Volume 4 Chapter 3 Nier’s Determination
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Nier was a native of Niholi, a farming village located in the western part of the Jipan country, near the border with Sheena.
Nier was born as the eldest daughter of a farming family. Her home was poor, and she never knew the feeling of eating until she was full, yet they were never quite at the point of starvation.
Nier adored her serious, quiet father and her kind, doting mother. Despite their poverty and the relentless demands of their labor, her parents raised their children with genuine affection. Nier returned that love by diligently helping with both the household chores and the farm work.
The first turning point came when she was around 10 years old. Because of her striking appearance, she was asked to serve in the village head’s house, a position her parents gladly accepted. Nier was a quick learner, handling every task assigned to her without issue. Once she was taught to read and write, she mastered these skills quickly, soon taking on the responsibility of helping with the village ledgers.
The next turning point arrived when she was 13. She caught the eye of a traveling merchant who frequented the village. By then, it was evident to everyone that she would grow into a stunning woman. The merchant insisted on hiring her for her beauty and potential; her parents, though hesitant, eventually agreed. They believed she would find a better, happier future outside their impoverished village.
Nier felt torn between her love for her parents and the thrill of an unknown, brighter future. Her parents hugged her and sent her off with smiles. The last sight she had of her father and mother as she left the village was how very small they looked.
A quick study, Nier excelled under the merchant’s tutelage. She mastered the Common tongue¹ needed for business and, by age 17, was vital to the merchant’s operations.
The next pivot occurred at 18. A chance event led her to fall in love with a fellow servant, a man five years her senior. Nier was swept up in her first romance. However, the man was ambitious. He forced Nier into an elopement, pulling her away from her master to strike out on their own. They married, but Nier felt deeply pained by her betrayal of the man who had raised her. She regretted her indecisiveness, wondering why she hadn’t refused him.
At first, they succeeded, traveling safe, familiar routes. When Nier turned 20, she became pregnant. They settled in a larger town, and she gave birth to their eldest daughter, Mia. Nier loved the child with a ferocity that made her heart ache. She poured every ounce of love into Mia, mirroring how her own mother had raised her.
But when Mia was still young, things began to crumble. They were locked out of their trade routes; it appeared her former master had moved to sabotage them.
Her husband’s business suffered, and he turned to a Sheena moneylender. By the time Nier realized the extent of their debt, it had spiraled out of control. She once saw her husband speaking with the moneylender, whose cold, cruel smile filled her with dread.
Nier fought alongside her husband to pioneer new routes, even while dragging young Mia through grueling, dangerous journeys.
Developing a trade route is no small feat. It is a merchant’s most precious asset—never shared, passed from parent to child or master to disciple.
Their efforts failed. Every territory was already occupied by established merchants. A fledgling, unknown merchant stood no chance in new lands. Her husband began to drown his failures in alcohol, turning his violence toward Nier. When Nier was 26, the payments stopped. The moneylender turned on them immediately, selling Nier and her family to a Sheena slave merchant.
The moneylender and the slaver knew each other well. Nier realized too late that she and her husband had been lured into a debt trap from the very beginning.
* * *
The last time I saw Mia was at the moment of our separation.
”Mommy! No, don’t go! Don’t go! Waaaah! Uwaaaaa!” Mia screamed.
”Mia! Someday Mommy will come to pick you up! You must wait!” I promised.
I dared to make that promise, knowing fully well that a slave could never keep it. Still, I could not help but say it. I prayed my words would give Mia some small shred of hope, something to anchor her life.
After being torn from Mia, I lived in a state of constant weeping. I told myself this was my punishment—retribution for betraying the man who had raised me into a capable merchant. It was my own fault. If I had been stronger, this never would have happened. I had ruined Mia’s life along with my own. I cursed myself, wondering what I had been doing with my life.
Soon after, I was transported to Niver with a crowd of other slaves and bought by the merchant Concart. But that, too, was short-lived.
I was sold again, this time to Hilbert, who ran a Slave Trading House in Grimm. I spent my days in a cramped, windowless, dark room. The door opened only twice a day for a meager meal and the occasional bucket change.
Rarely, I was forced into a Tunic and taken to a reception room. That was my only time outside. There, I was stripped and subjected to the curiosity of strangers. They licked me with their eyes, looking at my body from inches away. It was sickening. It was repulsive. Never in my life had I hated my large chest more than in those moments.
In the faint light of my cell’s peephole, I wallowed in despair. It was all over. I couldn’t save Mia. There was nothing I could do. I knew as a former merchant that a slave’s fate is simply to be consumed and discarded.
I thought about dying. But I couldn’t die before Mia. Perhaps we would meet again. Even if I couldn’t speak to her, seeing me might give her hope.
