The sky has gone white.
　Yukari, who had been crying and sleeping, wakes up with the morning sunrise.

'Drink away,'
　I said that and handed him a state recovery potion. It's like a nutritional drink in the senses. Thanks to this guy, I've managed to endure an all-nighter. Last night I failed to do so, but .......

I'm sorry about .......

　I lowered my head to Yukari.
　I put her in harm's way. It was my carelessness.

............

　Yukari stared at me in silence.
　Then she hesitated for a while and opened her mouth.

''I'm the one who's sorry.
You mean the way you've been behaving?
Yes. Actually,
Yeah, I know. Brainwashing, I guess.
......!
I think it's called "brainwashing your master to be wary of you." It's a skill that Lady Lucia has.

　Yukari rolled her eyes in surprise at my words. The area around her eyes is red and swollen.

"...... you are, why ......

　I don't know if I'm still trying to get my emotions in order, or if I'm just stalling on something.
　Even though it's because of the brainwashing, he's still someone I've considered like an enemy of my parents until now. Maybe he's still on guard.

'Take your time. Let's talk as we walk.
　I pulled an apple and a banana out of my inventory and handed them to her and stood up.
　Yukari took them and walked off with me slightly behind her.

　We walk as we eat.
　Even after I finish eating, I walk.
　We walked on and on.

　After about two hours of walking, Yukari started to talk.


''I've spent my life assassinating for a living as a pawn of the female duke Lucia Icine.
A pawn?
''Yes. Lady Lucia picked me up as an orphan, and did not give me a name, but only raised me as a pawn to perform assassinations.
...... I see.

　I have a rebuttal, but let's keep it quiet for now.

'Perhaps I was brainwashed. That I was happy. That I was lucky to be Lady Lucia's assassin. In fact, up until that moment of despair when I was captured by the bandits, I had been glorifying my days as a shadow."
Okay.
It was a stupid mistake." ...... No, it was a cruel brainwashing. And the real despair was after the brainwashing was lifted.

　Yukari's voice trembled.

'I was never ...... loved by Lady Lucia. I was deceived all the time. I used false love as the foundation of my heart. I never had a respectable master or any other kind mother .......

　Are you frustrated or sad?
　Yukari continues to speak with tears welling up in her eyes.

I'm going to tell you the ...... story that I was 'silenced' by my brainwashing.
'That's the reason for the execution of Lady Lucia, isn't it?
'Yes. Lady Lucia was executed for treason, but that is a downright lie. It was a ruse by the enemy. The enemy is the First Queen White Castell, ...... that's how I remember it.
How do you know?
'I am a shadow. I am a shadow; I am to take the place of Lady Lucia's hands and feet and get dirty. How could I not know that? But you can go to .......
Hmm?
'The fact that I was brainwashed and kept from revealing this information to my new master is probably not good information for Lady Lucia.

　Yukari looks thoughtful.
　The master who had taken care of her up until now did not love her. That's where suspicion grew, and he finally revealed the information to me. Still, I feel remorseful. That's how deep the roots of the brainwashing were, and I guess that's how I feel.

'............!'

　I had one good idea sparked in me.

　I'm going to gain her trust by using a "thing" I've been meaning to do once my brainwashing is over.
　A deal, so to speak. It reminds me of when I was with Sylvia.

　I don't know if she'll take it. So to increase the certainty, let's start by giving her some of my insights.
　A little unfair thinking that only someone who knows Mevion as a game would be able to do.

"Would you like to hear my thoughts for a moment?

　I look into Yukari's eyes and ask her a question.
　Yukari nodded her head after a short silence.

'Yukari's thoughts are certainly on target. But Lucia Icene - I'm sure she loved Yukari.
'No way. ...... It can't be. I've been brainwashed, you know?
What if that brainwashing was to protect Yukari?
...... No, of course not. Then why was I not given a name and raised as an assassin?
''The fact that I didn't give you a name, and the fact that I brainwashed you to prevent you from leaking information, was to protect you. That's how I created the image of 'the poor slave who was forced to be assassinated by the duke's brainwashing'.
I'm not an image. I spent my days as a real-life assassin, a hard, tough assassin.
But you were happy, weren't you?　You were glad to be a slave to the Duchess, weren't you?
So that's brainwashing.

You see, I've got a one-time offer for you to perform a brainwashing spell.

　The restrictions of Mevion's Brainwashing Magic. The same would be true in this world. That's why I felt uncomfortable here and realized this possibility.

