Chapter 33

Chapter 33: Each Person's Circumstances!

First, Shizu started speaking.

Rizu occasionally provided supplementary information.

Shizu and Rizu were born in a village surrounded by mountains.

In that village, twins were treated as "unfortunate children."

Since intentionally killing them would bring calamity upon the murderer, they were given enough food to survive.

Their parents also disliked Shizu and her sister, so they were isolated in the village and forced to take care of livestock, among other things.

They caught the attention of a passing slave trader and were sold off as a means to get rid of them.

Momo, on the other hand, was sold to a slave trader along with several others due to a famine caused by unpredictable weather.

Although others were abducted by goblins, Momo was the only survivor.

She seemed to have spent the longest time in the waiting area and had already prepared herself for death.

Marie hesitated to speak.

"It's alright if you don't force yourself to talk," I said, but she made up her mind and started speaking.

Marie was the daughter of a merchant and was raised as quite the young lady in her early years.

However, due to her father's business failure and as a form of debt repayment, she was sold to a slave trader.

Being reasonably beautiful, she was purchased once, but because she was raised as a young lady, she constantly failed to meet expectations and was judged as useless, resulting in her being sold again.

"Thank you."

I expressed my gratitude to the four of them for sharing their painful stories.

Indeed, human trafficking leaves a bad taste.

In the future, if I were to encounter a slave trader, I would feel nothing but disgust.

If I could contain it to disgust, that would be fine, but would I be able to suppress any further emotions that might arise?

"Are you alright?"

Perhaps because I had such a grim expression, Momo spoke up.

"Ah, sorry. It's nothing."

Once you're sold to a slave trader, your friend list is reset upon completing the contract during the buying and selling process, so you can't even call for help.

Does this mean losing all the relationships I've built up until now...?

Regarding the human race, the contracting parties are limited to the individual, their family, or blood relatives.

As for certain beastmen and demons, they can be enslaved through the contract with a slave item, allowing them to become slaves without consent.

I see, so that's why they couldn't contact anyone when they were captured by goblins.

"What happens to your slave contracts?"

If the contract document has an effect, then they would still be slaves.

If termination is possible due to the death of the contract holder, then they would be free.

In that case, slaves could become free by killing their contract holders.

"Since the slave trader was killed, we are now free," Momo answered.

Afterward, Marie added that not only were slaves prohibited from killing their contract holders, but they were also not allowed to harm them.

I used my [Omniscient Reader] ability to confirm the details of the slave contract.

- Contract: Agreement through a contract document or wearing a slave item, among other means.

- Transfer: Possible through an agreement between the current contract holder and a new one.

- Termination: Agreement between the individual and the slave, or death of the contract holder.

Note that if the contract holder dies, it is automatically terminated.

With this, I roughly understood the basics of slave contracts.