Liberation of The Slaves

Chapter 125 – Ciel The Liberator

“So, are we prepared to depart now?” I asked.

Len nodded, her silver hair catching the light as she turned from the table where our supplies were stacked neatly.

“Yes. We can set off tomorrow. But there is a place I would like to visit today.”

“A place you want to go?”

The way her gaze drifted toward the window told me enough. I let the thought settle, then breathed it out like a careful guess.

“Is it the cliff?”

A faint softness touched her lips, small and fragile, like she was afraid it would break if she smiled too much.

“Yes. Would you like to accompany me?”

“Of course. Let me change into something more suitable first.”

I changed into something simple, then returned to find her already waiting by the door, posture straight, eyes calm, hands folded as if she had been holding herself together for hours.

We walked at a leisurely pace, side by side, our steps crunching over fallen leaves. The road felt familiar, yet today there was a weight in it, as if the path remembered more than I did. By the time we reached the cliff, the sun was already leaning past noon, warm and bright.

“I thought you would prefer to come here in the evening. It is still early afternoon.”

The wind rose from below, carrying the scent of trees and distant salt. From the edge, the forest stretched like a green sea, and beyond it, far north, the real ocean gleamed under the sun.

Len stood at the cliff top, unmoving, eyes fixed on the horizon as if she could see through time.

“Yes, but it was in the afternoon when my master first brought me here. It was the moment she accepted me as her apprentice.”

Len murmured. Her voice was steady, but something in it trembled quietly.

I stayed silent.

Len stepped toward a spot that looked no different from the rest of the cliff, then lowered herself to her knees. She placed her palm on the ground with a gentleness that made my chest tighten, like she was touching a sleeping wound.

Mana gathered around her fingers, subtle at first, then deepening into a pressure I could feel in my teeth.

Rumble!

“Whoa!”

The earth shivered beneath us, but it was not the wild chaos of an earthquake. It was controlled, deliberate, like a door unlocking. Stone shifted, seams splitting open as a hidden passage revealed itself. A staircase sank downward into darkness.

“What is this…?”

I looked to Len, waiting for an answer, but she did not speak. She simply rose and began to descend.

I followed close behind, my hand hovering near my sword out of habit, though the danger I felt was not from monsters.

Rumble!

The moment my foot touched the stairs, the entrance sealed above us. Darkness snapped shut like a lid.

Then, one by one, magical lamps along the walls flared to life, their soft glow painting the stone in pale gold.

We continued downward. The staircase felt too long for any natural cavern. It went on and on, the air growing cooler, the silence growing heavier, until time itself felt slowed by the weight of stone.

Finally, a massive black door stood before us.

Len lifted her hand again, pressing mana into the surface like a key into a lock. The door responded with a low, reverent sound and swung open.

Beyond it was a vast chamber, shockingly white, the walls clean as if they had never known dust. Soft magic lamps hovered around the room, their glow steady and patient.

At the center stood a solitary tomb.

Something in my throat tightened the instant I saw it, as if the room demanded quiet, not out of fear, but out of respect.

Len approached slowly, each step measured. Then she knelt beside the tomb and let her fingers graze the stone, as tender as a lover touching a cheek.

I leaned closer and read the inscription.

Ciel

The Liberator

Autumn 77, 25585

to

Autumn 35, 25657

“It is my master’s tomb,” Len said at last.

Her words landed softly, yet they echoed in the chamber.

“Autumn 35…” I murmured.

Len’s shoulders lifted in a small breath, then lowered again, like she was trying to keep something from spilling out.

“Yes. It is today, exactly 120 years ago, she departed from this world.”

I knelt beside her without thinking, close enough that my sleeve brushed hers. I did not interrupt. I did not try to fix it. I simply stayed, offering my presence the only way I knew how.

Len stared at the name on the stone for a long moment. When she spoke again, her voice was quieter, fragile in a way I had never heard from her.

“I wonder if she will be happy in her next life.”

I turned my gaze to her profile, to the silver hair that framed her face, to the golden eyes that tried so hard to stay strong. Selena Calytrix, the woman the world saw as distant and untouchable, looked like someone who had carried a promise for far too long.

“I am sure she will,” I said. “Especially knowing that you have also found your happiness.”

Len’s lips parted as if she wanted to argue, but the fight left her before it began.

“Yes. I hope so.”

She shifted closer to the tomb, her hand still on the stone, like she was anchoring herself to it. When she spoke, it was not to me anymore. It was to the air, the room, the memory that still lingered here.

“Master… your final order… You wanted me to find my own happiness. I have fulfilled it, Master. I have found my own happiness.”

Her breath hitched.

“The man beside me is Freed. He is the man I love. He is my happiness, Master.”

The tears came fast, catching in her lashes before spilling down her cheeks. I had seen her saddened. I had seen her weary. But this was different. This was grief with devotion braided through it, the kind that never truly fades, only learns to live in quieter corners.

I moved my hand to the tomb, rubbing the edge of the stone as if my warmth could reach through it.

I said softly.

“Selena’s Master, I promise I will make Selena happy. Always. You do not have to worry in your next life.”

Len’s breath broke into small, helpless sounds. She leaned into me, resting her head on my shoulder as if her strength had finally run out.

I wrapped my arms around her. I held her carefully, like she was something precious that had been cracked and mended a hundred times. Her tears soaked into my shoulder, warm and real, and I let them.

We stayed there, the lamps humming softly, the chamber silent except for her quiet sobs and the steady rhythm of my breathing as I tried to be the calm she could cling to.

