“I need some more over here!” [Maya]

“You heard the lady! Bring out more booze!” [Random villager]

“Coming right up! My best barrels of alcohol!” [Random villager]

“We’re running out of food too!” [Random villager]

“Ok, ok! Just wait a bit! It’ll be right there!” [Random villager]

After Ryner and Maya returned to the village and told them of their bandit hunting, the villagers, skeptical at first, sent some of their men to the cave to see it with their own eyes. When they returned and told them that the place was scorched black with no bandits in sight, the village went in a huge uproar as people cheered and hugged each other while crying from joy. An impromptu party was thrown for the heroes that made it possible. Ryner tried to reject at first, saying ‘I just want a horse!’, but Maya dragged him into it when she tasted alcohol for the first time.

“Who knew that booze could be so delicious?! Really now Master, you should enjoy yourself~.” [Maya]

“Yeah, yeah, yeah… How come you never drank before? What are you, 28?” [Ryner]

“It’s rude to guess a woman’s age, Master… and I am 25 years old. I never drank alcohol because I only focused on training. I never enjoyed such festivities since I trained alone late at night every day.” [Maya]

Maya recalled her past as she brought a wooden mug of alcohol near her lips.

“Ohhh, is that so. But still, you sure can drink.” [Ryner]

The two of them were in a restaurant, sitting at a round table. The place was packed with people merrily eating and drinking. Right next to them was an empty barrel of alcohol along with three others that were full. Maya was scooping up alcohol from the one near her and drinking it down with a satisfied expression.

“Puhaa! This really is tasty! Why don’t you drink with me?” [Maya]

“There’s no way I can keep up with a drinker like you. How much more can you drink? Or rather, don’t you need to go to the bathroom?” [Ryner]

“You truly are a rude man, Master. As punishment, you have to drink.” [Maya]

She jokingly declared so while passing him her mug.

“Why is the master being punished by the slave? You drink it, that’s an order.” [Ryner]

“Geez, that’s unfair. Running away like that is just no fun.” [Maya]

Although she complained, she was still smiling happily and drank down the contents of her mug.

“Hahahaha! That lady sure can drink! What’s the matter boy? Can’t hold your booze?” [Villager]

A middle aged man asked Ryner from the side.

“No, I just choose not to. Besides, I thought there was discrimination between races. Aren’t you guys awfully nice?” [Ryner]

He quickly changed the subject before things got troublesome for him.

“Not everyone cares about that kind of stuff. Besides, we can’t treat badly the heroes who saved us, can we? But then again, you two took on fifty bandits, we won’t stand a chance if we fought!”

After laughing out loud, he raised his glass for a toast as he yelled ‘To our heroes!’ to which everyone did the same. The place was filled with cheers, singing and laughter all the way into the night before people started leaving. Ryner went to his room at an inn that they reserved for him along with Maya who just emptied five barrels by herself. Sure enough, she was drunk. With flushed cheeks, hazy eyes and unsteady steps, the master was forced to carry his slave on his back.

“Master~, we should do this more often.” [Maya]

“You want to party again? How much do you plan on drinking?” [Ryner]

“Nooo~, you should carry me on your back more often. It feels nice~.” [Maya]

She happily rubbed her cheek against his back while wagging her tail. Drinking for the first time and being carried by her master, ‘taking on those fifty bandits was worth it’ was what she thought with a huge smile on her face.

“No way, you need to act your age. Technically, you’re older than me.” [Ryner]

“It doesn’t matter, Master. I believe that age doesn’t matter at all~.” [Maya]

“I get the feeling that you’re talking about something else- don’t bite my ear!” [Ryner]

She started play-biting his earlobe and licking it.

“I’m just having a taste~. *Lick lick*It’s delicious, Master~.” [Maya]

“You’re a horrible drunk. Stop, it’s an order.” [Ryner]

“Fiiine~.” [Maya]

She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. They soon reached the inn and after talking to the old man at the counter, Ryner received two keys and went up the stairs to Maya’s room.

