The Freed Slaves Are Obsessed-Chapter 229: The Freed Slaves Become Obsessed

"This way, Master. Please have a seat."

Narsha led Karami to the merchant lord’s office, located on the very top floor of the building.

For an office, it was an exceptionally large room.

The entire fifth floor had no other rooms except for this one.

Since the day it was built, no one besides the cleaning maids had been allowed inside.

Even Narsha herself had never used it for business.

Because this place existed solely for Karami.

As he took his seat, four women sat across from him on the central sofas.

Arpia, Lin, Asies, and Elise.

Meanwhile, Mirabel—who had traded her witch’s staff for a maid’s broom—stood diagonally behind Karami.

After serving tea to everyone, Narsha sat down in a single-person sofa.

"A rather... unique gathering we have here."

Narsha glanced around.

Besides herself, there were five other "slaves."

Each one strikingly beautiful in their own right.

But what caught Narsha’s attention was the sheer amount of energy each of them possessed.

Invisible power struggles filled the air, making the already spacious room feel suffocating.

Had an ordinary person been here, they would’ve collapsed into a fit of seizures from the sheer pressure alone.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call this room the most dangerous place in the world.

At the same time, it was also the safest.

A one-meter radius around Karami.

Within that space, not even an ant could get close—every single force in the room instinctively acted as a protective barrier around him.

And yet, the control was so meticulous that Karami himself didn’t notice a thing.

Completely oblivious, he took a leisurely sip of his tea.

Well, not completely.

Because Narsha had not once looked away from him, her gaze sharp enough to kill.

She was smiling, and that was the creepiest part.

His hand trembled slightly as he held his teacup.

To break the tension, Karami cautiously spoke up.

"Narsha. I noticed Count Brian was being dragged out earlier. Was that your doing?"

"I apologize for the unsightly scene. He barged in suddenly and tried to force me out, so I simply sent him home."

"Why didn’t you go with him?"

"And why would you assume that I should?"

"Well, obviously— Never mind."

No need to ask.

He had a whole room full of self-proclaimed slaves sitting right in front of him.

"This time, I have a question for you," Narsha said, her voice deceptively soft. "Why did you sell me off? I distinctly recall you saying we’d always be together."

"Most people wouldn’t call sending someone home ‘selling them off.’" novelbuddy.cσ๓

"But you did take my family’s heirloom in exchange. That makes it a trade. So, calling it ‘selling’ doesn’t seem incorrect, does it?"

"...Hm."

"To make matters worse, that very heirloom now sits on someone else’s finger."

Narsha’s eyes flicked toward Elise’s hand.

As a natural-born merchant, she had an unerring eye for details.

Then, with a crazed smile, she fixed her gaze back on Karami.

"So, tell me, Master—how exactly did this happen?"

Karami swallowed hard.

This wasn’t good.

Since they kept calling themselves slaves, he had to maintain the dignity of a Master.

"It was my decision as the Master. Do you have a problem with that?"

"Of course not. But you just said, ‘as the Master.’ That must mean I am indeed your slave, correct?"

"What I meant was that I am the rightful owner of the ring. As for you, Narsha—you are your own Master."

A nod.

Karami confidently bobbed his head.

Cool. Collected. Smooth.

"An excellent point," Narsha said with a satisfied smile. "It is not a slave’s place to question how the Master uses his possessions."

"Glad you understand."

Internally, Karami let out a deep sigh of relief.

Is this what it feels like to be a male protagonist in a gender-reversed world?

One wrong word, and he was screwed.

"But Narsha," Karami continued, sensing the chance to shift the conversation, "your speech has changed, hasn’t it? It sounds more... refined now."

"As the daughter of a noble family, this is the manner of speaking I am expected to uphold."

"That’s funny. Because when we were alone, you used to speak casually. You even cussed at me—"

"Master?" Narsha cut in smoothly. "Others might misunderstand if they heard that. I would appreciate it if we ended this topic here."

She immediately shut down the discussion the moment it turned against her.

Clearly, she had a lot of experience in redirecting conversations.

"It has been a long time since we last met. Do you have nothing to say to me, Master?"

"I heard an interesting story. Apparently, I am the owner of this merchant guild."

"That is correct. While you were traveling, I recalled you mentioning that you wanted to manage a merchant guild one day. So, I took the liberty of making it happen. What do you think?"

