Before rushing to help Mia and Terra, I turned toward the lioness shapeshifter who had joined us recently. It was supposed to be a short trip to check on Amber, but she had been kidnapped, and things could get ugly fast.

  “Marcy, if you’d rather stay out of this, I won’t bme you.”

  “Someone got kidnapped,” she replied. “If I can help, I don’t mind hanging around. Especially since my evening pns changed too, right?”

  “Yeah, we need to postpone the dungeon,” I said. “But still, helping Amber might get dangerous.”

  “Right now you’re going to take a loan and head to a market,” Marcy replied. “Seems quite peaceful. When you have more dangerous pns, then we’ll talk.”

  She was level one, so I didn’t know how helpful she could really be, and I wasn’t even sure if I could truly trust her. But as she had said, the next steps should be trouble-free, so I just accepted her presence and focused on those steps.

  I was supposed to ensve Mia, and even if only temporarily, it felt strange. I had done the same with Zoe and Azura, but their circumstances had been very different. Still, I didn’t have time to dwell on my feelings. I needed to act.

  I had a choice to make - use my skill to create a bond, or put a colr on the bunny girl.

  The first option was faster and cheaper, but Mia, and most likely Terra, would learn that I have a css. In addition, Mari would learn what css I had, though I assumed she already suspected as much - with me being broke yet still able to put a tattoo on Azura.

  “Mari, do you know how much it costs to buy a colr and put it on someone? And where to do it?” I asked.

  “On the sve market,” she replied with a tone that suggested it was obvious and I was an idiot. “Around seventy ryns, no more than a hundred,” she added.

  While I would spend almost all my money, at least I could afford that. “Okay, let’s find the market,” I said.

  After asking a few locals for directions, we reached it quite quickly - it was smaller than the one in Ortas, but there were over ten cages with people sitting inside.

  “Mia, are you sure you want to do it?” I asked, turning toward the bunny girl. “I’ll need to ensve you, and I don’t know what the future will bring. You might remain a sve for the rest of your life, and be parted from Terra.”

  Mia stared at me with a worried frown, but she thought it over quickly. “I-I’m sure.”

  “Okay,” I sighed, really hoping I would be able to free her in the future. “I must go alone. If they see me with you, they’ll increase the price immediately.” After hesitant nods from Zoe and Azura, I turned toward Mia again. “Where’s Terra?”

  She pointed out one of the cages, and I headed toward it first to make sure that the orc was still there and Mia got the price right. I walked slowly through the market, looking at the cages but ignoring the merchants who were accosting me.

  The gloomy atmosphere of this pce was something I could never get used to. All these people - caged, shackled, broken - their sadness and helplessness seemed to pour out of them, filling the air. I wanted to get out of there as fast as possible, but I had to put on a show, or the merchant would overcharge me for Terra.

  Slowly getting closer to the cage, I stole a gnce at it. Inside were two women and a man. It wasn’t really hard to recognize Terra, not only because of her green skin, but she was also bigger than the guy.

  She was sitting in tiny shorts and a shirt, both a few sizes too small. Her thighs looked thick, her hips wide, and her breasts huge - yet she still looked surprisingly fit. I couldn’t see her face, her head was lowered, and her short bck hair covered it.

  Before reaching the stall, I stopped by another merchant to ask where I could buy colrs and whether they offered to put them on immediately. After describing everything he had for sale, he finally pointed toward a building just outside the market. To his dissatisfaction, once he realized I only needed directions, I walked away toward the stall with Terra.

  While passing by the cage, I turned the other way, as if interested in the opposite stall.

  “Hey there, sir!” the merchant called out, trying to grab my attention. “Looking for someone special? I’ve got a beautiful, obedient girl. I’ll give you a good price.”

  I gnced over at his cage and stopped with my gaze locked on the other girl, who looked like a human. The merchant didn't waste a second, noticing even a shadow of interest in me, and approached me immediately.

