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As I sat on the bed in my room, I heard a knock at the door and a voice I had often heard for the past two months say, “May I come in?”

Each of us had been assigned a maid to watch over us, and my maid’s name was Selya.

“Please do.”
“Excuse me. Are you free?”
“Yes.”

Selya was a beautiful woman. Her braided hair looked great on her, and her manners were without a fault. I’d heard that the castle’s maids were chosen from noble households rather than common ones, which would explain their education.

After retrieving a small box the size of a palm from somewhere, Miss Selya carefully opened it to reveal its contents to me. Inside, a ring akin to the ones worn by my classmates today was displayed like a valuable item.

“What’s this?”
“It’s a ring that will serve to protect you, the heroes. You may have to go to various towns within the Fraus Kingdom and occasionally even outside of it in the future, in addition to acting in the royal capital. This ring will serve as your pass for such occasions. In addition to being a pass, it also gives you access to locations that are often off-limits.”
“That’s amazing.”
“Please take it.”

I immediately accepted the ring. But instead of putting it on right away, I chose to fiddle with it in my hands. It seemed as though the little ring was a magical item. This ring is made in a unique way that allows it to automatically adapt to fit when worn.

“How about you try it on?”

Anyone would want to try it on after being told that. However, I speculated that once I put it on, I wouldn’t be able to take it off ever again.

There was also the possibility that it was merely a pass, but when I continued to play with it, Selya grew visibly annoyed.

“Once I put this on, I won’t be able to defy the kingdom, isn’t that right?”
“What are you saying?”
“Why don’t you put it on first then, Miss Selya?” I said, trying to take Miss Selya’s hand, but she swiftly withdrew it.

“The moment the ring is put on, the user is established. It won’t be usable by anybody else after that.”
“I see. Then why is there a knight behind the door? From what I know, you’re a maid, Miss Selya. You don’t usually walk around with knights accompanying you.”
“It’s late, so I asked him to escort me. It’s not safe at night, even in the castle.”

Miss Selya said it with a smile. It turned out that there was a knight there, even though I had only been speculating. The nobles really were impressive. I had no idea what Miss Selya was thinking.

She evaded my questions repeatedly. So I decided to stop playing games. This was not something I, a normal high schooler, could handle.

“I will gladly put on this ring even if it forces me into slavery, rather than being just a pass as you suggested, Miss Selya.”
“Why?”

It seemed like I’d managed to pique her interest.

“Because there’s nothing I can do. The knight outside is stronger than me. Isn’t he?”
“What do you wish to know, Lady Hikari?”
“The truth about what happened yesterday. Also, if at all feasible, what the Fraus Kingdom has done up to this point. If you tell me those, I’ll put the ring on.”
“And if I don’t?”
“There’ll be a huge repair fee for this room.”

The most I could do would be to turn my room into a mess. I didn’t dare to kill myself. I would riot, get subdued, have the ring put on by force, and that would be the end of it.

If that were the case, I would at least find out what I was ignorant of. It was merely an act of self-satisfaction.

“I understand. I will tell you.” Miss Selya said and began to explain, “However, before I talk about what happened yesterday, I should first tell you what we’ve been planning.”
“You can speak normally; don’t worry about it.”
“I refuse. I am still your maid until you put the ring on Lady Hikari.”

I couldn’t help but feel that Miss Selya truly was a professional. She had no intention of hiding the fact that this ring had been tampered with.

Conversely, the moment I put on this ring, our relationship would change. I wasn’t sure I’d be content with that; actually, I knew I wouldn’t be. Still, there was nothing more that could be done.

“We’d originally planned to have every single one of you put that ring on after we confirmed your status. Furthermore, you were not intended to have maids, and your training time was supposed to have been more than twice as long as it is right now.”
“But you couldn’t do that because of Toriyama.”

“That is correct. We were unable to give you the rings that were meant to take away your freedom since you had signed a contract with the Fraus Kingdom requiring us to ensure both your safety and freedom. As a result, we had to alter our plans to remove the root of the issue while taking care to avoid creating distress.”
“What exactly do you mean by that?”
“Fortunately for us, the other heroes didn’t think highly of Sir Makoto. Therefore, we wasted no effort in preventing him from getting in touch with you.”

