7 Chapter 7 ~ Thoughts On Slavery
SFX: Noises...
*Clop Clop Clop*
The sound of horses' footsteps resounded in the city. There were many carriages that are currently running on city Altair's main road. Merchants and visitors alike use this road to either go in or go out of the city. Carriages being pulled by either horses or people can be seen racing against each other.
- This is a normal and everyday sight for everyone who lives near this road. But today, one carriage has caught the attention of everyone.
A carriage being pulled by two equipped horses can be seen in the middle of the road. The carriage was large and luxurious, and the two horses that are pulling it are obviously healthy and well-bred, unlike the skinny horses the people normally see every day.
The people that are looking from afar had guessed that there must be either a noble or a famous merchant inside the carriage.
Not being able to resist their curiosity, a small number of youngsters; both girls and boys had tried to peak at the people inside the carriage's windows.
Taking a glimpse inside the carriage, the youngsters saw two handsome men talking with each other. One of the two people inside is wearing a black suit; his hair was black, long, and was tied in the back of his head, while the other person has the look of an angel that came down from heaven; his hair was blonde and he was wearing a red robe layered with gold.
[ [ Wow... ] ]
Seeing the figure of the two people that were inside the carriage, the youngsters could only gasp in awe.
***
*Clop clop clop...
After leaving Carlo's residence near the market place, Carlo had ordered a carriage to come and pick them up. It was said that the carriage was a property of Carlo which he uses every time he visits someone for business.
And now, Inside the carriage, Carlo and Shiro are silently waiting for one of them to start a conversation and talk.
...
...
[ ... ]
( This is awkward... ) - muttering those words inside his head, he turned his eyes again towards the figure of Carlo who's in front of him.
Carlo is sitting at the couch with his legs crossed and his head leaning on top of his fist. Carlo's eyes were closed and Shiro had guessed that he must be napping or just thinking deeply about something. Although he had only spent a small amount of time with Carlo, Shiro can now at least guess the meanings of some of the actions Carlo was making when in front of him.
Shiro thinks that Carlo was a deep person who always thinks very deeply about things. He had reached this conclusion after observing Carlo's actions since the moment he had met him.
~~~
After a moment of just staring at the slender-bodied Carlo -
( Hmm... ) Shiro turned into deep thought as he suddenly reminded of something stored in his mind.
[ By the way, ...Umm... Carlo-kun? ] with those words, Shiro tried to get the attention of Carlo who has his eyes still closed.
With Shiro's call, Carlo's eyeballs twitch and he slowly opened his eyes.
[ Mn... What is it Vlad-san...? ]
[ Really sorry for waking you up, but I was just thinking about what you said earlier - that if I choose to really buy the residence, I will need to have and buy slaves...? Is that right? ]
[ That's right... ] as he sweeps the wet part of his eyes with his arm gently, he replied.
( Hmm... So it really would be necessary, huh? Anyway, only if my test won't work... )
[ So... Where can I exactly buy slaves...? How much would it cost me? And lastly, how exactly does slavery works here...? ]
( He never actually explained to me anything regarding the slaves earlier. The truth is, I really want to understand how the trade of slaves works in this world. I'm curious. ) with this thought, Shiro looked Carlo in his eyes and waited for his reply.
And so a second later, Carlo replied with an explanation...
[ Well, there are three different types of slaves: worker slaves, combat slaves... and of course... sex slaves... ]
...
...
( Sex slaves... ) hearing and then repeating that word inside his head, Shiro's thought immediately started to run wild.
( Sex slaves, huh...? hehe... Wai-Wait no! I'm already 30! I'm not some kind of weird wild teen anymore! ) having an internal conflict inside his head, Shiro tried to come back to reality by shaking his head side to side.
[ Well, the cheapest from the three would be the worker slaves. You can at least buy 50 of them with your remaining 25 gold... And I can also introduce you to many slave traders that sell them... but if you're planning to buy some other types... Well... ]
[ No-no! I don't have any intention in doing so! ] as if trying to conceal his inner thoughts, Shiro replied with a simple smile on his face.
[ A-anyway, how exactly one would turn into a slave...? ]
This question was what Shiro wanted to ask the most. Just exactly how people turn into slaves? What are those reasons? He wanted to know what they are for self-satisfaction and also for him to prevent doing things that the country will try to make him a slave for.
[ Hmm? Actually, I never thought that there will be a day when someone would ask me how slavery works... ]
[ Is that so...? Well, just think of me as someone who lived in a country where slaves don't exists. ]
( It is the truth though. Earth really just doesn't tolerate slavery anymore. )
[ If you say so. Well anyway... There are many ways with how one person will turn into a slave: the most common would be their family selling them to a slave merchant or the slavery market themselves. The other reason would be when they accumulated too much debt and the only way they would be able to pay that debt is to sell themselves and become slaves, and of course, would be criminals turned into slaves. Well, those mostly are the case for almost all slave out there. ]
[ Hmm... Is that so... ]
( I can understand those reasons of why and how they become slaves but... Is it really necessary selling themselves off...? Maybe because I have so much money right now that I can't sympathize with them... Well, it's none of my business... )
[ Hmm... But if I ever actually need a slave... Carlo-san, what kind of slave would you recommend me to buy? ]
[ How about some combat slaves...? You need to protect your self too, right? ]
[ Oh... About that... I'm confident that I can at least defend myself... ]
That's right. Shiro was nothing more than confident with his strength. Seeing the highest level of the person inside the city, he was sure that no one in the city would be able to hurt him. So there was no reason for him to buy people with the purpose of defending him if he can defend any kind of attack just by himself.
[ Oho~? Aren't you quite confident...? Perhaps you have some experience in fighting? ] putting a leg above the other, Carlo had said those words to Shiro with a mocking face.
[ You can say that... ]
[ How about a spar? I'll let you know that I'm good with swords. ]
[ Oh? ]
( Someone with a body so slender...? )
In Shiro's mind, Carlo can't be some kind of warrior if he has such a slender and skinny body.
...
...
Then - curiosity swelled up inside Shiro.
( Well... Might as well check it out... ) jerking his chin, Shiro muttered inside his head.
( Appraise! ) he shouted the word inside his head.
He's been wanting to try and test Appraise at Carlo since he was curious about him. There was something about Carlo that had mystified Shiro since the moment he had met him. So now, he might discover that thing keeping his senses attracted to Carlo.
( Appraisal: Result )
Name: Carla Alexandria
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Level: 56
Job Class: Merchant/Assassin
Health: 1342/1342
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[ This is... ]
