How To Screw Yourself Over

Chapter 2.4: Slack Off

Ash suddenly stops, forcing the disgruntled guard behind her to stop as well. Since arriving at the manor, Ash has been worked like cattle, constantly running around the mansion, completing one task only to begin another.

This may sound like an excuse, but she hasn't had much time to think in the week or so since she became a slave.

It's only natural, seeing as her only real reprieve from her endless work came in the form of a little thing called guard duty. Guard duty is an awfully convenient time to slack off.

After all, when she's ordered to guard the young miss, she is given the order by the duke, not the young miss herself. Moreover, she is, more often than not, paired with Bernard. Even if Ash decides to dress up in green tights and call herself Robin, he can't say a word.

Isn't blackmail a wonderful thing?

What's even more convenient is that, if she were to tell the young miss about the guard's intentions, Ash's status as a slave would actually be beneficial. The young miss would believe whatever she says as long as she orders Ash to speak the truth. Even if Ash cannot lie, the truth is just as disgusting as any lie.

Anyway, what Ash means to say is that her lack of ideas was only due to the excessive amount of energy she's wasted on her duties. However, Ash has finally come up with a decent idea. Although Ash isn't particularly fond of this plan, it would still give her something to fall back on.

It's simple: since Ash can't kill anyone, she might as well protect them instead. It's not any skin off her back. She's a slave now, so ensuring the young miss's safety should be her priority anyway.

Even if she can't knock the male protagonist out of the game, she just needs to keep the female protagonist at his side.

Just as Ash begins to consider the plausibility of this idea in relation to the information she was provided, the elusive distortion abruptly pops into existence a few feet away. [Ash?]

Ash faces the distortion. The damn thing has been gone ever since she sold herself to slavery.

[Ms. Wright called me back because she had forgotten to inform you of something. She wants you to locate the process by which the male protagonist destroyed those demons and demihumans. The ritual he discovered was not created in this world, so she needs to know how it got here.]

Ash tenses. She's just realized something. 'Why does she need to know this?'

The distortion freezes conspicuously. [I-I am simply the messenger. Please direct your anger at the true culprit.]

'Why didn't she need to know this in the last world?'

[Ms. Wright was the one who gave Liu Han the ritual he originally used to destroy the world.] The distortion's monotonous tone is far quieter than it was a few sentences ago.

Ash spins on her heel to face Bernard. The guard's originally expression instantly twists into one of caution. "You, what happened?"

"Spar with me." Ash needs to blow off some steam. That fucking madwoman screwed that world over to give her some practice. Jade was testing her.

Dammit, she's always been like this and Ash—

Ash is incredibly pissed off.

Without a word, she yanks on his collar and takes off. "Where are you taking me?" Despite the low volume of his words, the guard's voice is dangerously high-pitched. "The young miss is leaving!"

"We're in the royal palace. If anything occurs here, it won't be on our heads." Besides, the young miss is so busy drooling over the Crown Prince that it'll take her a while to notice their disappearance.