Because of that, even though Leander was annoying, Qiong Xing honestly felt grateful for his presence and for the fact that he stayed with him.
Leander showed his affection for Qiong Xing so openly that it was almost bothersome, but while Qiong Xing felt some fondness toward him, he did not feel disgust or hatred.
That was exactly why Qiong Xing did not want to treat Leander like a slave.
"Please, take it off. I don't want to make you my slave."
"But with this, I'll belong to you forever, Qiong Xing."
"…Are you an idiot?"
Thinking that love could be proven by something like that was wrong.
Still, seeing Leander smile so happily, Qiong Xing could not bring himself to say anything more.
"…Then please promise me this. If you ever want to be free, you must tell me. Promise that you will put your own happiness before me."
For now, it was fine.
For now, Leander said that he liked Qiong Xing, but there was no guarantee that those feelings would last forever.
As he met many beastmen and humans, Leander would surely find someone he truly cherished.
When that time came, Qiong Xing wanted him to speak up.
When Qiong Xing said that, Leander smiled and promised that everything would be fine.
"Besides, if I took this collar off in a place like this, I'd get arrested, sold, or in the worst case, killed. Thanks to this, I can stay by your side, Qiong Xing, so it's fine."
Told not to worry, and with Leander gently stroking his cheek, Qiong Xing finally gave up on opposing it any further.
Later, Qiong Xing asked why Leander was able to disobey the order to remove the collar.
Apparently, because the collar was made so that the wearer could not remove it themselves, an order to take it off did nothing at all.
What Leander had told Qiong Xing was only half a lie.
The slave collar he had been given was not a keepsake from his parents.
He had said that he did not remember whether it had been left behind or abandoned, but the truth was that he did remember.
His parent had been about to be captured by humans, and in order to save himself, that parent sold Leander to slave traders.
They must have let their guard down because he was a child.
At first, the collar was not put on him right away, and he took advantage of that moment to escape from the traders.
To avoid pursuit, he ran into the forest, hiding his presence and running for as long as his strength allowed.
However, it was impossible for a 5 year old child to survive alone in the forest.
He soon collapsed and that was when the giant snake found him.
At first, Leander thought he would be eaten.
But instead, the giant snake carefully took care of him as he lay there unable to move.