Chapter 18: A Test of Faith

Before Lema could protest, the women who were cleaning up the place approached Bel.
They didn’t seem as scared as yesterday.

“Lady Belmias, will this do?”

They held out a one-handed sword and a few daggers, along with a belt to secure them.
After confirming that Bel had received and worn them, one of the women held out something else.

“Uhm… if you don’t mind, this too.”

It was a cloak—likely to adorn her, as her attire was too plain.

Right, it wouldn’t be good if her attire was too simple.

Considering the great Bel’s position, Lema inwardly agreed.
When Bel put on the cloak, her appearance looked far more fitting than before, and he thought that was how it should be.

“A-and… are we really allowed to take these treasures?”
“Yes.”
“And you’re not taking us with you?”
“No, you’re useless.”

At those words, the women looked at each other—and their faces brightened even more.

Lema, who had been a s*ave with them for a while, understood why.

For a s*ave, being called useful meant having many uses—whether doing backbreaking labor, performing lowly tasks, being ordered around for endless chores… or, failing that, having a body that could be used in other ways.

For a free person in a good official position, or someone earning their own living, being called useless would feel like an insult.
In disreputable circles, it could even be taken as a threat to one’s life.
But here—where they were no longer called slaves—it could be a word of salvation.

Lema glanced behind them.

The only ones Bel had killed here were the slavers.
The auction goods they had hoarded were piled high like a mountain, and the surviving women were sorting through them.

It seemed Bel had only taken the best sword and the cloak.
From their earlier conversation, it was clear that was because she had only asked for those.

“You all clean up quickly and scatter,” Bel said, looking around.
“I killed a lot of slavers, you know? They might come here again.”

“O-of course. There were nobles among the auction participants, so the rumor will spread soon. We don’t want to be discovered either, and we can’t deal with the knights hired by the nobles, so we’re trying to clean up quickly. Thank you for your concern.”

Lema was a little surprised at that.
It wasn’t the content—it was Bel’s attitude.

Her manner toward these women was very different from how she had ruthlessly slaughtered the slavers yesterday.
It wasn’t exactly protection, nor was it instruction or advice… but it felt warm.

And another thing—until yesterday, Bel’s speech had felt somewhat lacking.
Now, it seemed more developed.

Of course, it still wasn’t dignified.

The women seemed to sense this change even more keenly.
In their eyes, there was an emotion mixed in beyond the fear they’d felt yesterday—reverence. Respect.

“Thank you so much!
We didn’t want to stay here anyway. To be honest, we have nowhere to go back to… but we’re not shameless enough to ask you to consider that far. H-however…”

The woman pointed toward a few men standing together.

“There are also some guys who were used as gladiators here. You might not need… an escort, but how about taking them with you?”

“No.”

Bel’s refusal was immediate.

“I don’t need women. I don’t eat them.”

The women turned their heads toward Lema, standing behind Bel.
After giving him a quick once-over, they nodded several times as if they understood.

“I-I see.”
“What a wonderful taste you have!”

Both gave an enthusiastic thumbs-up.

The meaning was clear enough that Lema felt a twinge of shame—but if that was the direction his god wanted, it was a knight’s duty to follow.

The problem was…
The slight sense of anxiety.

The anxiety that had started when she said she wouldn’t take him with her.
The problem was that Bel was treating him the same as she treated these people.

It wasn’t that he wanted special treatment.
But there should be a difference between someone she would leave here and someone she would take along.
Her attitude toward Lema, however, was that of someone she would leave behind.

The women bowed to Bel one last time before leaving.
Bel accepted the gesture with a nod, and then, as if her business was finished, began walking lightly toward the exit.

Her steps didn’t even consider that he might follow.
Lema, feeling a rush of dizziness, quickly grabbed her.

“U-uhm, j-just a moment. Master.”
“Yes?”

“Weren’t you… going to take me in?”

Bel, who had been walking ahead, tilted her head and stepped closer.

Since she was on the smaller side, Lema immediately knelt so he wouldn’t be looking down on her.

“Hand.”

Lema held out both hands.
Bel took them, touching each finger one by one.
Then she placed her hand on his shoulder and the nape of his neck.

They were exactly the places that had been most damaged when he became a s*ave.

For some reason, he felt strangely refreshed—almost as if she had checked on him again while he was sleeping.

“Aren’t you fine now?”

“Yes, I have become fine thanks to the grace bestowed upon me by my master.”

“Then why are you following me?”

He recalled what Bel had said earlier—
That she wasn’t taking the women with her because they were useless.
It was clear she was treating Lema the same way.

Being told you’re useless was something a s*ave might welcome.
But Lema had lived as a knight for many years, and he refused to see himself only as a s*ave.
He didn’t want to.

For him, being called useless was not a word he could accept gladly.

“I will prove my usefulness. Please give me a chance…”

“That’s not it.”

Bel crossed her arms and looked down at him silently.
Looking into those unreadable black eyes, his tension only grew.

“I have already eaten you, and with that, your wish has already been granted, hasn’t it?”

Lema followed her gaze to his own body.
And then he remembered their earlier exchange:

—Then is what you want to return that body to its original state?
—…Yes.
—Good.

So now, after giving and receiving once… does she mean our business is done?

That couldn’t be.

Without even knowing exactly what he wanted, Lema looked up at her desperately.

“It’s not because I want something. Master, please let me serve you.”

“Hnngh…”

Whether she understood his thoughts or simply didn’t care, Bel seemed to need a moment before deciding.

“Then there is something you must answer.”

“Please speak.”

“The one who summoned me said this world is steeped in peace and love, so it must be destroyed. But what I actually saw was that.”

Bel pointed around them.

“The first thing I saw when I woke up was a slaver—and you, who once served a god, are in that state. Is this, by any chance, the peace and love of this era?”

“N-no! It’s not like that. Absolutely not.”

The reason Lema had been branded a heretic was not because he had committed heresy, but because of injustice.

Luxlon was the god of light—the god of justice and order.

It might seem lacking in a place like this, but under Luxlon’s order, the world was peaceful.
There were no more territorial wars, and the apostles blessed with divine power maintained order throughout Lucilonia.
They even worked tirelessly to subjugate monsters so that people outside the order could live in safety.

“This place is not under Luxlon’s order. I am treated as a being outside it—a heretic. The s*ave trade is not something Lucilonia condones. They deal in secret because, if caught, they will be judged by the empire.”

“I see.”

In truth, Lema felt that what had happened here was a kind of judgment.
The slavers who defied the order were dead, and the weak had survived.

So he answered as earnestly as he could, within the bounds of his understanding.

“Yes… Hmm.”

Bel seemed to mull it over for a moment.
If only he could read her intentions—
But he couldn’t.
And so only his own nerves frayed, his mouth growing dry.

After a pause, Bel spoke again.

“You said you were wronged for being a heretic. But you still want to follow me?”

“That’s… since my master came to me, I am no longer a heretic, am I—”

“No.”

Bel shook her head with a somewhat tired expression.

“You’re mistaken, Lema. I am not the Luxlon you desire, and you are not my summoner. I can’t accommodate that.”