True to his word the hero did his best for the remainder of the day to keep Mia all to himself. He had dragged her back to his room and shut the door, not allowing anyone in to disturb them. The uncomfortable silence was only ever broken by the princess trying to barge in, but was denied entry from the hero who requested they be left alone for the rest of the day while they prepare.

Preparing what? Mia did not know. All John did was sit on his bed in deep thought, occasionally he would look up towards her, smile, then go back to his thoughts. It was annoying, the silence, keeping to himself, and after making such a fuss this is what he is doing now? It was annoying. She could ask him, break the silence on her own terms but she reminded herself anything he says to her she’d have to repeat to the princess.

Though, he seems determined to keep her by his side now… will the princess ever get a chance to drag her away? She also struggled to keep the motivation for doing so, every time she felt like talking she would notice her desire being suppressed. Ever since noticing it she has become painfully aware when it happens and was still trying to figure out a solid way to combat it. but she even found it difficult to keep herself motivated towards that, leaving nothing but complicated feelings before those to faded.

Thankfully the silence was broke by a nock on the door. “Hero, dinner is served.”

John stood up quickly then walked past Mia, raising his hand towards her but paused when it was just above her head. He shook his head and continued towards the door, opening it to reveal a familiar tall maid. “Good, you can bring it in…” He stepped aside, holding the door open.

Ashley bowed, stepping aside herself to allow two maids pushing metal carts to pass her. “My hero.” “My hero.” They both said as they passed John, bowing their heads. They pushed the carts into the center of the room. A hand motion from Ashley prompted them to open the platters, revealing the food inside and letting the smell escape.

“Today’s meal is a chef favorite, meat pie filled with meat from the finest cow raised with care, kindness, and spoiled with corn. The sauce lovingly mixed with herbs from the castle garden, the pies filling includes carrots, onions, and potatoes all painstakingly delivered with care from the local farmers, cleaned and steamed with careful precision by the chef’s fire magic. “Ashley bowed “I hope it is to your liking.”

Mia couldn’t help but drool, looking towards the platters, two pies sat atop their own separate silver plates, one for the hero and the other for her. Her own personal sized serving of whole pie. While lost in the aroma she felt a gaze, following that she noticed the maid standing next to one of the pies. She was obviously glaring at her, even in the presence of the hero and Ashley. She looked familiar… oh, the maid from last time that was abolished by Ashley.

The maid was glaring at her, but not doing anything besides that. Mia crooked her head to the side, prompting the maid to huff and look away.

“Yes, yes this is more then good.” John nodded to himself “Now please, if you would leave us…”

Ashley nodded “Right away, my hero.” She then clapped her hands signaling the other maids to leave, they did so without a fuss. Ashley, however, before she left looked towards Mia longingly. It was obvious she did not want to leave, but a slave to her own duty she tore her vision away from the fox beastman, bowed, and quickly left the room.

John walked over to the food, taking a big sniff at his own pie and sighed “Makes me miss home.” He said to himself, then glanced towards the other pie with a frown on his face “This…doesn’t” He then picked up the silver plate holding the pie, the pie meant for Mia, and stared at it.

Confused and frightened for her meal Mia ran up. A brief thought that the hero was going to suddenly be mean to her entered her mind, but when she looked up at the hero that thought disappeared. Watching him it was like he was inspecting it, looking at it the same way he looked at her when looking at her status. “What is it?”

John looked down at her, smiled, then looked back to the pie “well… someone holds a grudge towards you, that’s for sure. “ He then rose one of his hands, a black void appearing next to it “I don’t want to alarm you but, someone put some poison in yours.” He then tipped the plate, allowing the pie on top of the plate to slide into the void, vanishing “Just some stomach poison, nothing lethal.”

Mia was staring at the void, something completely unfamiliar to her. It had swallowed the pie whole, leaving nothing in its place. “What was that?” She asked, curiosity burning.

The void vanished, then John sat the empty plate down atop the cart with his plate on it, then started wheeling the cart over to the table “The black thing? That was the entrance to my [Inventory] skill. It’s like a bag or chest that can hold stuff and keep it fresh. A standard skill for a hero such as myself.” He said proudly. He sat down on the bed, picked up some silverware on the cart and started cutting into his pie.

Mia watched, wondering what she’d eat now but was surprised when John cut his in half, placing one half on the plate that previously held her poisoned pie. She trotted over, standing on the opposite side of the cart as the meat filled slice of pie glided in the air, lead by the hero, and landed on her plate. The meaty sauce pouring from the slice and pooling around it.

“It might not be as much as it was originally but… dig in.” The hero smiled.

Mia nodded, picking up her own pair of silverware, cutting off a small piece and taking her first bite. It was amazing.

