Chapter 3: Episode 3

Hans, even if you put it nicely, wasn’t a good younger brother.

“They say alcohol tastes best when you drink it with women.”

He always looked for women at drinking parties.

“…Did you just glare at me?”

And when drunk, he’d pick fights with others.

A typical bad guy.

Hans was that kind of guy.

There was nothing special about how I became close with him.

‘…I-I’m sorry.’

He even picked a fight with me while I was drinking, and he was beaten so thoroughly that dust seemed to rise even on a rainy day.

From that day on.

Hans became extremely polite, and after he learned my identity, he showed even greater deference.

I knew he wasn’t a good person, but I didn’t push Hans away when he approached me.

‘It’s fun to keep a guy like him around.’

The stories he told me, based on real events but exaggerated, entertained me.

A bad personality, but an entertaining guy.

That was Hans. And that Hans made me an offer.

“Brother Yuren, let’s go to the s*ave market!”

“s*ave market?”

I knew of its existence.

This world, befitting its chaos, was still in an era with a s*ave system.

…Slaves, huh.

‘That’s a bit much….’

From my modern perspective, the s*ave market felt like something that abandoned human decency.

“…I don’t want to go.”

So, I initially refused.

But Hans was persistent. His eyes sparkled as he continued to persuade me.

“…Just this once, okay?”

“Oh, come on. Once you go, you’ll want to visit every day!”

Feigning reluctance, I accepted Hans’s proposal.

****

My first visit to the s*ave market was completely different from what I expected.

“How is it, isn’t it great?”

“Y-yes, it is.”

It was a place where the malicious act of buying and selling humans took place, but it wasn’t in the shadows; it was in broad daylight.

The world was bright.

They bought and sold slaves in bright daylight, not in a dark, gloomy underground.

And that wasn’t all.

“Try some!”

“It’s delicious. This Billid Hawk has been aged for a long time.”

Food was also well-developed.

Hans, perhaps feeling rewarded by my astonished expression, kept smiling.

“I’m poor, so I can’t afford to buy slaves. I just come here to look at them.”

“Then why do you come?”

“Look. There’s plenty of food, and lots of people, so it’s fun to watch.”

Indeed.

“And not only that, but they recite the stories of the slaves, and that’s truly the best part.”

“Stories of the slaves?”

“Yes. A memorable one is the story of a maiden who voluntarily became a s*ave to earn money for her elderly mother’s medicine. Ha… If only I had enough money, I would have bought that maiden and made her my bride. How kind-hearted she is.”

Hans clicked his tongue, his face unable to hide his regret.

“Is that allowed…?”

“Oh, come on, they’re slaves. Once they’re bought, they’re at the owner’s mercy.”

“Oh.”

“Ah. But you mustn’t go too far!”

Suddenly, Hans, with a sly expression, warned me.

“If a s*ave is ruined by excessive abuse, you’ll be punished by imperial law. No matter if they’re a s*ave, you can’t just engage in any sadistic acts you please.”

Hans’s words implied that slaves also had human rights, which made me think, ‘If that’s the case, they should just abolish slavery,’ but I didn’t voice it.

“By the way, what’s your number, Brother? I’m 174, so are you 173?”

I checked the tag in my hand.

173.

“You use this tag to trade, so if there’s a s*ave you want to buy, just hold it up.”

“Right….”

Since I had no intention of buying a s*ave, I casually brushed aside Hans’s words.

Since I was already at the s*ave market, I decided to fully enjoy the experience.

I wouldn’t have a chance to come here again.

****

“Wow… Brother Yuren, you really eat well.”

“Huh? What?”

“I said you eat well!”

It was bustling.

On one side, slaves were being traded, but I was only interested in the food.

It was delicious.

Of course, it couldn’t surpass the food made by the family’s exclusive chef, who was a top-tier cook, but intoxicated by the festive atmosphere, it tasted even better.

“Shouldn’t we go look at the slaves soon?”

“Huh? Why?”

“Well, it’s a s*ave market. Why did we even come if we’re not going to?”

Hmm… He had a point.

However, there was one thing I was worried about.

‘As Hans said, if I see someone with a sad story, could I really resist buying them?’

I had no intention of buying a s*ave. Even if I did, I planned to release them immediately.

If I saw a pitiful s*ave, I might unconsciously buy them. But I shouldn’t.

‘Money isn’t meant to be given away carelessly. If you’re going to do it, do it in secret.’

—That was Father’s teaching.

I knew the reason well.

People would start to cling to you. A line of beggars might form, saying, ‘My story is pitiful too, please give me some money.’

Because of this, I hadn’t even looked at the slaves.

“It’s almost time! Let’s go!”

“Time?”

“Yes. It’s the main event. It’s the most valuable s*ave among those brought in this time!”

“Oh…!”

