I Don't Want To Work! - Chapter 85
CHAPTER 85
“I solved it.”
Lionel was looking at me.
“Over there.”
“I told you the mark would fade away within a few days.”
“Excuse me?”
“Even the slight discomfort he’s feeling now will disappear along with the mark.”
“Uh, uh, Duke??”
“In the future, you probably won’t need to worry, Master.”
It was a strange situation.
Ringo, who was both the protagonist and the patient, was desperately calling for Lionel.
But Lionel was ignoring Ringo neatly and looking only at me.
“Lionel.”
“Yes, Master.”
“The patient is over there.”
As I pointed to Ringo, he nodded as if acknowledging.
“But still.”
Lionel grinned.
“I want to see you, Master. Not some elf like that.”
“….”
“….”
Both Ringo and I were confused by Lionel’s response.
What’s wrong with him?
‘Did I teach him something wrong?’
Since this is my first life, there might be some shortcomings.
But I did my best to teach what I could.
Why did it turn out like this?
“But when you examine a patient, you should look at them. Isn’t that basic?”
When I pushed his back again, Lionel finally turned his body reluctantly.
But his eyes, which were sparkling just a moment ago, were halfway dead now.
You.
“Ahem.”
I cleared my throat.
“Anyway, is the magic released now?”
Yes, Lionel nodded lightly.
“A few formulas were overlapping, so it was a bit complicated, but still.”
Grinning, Lionel smiled beautifully.
“It was a lizard’s curse, right?”
Both Ringo and I were speechless at that remark.
There’s only one person in this world who would call the dragon, the origin of magic, a lizard.
“….”
No, there’s me.
Recalling what I said to Pendrade, I nodded.
And I asked Ringo a question.
“How’s your condition, Ringo? The effects should start showing soon.”
“It’s light.”
Ringo looked at the faint slave mark for a moment, then clenched and stretched his fist.
Then he nodded.
“Yeah, it definitely feels lighter.”
Ringo seemed uncomfortable, swinging his arms and lightly jumping in place.
“Hmm. Was there also a curse that made the slave mark feel heavy?”
To be precise, the slave mark was a magical formula closer to a curse engraved on the body.
What I confirmed earlier was a curse that twisted the circle to prevent the use of mana.
And it was a curse that caused pain in the body.
“There seems to be another one mixed in subtly.”
Lionel said with a frown.
“Probably someone’s messed-up lizard’s magic, dirtying it.”
… Could that lizard be a dragon after all?
I hesitated to say something, then shook my head.
Instead, I diverted the conversation elsewhere.
“Ringo.”
“Yeah?”
“Can you try summoning Undine?”
Now it was time to check not just physical but also mana-related aspects. Being able to summon Undine meant that mana was circulating properly.
“…I’ll give it a try.”
Ringo, who seemed slightly tired, took a few deep breaths and then softly called his spirit.
“Undine.”
In response to the call, a thin stream of water appeared on his palm. It twisted and intertwined, forming a large stream of water.
<Ri-i-i-ingo-o-o!>
Soon, Undine was summoned.
“Undine.”
Ringo’s face lit up at the sight of the summoned water spirit.
‘He kept summoning Undine even when the slave mark was still there.’
Why didn’t he do it before?
‘After the slave mark was imprinted, he escaped among the followers of evil spirits.’
He must have tried summoning Undine many times while desperately trying to escape.
And he must have been frustrated.
In that terrible situation where no matter how desperately he called, nothing happened.
‘Besides, I heard he made a contract with Undine when he was young.’
They grew up together, left their hometown together, and grew up together.
For Ringo, Undine was not just a friend but also a comrade.
“….”
As I chewed on my lips, Ringo and Undine were having an emotional reunion.
<Why didn’t you call me all this time? Do you know how worried I was?>
Pretending to cry, Undine wiped his eyes, and tears flowed from them.
<That’s where you summoned me the last time!>
“I’m sorry.”
Ringo looked at Undine as if he were precious.
“But I’m all better now. I’ll summon you anytime.”
<Really?>
“Really.”
<Yeah!>
Undine nodded vigorously. Tears still streamed from his eyes.
<Let’s not be separated anymore!>
Undine said as he touched his forehead to Ringo’s. It seemed like an expression of closeness.
“Yeah, let’s not.”
<But where is this place? It’s my first time seeing it. Huh? Kyaaa! Master Wanderer?!>
Thunk!
If Undine had a physical form, wouldn’t it have made a sound like that?
