Hey, Shun here!
It's kinda baffling how some people of this world are so kind to me. It's like they're treating me with respect or something. Look at Mr. Doscosp. It was like he's scared of me or something at first.
The only exception to this was the normal people and the receptionist back at the Adventurer's Guild. Well, I think that's just how she usually talk and communicate with others though.
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(Shun's POV)
After I handed over the three gold coins over to Mr. Doscosp, I, along with Rokuko, Ikumei, Zenko, and a starry-eyed Tsuka, watched him as he cast new contracts for the girls using [Contract Magic]. Whilst he was doing all that, I suddenly remembered that these girls don't have anything else to wear other than that skimpy-looking rag that they call as clothes when it barely covered the most precious parts of their bodies.
When I asked the receptionist who welcomed us earlier about where to buy some clothes, she immediately informed me that their shop also sells clothes and underwear. Since it will just be a temporary apparel that they will wear before we reach the dungeon, I bought everyone except the bear-eared girl one set of clothing each, a simple one piece dress and a pair of underwear.
These clothes are decent if it's by this world's standard so I really didn't mind paying 1 silver coin per one set.
In case you're wondering why I didn't buy the bear-eared girl a new set of clothes, well, that's because she's just about the same height as Zenko. She's probably taller than the twelve year old Zenko by only a few inches.
Just so we're clear, she's not as young as Zenko, okay? At first, I was also skeptical when I saw that Mr. Doscosp brought out such a small girl when I asked for women who came of age but I decided to trust him in this one.
I mean, he's a guy who's been in this kind of business for who knows his long so he should know what he's doing for sure. However, just to be on the safer side, I asked the bear-eared girl some questions in order to confirm whether or not she really is an adult... And the answer I got was that she indeed is.
Anyway, once the new contract was done and I was properly recognized as the new master of these girls, we promptly left the Doscosp Slave Market. We have no more business being in this place.
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Once we arrived at the less populated location inside of Tsia City, I decided to start a conversation with an introduction.
"Since we're in a quieter place, let us first introduce ourselves in order for us to get to know each other better. I'll go first. *ehem*.... The name's Shirakami Shun. You girls can all call me Shun, if you're more comfortable with that way of address. I prefer it if you all can call me by my given name, to be honest."
After my own brief introduction, Ikumei, Rokuko, Zenko, and even Tsuka stepped forward one by one to introduce themselves to our new companions. Much to the four girls' surprise, Ikumei and Zenko dropped a bomb right in front of their faces, leaving all of them dumbfounded.
"I'm Kuroinu Ikumei... I'm one of Master's first ever slaves!" Ikumei proudly announced while puffing up her chest in pride. Not sure what you're being proud about, Ikumei, but I guess it's fine?
"The name given to me by Master is Haizaki Zenko! Like my little sister Ikumei, I'm one of Master's first ever slaves!"
When they all heard Ikumei and Zenko's announcement, the four new slaves froze as they all looked at the two kids in disbelief.
"Wha-? The heck is going on here? These two who do not look or resemble how a proper slave should look like, are slaves like us!? Are you sure you ain't shittin' me here? Like, come on, tell a more believable lie!" Sure enough, it was the talkative blonde foodie who spoke out first. She even looked at Ikumei and Zenko to see their expressions but all she got was two confused head tilts.
Also, what do you mean by 'how proper slaves should look like'? There's actually a proper dress code for slaves in this world? I gotta say, that's a waste of space if you all went out of your way to write it in some rule book or something.
"They ARE my slaves. I bought them from the slum's slave market. See those collars that they're wearing on their neck? Those are slave collars similar to yours. I just modified it a teensy bit in order for it to not look ugly."
In response to my words, blonde foodie responded with a, "Are you being seriously serious my dude? Who do you think you're kidding?"
"They even have such a fancy sounding name. There's just no way they're slaves." added the elf girl. By the way, she's a really cute elven girl with her cute elfin ears being shown in full view.
Her hair is platinum blonde with some hints of green while her irises are golden in color. According to her, she's at my age as well, fifteen.
"I-I think so, too, desu." This time, it was the bear-eared girl who voiced out her agreement.
She's a girl with looks far above average, her brunette hair tied in a loose twintail while her purple colored irises are hidden beneath her eyelids that are currently closed in fear. What are you being scared of, I'm not gonna bite you, you know?
"Maa, I think he's telling the truth. These girls, they really came from the slum's slave market. Look at their eyes..." The one who pacified them is the fox lady who has fiery red hair and eyes with some tinge of orange.
Based on what she said, she's actually a woman in her 30's. From what I can see, she doesn't look like it though.
Anyway, enough with this slave this and slave that talk.