  “She’s eighteen, very pretty, can sew and cook. And she has many more talents, sir,” the older man quickly said with a disgusting smile.

  “How much?” I asked, still avoiding looking at Terra.

  “Only four thousand for the perfect sve for the rest of your life,” he replied.

  “Hmm… I can’t afford that,” I replied. “How much can you go down?”

  “Sir, that’s what she’s worth. I can’t just lower my prices. Get up,” he ordered, kicking the cage.

  The woman inside slowly rose from the ground. She stole a quick gnce at me before she focused her gaze on her own feet. She was young, and just as he cimed, pretty. I could only hope she would go to someone who would treat her right, because there was no way I could get her out of that cage.

  “Isn’t she gorgeous?” the merchant asked. “And she has amazing tits. Strip naked!” he ordered.

  “There’s no need,” I said quickly, wanting to spare her the humiliation. “Man, can’t you lower the price?” I turned toward the merchant. “Come on, help me out - man to man. I’m tired of lonely nights, and I’ll go crazy if I don’t get any soon.”

  “I get you, but I really can’t do anything. She’s young, inexperienced, pretty and hot. It’s already an amazing deal. Before the night falls, she’ll be warming her new master’s bed.”

  I sighed deeply with my gaze lingering on the poor girl.

  “Sir, how much can you spare to not be lonely anymore?” the merchant asked.

  “I was saving for so long, but fuck… life’s expensive,” I murmured. “I only have fourteen hundred.”

  There was a moment of pause, but I avoided looking at the merchant, waiting.

  “Sir, are you very lonely at night?” he asked.

  “Man, it’s been years, and I can't stand it anymore,” I replied.

  “I know how it is,” the merchant said. “You know what? I have an offer for you. Maybe she’s not as pretty, but at least you would get some pussy.” He was pointing at the orc sitting further in the cage, but even if she heard that, Terra didn't show any reaction to his words.

  I looked between her and him a few times. “Her?” I asked. “Man, she’s bigger than me.”

  “That has its perks too. Look at her tits. You said you feel lonely at night? Imagine drowning in them in your sleep. You’ll never feel lonely again,” the merchant said.

  I was so gd she couldn’t see my face, and I could look at her with a scowl like I really didn't want to buy her, but it was my only choice. “Does she at least have a pretty face?” I asked.

  “She’s got an amazing ass, if you know what I mean,” the merchant said with a grin. “Freshly turned eighteen, still a virgin. You’d be her first and only, if that’s what you want.”

  “How much for her?”

  “Normally? Sixteen hundred. But just for you, man to man, I’ll let her go for fourteen.”

  I looked at her, wondering how long I should keep pretending to think about it. His offer was already lower than I’d expected, and I just wanted this farce over with.

  “Okay, fine,” I sighed deeply. “I need to pick up cash. Will you hold her for me?”

  “Sure thing,” the merchant said, reaching out his hand to me.

  At least that part I didn’t have to fake. I shook it hesitantly, not exactly happy about making deals like this - though he probably assumed it was just because she was an orc.

  “Don't worry,” the merchant said. “Maybe she’s not the prettiest or hottest, but you’ll never be alone in bed again. And, if you find yourself having more money in the future, I’ll give you a discount on the next girl. Just imagine that - two women warming your bed. It’ll make all the hard work pay off.”

  After finishing my talk with him and leaving the market, I headed toward the group of women waiting for me. Mia stood at the front, her hands csped together to her chest as if she were praying, looking at me with big brown eyes filled with both hope and worry.

  “We have a deal,” I said, approaching her.

  She squeaked and threw herself at me, pressing her face into my chest. I instinctively wrapped my arms around her as she cried and mumbled her gratitude.

  “Come on, you’ll thank me when you’re back with Terra,” I said softly. “Now we need to finalize it.”

  Mia pulled back, nodded, and wiped tears from her face. “R-Right,” she muttered.

