Chapter 78 Still Illegal

As I sat on the bed pondering about something, I noticed that the sun was coming up bringing light into the room.

I shifted my gaze towards Hestia for a moment as I saw her sleeping on the couch, making faint breaths of a grown woman. She looked cute for some reason, which made me stare at her for a few seconds longer. I then snapped out of it and prepared to leave the room, grabbing onto my jacket and then putting my mask on.

-You could have at least nudged me or woke me up when you’re leaving! It’s not like I will do anything bad by coming with you!

Hestia exclaimed, her tone was a bit wronged and somewhat hurt making me smile wryly for a second. I turned towards her and gestured towards the door. I was surprised that she had woken up like this even though I was careful to not make any sounds. Well, she is connected to me at some point meaning she can tell where I am even when she’s asleep huh?

With that thought, I watched Hestia as she started stretching her body and pulling her hair back. I wondered if she was going to let me stay standing while she prepared to look “presentable.” Fortunately, that didn’t happen as she just left towards the bathroom, washed her face and came back looking refreshed. I was a bit amazed by her confidence or should I say natural “beauty,” knowing that she probably never used cosmetics to keep herself like this in her human form.

Hestia, seeing me gawk at her made a slight mischievous smile as she struck a pose, crossing her hands and tightening her chest. With that, she then said:

-Hee… I can show you much more if you like…

Seeing her act stupid again made me turn around towards the door ready to leave. I ignored her suggestion making her pout for a second, which didn’t really fit her image of a grown woman but more like a spoiled young lady. But still, I knew that Hestia was dependable so I let it pass. We left our room and walked towards the other room where the girls were staying; they were probably still sleeping.

The floor was really quiet with no real audible sounds other than our footsteps, which were pretty much muffled by the carpet under our boots. I could see other doors and tried to listen into them to see if there were any other people on this floor, just to discover that I couldn’t hear anything… Strange, it’s not like I cared because I wasn’t going to return here but the setup was interesting. I looked at the doors more properly and noticed they had some strange sigils engraved on the edges of the door which I didn’t notice earlier. I tried to will my senses towards the sigils more carefully and discovered that they were isolating what was behind the door, meaning the sigils were making it sound proof.

Thinking like this, Hestia and I finally stopped in front of the room where the girls were. I stepped forward and knocked on the door 3 times, waiting for someone to open…

(Cring)

The door knob shuffled back and forth and finally the door opened, revealing a slightly messy Christina with her hair all over the place. Her clothes were a bit revealing showing some skin and she looked at me, her gaze narrowed down. While I noticed that she had small rings under her eyes showing signs of sleep deprivation, I was thinking that Christina finally realized who I was through the mask and quickly started fixing her hair and clothing. I looked towards her back and noticed that the other girls were sleeping all over the place, a few on the couch and some on the ground holding something to drink or to eat… They had a helluva night didn’t they?

I looked back at Christina who seemed a bit clearer now that she fixed herself slightly. Her cheeks also flushed a bit embarrassed, probably not expecting me to actually come to their room I assumed.

-Ehm, please come in… wait no, no no, I don’t mean that by you can’t come in just that… can you please wait here for a second…?

I nodded my head at her confusing speech, not really caring a lot as she closed the door in front of me.

-She really has some big nerves to refuse her master doesn’t she?

Hestia said with a slight disdainful frown on her face.

-It’s not like I am forcing them or wanting them to do my every whim, and honestly speaking, I am not into slavery.

I said with an edge to my tone. It was a reminder that I would also not tolerate her useless bossiness against everyone. She didn’t like this but her attitude was likely going to get us into more trouble than she would admit to. And on top of that, this specific fact made her frown as she complained to me:

-You’re no fun…

-Never said I was.

I said with a light smile as the door in front of us once again opened up, revealing a more proper looking Christina. The rest of the women were standing in a neat line also looking proper and clean, as their surroundings were picked up spotless.

I could see a slight impressed expression on Hestia’s face as she muttered quietly.

-Fine, your win…

I snorted and just entered the room where all the girls were waiting. We needed to talk, plan and prepare for the things that were about to happen in about 1 hour from now. With that thought, I told everyone to sit down while I started to release the iron collars on their neck one by one.

-This…

Angela who was the youngest in this group was surprised and a bit shocked by the fact that the collar was now gone. She was holding it with a complicated expression on her face, thinking deeply about. She wasn’t showing any emotional feelings by the sudden release of her restriction like the others did, while some of them were whimpering a bit, and some just tearing up while smiling.

I looked at her, not sure why she was just looking at the collar so possessively.

-You see Master James… I was actually brought up with this collar on my neck, since I was a child actually.

