Chapter 60

«You… You could at least defend yourself when I was beating you! Now you have just beaten me up like a coward. You didn't even let me move! It's all because you know that I am stronger than you, and you wouldn't stand a chance trying to get a fair revenge!»

Kyon snorted with contempt:

«Your words have nearly touched a nerve. You know... There is some truth in them. Let's make a deal: if I can't beat you in a fair fight a bit later, I will never beat you again. I mean unless you do something wrong.»

Juno lit up with joy, but soon her face darkened again. She was confident of her victory, of course, But could she believe this wretched slave? Alas, she couldn't take him seriously. But still…

Juno nodded resolutely:

«If your word is worth anything in this world... I would be glad to beat you again.»

Kyon looked at her with disdain. Even the most pathetic slave had honor and dignity. As for him, he was an emperor by nature. Although not quite so anymore... The recent events had taken the master of humanity down a peg or two, but he was only too happy to change because everything that could interfere with his success had to be eliminated.

Kyon went through her things once again. He shamelessly took a bag with spheres (money) with a total cost of about 10,000. It was enough to buy an average-sized house on the outskirts of the estate. He glanced at the transparent shield, then he picked it up and took a closer look at it.

«Grandfather gave it to me... If you take it away, I will never forgive you…» – Juno said quietly but with a noticeable threat in her voice.

Kyon had an urge to hit her again, but he only threatened her with a fist and a menacing look. Surprisingly enough, Juno was not scared, quite the opposite. She took a belligerent stance, thrusting her chest out.

Kyon threw the shield aside and said insidiously:

«The time has come to put our little birdie with golden feathers into a solid cage.»

Juno wrinkled her nose.

«What in the hell are you…»

Kyon pointed his index finger in front of her charming little nose, meaning to teach her a lesson:

«Mind your manners, or you will regret it dearly.»

Juno turned visibly pale but changed her question:

«What do you have in mind, master?»

Kyon didn't bother to answer. He gave her numerous orders to protect himself from all sorts of possible tricks on her part. There was a ban on any hostile actions against him, a ban on calls, hints or any other means of warning, in a word, everything that could ruin his life or reveal the little secret of their "close" relations of a master and a slave.

Kyon had to come up with a cover story to avoid the suspicion that his sudden promotion might arouse. He had allegedly impressed Juno with his combat technique. Moreover, he was Marina's friend. All things considered, it led the young lady to the decision to make him her personal servant.

Deep inside, his pride was hurt: from the rank of a slave to the position of a servant! But his mind put everything in its place, reminding him that he was the true master of the situation (and of the mindless teenybopper who had the real power in this place).

Kyon had also ordered Juno always to carry a sound transmitter in her pocket and by no means to touch, break or put it away. If he called, she was obliged to answer the call and listen to him.

After that, Kyon forced her to memorize all the orders by heart.

The subconscious is flawed by its nature. It does not remember the information but relies on the cerebral cortex, which means that her consciousness could cause him many problems. For example, if Juno forgot the order or understood it through the prism of her erroneous view/upbringing/knowledge, he may get in trouble. That's why he spent several hours conveying the message as detailed and understandable as possible. Fortunately, the girl was smart and a quick learner, too.

He would love to defend himself with the help of wiretaps and video formations, but they were quite heavy in terms of energy. Besides, they required the spatial attribute to transmit the signal. It was above his abilities to create them.

Kyon was not comfortable with the fact that his thorough beating failed to suppress her entirely, especially when he was looking at her pretty angry face. Juno turned out to be strong-willed with an indomitable spirit. Kyon couldn't help admiring her for that.

When he repeated the last order, Juno angrily stamped her foot:

«You must be out of your mind! I am not going to comply with this humiliating order!» – She didn't understand how it could be possible to become a spy in her own home! The freedom-loving girl couldn't live with that.

Kyon just shrugged it off:

«It's okay, I'm ready to take any risks. Anything is better than hiding in the bushes all day, shaking with fear that a gardener might accidentally find me.»

