Chapter 29 - The slave market

After the meeting, Rea and I left the same way we came - through my {Subskill: Void Transfer}. We returned to our room, preparing to meet up with one of Jessa's [Nocturne] subordinates the next day who would lead us to the slave market. In our room, Rea asked me, "Ava-sama, what made you trust them enough to tell them about being a [True Ancestor]? Later on, when Rea revealed that you were fighting by yourself from the 87th floor, Rea was just basing it off that trust, but as I thought...did Rea say too much?"

"No, Rea. You did well. I didn't plan to tell them all of that, but there was nothing preventing me from telling them, either. I decided to trust them because I could tell they were good-hearted people. They would be able to weigh the trust I had given them and shoulder that responsibility. Of course, it would also have the effect of making them trust me, too."

"Mou, Ava-sama...you're so sly."

"Nn? I mean, interactions like that are a chess game, no? I sacrificed information that wouldn't be a hinderance to me, since the Empire is about topple anyway, to gain an advantage in that conversation that would gain me a lot of trust from them. They won't betray us now. In fact, we can probably get favours from them at no cost."

"Uwaaa...Ava-sama is so calculating and scary, huh..."

It was the truth. I had judged that giving them that information would bind them close to me with the resolution of "we can't betray her trust". Furthermore, although I hadn't intended it, Rea's reveal that I was fighting alone from the 87th floor had garnered sympathy, too. Now, besides the feeling of "we can't betray", there was also a sentiment of "we should protect". They would now treat me as an important little sister to some extent, though it would be mitigated by their recognition of my strength. However, what they would seek to protect would not be my person, but my heart. They would try to prevent me from getting hurt or being left alone, and some might even go so far as to listen to unreasonable demands.

Ahhh...I really am a black-hearted woman, huh. Manipulating the feelings of other people like that. But, if I wanted to live here post-rebellion, it was somewhat necessary to have the connections needed to sustain my position. I wasn't aiming for some kind of political or military power or anything of the like. I simply wanted to live with Rea undisturbed. For that, I needed to be a "special existence" to the nation. For example, having my own land, or having my own House that was connected to the ruling powers in some way. That was the end goal I was aiming for.

Having said that, however, it's not like I would just abuse their good intentions towards me. I had every intention of helping them out where they needed it if they were to run into issues. That was a principle that I would never renege on. If people show me kindness and help me out, I will always return the favour. If people treat me well, I will treat them well too.

Thinking about that, Rea and I went to sleep, waiting for the next day to come. Ah, the ranking exam? Rea and I passed with flying colours.

When we went down in the morning the next day, we saw an unexpected familiar face.

"Yo, Ava-san, Rea-san." The previous night, we had requested that they do away with the -samas and -donos when referring to us.

"Remil-san? Ara, come to visit your mother?"

"Ah, that, but also, I've come to deliver your escort for today."

Melting out of the shadows was a [Nocturne] woman with short cropped hair. She bowed deeply with a fist clasped over her chest and said, "Ava-sama, Rea-sama, please call me Cli. I have been sent to guide you to the market."

"Nn. Much obliged. Shall we head out?"

"Yes, Ava-sama. Please follow your shadow."

She melted into my shadow, and it began angling in a certain direction. Rea and I left the inn and followed the movement of my shadow, taking lefts and rights into a more deserted and dreary part of the capital city. Soon, we arrived at a row of houses. Speaking to me through my shadow, Cli explained, "Ava-sama, Rea-sama. These are the slave trader houses. Each house designates a different price point for slaves. What would you like to do today?"

"Hmm. I think we'll go through each of them. I'd like to get a feel for what kind of place this is, and what kinds of slaves are considered valuable or not."

Saying that, I entered the first house. Greeting us was a sleazy-looking man who seemed as though he might at any time let out a "guhehehe" (lecherous laugh). He looked us up and down, then decided on his opening statements, "oya, ojou-samas. Are you looking for a slave today?"

"Nn. Tell us what you can about each of them."

As he guided us, I came to understand the way slavery worked in this city. Each house held slaves of different selling value. The place we had walked into was the house that held the highest-value slaves. Most of them were [Goa] or [Nocturne], as they could be turned into combat slaves. Each slave came with a [Slave Contract] that was enchanted into their collars. This contract would be keyed to the person who bought the slave, and would force the slave to obey any order that was sent through the contract. Of course, a strong enough person could break the contract, but the slaves themselves never could.

In decreasing value, the slaves were categorised as combat slaves, "comfort" slaves (read: sex slaves), servant slaves, labour slaves, and useless slaves. While servant slaves were seen as having the qualities to be maids or butlers, labour slaves were purely for menial work. Useless slaves, on the other hand, were usually bought as toys to be abused, or fed to tamed monsters, or treated as target practice. It was a cruel fate for them. Each of them would only be sold for ten copper coins. Meanwhile, combat slaves would each be sold for one gold coin. It could be seen just how much the disparity was, even in the slave market.

"Give me all of your useless slaves, three of each servant and labour slaves, and two of each comfort and combat slaves."

"Oya oya, this ojou-sama truly arrived with the intention of greasing our palms, eh? Shall I prepare a carriage for you?"

"No need. I can transport them myself."

His eyes twinkled brightly. "Oya, ojou-sama. You must be from an unknown powerful noble house. We thank you for your patronage."

"Cut the small talk. Here's the money, now round them up."

I purposely spoke carelessly to invite the false impression of my authority, as well as the impression that I did not really care for the fate of the slaves, and purely saw them as an object of business dealings. While those obviously were not my true feelings, I did not wish to invite any suspicion that I was here with the intention of eventually destroying the slave market. The money that I was using was given to me by Clee, taken from the rebellion's coffers, as they saw my efforts as being able to benefit the rebellion.

Half an hour later, Rea and I led about thirty slaves into an alleyway.

"Cli. You might want to come out of my shadow for this."

"Yes, Ava-sama."

Though she maintained her professionalism, tear tracks ran down Clee's face. It seemed that the reality of the slave market was painful for her. She had probably been a slave before being saved by the rebellion. I removed the shackles on the hands of the slaves and spoke.

"Everyone. Hold onto someone else. Some of you, hold onto Rea, Cli, or I," I said, pointing to each of us in turn.

The newly-bought slaves looked confused and suspicious, but obeyed my orders.

I opened a transfer portal, and transported everyone into the meeting place from the previous night.

"Rea."

"Yes, Ava-sama.

With a few lashes from her whips, she broke all of the shackles and all of the collars previously worn by the slaves. I then pulled out bottled water and canned foods, again provided by the rebellion in Cli's storage ring.

"You are all free now. Take today to rest, eat, drink, and decide what you want to do. If you wish to be returned to any living family that you may still have, we can arrange transportation to outside the capital. How you get back from there is up to you. Struggle to survive. If you wish to follow me, you may also do so. I will be back tonight. Decide on your answers by then. Do note, though, that I will not accept anyone whose will is too weak to follow me. If you wish to follow me, you will need to have the hunger for survival, and the desire to forge your path, mind, and body."

Saying that, I took Cli and Rea, and vanished from the house