I rejoined the others, leaving Lyra inside the cell with a sale in line for the employee. The employee’s countenance made it seem like they had a whole slew of questions on how I survived back there though she did a great job at holding back the obvious urge.

“You said ten ruby coins?” I waited for her expression to catch up, “I’ll take her.” I pointed back at Lyra with my thumb.

“Excellent, follow me to the waiting room, while we freshen her up for you and prepare the slave seal.”

“How exactly is your staff capable of that if you weren’t able to provide an inspection at the start?”

“Through the use of tranquilizers, and it wouldn’t have helped with your goal of wanting to test her battle prowess.” She had a point, and I had to remind myself that they weren’t useless, since they were the ones to place her in the cell, to begin with. “It’ll also make the slave seal easier to imprint.” The way she phrased it made me want to verify a growing suspicion.

“Will it be painful…, the slave seal?”

“I imagine it is, from the screams it causes. It’s not like a normal seal, which requires much less effort.” She managed to raise even more questions and concerns.

“Wait a second…, is the seal reversible?” It’s not normal for an owner to ever set a slave free and there’s a chance the employee didn’t find it worth telling me of the possible implications.

“Why would you want it to be reversible?” I stared at her a bit annoyed for answering my question with another one. “Are you talking about giving a slave their freedom?” She ended up asking another question so I decided to make my intentions clear.

“Yes, just in case an unforeseen event occurred to me. I wouldn’t want the seal to kill her as a result.” I told her in a way that subverted explaining four years of service would grant freedom.

“Oh, yes...” The employee seemed to forget about the possibility of adding a will to the seal like they weren’t a normal custom around here. “Unfortunately, that won’t work for this one. The moment the owner were to pass away, the seal would crumble and disintegrate the slave from the inside out.” I wanted to slap the seal’s designer for allowing such a failed product to be sold. It made me wonder about any other possible risks involved with using the seal.

“What are the risks for the owner and slave from the sealing process?”

“None for the owner, but several for the slave.” She continued with the fine print. “There's a very small chance the seal could be set incorrectly, thus killing the subject. Of course in such an event, the fee would be refunded in full. Aside from that, migraines and bouts of fatigue are reported to affect sealed slaves.” I hated the way none of this phased her as she listed every possible thing that could go wrong. She had a complete lack of empathy for slaves or even for anybody other than herself.

That wasn’t something I could do and continuing through with the slave seal was already off the table. The side effects sounded similar to the pain I felt before Eris saved me with her blood and I wouldn't want that experience to be endured. The only reason for the seal was to guarantee loyalty and now that I had a decent framework setup, I’ve started taking in help from others such as Mia, Seric, and Veera.

Eris was the only unique companion and she had saved me multiple times so far. I haven't told her yet but she’s the only one I trusted to take my side over anyone else if we ever got into trouble. Turning to Eris inadvertently caught her attention, though she chose to let me speak first.

“Seal’s going to be a no-go, what do you think?” I chose to rely on her input, bottling up my previous feelings.

“Why not ask her yourself and if anything we can always keep an eye on her.” It felt nice to hear her state that we would handle it together. Her eyes led on like there was something else she wanted to call me out on but refrain from doing so, keeping silent after her opinion.

“Sir, acquiring a slave without a seal is a risk that will not be covered by us--” I interrupted the employee from covering her ass.

“I’ll take responsibility for it, but before all that, I need to talk to Lyra again.” I sighed, still hoping a better employee would instantly appear out of nowhere. “If it’s alright I’d like to ask for a few minutes of privacy as well.” It looked like she wanted to deny my request, only to change her mind and bow her head in approval.

Lyra entered through the door being pushed in on a wheelchair by another employee and placed in front of me. Both of the employees took their leave and closed the door behind themselves to wait outside.

A simple glance at Lyra and anyone could tell she was faded beyond belief, floating in cloud nine and utterly gone from reality. There was no way we would be able to have any form of a productive conversation.

“This is overkill… Is there anything you can do, Eris?” Eris replied with a hum, already moving to place a hand on her. I watched Lyra’s senses return as even the injuries she’d obtained over the course of her life were mended without a trace of ever once existing. It was Eris’s own decision to fully heal Lyra and within seconds the healing process completed.

“...Am I your slave now?” Lyra jolted on guard as if woken from a nightmare, taking time to process her surroundings. “I’m healed?! What happened to my injuries?” She inspected her body, even lifting an arm to verify the disappearance of a scar. Then, turning her attention to the four of us in the room and waiting for answers.

“Eris here healed you… and no, the seal won’t be possible on you, that is unless you don’t care about your freedom.” Part of me wanted to take the easy way out and go along with tricking her into believing the sealing ritual was a success. I knew that approach to be childish, not only would she figure it out in due time, but I'd rather avoid creating a relationship built on deceit.