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The hooded man took me to the back of the store. The slaves were kept in a basic cell¹, dressed in simple clothes and wearing collars. Buyers could look at them from outside the cells and choose the slaves they were interested in.

It was an unhygienic place, but surprisingly, the slaves didn’t look skinny or unhealthy. They all appeared sanitary even. As a buyer, I would prefer a healthy-looking slave over one who was about to die, regardless of the reason they became a slave.

The slaves were separated by gender in cells on the left and right, and their ages varied. According to my appraisal, the human slaves ranged from 10 to 40 years old. Other races appeared to be 70 or even 100 years old, but they looked young for their age.

I took a quick look around, but nothing caught my eye. Some of the slaves were former adventurers or had a high status, but even then, they were at best Grade D.

Considering my plans of collecting spirits, I didn’t want to take anyone unless they had high status or the ability to help me with my task. I also felt like the slaves were a bit overpriced, so that was a minus in my book.

The slaves would naturally prefer to have a nice person as a buyer, but unfortunately for them, the choice fell to the buyers. No matter who I took with me, it wouldn’t be hard to protect them from monsters, but I wanted someone worth protecting.

After all, motivation was important for everything.

“Are these all?”
“These are the only ones we can show to customers.”
“What’s the difference between the ones you can show and the ones you can’t?”
“Whether they’re educated or not.”
“The ones here don’t seem too well off, though.”

“Haha, you sure have a way with words. Most slaves are here because their families sold them to pay off a debt. Just a few days ago, these people were living normal lives; they don’t suddenly become slaves overnight. And if I spent years educating them, I wouldn’t have any time left to work on my Magic Tools.”
“I won’t complain, but can I ask you to show me the others?”
“If you wish, I’ll accommodate you. But I must say, I don’t recommend it.”
“Let me see them, just in case.”

In situations like these, you could often find bargains among the items that weren’t shown.

There was a beautiful woman who captivated me at first sight, but she was quite expensive. If I didn’t gather the money within a month, she might be sold to someone else—possibly even to someone with a known bad reputation. Someone she would definitely not want to end up with.

If I managed to get the money to buy her despite these obstacles, it would set the stage for the best outcome.

‘Wait… I’m getting sidetracked here. Come to think of it. I’m a woman now, aren’t I? If that’s the case, then I should look at male slaves, no? I’ll try to keep my eyes open.’

The hooded man led me underground. Unlike above ground, the place matched my expectations with its stone floors, walls, and iron bars. Each person was confined to their own space.

Some swore at us as soon as they saw us, while others grinned, making me feel uncomfortable. On the other hand, some seemed dazed, with no light in their eyes, while others were ranting about something.

‘So that’s where the real thing was!’

“It’s amazing.”
“Isn’t it?”

The man answered with a cheerful but quiet tone.

“I must say, I treat them quite well. Some places inflict severe injuries and call it education. But I suppose that’s what happens when someone can’t accept that they’ve become a slave.”

Not many people would look at the slaves here and want them. Some of them were beautiful women, so if the buyer had a desire to bring strong-minded women to their knees, they could buy one.

“What happens if they don’t complete their education?”
“They’re disposed of. To be precise, the men are put into hard labor, while the women are dropped to the lowest class in society and sent to brothels.”
“Not a story you want to tell kids.”
“Haha. You’ve got a point there.”

The hooded man didn’t look as if he was sorry. Though I guess if I had met him before I’d died, I might have been interested in a brothel.

As we were discussing these things, we went further back until we encountered a strange door. Although it didn’t look as sturdy as the door connecting the slave house to the accessory store, it still looked like a strong iron door.

“What’s this door?”
“It’s a place where I put the slaves that causes a lot of problems. I really don’t advise you to look inside.”
“So there’s someone there?”
“Only one at the moment. To be honest, they’re quite difficult to handle. I might end up disposing this one.”

I wasn’t sure if by disposing he meant killing. That said, slaves became a piece of property once they were enslaved, so it was not a crime if their owner killed them. After all, keeping a person alive wasn’t free.

People were living beings. And living costs money. They would continue being a financial burden unless sold. That was why killing them could sometimes be seen as an option.

There are many reasons someone might become a slave, but if it happened under unjust circumstances, all they could do was curse their fate. Nonetheless, I found myself intrigued by the concept of the isolated one.

“Can you show them to me?”
“I can, but I really don’t recommend it. And for the record, this particular slave is quite expensive. My supplier insisted, so don’t blame me.”
“But you can get rid of it, right?”
“I don’t always understand the decisions made by those in charge.”

‘By in charge, he probably means the kingdom. Just what did this slave do²?’

“Let me see them anyway. If I don’t like them, I’ll just leave.”
“Okay, you asked for it. Here goes.”

The hooded man said and opened the heavy-looking iron door. The door that connected to the noble sector had been so easy to open, but this door, which looked lighter, proved to be a struggle.

The sight was somewhat amusing, but it was expected given that the other door was a Magic Tool.

Behind the opened door was a single prison cell. It was even shabbier than the cells I had seen until now. While they at least had beds, this one just had straw on the floor for sleeping.

As the slaver had previously said, there was one girl inside.

She sat on the ground, her entire body covered in bruises, staring into the void with blank eyes. When she realized we had entered, she looked at us and opened her mouth, but no sound came out, just the sound of air passing through.

The moment the girl realized this, she blushed and looked away. Both her legs appeared to be crushed, leaving her unable to move on her own. She had black hair and eyes that were a deep, almost black, shade of brown.

‘Good. I knew it was worth coming this far.’

She would be difficult to handle, but not for the same reasons as what the slaver thought. I was eager to find out why one of my former classmates was locked up here³.

1. TL/N: The basic cells mentioned here are zashikirou. A type of cell that was used during the Edo period in Japan. If you want to get a better understanding of how they look, you can search for 座敷牢 in Google.
2. Silva: I’m gonna take a while guess, it’s one of em heroes.
3. Silva: I knew it!
   Robinxen: I wonder if that’s that one that bargained for a final promise, perhaps they thought they had a chance of something if they could get out of the castle? Or is it one of the other escapees who ended up being unable to leave the noble district?