The women I set free are obsessed with me

You can read 155 episodes on patreon and 50 new episodes are released every month. patreon.com/Ashenrose

Creeak, clank.

"I'll feed you regularly, so behave yourself. Not that you could do anything in this room anyway."

The man locked the door and left. Alfia could only watch helplessly as he departed.

Her bow had been taken, and the shackles on her ankles were connected to a pillar in the center of the room. She could move around the room, but that was about it. Unless they were removed, escape seemed impossible.

"Sigh."

Having given up on escape early on, Alfia flopped down on the bed.

The place she was confined in was more like a VIP room than a prison. Luxurious furniture like a bed, wardrobe, and mirror were placed around the room.

This was the space Roperman had prepared to use as a prison when he caught an elf. Though the story had diverged from its original path, Alfia had ended up here anyway.

"This is all that bastard's fault."

Alfia stewed over Karami's smug grin. Because he'd gotten himself taken hostage on his own, she'd been helplessly captured too.

After all that practice, she hadn't even fired a single arrow. What a ridiculous outcome.

Next time they practiced, she'd make him balance a pea on his head. If she ever got out of here, that is.

"But where did he go?"

Alfia was the only one locked in this room; she had no idea where Karami was being held. Suddenly, an ominous thought struck her.

What if he's in some underground dungeon? What if he's getting beaten for mouthing off without understanding the situation?

It was entirely possible with Karami. He'd occasionally spout nonsense like, Hmm, truly a living air purifier, when looking at her.

She needed to escape quickly and make sure he was safe.

"Ugh."

Alfia winced as pain swept over her. She'd definitely had a drink before coming here, but already the spirits were starting to wake up. Their resistance seemed to be increasing; lately, they'd been waking faster.

It had reached a point where alcohol alone couldn't subdue them anymore, and unless she drowned herself in liquor or took strong drugs, there was no hope for a moment's peace.

What would she do if even that stopped working?

Just when life was starting to get interesting. Figures.

No, I need to stop thinking about this.

Alfia shook her head vigorously, trying to clear away the distracting thoughts. She'd worry about that after getting out of here.

***

How much time had passed?

The windowless room made it hard to gauge the passage of time. If there was any silver lining, it was that she could vaguely estimate based on the regular meal deliveries.

The food was entirely unappetizing. The dishes, drowning in spices, showed not even a speck of consideration for an elf's palate.

I'm an elf, aren't I?

You call me a precious being, right? Then treat me properly, dammit!

With no alcohol to dull her senses, she struggled to swallow back the groans as the pain intensified.

Clank.

The sound of metal came from outside. The tightly shut door opened, and in walked the dark elf Renard, her face mask pulled up to just below her eyes.

In TOS, dark elves only differed in their settlements and resulting physical characteristics; they weren't sworn enemies or a cursed race or anything like that.

It was like the difference between modern-day black and white people.

Just that.

Alfia, who had been lying face-down on the bed, turned her head with difficulty.

"You…"

"Hmm, I wasn't mistaken after all. Not only are there spirits inside your body, but they're all mixed up in one spot. I've never seen a case like this… How fascinating."

Calling someone who looks like they're about to die 'fascinating'. These dark elves really lack empathy. Alfia wanted to sharply snap back, but she didn't even have the energy for it.

"Why is a dark elf here?"

"I was hired to catch an elf. No one in the organization is better at catching elves than me, and I was curious about what kind of elf it was, so I came."

"Oh, so the high and mighty dark elves are proudly running around taking on commissions for money now?"

Renard sneered at Alfia's sarcasm.

"That's rich coming from someone who hunts slaves under a human."

"…"

"Scour every corner of the world and you'll never find an elf more disgraceful than you."

Great. Now even a dark elf I've never met before is calling me a disgrace to elves. What is with elves and their damn pride anyway?

"Did you come to mock me? If you're not here to rescue me, then leave. My head hurts."

"I will. After I tell you about your pitiful situation, abandoned after being used as a hunting dog."

"I wasn't abandoned, okay? I'll have you know I'm quite trusted."

"Well, someone's got their head full of flowers."

Renard sighed and shook her head. Then, her eyes turned cold as she looked down at Alfia.

"You've been sold. By that man called the Slave Reaper."

***

Alfia laid listlessly on the bed.

Perhaps out of some sense of kinship, Renard had tipped her off—the food now had less of a spicy smell, and alcohol was included. But Alfia couldn't bring herself to touch any of it.