I was able to recall instances. The reason they had led us directly to our rooms following the meeting with the king was probably also due to this. Instead of tearing us apart, if they had truly cared about us, they would have let us talk among ourselves until we had calmed down.

Many of my classmates must have been nervous after being brought to their rooms because they were unable to talk with their friends.

“In addition, the maids tried their best, so long as it didn’t go against the terms of the contract, to tell the other heroes about Sir Makoto. Do you remember, Lady Hikari? The first thing I told you was that the heroes wouldn’t be blamed, thanks to the king’s kindness.”
“But that wasn’t a lie.”
“Yes, it wasn’t. However, if it had been a normal audience, then Sir Makoto’s behavior would’ve been punished as being disrespectful.”

Toriyama had been the one to make the first move, and the kingdom had tried to respond to it immediately. This meant that my classmates and I were being used as their pawns all this time. It was all simply ridiculous.

“We gradually tarnished Sir Makoto’s reputation to prevent him from telling you, the other heroes, the truth. But we couldn’t just go around spreading rumors because we’re part of the Fraus Kingdom. We thus asked Lady Mika, whose skill is Incitement, to do the task for us. Although I stated we’d asked her for assistance, in reality, we’d just provided her with information. We only gave her the facts, nothing more. After making her modifications, she shared them. A hero’s skill truly is something to admire.”

I couldn’t say whether she was trying to be sarcastic with that remark.

So the quick spread of those rumors about Toriyama was due to a skill. Tsunoe was obviously unhappy with the contract Toriyama had made; thus, it made sense that she would give a distorted account of what she had heard.

She was the type to spread rumors, even back at school. Nonetheless, if we had properly fact-checked the rumors, the results might have been different.

“In addition, the king made the necessary arrangements for Sir Takatoshi to serve as his puppet while the rumors were circulating. Given that Sir Takatoshi is the bearer of the Hero skill, it was unlikely that he’d fail to kill him.”
“You’re right about that.”

We’d been dancing in the palm of their hands ever since the beginning. That was the real truth behind this situation. All of the bad feelings that I’d had about Toriyama were completely misplaced.

As previously speculated, we had merely been putting pressure on him.

“Ultimately, the maid who was looking after Sir Kyosuke just offered him advice on how to alleviate stress.”
“So Takuma and his friends were the ones behind the incident.”

Thinking back on it, it wasn’t surprising at all. They were the most likely ones to do it. That’s just how awful they were. We were such fools.

“If you’d allow me, there is one thing I’d like to ask, Lady Hikari.”
“What is it?”
“Why did you wish to hear this?”
“Maybe all I wanted to know was if I really played the fool. However, I suppose the main reason for doing it was to try to make amends. Besides, I figured knowing everything instead of being in the dark would make it easier for me to give up.”
“To give up?”
“Yes. To give up on living as myself.”
“Is there something you wish for, Lady Hikari?”

I couldn’t understand why she was asking me that. There could have been something more to it, but I tried not to have high hopes.

“Before I tell you that, can I first confirm some things?”
“Of course.”
“Will I become a slave after I put the ring on?”
“Yes.”
“How are slaves treated in this world, or more precisely, in this kingdom?”
“In this kingdom, they belong to the royal family. They are treated as tools, not as people. However, the royal family takes good care of their valuable tools, so you do not need to worry. Given that they are owned by the royal family, it would be sacrilege to have others even touch them.”

In other words, we’d be treated as excellent tools. We stood a chance of surviving if we played our part.

“I understand. My wish is¹…”

I slowly told her my wish. Upon hearing it, Miss Selya nodded solemnly.

“As you wish. I will inform Her Highness.”
“Lastly, Miss Selya, could you please put the ring on me? You are the one who has been watching over me all this time. I will feel more at peace that way.”
“Understood. If you’ll allow me…”

I extended my right hand after handing the ring over to Miss Selya. She hesitated for a moment before placing the ring on my right-hand pinky.

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