“Alright, so that just about settles things with their registration.” Figuro sighed like he had just run a marathon. “What other things can I help you with today.”

“Great…” I smiled wryly. “Now is it possible to release them as slaves?”

“Ah!” The girls made strange noises of protest, but I ignored them.

“Wh-what!?” Figuro made a face. “I just finished all their paperwork! Now you want the mark removed?”

“Haha… well, the paperwork was just a safety precaution. I’m not sure if you’d be able to remove their slavery, and even if you could, that will have to wait. I’m just preparing for the worst while hoping for the best, is all.”

“Can you be more specific?”

“Well, you remember that Lord Tibult guy, right?”

He jerked for a second and the name but then nodded. “What of him?”

“I ended up being put into a master-slave challenge against him. It was made up by the prince. If I fail, I need to free the girls. This isn’t a problem for me. As you know, I’ve desired their freedom for a while. What is a problem is that I was cursed in a manner where I can’t give up my slaves. The prince has a few solutions, but they require mutilating me or hurting the girls, and so a third option is definitely desired.”

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As I spoke, the girls behind me were very quiet. Whenever I spoke of releasing them, they typically lowered their heads and became quiet. It was probably a taboo subject for a slave. If they let themselves show excitement over being freed, that would naturally put a lot of discomfort on their Master. It was nice that they were considering my feelings, but I really wished they’d be more expressive towards seeking their freedom.

“The Prince Aberis and Lord Tibult, you’ve encountered some interesting people yourself since coming to the Capitol.”

“Ah… well, it wasn’t intentional. Things just sort of happened that way.”

“Alright… well, I can tell you there may be an option. There is a special rune formation which nullifies bonds.”

“Nullifies, you say?”

He nodded. “Slaves, pets, coercion… it was created a long time ago after the end of some war against a Demon Lord. He used a lot of bonds to force people into his employment, and the country was getting a major headache trying to determine who was a legit follower of the demon lord and who was just brainwashed or forced into doing it. In the end, this circle was made. All bonds are effectively severed while the rune is in effect. During that time, it may be possible to sever their bonds.”

“Really, then…”

“But!” He held up a finger. “The ingredients to make the rune are extremely rare and hard to find. You’d need to have a lot of wealth to build the rune. At least 10,000 gold, and even then, you’d have to be lucky to find all the ingredients or have a lot of resources. I heard a while ago someone had the parts for such a rune, but those were just rumors.”

I lowered my head. “So, it’s probably impossible then.”

Even someone like me who had already had accumulated a nice wealth, 10,000 gold was still far outside my realm of affordability.

“Alright, then, I guess I’d like to look at your slaves.”