Liberation of The Slaves

Chapter 105 – The Gift That Held Her Heart

After finishing my bland stew for dinner, I made my way to the library.

When I entered, I froze.

It was still dusty… I suddenly realized I hadn’t cleaned this room.

Well… I will clean it tomorrow.

I was already too tired to clean it tonight.

I started to walk around the shelves.

<“I think I’ve seen it somewhere…”>

【What are you looking for, Master?】

<“A map. We don’t know if those herbs and berries we have will last until Selena wakes up. It’d be smart to find out where I can gather more… Ah—there it is.”>

Thanks to Selena’s meticulous organization, finding it didn’t take long. A wooden tag labeled Maps stood out among the shelves. Neatly tucked beneath it were several scrolls. I pulled one out—thicker and older-looking than the rest.

It was a detailed map of the Amazon Forest.

<“So she made this herself…”>

It wasn’t surprising. After all, you couldn’t just buy a map of this cursed forest from the local market. I sat down at the nearest table and carefully unfurled it. The thing was massive—it spilled over the edges of the table like a blanket of knowledge.

To my relief, Selena had marked it up with all sorts of useful annotations—monster nests, resource spots, even marking where drakes and other monsters made their lairs. But what really caught my eyes were the numerous tags for herbs and berries—complete with names. That meant she knew exactly how valuable they were.

And still… she’d used them for my meals every single day.

<“…She really did spoil me, didn’t she?”>

I let out a small chuckle.

My eyes landed on a section of the map surrounded by a large square. That had to be the barrier she mentioned—the one protecting the area. Oddly enough, the center of the square wasn’t the house… it was the cliff at the south.

<“Maybe she just really liked that cliff…”>

I spotted two nearby resource tags—Ivory Petal and Yam Fruit. I remembered Aza talking about those before. Ivory Petal was a rare herb said to enhance physical development, priced at fifteen gold coins per stalk. Yam Fruit, a mana- and aura-boosting berry, grew near the cliff’s entrance.

<“Looks like we’ve got plenty of those in stock already, but still… might be safer to stick with them for now.”>

I tapped the edge of the map thoughtfully.

<“Alright then. From tomorrow, we’ll just cook using these two.”>

【Ugh… just imagining eating the same thing every day for a year makes me lose my appetite.】

<“I know you want meat, but bear with it. Just one year.”>

【Yes… fine… But I’m going to complain the whole time.】

Unfortunately, meat was out of the question unless I wanted to gamble my life against high-rank monsters.

So, bland stew it is… for the foreseeable future.

<“...Huh?”>

Just as I was about to leave the library, rolling up the large map in my hands, something caught my eye near the leg of the table.

A wooden box.

Plain and unassuming, tucked just out of sight—yet what made my heart stop was the label carved into its surface with careful strokes:

“For my cute little disciple, Freed♥”

My breath hitched.

I rushed back to the table and placed the box down, hands trembling as I unlatched the lid.

There wasn’t a letter.

No explanation.

Just five objects inside—each neatly labeled, each screaming of preparation.

The first was a set of five teleportation scrolls. The label read:

“The Castle of Rosenwood City, Rosenwood Kingdom.”

Beneath it, a handwritten note:

“Give the badge to the castle owner and tell them you are my new disciple.”

Next to the scrolls lay a circular wooden badge, looped with string like a keychain. It was engraved with a tree crest, the word “Thalwyn” etched across the top, and “Rosenwood” on the bottom.

I stared.

What the hell…

The castle owner…?

She… knew royalty from the Elf Kingdom?

The second set of teleportation scrolls was even stranger. The label said:

“Our Little House♥”

Not my house.

Our house.

The third item was a sleek, black sling bag—simple in design, but the label told a different story:

“A magic bag to carry your treasures.”

And underneath, two footnotes:

“Don’t forget to pick up your magic stones, herbs and stuff, and any other things you need.”

And scribbled underneath in cheeky handwriting:

“P.S. It’s fine to sell them to get rich and be a harem king.”

I froze.

Your treasures, she said. As if she had already passed everything down… as if she believed I’d be the one left to carry it all forward.

And then came the final two gifts.

Books.

Not dusty spellbooks or generic training manuals.

The first: “Magic Tools Craft Starter Guide – By Selena Calytrix.”

