Liberation of The Slaves

Chapter 62 – The Winter Queen’s Apprentice

— Celestia’s POV —

The lingering warmth of laughter faded, leaving only the quiet hum of the room. My chest still trembled from the unexpected release of emotions, but before the silence could settle too deeply, a familiar voice reached my ears.

“Have you recovered?”

I turned to see her—Karin, the guildmaster—leaning casually against the doorway, arms crossed, her long mint-green hair cascading over her shoulders like a frozen waterfall. Those azure blue eyes, as cold and piercing as ice itself, studied me with a detached yet knowing gaze.

“Guildmaster!” Sasa immediately stood to greet her.

“Karin… Un. Thanks to Shuri. Sorry for making you all worry.”

I bowed, my tone soft yet firm. Karin nodded in acknowledgment, then without wasting another second, she spoke words that would change everything.

“Well then, after the parade tomorrow, be prepared. I will train you personally.”

Her words hung in the air, thick with an unspoken promise.

“…Train?” I echoed, blinking in confusion.

Karin sighed, as if my ignorance exhausted her. “Why do you look surprised? You realized how weak you were when you tried to save him, didn’t you? Did you expect to save them in the future without growing stronger?”

Her words were blunt and unforgiving—yet undeniable.

My fingers curled into fists, nails pressing against my palms. The memory of that moment resurfaced—the helplessness, the crushing realization that I could do nothing but watch as they were taken. My weakness had cost me everything.

I couldn’t let it happen again.

I lifted my gaze to meet hers, no longer clouded by uncertainty. “I accept. Please train me, teacher.”

Karin smirked, an amused glint flickering in her icy eyes. “Good. Don’t worry, I’ll train you morning, afternoon, evening, and night.”

“…Wait, isn’t that the entire day?”

Shuri, who had been quietly watching until now, visibly paled.. Even though the training wasn’t for her, she could still imagine the torment awaiting me—a fate worse than death.

A few years ago, I might have shared her fear—after all, even seasoned adventurers collapsed within hours under Karin’s training. But now? The weight of my resolve overshadowed any hesitation.

"Yes! Please don’t hold back, teacher."

Sasa hesitated before speaking. “Guildmaster, I understand your desire to help her, but what about your duties? You couldn’t possibly oversee her training every hour of the day.”

Karin shrugged. "I don’t need to stand over her shoulder the entire time. I’ll provide a regimen—she can train independently when I’m busy."

“And her obligations as an adventurer? If she refrains from taking requests for a year, her license will be revoked.”

Karin waved her hand dismissively. “She only needs to accept one request per year to keep her license. That won’t be a problem. Besides, Celes—” she fixed her sharp gaze on me, “you also need to increase your fame.”

“Fame?” I tilted my head.

Karin nodded. “An adventurer’s rank isn’t the only thing that matters. While we’re uncertain about their situation, Freed and Daisy might try to escape and look for you. If you become famous, it’ll be easier for them to find you.”

“…I see.”

It made sense. Fame didn’t just open doors—it created connections, whispers, information. If I wanted to bring them back, I needed to become impossible to ignore.

Sasa, however, still looked uncertain. "But guildmaster, if she trains every day, how is she supposed to increase her rank?"

“Defeating high-rank monsters,” Karin replied simply. "Rank isn't only raised through requests. If she takes down B-Rank or A-Rank monsters, she will advance in a single stride.”

“…But monsters around this town are only C-Rank at best.”

Karin’s lips curved into a knowing smirk. “Then she’ll have to go elsewhere. The Amazon Forest, perhaps?”

The room fell silent.

Sasa’s face was drained of color. “H-Huh!? The Amazon Forest!? She could die if she goes there!”

She wasn’t wrong.

The Amazon Forest—a sprawling, uncharted wilderness—was said to rival the continent itself in sheer size. C-Rank monsters lurked at its entrance. B-Rank and A-Rank beasts roamed its depths. And in the deepest corners of its domain, even S-Rank monsters had been spotted.