I used the small portion of thin ale from my meal to dampen my clothes and wipe my body. My experience on the road taught me that filth invites disease. (I cannot die yet.) I clung to life with every fiber of my being.
I never stopped worrying about Mia. I lost track of time, living only in memories of happier days.
Then, one day, I was called to the reception room, and a Jipan man sat on the sofa.
I stated my name, and I was stripped as usual. But I felt none of the usual revulsion in the air. The man spoke briefly and purchased me. My heart thumped, but I immediately scolded myself not to expect anything.
”From now on, Ryuichi-sama is your master,” Hilbert-sama said. I couldn’t quite grasp the reality of it.
Ryuichi-sama took me to an inn. I remember it clearly; he told me to get naked, and I obeyed.
After examining my body, Ryuichi-sama asked what my hope for living was. When I hesitantly admitted it was to see Mia again, he summoned Magic fire² and Ice³ around us. “If you wish,” he said, “I will get your daughter for you.”
A shock raced through me. I had never seen such powerful magic. I asked if he was a Court Sorcerer, but he was not. It felt like a dream—a fairy tale. I thought maybe I was having a dream.
Ryuichi-sama told me that if I offered him my heart, my body, and everything I was, he would give me my hope for living. I didn’t understand. (I am a slave, why me?) But I had seen many people in my life, and looking into his eyes, I knew he was sincere. This man was not a liar.
I had thought I had no hope left. He reached out a hand to save me. It was my only chance to save Mia. I had no choice. I decided in my heart: I will do anything for him. I will accept everything, and I will truly love him.
But my resolve crumbled quickly. Ryuichi-sama was a very perverted man.
He made me do things so embarrassing that my face felt like it was burning, and he made me say things I could never repeat. I tried to do as he wished, but pleading for mercy slipped out instead. Yet, he only praised me for it.
From that day on, I was allowed to kiss him as much as I liked before we slept. I grew to love those moments the most; I felt as if our hearts were becoming one.
Since then, I’ve started wanting to be of service to him in every way—not just in perverted matters, but in everything I can possibly do.
”Goshujin-sama always tells me that the food I make is delicious,” I said to myself, recalling how he praised me when I first found Grimm’s Mansion⁴. “He really does appreciate my work.”
Goshujin-sama was a truly kind person. Sitting on the floor to eat was something that only happened on the very first day he bought me.
Goshujin-sama didn’t say much, but I felt that he was always looking out for me in his own way. He even bought me lovely clothes. I always wondered why he was so good to someone like me, a slave; it was always a mystery to me.
When Goshujin-sama began going to the Magic Forest⁵, I was unbearably worried. I just kept telling myself that it was fine because he was such an amazing sorcerer.
One time, Goshujin-sama told me he had found a girl in a Goblin village. When I asked what happened to her, he answered with a lonely expression that he had left her there.
”Do you despise me for it?” he asked.
”No,” I replied. “I understand it couldn’t be helped.”
In this world, there is no one who can afford to care about the misfortune of others. Misfortune is scattered everywhere, and people are just barely managing to survive. I think that is how everyone is. At least, I had never seen anyone who cared like he did. Gradually, my heart became drawn to Goshujin-sama.
When I was with him, I noticed he would cast healing Magic on himself at times when nothing was wrong. When I asked him why, he said it was because doing so helped his heart get used to this world more quickly. I did not understand the meaning of those words, but I felt a deep sense of loneliness in Goshujin-sama’s back as he answered.
When we moved to a large Mansion, I couldn’t help but be happy. I felt like a life for just the two of us had begun. But that was immediately shattered when Goshujin-sama brought Helga back. He called me his “number one slave” and treated me specially, which I loved, but my heart was still troubled. (I hate my own wretched heart for feeling jealousy, as a mere slave,) I thought to myself.
When I heard from Goshujin-sama what Helga had done, I thought my head would explode. But as I spent time with that child, I quickly understood that she was an honest, good girl. She was born and raised on a farm much poorer than mine, never having enough to eat, and it seemed she grew up without knowing the love of a family. I think her obsession with food was just a result of her environment.
I began to feel like Helga, who looked up to me, was a little sister. While serving Goshujin-sama together with her, an erotic atmosphere developed between us. Seeing us like that, Goshujin-sama told us we could do whatever we liked together—even while making that place larger. From then on, when Goshujin-sama was not around or was sleeping, I occasionally began doing erotic things with Helga.
Thinking back, it was after Helga arrived that I feel he began to always look out for me. Goshujin-sama’s loving eyes… they looked just like someone looking at a person they love. That couldn’t be. (I am just a slave,) I told myself.
I always thought of Goshujin-sama as an amazing sorcerer. One time, when I was told to teach him the Common tongue, I learned a fraction of his true power. He could speak with anyone, regardless of language. Witnessing that miracle, I felt like I was serving a messenger of God.