  We headed for the house the merchant had pointed out earlier, and again I opted to have the rest of the women wait outside to avoid price-gouging. A middle-aged woman opened the door quickly and invited us in.

  After we sat on a couch, I asked about the price of a colr and whether she would put it on Mia.

  “It’s eighty ryns,” the woman replied. “Is it for you?” she asked, looking at Mia, despite that I had already stated that.

  “Y-Yes, miss,” Mia answered quietly.

  The woman gnced between Mia and me, watching us in silence. “Okay, I need to take care of a few formalities with her in another room. Please stay here and wait, sir.”

  “Sure,” I said.

  Mia looked at me uncertainly, but I didn’t react, just waited until she left with the woman. I wasn’t sure, but I had the impression it wasn’t about formalities, she wanted to get Mia away from me to make sure I wasn’t forcing her into svery.

  Or perhaps it was my wishful thinking - that the woman might care enough to do more than just slip a colr on Mia.

  It took a few minutes before both of them returned, with Mia sitting down beside me again. The woman was holding a new colr and a few pieces of paper.

  “Okay, everything’s almost ready,” she said, pcing the papers on the table along with a small bck stone. “You need to pay and then sign here,” she added, pointing at the bottom of the paper. Mia’s signature was already there.

  I pulled out eighty ryns and put them on the table. While the woman counted the money, I signed my name on the paper - a sve contract that cimed my ownership of Mia - and then on a copy of the same document.

  After making sure I had paid her, the woman signed both documents and tucked one of them away with the money.

  “Okay, now the binding,” she said, picking up the colr and the stone from the table. Mia stood up and approached her, turning her back and pulling her hair aside.

  The woman fastened the colr around Mia’s neck and then motioned for me to get up as well. “Take the stone and press it here,” she said, pointing at the back of the colr.

  “Why?” I asked, taking the stone from her.

  “It’s the control stone, so she won’t be able to disobey your orders or harm you,” the woman expined. “When you hold the stone and give her an order, the mana bound between it and the colr will force her to obey.”

  Wait, what? Why was I hearing about this for the first time? Where was Mari’s stone?

  “Is something wrong?” the woman asked, looking at me.

  “No, no,” I replied quickly, shaking my head. Then I pressed the stone in my hand to the colr on Mia’s neck. I would need to have a talk with Mari when we were done in that pce.

  The woman pced a finger on the stone, and after a second it glowed with white light.

  [Martha Holt is trying to bond you as an owner of a sve: Mia Carver][Do you accept?]

  Just as when Mari had been bound to me, an announcement appeared. I quickly thought yes, and as another message popped up, the stone stopped glowing and turned completely bck.

  [The sve Mia Carver was successfully bound to you.]

  “Try it out, give her an order,” the woman said.

  I pulled the stone away from Mia’s neck. “I’ll try it ter,” I replied. “Does the stone work only when I hold it?” I asked.

  “It needs to have skin contact with you, so you can put it on a neckce,” the woman replied.

  “And it works for everyone or just me?” I asked, wanting to be sure.

  “Just you. That’s why you needed to hold it,” she replied.

  “Okay, do you know where I can get a loan around here?” I asked.

  The woman looked between me and Mia, sighed deeply, and then expined it was just a few buildings further down the street.

  “Thanks,” I said, and after some short farewells we left the house with Mia.

  She walked in silence beside me, and I really wasn’t sure what to say to her. Fortunately, the rest of the women were standing nearby, so it didn’t take long before we reached them.

  “Mari, what’s that?” I asked, raising Mia’s control stone.

  “A control stone,” she replied calmly, staring at me.

  “And where’s yours?”

  “It doesn’t exist. My colr doesn’t work, it’s just a symbol, but it doesn’t give you ownership. Because you’re not my master.”

  She was still bound to her previous, dead master, and it was impossible to bind her with the colr to force her to obey. Still, I felt relieved that the merchant who had sold her to me hadn’t kept the stone for himself.

