Diary of a Middle-Aged Sage's Carefree Life in Another World: Volume 5 (eBook)

Kotobuki Yasukiyo (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2025
250 Seiten
Publishdrive (Verlag)
978-1-7183-7392-1 (ISBN)

Infos

Despite monster attacks, backfiring experiments, and one very overzealous guard, the students of Istol Academy of Magic have made it most of the way through their training camp. But it's not over yet-and a trio of assassins have emerged to kill Zweit, who's been separated from the rest of his group.

Textauszug

Chapter 1: Zweit Comes Under Attack

“How long are you gonna keep sitting on my back?” Zweit said, trying to tell the girl perched on his back to get off.

But the girl stubbornly clung to him. “I can’t let you get away. Not if I want to eat...”

With the girl restraining him, he couldn’t move. He’d tried, but it just tired him out.

But he hadn’t missed the girl saying that she “couldn’t let him get away.”

It sounded like she was an assassin hired by Samtrol.

“Get off already. I mean, you’re not exactly heavy, but...it’s getting annoying.”

“No. If I let you go, I won’t get any food...”

“If you think you’re strong, how ’bout you come work for us? I’m sure we’d pay you a decent amount if you’re any good.”

The girl hesitated for a moment. “I dunno. I don’t want to kill people, so...”

It was becoming clear to Zweit that this girl wasn’t an assassin by choice—that she was just in her profession because it was her only option if she wanted to live.

And so, he thought perhaps he could win her over to his side. Maybe that’s how I get out of here alive.

But things were never that easy.

“Would you mind not trying to seduce my little girl here?” a new voice—not the girl—chimed in. “I swear, you can’t take your eyes off an attractive man for a second...”

When Zweit looked to where the voice had come from, he saw a woman wearing a black evening dress and a ridiculous amount of flashy jewelry.

Actually, no; it wasn’t just a woman. There was also a boy about Zweit’s age, dressed in knight’s armor, drawing a sword and getting into a stance.

He had a collar around his neck with a red magic gem set into it, the sign of a serious criminal.

“Who the hell are you...?”

“Oh, but do you really need to know?” the woman said. “I’m not exactly a big softy. I don’t feel the need to introduce myself to a boy who’s about to die.”

“Ah... So you’re the assassins that idiot hired, huh? Or, what—the last remnants of some group my dad took out?”

“I thought I just said I wasn’t going to bother introducing myself. On the off chance that we somehow mess this up, I’ll be the one getting chewed out for it. Not that we will mess up, of course.”

The woman’s voice was cloyingly sweet, not too unlike the voices belonging to the prostitutes around Stihla that sometimes called out to Zweit. It left him uneasy.

Regardless, her words made it clear she was a killer. With what little information he had, Zweit decided to scope out the situation with a bluff.

“Hmm... Are you sure you want to be here right now?”

The woman paused, thrown off guard. “What do you mean by that? I don’t like that you’re acting so calm...”

“Oh, it’s no big deal. But just...think about it. My dad already knew you guys were going to try to pull something. Safe to assume someone’s been leaking all your plans, right?”

“So what? However impressive your father may be, he won’t be able to do anything to stop us, boy.”

“You’re not very smart, are you? Sure, maybe he wouldn’t be able to do anything to you...if your group were still standing. But he may be destroying it right about now, y’know? I could see him doing that.”

The woman—Sharanla—was starting to worry.

If Zweit—their target—was telling the truth, it was entirely possible that even if they killed him here and now, they might return to find that their organization had been destroyed.

He had, after all, been given some insane monsters—the coccos—as his guards. It was fair to assume their plans had been leaked.

Zweit also seemed awfully calm for the situation he was in. He didn’t appear panicked in the slightest.

Better use this while I’ve got the chance...

With Sharanla distracted, her mind racing through all sorts of different possibilities, Zweit used the opportunity to sneakily activate the magic amulet Zelos had given him.

From the way these assassins had gotten caught up in conversation with their target, he’d assumed they were amateurs and figured he’d have no problem buying himself a moment to act. Still, he breathed a silent sigh of relief as soon as he confirmed he’d been right.

“I can never tell what Dad’s thinking, but I know one thing: He’s ruthless with his enemies. Wouldn’t surprise me if he already had an idea where your hideout is.”

