Chapter 22: Anna, Lute, And Myself

I open my eyes, at exactly 5:00 AM...

Like clockwork..

I roll around to make sure my body is moving properly..

Then, I get up and make my bed..

That's right, I slept at an inn yesterday..

I thought this because my bed and view was different from the cold summer nights in the grasslands..

Well, I should go train..

But where? I can't run in town..

And so, I thought I should go outside the gates and run around the perimeter of the city..

Like it was normal..

I'm not strange, this is just a result of those days of training..

I developed a habit of maintaining my body every single morning..

After I decided what to do and got dressed, I open the door and lock it from the outside..

When I arrived at the corridor, I was greeted by the sight of doors on each side..

I didn't notice it before, but I guess this was a pretty big inn..

Kinda like the 5-star hotels back on Earth..

Currently, my room is at the farthest end of the corridor, the last room, "Room No. 666"..

And it is located at the 7th floor, the highest floor on this inn..

I guess they still call it an "inn" because of the fact that there are no precedents of a hotel being built here..

But I wonder if this size was normal in this world?

I was thinking idle thoughts while going through the long hallway, towards the stairs..

When I made it to the stairs, I climbed down and repeated the same action, since each of the stairs are on the opposite side of each other on every alternating floor..

I began to wonder how I even made it to my room last night in the first place..

After about a few minutes, I made it to the ground floor and went to the counter..

I'm amazed they are up at this time..

Hardworking adults are really admirable, aren't they?

So I deposit my key to him and pay the bill for tonight in advance..

His face turned grim at the sight of my room key for a second, but he instantly reverted back to his business smile after receiving 2 silver coins from me..

I decided not to mind it and went outside walking towards the gates..

I saw a couple of people walking around and merchants preparing their stalls while I was passing through the shopping district and decided to buy some ingredients from them when I came back from training..

When I reached the gates, I noticed that another guy was guarding the post this time, so I showed him my [Guild Card] and he let me pass through..

I guess, they take shifts throughout the day, huh..

I think about the guards' workday for a bit and wished them luck for today in my head..

When I made it to a certain distance away from the city where they wouldn't see me, I started to stretch..

Then finally, I started my daily routine..

After I finished, I noticed I wasn't sweating that much compared to yesterday..

"I guess it's time to increase the load.."

I decided to do an extra lap and more training until I felt that it was enough..

I went back to the city gate looking refreshed and invigorated..

I waved to the guards while passing through and they seemed to remember me from earlier and didn't ask for me to show identification again..

Which saves me a bit of time, that I'm thankful for it..

I reached the shopping district and I perused through the various goods and found interesting stuff with the use of my [Aura Eyes], it is really useful at times like these..

So I spent all in all 6 silver coins for the mountain of ingredients I was carrying in different bags..

Which was filled to the brim with vegetables, fruits, wheat, pepper, and various meats..

But I was sad to find out that in this world, salt was scarce and usually only used by aristocrats..

She showed me a little of it, and it looked bluish-white which I remember from the books I used to read, that it wasn't pure refined salt, but rock salt..

I guess that's why the food in this world is mostly bland..

But then, how did Master obtain all that salt, and furthermore, it was white salt, mind you..

And we never seemed to run out..

In fact, I have about 50kg of it in my [Aura Pocket] right now since I brought some of it under "Provisions"

I really thought it was normal to use salt in cooking until now..

Who was my Master, really?

After carrying it into a narrow alley, I check my surroundings for people..

And when I make sure there are none, I put the bags inside my [Aura Pocket] one by one..

Even if I learned my lesson, it still looks surreal for a large bag to fit in a pocket..

When I was done, I sighed in relief and started walking forward, trying to get a feel for the city pathways..

I didn't notice it myself but I started to walk aimlessly through alleyways and dark roads, this was all happening while I was contemplating how to make new friends..

I was really troubled..

When suddenly, I felt something hit my side..

Two somethings..