Despite the risk, adventurers still braved its depths in search of ruins, dungeons, and treasures. Although some ruins and dungeons had been discovered, none had ever been conquered. The materials from the forest's monsters were also fetched high prices. Even the C-Rank monsters there are exceedingly rare and found almost nowhere else.

But, many who ventured in never returned.

“That’s precisely why she needs to train first,” Karin said, coolly.

Shuri, usually quick to interject, remained silent, as if realizing the sheer weight of Karin’s proposal. But the guildmaster wasn’t done yet.

"Those clowns are strong. I doubt even I could defeat their leader."

"Their leader… is stronger than you?" Shuri’s voice barely concealed her shock.

Karin nodded. "If the village attack and the town stampede are connected, you will face them again, Celestia. You need to be stronger. Unlike me, you're not bound by a guild master’s duties—you can surpass me."

Her words settled in my chest like a spark within a frozen heart.

To surpass Karin…?

To become even stronger than Karin herself?

I exhaled slowly, the pieces falling into place.

There was only one answer.

“Yes.”

Karin’s smirk widened. “That’s the spirit.”

The others smiled at my resolve, but my mind was already elsewhere—focused on the road ahead.

Karin then added, “The country will investigate Clownemo. Instigating the stampede was the same as declaring a war on the country, and the lord is already searching for the mastermind.”

“If you find out anything about their client…” I hesitated before continuing. “…Please tell me.”

Karin’s expression darkened slightly, but she nodded. "If I find anything, you’ll be the first to know."

A cold flame burned in my chest.

Clownemo’s leader, their client, the mastermind—I would hunt them down, one by one.

"For now, get some rest," Karin said, shifting the topic. “You have a parade tomorrow.”

I grimaced. “…Do I really have to participate? Couldn’t I just claim my reward from the lord in private?”

The thought of standing in front of a crowd, being the center of attention…

I’m sure it would be so embarrassing!

Karin furrowed her brows. “What are you saying? The award ceremony is the main event of the parade—it takes place at the town center. Moreover, you're the town’s hero now. I’ve heard from adventurers and even the lord himself about your ‘heroic’ deeds.”

“...Heroic deeds?”

Shuri chuckled. “Everyone in town is already talking about you, and your story has probably spread to other cities by now. You have heard—'The Twins’ Valor of Saintesses.' But since Daisy is missing, they decided to call you the 'Valor of Ocean Flower' instead.”

Valor of Ocean Flower…?

I winced. “Ugh… What’s with that name? And why do I even have a nickname? I’ve never heard of an adventurer getting one before reaching B-Rank. I’m still at F-Rank!”

“That doesn’t matter, Celes! I’ve heard that title too—The Valor of Ocean Flower! It symbolizes your bravery in charging into a thousand orcs to save people! Despite being as delicate as a flower, you fought gracefully with water magic, submerging the orcs as if they were drowned by the ocean itself!” Sasa’s eyes sparkled as she passionately recited the tale.

I nearly choked. “H-Huh!? A thousand!? That’s completely exaggerated! I didn’t even count how many orcs I managed to avoid while riding the horse, but I’m sure it wasn’t more than fifty! And as for drowning them? All I did was bind their legs to trip them!”

“Ah, by the way, I’m the one who spread that rumor.”

I turned sharply. “WHAT!? YOU!?”

Shuri grinned proudly, pointing at herself. "You're welcome!"

Really, this woman!

Karin, amused by my reaction, smoothly reentered the conversation. “Also, you should know—nicknames aren’t given based on rank. They’re earned through deeds. You're close with Esta and Hazel, so I assumed you’d already know about it.”

I looked up, frowning. “Huh? What about them?”

Karin raised an eyebrow. “Ah… I suppose you wouldn’t. Greg mentioned that even Esta and Hazel themselves were unaware of their own nicknames.”

Sasa, Shuri, and I exchanged glances before exclaiming in unison—

“WHAT!? THEY HAVE NICKNAMES!?”

Karin nodded. “Yes, even before they became adventurers. Esta was known as 'Bloody Rakshasa,' while Hazel was called 'The Silent Zombie Assassin.'”

