Arrival At The Royal Capital, Then Imprisonment, Then Escape

We finally arrived at Giiv, the royal capital of the Elf Nation Anemosgive… but.

“Oh, it’s surprisingly normal. I thought it would be more affected by miasma.”

In the Elf Nation, air, water quality, and soil pollution had occurred because of the public harm caused by the magic tool artisan guild Gourmets of Venom.

The air had been stagnant, the water undrinkable, and they could not even receive the forest’s blessings.

But this royal capital Giiv was different.

From the outside, it felt like a city in the forest. Great trees stood in rows, and everyone built buildings on top of them. Were these called treehouses?

“…Most likely, there are no workshops here in the royal capital.”

“Ah, I see. No workshops means no miasma. That’s why the royal capital is safe. Zenith-chan, you’re so smart.”

I patted the head of Zenith-chan, the elf slave.

But her expression stayed gloomy.

That made sense. This was the city where she once lived. A coup happened, and her family was scattered.

She was probably recalling that painful past.

Unable to keep looking at that melancholy back…

I hugged Zenith-chan tightly from behind.

“Seyi-sama…?”

“It’s okay. Painful days can be overwritten with more enjoyable things. Like me now.”

I had been remembering those days when I was power-harassed by my boss less often lately.

It was probably because I was continuing this fun journey with the slave girls.

“Don’t make such a dark face. Clinging to a past that’s already gone is meaningless.”

“…Yes. What has already happened cannot be changed.”

“Right. So let’s look at the present, and the future, okay?”

I hugged Zenith-chan tighter.

She had seemed mature, but she was crying. After holding her for a while, it seemed her heart calmed down.

“…Thank you very much.”

“No, no. You’re an important companion. If it’s hard, big sis will hug you anytime!”

“…Th-that’s a little embarrassing.”

Daphne-chan looked over here silently with a big smile.

“…Ah, um, Seyi-sama. By the way, what will we do now?”

“Hmm. Well, for now, we go to the magic tool artisan guild and persuade the important people, I guess. If they keep running the workshops like this, the country will collapse eventually, so let’s change how we do things.”

“…Will they listen willingly? Unlike Abukuzenii, the branch supervisor, the one we will meet now is the guild’s headquarters director.”

“Well, then it’s persuasion (physical).”

We had Toka-chan and the robot maid on our side.

“…It would be better not to cause trouble.”

“I know. If we became wanted, traveling wouldn’t be fun.”

“How did this happen…”

Me, the slave girls, and the robot maid—five of us—were currently imprisoned in the palace’s underground dungeon.

When we reported to the guild headquarters, we were immediately seized by knights.

If I used a Teleportation Potion, we could have escaped easily, but the slave girls were restrained first.

If I resisted, my precious companions would be killed.

So I had no choice but to obey the knights, and that was how I got thrown into the underground dungeon.

“What did I even do!? Let me out!”

The slave girls and the robot maid were each put into separate cells.

Cherge held the magic potions, so escape from here was impossible.

Without potions, I was just an ordinary person…

“Heh… heh… long time no see, woman…!”

Appearing beyond the iron bars was an old man with an unpleasant face.

“Ugh, Abukuzenii… why are you here?”

Abukuzenii. The crappy boss who used to run the workshop where Terry-kun and the others worked.

“Isn’t it obvious? Revenge!”

“Huh? Revenge? Did I do something to you…”

…Yeah, I did. Yes.

I blew him to the edge of the sky and took over the workshop. Yes.

“You will be executed here!”

“Huh, executed?”

“That’s right! You took over the workshop without permission and interfered with our business—by order of the Forest King, you are to be removed!”

“Who is the Forest King?”

“The current elf king!”

“? Why would the elf king take your side?”

“Because His Majesty has a friendly relationship with us… heh heh heh!”

Aha, I could kind of see what was going on.

In short, the elf king and this magic tool artisan guild were colluding in business.

The new elf king… the Forest King made workshops be built across the country and took the profits. He did not care if the citizens suffered from pollution.

Because the new king had no attachment to the elves who originally lived here.

“He’s the worst of the worst.”

“You’re a feisty brat. How about it? If you cry and beg right now, I might forgive you. But on one condition—you’ll work under me for life, used like a slave… heh heh…”

Ah, no.

No, seriously, no.

I couldn’t stand it. I hated most of all people who used others for their own profit!

So what would I do? Simple.

I crouched down. I placed my hand on the floor and gathered what I needed.

It was damp, so… there, this moss. And for what else I needed, I extracted components from the air…

“Oh? What’s that? A dogeza?”

“No, it’s not.”

I had the necessary materials in my hands.

I rubbed them together with all my strength.

Flash…! A fierce light burst out.

“Gyaaah! My eyes, my eyesaaaaaah!”

Using alchemy, I processed the materials on hand and made an improvised flashbang.

I immediately placed my hand on the iron bars.

“Alchemy.”

The iron bars warped with a squish.

I slipped outside at once, shoved Abukuzenii into the cell, and returned the bars to their original shape.

“Wha!? Why am I inside the cell!? Y-you! What kind of trick did you use!?”

“It’s not a trick. It’s alchemy.”

Changing one substance into another—that was alchemy.

By applying it, it was also possible to freely change the shape of metal.

“While you were blinded by the flashbang, I just stepped out of the cell for a bit.”

“Damn it! Hey, someone! Prison break! The criminal is escaping!”

“Escaping? Hah! Like I’d do that!”

I would not run or hide.

If the king was the worst of the worst…

“I’ll go directly to this so-called Forest King and persuade (physically) him myself!”