The War Between Men and Women

"A clan??" the town soldier visibly panicked.

He entered the building immediately and returned a minute later. He had a sweaty expression on his face. The way he looked at Farqos had changed. It was now filled with fear.

"Young Master, please wait for a bit. The Mayor is coming down to meet you."

"Good." Farqos casually nodded his head.

A few seconds later, a series of rushed footsteps came from within the courtyard. A robed brown-skinned man walked out. He stopped in front of Farqos and briefly glanced at the insignia on the carriage.

"Ah, pardon my late appearance. I was not aware of your arrival, Young Master..?" the Mayor said humbly, and his words trailed off, waiting for Farqos to introduce himself.

"I am Farqos Bravodel. I need a place to stay for the night," he replied.

"Young Master Farqos, don't worry. I will gladly set up an appropriate accommodation for you. Please follow me."

The mayor led the way as they walked away from the mayor's office. In only about several dozen steps, they arrived in front of a two-story tall building with a neat appearance. The mud bricks that composed it were smoother. Compared to the surrounding buildings, this one was clearly a rich person's home.

"This is my humble abode. I hope it satisfies you. My maid is inside. Just tell her you're my guests. She's trained for that."

The mayor walked to the side and urged them in.

"Don't worry. The Bravodel Clan doesn't mistreat people," Farqos replied and threw a small bag of coins to the mayor.

"Thank you!" The mayor graciously caught the bag with a smile on his face.

The silent old man followed behind Farqos as he entered the mayor's abode. Magnus followed behind them, and the last ones were the two masked maids.

A distasteful expression appeared on Magnus' face once he was inside. This house didn't seem that good of a place. He looked at Farqos' facial expression, and the man didn't seem to be bothered about it.

It was tight inside, and there were no appliances of any sort. Magnus was now 100% sure about his crazy thought. He never imagined he would become one of those people.

A maid walked out from one of the rooms. She was short and her hair was done in a ponytail. She had a dull expression on her face and widened her eyes at the unexpected visitors.

"W-Who are you people?" she asked in a shaky voice. She gripped the edges of her maid skirt and walked back slowly.

"We are your guests. The mayor let us in," Farqos explained with an amused expression on his face.

"O-Oh..."

The maid calmed down. She then quickly bowed to Farqos.

"Show me the place," Farqos asked her.

"Yes, Master," the maid replied.

When she straightened her body again, the nervousness that she had shown earlier disappeared. It was replaced by the same dull expression she had shown before. It was as if a switch had been flicked within her.

"..."

Magnus furrowed his eyebrows at the strange sight of her quick change. As a man from a world that abolished slavery, it felt uncomfortable for him to see this scene. Even though he wasn't a man of justice in his previous life, he felt like he needed to make a difference in this one.

The maid walked out, and a thin and long chain clanked, dragged by her slender leg.

Farqos didn't ask about the chains. Instead, he followed behind the maid while the silent old man shadowed him like a ghost.

The two masked maids didn't follow. Instead, they started lighting up the candles in the living room. The sun had already fallen below the horizon. It was already dark inside, and it was getting harder to see.

Magnus didn't follow Farqos. He was interested in these two masked maids.

"Hey, do you know where we are?" Magnus asked.

"We have no idea," the thinner of the maids replied in an emotionless voice.

"..."

Magnus felt a tear inside his heart. He could tell that she wasn't lying to him. She was a victim of the situation.

"Are the two of you... his slaves?" Magnus asked with great difficulty. He would have been canceled in Bwitter if he said that publicly.

"Yes."

"Do you know what country we are in?"

"The Phaeton Empire."

"Huh? Say that again."

"We're in the Phaeton Empire."

Magnus had no idea where that empire was. It affirmed his idea that he wasn't on Earth anymore. He decided to skip that and ask another question, the important one.

"How did you become his slave?"

"..."

The maid looked away from Magnus. He couldn't accurately tell because he couldn't see her face, but it seemed like he hurt her by asking that question.

"I'm sorry. How about you explain to me why he was treating you like that? Don't worry. I'm new, right? You can trust me."

Magnus stared at her with sincere eyes. She took a glance at him before glancing at the other masked maid.

That masked maid nodded her head.

"We are Cynthian slaves. It's natural that a man like the Young Master will hate us. After all, in our continent... we..." she slowed down and gave him a deep look.

"Go on. I'm curious. I don't know about any of this," Magnus replied and nodded his head.

The masked maid silently stared into his eyes for a few seconds. Magnus caught her lovely blue eyes and thought she might be beautiful under that mask.

"That's weird. Everyone knows the situation of the Phaeton and Cynthian continents," she said with a confused tone in her voice.

"I lost a lot of my memories. I only know my age, name, and birthplace," Magnus swiftly answered.

The masked maid glanced at the other maid once more before looking back at him.

"I guess the Young Master won't punish me for this. In the Cynthian continent, we... treat men as slaves. And here, they do the same to women... especially the ones like us from the other side," she explained to him with some difficulty. It was hard for her to be comfortable with the words she was uttering.

"Why aren't you running away?" Magnus asked.

"Hah?" the other maid sneered from the side.

"Why? Don't you want your freedom back?"

"Ava, don't speak to him again. He will get us in trouble," the other maid said to the thinner maid.

Ava, the thinner masked maid, nodded her head and turned away from Magnus.

"Huh?"

Magnus couldn't understand why the two started leaving and ignoring him.