The truth of the situation that Renard revealed had stripped away all of Alfia's desires.

—That man agreed to hand you over to Roperman in exchange for some items. Even the knife at his throat was all part of an act he orchestrated.

—You're asking where he is now? He's already left with the items he wanted, leaving you here.

"…"

It was all an act Karami had staged?

He had traded her to Roperman in exchange for items?

I'm locked up here, and he just up and left on his own?

Alfia didn't immediately believe Renard's words. She and Karami had built up a certain level of trust during their time together.

Theirs wasn't the kind of relationship where she could coldly cut him off with a, I knew it you bastard, just because of some dark elf's words.

But on the other hand, anxiety began to creep in. If all of this was Karami's plan, it would explain everything perfectly.

It was like the final piece of a complicated puzzle.

"Ughh…"

Ah, I can't do this. My brain's not working anymore. I should just drink and go to sleep.

Alfia grabbed the bottle of alcohol, her arms trembling, and chugged it down. After emptying the bottle in an instant, she tossed it aside carelessly and buried herself in the bed.

Her eyes grew heavy, her consciousness sinking deep into a bottomless abyss.

She wasn't sure if she was falling asleep or losing consciousness. Either way, it didn't really matter.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if she never opened her eyes again. At least, the pain would finally end.

Ah, the pain is already coming back.

But it's okay.

Because I'm used to the pain.

***

It's a familiar sensation; rough yet soft. The feeling of my hair parting.

So gentle, like a soft breeze blowing across a meadow… When I surrender to this sensation, my mind calms and the pain subsides.

If it could always be like this, maybe I could live like everyone else. Mingling with my kin, competing with bows. Being acknowledged, praised.

An utterly ordinary life, nothing special.

Living like that for hundreds of years.

Until like a verdant tree, I return to nature.

Will such a day ever come? Probably they never will. This too, like a midsummer night's dream, will crumble away when I open my eyes.

So I won't open them—wishing for this moment to last forever.

…

But there was one thing she absolutely could not tolerate. As an elf, this was the one thing she wouldn't stand for.

"I told you, my ears are sensitive!"

Alfia shot up, yelling angrily. The sensation on her head vanished like a mirage.

Just as she was about to feel a pang of regret for its loss, Alfia's eyes widened. Like someone who had seen something they shouldn't have.

"…It's you?"

"Oh, you're awake? You hadn't woken up even once so I let my guard down. I was too complacent."

The person before her was Karami, her master. And, at the same time, her forcibly bonded life partner.

He was lying on the bed next to her, propping his face up with one arm. His eyes bore into hers, accompanied by a gentle smile.

"Y-You… why are you here…?"

Karami sat up.

"What a meaningless question. It's common sense for a master to be by his slave's side."

"But the dark elf said you sold me? That you abandoned me and left?"

"Miss Alfia, who do you trust more—me or a dark elf you've just met?"

"W-Well, of course…"

The word, you, rose to the tip of Alfia's tongue, but she managed to swallow it back. She had almost fallen into Karami's rhythm again.

Even so, she couldn't stop a smile from spreading across her face.

You didn't leave me behind after all.

Of course not. What kind of relationship do we have?

That dark elf must have been trying to drive a wedge between us with her schemes. Those damn dark elves, always so devious. Who's really abandoning their elf pride here?

Just you wait.

I'll laugh in your face when we meet again.

"But how did you get in here? The place is sealed tight, there's no way in except through the door?"

"I came through the door."

"But the door was locked?"

"I slipped in when the servant brought in food. The old man had an item that could make me invisible."

Alfia nodded without much suspicion. It wasn't strange for Victor, an assassin, to have magical tools optimized for infiltration.

"More importantly, you were groaning in pain earlier. Are you feeling unwell?"

"Huh? Oh, that… Huh? I don't feel that bad right now."

She could have sworn she was in pain just a moment ago. Maybe the alcohol she drank earlier was finally taking effect. With these unpredictable spirits, it was hard to tell.

In any case, it was a relief not to be in pain. As the discomfort subsided, her thoughts cleared.

"What are we going to do? We're escaping, right?"

"Of course, but before that."

Karami rummaged in his inner pocket and pulled out a scroll.

"What's that?"

"It's a magic scroll with a particular magic engraved on it. I took it from Roperman's storage."

"Aha, so we're using that to escape?"

"No, this scroll is for you."

Alfia tilted her head.

"For me?"

Karami smiled as he unrolled the scroll.

"I will free you from all your pain, Miss Alfia."