Chapter 3 I Thought an Aide Meant a Spy, But This?
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
The day I could finally set foot outside had arrived. Honestly, it came much sooner than I expected, but I’d been counting down the minutes, so I wasn’t about to complain.
”You know the drill, Kisaragi,” the soldier said. “Whatever happened within these walls stays within them. You’ll give me your word on that, won’t you?”
As I was making my exit, a man who looked every bit the part of a Knight came to my cell, bowed slightly, and delivered the warning.
”Of course,” I replied. “I intend to wipe my memory of this place clean unless I have a damn good reason to remember. You don’t have to worry about me running my mouth.”
That wasn’t exactly a lie. If I needed to talk, I’d talk. And if I decided it was necessary, then it was.
”Hmph. Fair enough. Here is your initial stipend¹,” the soldier said. “I’ve included your residency papers as well.”
He handed me a small pouch and a certificate that looked like a residency permit. I peeked inside the bag-ten gold coins. I’d already gotten the lowdown on currency from one of the maids. These were Small Gold Coins². If my math was right, this was enough to cover a long-term stay at a decent inn for about six months.
I guess it’ll do for a start. It’s decent enough seed money, though it doesn’t even come close to making up for what they put me through.
”So, about this ‘assistant’ you’re assigning me…?” I asked.
”She’s right there,” the soldier replied. “You only get one, so don’t get greedy.”
I spun around, and my eyes landed on a woman who looked like she’d just crawled out of a gutter. Aside from her tattered rags, she looked like a perfectly normal girl, maybe in her late teens.
”I see…?” I muttered, tilting my head.
They said “aide,” right? I was expecting someone who would show me the ropes-someone I could squeeze for information while they kept an eye on me. Instead, I got this.
”She’s a slave³, as you can see,” the soldier explained. “Consider her a reward for your cooperation. Do with her as you wish-have her help with your work, or whatever else. On paper, she’s already your property. Just take your residency permit to a magic shop, and they’ll hook you up with the Binding spell⁴.”
I didn’t say anything, but they hadn’t taught me a lick of magic. I was flying blind. That garbage magic textbook I read didn’t mention a thing about Binding spells. Still, if it meant I wasn’t being actively surveilled by the state, I’d take the win.
Maybe they really did intend to just dump me and forget about me. Surely they aren’t that incompetent, right? Then again, unless they were using some high-level magic I couldn’t detect, this whole operation was shockingly sloppy. I gave the soldier a practiced nod, thanked him, and got the hell out of there.
”So, uh, do you have a name?” I asked.
”It’s… Charlotte…” the girl replied quietly.
”I’m Ibuki. Nice to meet you.”
She bowed her head, her expression guarded and wary.
”Charlotte, do you know any cheap places for a long-term stay?” I asked.
”…I’m not sure if it’s the cheapest, but I know a place,” she said.
”Great. Lead the way. I haven’t booked a room yet, so we can talk more once we get settled.”
She nodded with a look of quiet resignation. She led me to an inn that was, frankly, a total dump. I couldn’t believe they actually charged people to stay in this wreck. But when I checked the price, it was dirt cheap-half of what I’d expected to pay. This meant my stipend could stretch for another three months. Wait, I have to feed two people now. Regardless, I decided to suck it up until I started making real money. I paid in advance and we headed to the room.
”Alright, first things first-I have a lot of questions. Why don’t you take a seat?”
”Y-yes, Master…” Charlotte whispered.
We sat down at a rickety table on chairs that felt like they might collapse at any second.
”Where to start… okay, tell me about the slave situation,” I said. “I don’t know if you’ve been briefed, but I’m completely clueless about how this world works. Give it to me straight.”
Exposing my ignorance was a risk, especially since I needed to figure out if she was lying to me. But if she really was my slave, she’d be less likely to risk a lie once she realized I was the one holding her papers.
As she talked, I learned that slavery was a formal social class, usually reserved for criminals. Once you were branded a slave, the status was hereditary.
