episode_0110

Following the ‘facilitator’ of the slave market, marked with a black handkerchief on his left wrist, I entered the kingdom’s largest slave market.

Just like the double security measures of a demon protection shelter behind a restaurant and a demon protection shelter behind a gambling den, one had to pass through a gambling den, a restaurant, and a checkpoint to finally step foot into the entrance of the slave market.

The facilitator fumbled with bricks that could not be discerned by the naked eye and pressed them, causing the wall to open.

“Will you only sell the merchandise? Or will you also browse and buy new merchandise?”

The facilitator asked me.

Fully immersed in my role as a slave merchant, I replied, “Hehe, disposing of this one might allow us to acquire some good merchandise, don’t you think? Of course, we must browse the new merchandise as well.”

With that, I roughly petted Meruru’s pitiful face, which had become pitiful with sad acting.

Since I came to find the saintess, it was only natural to thoroughly examine the slaves.

As I greedily licked my lips, the facilitator nodded.

“If you bring in a decent number of subhumans, you should be able to fetch a good price.”

While conversing with the facilitator, I felt Mirabel’s subtle gaze as she stood close by, playing the role of a ‘bodyguard’ and observing from behind.

Since entering this place, she had not uttered a single word.

There was no need for a slave merchant’s bodyguard to speak unnecessarily.

But perhaps it was just my imagination that I felt a hint of disdain in her gaze as she looked at me, fully engrossed in my role as a slave merchant.

Mirabel, I’m not doing this because I want to.

I have to act like a real slave merchant in line with Meruru’s method acting, or else I’ll be exposed.

In any case, we successfully infiltrated the kingdom’s largest slave market.

“Ha….”

Upon entering the slave market, I unconsciously let out a sigh.

It was larger and more crowded than I had anticipated.

Guests looking to buy slaves, slave merchants, and auctioneers were bustling about.

I could see the numerous slaves being treated as merchandise.

『The reason why slave merchants from the kingdom sought out this secretive Pifnel slave market was simple.

This place was where the wealthiest and most secretive guests, along with other slave merchants who possessed all kinds of high-quality slaves, gathered.

Each slave merchant had different types of slaves that sold well, depending on their usual trading partners or operating areas.

As a result, the exchange or sale of slaves among slave merchants was quite active.』

I didn’t want to know such details.

I felt like I wanted to free all the slaves here and destroy the slave market.

Although I was acting as a slave merchant for the infiltration, seeing the actual scene of the slave market made me even more repulsed by the act.

What do these people think of others as?

Well, if they consider a former saintess as a ‘product,’ then I shouldn’t expect them to see anything human in these bastards.

If Alcott hadn’t asked me not to cause trouble, I would have wanted to free the slaves and set fire to the place.

Even the slave merchants who had bodyguards and were dragging one or two slaves around seemed quite imposing.

I didn’t want to admit it, but their appearance didn’t make me feel inferior compared to my current state.

Dressed in flashy attire with a silent bodyguard by their side, dragging slaves around and inspecting various places…

『Upon seeing the true appearance of the Pifnel slave market, Yunoa thought that it would have been better to disguise oneself as a guest if this was the case.

However, to visit this place solely as a guest rather than a slave merchant required much stricter verification than as a merchant.』

The wealth to buy expensive slaves, as well as connections in the underworld, were necessary for the patrons here.

I wonder if Algot really did thorough research beforehand, he must have prepared well.

I understand why the broker led me to the slave market without any suspicion.

Algot was the one who provided a way to identify the ‘broker’ in the first place.

“Well then, take a look around. Oh, and make sure to remember this place’s rules. If you cause trouble, you won’t be able to sleep with both legs stretched out. The managers here are connected to the assassination group, so you know what I mean.”

As the guide finished, he handed me a small leaflet-like thing and said.

The leaflet neatly listed the rules of the Pifnel slave market.

It seemed like something that was mandatory to give to first-time visitors here.

Glancing through it quickly, it seemed to be divided into several sections advising not to fight or cause problems inside.

I didn’t have any intention of respecting the rules of the slave market, but it would be better not to cause any trouble if I wanted to handle things quietly.

Above all, I was concerned about the broker’s words that the managers here were connected to the assassination group.

Causing a problem here could make me a target for assassination.

Even if I had the ability to protect myself, it would be troublesome if I caught the attention of those people.

I don’t like the idea of not being able to sleep peacefully…

By the way, is the saint really somewhere here?