*Thud* *Thud*

When I turned around to find the culprits..

I saw, A little girl with blonde hair and green eyes..

And right next to her, a little boy who was much shorter, with blond hair with tears gathering around his emerald eyes..

I thought for a second, this pair of kids, they're too cute..

I mean, they have such small faces and pure white skin..

Some fanatics would die just to meet them if they were in Japan..

They seemed to be wearing dirty rags or sack-clothes, is that what they call em?

And they were rubbing their foreheads which turned red whilst whining about the pain..

"Ouch... who, what?"

Ah, a cute soft voice, in an irritated tone..

Such a gap..

And both of them look up and see me..

This is bad, I have to smile..

Yosh, let's make them feel at ease, since it's not their fault, because I wasn't watching where I was going..

I smile the best grin I can while looking down at them..

*Backs Away*

Why?!?

Am I that ugly?

Or is it that I'm unapproachable now?

I can't think of another reason since I made sure my aura was off..

Oh, they're starting to tear up..

"Ann-nee, I'm scared.."

"There, there, Lute..there's nothing to be afraid of, I'll protect you.."

"Mn.."

Ah, this is awkward..

They are both hugging each other while the girl puts her head on the boy's head, while patting him gently..

Am I a bother?

Or do I seem to be the villain here?

Man, I want to go home..

Just when I was about to leave..

"Oi, you there! Stop those slaves!"

A group of men led by a plump middle-aged man shouted here in a gruff voice..

"Huh, me?"

I point a finger towards my face..

"Yes, you, please, help us capture those elves!"

[Elves]?

I look towards the two and find that the girl is now glaring at both me and the men..

But I don't look at that for long and saw long pointy ears at the sides of their faces..

They are [Elves]..

They have the elven ears I always read about in novels..

Well, let's just find out about the whole situation since I got involved in this..

They try to run past me, but I block them..

The girl glares even harder at me and tries again and again but to no avail..

After a few minutes, the men reached here and said..

"Thank you, I thought they were going to get away for a moment, who I ask, might you be?"

"Isn't it common courtesy to give your name first? And why do you want these guys anyway?"

I try to lower my voice so that I won't be taken lightly..

"Ah, yes, forgive me, my name is Gerzar, head slave merchant for the "Slave Trader's Guild" and it is a pleasure.."

A slave trading guild huh? I guess I should have known that slavery isn't outlawed here since this isn't Earth anymore..

"It's Orion, now tell me why these kids were running away from you.."

"Sure, these two were high-elves captured in the midst of the war between humans and elves which started 13 years ago, even continuing until now, they were supposed to be transported here for them to become slaves, but after we bathed and clothed them, they suddenly used some strange magic to become invisible and got away from our guards' detection, but it seems it was only valid for a short time, since we found them later and started to chase after their figures, it seemed that you bumped into them while they were running, must be lucky, huh?"

Luck, eh..

So there was that war going on even until now..

If I remember correctly, Derek-tousan was called for that war, I hope he's safe..

Anyway, let's get back to the present situation..

"Then, what are you going to do with them?"

"Ah, yes, now that you've caught them, we'll put these [Slave Collars] on them and bring them back to the guild, Of course you can claim a reward of some sort at the guild later, now then.."

He signals to his subordinates, and they start moving towards the children with rope in their hands..

I know I shouldn't get involved in this anymore than I should but..

I didn't notice that my body moved in front of the children by itself..

"What are you doing, oi?"

"Get out of the way, they'll escape again!"

The rugged men say in a condescending tone..

And after that, they surround us and the children..

I have to say something here..

"Hey Gerzar-san, you said they were slaves, huh?"

"Yes, I certainly said that, what about it?"

"Then.. I would like to buy them both, how much do they cost?"

A flash of surprise is present on Gerzar's face but immediately turns into a grinning expression..

He rubs his hands together and says in a happy tone..

"Ah, are you interested in purchasing them? Well, but they aren't ordinary slaves, you know?"