”So it’s not just for criminals then,” I mused. She explained that while spouses were spared the brand, the marriage was legally dissolved, and parental rights were stripped away.
Then there was the magic. It basically rewires your brain so you can’t intentionally harm your master. There’s no physical pain involved, but a sense of “devotion” to the master just sprouts naturally.
”Right. Well, here’s the deal,” I said. “I’m going to need you to work, but as long as you do your job, I don’t see any reason to use that magic on you.”
”P-please! I beg of you! Do not cast me aside!”
Charlotte scrambled off her chair and threw herself onto the floor, prostrating herself at my feet⁵. I blinked, completely caught off guard.
”I told you, I’m new here,” I said, reaching out. “Why are you so terrified of me ‘casting you aside’?”
”If I am found without a master, I’ll be hunted as a runaway,” she cried. “I’d be executed-or at the very least, whipped within an inch of my life.”
”Hey, hey… relax. I’m never going to let that happen. You have my word.”
I meant it. Even if she did bolt, I wasn’t about to report her if it meant she’d be tortured or killed. I’m from Japan; the idea of owning a human being was repulsive to me. To me, she wasn’t property-she was just a girl I’d been stuck with.
”Look, let me tell you what I’m planning,” I said. “It’ll make things easier if we’re on the same page. My priority is independence. I need to earn my own keep and build a life here as fast as possible. Once this stipend runs out, we’re both going to be hungry. I’m in a hurry, but I won’t push you harder than you can handle. So, will you help me?”
I took her hands, helped her up, and looked her straight in the eye.
”Y-yes! I’ll work as hard as I can! Just, please…”
She looked absolutely miserable. I guess trust isn’t something you build in ten minutes when one person literally owns the other. This was going to be a long process.
”Good. I’m counting on you, so I’ll try to be considerate,” I said.
”Y-yes…?” she asked, sounding confused.
I guess “considerate masters” aren’t really a thing here. If I was the one out of step with the local culture, I should probably clarify that.
”I’ve got a bit of a weird personality,” I explained. “I like building relationships based on trust, regardless of who’s who. That’s what I want with you. I’m the type of guy who’s going to be polite whether you’re ‘subordinated’ or not. Just bear with me.”
She just stared at me, stunned into silence.
”Well, I’ll prove it with actions, so don’t sweat it. For now, keep talking,” I added.
”Yes, Master.”
I grilled her on everything. How to make money, what the market was like, and eventually, I steered the conversation toward my real goal: leaving the city to gather materials. I made sure to frame it carefully-I didn’t want word getting back to the castle that I was planning to skip town the first chance I got.
Slavery was a state-sanctioned system, after all. They could easily snatch Charlotte and interrogate her. I trusted her fear, but I wasn’t about to tell her about my Synthesis and Processing skills yet. I wasn’t a threat to the kingdom yet, but the potential was there. If I synthesized a gemstone, would it turn into a massive treasure? If I could build anything I could imagine, couldn’t I churn out advanced weaponry?
I needed to find the balance-earn enough to be stable without drawing too much heat. And to do that, I needed to know how the average person lived. We talked for hours-wages, industries, business permits, social hierarchies. Eventually, her stomach let out a loud growl.
”Right, we haven’t eaten,” I said. “Let’s go find some food. You’re the guide.”
”Um, what kind of place should I take you to?” she asked. “Somewhere like this inn?”
She was starting to relax, just a little. I told her I wanted to eat where the locals ate. She asked if I wanted a stall, a tavern, or a proper restaurant.
”What’s the cheapest option? Stalls?”
”Yes,” she replied. “Most people who don’t cook for themselves live off the stalls. It’s not a huge difference for one meal, but it adds up. Also… slaves aren’t allowed inside restaurants. I wouldn’t be able to answer your questions if we went inside.”
She looked anxious again. Figures. Just another way to keep them in their place. What a massive pain in the ass.
We walked through the streets, hit up a few stalls, and headed back to the inn with a haul of random food. I laid it out on the table.
”Alright, let’s eat,” I said. She didn’t move.
”Um, a slave is supposed to eat on the floor…” she whispered.