  “Okay, now we need to take the loan and finally buy Terra,” I said. Heading toward the building for the money, I put the stone in my backpack, hiding it well so no one could find it. To make sure it wouldn’t come into contact with me, I wrapped it in some random clothes so I wouldn’t give Mia an order by accident.

  I was a bit curious how it would work - whether it would make her willing to do what I ordered, or if her body would obey while her mind remained trapped inside, trying to fight against it. But I wasn’t going to test it out on Mia.

  As I gnced at the bunny girl, an unpleasant shiver ran down my spine. All of it - ensving her and putting a colr on her - had been far too simple. It took barely a quarter of an hour, and she was no longer a free person. I had the power to force her to obey my every whim and wish.

  Not that I pnned to use it, but if she had asked someone else for help and they had decided to take advantage of the situation, she could’ve been in trouble.

  Taking a loan turned out to be just as quick and easy as turning her into a sve. When I asked for fifteen hundred, they agreed immediately and started preparing the papers.

  The man working there expined that I would need to pay ten percent interest at any guild branch, with weekly payments of thirty ryns. That should be affordable, but only if we went to a dungeon every day. Or if Terra agreed to take a job and pay it herself.

  With payments like that, they would stay with me for fourteen months, during which the debt would be fully repaid. As security on their part, they used a special, thinner colr that went beneath the one Mia already wore. It allowed them to track her and prevented her from leaving the guild’s territory - a safeguard against me running away and hiding her if I stopped paying the debt.

  With another piece of paper signed and a pouch full of coins, we left the building. After meeting up with the rest of the women, we headed back toward the market. I pulled out one coin worth a hundred ryns and set it aside - eighty to recover what I had paid for the colr, and twenty for Mia and Terra to buy new clothes and a weapon, if the orc agreed to join us in the dungeon.

  “Are you okay?” I asked Mia as we walked. From the moment she had become my sve, she’d been quiet, lost in her thoughts. The worst thing would be if she decided now that she wanted to back out, because that was no longer possible.

  “Y-Yeah,” she murmured.

  I didn’t ask any more questions, deciding that maybe her mood would improve once she was reunited with Terra. Again, they waited outside the market while I headed toward the merchant with whom I’d made the deal.

  As I approached, Terra was already out of the cage, standing next to him. Her head was still lowered, though she was nearly half a head taller than him. Standing straight, she would probably be the same height as me, maybe even slightly taller.

  “I have the money,” I said, showing the pouch.

  “Great. I prepared all the papers and sent someone to fetch Martha. She’ll handle binding the orc to you,” the merchant said.

  If Martha, the woman who had just bound Mia to me, was smart, she’d probably put two and two together and realize what was happening, but that didn’t really matter anymore.

  “Can we sign them already?” I asked, wanting to make sure the deal was finalized.

  “Of course, but first I need to count the money,” the merchant said, pointing at the pouch.

  After I handed it over, he counted the money quickly. All the coins were worth a hundred each, which made it easy. He signed one paper, then I added my signature to it as well, along with a copy. A lot of paperwork for a single day.

  “She’s yours,” the merchant said. “No more lonely nights.”

  I just nodded, not really interested in talking to him now that the deal was done.

  “Cheer up, kid. You’re young and already have your first sve. They’re like investments. Your life will only get better from now on.” The merchant kept talking, even though I didn’t respond, but thankfully it wasn’t long before I saw Martha walking toward us.

  When her gaze fell on the merchant and then on me, I slowly shook my head, hoping she wouldn’t mention that I had just ensved another woman a short while ago. Her eyes flicked to Terra for a moment before she finally reached us.

  “Is everything signed?” she asked immediately, taking the papers from the merchant.

  “Yes, two copies,” he replied. She quickly skimmed through them, handed one to me, and slipped the other into her pocket. Then she held out her hand, and the merchant pced a bck stone in it.

  It fshed with white light for a second before she passed it to me. I stepped behind Terra and pressed the stone against the back of her colr. Martha pced her finger on the stone, and it glowed white.

