Only Obedient to Me! Sir Knight Chapter 2

“This one is our finest product!”

The boy Karl pulled forward was certainly beautiful, fitting the description of a top-grade product.

The only problem was that Rowy’s own face, which he saw in the mirror every day, was deceptively gorgeous, and he absolutely loathed children. Karl, however, was desperate.

“Come on, call him Master!”

“M-Master.”

Smacked on the bottom by Karl’s harsh hand, the boy opened his mouth pitifully.

“…Master?”

Rowy, who was about to wave his hand to dismiss the boy, paused for a moment. Master?

“Hmm… do it again.”

“What?”

“Do it again.”

“…Master?”

Not knowing why, the top-grade boy tilted his head, asking, “Master?” It was a truly picturesque sight, but Rowy had zero interest in whether he was a fine product or not. He was simply deep in thought.

I was planning to raise a dog, but now that I think about it, dogs can’t talk. And obviously, they can’t understand words either. No matter how much he thought about it, he didn’t think he could endure that. Rowy knew himself well. Just like that, Rowy ruthlessly abandoned the idea of raising a dog.

In that case…

“Are there any fully grown ones? I absolutely loathe children.”

“…!”

Whether the boy—who had inwardly hoped to be sold to this beautiful man—shed tears from the shock, or whether Karl wondered if this customer was actually the one who preferred to take the submissive role, Rowy had made up his mind. He would take a strong slave who would faithfully call him Master and fetch prey for him.

“Hehe, please come this way! Right here! They have handsome faces and are tall and well-built!”

Having finally figured out his customer’s taste, Karl guided Rowy with confident steps.

“Now, pick from here! Without exception, their things down there are also very big. Hehe.”

Karl gave a sinister smile from the side. Of course, Rowy wasn’t listening to a word Karl said. He was entirely focused on choosing a slave that suited his aesthetic eye.

That one looks greasy. Rejected. What’s up with that one’s hair color? Rejected. That one barely has any muscle. Rejected. Rejected. Rejected. Rowy, who was just as finicky as he was beautiful, examined them thoroughly. He scanned the entire group, but nothing caught his fancy.

“Are there any stronger ones?”

“Stronger ones?”

Karl’s eyes widened. Ah, he likes them huge! The misunderstanding snowballed. Of course, Rowy couldn’t care less.

“If it’s a bigger guy, there is one… but it hasn’t been long since he became a slave, so he’s still in training. Oh, of course, he’s wearing restraints, so he isn’t dangerous!”

“Hmm….”

“His swordsmanship is also incredible. Originally, we were going to use him as a combat slave….”

Hearing up to that point, Rowy immediately gestured with his hand. Bring him.

‘A combat slave….’

The first time Rowy, with his noble background, had ever seen a combat slave was two years ago when he set out on his long journey to the island.

To get from the Empire to this place, Serafilla, one had to pass through several other countries. Even though he was on his way into exile after falling out of favor with the Crown Prince, Rowy was still a child of the Duke of Irad’s family. Since they couldn’t just send Rowy alone on a long journey across borders, guards were necessary. However, they couldn’t cross borders with a large number of knights, so mercenaries and combat slaves were prepared instead.

The combat slave he saw back then faced monsters with a sturdy body and no specific weapon. That was the first time in Rowy’s life that he had felt such intense bloodlust. If he was going to make someone hunt, it felt right to bring in someone that strong. Although he didn’t know what there was to catch… not even a common rabbit lived on the island where Rowy resided.

“It’s this guy right here!”

The slave Karl brought over was forced to his knees in front of Rowy. Pitch-black hair fluttered from the violent movement. For a moment, their eyes met. Rowy smiled faintly at the sight of eyes that were also pitch black. Rowy liked the color black.

“He wasn’t originally a slave, but his disposition is gentle, so you’ll find him manageable. Since he’s wearing magical restraints, he can’t disobey orders either. You might even find pleasure in personally training him for such purposes.”

Karl added suggestively. Rowy half-listened to Karl’s words as he examined the restraint fastened around the slave’s neck. It was a device imbued with a simple magic that delivered an electric shock if an order was refused. They can control someone with just that? Rowy, a high-ranking mage, tilted his head at the crude magic.

“Hmm.”

“How is he?”

“I’m thinking.”

When Rowy’s reaction remained ambiguous, Karl urged the slave.

“Greet your master!”

“…”

“Hurry!”

“…Master.”

As Karl grabbed and shook the restraint from behind, the slave reluctantly opened his mouth. It seemed the restraint wasn’t completely useless.

“Hmm, what to do.”