Juno furiously bared her shiny teeth and snarled:

«Wretched boy! How did you even manage to survive? Why do you no longer obey me? And how on earth did you get into my room? I can't make any sense of it!» – The angry young lady found it hard to maintain an attitude of respect towards the slave. Speaking with him in a respectful voice was out of the question. However, she was too eager to get the answers to her questions.

Kyon rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Even being the most outstanding person in his world, exaggerated respect had always irritated him. There were several reasons for that:

First, he was only 22 years old at the end of that life. He felt somewhat uncomfortable when people older than him or his peers treated him with idealization. Children were an exception, but he never considered Juno a child as her behavior and world view (arrogant and cruel) brought her closer to an adult. Indeed, what did he do to be revered? The previous life was an easy game for him. He passed all the "advanced" tests and trials effortlessly. Lovr was born with an extraordinary predisposition to Synergy. Any task was a joke for him. However, he did nothing to deserve the credit. It was mother nature or lady luck that endowed him with the most remarkable gifts. To put him on a pedestal for the mere fact that he was born? No way!

Second, he abhorred falsehood in all its forms, whether it was a tradition that had long outlived itself or just common courtesy. He accused of falsity those who kowtowed to stupid old people that had achieved nothing in their entire life. He couldn't stand tolerance in any form for its shortcomings in exchange for a bit of advantage. He never understood countless hasty apologies for each and every of your actions: "Excuse me, would you be so kind as to tell me the time, please," "Excuse me for interrupting but your shoes are untied," and so on. He believed that such people should apologize for their very insecure existence and thank their parents for helping them become perfect gears in the well-oiled system.

Of course, he accepted a good upbringing and innate decency. However, if someone brazenly pretended to be a highly spiritual person, they would definitely deserve Kyon's contempt. In his opinion, a clear chain of command was quite enough.

Lovr had a full understanding that all these socio-psychological issues were essential for people to coexist peacefully in society. However, it might prevent an individual from making full use of their latent potential. Being squeezed in the rigid framework of a strict biased society, they might waste their whole life unfulfilled and miserable. It was known that the unhappiest people lived in societies with stringent canons, that's where the most suicides happened every day. The statistic was enough for Kyon to be absolutely sure in his worldview.

That is why Kyon decided not to spend too much effort to force Juno to treat him reverently. Formal politeness and absence of her particular brand of sass were quite enough for him.

«Since you are my slave now, I will satisfy your curiosity and even for nothing in return because you already belong to me, ha-ha.» – The pleased boy burst into a peal of nasty laughter.

Juno's face contorted with rage at his words. She wanted to tear this cocky asshole into pieces. He treated her as if she were a thing. Do all slaves feel like this? No, she refused to believe it. She did not want to try their reality on herself.

Kyon told her that he had survived thanks to his unique ability. He decided to keep the lid on it and only mentioned that it was one of a kind. Supposedly, his ability had accelerated the regeneration of his body.

He added that he had been studying formacy in the hidden library and created his own formation that he applied to his newly acquired slave.

«It's pure nonsense!» – Juno exclaimed incredulously. – «You need elements to apply a formation, but you can't possibly know about them!»

Kyon smiled slyly.

«Master Jean has lent me the basic grade of pure energy.»

«That's impossible! Even accepting the fact that you have mastered the basic grade in just two weeks, which is clearly beyond your competence (based on your abilities), it's unbelievable that the master could have given the important knowledge to a slave! It would hurt his pride and reputation!» – Juno firmly stood her ground.

«Your beloved master has no pride.» - Kyon snapped coldly. He didn't think he should sell Jean out. If only he revealed the whole truth about Jean's true nature, they would immediately cut off the wretched pervert's balls, as well as his head. Kyon wasn't going to grieve over the prick's death, but he was still grateful to him. Besides, Dinah was aware of Jean's dirty business… He must have already paid in full.

As Juno was left without an explanation, she turned her back on Kyon in exasperation:

«Even if it is true… I will never believe that you are… I mean that you really managed to apply this monstrosity to me… Your cultivation isn't high enough!»

«Speaking of cultivation… You should be well aware of this important rule of formacy: "A high intelligence of the potential submissive makes it harder to apply a formation." But take it easy, at least you are beautiful!»