The night had gone well for Scarlet, with the exception of the forced talent show and the boys asking her to dance.

She had enjoyed discussing training with Charles, and the boy and his friends would make for a good raiding party for her to join in the future. Their party balance wasn’t very good, as they currently lacked a healer, support mage, and strong control skill user. But Scarlet could fill the role of both Healer and Support. They would need someone with more crowd control though. Perhaps she could learn more [Earth Magic] and assist there as well.

Then there was the goody bag she had received from the Professor.

The bag itself was an amazing gift, but what was inside was even better. Hundreds of different magical items, massive magic crystals and rare reagents, everything that had been on her wish list these last few months, and more. Things that the money she had made so far couldn’t buy, including many forbidden spell books.

The Professor was so generous! She didn’t care if he was trying to tempt her to the dark side! If it came with this many perks, you can sign her up!

After she took a peek in the bag, she had just wanted to get back home so that she could lock herself in her room and get to work sorting through it all. To read the books on [Divination Magic], [Necromancy] and [Demon Magic], which she had been denied.

But her enthusiasm drained somewhat when she returned to the carriage with her mother and father to head back to the mansion.

It was not unusual for things to be tense when the pair of them were in the same room, but now it was especially bad. Maria was shaking as Jonathan glared at her from across the carriage, his usually uninterested face showing his anger at having been humiliated by Joshua.

“Mama…” Scarlet said, holding herself up against Maria’s side, trying to comfort her mother. Seeing her strong, energetic and beautiful mother reduced to such a state was shocking to Scarlet. Shocking enough to break through any anxieties that she herself was having.

She had never seen her mother like this… That wasn’t true… She had… But she had ignored it.

She had let her admiration of her mother get in the way of everything else. Despite having memories of enough life, she had much of a child’s psychology about her. So to her, her mother was the greatest there ever was and ever would be. The pillar that she could always lean against for support.

But now, that pillar was shaking, and Scarlet’s world was shaking with it.

Maria looked at her daughter and tried to smile, though her face was too pale to make it believable. “It’s alright. I’m just tired.” She said, patting her daughter’s head with a trembling hand.

Even this simple action froze though when Jonathan spoke.

“I suppose I haven’t told you, but your brother got married. He has a wife and child now. A little boy.” Jonathan said.

‘Mama has a brother?’

Her mother had never spoken about any family, and none had ever visited. And with ‘family’ in her previous life only ever having meant her mother, it had never even occurred to Scarlet to ask. 

“That is two more people whose lives depend on you not misbehaving, like you did today.” The man said coldly.

Maria swallowed hard and nodded her head. “I understand.”

Jonathan watched as a tear rolled down her cheek, his eyes following it down until he was looking at his daughter, who stared at him with wide eyes.

The man didn’t even notice that the eyes didn’t hold the same fear he was used to seeing.

“Mama… Father is blackmailing you, isn’t he?” Scarlet said as her mother tucked her into bed that night. Maria froze and didn’t answer, but she didn’t have to.

Scarlet has seen this situation before.

Labor forced through blackmail, threats of violence, or deception. In her previous life, it was called ‘Human Trafficking’, the modern world’s slavery.

In the United States alone, there had been an estimated 15,000 new victims of human trafficking every year. While victims came from nearly every age and background, the most prominent group targeted were Mexican migrant workers, both legal and illegal alike, as they were easy to trick into believing that they were in an inescapable situation and that no one would help them.

The labor itself varied from factory and construction jobs, to the sex trade, to the golf courses of rich bastards. The exact nature of it varied, but the horrible conditions and psychological torture of it were always the same. The victims were made to believe that there was no escape. That no one would help them. That they had no other options. They would be kept in a box and fed lies about how heartless the world would treat them if they tried to run. Or there would be threats of violence or other repercussions to their loved ones.

Scarlet knew about human trafficking. She knew it all too well, because Scarlet... or rather, Rebecca Garza, had been born into it. Rebecca’s mother had been a forced into that slavery before she had even been born, and it had consumed the first 6 years of her life.

Looking back, she should have seen the obvious signs. Like how they had never been allowed to leave their home. The way her mother never stood up to Jonathan, despite the difference in their levels.

It had been the blatant threat against her family that really drove it home.

Even if her mother didn’t say anything, Scarlet now understood what was going on.

“You should have told me. We could have done something.” Scarlet said sadly.

“...There is nothing we can do. He has the courts on his side. Even if he tricked my parents into debt, all of the documents are legally binding.” Maria said sadly. “If I don’t do as he says, if I don’t continue to make dresses for him to sell, he would demain payment that my family can’t afford and force them into slavery. If I try to run or if I try to use force against him… I’ll be forced into slavery as well. There is nothing I can do.”

“That isn’t true!” Scarlet shouted. She knew this. She knew this mindset from her previous life. She had lived surrounded by it for years upon years.

Maria had been conditioned over the last 10 years of her life to believe that there was no escape, but that didn’t mean that it was true. She knew it was hard for her mother to believe, but she had to get her to see that.

