It's some time later that I manage to surface coherently enough to wonder what in the world is happening. I squint my eyes open to a vaguely familiar sight. Shiny red fur. The curve of a neck. Liina is carrying me on her back again?

I groggily waver more upright. Was I drooling...?

“Why, look who's finally awake,” Liina chuckles, and I blearily realize she's looking back at me over her shoulder.

I open my mouth to try and ask... something? I don't know what I'm trying to say, but I can't get any words to pass my dry throat anyway. “Here,” she says, shifting my weight onto one arm somehow, so she can pass me a flask of water over her shoulder.

I drink slowly, letting the moisture push away the cloud of fatigue and dehydration that hangs over me. Then I finally manage to ask, “What happened?”

“You really overdid it with your magic. Never seen someone cast straight through mana deprivation before.”

“Oh.” I have no idea what else to say.

“You've been out for like a day, we're almost back to town.”

“Oh.” Is that all I can manage right now?

“Can you walk?” she asks expectantly, but I can hardly even feel my legs, I'm still so tired.

“No,” I answer honestly. Starting to lose consciousness, my head flops back down on her shoulder, hands hugging into her soft, wonderful fur.

“Haha, you really picked up a needy one, didn't you?” comes some voice.

“Heh, it'll be worth it, mark my words.” I think that one was Liina...

Loud voices and bumps here and there jostle me awake, and I actually feel like I have enough energy to function this time. The first thing I realize is that I'm still on Liina's back. The second is that we're in the adventurer's guild.

We're back already?! I start to wiggle, trying to get down. Being carried by someone right through a crowd like this is mortifying!

My struggles immediately attract the attention of everyone nearby, which I realize includes our party as well as Malic.

“Oh, good timing,” Liina says, “we're just about to turn in our quest.”

“W-we are?” I ask in a fluster.

“Yup. Care to try walking on your own now?” she chuckles. I blush furiously. Has she been carrying me for a day? Like, seventy two fucking hours?! I bob my head repeatedly, scrambling down to my feet, even as I stagger and start to lose my balance because my legs went numb from the incredibly long piggyback ride.

Liina catches me and holds me up, still chuckling amusedly. I stare at the ground in shame while she supports my weight. I can't believe I knocked myself out for that long.

After Malic ushers us into another room, Liina goes over the details of the quest. I end up sitting next to her, trying to stay still and quiet because everyone keeps eyeing me for some reason...

Then she arrives at the end of her story and says...

“So after we finished off the hobgoblin, I realized that Yumi was no longer a slave, meaning her master must have died while we were out on our quest. She's a highly valuable slave, and I think she has good potential to be a strong mage, so I enslaved her for myself.”

WHAT

No

Wait

WHAT?!

FUCK

WHAT THE FUCK?

Feeling like my mind is short circuiting, a powerful wave of anxiety hitting me like a bat to the back of the head, I rub anxiously at my collar-

It feels different. The bumps are in different places.

This is a different collar.

Not Keane's.

Liina's slave collar.

Desperately, I call on my slave contract to get the window to appear, but...

Slave Contract Master: Liina Slave: Yumi Unconditional

That's it. No contract. I'm just...

I'm just a slave...

For real this time.

No getting out of it. My vision starts to go dark at the edges, blood rushing to my head and cold sweat and shakes breaking over my skin.

I think I'm having another panic attack.

“P-please. Please no,” I sputter, hands clinging to Liina's arm weakly, tears in my eyes. “I d-don't want to be a slave...”

Half turning, she looks a bit apologetic, but says, “I told you, I'm not one to pass up such a perfect opportunity.”

“Ahem,” Malic clears his throat, then addresses Liina directly. “I actually have something to talk to you about, I'll go get your payment now, please stick around afterward.”

After he passes out three gold coins to each member, the others leave, while Malic ushers the two of us into a smaller room with just a few chairs and a table.

It's just starting to set in, what she said earlier. Keane is dead...? He died on a quest...?

How am I supposed to pay him back?

Malic sits across from me and Liina, and takes a deep breath. My brain is still stuck.

“So, there's a bit of an issue with you enslaving Yumi. I'm sure you didn't know,” he puts up his hands placatingly, “but Yumi is an otherworlder.”

Liina blinks owlishly for a few moments, and it makes me remember what Malic told me. Kidnapping and enslaving otherworlders is serious crime. Does that... still count for me? Does what she did count as kidnapping?

But then she replies, “No way. Bullshit.”

Now it's Malic's turn to be surprised. He's flustered for a moment, but then he says, “I assure you, she is. I was the one who greeted her when she arrived in our world.”

“If she's an otherworlder, why does her Status look like this? Show Slave Status.”

There's moment of hesitation before Malic's eyes grow to the size of saucers and he coughs into his hand.

“Oh. Woah. Ok. Wow. Uhh...” he can't come up with any response.

I... don't understand, what is it? What's wrong with my Status? I want to ask, but Liina is... terrifying. Is she about to talk her way out of the crime of kidnapping me? How?

Then her attention turns to me, and I realize she must feel me tugging on her sleeve in my confusion. She smirks a little, then says, “Show Slave Status,” and I see my own Status information window appear.