—————

Eventually, her trembling eased. She pulled back slowly, wiping her cheeks with the heels of her hands. Her eyes were red, but her gaze was clearer, like rain had washed the dust from a window.

“Have you calmed down?”

“Yes… Thank you, darling.”

Len replied, voice rough but steadier.

She glanced back at the tombstone. The pain did not leave her face, but something gentler joined it, like gratitude stitched into grief.

“Ciel is my Master’s name.”

I listened, letting her choose the pace.

“Unlike my quiet approach in saving slaves, she was fierce.”

Her voice gained strength as she spoke of the woman she admired.

“She did not hesitate to tear down any obstacle to free them.”

Her eyes sharpened with memory, and I could almost see the scenes through her words.

“Inhumane laboratories. Mines. Noble mansions. She demolished them all.”

Len’s fingers curled lightly, the way they did when she was remembering battle, the way they did when she was holding back fire.

“Before we met, people knew her as The Liberator.”

She swallowed, then continued, each sentence like a vow being repeated.

“Her sole mission was the emancipation of slaves.”

“She was their beacon of hope.”

“She was… the liberator of the slaves.”

Len’s gaze softened as it dropped to the stone.

“After she passed away, I carried on her legacy. Though my methods differed, people still saw me as her reincarnation. That is why they started calling me The Liberator too.”

I tilted my head, trying to match that with what I remembered.

“But I remember you saying you did not have any nickname,” I interjected.

Len nodded once.

“Yes. Because I did not believe I deserved such a title.”

Then she drew in a deeper breath, shoulders straightening as if she had just made a decision that would not be undone.

“But now, things have changed.”

Her eyes lifted to mine, serious enough that I stopped fidgeting and met her fully.

“Every adventurer party needs a name, right?” she asked.

“Huh? Ah, yes,” I replied, caught off guard by the sudden turn.

Len’s gaze did not waver.

“I want to use it. I want it to be our party’s name.”

Her voice carried a quiet force.

“The Liberators. We will be a symbol of the liberation of the slaves. Can we?”

“The Liberators…” I repeated.

The name rolled through me, heavy with history, heavy with blood and hope. It was not just a title. It was a promise that would follow us wherever we went.

I looked at her, at the way she held herself like someone who had been given a second chance and intended to honor it.

“That sounds cool.”

I said, and my smile came easily, warmly.

“I like it.”

Len’s expression softened, like the decision had been waiting in her for a long time and finally found its place.

And so, our adventurer party’s name was decided before we even registered as adventurers.

The Liberators.

—————

By the time we climbed back up and returned to the cliff, evening had arrived. The sky spilled orange and pink across the horizon, and the ocean far away caught the color like a mirror.

We sat on the edge of the cliff, legs dangling, the wind gentler now. Len stared at the sunset, quiet again, but the silence felt less heavy than before.

My heart stirred, a sudden urge to pull her back from that lingering shadow.

I stood up, dusting off my clothes, then glanced at her with a crooked grin.

“Someone once told me there is something that could make me feel better.”

Len blinked, then turned her face up toward me, curiosity flickering in her golden eyes.

I cupped my hands around my mouth, inhaled deep, and then poured my voice into the open world.

“HEYYY! WORLD! DID YOU WATCH US!? I HAVE SUCCESSFULLY THROWN AWAY SELENA’S DAMN CURSEEEE!!!”

The shout slammed into the sky and bounced back as an echo rolling over trees and sea.

For a heartbeat, Len froze. Then her lips twitched.

“Fufu… hahaha…!”

Her laughter bloomed bright and unrestrained, carried by the wind like music. In the glow of the setting sun, her silver hair shone like thread woven from light, and her golden eyes sparkled with life.

It hit me then, sharp and undeniable.

This was the most beautiful panorama in the world.

“Haha… come to think of it, the last time I screamed here was with you.”

Len said, still laughing as she tried to rise.

“So you remembered my wish at that time.”

“Of course. It was the first time you shattered the image of a princess I had in my mind.”

Len clicked her tongue lightly, playful, and her eyes narrowed with mock offense.

“Is that so? Then unfortunately for you, I will continue to reshape that image.”

She faced the horizon, drew in a deep breath, and shouted with everything in her chest, as if she wanted the sky itself to hear her promise.

“MASTEERRRRR! WATCH USSS!! WE WILL CHANGE THIS WORLD TO BE A BETTER PLACEEEE!!”

Her voice echoed, bold and fearless, and when she turned back, her smile looked a little wet at the edges, like she was laughing with her whole heart to keep from crying again.

“What a grand dream you have now.”

I remarked, and my laughter joined hers.

Len exhaled slowly, shoulders lowering, as if the shout had carried away something she had been holding inside for too long.

She said softly.

“Thank you, darling. I feel better now.”

“Is that so?”

I leaned closer, wearing my most shameless grin.

“But it is not free. Can I have my payment now?”

Len’s smile turned dangerous in the best way.

“Really? I recall at that time you were crying and I gave you the softness of my chest for the first time. Do you want it again?”

She teased, eyes gleaming.

“Oi! Don’t ruin the mood with your perverted mind! You know there is a perfect reward to be given at this place.”

“Fufu. I know.”

Len stood as well, stepping close enough that I could feel her warmth even through the breeze. She looked up at me, expression gentle and sure, sunset reflected in her eyes like fire turned soft.

“Darling, I love you.”

My throat tightened, not with grief this time, but with something bright that almost blinded.

“I love you too, sweetheart.”

The wind brushed past us. The sky dimmed toward twilight. And under that fading light, we leaned in, closed our eyes, and let our lips meet in a tender kiss, sealing our promise against the vast, listening world.