Waking up

Consciousness comes back. My eyes open, revealing a world blurred at the edges, synced with the pain throbbing intensely through my head and body. The aftermath of pushing my muscles to their limits and the excessive use of my AI chip is now making itself known in full force. The pain is insane, but it's good pain. Because if I can feel it, it means that I'm still alive.

"Master, you are awake!" A familiar voice reaches my ears. It's Sophia.

However, as my vision clears and I turn to look at her, I'm in shock.

"Who the hell are you?" I blurt out, studying the woman before me. She's not the Sophia I remembered. No, not at all!

"Master! How can you just forget your own slave like that?" the woman responds playfully.

"Hahhh!? Sophia!??"

Sophia giggles at my reaction and winks at me. I get chills.

It's unbelievable, truly unbelievable.

Before my eyes stands a breathtaking fox woman, her figure voluptuous, her beauty beyond compare. The human Sophia was undeniably stunning, but this vision, with fox ears and a fluffy tail, seems otherworldly, almost too surreal to believe!

"Yes! It's me!" Sophia's face lights up with a radiant smile. "Master, how do I look? Do you like it?"

"Ermm…" I'm so stunned I can't find the right words.

"I see. Then… how about this?"

As she says that, she spins around, and her breasts swell even larger than before!

BOING!!!

"Aaa! Good! GOOD!!!"

Holy freaking hell! I've never seen anything so big and so round!

"Oh?" Sophia smirks in a sexy way. "So… you like this?"

"Y-yeahh…" I avert my eyes.

As a man, boobs are indeed one of my biggest weaknesses.

Anyways, with this performance, the chameleon earrings have just become my favorite items from this world.

Putting that aside, I still have many questions, primarily about how I managed to survive. To that end, Sophia patiently explains the recent events: we've successfully defeated Bromrik, and by sheer luck, I've survived a near-fatal injury—a knife wound to my neck and severe brain trauma. With no time to spare, Sophia carried me to safety and sought out the most skilled cleric to tend to my wounds. Now, we find ourselves inside a small tavern nestled in the heart of Vera.

Since then, my condition has gradually stabilized. However, it still takes a full three days before I finally awaken from unconsciousness.

"And where is Yumi now?" I inquire.

"Oh, it's still early in the morning, so she's sleeping in her room."

Hearing her words, a sense of relief sweeps over me. I was right to trust her. Not only has she saved me, but she also took care of Yumi. And most importantly, she hadn't betrayed my trust when she easily could have.

"By the way, Sophia, I released you from the slave contract, so there's no need to call me master anymore."

"Ah… about that, why did you do it in the first place? Setting me free?"

"Huh? I just don't want to drag you down with me, that's all."

The slave pact was very clear: If the master dies, their slaves die.

"But… if you set me free, I could have betrayed you and let you die. Worse, I could even capture Yumi and then take her back to the King in exchange for the restoration of my position. I'm a bad human being, I could probably do that, and you knew that! So why? Jack, were you out of your mind?"

Huh?

I'm very confused.

What's with this rant just now?

She was freed, but for some reason, not feeling happy?

Women… sometimes they could be really hard to understand.

"But you didn't. So, Sophia, were you also out of your mind like me?" I counter, using her own words against her.

"Ah, yeah, I was an idiot." Sophia sighs. "Anyways, you've already set me free, so there's no way I'm being your slave again! Never!"

"Haha, and why would I even want to do that?"

I only needed the slave contract because it was the fastest and safest way to get us out of the castle. But even if I didn't end up nearly dying, sooner or later, I would have released her anyway. After all, I disliked slavery, not just because I was a nice Canadian, but because it was something that shouldn't exist in the first place. There was a clear reason why that system had been abolished way back on Earth. Even if one treated their slaves well, there was no way it could make up for the robbery of their autonomy and freedom, their basic human rights.

But strange… something didn't add up. In the heat of battle, I was certain that my brain had suffered severe damage, and the final stab from a moon elf had undoubtedly severed an artery. Such injuries were fatal, a hundred percent. Recovery shouldn't have been possible even with the most advanced technology on Earth. Yet here I am, alive and kicking.

Could it be that this world possessed medical knowledge so advanced it could mend a destroyed brain? Or was there another explanation behind my miraculous survival?

But as Sophia hands me a glass of water, something catches my attention.

"Hold on, Sophia. Where's your ring?"

"Ah... about that," she hesitates, her gaze dropping to her hands, her fingers instinctively brushing over where her ring once was.

A heavy silence fills the room.

"It's gone," Sophia murmurs, her voice tinged with sadness.

"What?" That shocks me. "Sophia, what do you mean, 'gone'?" I press.

That ring meant so much to her. She was so crushed when Curtis demanded it. But now, it's gone? This whole thing makes no sense!

"I… I used it on you!" she finally confesses.

I'm taken aback.

"What? Used it on me? How? Explain that to me!"

Taking a deep breath, Sophia begins to share the story of the ring. It was a gift from her mother on her sixth birthday. That giant ruby was no ordinary gem. But it was, in fact, infused with a Phoenix's tear when the creature died. Thus, trapped within the ring was the insane regeneration and resurrection power of a Phoenix, which could only be used once!

And that was why I survived.

There was no god-like cleric who saved my ass.

It was all that precious ring's doing. In her moment of desperation, Sophia had sacrificed her most valued possession, her tangible link to her mother, for my sake.

"Sophia..." my voice falters, emotion constricting my throat. "I'm so sorry..."

"Nah, it's alright. It's gone," Sophia brushes that aside. She is clearly sad; I can see that in her eyes.

But I'd rather not dwell on it. The ring is gone, there is no changing that now.

"I owe you big time on this, Sophia," I say instead.

"No," Sophia shakes her head. "I was in the wrong first. I tried to harm you and Yumi. You can just consider this the punishment for all of my crimes."

"Well, if you say so…" I trail off. "Anyway, since we are not in that kind of relationship anymore, how about we drop the formalities? To be honest, I don't really like being called 'master.' So, just call me Jack."

"Yes," Sophia says with a small smile. "I'm very glad to meet you, Jack."

"Same here. Nice to meet you, Sophia," I say.

Her smile just now makes the world around us glow with a gentle light.

And for some reason, my heart suddenly aches a little bit.