I skimmed the contents, eyes widening with each chapter—magic stones, scroll formulas, enchantment structures, complex magic tool crafting. Her knowledge laid out in ink, step-by-step, with all the precision of a true master.

The second book felt heavier in my hands.

“Heavenfire Magic Swordsman Starter Guide – By Selena Calytrix.”

Despite the humble title, only the first few chapters were "basic": how to convert the Mana and Aura, how to produce Heavenfire—concepts I had spent over a year learning through blood and exhaustion.

But the rest…

They weren’t basic.

They were skills.

Swordsmanship stances. Offensive, Supportive, and Defensive magic. Footwork patterns I’d never seen mentioned anywhere before.

<“Aza… Have you heard of any of these?”>

My voice was barely above a whisper.

【Just a few of them. Since the Heavenfire element itself is rare, those few skills are obviously rare as well. As for the rest… not a single one I know. They’re not recorded in any database. Most likely… these are her original skills—ones she developed herself and that aren’t widely known.】

I stood there in silence, the room around me going quiet.

Then, without warning—tears blurred my vision.

Warm drops splashed against the covers of the book.

I clutched them tightly to my chest.

I couldn’t stop shaking.

All this time… I had doubted her.

All this time… I feared that she might use me, cast me aside the moment I became useless.

But these gifts weren’t just items. They were preparations. Contingencies.

They were goodbyes she prayed she wouldn’t have to say.

【It seems your fears… were unfounded after all.】

Aza’s voice was quieter than usual. Almost gentle.

“Yeah…” I choked out, my voice catching in my throat.

I lowered my head, pressing my chest against the book, clutching it like it was the last piece of her I had left. The warmth of her handwriting, her thoughts, her hopes—all carved into these pages for me. Just in case she never woke up.

My chest tightened.

How cruel of me…

To question the one who had always stood by me.

The one who fed me, trained me, trusted me—

Who bore pain alone and still thought to leave behind tools for my future, just in case she didn’t have one.

Even now, she was watching over me.

Even unconscious, she had never stopped protecting me.

And yet…

I’d doubted her.

I’d let fear whisper lies into my heart.

That she might discard me.

That I was just a means to an end.

That I would be left behind—again.

My hands trembled as I held the book tighter to my chest, like I was trying to squeeze the guilt out of me. But it wouldn’t leave. It burned behind my eyes, and no amount of logic could extinguish it.

“She always believed in me… but I…”

The words didn’t come out.

They didn’t need to.

The tears said enough.

I was the one who didn’t believe.

I stayed there for a while, just breathing. Letting the silence settle around me like a fragile blanket. The books, the scrolls, the badge—they weren't merely gifts. They were proof of trust. Of love. Of everything she had never said aloud, but had shown in actions a hundred times over.

My hand hovered over the box, lingering.

And only then, when the storm in my chest began to quiet…

【What do you plan to do now, Master?】

Aza's voice returned—soft, careful. Like she didn’t want to disturb the moment, but needed to ask.

I wiped the tears away with my sleeve and gently placed the scrolls, the badge, and the books back into the box.

All except the bag.

<“I don’t need them.”>

The teleportation scrolls? She promised we’d travel the world together. Why should I go ahead without her?

The books? She is my teacher. I’d rather hear her voice explain these pages.

But the bag… That, I’d need. Not to hoard treasure. Just to gather food, herbs, berries. To survive—until she wakes up.

Because I believe she’ll wake up.

She has to.

She wouldn’t leave all this behind… unless she believed I’d be here—to live on, to carry it, to remember her.

To receive her gift… with open hands and an open heart.

The sky outside was cloaked in night.

I returned to the bedroom and laid down beside her—carefully, quietly. Her breathing was still steady, her body warm.

The exhaustion from cooking, cleaning, crying… it all finally weighed down on me.

I glanced at her sleeping face, her breath soft and steady, unaware of the storm she’d just calmed within me. My voice trembled as I whispered,

“…Next time, I’ll be the one to protect you.”

My heart still ached—but not from fear or doubt. It ached with something gentler... something clearer.

The ache of knowing someone had always believed in me—while I hesitated to believe in her.

But not anymore.

As my eyes slowly drifted shut, I felt the weight I’d carried for years begin to lift.

And in its place, something new took root.

A choice.

From now on…

I would believe in her—

Wholly.

Unshakably.

No matter what.