Liberation of The Slaves

– Freed’s POV –

I stretched both arms as I stepped out of the tent.

Cold air brushed against my face at once, sharp enough to chase away the last traces of sleep. The world that greeted me was completely different from the one we had camped in last night. The brown rocky ground had vanished beneath a soft white blanket, and snow still drifted down from the pale sky in quiet, gentle flakes.

For a moment, I simply stood there and watched.

The forest, the stones, the distant ridges, everything looked strangely clean. As if the world had been washed overnight and covered with a layer of silence.

Then my stomach reminded me of reality.

With a small sigh, I rubbed my hands together and started preparing breakfast.

Len was training again.

Her silver hair swayed with every step as she moved across the snow-covered ground. Her sword cut through the morning air in clean arcs, sometimes slow and precise, sometimes so fast that only a faint afterimage remained. Her feet slid, turned, and stepped without disturbing the snow more than necessary.

She began with basic movements, then gradually shifted into more complicated footwork and sword techniques. Even though she had spent the entire night awake, her movements were still steady.

Len had once told me that daily training was important, even if our skill levels were already high. A maxed-out number in the status window did not mean the body would always move correctly in battle. The status window only showed potential. It did not choose the right step, the right angle, or the right sword path in a deadly moment.

That part was up to us.

If someone relied only on numbers, they would eventually make a mistake. And in battle, a single mistake could become fatal.

“Ah, you’re up already. Good morning, darling.”

Len noticed me and walked over with a light smile.

Fine beads of sweat glistened on her forehead despite the cold. Her cheeks were slightly flushed from training, and her golden eyes shone with the lively satisfaction of someone who had just enjoyed a good workout.

“Morning, Len. Breakfast is ready.”

I handed her a bowl of warmed food.

Well, it was not as if I had cooked anything impressive. I had only reheated the food we brought from home. Still, warm food in the middle of a snowy morning felt more valuable than usual.

“Clean.” Len murmured a short spell, and the sweat on her skin vanished as if wiped away by invisible hands. “Thank you for the meal.”

She accepted the bowl and sat beside me.

We ate together while watching the snow fall.

The warmth of the food spread through my body, and the quiet around us made the morning feel strangely peaceful. There was no sound except the faint rustle of falling snow, the crackle of our small fire, and Len’s soft breathing beside me.

“The landscape changed a lot overnight.”

I looked over the white scenery again.

“It did. I was surprised too. I’ve never seen anything like this.” Len scooped up another bite, her gaze wandering toward the distant trees.

“You’ve never traveled through the forest during winter?”

“No. During winter, I usually stayed at home, or I went into the city to gather information about slaves.”

Her answer was calm, but it reminded me once again that Len’s ordinary life was not ordinary at all.

“By the way, speaking of slaves, do you have any specific criteria for the ones you want to save?” Len turned her eyes toward me.

“Criteria…?” I tilted my head.

The word felt strange when connected to saving people.

“There are several types of slaves.”

Len raised one finger. “The first are criminal slaves. They were criminals who were turned into slaves as punishment.”

She raised a second finger. “The second are illegal slaves. Basically, people like you and me. People who were kidnapped, sold, or enslaved through illegal means.”

A third finger. “The third are war slaves. They are prisoners of war who are no longer useful to the nation that captured them.”

“The fourth are debt slaves. People who could not pay their debts and were sold into slavery.”

“And the last are those sold by their own families.”

I stared at her fingers, then at the snow in front of me.

“There are quite a few types…”

In novels, slaves were not usually divided into categories so clearly. But when I thought about their backstories, they often matched what Len had just explained.

Criminals like bandits were turned into slaves instead of being imprisoned.

Illegal slaves were those who had been kidnapped and sold. I had been one of them. Len had been one too.

Debt slaves and those sold by their families were also common in stories. Some people were sold because they could not pay for food. Some families sold a child because they were poor and had too many mouths to feed. They gained money immediately, and at the same time, reduced the burden of daily meals.

It was a cruel kind of logic.

“Huh? Wait. So war slaves are actually prisoners of war? I thought prisoners of war were usually used for negotiations between countries.”

I was not too familiar with war, but from what I knew, captives were often exchanged or ransomed back to their homeland. At least, important captives were.

So why would they be reduced to slavery?

“That is how it works in our original world. But here, things are different.” Len’s expression grew a little colder. “The victorious nation usually only ransoms back high-ranking officers, commanders, or nobles. Ordinary soldiers almost never get that chance. Civilians are even less fortunate.”

“Wait, what? They take civilians too?” My hand stopped halfway to my mouth.

“Yes. When a town falls under enemy control, its residents are often taken captive.”

Len’s voice remained steady, but there was a faint shadow in her eyes.