“Scarlet. I want you to do something for me.” Maria said, looking at her daughter with tears in her eyes. “Once everyone has gone to sleep, I want you to sneak out. I want you to run away to the church and accept the Archbishop’s offer. I want you to get out of this place and never look back.” Scarlet felt as if she had a knife jammed into her heart, as her mother begged for her to abandon her. “Please Scarlet. I know it is hard, but please…”

“...Alright.” Scarlet said, hugging herself to her mother. “Once everyone is asleep, I’ll go.”

“...I love you. I love you so much.” Maria said, holding her daughter close for what she believed to be the last time.

She couldn’t see the look in her daughter’s eyes.

She would go to the church that night. But there was no way she was ever going to leave her mother behind.

Rebecca stood there in the utility closet, where all the cleaning soaps and rags were kept. It hadn’t been hard to swipe the key, and once in there, she had everything she needed.

She was taking various articles off the ground and dumping their contents into a plastic mop bucket.

She wasn’t really sure what she was looking for, and she had never been able to learn to speak much English, let alone read it, but the bottles she was looking for were helpfully labeled with a little red symbol of a flame, showing that they were indeed flammable.

She filled the bucket up with the cleaning agents before tossing in some rags. Then she took the power cord she’d cut off a vacuum cleaner.

Those bastards. Those bastards had taken her mother from her. They had taken the only thing that she had ever held dear. Now, she was going to take their factory from them.

She rolled the bucket out into the open. Out towards where they kept the stack of carpets waiting to be shipped.

She tossed the exposed wire into the bucket, causing the contents to ignite.

She ignored the heat of the flames and the smoke that was already bellowing outwards, and used the long handles on the mop bucket to tip the contents over.

She then watched. She watched as the fire alarms started to go off. She watched as hell began to burn.

(Scarlet?) Branwen said, bringing the girl out of her daze. (I think it is about time.)

(...Right.) Scarlet replied, climbing off of her bed and heading to the door.

But rather than immediately leaving the premises, she went deeper into the mansion, heading towards her fa… Jonathan Wright’s office.

The door was locked, but that was no problem. She observed the keyhole using [Magic Appraisal], before using [Transmutation Magic] to transform a small piece of metal into the perfect key for the lock.

[General Skill:Key Smithing has increased to level 1 | +1 Finesse, +1 Artistry, +1 EXP]

Scarlet ignored the new skill, not caring about such things tonight. She just unlocked the door and stepped inside, closing it silently behind her.

Scarlet scanned the room with her [True Sight] and found what she expected to find. A hidden safe, hidden within a secret compartment of one of the shelves where the man kept his expensive wines. The safe’s magic signature from the enchantments that were supposed to guard it gave it away.

It didn’t take Scarlet long to open the compartment and expose the safe inside, which was only a slightly bigger problem.

To open it, she would need a combination, but she couldn’t use [Magic Appraisal] on it because of the enchantments. But the enchantments themselves were so pathetic as to might as well not be there.

A mere Tier 3 enchanted safe meant nothing to her.

Scarlet started to invoke her [Dispel Mana] in the area around the safe, removing the free mana in the air, causing the safe’s enchantment to fizzle out from a lack of fuel, allowing her to access the safe’s combination using her magic.

Scarlet released her spells after the safe was open, letting the flow of mana return to normal, causing the enchantments to return as if nothing had been done at all.

Scarlet looked over the documents quickly with her [Magic Appraisal] finding a good deal of rather incriminating evidence.

Not that any of it mattered.

The factory owners had been caught red handed with two dozen kidnapped migrant workers, and they had still wormed their way out of any real punishment, receiving only a few fines instead of the prison time they deserved.

If Scarlet wants things to stick, she would need something that Jonathan couldn’t talk his way out of, and that none of his connections would save him from.

(What a waste.) Scarlet mumbled to herself with a sigh, as she took out two books on [Demon Magic] rituals and shoved them into the safe, before closing it up and returning everything to the way that it had been. (Alright. Now it is time to visit the church.)

Joshua pawed his eyes as he woke up. “Joe, you’re too hot.” He grumbled, pushing the large dog bond to the side.

Even when shrunk down by the standard ability gained by all Bonds after their first evolution, the St. Bernard was the size and weight of a full grown man. Though it wasn’t the furry monster’s body heat that had resulted in an almost sleepless night for the Archbishop. He’d just been given too many things to think about.

He had discovered Scarlet's family situation the hard way. Her mother was one of the best seamstresses in the world, whose dresses could be compared to the value of a small mansion, and because of it was one of the people who was enslaved in all but name.

Her father was such a horrible piece of work that it was hard to imagine who the girl could possibly share blood with the man.

And then Typhus, that bastard, he knew exactly what was going on. He’d known for years, but he simply allowed it to continue, and he wanted Joshua to let it continue as well. He didn’t care about the problems that the man caused that innocent child. If anything, he would probably encourage it.

He had always believed that there were three things one needed to become strong; talent, cunning and motivation. And while in truth, Scarlet lacked heretical talent by the standards of the nobility, she was more cunning than most people ten times her age. The only thing that she would be missing was motivation.