I blinked. “Huh? Those names… don’t match their personalities at all.”

“You’d think so,” Karin said. “But according to Greg and Tian, their personalities change drastically when they’re angry. Esta goes completely berserk, laughing like a maniac as she fights, while Hazel becomes eerily silent—turning into a deadly assassin. Unfortunately, the Clowns were stronger than her, so she only managed to wound them. However, those wounds would have been fatal if left untreated.”

I frowned. “I never knew they had that kind of side…”

Sasa, seemingly more informed, eagerly added, “Ah! I know about those nicknames! They're infamous in both the Empire and the Holy Kingdom! It's all connected to a tale about rogue slaves who went wild after their master was killed.”

She took a deep breath before dramatically continuing. “'Bloody Rakshasa'—an elf who rampaged across the battlefield, slaughtering the Empire’s soldiers with unique crimson wind magic.”

I stiffened. “That… was Esta?”

Sasa nodded before shifting to the next tale. “And then there's 'The Silent Zombie Assassin.' In her case, she allegedly massacred an entire Empire town in a single night. Then, she did the same to a Holy Kingdom town. Since no one ever saw the perpetrator, they dubbed her 'The Silent Assassin.' But the eerie part? All the bodies left behind decayed unnaturally—like zombies.”

“…They vanished after those events. I never realized those two were Esta and Hazel. They seem so kind—they wouldn’t even hurt people, let alone commit massacres.”

Sasa’s excitement dulled, her tone softening.

But before the mood could sink too low, Shuri spoke up.

“Well, they must’ve had their reasons,” Shuri said, her voice thoughtful. “Life as a slave is brutal, especially for women… And let’s not forget—they aren’t human. Their races are heavily discriminated against in both the Empire and the Holy Kingdom.”

The room fell quiet for a moment. I decided to shift the conversation.

“How about you, Shuri? Do you have a nickname?”

“Huh?” Shuri looked startled.

Then, recovering quickly, she puffed out her chest and smirked. “Of course not! Did you forget? I’m the one who gave you the 'Twins’ Valor of Saintesses' nickname! And now it’s evolved into 'The Valor of Ocean Flower!' Do you really think I’d willingly spread an embarrassing rumor about myself? No way! I’d rather remain the one and only person in this town with the power to grant titles!”

So she admitted that the rumor she spread was an embarrassing story.

I sighed. “That sounds exactly like you…”

Shuri crossed her arms proudly.

Then, with a mischievous grin, she redirected the conversation towards Karin. “Speaking of nicknames… What about our guildmaster’s? Those Clowns called her 'Winter Queen!' I had no idea she had one too!”

Sasa and I turned our attention to Karin, who had been silently observing until now. Even Sasa, who practically worked under Karin every day, seemed surprised by the revelation.

Karin, realizing she had become the target, feigned ignorance, tilting her head slightly. “Huh? Me? Umm… I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

She averted her gaze, clearly avoiding the question.

Sasa, however, seemed eager to spill the story. “I didn’t know the guildmaster had a nickname either, but I’ve heard rumors about the Winter Queen. It all happened during a certain winter—”

“Ah, Sasa. It’s time for work. Let’s go.”

Karin suddenly grabbed Sasa’s wrist, her tone as cool as ever.

“Huh? W-Wait, guildmaster! I haven’t finished telling them the story—”

“And you, Celes.” Karin turned to me. “Go to sleep. The staff will prepare your dress for tomorrow.”

And with that, she effortlessly dragged Sasa out of the room, completely shutting down any further discussion.

Shuri and I exchanged looks.

“…She totally dodged that, didn’t she?”

I sighed.

Now I was even more curious.

I made a mental note to ask Sasa later—when Karin wasn’t around.

We chatted for a few more hours until exhaustion finally caught up with me. Sasa had been whisked away for work, and Shuri, having taken no requests that day, stayed behind to keep me company.

Eventually, my body grew heavy, and my thoughts blurred into sleep.