“I have only heard about the empire and the holy kingdom doing it directly, but other nations probably use similar methods. I know for certain that the empire enslaved villagers from elven settlements.”

Her words made me remember Sister Esta.

She had been captured even though she was only a villager. I had never heard the full story from her own mouth, but Aza had confirmed enough for me to understand the truth.

【Based on history, countries of other races also captured human villagers. However, they were not publicly sold as slaves. Instead, they were often forced to work for the nation, such as farming to increase food production.】

Aza’s voice entered my mind. Her tone was calmer than usual, perhaps because the topic itself was heavy.

“Including the elf nation?” Len’s eyes widened slightly, her surprise was clear.

【Yes.】

Len lowered her gaze to the bowl in her hands.

“Heh… This world is darker than I imagined.”

She laughed, but there was no amusement in it, but a dry, bitter sound.

Len was half-elf. She had also lived in an elf country before. Even if she did not blindly worship them, hearing that the elf country had done the same kind of thing must have struck somewhere deep inside her.

The snow continued to fall, quiet and innocent, as if it had nothing to do with the ugly truths being spoken beneath it.

I decided to change the topic before the silence sank too deep.

“Which types do you usually save, Len?”

“I usually rescue illegal slaves and villagers captured in war.” Len’s fingers tightened slightly around her bowl. “But sometimes I save other slaves too, because it becomes inevitable.”

“Inevitable? Why?”

“You worked in a gold mine, right? Did you know about the other slaves there?”

“No. We were strictly forbidden from talking. I never got to learn anything about them.”

Len nodded softly. “Among those slaves, there were not only illegal slaves. There were criminals too. So if I killed the owner and destroyed the place, I ended up freeing everyone.”

Ah.

So that was what she meant by inevitable.

“But won’t some of those criminals go back to their old ways? They might harm others again.”

“Yes, I know.” Len answered without hesitation. “But that’s no longer my responsibility. Their lives belong to them. I only give them a chance to start again. What they choose after that is their own decision.”

She looked at the snow beyond the fire.

“My role ends once I rescue them and return them home. Actually, even calling it my role is not right. Saving them is not my duty. I do it because I want to.”

Len was kind, but she knew where to draw the line. She was not like the protagonists in some novels who blamed themselves for everything that happened after they helped someone. She gave people a chance. After that, their choices belonged to them.

Even if she failed to save someone, she did not drown herself in regret. Even if someone she saved caused conflicts in the future, it had nothing to do with her.

She understood that she was only one person. Not a perfect hero, and definitely not someone who could carry the entire world on her back.

Still, I felt something strange beneath her words. Her expression was composed, but her emotions were not.

“You say that, but your feelings tell a different story.”

Len glanced at me. The smile on her lips was faint.

I could feel it from her. Not toward the criminals she had freed. Not toward the people she had failed to save.

“Is it because of the elf nation?” I asked quietly.

Len let out another bitter laugh. “I really can’t hide anything from you…”

So that was it.

The revelation had shaken her more than she wanted to admit.

I was surprised too. The elf country I knew from novels were usually cleaner, nobler, and closer to nature. They were often arrogant, but they were not usually portrayed as the kind of people who would capture villagers and force them to work for the nation.

But this world was not a novel. Reality had already betrayed my expectations too many times.

I did not know exactly what Len was thinking. I could guess part of it, but only part. So I did not pry. If she wanted to tell me, she would tell me.

A short while later, Len set her empty bowl down. I finished mine almost at the same time.

“You should rest and clear your mind.” I spoke gently.

Len blinked at me, then puffed her cheeks a little.

“Ehh… When your girlfriend is feeling down, you’re supposed to comfort her.”

A playful smile curled her lips, though her eyes still carried a trace of gloom.

“That is exactly why you should sleep.”

Because I knew Len. Her way of asking for comfort was different from most girls.

“No.” She folded her arms and turned her face away with exaggerated stubbornness. “I won’t sleep until you console me first. Hmph.”

I stared at her for a moment.

Then I sighed.

Her cheeks remained puffed out, but one golden eye peeked at me, clearly waiting to see what I would do. The heavy mood from earlier had not vanished, but it had softened. Len had a talent for pulling warmth back into the air, even after speaking about things that left a bitter taste behind.

I moved closer and pulled her into my arms.

Len’s body relaxed almost immediately.

The cold morning, the snowy forest, the ugly truth of this world, all of it seemed to fade a little as she leaned against me.

But somehow, between all of that, we still found small pieces of happiness.

Len eventually fell asleep in the morning, her silver hair spilling over my shoulder and her breathing calm against my chest. I carried her with air steps and continued our journey through the white forest.

For us, it was just another ordinary day.