When Hilbert-sama requested that Goshujin-sama search for Mia, her whereabouts were discovered after a short time. When I reported it in a great panic, Goshujin-sama immediately prepared for his departure for Niver. He was truly an amazing man. He quickly obtained a carriage, made John and Reina slaves as well, and caught countless monsters from the Magic Forest, becoming a Silver-rank adventurer in the blink of an eye. He calmly pulls off things I thought were impossible. I felt like there was nothing Goshujin-sama could not do.
It was during a battle with many bandits on the way to Niver. When we approached in the carriage after the fight, Goshujin-sama was standing amidst a pile of corpses.
Seeing that, I felt it: Goshujin-sama is crying. Yes, in my eyes, it appeared that he was crying.
When I thought that, Goshujin-sama’s body shone faintly. Abruptly, I understood. Goshujin-sama was hurting in his heart, and he was healing himself with magic to get used to the pain.
He wasn’t a messenger of God. Or perhaps he was, but I realized he was a flesh-and-blood human with a heart just like me. Even while exercising the works of God, he was still human.
After that, the moment Goshujin-sama arrived in Niver, he became engaged to Mira-sama. When I heard that from his own mouth, my heart felt like it was tearing apart. Seeing me like that, Goshujin-sama offered me words of comfort.
However, at that time, I already had a premonition. Mia might not be safe. If that happened, I was prepared to be burned by the flames of hellfire together with her.
”You will support me from now on, too, right?” Goshujin-sama asked.
I gave an absent-minded reply. My final words of farewell and thanks simply spilled out of my mouth.
The next day, when I went to the place where Mia was imprisoned, a situation exactly as I had feared was waiting. No, a cruel reality even worse than what I had feared. That child had suffered in a place far harsher than I ever had.
When I stood before the place where Mia’s remains were discarded, I felt like her crying voice was calling me.
”Huuu… Mia, I’m sorry… I’m sorry…” I sobbed. “I’m sorry for making you have such a painful time. I promised I would come to pick you up, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for being a stupid mother. Mother is going now too….”
I spoke those words of apology in my heart and tried to choose death.
Goshujin-sama showed me holy flames and said he would save Mia’s soul. Looking at his face, I understood immediately. Seeing his sad eyes, I knew he was crying with me in his heart. I believed that if it were Goshujin-sama, he would save her soul.
After sending the souls of the children to heaven, Goshujin-sama asked me again, “From now on, will you support me?”
I answered with my honest feelings. I wanted to be together forever, for him to stay, and to serve at his side. But I could not say it—that I wanted to be together with him.
”I will make those slave merchants suffer the tortures of hell,” Goshujin-sama declared.
”No!” I cried. (It is absolutely no good to let him do that, Goshujin-sama’s heart will break even more.) I desperately begged him, and somehow managed to get him to stop.
I hated my own stupidity. I was supposed to be the one supporting Goshujin-sama, yet I thought only of myself and Mia. He had always cherished me, and I had been so selfish.
After Goshujin-sama dealt divine punishment to the merchants, he saved the remaining children. I devoted myself to their care, making up for what I couldn’t do for Mia. When Goshujin-sama cast healing Magic, their wounds healed and their complexions improved. The profile of Goshujin-sama smiling at John and the others looked dazzling to me.
That night, I cried in bed. The sadness overflowed, and Goshujin-sama gently hugged me and rubbed my back. While shedding tears, I secretly made a resolution. No matter what happened, I would support Goshujin-sama, my mysterious, precious person. Mia would surely be happy too; if I can go to heaven someday, I will say it with my head held high: “Mother lived hard enough for Mia’s sake, too, you know.”
* * *
I am sitting in a chair in the room, looking at the scenery of the courtyard from the window. The tents where the children are sleeping are dimly illuminated by the moonlight.
Goshujin-sama has not returned. It was the first time he had not returned until this late at night.
”Reina,” I asked, “did you see him today?”
”We returned from the tavern together during the day,” Reina answered.
Helga got tired of waiting and has already fallen asleep. I think it is fine because it is Goshujin-sama, but I can’t help but worry.
–The next morning.
In the end, Goshujin-sama did not return. I spent the night without sleeping. Around noon, when I was taking care of the children in the courtyard with Helga, Goshujin-sama returned.
”Goshujin-sama!” I shouted, feeling happy and running up to him.
But I immediately noticed something strange and stopped in my tracks.
”…Who is that person…?” I whispered.
Nestling close to Goshujin-sama, a very beautiful woman was standing there.
Again, my heart was troubled.
—
Summary:
Nier recounts her transition from a village girl to a slave, marked by her separation from her daughter Mia and the loss of her former life. She is purchased by Ryuichi, a man whose extraordinary magical power and offer to reunite her with Mia fundamentally shifts her existence. Nier commits herself entirely to Ryuichi, though she remains conflicted by the intensity of her new life.
