Hector and his men brought me over to a hallway on another level in the fortress. Unlike the dark gloomy dungeon level where I was kept in isolation, the stone walls were illuminated with warm orange lanterns that were a little too bright for my eyes. I’ve been living in darkness for the past 3 days, so it’s going to take a while to get used to.

We stop by a room at the end of the hallway and Hector kicks the door open.

“Hello, everyone! There’s someone I’d like to introduce you to!”

Hector hooked his arm around my neck and dragged me into the room. The mixture of fried smells rushed through my nostrils, stimulating my stomach to swirl like a little tornado. Before me was a dining hall with a group of armored men sitting down at a long table and feasting on a variety of meals.

The sudden barge-in interrupted their meal and all their eyes looked towards us.

“This is Lars! Our brand new slave-hunter! He will be eating with us today, so you can go ahead and introduce yourself if you wanna,” Hector said. “I personally don’t care what you think of him, as long as he’s accepted here.”

“Wait,” A slave hunter spoke out. “If he’s a slave-hunter, then why does he have the slave collar on his neck?”

“Well, that’s because he’s my prized possession. I can’t afford to let go of him. The collar is my way of controlling him. Besides, it’s not like the collar can ever be deactivated anyway! Why would that be needed anyway? Slaves are meant to work until they die, after all!” Hector pulled my face towards him. “His life is mine, forever.”

Oh, so there’s no way to deactivate the collar. What are you going to do about it?

Tsk, there has to be a way, I just have to find it!

“Isn’t that boy a former Enforcer?” the slave hunter raised his hand. "He smells like trouble. Forcing someone like him to work with us, are you seriously taking this risk?"

“One little risk is worth all the value he can provide,” Hector said. “Don’t question it, I know what I'm doing.”

“O-Ok.”

We all took our seats on the table, with Hector sitting at the front end of the table and me on the left side on the seat closest to him. I stared right into the roasted chicken in front of me, my mouth drooling with saliva. But something didn't sit right with me. My heart tells me that I did not deserve this. I had to kill someone to get here.

"Lars, what are you waiting for? Just eat to your heart's content!" Hector cut down a big piece of meat and placed it onto my plate. "You'll die if you don't eat now!"

It looks delicious…..but is it right for me to eat?

Just eat, Lars. You need it.

I slowly picked up the fork, my hand shaking itself as it tried to move towards the piece of chicken. A part of me wanted to take a bite, but another part wanted to resist the motion.

However, the urge to satiate my hunger was stronger.

Eventually, I was able to pierce through the meat, with juices leaking out as I sunk down the fork even deeper. I quickly tried to bring it over to my mouth, but my hand continued to prevent itself from going any further with a persistent spasm. But as soon as the meat had touched my tongue, I bit it down and started to chew. A pinch of guilt came along with its taste, but I continued to chew anyway.

I picked up another piece. One bite turned into two, then three, then four. Each bite had a bitter feeling of shame, yet I couldn't help but indulge myself in this feeling of sweet pleasure. The next thing I knew, my plate had become empty. But I couldn’t stop myself from eating anymore.

—------------------------

It’s been a while since I’ve had a comfortable bed to lie on. It felt good to have a room of my own again. Yet, I wasn’t happy. The fact that slave-hunters get to sleep in such conditions while everyone else suffered irked me, but there was nothing I could do.

Do you understand, Lars? This is the reality of life.

The catgirl Gray appeared before my eyes, laying down on the bed right beside me. She fondled my hair softly with a smile on her face, the sensation of her fingers felt real despite not being physically here.

There are many things that lie in between the realms of right and wrong. The choices we make can’t always be black or white. Rather, they lie in the shades of gray. That is why you should try to live life in balance, always choosing the option that has the best outcome.

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

That doesn’t give us an excuse to do bad things. I’m still guilty over what I’ve done, even if that man was evil. What if he could change? What if he was given a second chance to do the right thing? To become a better man. I took that chance away from him, and he’ll forever be a bad person. Didn’t you say it yourself? That people could change at any moment?

I did say people could change, but I never said that the opposite was false. It is a choice to be made. But do you genuinely trust that man to make such a righteous choice?