There was no motivation like fear, and Scarlet lived in constant fear.

...Joshua couldn’t exactly claim that Typhus had no sympathy towards the girl. Unlike Joshua, the man had personally lived through a situation where every minute that he breathed could have been his last. He was born into a childhood where he was viewed as a living reagent for blood magic rituals, and it had been surviving and escaping that hell which had made him unnaturally strong at an early age, even without a Bond or a Class. 

He knew what it was like to be made to live in constant fear. But how could he simply watch as another child was used as a tool like that?

...He couldn’t deny the results.

Scarlet’s [Holy Magic] had already broken through into the hundreds at the age of 5. She had received a powerful holy-type Bond. Her abilities even surpassed the high nobility, who were born to two 6th Tier parents, inheriting major advantages.

And last night, those abilities had been placed on display for the nobles to see, which made things more… complicated.

Scarlet probably didn’t know the significance of what she did. He’d be surprised if her father knew.

She had used a single Bond Skill to provide significant support to over 200 people at once, with many of those people being top tier fighters. Such an ability, granting +10% to all stats to an entire army, could turn the tide of wars. Now, the nobility were starting to get stirred into a frenzy.

If Joshua attempted to bring down the hammer of judgment on Jonathan’s head, there would be members of the nobility who would jump to his defense, hoping to use it as leverage to get their hands on the girl later. Meanwhile, Jonathan himself was prepared to sell the girl to the highest bidder.

If Joshua wanted to interfere, he would need ammunition. He would need something on Jonathan Wright that was so bad that no one in their right mind would try to defend him.

“Archbishop! Archbishop, are you awake!” Joshua looked up as someone started to pound on his door. “A letter came for you in the night! I think you need to see this!”

Maria had cried herself to sleep that night.

Though she believed with all her heart that Scarlet would be safer and happier this way, she couldn’t help but cry at the fact that she would never see her beloved angel again.

So she had slept in a little the following morning and had awakened to a large commotion in the house.

“I’m telling you they aren’t mine! I have no idea how they got there! I’m being set up!” Jonathan bellowed as he was being forcability escorted by two Holy Knights of the Church of the Earth and Sky.

“Save it for the Inquisitor, Heretic.” One of the Holy Knights said, striking Jonathan on the back of the head hard enough to knock the man unconscious. 

“What’s going on?” Maria asked as she saw Judith running towards her.

“It would seem that someone tipped off the Inquisition and they found books on Demon Magic in the man’s personal safe.” Judith said in a hushed whisper. “I always knew he was a bastard, but to think he had been studying blood rituals.”

“W...What…” Maria said, unable to comprehend what she was hearing.

“I guess that means we won’t have to worry about him anymore. Right mama?” Scarlet said, surprising her mother as she looked up at her with a big smile. “So, what are we going to have for breakfast?”

“Yep. That’s the girl’s handwriting alright.” Typhus said with a smile as he looked at the ‘anonymous tip off that the church had received about Scarlet’s biological father. “I didn’t expect her to use those books like that.”

“I can’t believe you gave forbidden spell books to a 5-year-old!” Joshua shouted, so mad that his face was a shade of purple.

“Relax. It wasn’t like there was anything dangerous in those books. They were just beginner level books on [Demon Magic] rituals. Just something for her to learn the language from.” Typhus said in a dismissive manner. “And without demon blood, she can’t even use [Demon Magic]. No matter what she tries, pure blooded humans can’t get skill levels in [Demon Magic].”

“Even owning books like those is dangerous. What will you do if she gets caught?” 

“Only an idiot would get caught, and in case you didn’t notice, the girl isn’t an idiot.” 

Typhus had been surprised to hear what Scarlet did, as he had expected her to deal with the man with her own two hands. Her solution was a lot more clever than that. Still, he hoped she had at least read the books on [Demon Magic] before using them in such a manner.

“If she really is the next Oracle, then she will find out the truth eventually. I’d rather she learn it from books than how we had to learn it.” Typhus said as he relaxed in his chair.

Joshua’s face went from angry to worried as he suddenly realized why Typhus would give the girl such books. “...If she sees those rituals, there is no way she isn’t going to realize the truth.” He mumbled, remembering how good the girl’s memory was.

It was the church’s darkest secret. Something that would and had been killed in order to keep, and now Scarlet would likely figure it out.

“She’s not going to go around shouting about it, if that is what you are worried about. And like I said, it's better if she knows now rather than learning faith, only to find out the truth the hard way.” Typhus said. “The girl and her mother are finally free of her evil father. Let’s just be happy for them.”

“...” Joshua was quiet for a few moments before letting out a loud sigh and looking up towards the sky. “You know, I really miss the days when I was ignorant. Life was so much simpler back when I was just another mindless sheep.”

“Amen to that.” Typhus said, looking down to the earth. “Amen to that.”

DyslexicWriter

Well that plot line resolved itself rather alarmingly quickly. Though I suppose that is the point. These seemingly insurmountable obstacles really aren't as large as they are in our minds.