Translator: Denryuu; Editor: Ryunakama

The following morning, four of the girls I had freed came for a visit.

「…What do you want?」

I could see why Lenny had wanted a demon for his collection. His slaves had been of many different species, and the quartet on my doorstep alone consisted of a human, a demi-human, a dwarf and an elf.

「Uhm… we’ve discussed, and…」, started the human girl. 「…We wanted to express our thanks, but since we can’t really do anything, we were wondering if we could assist you in some way?」

「Assist me, hmm…」

I paused for a moment to consolidate my thoughts.

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「I told you all that you’re free to go, didn’t I?」

The demi-human nodded. From the shape of her ears and the colour of her tail, she was most likely of vulpine descent.

「That’s why we’re here — to repay your kindness of our own free will.」

I see. Giving them ‘freedom’ might have landed them in an equally bad situation, since they had neither proper clothing nor money.

「In that case, how about becoming adventurers? I can’t guarantee that all of you will be accepted, though.」

「Does that make us useful…?」, asked the elf.

I nodded. It wasn’t a topic that should be discussed on my porch, so I invited them inside and let them take a bath.

「Their intentions are commendable」, commented Lyla as she stirred a pot of soup.

After they were done, I gave them some of Lyla’s clothes. Feeling indebted enough already, they initially refused, but eventually caved when I told them that it was a preferable alternative to their barely-hanging on rags.

Once they were properly clothed, you could see them for who they were — girls of different species but prim and proper all the same. I brought them to the dining table where Lyla served them bowls of homemade soup. After a moment’s hesitation, they quietly began to drink.

「Lenny was a cruel person, making enemies left right and centre. Even if Roland-sama hadn’t put a stop to his actions yesterday, someone would have sooner or later」, said the human.

The others agreed silently.

「Roland-sama… we know nothing about yesterday’s events」, assured the demi-human in a barely audible whisper.

「That’s great. Please keep it that way.」

The dwarf looked like she was about to say something, but couldn’t quite find the words to.

「…Excuse me…」

「Yes?」

She was probably a fully grown adult, despite her childlike frame. Lenny had no doubt done unspeakable things to her as and when he felt like it.

「Can you… give us names?」

「A name?」

I was a little surprised, but figured that being called by their old names would cause painful memories of their servitude to resurface.

「Oh, that’s my job!」, snorted Lyla as she gave each of them names without even a moment’s hesitation. 「Human — you’ll be ‘Hire’, demi-human — ‘Lyan’. ‘Sans’ for you, dwarf, and ‘Sue’ for the elf. How about it?」

[1. ‘Hire’ rhymes with ‘beer’; ‘Lyan’ rhymes with ‘nyan’.]

The girls’ eyes lit up, and Hire lowered her head.

「Thank you very much, Wife-san!」

「W-wi-wife…!?」

Lyla’s heart skipped a beat.

「Wife… wife… man, that has some implications…」, she murmured happily.

「You can use the money you earn as an adventurer to live by your own means. You can choose to return to your hometown, continue adventuring, or anything, really — whatever suits you.」

「Okay!!」

Of course, they had to pass my test first.

「They can stay here for the time being. Money isn’t a concern, is it?」, I asked Lyla.

「Nah, I don’t mind them staying. As wife-san, I have to be magnanimous… fufu.」

She looked very pleased.

「Roland-sama… is a good person」, said Sans.

Lyan nodded.

「It is indeed very kind of him to extend a helping hand to slaves like us…」

「No. You are no longer slaves. As my assistants, you are now combatants and it is only natural to treat you accordingly.」

「Rest assured that he’ll take good care of all of you」, added Lyla with a smile.

At that moment, Hire burst out in tears and the rest followed suit.

「It’s been… really tough… for us…」

Lyla wept with them.

As the chief presiding examiner, I didn’t lower the bar of entry for the girls even a little. Yet, they completely exceeded my expectations, making me wonder why I had even doubted them in the first place.

「Wow, all of them passed with flying colours, how interesting!」, exclaimed Milia as she peered at the results sheet.

「Yeah, I never expected it.」

As the girls had received complete makeovers, nobody could even tell that they had once been slaves. I handed them their adventurer’s licenses.

