New Companion?

We were lead through the dark alley. Various dangerous, dirty looking men can be seen at every corner of the alley-some were drinking, brawling, even we can hear women scream and wail behind some shack we passed by and some watching over us even some leering at Altria, if given chance they will not hesitate to exploit us should we open our back to them. The smell was terribly foul, the stench of piss, human crap, or rotten meat mixed in the air warning us that this was the darkest corner of the cities we have been entered to.

I can feel some people followed behind and above us, whether they are the slave merchant bodyguards, the agent of kingdom-shadow from what I have learned or maybe a curious third-party.

Upon navigating various alleys, and corner, we were greeted with a structure that looks like a 20th-century circus tent that I have ever seen in a museum back in my previous life. I wonder why the slave merchant went so far just to talk with Naofumi? Granted he is a potential customer who desperately looking for someone who can fight beside him, or maybe I'm just overthinking and that's only because he only saw a potential customer.

Entering the tent, the room was dim with torches lit in some corner. The row of cages and crates greeted our sight. A smell of what you can expect in animal cages hung strongly in the air. We were lead to the center of the tent. I took a glance at Altria she seemed unfazed at this, right servant or a heroic spirit –she's an alter ego the embodiment of darkest side, desire, and sin of a person. Committing a genocide or destroying an entire planet system wouldn't even make her wince or guilty if it will accomplish her desire and objective. The end justifies the mean, after all.

Naofumi keeps glancing uncomfortably at every corner of the cages. Betrayed or not, he is a person who came from a modern world where such practices of slavery have been abolished a long time ago. I didn't bat an eye at this. Such practices should be normal in a world where there's no sufficient technology and culture to support them with cheap and automated labor, fast manufactured goods, or entertainment.

In the end, we human only abolished slavery after we already don't need such primitive way, when society has advanced enough to understand that "willingness and freedom" is the most important part to "leash" a person.

"right here sir" he flapped an old white coat, "this one here, I highly recommended him to you"

We saw a black fur curled up, its ears were twitching then yellow big eyes gazed upon us. Naofumi takes a closer look, he was surprised and stepped back when 'it' growled back at him. I grasp at it, a bipedal race of wolf or beast-man what this world people classified it if I relate it back into my world culture than someone will associate it with a werewolf.

There's three major intelligent species in this world, The Human, Demi-Human, and Beast-man. Demi-human has bodies like a human but they retain some features of a beast-man like their tails, or ears. I expect some cross-breeding between Human and beast-man in the past. While beast-man, they are no different than a bipedal sapient animal with human physique.

It's a miracle for two different species to survive the chain of evolution. It's not impossible, but the odd is astronomically small. As theorized by some researcher and philosopher, why there are never two or more different sapient species in the same world. they theorized the beginning of life is just a glorified "kodoku" toward the peak of evolution.

Kodoku is a kind of ritual in old Japan, by placing a large number of insects inside a container then let them eat each other until last one standing, then it will be used as a medium for curse spell.

In the end, human won first and gain sentience, while other species regressed back into lesser animals Because there can only be one winner.

'It?' didn't the slave merchant said 'it' was a 'he', why did I classify the beast-man as 'It' since it's an intelligent life-form. I wide-eyed at this when I realize it, I'm a xenophobe? When? Is it during the war with covenant? Sigh, looks like I need to fix this behavior since I noticed this I should at least attempt to conceal it. Hah, and here I thought I was an open-minded person.

It-I means he keeps growling at naofumi like a rabid dog, even trying to claw at naofumi through the gap of the cage, until it bathed in violet current and withering in pain.

"See sir, that's the demonstration of the slave spell. I order him to not attack anyone yet he did so and that's the price of his disobedience, I'm sure you can gain so much with this." He grinned evilly, "even you can do it on a whim when you have slaves of your own."

"Interesting, I'm sure no one can just order the other people, slaves, right," Naofumi said

"Yes indeed, in order to have a slave you need to conduct a ceremony to implant a seal on the slave, the command of seal will be installed to your status magic then the master information will be absorbed by the slaves." Like a servant command spell, I thought.

