23 Master and slave

For the rest of the day, the two of them laid low. Since the Northern part of the town was now blocked off, both of them didn't have any work. Coincidentally, Fifty-eight was also assigned to that part of the town- to clean the sewage like she had the day before. The girl had refused to leave Beth's room out of fear all day. Finally, after having dinner, she retired to her room with a glum face. If it weren't for Beth telling her to stop acting like a suspect, Fifty-eight would have stuck to her the whole night as well.

Beth walked back to her room, looking up at the sky. Turns out the rest of her days will not be easy. She had to complete her next task as soon as possible and get out of the lower town. She had heard from the servants that every ten days, their kind would be taken to the outermost wall of the upper town by the minor gods. There, they would be divided into groups and sent to serve the higher gods in different parts of the upper town.

The catch was that only a few got selected every ten years. The rest stayed at the lower town, doing the menial works assigned to them by the minor gods like One and the ones who managed them. Though their lives were better off compared to the slaves, it was nothing compared to that of the servants who lived in the upper town- at least according to the rumors.

If she were to get selected, she'd be able to escape from the place forever, Beth thought with a sigh. But for that, she'd have to get her next task from the system. As she walked ahead, she couldn't help but think about Fifty-eight. How was she going to take care of the girl when she could barely keep herself alive? She wondered.

"If only I didn't die," She said aloud to the millions of stars in the dark blue sky that seemed to laugh at her state.

She opened the door to her room and stepped inside. It was dark, save for what little light came from the outside. For some reason, the nights were always bright and well lit by the moon and the stars. Never in her few days in the place had she seen a dark day or even the moonlight waning. She closed the door behind her and made sure that this time it was latched. Though it was a shaky latch, due to the rust on it, it made quite a steady lock.

With nothing else to do, she spread her futon and made her bed. The nights were quite cold in heaven- a straight contrast to what it was during the day. She clutched her blanket tightly around her small frame. Now that she had gotten a bit taller, the blanket was too short for her. With a sigh, she curled up on the mattress, making herself smaller to fit into the blanket.

That was when a sharp object poked the side of her leg.

"Ouch!" Beth exclaimed, her hand immediately shooting to the spot.

Her palm grazed against the metal surface of the bracelet that she had left inside her folded futon before. Beth pulled the piece of jewelry towards her and raised it above her head to have a good look at it. The golden sheen of the bracelet glowed in the light that pushed through the holes of her door. In the next second, she was pulled inside the world of the system.

"It's quite boring without you in here." The boy with the silver hair complained while pointing a finger at her.

Beth narrowed her eyes at the system. He looked devilishly hot as he sat there on the mattress, leaning against the wall. But as far as looks went, it was nothing compared to how he looked like a man. Though she was in the body of a child, she had no desire to run her hands over a teenager. Hence, her resolve didn't waver.

"Did you just pull me in because you were bored?" She asked, irritated.

The boy shrugged. "If you want to take it that way, then sure." He said, waving at her dismissively.

Beth huffed at his response. "I don't understand one thing," she said, taking a step towards him. Since the one sitting in front of her was not a human, she didn't feel fazed by his presence. Their relationship was not those of equals. She continued, "If you're a system and I'm the one using you-"

"Using me?! That's so cold of you!" The boy shouted, interrupting her.

He looked offended and shocked at the same time at her reference to their relationship. Beth cleared her throat, taking another step towards him.

ignoring his interruption, she continued, "-then that means that I am your master, right?"

The boy laughed awkwardly, running his hands through his hair. But the stern look on her face quickly got to him. He looked at her nervously, like a prey about to be eaten by its predator.

"Do we really have to start using terms now?" He asked, sliding to the farthest corner of the bed, away from her.

Beth smirked. Yes, she had thought so. How great! Now she could do whatever she wanted with him! Dark thoughts filled her mind as she imagined the countless things that she was going to make him do for her. But first things first, she had to establish her authority tonight. There was no better time.

"Fine, you're my m-master." He stuttered, staring at her in fear, "And I'm your slave."

"Perfect." She said, clapping her little hands evilly. "If so, then why is it that you get to call me inside and not the other way around?" She asked, narrowing her eyes at the boy.

"Errr...well.." The system trailed off nervously, looking to his right and left for an escape route.

"If you try to kick me out again, I will melt you as soon as I get out," Beth warned, keeping a leg on the edge of the mattress.