“Maya, get off and go to sleep.” [Ryner]

He gently let her down his back and she slowly made her way to the bedside. But, she turned around and looked at him with a teasing grin.

“Aren’t we going to sleep together? It’s better for the master to stay with his slave, is it not?” [Maya]

Although more than two weeks had passed, not once did they sleep together. During training, they slept in different locations so that they could track and ambush each other. On their first meeting and at the end of training, Ryner went off to sleep somewhere away from her, far enough so that she won’t hear him if he screamed.

“Who told you that? Sleep, it’s an order.” [Ryner]

“Geez, you really like giving orders~.” [Maya]

She pouted as she lied down on the bed and closed her eyes. Ryner then turned around to leave, but her voice stopped him just as he reached the door.

“Good night, Master~.” [Maya]

He looked over his shoulder to see her gently smiling at him.

“… Good night, kid.” [Ryner]

After a moment of hesitation, he answered her and closed the door before going back to his own room. Sitting on his bed in the dark, he chuckled to himself a bit and meditated before going to sleep. After all, it is hard to have a good night when nightmares haunted you all the time.

“Alice” [Ryner]

As soon as he fell asleep, he was in a dark room with nothing around him and he could feel Alice’s presence, as if she was breathing down his neck. She had invaded his dreams once again. His eyes became sharp and his voice grew cold.

“Don’t you ever learn? Picking up another disciple?” [Alice]

From the sound of her voice that resonated everywhere, she was angry at him for training Maya.

“Not all of them turned bad.” [Ryner]

“Most of them ended up betraying you.” [Alice]

“And yet some of them risked their lives for me.” [Ryner]

“Your first student killed you for fame.” [Alice]

Both of them started raising their voices as irritation set in. They’ve had this type of conversation countless times already.

“Maya isn’t like him.” [Ryner]

“Please, you don’t trust her at all.” [Alice]

“I trusted her enough to teach her how to purify mana.” [Ryner]

“But you didn’t teach her the different degrees of purification.” [Alice]

“She didn’t need to learn that much to become stronger.” [Ryner]

“Stop lying, deep down, you know she’s going to turn her back on you. That’s why you didn’t give her too much power. Just admit it already Ryner, this is a mistake.” [Alice]

Once again, they talked about the decisions that they’ve made, that Ryner’s path was wrong and that Alice’s was right.

 “I HAD friends. Me, the worthless failure, had REAL friends! My promise wasn’t wrong.” [Ryner]

“And how many did you make? In eight hundred thousand years, how many of your so-called friends didn’t try to kill you?” [Alice]

“You need to stop focusing on the bad parts of our life.” [Ryner]

“You have no right to say that!” [Alice]

“At least I’m trying!” [Ryner]

“Against your will!” [Alice]

“I CHOSE TO WALK THIS PATH!” [Ryner]

“YOU WERE BROKEN WHEN YOU MADE THAT PROMISE!” [Alice]

Their voices steadily grew louder until they started shouting with anger. Although they understood each other’s pain, they chose different, conflicting paths. To the both of them, it felt like the other’s actions would make everything they went through be for nothing.

“I…! It…! That’s not…! Urgh… This isn’t going to end, so just tell me why you’re here!” [Ryner]

Ryner backed off first, not finding anything to say against her claim. Although the voice still sounded mad, it wasn’t booming in his ears anymore.

“I came here to offer you a deal, but I’m not in the mood anymore. We’ll do it next time.” [Alice]

“Fine. Then, at least tell me if you’ve been to this world before.” [Ryner]

Remembering their first conversations, he asked her what she meant back then. This time, the voice sounded amused of his ignorance.

“You really don’t know, do you…? I actually feel better now.” [Alice]

She softly laughed to which Ryner stood still and kept quiet. She didn’t plan on answering his question at all.

“Oh right, I also had something else to say, someone is trying to break into this world.” [Alice]

For someone to break into a world meant that he was trying to teleport into it, it is the opposite of the hero summoning that the Elea kingdom did.