The hero nodded to himself, chuckling at Mia “You know, while we are alone like this, you can ask me anything. I have not given you any orders to not speak freely so, feel free to do so.” He said, beginning to eat himself.

Mia took another bite, amazing, the meat was so tender it melted in her mouth. This was on a whole different level compared to anything she had ever eaten before. She was so lost in it she barely didn’t recognize that the hero was talking to her. Ask him anything? Putting her previous thoughts aside, or perhaps she was just fueled by the delicious food, she decided to risk it and ask the biggest question that was on her mind.

“The mission, tomorrow. What think?” The mission was to capture escaped slaves, as an unwilling girl forced into slavery herself, she honestly did not want to do it. It felt wrong, especially when someone labeled as the hero was going to do it.

John paused “The slave capture mission?”

Mia nodded, continuing to eat.

John sat down his fork, breathing a heavy sigh “Look…Mia, I told you I come from a different world right?”

Mia nodded once again, shoving another piece of meaty pie in her mouth.

“Well, where I come from in that world, slavery used to exist. It doesn’t now because of a war that split a country in half took place but…”

Mia paused, looking up to see John staring at her with a complicated expression. “What?”

He sighed “This is hard to say but, It is not my place to change how this world uses slaves right now. One person is not going to change the mind of the many, especially not a new no named hero.” He picked up his fork “I read a lot of stories, even with my worlds own history as an example, it won’t work with just me. So I decided to not fight the system, at least not yet.” He then resumed eating as Mia had stopped.

Anger

Anger was building in Mia as she didn’t understand the hero’s, no, John’s reasoning. Granted she did not know much about the world being a slave for the past three years but surely not everyone was on board with it. She did understand one point he was making, one person wasn’t going to instantly change it, but that wasn’t what angered her, that wasn’t what she didn’t understand. It was the fact he was participating in it, and even supporting it. “But, why help? If don’t like.”

John took a bite out of his food “Because, if I’m too against it then I’ll never get a chance to change it.” He swallowed, then pointed the fork towards her “I have read too many stories Mia, some like to play it out nice, they have the hero step up, claim slavery is bad to the masses and like magic everything is fixed. Sometimes only having to kill like, one bad guy in a church somewhere.”

John picked apart a bit of his pie, moving a chunk of meat away from it “But the more realistic ones… no, it isn’t that simple. Especially when there is a big organization or country backing slavery.” He hovered his fork over the lone piece of meat “What do you think happens when someone steps out of line? Speaks up to the pope or king? They get silenced.” He stabbed his fork into the chunk of meat, sauce spewing out of it.

He lifted the meat in front of his face, waving it around “If they are lucky, they get off with a stern talking to and jail time, losing all their companions, or being exiled to a place they can build their own slave free society with their ex-slave companions…but the unlucky ones…” He brought the chunk to his mouth, chomping down on it “Executed.” He then leaned back and chuckled to himself “Course, they come back to life anyways and get their revenge, but I don’t want to risk that. those losers are usually not OP till they die anyways.”

Mia stared at him in disbelief, to her that wasn’t a good explanation on why he was participating in it. sure, she got why he couldn’t directly oppose it but she didn’t see him purchasing her and going to recapture slaves as an act to appear that way. Especially when he always brought up her being some ‘fated companion’. She didn’t believe him, him bringing up his stories felt like an excuse to her. “But, why take mission? Could say no, get another.”

John was still eating his half “Simple, even if I don’t like it I cannot show it. If anything it is the perfect chance to build trust and reputation. Imagine further down the line, the demon lord defeated, the church gone, and the princess on the throne. You by my side and all the civilians I saved joining side by side to abolish slavery! That will be my final chapter.” He nodded to himself, taking another bite.

Mia looked down towards her half eaten half slice of pie. She remembered when John had stopped her from eating hers because it was apparently poisoned then offering up a half of his. She remembered how she felt happy taking that first bite, how amazing the pie she tasted was. She picked up her fork and glanced at the hero, still enjoying his meal without a care in the world despite the conversation.

Much like the odd feeling she got when she began to recognize her feelings where being subdued, something felt off about the hero…John’s words. While, for all Mia might know he might be right, his plans seemed far off in the distance. In comparison to how he talked about them at first, right now it all seemed like an after-thought.

She stabbed into the pie, bringing the piece to her mouth and chomping down on it. It had lost it’s taste. She put her fork down “Good night.” She said, turning towards the side door of the room.

John stopped eating, looking up in slight panic “W-wait.”

Mia kept walking, but her collar started to tighten so she stopped and turned to face him.

John sighed in relief, unaware of what he just did “You didn’t finish eating, we have a big day tomorrow, so you should finish eating all of it. Please?”