  [Martha Holt is trying to bond you as the owner of a sve: Terra Carver][Do you accept?]

  Again, quickly thinking yes, I accepted the bond, noting that both Mia and Terra had the same surname. Which made sense, as they’d been adopted by the same family.

  [The sve Terra Carver was successfully bound to you.]

  “Done,” the woman said. “That’s a control stone. Do you know how it works?” she asked, gncing at me.

  “Yeah, thanks,” I replied. As I pulled the stone away from Terra’s neck, I realized that hiding Mia’s stone in my backpack had been stupid. There was a much better pce to keep it. But that would have to wait until we left the market.

  Martha gnced at the merchant. After exchanging nods, she turned and walked away toward her house.

  “Congratutions, kid,” the merchant said. “If I were you, I wouldn’t wait until night to test her out. And believe me, doggy’s amazing,” he added, chuckling.

  “Let’s go,” I said after I put the stone into my pocket.

  Moving through the market, Terra followed silently behind me, never raising her head.

  “I’m Tobias,” I said quietly.

  “What name would you like me to have, Master?” Terra asked submissively.

  A bit surprised by her tone and question, I gnced at her. “What would you say about Terra?” I asked with a smile.

  She stopped in pce and raised her head for the first time, looking at me.

  Her face was sharp, with high cheekbones and a strong jawline. A pair of yellow eyes stared back at me in surprise and confusion. Her skin was a deep, dark green, smooth and soft under the sunlight. Despite her youth, there was little of a feminine charm in her features - she wasn’t pretty by any means.

  “Let’s go,” I said. “I’ll expin everything in a moment. Or rather, Mia will.”

  Despite the shock still clear on her face, she moved behind me through the market.

  “Master, can I ask you a question?” Terra asked quietly.

  “Please, stop calling me Master,” I said. “And you don’t need to ask for permission, just ask.”

  “Sir, how do you know Mia?” she asked.

  “Sir is better than Master, but I’d prefer if you just used my name,” I replied. “And you should ask her. She’s there.” I pointed a few buildings ahead, where the bunny girl was standing among the rest of the women.

  Terra’s gaze snapped in that direction as she raised her head high. She was a tiny bit taller than me and just as broad in the shoulders. If not for the pair of rge tits on her chest and the bck hair falling to her shoulders, she could easily have been mistaken for a man.

  “Can I go?” Terra asked.

  “You don’t need to ask for permission,” I replied. When she remained at my side, looking as if she were ready to bolt the moment I allowed it, I nodded. She instantly took off, running toward the bunny girl.

  Mia, spotting Terra running to her, rushed forward as well. When they met, she leapt into the orc’s arms, and the orc wrapped her massive arms around the small bunny girl. Walking toward them, I pulled Mia’s control stone from my backpack and slipped it into my pocket alongside Terra’s.

  When I reached them, Terra was still holding Mia in her arms. The bunny girl was sobbing and mumbling into Terra’s green skin.

  The rest of the women - Zoe, Azura, Marcy, and Mari - stood nearby, watching the scene.

  The orc raised her gaze to me as I approached. “Are you her master?” she asked, keeping Mia in her arms.

  My hope that the bunny girl would expin everything was gone, she was crying too hard to speak.

  “Yes,” I replied. At least Mia was here to confirm I was telling the truth. “She approached me today, wanting to get you out of the market.”

  “And she offered herself to convince you to do it?” Terra asked, brushing the smaller girl’s hair with care.

  “Yeah, but it’s a bit more complicated,” I replied.

  “Oh, you stupid girl,” Terra said, gncing at Mia, but her tone wasn’t angry. It was filled with care and love. If not for the drastic difference in their looks, I would have assumed they were birth sisters. “Everything you had said at the market was to get the best price?” Terra asked, gncing at me.

  “Yeah, I didn’t have the money to buy you,” I replied. “I had to put a colr on Mia and then take a loan with her as colteral, so I wanted the price to be as low as possible. To take you out of that pce, so you could be together.”

