11:00 p.m. local time.

Ten girls were gathered in , which landed on the outskirts of Ikhsanat.

"...... Don't worry. You have already been released.

Elsa showed them the certificate and tore it in two.

"Oh, um, ......"

The girl who seemed to be the oldest of the group raised her hand.

"Hmm, what's wrong?"

"What's going to happen to us now?"

"That's what I was going to explain. I thought I'd explain it to you now. ...... You're free now. If you want to go home, I'll give you a ride. But it might be better to wait a little longer."

Elsa breaks off and looks around at the faces of the girls. They all seem to understand what she means.

"Yes. The food shortage is not over yet. So I think it would be better to go home at the end of spring, when the harvest of the new crops is finished.

A few of the girls nodded, and others looked down.

"Don't worry. Don't worry. ...... This is . He has his own lands, and he will take you there.

The older girl spoke up again.

"Um, and this collar is ......."

It was Jin who responded.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'll get it for you right away."

With that, he reached around the older girl's neck and removed the collar.

"What, what?"

The girl doesn't understand what's happening. She couldn't have done it herself if she had tried, but Jin had done it easily.

"He's the . He's the best Magecraftsman in the world. That's why this is so easy for him.

Erza explained, and the girls seemed to understand a little.

Meanwhile, Jin removes the collars from all of them.

"Oh, thank you very much ......!"

The girls looked at Jin with respect as he easily removed the collars that they had thought were impossible to remove.

It was the old man's advice not to use magic tools. In other words, <>.

In front of the girls, Jin threw away the collar he had removed.

"Now you are free.

But the older girl opens her mouth three times.

"I can't ....... This tattoo ......."

On the girls' chests, there was a figure and black letters, a sign that they were slaves. The figure is the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Cerroa and the letters are the names of the merchants who bought them.

"...... let me see it."

Erza said no and stared at the chest of the older girl. And then,

"<><>"

and also examine the function of the magic power.

"...... got it. This is just a marker. The dye is not toxic. ......<>"

"What?　Huh?"

Elsa continued her examination and even decomposed the pigment to remove the tattoo cleanly.

Most of the pigment that has been broken down into atoms is expelled through the skin and does not harm the patient.

Okay, next. ......<"

In a short time, Elsa has cleaned the girls' tattoos.

"Thank you!

Thus, Jin and Elsa have won the trust of the girls.

It is almost midnight.

"Well, I know it's a little uncomfortable, but you can sleep here tonight.

Jin said to the girls as he laid the seat of <> fully flat.

"Yes, sir. ...... guys, it's late, let's get some rest, okay?"

"......Yes."

"Yes. ......"

The older girl called out to the rest of the girls, and the rest of the girls went to rest.

Jin orders Reiko, who is piloting the ship this time, to head for the village of Kaina, also using the <>.

The reason for this is to avoid shaking the hull as much as possible.

Jin and Erza sit down in the passenger seat and decide to take a nap in their chairs.

"Well then, Reiko, please make sure that we arrive in front of Nido Castle before dawn."

"Yes, sir, I will."

On Horai Island, the old man and Anne were checking on the sequence of events.

"Yes. The collar that Goshujin-sama removed and the certificate that Erza-sama broke are secured, aren't they?"

<<

* * * * * *

The time difference between Ikasanat and Kayna is 1 hour 20 minutes and the distance is less than 500 km.

< sailed at a speed of 100 kilometers per hour.

Thus, a little after 5:00 a.m., the with the group on board landed at the square in front of Nidang Castle.

An hour later, dawn began to break.

Jin, who had been taking a nap, wakes up. Erza seems to be sleeping well.

Feeling a little sorry for her, Jin wakes her up for what is to come.

"...... hmm, Jin?"

"Good morning, Erza."

"Good morning, Brother Jin."

The girls seemed to have heard their voices and woke up, too.

"......Good morning, sir."

The oldest girl greeted Jin.

"Good morning. Did you get some sleep?

"Yes, I did. ...... Um... where am I?

This is Caina Village, a small village in the northern part of the Kingdom of Klein.

In fact, it is an independent territory of Jin, but since explaining the details would be complicated, I will limit myself to a brief explanation first.

"Kaina Village ......"

It doesn't sound familiar. That's understandable.

"Oh. You're ......, can you tell me your name?"

Jin realizes now that he had not heard his name.

"Oh, I'm sorry, my name is Sonia.

"Sonia. "Oh, I'm sorry, my name is Sonia," said Jin, realizing now that he had not heard his name. I'm going to ask you to help me keep the other kids together for a while.

Yeah, yeah, that's fine. ......

"Okay. Okay, let's go outside first. It's a little cold out there.

"Yes, yes. ......?"

The village of Kaina is quite cold, even by their standards. Not to mention that before they went to bed, they were in a much warmer place, Ikasanat in the Kingdom of Egelea.

"...... Wow, it's cold!"

"Where am I?

"What?　What is this thing that just appeared?

"......What the hell is that building?

The girls outside were surprised at the cold, surprised at <>, and surprised at Nido Castle, just as Jin had expected.

First, he takes them to Nido Castle.

"Come here. Oh, and take off your shoes."

"What?"

The girls are relieved to be in the warmth of the castle, although they are a little embarrassed to have to take off their shoes.

Jin takes them straight to the dining room. Elsa and Reiko take the last row.

"Come on, come in."

It is a hall. Tables and chairs were brought in.

The room is divided by a partition so that it is not too spacious and uncomfortable.

The five colored golem maids had arrived and were ready for breakfast.

Jin and Elsa took their seats, but the girls remained standing.

"Come on, you can sit down now."

The girls finally sat down when Jin told them to do so.

You can eat as much as you like from the table. If you need more, just ask the golem maid by your side. Sonia, you can reassure the others as well.

Jin took the initiative and began to eat. Erza also began to eat.

Sonia looked around to the left and right and called out to them.

"Come on, come on, everyone. Let's take advantage of Gin-sama and Erza-sama's hospitality!

And she was the first to take a bite of the stew.

"Delicious ......!"

The stew was rich and full of vegetables, including topopo.

Seeing this, the other girls also put their hands on their food.

"Delicious!

I've never tasted anything like this before, but it's so good!

Once they had their hands on the food, they were so hungry that they kept reaching for it one after the other.

"What is this bread, it's so white!　It's unbelievably fluffy!"

The white bread made with yeast, a special product of Horai Island.

"This porridge is not barley!　But it's delicious!"

Rice porridge.

"Tender, delicious meat!　What kind of meat is it?"

Meat from a cow that has recently been raised on Bongrae Island.

"This fruit just melts in my mouth!　How sweet it is!

Persica from Horai Island.

Etc, etc, etc, etc.

The girls ate as much as they could for the first time in a long time.

"Well..."

Jin looks at the girls who have finished eating and says to them. All the girls looked at Jin at once. There is no more fear in their eyes.

"I will prepare a room for you, so you can rest a little. After that, we can talk about the future.

With these words, Jin left Elsa and the golem maid to take care of the rest.

As Jin left the room,

"Thank you very much!

the girls thanked him.

"Yes, you don't have to worry about anything else," he replied.

Jin replied, "Yes, nothing more to worry about," and headed for the village headman's house.