in one hand, and a rolled-up dream-meadow in the other. Lighting it up, she took a huff, held it in for a few seconds, and exhaled. As she felt the herb dulling her thoughts, she took a sip of her wine and relaxed more into her chair.

The past few weeks had been stressful. Dealing with a mage is unpredictable, especially the one she had the pleasure of hosting. The human mage was an enigma. What happened in the courtyard should not have been possible. The courtyard should have been warded, no it was warded.

The only place where magic should have worked was in a small radius from where he was standing, yet that wasn’t the case. He touched the whole courtyard, even the rooms below it. His manapool was minuscule; he shouldn’t be awakened, let alone cast any spells.

A small smile broke out when she remembered his panic-filled face. Ah, if only he knew. She paused for a second, took another puff of smoke, and released a long sight. Despite all that, everything had been going without much difficulty. She made sure that he wouldn’t be disturbed, even made sure to answer any request he’d have, though he never made any. She found a good buyer; Valeriana, a good girl albeit a little spoiled. The girl even brought a blood seal. She could count the number of times she had seen it one, on a single hand, and she had been in the business for a long time.

It was so close. She could finally sleep soundly. It was a risky gamble, but her greed got the best of her. She should have quietly slit his throat, but fifty gold for a single human was a deal she couldn’t pass. She played it as safely as she could. She made sure his stay was a neutral one, if not slightly positive, but like every good plan, it shattered with the slightest mistake. An accident. Medraut, her most trusted servant, has been there here for as long as she could remember, and had never let her down before. She could have never predicted this situation.

She made sure to apologize to the young mage and compensate him if they somehow met again. If worse comes to worst, she would be ready. She had noticed the mage ogling her, and he wasn’t exactly subtle about it. Madam Cho downed the rest of her wine in one gulp, took a long puff of the herb, and closed her eyes.

The rest of the carriage ride was spent in comfortable silence, my self-proclaimed mistress was quiet, and I didn’t see a reason to change that. Instead, I opened up the shop and scoured through the slave seal list again. I couldn’t find anything related to the one I have, so it’s either under a different name or not sold altogether. And I’m leaning towards the second deduction.

Not everything can be sold online, and you don’t always want everyone knowing you own a specific item. That puts a slight damper on my plans, but it’s still fine. I was going to rely entirely on shop items and solely focus on gaining shop points, but now I’ll have to get both points and money. Maybe I can leech off my ‘mistress’.

Yeah, that’s not happening. I’m not calling her mistress. I’m really fucking tired of all this slavery shit.

No matter, I’m out, can use magic again, and free..ish. With that as a final thought, I clasped my hands behind my head, shuffled a bit till I was comfortable, and took a nap.

I woke up sometime later with the sun still up. Not sure how long I’ve slept, I ask. “Didn’t you say that we were close?”

After a small pause, she says in an annoyed tone. “Yeah, we’re almost there.”

“So…can you tell me what I’m getting registered for?”

She rolls her eyes and says. ”I’m registering you as my combat slave at the adventure’s guild.”

“So, you need me to climb up the ranks or something?”

“No, I don’t need you. I bought you because at least a two-member party can accept D-ranked quests and higher.”

“Do they have a way to test me somehow?” I ask

“Yes, they’ll check the slave seal you have.” She answers, bored.

Ah, that’s not good.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? Can you be sure they won’t figure out I’m a mage?”

She gives me a confused look, and I continue. “I mean, you just spent a lot of money buying me, didn’t you?”

Receiving a solemn nod, and I carry on “So, you have a mage that’s weak enough to somehow get enslaved, and you’re going to publicly announce it.”

Her eyes slightly widen with recognition, but before she can speak I follow up. “Is the guild exclusive to uuhh certain races?”

Slightly snorting she replies. “No, but unless you’re endorsed by a member, only beastkin can apply and accept quests.”

“So, how about you endorse me as a normal adventurer?”

Seeing as she stays quiet, I continue. “I’m not really a good mage yet, I got collared right after I awakened and basically only used my magic twice. I can’t register as a mage nor as a slave so that only leaves the regular adventurer route.”

Noticing her hesitation, I look her in the eye and affirm. “Nothing really changes. I still have the seal on my hand and have to follow whatever you say. The only difference is that not something everyone would know.”

She looks me in the eye and says. “That could work, but you don’t look like you know how to fight.”

Well, that’s just rude.

“The only successful way I’ve been able to use my magic was for scouting, so maybe register as some sort of rouge? And besides, I’m sure I’m going to fix whatever problem I have right now and be able to cast any spell with ease.”

Before she can reply, the carriage abruptly stops in front of a large two-story building. She opens the door and with a “Let’s go.” Steps out, and I follow.