“Don’t let the bags drop, you’ll get them dirty.”

  “Y-yes M-master…!”

  Rei followed shortly after me. After some time, and at the perfect moment, I found the best punishment ever…at least, for her stature.

  My personal follower.

  This is a better fate than most, and now that I won’t have to physically abuse her. She just needs to do what I say. As for her work, her job is to tend to me now. Whether she likes it or not.

  And being frank, I think she prefers this over fieldwork.

  Which means a whole lot.

  We were en route to the ranch house again. Remembering my previous house back at the plaza was something. It didn’t take long to realize those were just decoy houses. I caught bits of conversation confirming it.

  It’s clear. In an expansive world like this, people treat slavery as taboo. No go. I don’t know the entire details of the story, but it’s basically like this.

  Korioh Landings is just one giant, slavery filled land masked as a National Park. A National Park that most people can live in, and that I have rarely seen anyone tour. I don’t know the meaning or direct definition of National Park’s in this world…

  …but it’s clearly different from my world.

  I still don’t know how the Oni got here, and how they just comply too easy. I mean, given the large park, wherever they reside at, is nowhere close to the Plaza. It might take them hours at a time to get there.

  Weeks even to rationalize a rebellion.

  Who’s to say that their spirits aren’t broken? That they just…gave up. That there’s no hope for them?

  I shake my head. The less I think about it, the less it hurts my heart. I’m not in the position to even help them, so I need to stop thinking like it. I don’t know what got the Oni into this mess to begin with. Maybe this is just karma.

  Yeah…karma.

  We reach the fence, and push forward to the ranch house. She takes my belongings and to the right stairs, and all along into my new room.

  Apparently, I was supposed to be living here. Not there. Not by the plaza. There’s just so much I don’t get about this place still. The organization feels off. There’s barely any communication with each other.

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  And yet, everyone still looks at me with that sudden pause before automatically bowing out due to my sheer glory and valor.

  I look down at the golden pin tied to my shirt. I really hope this isn’t stolen valor.

  But…he did give it to me. Doesn’t qualify, I hope so.

  The maid comes around, I learned her name. Jex. Unlike Rei, she’s a tad bit older than me, which only fulfills my suspicion about how these Oni’s actually got into the whole slavery gimmick.

  It’s none of my business, I know that much, but I still refuse to take the answer of “they were born into it” seriously.

  “Hey, Jex.” I call out, she stops sweeping and turns towards me with a startled expression. Like she wasn’t expecting that. Was she not expecting me to call her by her name now?

  Is decency that rare among these people?

  “Stay overnight.” I ask her, and she hesitantly complies. My word goes without meaning. She doesn’t ask why, she just knows that she has to do it.

  Not even a little resistance.

  I look at the clock, once again even the numbers are something different. It moves around, and forms into nothing I can read directly.

  If time is truly universal, then it would be 5:16. Close enough. But that still doesn’t answer most of my questions about this place.

  “Argh…” A groan escaped from lips as I pulled a chair aside from a table and sat down. Days ago if I had seen something like this, I would’ve been ecstatic. Excited. Overjoyed.

  But none of it is worth to be jumping around for, especially when all of this was built on broken backs.

  Forget about going home, and figuring out how to get back to my world. I have a lot to focus on. Flugels, Ranchmaster, all of this has given me more responsibility than I thought.

  I grip my left hand. I didn’t forget about the sword. That too. I thank it for it not just appearing out of nowhere nowadays, but I haven’t really gotten time to figure it out. What the shopkeep said still rings like a bell in my mind.

  Pact Weapon.

  Have I made a pact? Or is the blade pushing me, waiting for me to make one with it?

  So much possibilities, and virtually nowhere to get an answer from.

  Which one do I tackle first?

  I haven’t eaten anything in a while…and while I could tell Jex to fix something up for me, it won’t sit right. Not in this sense. She’s still scared and fearful of me. I’ll try again when she warms up.

  I…I think I need a fresh breath of air.

  I get up from the chair, Jex startled by my movements. She takes a glance quickly before looking away during her sweeping.

  “Tell Rei when she’s done with her task to help you, I’m gonna head out for a bit.”

  Jex nods, but doesn’t say anything. I don’t push my luck further, I haven’t exactly given her a reason to trust me. Even worse if she heard my words with Rei.

  I head out, and as late as it was. I wasn’t really worried about anything else. Most of the other Oni’s had went home…wherever there home is.

  For now? I was alone. Just me.

  And there was nothing better I liked to do than to take a walk.

  A walk in this national park. Surely nothing would go wrong right?