''...... Eh ......?''
'In your case, it's one of those times of brainwashing that makes you wary of me. Which means you actually thought your days as a shadow were happy.
"Yeah, nah. ......

　I can't believe it - and The expression on Yukari's face was really quite obvious.

　This consideration was half the intention and the other half the 'sweet bait'.
　It's a sweet, sweet, sweet bun that she'd be tempted to believe and eat.

　Yukari is troubled.
　That's why, no, but maybe ...... so troubled, and increasingly "want to believe". How happy I would be if this were true.

　And when the time is right.
　I've prepared a certain thing to put on the trading floor.

"Yukari. You wanna break out of here?



　　* * *



　I told him everything.
　I didn't trust him yet. But there was no longer any other way to go but to put my trust in him.

　Surprisingly, he listened to me quietly.
　When I finished speaking, he shared his own reflections.

　...... Incredible. That's all I can honestly say about it.
　But if what he says is true ...... I may one day be proud that my days, my dearness, were not wrong. It seemed like such a gentle interpretation.

'Will you break out of jail?'

　He says. He looks regal and spare.

'Breaking out?'
Yeah. I was going to do it when I got out of my brainwashing. ...... It's what you call a "loophole."

　A word that doesn't sound very good enters my ears, and anxiety and doubt grow in me.

'Briefly, you will no longer be an illegal slave. There will be no more 'no attack' or anything like that.
...... Is that possible?

　No way.

'The Maurice Chamber of Commerce will take notice of me, but that's okay. We have more important things to worry about.

　What's more important than making enemies of the big business community?

Trust me. And I want you to be my blacksmith.

　.............

　It's ridiculous.
　It's usually the opposite of what should be a priority.

　Besides, there's no point in saying something that can't be done.

It's a boring joke.

　Jailbreaking ...... would mean freeing me from slavery without a formal release of slavery magic.
　Impossible. It's not possible. Otherwise, the business of slavery would not be viable.

So, if I break out of here, will you trust me?

　He grinned and said challengingly.

'...... Yeah, fine. Let's trust you.

　I replied. 'If you can do it, do it,' he said.

"Hmm. "and then you can go head-first into my chest.

............ Yes?

　I don't know what that means.

"Head on to my chest. Do it for real.
No, I'm not supposed to be able to contractually do that, but ......
You can do it. Come on, just do it. Here.

　He waits for me with his arms outstretched.

　Why is he so confident?
　Where does that confidence come from?

　...... Why am I moving closer to him?

I'm going?
Yeah. Come on, Don.

　There was no way I could do it.

　I squeezed my eyes shut and dove headfirst into his chest as hard as I could.

'Guffaw!'

　He grunts.

　Thud--. My head hits his chest, and the pain spreads like a jolt.


　I could ............. It was done.

　It wasn't a lie. It was a definite attack. Why on earth would ......?

It's working.

　I looked up at his face and he smiled and put his hand gently on my back.


'.................. I, ha,'


　I am.

　Maybe I had made a very big mistake.

　He had never once lied to me in his life, had he?

　I'm about to notice something.

　All sorts of sights pass through my head at high speed.

　Tokun, tokun, tokun. A little faster, I can hear his heartbeat.

　Oh, he's one person just like me. I realize that. My heart is beating faster and faster, too.


　And then I discovered. His "piece of trust".

　When he was rescued from the bandits, his hands were shaking as he untied the rope.

　I was scared. He'd fought a bunch of bandits and killed a bunch of people. How could he not be afraid?

　Just like me. I couldn't stop shaking after my first job.


　...... No way. No way!

　Did he really rank first in the world?

　Is that why you left it to the two of them in the dungeon for training?
　You didn't leave my side to protect me?
　Random transitions don't lie, and 255 kilometers doesn't lie either. The seven-day trip to Pehoe is also true.

　And the fact that you fought so patiently to get me out of my brainwashing?
　And the sleepless night shift to protect me?
　He didn't assault me. He couldn't have attacked me in the first place, under contract.

　Was I wrong?
　Was I mistaken?

　You saved me from bandits.
　They listened to me.
　You gave me hopeful consideration that I was not aware of.

　You freed me from slavery. Just tell me to trust him, that's all.


　All, all, he raised me to be a blacksmith ......?

　Is he for me?

　So much for me and only me like this: ......!


Do you believe that now?

　My heart jumps at his words.

'............ yeah.'

　I nodded to wipe the tears from his chest and said

'In a manner of speaking. I'll believe it: ...... master.

　Second, an eccentric man who wants to be number one in the world.

　Maybe he can do that at .......