“What? Break into? Did you-” [Ryner]

“I came here to tell you that I had nothing to do with it. It’s part of the rules of our game, after all.” [Alice]

Remembering his past experiences, he doubted if she really didn’t help whoever was trying to enter the world he was in. But, there was one way to make sure that she wasn’t lying.

“Can you promise it?” [Ryner]

“Yes, I promise that I didn’t have anything to do with this world traveler.” [Alice]

If the two of them made a promise, then there was no way that they would ever break it, even if they had to kill themselves… or their friends.

“Then who’s trying to come here? You know, don’t you?” [Ryner]

She chuckled before answering him in a mocking tone.

“I don’t need to tell you that now do I?” [Alice]

Ryner woke up in his bed the next moment as the sun shined through his window. He slowly sat up while thinking about what Alice just said; his eyes were still sharp and cold. If what she said is correct, then he now had to worry about one more thing during his vacation.

“Don’t stick to me like that. Hold onto my waist normally. Keep your hands off my pants!” [Ryner]

After waking up and leaving the inn, they went to get a horse that they received for free and left as the whole village saw them off. Maya had a hangover after her drinking bout, so the two of them were riding together with her holding on to him from behind. But, after a few hours, she healed up as if her headache never existed and started groping around Ryner’s body.

“I’m just making sure that you didn’t suffer any wounds from our fight yesterday.” [Maya]

“You should already know that. It’s an order, stop it and get in front. You take the reins.” [Ryner]

Since she was all better, he figured he should put her in front so that she couldn’t reach for his pants anymore. The two of them switched places, with Ryner now holding on to her from behind.

“Your orders truly are hard to follow, Master.” [Maya]

She pouted as she made their horse run forward.

“If you don’t like it, then you can always stop following me and become a free man again… or woman.” [Ryner]

“Geez, what are you saying? There’s no way that’s ever going to happen. Ah, hold on to me tightly or you’ll fall off.” [Maya]

“No way, I’m the master, so I won’t do it. That’s an order.” [Ryner]

“You’re really just abusing your authority, Master.” [Maya]

He judged that she wasn’t that dissatisfied after hearing her tell him to hold her tighter, so he decided to keep using his position as master to protect himself from her demands.

“By the way, Master, isn’t it about time that you give me a slave collar?” [Maya]

“Hhmm? A slave collar? You actually want one?” [Ryner]

“Of course~, it will let everyone know that I belong to you! And, it’ll help keep some pests away as well.” [Maya]

Maya was happily talking about receiving a slave collar that people would normally dread wearing. To Ryner, she was a weird person that he sometimes didn’t understand.

Please, you don’t trust her at all.

Although he planned on rejecting her request, he remembered his conversation with Alice and decided to give her one in the end. So, sticking one hand inside bluish rings, he pulled out from his pocket dimension a neck protector that he made. It was made of carbon fiber and had paddings inside for the comfort of the wearer. Since he made it thick for extra protection, it looked like a black metal collar that slaves would wear, but it was much lighter and harder than steel.

“Here. A custom-made collar that’ll help to keep your head attach.” [Ryner]

Ryner showed it to her from behind and Maya looked at it with delight as she nodded approvingly.

“Nnn~, it looks nice. Thank you Master, could you put it on for me?” [Maya]

Maya used one hand to move her braid to the side to show the nape of her neck. Ryner then opened the collar and put it on her. Once he was done, she lovingly brushed it with her fingers while gently smiling and wagging her tail. The atmosphere around her made the scene look more like one where the man gave his lover a necklace and put it on her neck. To her, who had been cast away by her family, it was proof that she had a place to belong to. She turned her head to look at him, her cheeks faintly blushing.

“Master, once we get to the city, let’s buy some alcohol.” [Maya]

“You already got addicted to it?” [Ryner]

“Let’s drink together~. I want to see you drunk.” [Maya]

“Denied.” [Ryner]

“You saw me drunk so it’s only right that I do too.” [Maya]

“No way, that’s an order.” [Ryner]

“Geez, you’re giving too many orders~.” [Maya]

“I sure am. Isn’t this fun?” [Ryner]

The two of them kept joking around as they travelled towards the capital city of Elea kingdom, where the heroes resided.