"How convenient, I suspect the information will be used by the slaves to understand his master intention, right."

"Yes! You really have a very good head on your shoulders, sir, indeed!" he smiled widely, giddy for the answer the shield hero gave. "To be honest, there are some requests that wanted a hero, like yourself to become a slave. I originally approach you for such intention, but choose to refrain to do so." There goes the reason.

"Excuse me?" he glared dagger at the merchant

"Well looking at you, it will be such a waste to chain a lad like yourself and I doubt it will be good for my business either if I started to chain my own customer" still grinning wickedly.

"whatever, how much for him?"

Chuckling the merchant continued "right past is past, there should be no grievance between us just for wicked intention. Well, 15 gold pieces are the right price for him"

"I know you understand the situation I'm currently in, why showing me the most expensive one?"

"Well, I have a fancy for showing the best I have to the customer first. I'm a poor businessman if I haven't done that" hmm when I thought aren't we just like a third wheel? Even more so with the quite Altria who munches some wagashi I gave her earlier.

"If beast-man and demi-human are legally can be owned, how about human? I'm sure they much cheaper than them." As expected of Naofumi-san, he can stoop as low as he can without care.

"well, although Melromarc kingdom legalized slaves, they are human supremacist so expecting me to sell human slaves under their capital it will tarnish my good reputation as a slave merchant, sir." He shrugged.

"Huh, what a reputation you have."

The conversation continued, the slave merchant continued introducing his slave one after another like guide in an animal exhibition, and we still like anti-social guests hiding in the corner of a party until Naofumi-san hear coughing from the cage behind him.

Flapping the cover, there revealed a child demi-human judging by her ears and tail, a raccoon I guess. She was malnourished, a pretty girl if you will let her grow. What!? I'm a child so it's normal if I can judge a child beauty-okay stop that carter that's creep, no matter how you judge yourself.

"How much for her?" Naofumi asked as the girl cough became more wilder

"Ah, a normal taste for a man of your stature sir, indeed"

"I didn't intend to use her that way, how much for her"

"I'm afraid she can't last much longer, she can be difficult to handle at the night due to her previous master, she is level 1 and more-over she is a raccoon-type not a very popular type among slaves, so that's 30 silver," the merchant said with a frown.

"Too expensive for so little gain, 20 silver" her eyes without a hint of light inside it keep looking at our direction or specifically at me and Altria.

"Well, she has been eating my stock lately and will be soon to die anyway, so why not, 20 silver indeed" the merchant easily agreed than I thought.

After that the merchant performed the ceremony on the raphtalia chest, she revealed her name after naofumi asked her. She keeps glancing at our direction though, must be wondering why there are kids in here.

"don't follow me anymore, brat" or so Naofumi-san said at us, dragging Raphtalia-chan behind him and left us here with the slave merchant.

Sigh, even you lost your trust, you shouldn't leave children at the den of wolves naofumi-san. Now, what to do? Hmm

"oh you still here, you were awfully quiet so I almost forgot you were here," The merchant said to us.

"it was hard to barge in when there's a two-person lock in their own world after all" I quipped.

What!? The f**k did he just blushed?! Okay, let's slowly step back from him.

"Hmph, are you looking for some pet? Then I'm afraid this is the wrong shop"

"well, don't be like that old man, I'm a potential customer after all"

Then I noticed, the Altria has gone from my side again. I turned, "Altria, where are you going?"

"my radar was…tingling, it's rare for…something like this to happen," I can see her only standing hair twitching, then swayed into another direction. I never thought it can be used in that way, is this a hidden feature of saber faces I never know?

"Where are you going? If you want slaves then this way" the slave trader frantically said, suspicious.

She then stopped in front of a stack of crates. She forcefully pushed the crates to the side, then a hidden cage revealed behind it. It was disguised with black cloth unlike any other cages no wonder to hid it under the dim light of the tent, she then flapped the cloth and revealed a person under it.