Yumi Slave Rank: 2 Race: Human Age: 22 Job: Offensive Magic Class: Synergist Style Finesse Focus: ? Health: 86/86 Stamina: 10/86 Mana: 319/319 Status Strength: 41 Vitality: 59 Stamina: 69 Agility: 35 Mind: 393 Magic: 56 Remaining Potential: 60 Skills Speech: 78 Reading: 66 Math: 57 Logic: 66 Serving: 15 Cleaning: 11 Magic Casting: 8 Magic Weaving: 9 Mana Regen: 4 Mana Absorption: 5 Rapid Casting: 3 Multi Casting: 1 Magic Control: 2 Mana Cleansing: 1 Mana Channeling: 1 Traits Work Ethic: 71 Self-Esteem: 32 Loyalty: 33 Devotion: 30 Adaptability: 30 Integrity: 21 Obedience: 58 Restraint: 70 Sincerity: 40 Respect: 45 Charm: 16 Pride: 28 Trust: 25 Anxiety: 34 Hope: 16 Fear: 25 Dependency: 7 Servitude: 4 Misc Slave Rating: S Warning: Panic Disorder

I blink at the changes. I have... dependency? And servitude? Slave rank S...? And- and panic disorder?!

My mouth goes dry. When? How? Why?

I don't understand.

My lips fail to form words on the first few tries, but then I ask, “Being a slave... made me dependent and... and servile?”

Malic shakes his head, then eyes me sadly as he explains. “Status magic doesn't work like that. It doesn't change you to suit the Status displayed. All it does it display in clear terms, who you are. If your Status says you have Dependency and Servitude, it's because you do.”

My heart sinks. I... I'm dependent? Do I have dependency issues?

I... I don't know. I mean, as soon as Keane enslaved me, I ended up relying on him for food, clothes, provisions for my quests... But, but I didn't mean to! I just... did.

Because I became dependent on him without even realizing it...

My shoulders shake as I start to sob. I don't want to be a slave... But looking at my Status, why am I so suited for it?

“Yumi, you claimed to be an otherworlder when you arrived here. Do you stick by that claim?”

Still sobbing, I nod repeatedly. “I... I was born in June, in Newtown, Pennsylvania. My parents were named Karen and Jack. I-” my voice breaks, and I shake through another wracking round of sobs before I can go on. “I... I played video games all the time, with my friends, online. I was just graduating high school, I was about to go to college...”

My feeble words trail off. I have no idea if any of this proves anything. If they even understand.

Malic sighs deeply. “I really do believe Yumi is an otherworlder. She had otherworlder clothing when she arrived, couldn't speak Panir, and I spent over a month teaching her some of the most basic fundamentals of our world. I simply cannot believe it was all some elaborate ruse.”

“Mmm...” Liina scratches her head, looking agitated. “Fine, if the guild say she's an otherworlder, I can't argue with that. Then why did she already have a master?”

“Ah, it was just debt-slavery to a healer.”

Liina blinks. “Oh. That explains why he was so casual with her, she wasn't actually his slave.” Then she shakes her head. “No, no, not the point. Sure, she's an otherworlder, but she shouldn't get those protections anymore, should she? The whole point is not to trouble otherworlders stuck here who just want to go home. I've been on two quests with her already, you can't honestly say she's just a poor soul stuck here when she's already a level two adventurer.”

Malic grimaces. “Yes, I see your point...” he reluctantly agrees. “Yumi, you told me when you arrived that you had no intention of going back. Has your opinion changed since then?”

Right here, he's giving me a chance. An out.

My mouth opens, trying to respond, but... I don't know.

If I do want to go back, the guild will protect me. But I'll be sent back to that dead-end life I gave up on.

No job. Disowned. Homelessness. A slow and painful death...

Or I stay here. As a slave.

I curl up into a ball and cry.

How am I supposed to make a choice like that?

Then a big, gentle hand rubs my head, and I look up through tear streaked eyes.

Liina is gazing down at me with a small, strangely comforting smile. “If your life before was so bad that you can't choose between it and slavery, you should stay here. Being my slave won't be as bad as you think.”

It... it won't?

I mean, maybe?

Being Keane's slave wasn't that bad, but I was only a debt-slave, not a real slave. All he cared about was me staying alive long enough to pay him back.

But now he's dead...

I shake my head, I can't think about that right now. I have to decide.

I have to decide on what kind of life I want to live.

Free to die alone.

Or enslaved by a fox-woman who... I don't know, she... seems nice? She dealt with my panic attacks and carried me all the way back to town...

But she also enslaved me the first chance she got.

Because it looks like I'm meant to be a slave.

I wrap my arms around myself. I don't know. I can't choose.

As bad as the fate awaiting me on Earth is, can I intentionally choose slavery?

How bad could things back there really be?

And then I remember my parents. The way they looked at me. Their total control over my life, pushing me along as they pleased, using me like a tool. A thing they owned, rather than a child they cared about.

Was it really any different?

Is that why I'm so suited to slavery?

Because... that's how I grew up... I never got to be my own person, from the very beginning...

Once more, it becomes clear. This choice isn't a choice. Not really. Like everything else in my life, it's already been made for me. Slavery in name here, slavery in spirit there. It's the same either way.

Lowering my head and clutching Liina's sleeve, I whisper, “I'll... stay.”

“I understand,” Malic says. “Liina, the guild hereby accepts your ownership of the otherworlder Yumi.” He pauses, his voice softening. “Please, treat her well. She's not like the humans, she's a really, truly good person.” Hearing him say that, I smile up at Malic through my tears. He really is a good friend...

“Don't worry, I wouldn't dream of mistreating such a great slave. She'll be well cared for.” Liina grins confidently at him, all her teeth showing in her long, snouted mouth.

“Thank you,” he bows a little. “That's the most I can ask for. Yumi, please try to live well, whatever circumstances you find yourself in. If you stay in town, I hope to see you around the guild from now on too.”

Sniffing, I wipe my eyes. “Thanks, Malic. For everything.”

Then Liina pulls me up, and with a small bow, we leave the guild.