Chapter 42

I woke up and I was in a strange place.

There are many cages around me.

It seems there are animals, monsters etc. are included … What the hell is this?

Am I going to Zoo?

Naah, no way.

I heard rattling noise from the outside, and the floor is shaking.

Apparently I'm riding on something.

Am I in the carriage that I saw earlier?

The curtain-like tent has a dome shape capable of preventing rain and wind, so I can't see what's outside.

However, the ride quality is not too bad.

It's been a while since I was able to experience this kind of shaking, so I'm getting sleepy.

I was sleeping a while ago, so I'm not that sleepy anymore …

The only complaint I have is … I'm in a prison.

t's a prison designed for snakes, so the gap between the iron bars is quite tight, I can only put out the tip of my mouth.

Unfortunately there seems to be no way to escape.

This iron is unlikely to break with my skill.

I wonder if prison is the right word?

Should I call it a cage because it contains animals rather than a person?

When I looked around, there were various animals.

The Azawarachi that I've fought before, the flying mole, and the big bird that was about to carry me sometimes ago.

There are many other creatures I have never seen.

However, it is unusually quiet.

If you get caught by someone, normally you would be raging violently … Maybe there is something in the incense that I was made to smell before.

Is there anything wrong with my body?

While thinking about it, I looked around my body, but I found nothing.

There doesn't seems to be any abnormality.

I can use my skills without any problems, and it seems that there will be no problem if I'm able to escape.

But isn't this situation pretty bad?

Where am I being carried?

I'm absolutely to be sold off.

I will be sold off somewhere …!

Dang it.

Making money with selling living things like a tool … These bastards!

Even if I become a human, I will keep away from these kinds of people.

I want to meet a person with a better personality.

But I can't do anything right now.

What should do I do....

If there is any chance, I'll try to escape, and until then I feel like I should keep an eye on them, but … it seems that it will be impossible.

You know why? Because I'm really sleepy!

I can't think for another plan, so I decided to sleep and kill some time.

◆

-After several hours-

I woke up.

Since I'm in a covered carriage, it's hard to tell from the surrounding whether it's still night or morning already.

This cage is so cramped.

I feel like a submarine under the pressure of being underwater.

Screech.

Fwuhhsh ....

Has someone came in?

Ah, those guys. What are they trying to do.

Is that- a knife? And … Are those a meals for these caged fellas?

The men began feeding the animals around them.

The amount of food given seems different depending on the size of the animal.

I was given a good amount of raw meat.

"Hey, didn't you put any medicine in this guy?"

"Not as potent like the other animal's dose, right ? This guy is a rare species. If we give it something strange and it get sick, the price will drop, you know?"

"No, nevermind. I'm sorry I doubt you."

"Well, this snake will makes us money. Don't worry, man. I wouldn't do anything weird to it."

"Alright."

So that's it....

The men gave these guys a drugged meal, now I understand why they are so quiet.

But I have to eat this unknown meat.

Well, I'm a snake and usually snakes are usually pretty quiet.

And I'm a rare species … Somehow I feel so proud that my kind is really that valuable.

I'm a EarthKingSnake for the time being.

Are these men familiar with catching my species?

The men went out as soon as they finished feeding the animals.

For the time being, I have to eat to survive, so I will eat it too.

What kind of meat is it …

[You have gained experience points. LV is now 4]

Well … this is kind of expected.

But, I didn't get much experience points from this!

Hopefully, if I can evolve soon, I may gain a new skill to destroy this cage!

The next evolution is a race change evolution.

I will definitely get some strong skills …!

But ...… am I really going to life in a prison from now on?

"Hey! Walk quickly!"

"──!"

What's going on?

Somehow the disturbing presence came from the outside … What's happening?

As I listened more, something suddenly rolled into this room.

It was a very weak girl, dressed in shabby clothes.

Covered in bruises and mud.

Furthermore, there is a choker on her neck.

Just by looking at her figure, I can guess that she wasn't treated so kindly.