Get out of my head, please. I just want to sleep.

As you wish, Master.

The catgirl disappeared, leaving me all alone in my room.

There’s only one goal in my mind right now. To deactivate my collar and defeat Hector and the Midas Hogs. The problem is how I’m going to do it. For now, all I can do is endure and patiently wait for an opportunity.

I got up from my bed and stretched my arm out.

“White.”

The white blade manifested itself in my hand. I observed the blade’s features and noticed its most unique trait. It was something I had discovered back in the cell. Its cutting edge was at the back of the blade instead of being at the front. In other words, it was like the Sakabato described in old tales. Also known as the reverse blade, a pacifist weapon that does not kill.

With this, I can fight without having to worry.

—------------------------

Hector stood by the balcony of his fortress, overlooking the spacious Midas Mines and the slaves that endlessly slammed their pickaxes against the rocks.

“Quite the view, don’t you think?” Hector asks.

“Sure,” I said. “But can you get straight to the point?”

Hector turns around and looks at me with his yellow gaze. “What a killjoy, it doesn’t hurt to just live in the moment, you know?”

“I can’t live in the moment with a bomb on my neck.”

“You know what, fine. I only called you for a specific purpose anyway,” Hector sighed. “Let’s talk business.”

I stood there silently and nodded my head.

“Surprisingly enough, there’s a lot of runaways who escape the mines every now and then. Even with the collars on their necks. They can’t leave the Sector, though. The Midas Hogs have control over the tunnels that lead to the other Sectors, so if you thought about escaping, then think again.”

So it really is futile to try running away.

“Your job is to hunt for those slaves and take them back, alive. You must return here with one slave everyday, without fail. That’s pretty decent, don’t you think? Considering you hate killing people,” Hector made a slicing gesture with his hand. “There will be no questions. There are much worse jobs than this, so you better be grateful.”

Bringing slaves back to work countless hours is already pretty bad, so I’d rather not do something worse than that. I’ll have to suck it up and just do it. However, the fact that I have to capture one everyday makes this even harder.

“Fair enough. When do I start?”

“You start tomorrow after breakfast.” Hector pointed to a gate at the far north end of the mines. “You will leave through there to start your hunt. Go check out the armory if you’re in need of some guns.”

I coughed. “I don’t do guns.”

“Oh, right. You’re a sword user. Don’t worry, we also have melee weapons, although practically no one uses them that much. Guess you could put them to good use!”

I can’t let them know about my powers, so I’ll just act like I’m going to use their weapons instead.

Good call, Lars. You can’t reveal your cards to the enemy.

“But I do wonder, how are you going to use the sword to bring people back alive? It’s not like it’s not a lethal weapon,” Hector wondered.

“That’s what I’ve been disciplined to do. To use the blade with restraint and only use the minimum required force necessary to incapacitate an opponent. Just like the Hero Artorias.”

“Huh, interesting.”

But that’s not really something I need to do with the White sword.

“You truly are an interesting fella, Lars. There’s one last thing I have for you.”

“What is it?”

Hector picked up some metal object from a table and walked over to me. It appeared to be some sort of metal mask with what looked like the shape of a cat's head cut horizontally in half.

"Legend says that the owner of this mask was a man of justice. He roamed the Under Sectors fighting against all the evildoers and used his power to defend the weak," Hector placed the metal mask on my hands. "Everywhere he went, he tried to help as many people as he could, but he died in the process due to his overly selfless ambition."

"What does this have to do with me?" I asked.

"That story reminded me of you, that's all. So this mask fits perfectly with your personality."

"This seems like some sort of precious artifact, why are you giving it to me so easily?"

"It's a way of reminding everyone that you are my precious pet," Hector gently held my chin. "A pet that must always submit to its master, although not completely loyal like a cat."

Ouch, that hurts me personally.

Ugh, this guy is creepy.

I agree, but I love the mask.

“Your life is mine, forever. Nothing will ever change that. It only serves to fulfill my purpose. Nothing more, nothing less. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

I swear, I’ll find a way to get rid of this collar and bring you down, you bastard.