His voice was decent. He liked the hair and eye color too. But… honestly, he didn’t feel that drawn to him. Rowy’s expression instantly turned indifferent. Joseph hadn’t worried much about Rowy’s depression, but it was actually quite severe and chronic.

Rowy, whose mood swings were severe, suddenly found it tedious to choose a dog—no, a slave—as if he had never been excited in the first place. However, thinking about returning to the island made his chest feel tight. The island was… too quiet and lonely.

‘Should I just go with him after all? He seems the most decent.’

He quite liked the black eyes. Rowy observed the slave with an evaluating gaze.

‘He doesn’t look all that gentle, though.’

The slave did not avoid Rowy’s eyes. Rowy also stared back at that defiant gaze. For a while, their gazes locked.

“Fine. I’ll take him. Calculate the price.”

“Ah! Yes! Please come this way. Hehe.”

Rowy was the first to look away. The slave’s black eyes continuously followed Rowy’s back as he turned and walked away.

. ꕤ ｡ ˚⋆

‘…’

He had really been sold.

‘O Elyon.’

Calming his turbulent inner thoughts, Dare recited a familiar prayer in his mind. It was a meaningless prayer. Because now, Dare had to serve a new master instead of God. How on earth did things come to this? Dare closed his eyes tightly at the dizzying sensation.

The name of the man who had just been sold was Dare. He had no surname. The priests belonging to the Elysion Temple did not possess surnames. It signified dedicating one’s entire life to Elyon.

Elysion was a very small denomination. However, the Elysion Temple was not particularly interested in expanding its influence. This was because they considered keeping the mission given by God to be more noble.

The Elysion denomination received only one mission: to vanquish demons. Born and raised there, Dare was also brought up solely to uphold that mission. Raised by the hands of priests instead of parents, Dare grew into an outstanding swordsman without anyone’s private instruction, as God’s will usually intended.

Thus, when the time came, he received the position of Commander of the Holy Knights. When he set out on an expedition to subjugate a Great Demon to fulfill his mission, Dare, like any other priest, was filled with a strong certainty about his life.

But… it was only after finally slaying the Great Demon Mamon, their long-cherished desire, that Dare began to feel something was going wrong. When he accomplished that mission, which he believed to be his everything, Dare realized that, conversely, nothing remained in his life.

‘What should I do now?’

The feeling of achieving one’s life goal was very… hollow. Of course, a situation immediately struck that was enough to blow away such trivial emotions in a single bound.

“This is a disaster. Because we focused so heavily on hunting demons, the temple’s finances are ruined.”

“What?”

“We have already sold all the holy relics. We will have to sell your holy sword as well.”

“The holy sword… no, you’re saying you’ve already sold the holy relics?”

“That’s how it turned out.”

Elysion, a small denomination, went bankrupt… right at the end of their great achievement, the demon hunt!

Of course, no matter how small a denomination was, it made no sense to ruin themselves so suddenly over this. The problem was that the High Priest had hastily borrowed money from none other than a notoriously infamous criminal guild.

If they had possessed even a bit of shrewdness, they might have requested mediation from other denominations or countries. However, the priests of Elysion had focused entirely on battles against great demons, leaving their sense of reality vastly underdeveloped.

Unable to handle the debts that snowballed, the Elysion denomination couldn’t even protect their main temple, which boasted thousands of years of history, and everyone scattered. Amid that storm-like situation, Dare tried his best to protect the holy sword at all costs.

The holy sword was different from other holy relics. The only sword capable of killing a demon. The holy sword, Ignis, was the very spirit of the Elysion denomination. If even this was taken away, absolutely nothing would be left of Elysion. Therefore, Dare tried truly desperately.

However, like the other priests, Dare knew little outside of combat. The things he did to try to earn money oddly got tangled up. It was a succession of events too pitiful to list one by one. Why were there so many scammers in the world? Were they not even afraid of divine punishment? In no time, debts began to pile up for Dare as well. The holy sword had been taken away long ago, and now, even his own body had been sold off.

Everything kept flowing only in a bad direction. …To the point where he thought Elyon had abandoned His servant, who had now outlived his usefulness. Even so, Dare did not despair.

‘God said He always gives only the trials that are necessary.’

His newly acquired master was probably also one of God’s wills. Therefore, Dare decided to focus on his new master for now. Since he was the person who paid for his body’s worth, it was right to stay by his side until he fulfilled that value. Having served God for a long time, he would probably be able to serve a master well too. Presumably.

‘My new master is… how should I put it.’

Dare looked at the master in front of him with a subtle expression.