He continues on..

"They were supposed to be our prime slaves, since they had beautiful features and are most importantly, part of the high-elf race, which are said to be, the rarest of the elven kin.."

"So what, tell me.."

"Haha, straight to the point, I see, but I don't dislike that, well, let's see.."

He thinks for a second and declares..

"Since they are an expensive commodity, the girl would be 2 large gold coins, and the boy, 1 large gold coin, all in all, coming down to a price of 3,000,000 Myr, what do you say?"

His eyes looks as if he's overcharging me and believed that I had no money to buy slaves judging from how I look..

Why do people judge my looks so much..

"Sure, No problem.."

I say in a matter-of-fact manner..

Eyes around me stretch wide open and mouths hanging agape, even the children and Gerzar-san look surprised..

What, you think I'm lying?

"No, no, are you sure you have enough? It's 3,000,000 Myr, you know?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Ah, Yes! I'm very sorry for disrespecting you, dear customer! Let's move to the guild to do the proper procedures!"

He signals again to the men and they tie up the elf children and move ahead of us while murmuring things like..

"He was a rich noble's son all along?"

"What, how can a guy like that be in the slum area?"

"Well, I don't really care for rich people's hobbies but, I guess were getting bonus pay today, huh?"

"Oh yeah, let's celebrate later at the bar!"

They cheer in unison, such simple-minded muscle-brains..

Well, I don't dislike those types of people, though..

After an hour of walking, we reach a black-painted building with a sign that said, "Slave Trader's Guild"

We enter and find a luxurious reception area with 2 red leather couches facing each other separated by a long wooden coffee table and various flowers decorated around the building..

I guess this ambiance is supposed to make you feel relaxed, huh..

It is working..

Gerzar-san sits in one couch in the middle..

Then, they take the slaves and make them stand near Gerzar-san..

I take a seat before him on the other couch..

He starts to take out the collars and puts them on each of their necks.

I control my urge to stop him since it was just business..

"Okay, now that they're officially slaves, I want you to place the payment on this tray.."

A woman hands a silver tray to him and he places it on the table before me..

"Sure.."

I take out three large gold coins and place them on the tray..

Their eyes seem to sparkle with greed when looking at it..

"Excellent, now.. sign this with an empty [Magic Quill] powered by your own magic power...."

He takes out two papers that seemed to be [Slave Contracts] and a {Magic Quill] that I saw from the guild..

I do what he tells me after reading the contract that confirms the right of ownership and states, that they can't disobey an order, slaves shall be fed, and taken care of in a place of residence, and killing a slave results in a fine of 1 gold coin..

I check it thoroughly and sign it using my magic power..

Both contracts glow in a red and blue light and separate into particles going into each of their bodies..

And two other lights go into mine..

I notice that a seal was placed on each of their hands located at the back of their palms..

When I check it with [Aura Eyes] it said that it was a [Mark of Subordination], while what appeared on both my hands were [Mark of Dominance], they both looked like blue and red tattoos with a strange pattern..

After it was finished, I found out that they were siblings, and their names were, Anna for the older sister, and Lute for the younger brother, they didn't know what their last names were though, since they thought it wasn't important..

When we left, Gerzar-san waved goodbye saying "Please Come Again" like a certain convenience store cashier..

When we got outside, I told them..

"Well, first off, it is nice to meet you both, don't worry, I won't hurt you.. Take care of me in the future, okay?"

I smile while saying that..

"..."

"..*sniffle*.."

Ah, this is still awkward..

"Well, anyway, its fine if you can't open up to me now, that's for the future, until then, let's get along, ne?"

Their eyes seem to be cautious but I know they are good kids..

Because I saw how Anna-chan cares for little Lute-kun..

I find myself grinning thinking about it..

"Yosh, first of all, let's get you some new clothes!"

I said in a happy and loud voice..

I know I kind of just went with the situation this time, but I guess I found new companions now..