| Author: Himezaki Shiu | Original Source: Syosetu |
| Translator: Jiro | English Source: Re:Library |
The moment I asked the hooded man to show me his Magic Tools, he, in turn, came back with a suggestion.
“If you show me those shoes, I’ll show you something special.”
“You want to see the shoes I’m wearing? You sure have some interesting kinks.”
“That means you’ll let me see them, right?”
He didn’t even need to ask. I didn’t care if he saw my shoes or not. If he was able to tell that they were God Items just by looking at them, then it would only be a matter of time before someone else found out.
Thus, there was no harm in letting him see them.
“I don’t mind letting you see them. But I do wish to know that you’ll return them. Can you promise me that?”
“Of course. I’ll also make sure to show you something special.”
I felt strangely excited about the whole thing. Luckily, I’d been able to bind him with the Contract skill, so I had nothing to worry about. Additionally, he also promised to show me something special, so I was excited to see what he had for me.
“I don’t mind showing them to you, but are you interested in them?”
“Although I’m a slaver, I’m also a Magic Tool Specialist. To be honest, I’m more well-known for my Magic Tools than anything. So I can’t help but be interested. After all, I haven’t seen such a Magic Tool before. I’m excited to see what kind of magic has been used on them.”
“Don’t you need to hide the fact that you’re a Magic Tool Specialist?”
“Haha. You already know that I’m not just an accessory seller, so what’s the point in hiding it now?”
The man said with a smile as I handed the shoes to him. I wasn’t wearing socks, so when I took my shoes off and stepped on the ground, I felt a strangely odd sense of freedom.
When I thought about it, I never actually wore socks. It was likely because my shoes were quite comfortable even without them.
‘Why do we even wear socks in the first place1? Maybe it’s to protect our feet from blisters.’ The only other reason I could think of was to prevent germs, like athlete’s foot or something similar.
However, I didn’t need to worry about such things when wearing shoes made by God. I could confidently say that they were completely hygienic and caused no blisters.
That being said, I wasn’t sure if my feet didn’t hurt because of the shoes or because I was a Demigod. Those things aside, the man with the hood was looking quite suspicious.
I couldn’t see his face, but I could tell he was staring at the small shoes as if he were about to lick them. He even occasionally sniffed them. This was in no way okay. If I were a girl instead of… well, me, I would’ve already dealt with him by now.
But that wouldn’t be ideal, so I decided to just play along until things calmed down.
“Do you know what magic has been cast on these shoes?” the man asked.
“I don’t know the details, but they’re very comfortable. They also don’t get dirty.”
“I see, I see.”
When he heard my answers, the hooded man once again lost himself in his world.
◇◇◇
After some time, the man looked satisfied and gave me back my shoes.
“Did you figure something out?”
“No, nothing!”
“You look quite happy about it.”
“Well, to be honest, I’m viewed as quite the skilled Magic Tool Specialist, yet I still have no idea what these shoes are. That’s what makes them interesting. No matter how I look at them, they look like ordinary shoes. It’s like they’re perfect. A Magic Tool that does not look like a Magic Tool.”
“Just so you know, these were gifts, so I don’t know who made them.”
“I figured. Still, I would’ve loved to meet them. But in any case, I got to witness something incredible. Reaching out to you was the right choice, missy. You’ve been a lot of fun.”
“So, what’s the thing you were going to show me?” I asked, urging the hooded man to keep his end of the deal.
He said, “Give me a moment.” and went somewhere.
I couldn’t figure out if his rush was due to the Contract’s effect or simply because his tension was high.
“I’ve mass-produced a few of these, but I think this is my best one.”
The hooded man returned a short time later with a ring. It was beautifully crafted and looked like something an aristocrat would wear. At the very least, it didn’t look like something an ordinary person would have.
As the man placed it on the table, I reached out to touch it, but he swiftly interrupted me.
“You shouldn’t touch it carelessly, missy.”
Since he said that, I had no choice but to appraise the ring from a distance. To be honest, it was a bit of a nuisance because I also had to appraise the table and other things alongside the ring.
| Slave Ring | |
|---|---|
| Rank | A |
| Description | A ring imbued with Slave Magic. It renders the wearer a slave to whoever is registered as the owner. The ring’s size adjusts automatically to the wearer, and once fitted, only the registered owner may remove it. If the wearer attempts to remove the ring in any other way, they will receive a Curse of Death2. |
| Skills | Auto-Regulation, Slave Magic, Curse of Death, Non-Removable |
‘Whoa! He’s a slave trader, alright.’
I was somewhat expecting this. As a slaver and a Magic Tool Specialist, it only made sense that he’d use Magic Tools for slaves. But I’d never expected to see a ring. When one thought of slaves, they’d usually think of collars or shackles.
“What’s this ring?” I asked.
“What do you think it is?”
“Something for slaves, I guess. You probably use it instead of collars.”
“So you do know what it is.”
“You’re a slaver and a Magic Tool Specialist. It wasn’t hard to figure out.”
“Since you normally use collars for that, most people don’t usually realize what it is. Right now, I’m probably the only one who can make these. And they bring in a good income, so I continue making them.”
Since collars were the norm, this ring could discreetly prevent slaves from recognizing their status. It would be especially useful for someone who didn’t want to overtly treat their slaves as, well, slaves.
“It’s scary to think that you can be tricked into wearing this. There is also the fact that someone can forcefully put it on you.”
As I looked at the ring, I realized that it luckily wouldn’t work on me. The only thing I was concerned with was the Non-Removable aspect.
However, since the Curse of Death was just a type of magic, it could probably be countered if you had enough resistance towards magic. The same was true for Slave Magic.
But something like that would likely be impossible for ordinary people. I could do it, but I was way out of the ordinary.
Even if someone had an average status of 250, it would likely still be impossible. One would probably need a status of over 500 that was highly focused on magic. In other words, no one could counter it, not even the heroes.
‘There are several reasons why Magic Tools are this efficient, but I won’t disclose them now. Just think of Magic Tools as having many restrictions.’
“You don’t need to worry about that. Besides, it seems you still haven’t noticed. This ring has this kingdom’s crest engraved on it.”
“So you only sell it to the royal family? Given that it is limited to the royal family, I can see why one wouldn’t normally worry about it. Besides, you’ve already exposed everything you had to hide.”
“And that’s fine. My Magic Tool Specialist soul is unscathed, and that’s all that matters.”
His image was much different from when we first met. Right now, he seemed like a true craftsman.
“In that case, can I ask you to show me your goods now?”
As I said that, the man mumbled, “I didn’t plan to bring this with me, but…” after which he seemingly regained his composure and said, “Sure.”