Zweit had just used one of his trump cards. He didn’t want to let his enemies know that, of course, so he did his best to keep the conversation going.

In part, he was trying to stall for time. But now that he knew help would be on the way, he was also trying to get as much information as he could out of these assassins.

“Is your father really all that amazing? You haven’t even given us any proof. I’m not sure I can believe you, boy.”

“Fair enough. Still, while it may be weird for me to say this about my own dad...the guy’s insane, you know? Trust me, he’d have no problems using his son as bait to crush some group he wants gone.”

“H-Huh?! Then what about my freedom?!”

“Freedom?” Zweit asked. “You’ve got a thrall collar around your neck, so you’re a criminal slave, right? What’d you even do?”

The slave boy, Reinhardt, suddenly averted his eyes, desperate to avoid Zweit’s gaze.

The pink ninja girl, however, didn’t miss a beat. “He tried to make a slave harem,” she butted in from behind Zweit. “He failed.”

“Oh. So that’s what it was. You tried to force yourself on a lawful slave and got caught... Are you an idiot? Slaves still have human rights unless they’ve committed some serious crimes, y’know?”

“I didn’t knoooooow!”

“He really is an idiot, isn’t he? Every country has its own laws, so you really should learn them before you go to a new country. But he didn’t, and he just went straight to buying a slave and trying to put his hands on her...which is how he ended up like this.”

“And so you got bought yourself as a criminal slave, huh? Can’t say I feel sorry for you...”

“C’mon! Every guy dreams of having his own harem, right?!”

“Uh...no. I’d be fine with just one woman I’ve really fallen for. Besides, having to deal with loads of women seems like a pain. Like what Dad does.”

“AND YOU CALL YOURSELF A MAN?!” Reinhardt XIII screamed with everything he had.

But as Sharanla had said, every country had its laws—and those laws were there to be followed. Reinhardt had ignored them outright, and now he was reaping what he’d sown.

“For starters, lawful slave merchants are sort of like middlemen for employers and job seekers. They have to pass a whole lot of checks from the state before they get permission to operate, and they sell their slaves to businesses that are short on workers. The slaves can earn back their freedom by paying off their debts, and sometimes decide to keep working at the same job. That’s all just common sense, right?”

“So they’re sort of like employment agencies, then. But what do the slaves do if they get sent somewhere bad?”

“Anyone who becomes a slave has their name recorded in a register in whatever territory they’re in. They can’t leave that territory—or, well, since they’ve got debts in that territory, they need to get a permit before they can go anywhere else. And the people who buy the slaves have to protect their rights. They can’t just work their slaves to death. If they tried, they’d end up as a criminal slave themselves! And slaves can take their owners to court too.”

“Why are there such strict laws around slavery?! It’s insane!”

“Why are you trying to act like the victim here? They may be slaves, but they’re still people, so of course they keep their rights. As long as they don’t have criminal records, they’re no different from regular citizens. I don’t know whether that’s the same in other countries, though, mind you.”

Those who were sold as slaves all had their circumstances. Generally, they couldn’t find work through regular means, or they were living in poverty and had nowhere else to turn. Slave merchants were almost a refuge of sorts to people like those—and just because they were enslaved didn’t mean they had their rights stripped away.

It was sort of like using your own body as collateral to get a loan. You’d work without pay for a while until your loan was paid off, and your owner was obliged to keep you properly fed, clothed, and sheltered.

“Did you seriously think slaves were out there selling themselves because they wanted to? They’ve all got their reasons, y’know?”

“But they’re slaves! You expect them to serve their master, right?! Who expects to get dragged to court just because they went in for a kiss?!”

“Just imagine you had someone you’ve got no interest in coming up to you and saying, ‘I order you to kiss me.’ Could you do it? Even if it was some obese old lady...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 19.2.2025
• Reihe/Serie: The Diary of a Middle-Aged Sage's Carefree Life in Another World
• Illustrationen: Kotobuki Yasukiyo
• Übersetzer: Kotobuki Yasukiyo
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Fantasy / Science Fiction ► Fantasy
• Schlagworte: gamer hero • harem gamelit • Isekai • Light Novel • LitRPG • older protagonist • overpowered main character
• ISBN-10: 1-7183-7392-9 / 1718373929
• ISBN-13: 978-1-7183-7392-1 / 9781718373921