Since he was so close and suddenly turned his body, Undine’s tail hit Ringo’s cheek.
Regardless.
Undine, who rushed towards me, looked at me with shining eyes.
<You were so cool in the spirit realm last time!>
“Uh, yeah. Thank you….”
I glanced at Ringo.
Ringo, with his cheek held, was speechless in shock.
I feel sorry for him.
* * *
“Now, can we move on to the next step?”
After the brief commotion, I cleared my throat and spoke up.
“We have to deal with those scammers.”
“Huh? Are we going to do it?”
Ringo, who had been talking to Undine, suddenly looked up.
“It’s been a long time, so they’re probably already dead, right? Besides, my memory is fading.”
“You’ll remember the last one.”
Even if Ringo can’t remember anything but the top.
He wasn’t dumb enough to forget about something that happened a hundred years ago.
“Even if the person died, their assets wouldn’t disappear, right?”
Money is eternal.
Even if people die, money remains.
‘Or maybe not.’
If it happened about a hundred years ago, those scamming bastards might still be alive, right?
‘Bad guys tend to live longer.’
While good people suffer, bad guys thrive, living comfortably.
I wasn’t someone who lived off others.
Since I dealt with rare herbs since childhood and made expensive medicines, I was often robbed and plundered.
Going through such plunder and robbery made me stronger.
‘Whoever stole my money, no, the top’s money?’
Twice the stolen amount.
No, that wasn’t enough.
I would make him pay back twice as much, including the trouble he went through, squared!
“Alright, let’s go fleece those scamming bastards!”
“But they’re dead.”
Ringo shook his head.
“To be honest, I haven’t completely let go. I’ve been looking into things here and there.”
Hmm, Ringo cleared his throat.
“But the scammer is dead, and his descendants have stepped into dangerous territory?”
“Dangerous territory?”
“Yeah.”
Ringo nodded blankly.
“The slave market.”
I let out a hollow laugh.
Did I hear wrong?
“But it’s what era now? And there’s still a slave market?”
“It’s profitable.”
Ringo joined his index and thumb, forming a circle.
“Especially these days, the slave market is more lively.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. It might be because of the war…”
Was the slave market thriving these days?
‘If anything, it should be abolished.’
After Baron Dean’s illegal gambling incident, the crackdown intensified.
Although the pretext was cracking down on illegal gambling, would soldiers turn a blind eye to other acts?
They rounded up everyone.
‘Thanks to that, not only the capital’s security but also security in other places improved.’
The emperor didn’t stop at just checking the capital.
Honestly, if you only increased the crackdown in the capital, those running illegal gambling dens would just scatter to nearby territories.
So until recently, I increased the number of crackdowns in each territory and reported it directly to the emperor.
‘A slave market still exists?’
It was an unbelievable claim.
‘Of course, it could be the aftermath of the war.’
Even if it was small-scale, a war was still a war.
Illegal activities could flourish amidst the chaos.
‘But the emperor calculated and increased the crackdowns.’
Why?
I kept wondering, but a calm voice next to me interrupted my thoughts.
“It’s probably true.”
As if not interested in the conversation between Ringo and me, or rather, Lionel, who hadn’t shown interest in what Ringo said, spoke up.
“Especially these days, Duke Marcus is worried that commoners are disappearing.”
“Duke Marcus?”
“Yes, the peculiar thing is that there are no reports from lords about the disappearance of commoners.”
“….”
In response to Lionel’s words, not only me but also Ringo, who had brought up the topic of the slave market, fell silent.
The slave market is thriving.
Commoners are disappearing.
And the lords, who should protect and safeguard their subjects, are keeping quiet.
These two facts point to only one thing.
“…Are the nobles directly selling their own subjects?”
Lionel didn’t answer.
But from the look in his eyes when he glanced at me, I could tell.
It was true.
“Ha.”
Leaning back against the sofa, I let out a bitter laugh.
“After going through countless reincarnations, now I’m moving backward through time.”
When was the slave system abolished, really?
“Phew.”
After taking a deep breath.
“Hey, Ringo.”
“Uh, yeah?”
“You’ve been tracking down where those scammer descendants are, right?”
Didn’t he mention earlier that they went to dangerous places?
Given Ringo’s personality, he probably hadn’t completely shut out thoughts about those who engage in such activities.
“I do know, but…”
“Lead the way.”
I grinned.
“I’ll make sure to clean out those bastards, down to their bones.”