I Was Just Enjoying the Discipline - Chapter 26

‘It’ll all be over in a year at most, but even so, isn’t this taking things a little too far?’

She had never owed anyone a debt in her life. Yet now she felt as though she’d been buried beneath a mountain of it—one that would keep chasing her no matter how much she repaid.

For the first time since awakening in this world, Sophia sat there in utter despair, staring blankly into space.

Yudel, meanwhile, spoke as casually as ever.

“That concludes the explanation. Starting today, we’ll begin harvesting your life essence in earnest.”

His gaze fell to the leather collar in her hands.

“Put on the collar I gave you.”

“W-Wait a moment.”

Sophia hurriedly stopped him, clutching the black collar tightly in both hands.

One of Yudel’s brows rose lazily.

“What is it? I thought I’d explained everything quite thoroughly.”

A faint smile touched his lips.

“For someone clever enough to help a pack of little rats escape, you seemed to understand it well enough. Besides, if you don’t get to work soon, you won’t finish your quota.”

“I understand that. It’s just… there’s something I wanted to ask first.”

She hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“Um… don’t you think eight bottles a day is a little excessive?”

“…”

“I don’t know what the average quota is, but surely it can’t be eight. I don’t think even a dairy cow could produce eight bottles of milk in a day.”

Seeing the suspicious look in Yudel’s eyes, as though wondering how she could possibly know what a normal quota was, Sophia hurried to tack on an awkward explanation.

At that, a delighted smile slowly spread across his face. It was not a good sign.

“That’s because it includes the quotas of the other humans you helped escape.”

“…”

“Did you really think that freeing those humans wouldn’t mean taking on their share yourself? I’d assumed you weren’t quite that foolish.”

Sophia fell silent, her expression frozen.

‘I never even considered it…’

She had expected harsher treatment after the escape attempt, but it had never occurred to her that she would have to make up the stolen essence of the prisoners she’d helped escape, as though she’d become the guarantor for someone else’s debt.

‘Maybe I should’ve read the original novel more carefully.’

The regret barely had time to settle before another question occurred to her.

“Then, why is today’s quota so much higher? It’s way more than eight bottles.”

“Because you spent the last three days doing no work.”

Yudel answered so matter-of-factly that Sophia could only stare at him, dumbfounded, as if she’d just been struck over the head.

‘Wait, the three days you spent preparing my body to harvest essence more efficiently count as slacking off?’

The disbelief on her face only seemed to brighten his mood.

“I can’t very well count lounging in the interrogation room with your legs spread and doing nothing but twitching around my brush as work.”

“…”

“If you thought I’d been letting you enjoy three leisurely days for no reason, you’re sorely mistaken. “From now on, there will be no such thing as rest for you. Your days will be filled with nothing but endless pleasure. So if you want even the slightest chance to catch your breath…” He looked at her with cool amusement. “You’d better not slack off when it comes to enjoying yourself.”

Even the laborers of the ancient slave empires must have had it better than this. Though she’d never lived in such an age, Sophia suddenly understood exactly how they must have felt. A quiet despair settled over her face.

Yudel, on the other hand, looked increasingly delighted. It was the happiest she had seen him in the four days since she’d met him.

“Then let’s begin. It’s time for you to offer your essence to the great Eligos.”