Extra's Revenge: Reincarnated As A Slave-Chapter 34: Friend

Friendship can only exist when consolidated by equal parties.

In a one-sided relationship, the core essence of friendship is lost. The very title of ’comrade’ means nothing, and this power imbalance leads to exploitation.

Augustus knew this very well.

After all, he could derive an example from the relationship he had with Alistair Cheshire.

He and Alistair first met during his Coming-Of-Age Ceremony, when he was just ten years old.

Back then they were both still children.

But Coming-Of-Age doesn’t signify maturity or the rise to adulthood, but instead a sign that the person had accumulated enough dispersed energy and had a vessel strong enough to accumulate an Aether Core.

This level of maturity varied.

For geniuses like Amara, they had this Ceremony early... at about eight to nine years old.

Amara was special that hers happened when she was seven.

Although Augustus and Alistair officially met during this period, the former had seen the latter many times before.

The Desgarron Family was deeply affiliated with the Cheshire Family, and Augustus had been taken by his father to their family manor on several occasions.

He had caught glimpses of Alistair every now and then, but they had never spoken.

Until his Ceremony.

"You think you’re better than me just because you awakened before me, right?" Those were Alistair’s first words to him.

"No... I would never!"

Augustus tried to vehemently deny this, particularly because it wasn’t true.

He had held nothing but deep respect and even admiration towards Alistair up until this point. Not only was the Cheshire Family more prestigious than his own, but he had always considered Alistair as a perfect noble.

But that day... he saw another side to him.

"Oh, really?" For a moment, it seemed like Alistair would hit him.

But he didn’t.

Instead, he patted him on his shoulder and laughed.

"I like you!" He said. "Let’s be friends!"

That was how their ’friendship’ began.

The thing is, it wasn’t bad at first. Although Augustus found it strange that he indeed awakened earlier than someone like Alistair, he never once looked down on him or treated him with contempt.

But he still couldn’t help but have some self satisfaction at this fact.

The heavens were unjust, after all.

Although Alostair had the wealth and prestige, Augustus was superior in latent talent and ability.

This couldn’t be helped.

After all, Coming-Of-Age depended completely on the natural ability and talent of the individual involved.

No elixirs, Potions, Pills, or Artifact could change that. All of those only mattered once the person had been awakened. Thus, even though Alistair had a much richer family, he couldn’t use that to help himself this time.

This allowed Augustus to keep his self esteem and see his friend as equal to him since each lacked something the other had.

They were friends.

But... everything changed once Alistair awakened.

He awakened at 11 years old.

A late bloomer.

However, within a month, he already surpassed Augustus and became a juggernaut among those his age.

This was money speaking.

It told of the vast difference that could be made with sufficient resources.

This was only natural.

How many talents exist in the streets? How many exceptional commoners exist?

Naturally, there are many of them.

But without resources, their potential means nothing. If no one fosters them, they will have such grueling growth and will inevitably be left behind by their peers.

In the end, they could even end up serving those who were once beneath them

That was Augustus’ story.

His friendship with Alistair became skewed in time. Alistair stopped coming to the Desgarron Manor, so Augustus had to be the one to constantly visit him. He made it a habit to berate Augustus and make deprecating jokes at him.

He bragged and wouldn’t stop flaunting his power and wealth. He constantly made them duel so he could show their difference in abilities.

But what could Augustus do?

Even if he tried his hardest, how could he defeat someone like Alistair?

The Cheshire Family’s status gave him access to the best tutors, best study materials, and so on. Even his learning process was faster than Augustus, and the latter was bound to be left behind.

All of this was further exemplified when they attended the Academy.

Alistair’s treatment of him became worse.

The worst part was that Alistair never cut Augustus off—not entirely. He kept the latter around as a plaything.

A reminder of just how great he was.

Alistair made an effort to constantly make Augustus’ life in the Academy a nightmare.

Before long, he became the loser among his classmates. Even though Augustus wasn’t actually the least talented, and Alistair even had less talent than him, the Desgarron Family was ranked 24th among the Nobles.

His parents were only Barons.

He could not do anything but endure, even relying on his oppressors to survive the Academy.