”Forget that. When we’re alone, we eat together. That’s an order. Got it?”
I figured making it an “order” would be easier for her to process.
”O-okay.” She sat down tentatively. I split the food down the middle. “That’s your half, Charlotte.”
I’d bought a lot, probably more than a girl her size could finish, but I was starving.
”A-are you sure? This much?” she asked.
”Yeah. The inn was cheap, remember? We can afford it. And once we start making real money, we’ll eat like this every day. So let’s work hard, okay?”
”Yes!” A small, genuine smile finally flickered across her face.
Watching her scarf down her food reminded me of a kid. It was almost cute, in a way. The actual food, though? Not great. The meat was tough and the seasoning was practically non-existent. After the gourmet meals at the castle, this was a massive step down, but I forced it all down.
Once we finished, we talked for a few more hours until I finally called it a night. That’s when the next problem hit: the sleeping arrangements.
The room was cheap for a reason. There was only one bed, and it was disgusting. It was a step up from a dungeon floor, but the idea of touching it made my skin crawl.
I seriously hate this. My skills weren’t going to help me much here without materials, and I couldn’t exactly “Process” the inn’s furniture. I was going to have to suck it up, but man, I didn’t want to. I’d rather sleep in a public restroom.
”Is something wrong, Master?” Charlotte asked.
”Yeah. I’m a bit of a germaphobe,” I admitted. “Looking at that bed is… difficult for me.”
To a Japanese person, this was a normal reaction. To her, I was probably just being a prima donna.
”I-I’m sorry. I should have found a better place,” she said.
”No, no, we needed to save money. You don’t splurge when the future is uncertain. Tell you what—I’ll just sleep in the chair. If you don’t mind the bed, it’s all yours.”
I sat down and tried to settle in like I was taking a nap at my school desk. Tomorrow, I told myself, I am finding some decent bedding.
Charlotte tried to argue that a slave couldn’t take the bed while the master sat in a chair, but I eventually smoothed things over and drifted off to sleep right where I was.
—
Summary:
Ibuki is released from the castle with a small stipend and a slave named Charlotte as his ‘aide.’ He finds a cheap, dilapidated inn to save money and interviews Charlotte to understand the world’s social and magic systems. Despite his status as her master, he treats her with relative kindness, much to her confusion and eventual relief.
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Trivia:
- Ibuki is deliberately lying to the knights about forgetting castle events.
- The ‘aide’ was supposed to be a spy/monitor, but the kingdom’s sloppiness resulted in a slave instead.
- Hereditary slavery exists in this world.
- Binding magic naturally creates devotion to the master.
- Ibuki is already theorizing about making advanced weapons with his skills.
- Slaves are legally prohibited from entering restaurants
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Character Insight:
Ibuki shows a mix of pragmatism (saving money at a bad inn) and modern Japanese morality (refusing to treat Charlotte as property). Charlotte’s growth is seen in her transition from absolute terror of being ‘discarded’ to a moment of genuine comfort during a meal.
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Behind the Scenes:
The author uses Ibuki’s germaphobia as a comedic yet grounded way to show the cultural gap between Earth and a gritty fantasy world.
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TL Notes:
Notes:
• Kisaragi – The family name of the protagonist Ibuki.
• Charlotte – Late‑teen girl, born a slave. short, skinny, looks tired but keeps going. clothes? just old stained rags, nothing else. brown hair’s messed up, face always wary like she’s been through it. used to be a lvl 8 farmer before all this. after the binding magic, she went full loyal mode, blushes hard whenever her master’s around.
• Ibuki – High school dude from earth, poor family, dragged into another world as a “crafter” (non‑combat). used to be into tower defense & crafting games, so he treats survival like a strategy sim. acts calm but super cynical, always side‑eyeing the kingdom. lowkey germaphobe, hides that behind a “yeah whatever” face. sometimes plays the obedient part just so people underestimate him. uses his creation ability + processing skills smart, not flashy. wears his school uniform ‘cause he hasn’t got better gear. his bitter look? totally on purpose.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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