Slave Harem Volume 2, Chapter 14

Chapter 14

　Like swimming in half-solid water, Kruse moves through the walls.

　The magic of wall-passing is powerful enough to catch any monster by surprise.

　Outside, there were around a hundred slaves, running alongside, protecting Kruse's safety.

　When they make noise, Kruse attacks from inside the wall.

　There were initially a thousand slaves, but now there are only about a hundred. Those around them are the strongest among the slaves, but the monsters in the dungeon are even stronger than that.

　As expected, the number of disposable slaves has decreased considerably when it comes to this situation.

　This is because he is increasingly inclined to reduce the wear and tear on the shields that protect him.

　Therefore, the basic policy is to run away without fighting or to avoid the monsters as soon as the scouts see them.

「There are only undead in this layer? The number has been increasing since the previous layer, but ......」

　After slipping out of the wall, Kruse calls out to one of the slave leaders, who was in the middle of the line.

　Although the magic of the wall-passing is an infinitely powerful category of magic, just being inside the wall without doing anything is almost as exhausting as running. Therefore, it is not possible to stay there forever.

「The undead is also half-monster ones and half adventurers ― and quite old adventurers at that. They use magic with impunity, so the wear and tear are very high. There must have been many who had trudged through the dungeon before history told of it. Clearly, this is no ordinary strength. Four slaves are in a state to handle one.」

「I know. Give me a detailed report of the exact number of people and supplies remaining.」

「Err...I'm not very good at managing supplies,...... and now that we don't have a colleague who specializes in ―Julis-sama― We have a lot of mixed-up information. ......」

「............」

　Even in a situation where he would normally be furious at being negligent, Kruse said nothing.

　If you think about it calmly, the reason is that there is no time to grasp the situation due to powerful monsters and undead attacks. This much was a physical limitation.

　And since there was clearly another reason for the current goofiness, there was no need to be angry.

　――Julis.

　Only after she was gone did everyone realize that Julis was the keystone of the group.

　Specifically, the cooperation between the top, i.e., Kruse and the group, was broken.

　Kruse, who had thought Julis was a slightly superior second-in-command, was reminded that he had been very wrong in his perception.

「Tsk ......」

　He doesn't feel comfortable without a woman who is always by his side. He doesn't even like talking to slaves with his own mouth.

　――How can I, the king, be disturbed by a mere servant girl?

　From the time he was born, he has lived surrounded and cuddled by many people.

　And yet, he is strangely attracted to a single person.

　The slaves were scared to death when Kruse became angry.

　He could see the fear in their eyes. Then he finally realizes the biggest difference between his men and Julis.

　――Favoritism and spontaneous action. That is what Julis had.

　That is why she acted and adjusted ahead of time.

「I feel like I've come a long way. ――I am sure nothing has changed for me since then.」

　No one reacts when Kruse talks to himself. First of all, no one knows what he is talking about.

　The primordial thoughts of a man who has conquered dungeons three times and reached the depths of the Seven Great Dungeons.

　The childish dream of a man who lost his mother in a power struggle and thought he would become king and end the conflict.

　The first consenter of this dream is Julis.

　In his childhood, when Kruse was just a powerless prince, he often escaped from the royal palace and went outside to play.

　It was on such a day that he picked up Julis.

　From then on, they always played together. Wherever he went, Julis followed.

　Even in the clichéd secret base that he had built as his kingdom, only Julis helped him build it.

　What he does has not changed much in essence since then, but he feels like he has not made any progress, even though the things he can does have expanded, the number of things he can use has increased, and he can now travel farther.

　He should be better equipped and stronger. And yet, he can hardly breathe. He feels as if he is sinking into the water.

　If he wants to make his dream come true, he must be strong. Without strength, you can't even be king.

　Kruse convinces himself that he is not mistaken.

　Kruse has not yet realized that power has transformed the roots of his being.

　The dream began with a sincere desire, but he has almost forgotten the essential feelings.

　――What does it matter if I have favor or not? As long as I had the 【Scepter of Domination】, everyone would move voluntarily, just as Julis did.

　The fact that the choice to use a slave crest exists is a sign that they don't trust each other, and Kruse is unaware of this.

　Paradoxically, he also does not see that he and Julis, who did not inscribe the slave crest, had a trusting relationship.

　――As the future king, there is no need for me to be moved by a single tool. That would be a mistake. You should prioritize the many slaves over the single one. That is the rational decision.

「Moving forward. More and more forward.」

　The man who wanted to escape from the cold royal palace, where everyone is an enemy, is again on the road without allies today.

　The road of the cold champions, was covered in blood and paved with corpses.

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