In the end, he had to latch onto Alistair for protection, sucking up to him as a servant rather than a friend.

This happened until they graduated.

After... Augustus was free.

’Until now...’

Augustus sighed, hiding his clenched teeth the moment Alistair brought up his slave.

’You bastard!’ Augustus wanted to scream at the young man before him. ’You always do this to me!’

Back in the Academy, when Augustus liked a girl, Alistair made fun of him and forced him to confess to her.

Surprisingly, the girl liked him too and they even began to date.

But what did Alistair do next?

He seduced her and had her cheat on him. In fact, he ensured that Augustus walked into the room while the two of them were being intimate.

Yes!

Augustus watched his so-called friend sleep with his girlfriend!

And what did Alistair have to say for himself?

"I did it for your sake. A girl like that, who would readily accept a guy like you for a lover, would accept literally anyone. It wasn’t even hard to have her sleep with me. She couldn’t resist, see? She’s not the one for you, bro, and I exposed her. You should be thanking me. Why aren’t you thanking me?"

In the end, Augustus had to thank his friend for doing such a thing to him.

Even though he knew...

Alistair likely coerced her using his family name or some underhanded means so that she would do it with him.

’Cassie was the only other person from a Baron Family like me. She was vulnerable to him, and I couldn’t have protected her because of my family’s low rank and our affiliation with the Cheshire Family. So she had to carry the burden alone and do as he said...’

That was what Augustus told himself till this very day.

Now—

’You want my slave too? Is that it?’

Augustus felt furious.

But, despite his overwhelming anger, he remained calm.

"I don’t know if I should bring him to you. He is training heavily for the upcoming contest, and I need him in top condition."

"Perfect! I can even spar with him and help him develop his abilities even further."

Upon hearing this, Augustus shuddered even more. He immediately understood.

Alistair didn’t want his slave for himself.

He wanted him gone!

Alistair wanted to kill Rey!

"I-I don’t think that’s such a good—"

"Hey, Augustus..." Alistair placed a hand on Augusutus’ shoulder, pressing on it tightly.

Instantly, a great pressure appeared.

Augustus nearly fell to his knees, feeling as heaviness assailed his body from every angle.

This familiar feeling.

He could remember it vividly now.

This was what Alistair would do to him whenever he defied him in the Academy.

Some things simply do not change.

"... It seems the time we spent apart has made you forget some things. I should remind you..."

"N-no..."

Augustus began to whimper.

"We’re friends, aren’t we...?"

"Y-yes..."

"I even came all this way to see you. I understand your inability to have your sister see me, but to think you’d intentionally gatekeep your slave? Is a slave more important than a friend? Huh?" At this point, Alostair began slapping Augustus on the face, right in front of the Desgarron Family staff.

"Huh, brother?" Alistair raised his voice, his shallow facade annoyance dripping with mockery. "Even after everything I have done for you, is this how you treat me?"

"N-no..."

"I was even kind enough to offer a sparring opportunity for your slave. Isn’t that kind of me? It’s a great opportunity for him to grow, yet you want to deny him of it. What a selfish master. What a shitty friend." He then stared at the silent onlookers, his lips curled up menacingly.

"Am I right, you guys?"

At first they were silent, their bodies shifting awkwardly as they tried to avoid speaking.

But, after Alistair frowned lightly, they had no choice but to comply with the higher power and nod in agreement.

Their faces were ugly, though.

They knew their lives were officially over once Alistait left the Estate.

Augustus would certainly not let them off.

"F-fine..." Augustus sighed, his voice lifelessly echoing in the hallway.

"I’ll send for him."

At this point, Alistair’s expression brightened up almost instantly. It was as if his previous mood was nothing more than an illusion.

"Perfect!" He clapped his hand, beaming brightly at Augustus.

"I knew I could rely on you!"

"Sure..." Augustus laughed bitterly, his defeated gaze lingering on the ground.

"What are friends for?"

"Hehe! Exactly!"

The two laughed together, but Augustus was mourning deep inside.

’I’m sorry, slave... but this looks like the end of the line for you. I wish I could help, but this matter is out of my hands now.’