"Now that we all told you our names, can you all tell us what your names are?"
"Hmm? The heck're you talking about? Masters name their slaves as Niku after buying them. You have so many slaves, don't you know that already~?"
"That's the name Zenko and Ikumei used to introduce themselves. It's also the reason why I gave them new names. Why do others give their slaves that name, anyway? Is it some kind of norm here?"
"You really don't know, do you?" asked the fox woman who now have a troubled look on her face.
"Umm... Master? T-This is considered as common s-sense, desu. E-Everyone knows it, desu." Is it? I didn't know about that, bear girl. Uh... I should really come up with a new name for them. It is starting to get troublesome calling them fox lady, elf girl and such.
"Just think real hard about it man. What if you bought a slave with the same name as your mom? No matter how much of a sexy babe she is, it'd be awk as heck during nighttime festivities, if you know what I'm saying. So, people get rid of their names after being enslaved."
As if to agree with her, the elf girl nodded her head vigorously.
"Un, un!"
That totally make sense. However, I gotta say, your analogy is kind of... yeah.
Moving on, let's go to...
"Hey, Shun. What are 'nighttime festivities'? Is it something fun?"
"A-Ahaha. It's nothing, Rokuko..." It's too early for you to learn about such things, Rokuko, I thought to myself while rubbing her head.
Thankfully, the culprit managed to read the mood and immediately changed the topic of conversation.
"…Well, it's not like I totally forgot about my name after getting rid of it. I could tell it to you if you really want… Aaah, but I've actually made a looot of enemies, so like, I'd way prefer a new one." Okay. Since that's the case, I guess I have to give them all a name, then.
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It took quite a while but we finally came up with a name for all of them. Well, I say that but the two beastkin already have a name of their own and insisted on having it back despite their collars almost killing them.
Since I don't really have any qualms in calling them in whatever name as long as it's decent, I told them that it will be fine for them to use their original names. It's their name by birth so I'm totally not against them using it.
Besides, they said that names, for beastkin, are sacred. Majority of beastkins do their best to live up to the names given to them. If their parents gave them the name of a valiant hero, they'll do their best to become one as well, or atleast someone similar to that person.
Once everything was settled, we passed by some food stalls. The foodie in our group, once she saw those stands, became rooted on the spot before eventually begging me to buy her some. And so, we all headed to the Adventurer's Guild, each of us holding a kebab.
"Mmm? I'm pretty sure the Guild is over here, yeah?" I didn't tell them where we were going so Ms. Foodie couldn't help but ask.
"Yep. The Guild introduced me to Mr. Doscosp. I feel like I should probably give them the heads up that I went through with it."
"T-The A-Adventurer's Guild, desu!? T-There's many people there, desu." The scaredy bear girl said as she hid behind the fox lady.
"Oh my, this brings back memories. I also used to be an adventurer back then..."
"Am I going to be… Am I finally going to be an adventurer now!? Master, can I become an adventurer?"
"Woah, you're an adventurer Master bro? What's your rank? D? C? Oh dude, are you a B-Rank? You seem to be rich, casually paying out 3 gold coins so that should be the case, yeah?"
"Nope. I'm still F-Rank. Well, I say that but it's been a while since we took some quest with the intention of ranking up. Zenko, Ikumei, and Rokuko here are also F-rank by the way."
"Wha? F-Rank...? Really? I'm hella impressed you had that much cash with you to buy us, then… Are you a noble? Your appearance reminds me a lot of the royalty of this empire." I'm curious about what she said but we already arrived inside the Adventurer's Guild so I decided to leave the subject be for now.
By the way, the same receptionist was behind the counter this time as well. I wonder, does she even take breaks?
"…Oh my, you've already bought slaves, and they're from different races, too. Oh, you also have a human slave with you who's... very big..." Ms. Receptionist trailed off after her gaze landed on our resident foodie's huge asset. Or should I say, assets?
After giving her a good look, her gaze wandered at the three other slaves, then at Rokuko, Zenko, and Ikumei. Should I mention that she also glanced at Tsuka who energetically waved her paws at her in response?
"I see you can appreciate girls that are small, average, and large. Congratulations?"
"…You're talking about their height, aren't you? They do have differing heights, yeah."
"Nah dude, she's totally talking about my tits." Are you serious? I went out of my way to play dumb and that's how you repay me?
What an ungrateful slave. I'm not buying you any kebabs again later.
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※~To be continued~※
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Author's Remarks:
※ Alright. I did say it will be a two parter but it became longer for some reason so there will be a continuation next chapter. That chap will also reveal the names I've given to them. After that, we'll move on to the next part of this fanfic.
Special thank yous to my understanding members back on ko-fi who've been supporting up until now!
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