Mia didn’t want to; she REALLY didn’t want to be alone with him any longer. The collar tightened and she gave in, walking over and picking up her fork. She began finishing her meal.

John smiled “Good, its bad enough we have less because of the poison.” He nodded “Besides, don’t you want to know anything more about me? My world? Some of the novels I’ve read?”

“No” was all Mia said, finishing her meal while ignoring his disappointed gaze. Once finished she faced him “Can I go?” she asked, not wanting to get stopped again.

“Well…” He looked at her empty plate, then towards the door “Why don’t you sleep in here?” He asked “T-to uh, protect you…y’know?”

Mia felt a shiver down her spine, the fur on her tail standing on end. That was dangerously close to being an order she never wanted him to give her, especially now. She had to choose her next words wisely, saying the wrong thing here might result in him ordering her to sleep in here. She thought as hard as she could, her head pounding in protest, but she didn’t care, she needed an out. Deciding to take a bit of a risk she spoke “Is that an order?” trying to sound harsh with her words.

It was a big risk, especially after somewhat knowing his stance on slavery. On one hand he can confirm he meant it as an order, thus solidifying it as something she had to follow. On the other he could deny it and she’d be out, free. But this was also a good way to confirm that, at least for now, he really didn’t like slavery.

John took in her words, then his face paled as he realized something, his face quickly reddening a moment later “A-ah, no, no it isn’t. I’m sorry… “ He stood up, facing away from her he let out a cough “G-good night. T-tomorrows a big day… yeah…” He said nervously.

Mia crooked her head to the side, that was a bit of an extreme reaction. She hadn’t a single clue what was going through his head, but was glad her risk paid off. “Good night.” She then turned to her room’s door and as she was closing her door her ear twitched, picking up John mumbling to himself. She cracked the door and put her ear up to it, listening in.

“I thought I raised her affinity enough already…Maybe I didn’t say the right things during our dialog? But harsh Mia is nice too… if she wasn’t already the expressionless loli-type and was taller and more filled out, she could totally be the disappointed ojou-sama that would step on you… no, I have hope for that tall maid… but that expression as if she was looking at dirt… no! I have to fix it, I will do m-“

Mia shut silently shut the door and went over to her bed, sitting on top of it she clutched her knees close to her chest. Dangerous, EXTREMELY dangerous. After a certain point she no longer understood what John had said, but she could tell by the way he was talking none of it was good. Like what the heck is an ‘expressionless loli’ and an ‘ojou-sama’ that he wanted to step on him? What? What was going on. She had heard something she wish she hadn’t.

She brought up her status screen, ready to press the red X and make herself pass out but stopped, she looked towards the door that led into John’s room and shivered. She stood up on her shaky legs and walked to the dresser, taking a few minutes to force it in front of the door she then got dressed in a nightgown. She looked at herself in the nightgown, remembering that the hero had picked it out for her she shivered.

She now knew what that odd feeling from when John was talking meant, he didn’t mean a word of it. She pulled out another identical nightgown, the material soft but thin. She put it back to the bed and went under the covers as she continued to think. She touched her collar that sat around her neck, he was enjoying it, she now thought there was some truth to people calling her the hero’s pet, but she knew it was worse than that.

She was his slave.

While not officially thanks to the princess’s trickery, John still had some degree of control over her. But for whatever reason, most likely due to one of his stories he keeps talking about, was not direct in getting what he wanted. Mia understood, at any time, at any moment, at any place, John could order her to do anything, but he doesn’t because it doesn’t fit with the story he wishes to follow.

Mia understood as long as he thought like this, as long as he followed his story. She was safe. She now knew why the risk she took earlier worked, along with the reaction he gave. She had brought it to his attention he was straying from the story he wanted, he had been ordering her, and was about to force something he didn’t want, or it would put his story at risk.

She shook in her bed, curling up in a ball with her tail wrapped around her. This was very bad. John was, unfortunately, the hero. While Mia had been in situations like this in the past and was able to resist, she knew he was way stronger than her. He didn’t even notice her struggle to get out of his grip earlier…

She gulped, calming herself down. For now it was best to keep him as is, appeal to the story long enough for her to get stronger than he was, if that was possible. Then she would no longer be in danger.

She rubbed her head up against the covers, trying to calm herself. She just had to stall, that was it, should be easy if she kept john on his story’s path…simple… She closed her eyes, trying to force herself asleep under the covers when her eyes shot open

The princess!

This was pretty damning information she had just learned about the hero… wait, could his blind support of her also be the result of the story he wants?

“I give up…”

Deciding to worry about it later, John seemed to have it in his head that he needed to stick close to her now, so hopefully she would not have a chance to hold a meeting with her. With that hope in mind, she closed her eyes and eventually fell asleep.