The girl is pulled by the man and shoved into a cage.

"Don't make any trouble …"

Another man who heard the noise came into this room in a hurry.

"Hey, is it okay to make such a loud noise?"

"As long no one saw it. The carriage over there is already full of slaves. They can't fit anymore, so I just moved this kids to this cariage."

"Ah, Is that so. I'm sure they loaded too much this time. They should reduce it a little for the next time."

"That's right. They should learn from their mistake"

These guys are slave dealers!

Doing these shady things … doesn't seem to be a legal procedure.

Are they smugglers or something like that …?

But … a slave merchant …

I understand now.

I thought there might be slavery in this world, but I didn't believe it existed until I saw it myself … because the word 'slave' came up in the men's conversation.

There is no doubt that there is slavery in this world.

But, if slavery does exist, why are they transporting slaves while hiding?

Are they hiding like this because it costs money to move from country to country?

If I think about it carefully, it's probably worse than that.

It is possible that they has abducted another race as a slave from somewhere.

It seems the way they're doing this is illegal by the law of this country.

I have no idea how slaves are sold in a normal way, because I don't know anything about this world yet.

But, it can be for another purpose.

Forced Laborers.

So maybe they are abducting other races living in remote areas like this?

That is my guess.

I don't know if my guess is the correct answer because it's just a hypothesis.

The men locked the girl's cage before leaving.

Just by looking at the girl … she has a really terrible wound.

I want to cure her, but my skills won't allow me.

Because I can only use them to myself …

The girl drags her heavy choker and shackles to the corner of her cage.

The closer she is toward the wall, the more secure she will be.

I want to help her somehow … but that's impossible.

First of all, the collar and shackles cannot be removed.

Even if She can escape, it's so obvious this girl's mobility is really slow and the men will soon catch up.

I can't help people because I can't even get out of here in the first place, but … this is making me sad.

Apparently the girl is a normal human being.

Black hair and black eyes remind me of Japanese people, but her face is really like a beautiful princess.

Well, you shouldn't chain up and use violence against such a cute girl!

Those slave traders are absolutely unforgivable!

When I'm able to transform into human, I should check out these men …

They made a grave mistake.

Is it okay I wonder?

With that in mind, I tried to bring my face as close to her as possible …

"Hiii! Don't come!"

Ah, my bad …

I'm a big snake … Of course that scares her.

But I'm a pure white snake!

It's a color that looks auspicious, but I can't even make my voice come out, and this is not Japan, so I don't feel like I would want to say something …

I go down all the way.

I pull back my neck and only my head faced toward the girl.

"Do not look!"

Sorry....

I turned my head into another angle.

What is this, isn't she pretty cute when viewed from this close?

But I was told not to look, so I just turned my head to the side.

Well, even if I can't see her with my eyes, there is no problem because I can grasp everything around her using [Haze Manipulation].

Heh? This girl is looking at me all the time.

Is it because she is scared …?

Of course she is scared~ … because I'm a huge snake, right?

If I found such a big snake when I was in elementary school, I would run away with all my might.

"... Do you understand my language?"

I look up at the girl.

The girl seemed surprised to see me moving suddenly, but for a moment she turned her face to me.

"Look right?"

I turn to the right as she told.

"Look up?"

I look up.

"Pakupaku"

She tried not to laugh.

It looks cute if a pretty girl does that.

I forgive her because she is a child

The girl seemed to acknowledge that I was a snake that understood people's words perfectly and approached me.

It seems that she managed to get rid of her alertness. It's almost her fear was just a fluke.

But this child is quite brave.

No, let's just say she is innocent or pure.

She figured out that I might be a snake that can understand her words just from my action.

Adults could never do that.

Isn't this child quite flexible?

"Amazing … do you have a name?"

I do my best to nod to this.

I have one, my name is Ouren.

I remember that I almost named like a pet by 'him'.

"Ehhh you have huh … but I don't know if you can talk or not. I'm Alena. Nice to meet you."

This child … is amazing in many ways.