  Terra gnced over everyone before focusing on me again. “Thank you,” she said, still hugging the crying Mia. “It’s okay, everything’s good,” she murmured toward the bunny girl.

  While Mia was in no state to follow through on her part of the deal and tell me what had happened to Amber, I decided to take care of two other things I needed to do, hoping she would calm down in the meantime.

  “I have orders for you,” I said, pulling the control stones from my pocket.

  Terra gnced at me, then tried to pull Mia away from her body. “Mia, Master’s speaking to you,” she hushed.

  “There’s no need, she can stay like that,” I said.

  The bunny girl was still crying, her cheek pressed to Terra’s ribs, but she looked at me with wet, reddened eyes.

  Holding one stone in each hand, and thinking carefully over my words, I gave them the only two orders I ever pnned to give. “You’ll never hurt me or any of my sves, or any of my women, or any of my friends. Directly or indirectly.”

  The mana in both stones stirred, and then the same happened in their colrs. At least I had confirmation that it was working.

  “Yes, Master,” Terra replied, and then shook Mia’s shoulder slightly to get a confirmation from her too.

  “Y-Yes, Master,” Mia mumbled.

  I didn’t want them to call me Master, but saying it now would pnt it as an order in their minds. So I decided not to mention it at the moment.

  “You will not run away from me, unless your life is in danger,” I said. While it wasn’t exactly necessary, I really didn’t want to chase them around the guild while paying the debt.

  “Yes, Master,” Terra replied, and this time Mia followed on her own.

  Then I stepped forward and reached both hands toward them, presenting the stones.

  Terra looked at them, then at me with a frown.

  When they didn’t take them, I put them on the ground. “Take them,” I said, now able to speak to them without magic involved.

  While Terra looked at me questioningly, Mia focused on the orc, clearly waiting for her guidance on what to do.

  “Is this a test?” Terra asked.

  “No,” I replied. “I don’t want to have that power. I just wanted to make sure you wouldn’t hurt me or run away. And I have an offer for you. I can free you, Terra, even today. And then you can pay off the loan I took to buy you out. After that, I would free Mia, and you could both go your own way.”

  Terra slowly picked up both stones from the ground, tense, as if it really were a trap and I might throw myself at her. “May I ask why you’re doing this?” she asked, still holding Mia to herself.

  “I made a deal with Mia, and while I don’t want to interrupt your reunion, I’d like her to keep her end of it now,” I replied, quickly expining as that could sound ambiguous. “She saw my friend being kidnapped, and she’s supposed to tell me what happened, where, and what she saw.”

  When Terra looked at Mia, the bunny girl nodded. “Let go, Mia,” Terra said. “You should do it,” she added, pushing the girl away from her. Finally, the bunny girl let go of the orc.

  But instead of speaking or showing where Amber had been kidnapped, she leapt at me, wrapping her arms around me just as she had done with Terra moments before. “Thank you, thank you, thank you…” she murmured over and over.

  “It’s okay,” I said, brushing her back under Terra’s gaze. Mia was crying again, clutching me, so I waited, giving her a moment to compose herself. Again. Taking advantage of the time, I pointed at the succubus waiting at the side.

  “This is Zoe, my girlfriend.” She waved her hand in welcome to Terra, her tail moving in the same pattern behind her. “Then this is Azura, also my girlfriend,” I added. “Then this is Mari, my…” I paused. The kitsune scowled at me. “Bodyguard,” I finished, smiling. “And Marcy, who joined us today on a trip and is part of our dungeon team.”

  Terra greeted all of them with a bow.

  “You’ll have time to get to know each other ter, but now we must look for Amber,” I said. “Mia?”

  “Y-Yes, sorry,” she replied, stepping back. “I-I’ll show you.”

  She grabbed Terra’s hand and led us through the city, finally toward the pce where Amber had been kidnapped. With one thing done, the search for my lost little elf began.