She didn’t say further as she looked at the iron collar confused, but I could understand that. The collar was the mark of her life as a slave and even without it; the magic will still hold and keep her as a slave. But now that she was free from it and free from the restrictions, it made her not very sure of herself on what to do next. It was as if her whole life was centered on being a good slave. She knew that it was something horrible to be and longed for freedom like any normal person, but at the same time it was something she grew up with making her quite conflicted about herself, about who she was and all. She kinda reminded me of myself for some reason but that’s not important right now.

While she was spacing out, I snatched the collar from her hand and threw it towards the pile of other iron collars which the girls threw away too. The iron ring flew and made flips as it finally fell onto the pile with a clinging sound, disrupting the other collars. At the same time, it made her look that way still not sure about herself.

-If you’re not sure what you want, then ask the people who know what they want. After all, you aren’t fully free since you will still be working under me but in a rather… a more pleasant environment. I am not here to judge so you will decide on your own, think of this as something like a new start.

Angela whole heartedly listened to me even though she couldn’t see my face. She understood that I was just trying to give her comfort even though I was bad at it, which was choosing the right words. I was still able to make her understand as she smiled at me giving a vigorous nod to herself.

-Don’t worry Master James, I won’t disappoint you.

I nodded to her and reached out my hand for a second, confusing her with my gesture until she finally understood and took my hand shaking it. She couldn’t see it but I was smiling under my mask, feeling better about myself for some reason…

As Angela and I had this conversation, I noticed that everyone was quiet and looking our way. When Angela noticed that too, she looked towards the others who started talking amongst themselves, not really trying to be quiet about it.

-Haah… Angela is sly; she pulled a quick one under our noses.

-She is growing so fast and is already chasing after men. How envious, she is soon going to leave us sisters and marry a man…

The comments were a bit overboard and exaggerated, not something an adult would believe but surprisingly the words worked against Angela. She started to turn red looking at the small group of women who were still chatting away. They were saying things to mostly tease and embarrass her while glancing at our way.

-A… a… I… no, that’s not it… It isn’t like that with me and Master James… stop it!

Angela was red as she said that, going after the group of teasing woman who were trying to hide their laughter and smiles. They were fleeing from Angel who was bright red and trying to be angry, but was also too overwhelmed by her embarrassment.

-Ehh, everyone stop! You are in front of the master and that’s not good behavior!

Christina said to everyone trying to end the ruckus, which surprisingly worked. Everyone looked at me a bit embarrassed themselves as they slowly got back to their seats ending the theatrics.

-I take my words back, you can be fun sometimes.

Hestia said while standing next to me. I glanced at her and said in a low tone:

-Not always.

With that said, I started to tell them what we were about to do and where we were about to go. My explanation was met with a lot of gasps and wide eyes but in the end, when I finished I asked one thing from them:

-This could potentially be deadly and I can’t 100% guarantee your safety. You have two choices: To leave or stay at your pleasure… am I clear?

I looked at everyone. No one seemed to have any desire to leave as they all nodded to themselves resolutely.

-We are ready Master James.

I smiled seeing their determination; it was definitely worth it to have taken them with us. At first I had my doubts of course but now they’ve grown on me a little bit. Pulling off my mask and revealing my face, I garnered everyone’s attention as I said:

-By the way, my name isn’t James, my name is… Dawn Timer.

I told everyone with a gentle smile while looking at their eyes become wider and their faces filled with surprise. Hestia who was standing next to me, also pinched me for a second almost making me flinch as I looked at her grumbling face.

-You and your dumb secrets. The next thing you’ll tell me is that the abnormally handsome face you have isn’t actually yours…

The others looked at Hestia with sympathy which I couldn’t quite understand…

-Ehmm, if I may but… how… how old are you Master Ja… I mean Master Dawn?

Angela asked with a flushed face not really looking at my face. I was also not sure if I should answer the question but in the end, I didn’t see any harm to it and just openly admitted it to everyone who were so curious.

-I am actually 15 years old.

As I finished saying that, everyone at the table stood up looking at me as if I was ludicrous. Even Hestia who used to call me young master looked at me a bit wide eyed as they all said in unison…

-THAT YOUNG?!

-You are the same age as me!

Said Angela as she was the only one who seemed really happy about this fact. For some reason, everyone looked at her with the same expression they had a few minutes ago. Some smiled wickedly at her, not really saying anything but betraying the meaning of their faces as they looked at her. Angela turned even more redder up to her ears as she sat back down almost curling into a ball…

-Soo… touching is still illegal, damn it.

Hestia muttered at the back making me want to ignore what she said. I continued with Christina, asking her how the locating spell went…