Farewell, Spartia

On the way to the inn, Azu rubbed her stomach.

Elza noticed and spoke up.

"What's wrong, Azu-chan?"

"It's nothing, just something feels off…"

Azu slipped her hand inside her clothes.

There, tucked against her belly, was a small piece of parchment.

She pulled it out and found something written on it.

Azu read the message aloud.

"Um, it says: 'If you have any work you'd like done, I suppose I could take it on. Submit a quest to the Adventurer's Guild addressed to this number.'"

It was a calling card from Finn.

"How entrepreneurial."

"Business solicitation."

"So that's what 'give my regards to your master' meant…"

Azu handed the parchment to Master.

He took it, looked it over, and tucked it away.

There were still food stalls and vendors open around the colosseum at this hour, so they ate there.

By the time they reached the inn, Azu seemed to have sorted through her feelings a little.

Smiles started appearing in the conversation again.

They took care of this and that, then lay down and fell asleep almost immediately.

The next morning, Azu was the first to wake.

She stretched wide, tied back her hair, and headed for the well.

She drew water, washed her face, and chased the drowsiness away.

She dried her face with a towel.

She'd gotten used to wiping her face with such a nice towel, Azu thought.

It felt like a luxury, but Master had approved it, so she went along with it.

"You're up early, Azu."

"Oh, Alexia-san. I'll move out of the way."

Azu stepped aside. Alexia thanked her briefly and rinsed her hands and face.

Watching Alexia's hair and features, Azu thought how beautiful she was.

Captivating enough to make even Azu, another girl, stare.

By the time Alexia finished washing up, Elza came out looking half asleep.

"Good morning…"

Elza was usually put together, but she was a little weak in the mornings.

She walked over, stifling a small yawn behind her hand.

"Get it together. You're a priestess, aren't you?"

"There's no one here to scold me, so what's the harm?"

Elza deflected Alexia's chiding with ease.

The two were always like this, but strangely enough, from Azu's perspective their relationship wasn't bad at all.

"The water's cold…"

After dipping her hand into the bucket, Elza said that and looked at Alexia.

"I wish it were warm…"

"Oh, fine. Just ask properly, will you?"

Alexia pressed her index finger and thumb together and snapped her fingers.

A small flame appeared inside the bucket, warming the water before vanishing.

The morning air was a touch chilly. Azu was used to it, so it didn't bother her.

Steam rose from the bucket.

"Warm. Thanks, Alexia-chan."

"Would you stop with the '-chan' already…"

Alexia shrugged.

"Oh? Are you embarrassed?"

"It'd be one thing from someone Azu's age, but from you it's mortifying. That's what I'm saying."

"Is that how it works?"

As the three were chatting, Master finally appeared.

"Yo."

He greeted the three and washed his face.

By the time they returned his greeting, he was already drying off.

"We're leaving right after breakfast."

"Understood."

Their business here was already done. They'd only stayed for the colosseum.

Now that it was over, getting home and back to work was what he honestly wanted.

The ledgers had to be piled sky-high by now.

"So impatient."

"Hehe. But I do miss home, actually."

Breakfast was prepared by the inn.

A dish made with eggs from a large Bird Monster.

Fluffy omelets with potatoes.

Pickled, chopped leafy greens on the side.

After eating, they returned to their rooms and got ready.

They packed their things and tidied up.

The innkeeper looked sorry to see the big room freed up.

They left the inn and brought the carriage around.

Master thanked the young man at the inn who'd been caring for the horse, and they climbed aboard.

The young man had apparently gone to watch the matches and praised all three for their performance.

Incidentally, Finn had forfeited after that, they heard.

The final bout between the champion Alhechhi and the King of Spartia had been so overwhelmingly fierce that the stage itself was destroyed, ending in a draw.

Unbelievable, Master thought.

At the gate, warriors stood guard.

Darz was speaking with one of them.

"Oh, it's you lot. Leaving already?"

"Yes. We've overstayed our welcome."

"Glad you enjoyed your time here. Come again."

"Of course. Coming here is good for business."

Darz laughed at that.

"Merchants always say the same thing. Your group put some fire into everyone here. I'll need to train harder myself."

With that, Darz walked away.

After a thorough inspection of their cargo, the gate opened.

"Safe travels."

"Thank you."

They exchanged farewells with the gatekeeper and departed Spartia.

Master took the reins himself for a while.

He figured the three slaves were in good spirits but their bodies were still tired.

He could have worked them without a second thought, slaves being what they were, but he believed that once dissatisfaction built up, it never truly went away.

Even when it seemed to fade, it had a nasty way of flaring back up at the slightest provocation.

If he intended to use them up, that'd be one thing.

But all three slaves were still young.

If they were going to earn for him over the long haul, employee benefits mattered.

Raise their standard of living in lieu of wages.

As for adding new slaves, he'd considered it, but it was tricky.

The house was getting cramped as it was.

He could buy a separate house for the slaves, but part of him wanted to keep them close.

The most practical solution was to expand the shop. But that reminded him of the lord's son, and Master sighed as he drove the horse onward.