The narrator processes the trauma of losing Mia while reflecting on their devotion to Goshujin-sama. Following a period of divine justice and healing, the narrator reaffirms their commitment to supporting Goshujin-sama. The chapter ends on a cliffhanger as Goshujin-sama returns from an unexplained absence accompanied by an unknown beautiful woman.
—
Trivia:
- The specific economic conditions of Jipan country border provinces.
- The exact legal mechanisms of slave trading houses in Grimm.
- The exact power scale of the protagonist’s magic system remains ambiguous.
- The specific political or cultural relationship between Niver and the neighboring territories is not detailed
—
Character Insight:
Nier undergoes a profound shift from a state of passive despair as a slave to a state of active commitment to her new master, Ryuichi. Her motive remains anchored in her maternal desire to save Mia, which dictates her surrender to Ryuichi.
The narrator shifts from a passive slave identity to an active, resolute supporter of the protagonist, though they remain haunted by feelings of unworthiness and potential displacement by new arrivals.
—
Glossary:
Notes:
• Nier – A 27-year-old Japanese merchant and former farm girl with refined features, long black hair, and a large bust. Residing at the mansion as the protagonist’s acquaintance, she survives the trauma of the slave trade through an unwavering maternal instinct. Devoted to her companion, Ryuichi, she balances domestic work with early mornings spent acting as a soft-spoken protector to other rescued children after tragically losing her daughter, Mia.
• Mia – The young, deceased daughter of Nier whose tragic fate serves as the primary catalyst for his actions. She is the object of Nier’s immense love, the core motivation for his will to survive, and the driving force behind his entire journey.
• Concart – A Niver-based slave merchant who operates an expansive trading establishment dealing closely with elite noble lineages. While maintaining extensive local commercial records and serving as a key logistical contact for regional information networks, he also briefly purchased Nier.
• Hilbert – A middle-aged merchant with a neat beard and gentlemanly air, he runs a high-end Slave Trading House in Grimm. As Nier’s unbiased, legally thorough previous owner, he handles high-value transactions with composure. He now leverages his carriage mail, slave trade network, and merchant information pipelines to help the narrator track down Nier’s daughter.
• Grimm – Grimm, the protagonist and master of the Mansion, is a powerful sorcerer who wields divine magic and speaks any language. He also shares his name with a large, walled city located near the Forest of Magic. This bustling, diverse settlement features a vibrant marketplace but suffers from a legalized slave trade and severe lack of sanitation, reflecting the complex world under his influence.
• Ryuichi – Poison Snake is a 40-year-old, bearded Jipan silver-class adventurer and sorcerer with a plain build and casual clothes. Master to Nier and Helga, he combines a cynical worldview with calculated pragmatism. He possesses extraordinary magic, using earth, healing, ice, blue fire, and interdimensional space to protect his dependents—whom he views as tools, yet defends with lethal rage.
• Man – A roughneck wearing a hat who participated in a group assault. He suffers the loss of his right arm and later his left arm during an experiment by the protagonist before being stored.
• Goblin – Goblins are hostile creatures inhabiting the village, armed with primitive weapons such as sticks, axes, and spears. They can be male, female, and include Hobgoblins. Some are pregnant, as seen in the hut.
• Helga – A fair-skinned, doll-like young woman with blonde hair, silver eyes, and a raspy voice, she survived a past of poverty and food scarcity. A former receptionist, she became a doted-on companion to Ryuichi, the narrator, and Grimm. Now working with Nier to care for rescued children, she handles domestic tasks and horse care, wears a fluffy gown, loves meat snacks, and is known to John and Reina.
• Reina – A 19-year-old village hunter and skilled archer with fair skin and a brown ponytail, she wears a leather cuirass and pants. One of Ryuichi’s four submissive slaves, she sits to his right in the tavern and recently had an embarrassing public encounter. A carriage security and wilderness expert, she supports Allen and John, cares for rescued kids, and parted ways with the protagonist yesterday.
• John – A large, twenty-year-old blond vanguard mercenary with a gruff, arrogant demeanor. He wears chainmail and a helm, wielding a two-handed sword and shield. Raised with Allen and Reina, he now serves as Ryuichi’s companion, combat slave, and carriage driver. He manages routes for Mila, protects his partners, minds rescued children, and enjoys taverns after feats like killing a wolf en route to Niver.
• Mira – The second daughter of Niver’s noble Brooke Taylor family, this thirteen-year-old girl is currently one of the protagonist’s slaves. She sports intricate braids in two coils, heavy makeup to appear older, and an elaborate, floor-length dress. Despite the trauma of a bandit ambush that killed her retainers, she retains aristocratic pride and deep geographical knowledge, negotiating coldly with Ryuichi.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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