Life is often unpredictable, and you never know what might happen.
This was a realization Et keenly felt over the past six months, words that would be etched into his future.
He became independent from his master at fifteen and spent three years on his own. Then, two more years passed until he met Franca, and it took another two years just to gain her parents’ approval.
By the time Et married Franca, he was already twenty-two.
Just as it had been after becoming independent, Et worked himself to the bone for those two years after meeting Franca. After all, the condition set by her father for their marriage was for Et to own his own shop. It was only natural, then, that he would pour all his effort into it. Thanks to his efforts, he was able to establish a shop, albeit a small one. For Et, who had been a mere peddler until then, it could be considered a stroke of great fortune.
However, that good fortune lasted for less than a year.
A year after opening his shop, shortly after he and Franca had a wedding ceremony without incident, her family’s business began to falter. The trigger was the death of Franca’s father, who had managed the business until then. Et’s father-in-law, having seen his daughter’s marriage, fell ill as if the tension had finally snapped. He passed away less than a month later, marking the beginning of their downward spiral.
Her father, who had the drive to demand that a mere peddler establish a shop as a condition for his daughter’s hand, could be quite forceful at times. In simple terms, he had accumulated debts through somewhat unreasonable conditions. When his eldest son took over, he was unable to manage these debts. The ripple effect reached Et’s own shop. Specifically, the eldest son demanded that Et repay the loans he had taken out to establish the shop immediately. For the eldest son, Franca was his own sister, but unlike before, he offered no leniency. It was understandable, as the eldest son himself was struggling to keep his own business afloat.
Even with blood ties, Et understood that it was unavoidable to be heartless as merchants. Franca, on the other hand, apologized to him, but Et knew he wasn’t entirely blameless. Franca herself was now having to collect debts from her own brother, but she seemed to have come to terms with it as fellow merchants. However, having lived as husband and wife for a short time, Et noticed that Franca sometimes looked lonely. At that time, however, Et and Franca were working so hard, foregoing sleep to repay their debts, that they had little room to be considerate of each other.
As a result, they were unable to repay the debts, the shop was put up for sale, and Et and Franca were sold into debt slavery. They didn’t realize it at the time, but this would become the greatest turning point in their lives.
♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦
“—Get used to it.”
How many times had he heard that phrase? Et muttered it inwardly like a curse, desperately suppressing any outward reaction. He was unsure whether to be pleased or saddened that his acquired skill as a merchant, maintaining a smile, was proving useful in such a situation.
Two full days had passed since Et began seeking guidance from Cecil and Arisa, veteran slaves. During that time, Et and Franca were constantly told to shed the common sense they had accumulated throughout their lives. Come to think of it, the very fact that Et and Franca found themselves in this situation was itself an unconventional circumstance.
Those who fall into slavery due to debt are generally given a training period before being introduced to their future masters. However, Et and Franca had almost no training period. After all, they were bought about a day after becoming slaves, which was understandable. In this bizarre situation, which was far from ordinary, Et and Franca felt more bewildered than joyful when they realized they had been bought together. Furthermore, judging by the slave trader’s expression, they could immediately understand how much they had been bought for. When the slave trader introduced them to their supposed buyers, two beautiful women they had never seen before, it was only natural for anyone, not just Et, to feel that something was unusual.
In retrospect, they should have refused to be bought at that moment. However, they naively jumped at the offer of being bought as a couple. While slaves by nature do not have the right to refuse a buyer, there should have been room for negotiation, including the training period. More importantly, the two beautiful women who were the buyers had directly told them, “You can refuse if you want.” That in itself was something to be suspicious of, but Et at the time had no time to consider it.
As a result, the two beautiful women, who should have only been able to easily use the Teleport Gate with a Crown Card, introduced Et and Franca to an extraordinary existence. When they were told that this extraordinary existence was their true master, Et and Franca became utterly distraught. However, Et felt compelled to offer an explanation regarding this matter. Who on earth would ever imagine that a god would need slaves? That night, facing a situation whose fortune or misfortune they couldn’t quite grasp, Franca and Et put their heads together to consult.
The day after meeting their master, Kousuke, Et and Franca were instructed by their fellow senior slaves, Cecil and Arisa, on the common sense within the Amamiya Tower Management Layer. The reason they were chosen was simply explained as them being available. And as Cecil and Arisa taught them the customs of the Management Layer and Amamiya Tower, Et was repeatedly told the same words as before. Cecil watched Et and Franca her with an unreadable expression. “Let me tell you, if you don’t truly get used to it without overthinking, more and more unconventional things will keep coming your way.” Hearing the conviction in the words of their senior slave, Et and Franca both gulped.
After all, Cecil and Arisa themselves were an anomaly. Normally, slaves would desire freedom as soon as their master allowed it. However, these two were a rare exception, choosing to remain slaves even when their master suggested otherwise. Furthermore, there were other individuals in the Management Layer who were similar. Et initially thought it might be because their master was an Avatar, a special being, but they quickly denied that. Et couldn’t fully grasp what they meant, but he was told that Cecil and Arisa became Kousuke’s slaves before he became an Avatar. This story itself was baffling to Et. When he asked what it meant to become an Avatar, Cecil and Arisa exchanged glances and simply replied, “Because he’s our Master.” In the end, all Et understood was that the person who would soon be their master was a living embodiment of unconventionality, befitting the title of Avatar.
A few days after Et reached this resigned understanding, he would find himself in a predicament when he was introduced to the various magic tools that were to be placed in the shop he would be managing. This is a separate story.
I wrote this from a third-person perspective now… but I can’t possibly cover everything. Kousuke’s unconventionality is simply too much. I’ll stop here, as there’s no point in droning on, but I honestly feel like it’s unfinished.orz Et and Franca will just have to get used to it as quickly as possible.
The next part will also be an interlude, featuring our very first customer.