From the moment Narsha began planning the guild, her life had revolved entirely around it.

Waking up at 6 AM.

Light exercise, then washing up and changing into a formal dress.

Every meal was eaten at a desk, not a dining table.

Work began at sunrise and didn’t end until the stars filled the night sky.

By the time she finally collapsed onto her bed, it would be around 2 AM.

She had invested almost every waking moment into the guild’s success.

With her exceptional talent in business and tireless dedication, the Reaper’s Merchant Guild had risen to become one of the continent’s greatest.

All for Karami.

Just to hear him say, You’ve done well.

But Karami’s expression remained unimpressed.

"Did I... make a mistake?" Narsha asked hesitantly. "If so, please tell me. I will correct it immediately."

"Narsha," Karami said, rubbing his temples, "I think you’re misunderstanding something. When did I ever say I wanted a merchant guild?"

The fun of a tycoon game comes from building something from the ground up, step by step.

Watching your store grow. Seeing your profits rise.

But suddenly being handed a completed merchant empire?

Where was the fun in that?

"I appreciate the thought, but I have no need for this. You should continue managing it as you have been."

"But—"

"Next."

Karami’s firm voice cut her off.

The instant he spoke, every woman in the room instinctively withdrew their aura and lowered their heads.

Leaning lazily against the table, Karami propped his chin on one hand and surveyed them with a look of clear disapproval.

He had indulged their nonsense long enough.

"I don’t know what any of you are doing here," he said flatly. "You were all freed. You have no obligations. So why do you keep calling yourselves my slaves?"

"Because... we want to stay with you..."

"I understand that you wish to stay with me. However, as I have repeatedly said, I do not accept a Master-Slave relationship."

Slavery was a bad thing.

From a modern perspective, from this world’s perspective—no matter how you looked at it, it was wrong.

Karami’s entire role was to take in unfortunate slaves and free them from both their status and their unfortunate circumstances.

"Your selfish actions not only contradict your supposed ‘slave’ mindset, but they also make all my efforts meaningless. Do modern slaves disregard their Master’s words and cause trouble?"

A sharp remark.

And then, the finishing blow.

"I need obedient slaves. Disobedient ones like you are of no use to me."

His tone carried clear irritation, even anger.

The women fell silent.

Lowering their gazes, they exchanged uneasy glances.

You try persuading him.

You’re the one who’s been talking big this whole time.

But no one spoke.

Karami rarely got angry.

Even when a slave misbehaved, he only ever scolded them lightly.

For him to outright reject their existence as slaves—this was a rare event.

Among them, the only ones who had directly incurred their Master's wrath were Mirabel and Lin.

Both had wept, snot dripping from their noses, before finally being forgiven.

But even they could not speak up now.

Because to protest would mean to defy their Master’s will.

Would they cease being slaves?

Or would they remain slaves while ignoring their Master’s command?

A dilemma with no solution.

The only one who remained at ease was Elise.

After all, she could simply declare herself his kin, rather than his slave.

She still bore the shackles. The blood pact still bound her.

"Mirabel."

"Y-Yes, Master...?"

"Shall I remove the shackles myself, or will you undo them on your own?"

"That’s..."

"If Mirabel is truly an obedient slave, then I believe you already know what you must do."

Karami smiled, as he always did.

All eyes turned to Mirabel.

Even when the other slaves were causing trouble, bickering and fighting, she had always been the diligent, reliable one.

Now, everyone was watching to see what choice she would make.

Under the weight of their stares, Mirabel—

"...I can’t do this."

—chose to defy his command.

Karami’s ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ smile disappeared.

Just as he was about to speak, Mirabel’s trembling voice interrupted him.

"But if I remove them... Master will leave. You’ll return to your original world. You’ll leave this one behind forever."

Karami’s eyes widened in disbelief.

"How do you know that, Mirabel?"

A deep blue light shimmered, and in an instant, a thick book materialized in Mirabel’s hands.

A tome from the Mage Tower, containing the mysteries and secrets of the world.

It was Mirabel’s personal magic—the Akashic Record.

Knowledge begets knowledge, intertwining with existing knowledge to create even more knowledge.

An infinite expansion.

A never-ending cycle of discovery.

And she had condensed it all into a single, all-knowing book.

This tome held many truths.

The secrets of the world.

And the secret of Karami himself.

For example: “If the contracts with five specific slaves are successfully completed, the individual will gain the right to return to their original world.”