That sounds appealing.

“…Then, shall we go?”

“I’ve been waiting for you to say that.”

“Wait!”

I stopped Hans, who was about to eagerly pull me along.

“Yes? Why?”

“Just let me finish this first.”

Quickly devouring the Billid Hawk skewer in my hand, I was led by Hans’s hand toward the center of the s*ave market, the s*ave auction block.

****

Seraphie Esnor gazed intently at the handcuffs restricting her movements.

‘….’

Her mind was blank.

The past two years.

This time felt incredibly short to Seraphie.

The moment the Esnor Viscounty collapsed, she instantly fell into slavery, as if it were a pre-written script.

It wasn’t as if she hadn’t lamented her fate.

For the past two years, she had cried countless times and wished for salvation again and again.

But there was nothing.

She despaired.

There was despair about falling into slavery like this, but an even greater despair was that nothing had been decided by her own actions.

Everything had been by the will of others, leading her to this fate. Seraphie felt utterly powerless.

“It’s about time.”

The s*ave merchant grasped the long chain connected to the handcuffs restraining her wrists and pulled.

Seraphie was helplessly dragged along.

Her expression revealed no emotion whatsoever.

“She’s always such an unpleasant woman.”

The s*ave merchant showed his displeasure.

He had seen slaves who had lost their emotions due to various incidents many times, but he had never seen such a bottomless pit of an expression as Seraphie’s before.

The s*ave merchant wanted to plunge Seraphie into despair.

Because Seraphie seemed unfazed.

He wanted to torment her.

“Hmph… Let me tell you something, since you seem to know nothing.”

The s*ave merchant scanned Seraphie’s entire body.

First, her face.

Messy black hair, long bangs covering half of her face.

Between them, rarely seen, were red eyes.

He found them unsettling.

Next, her body.

Before her family’s downfall, she was a noble lady, but perhaps because she hadn’t eaten properly even back then, she was severely emaciated.

Her body was like that of a child, making it hard to believe she was sixteen.

Her skin was pure white.

Skin that felt like milk.

The s*ave merchant roughly pulled Seraphie. Seraphie resisted, but she was helplessly dragged along.

The s*ave merchant lifted Seraphie’s bangs.

He thought.

Despite finding her unpleasant, she was truly beautiful.

“Do you know why I haven’t touched you?”

His purpose in becoming a s*ave merchant was the advantage of being able to ‘taste’ slaves before they were sold.

Yet, he hadn’t laid a finger on Seraphie.

The reason?

It was simple.

“Because your owner has already been decided.”

The s*ave merchant showed a lewd smile.

“You know who Count Pigmyne is, don’t you?”

Instantly, Seraphie trembled slightly.

Seraphie didn’t know the details of her family’s affairs, but she knew how Count Pigmyne was connected to the Esnor family.

A debt relationship.

Seraphie’s mind raced, and she soon realized what the s*ave merchant wanted to say.

For the first time, a flicker of movement appeared between Seraphie’s brows.

“…You finally figured it out, didn’t you? Yes, your current situation is all Count Pigmyne’s doing. If I hadn’t received his request, I wouldn’t have left you alone like this.”

Seraphie, feeling the merchant’s lecherous gaze, showed her displeasure.

She was also afraid.

Of becoming Count Pigmyne’s s*ave. His sadism was notoriously famous, even in the Esnor domain, two districts away.

“….”

However, that emotion wasn’t outwardly expressed.

The s*ave merchant, unaware of this fact, merely thought Seraphie was feigning composure.

“You remain composed until the very end. I’d like to see how long that expression lasts.”

****

“Oh… It seems the top item in this auction is a fallen noble lady?”

“….”

“Hmm, she seems pretty, but she looks too much like a child.”

“….”

“Brother Yuren?”

No words came out. Was this what they called fate?

I wasn’t chosen by the goddess and couldn’t become a hero. That’s why I became warped and befriended a mischievous younger brother named Hans.

And I visited the s*ave market and witnessed the highlight of the s*ave auction.

Up to this point, everything was normal.

But.

The moment that auction item appeared, I couldn’t say a word and was forced into silence.

A diminutive girl.

“Today’s s*ave is the only daughter of the currently fallen noble family, the Esnor family! And of course, this girl has never been with a man. In other words, she’s a virgin!!”

To prove her virginity, a unicorn—which only stays near women who have no male experience—stood conspicuously beside her.

“WOOOW!!!”

Along with the appearance of the girl, who was called a fallen noble lady,

“She is Seraphie Esnor!”

That name.

I knew that girl. Though she looked quite different now.

The (True) Final Boss, who appears probabilistically, and upon meeting whom, defeat is predetermined.

Seraphie Esnor.

Why was she being traded in a place like this?

The moment I saw her, my instincts screamed.

‘I have to buy her…!’