「So this is the license!」

「I’m excited.」

「Hmm, this ‘adventurer’s license’… it’s bendy, but it doesn’t snap.」

「We’re adventurers now… a job of the ‘free’…」

I usually briefed new adventurers individually, but since there were four girls, I brought them to the drawing room for a mini-lecture.

「First up, Hire.」

「Y-Yes!」

「Your practical skill wasn’t too shabby, but where you really shone was the magical assessment, passing at quite a high percentile.」

「T-That means…?」

「Your magicka is a fountain of untapped potential. I’ll introduce you to a specialist later on — he’ll teach you well, so do learn from him.」

「Okay!」

Lyan, the vulpine demi-human, wagged her tail back and forth in anticipation.

「Wow, Hire, that’s great… what about me, what about me?」

「Wait for your turn, please. Lyan… you’re the polar opposite. You scored exactly zero points on the magical assessment…」

You could see the excitement drain from her eyes.

「Does that mean… I’m a failure…?」

「…However, your basic capabilities are quite well-developed for a demi-human. You’re highly agile, have a wide field of vision and acute hearing. Well done.」

As they had been shackled, none of them had had much chance to exercise properly. Their dexterity was still limited, but with proper training, they would improve by leaps and bounds.

If only Lenny had developed their potential too — they would’ve been more than just sex slaves.

「You’ll be a very effective scout.」

「Wahey –!」, exclaimed Lyan, whose attitude had changed once again.

Now it was Sans’s turn to stare at me.

「Just like Lyan, you still have the basic instincts of a dwarf. With proper training, your small build allows you to be effective at guerrilla tactics.」

「…Ah. That’s good.」

The quiet dwarf broke into a smile.

「My turn!」

Sue, for whatever reason, adopted a seductive pose.

「It goes without saying, Sue, that you’re the cream of the crop. As expected of an elf, I would say.」

「Wow…」

「Did you know, Roland-sama, Sue is actually the most erotic out of all of us!」

「… (￣ー+￣)」

「Hey! No, you can’t do that here…!」

The four of them had already brightened up — it really goes to show what hope and freedom can do for a person.

「You can go solo at first if you want to, but I feel that the four of you will work well as a team.」

「Then… I’ll be the leader right? Since Roland-sama has praised me the most, and I’m the most skilled…?」

As soon as Sue finished her sentence, the other three broke out in protest, all indicating that they wanted the position as well. It was almost like a rivalry between warlords, except that it made the drawing room pleasantly lively.

Looking at them, it suddenly occurred to me that most slaves are subjected to manual labour. However, there are also slaves who are bought and maintained to satisfy their masters’ sexual desires. They do exactly that — pleasing their master is their entire purpose.

Not very productive, I’d say.

Meanwhile, their chaotic match of rock-paper-scissors had just ended.

「Yup, I’m the leader, as I should have been in the first place!」, exclaimed Hire triumphantly, brandishing her winning pair of scissors.

All the others could do was admit defeat, however reluctantly.

I felt that Hire was suitable to be the leader. As a mage, she would be appointed as the rear guard, allowing her to oversee the whole formation.

「Roland-sama, please teach us well!」

「Yes, just let me know if you need anything.」

From this point onwards, they would make a living for themselves as adventurers. It’s a risky job, but the harder you work, the more rewards you stand to earn. In other words, it all depends on how motivated you are — highly motivated people will work harder, earning enough to maintain this positive feedback loop for themselves.

They might quit eventually, but looking at them now, I believed that day wouldn’t come anytime soon. As the days passed, the girls helped us to clear more and more quests.

「Roland-sama, if you need anything, let me help you」, said Lyan in a serious manner.

When I ruffled her hair, she closed her eyes and produced a strange sound.

Even though they remained silent, I sensed that the others felt the same way. They had taken up any quests they could get their hands on, even the tedious F-rank ones that paid peanuts. Somewhere along the way, one of them had called themselves the ‘Pretty Girls’ Squad’, and the name stuck.

That’s the good thing about being an adventurer — if you produce results, you reap the rewards. Slaves are the exact opposite, for they are trapped in an environment of counter-productivity.

As far as I’m concerned, if you’re a slave owner, the most productive thing you can do is to set them free.