Mirabel knew.

She knew exactly who those five were.

Only one remained.

And that final one... was herself.

If this last link was broken, it would mean an eternal farewell.

This was why she had desperately clung to the contract, even at the cost of disobeying Karami.

As the truth spilled from her lips, the other slaves were struck speechless.

One by one, they turned to Karami with expressions of shock and betrayal.

"Master... is that true?"

"Rami... leaving?"

"Dear, there must be some mistake, right? You’re joking, aren’t you?"

"Master?"

At the end of their collective gaze was Karami, looking increasingly troubled.

"Everyone... Just as you were freed, I too must be freed."

Back in his original world, Karami had played games, read web novels.

Sometimes, when reading isekai stories, he’d wondered—“Why would anyone want to go back to Earth when they have a life like this?”

But now that he was the one living it... it felt different.

Even when traveling abroad, a luxurious hotel couldn’t compare to lazing around in bed at home, scrolling through his phone.

No matter how good steak was, eat it every day and you’d start craving kimchi.

No matter how amazing a foreign land might be, home would always be home.

And this wasn’t just another country.

This was another world.

And worse—someone else’s body.

Sure, maybe one day he’d think, “Ah, shit. I should’ve stayed.”

But that was a decision to make after returning.

And besides—

"Just as I am your Master, in another world, I am a commander, a teacher, a trainer, a traveler, a doctor, a rival, a wanderer, a cult leader, a captain, a producer, and a master in countless other places. There are still so many people waiting for me to save them. You all understand that, don’t you?"

Words fired like bullets, rapid and relentless.

The slaves exchanged glances. Silent signals passed between them.

Then, in unison, they nodded.

"Mirabel?"

"Yes."

Mirabel raised her staff.

A navy-blue glow wrapped around Narsha.

Clink.

The shackles locked into place.

A bond forged between Karami and Narsha.

"Huh?"

Before Karami could grasp what was happening, Mirabel continued.

This time, the glow wrapped around Arpia.

"A~ I’d like to form a thousand-year contract. You’ll do it, won’t you, dear?"

Clink.

A message appeared before Karami’s eyes.

[Completely liberate the main slaves. Current count: 3/5]

"Mirabel, what are you doing?"

"I-I’m so sorry, Master. Truly. But..."

Even as she apologized, she kept waving her broom.

The energy flowed into Lin.

"Master~ I want to have little fox babies with you. Since I’m a gumiho, nine should be enough, right? Kihit."

Clink.

[Completely liberate the main slaves. Current count: 2/5]

"Wait! Stop! Please, just stop for a moment."

They didn’t listen.

Asies clutched a fairy tale book to her chest.

"The prince and the princess... lived happily ever after."

The final glow enveloped Asies.

Clink.

[Completely liberate the main slaves. Current count: 1/5]

Four years of effort—undone in less than a minute.

With the exception of Elise, who was already bound, every single slave had been shackled once more.

They didn’t care what Karami had to say.

Because a slave...

A real slave...

Couldn’t think for themselves.

Couldn’t act without their Master’s orders.

But if there was one thing they understood—

They would not let him leave.

"You think I’d allow that?" Elise smirked. "Master is mine."

This was beyond unacceptable.

Karami immediately attempted to cancel the contracts.

But no matter how much he tried, the system refused to budge.

Something was interfering.

Mirabel.

His contracts and commands were classified as magic.

And Mirabel, the Grand Witch and Tower Master, was the single greatest magic user in existence.

She was the only one capable of resisting his orders.

"Mirabel."

"I’m sorry. I really am. But, Master... we can’t live without you. We’re nothing without you. We’re all just... hopeless fools without you."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

They were foolish.

Pathetic.

Useless.

Without their Master, Narsha was no merchant lord. Mirabel was no witch. Arpia was no warrior. Lin was no gumiho. Asies was no princess. Elise was no saint.

They were all just slaves who couldn’t fend for themselves.

And that—

That was entirely the Master's fault.

He was the one who had made them this way.

He was the one who had given them freedom, only to try and leave them behind.

Because it was the Master's duty to take responsibility for his slaves.

"Master," they said, smiling ever so innocently, "you know we love you, don’t you?"

Like mischievous children.

Karami blinked blankly.

He had no idea what had just happened.

But one thing was clear.

The slaves he had freed... had become obsessed.