The interior was larger and more crowded than I had expected, making it difficult to find her quickly.

I had heard about the saint’s appearance and name from Algot, but since I hadn’t actually seen her, I wouldn’t be able to recognize her at a glance.

However, if the slave traders prioritize the marketability of their slaves, and if the saint is here, there would be no reason to hide her noble origin, so asking around among the merchants might surprisingly lead me to find her easily.

“Hey, you there, walking around with the beastmen. Your merchandise looks good. Can I take a quick look?”

As I wandered around the slave market, a man approached me and spoke first.

Beside him was a bodyguard, and behind him were three slaves with collars, following another slave trader.

“Kyaah!”

Meruru puffed up her tail and suddenly made a noise, and I saw that the slave trader man who had spoken to me was trying to touch Meruru’s buttocks. I immediately stepped in to stop him and said.

“Hey! Don’t touch!”

“Huh? What, I’m just checking it out for purchase, aren’t I?”

The slave trader looked at me with a strange look for a moment.

I quickly answered to avoid suspicion.

“It’s my precious merchandise. If you touch it recklessly, the value of the merchandise will drop.”

“Well, I can still touch it a bit, can’t I?”

“Just look with your eyes only. Rare and beautiful beastmen like this are hard to come by.”

I said, pretending to be the slave trader as naturally as possible.

The man then looked at Meruru with a lecherous gaze and nodded his head.

“Well, it’s rare to see a half-and-half beastman like this. It seems to be in good condition. It must be expensive.”

“Of course. I’m looking for someone who can pay my price, so if you’re not interested, just move along.”

“Would you like to see my merchandise as well?”

The man who had turned his interest away from Meruru this time suggested his slave that he was carrying.

The slaves he was carrying were three girls with skin as white as jade.

I honestly felt disgusted by the man referring to those girls as ‘merchandise’ and urging me to see them as if it were natural.

Even though I was undercover, walking around as a slave trader here was making me feel worse and worse.

“Well, if you’re not interested, forget it. Tsk, so picky.”

Unintentionally giving off a slightly intimidating impression, the man grumbled and disappeared with the slaves.

Afterwards, some slave traders showed interest in Meruru and approached her.

They either proposed exchanging her for their own slaves or started bidding with hefty sums.

It was quite annoying how they kept touching Meruru’s body under the guise of inspecting the merchandise.

It wouldn’t be good to stay here for too long.

Meruru, completely immersed in her role as a slave, displayed a genius performance that evoked a sense of pity and protection in others due to its poignant and captivating nature, drawing attention from the crowd.

It’s a bit awkward to suggest that Meruru should stop acting now.

It would be best to finish the job quickly and leave this place.

“Where on earth is the saint…?”

Playing the role of a greedy slave trader was starting to wear thin.

The atmosphere of this place, where people buy and sell without a change in expression, was unpleasant.

“Alright! The auction is starting! The auction is about to begin!”

At that moment, someone came out from the innermost part of the slave market, ringing a bell and calling out to gather the people.

“The slaves in this slave market are of two types. Those directly purchased and held by the Piphnel slave market, and those owned by external merchants. The slaves purchased by the Piphnel slave market were often sold to other merchants or guests through auctions.”

Accompanied by the announcement of the auction, a narration was heard.

The slaves being auctioned seemed to be the merchandise owned by the slave market itself.

Even after searching the market thoroughly, if the saint was still not found, then perhaps…

Upon hearing the auction announcement, people began to gather towards the auction stage inside the market.

I also hurriedly followed the crowd towards the auction stage.

There was a strong premonition that the saint might be presented as an auction item.

The area behind the auction stage was covered by a large curtain.

There seemed to be a waiting area for the slaves before they were auctioned off.

A well-dressed auctioneer stood on a platform, making sure that enough people had gathered.

“Alright, alright! Today, we have an extraordinary item that will never be seen again!”

Murmurs filled the air.

I took Meruru and found a spot where the stage was clearly visible.

Behind us stood Mirabel, who took on the role of my bodyguard.

After a while, the auctioneer introduced today’s item.

“The villainess who defiled the goddess by impersonating a saint and caused a crisis in the kingdom! The fallen saint! Now a witch! But her body and beauty, just like when she was a saint, are real! What if she’s a fake saint! No one can deny that her body is as divine as ever! Banished from the church, but it’s too much of a waste to just send her away! The fallen saint! Selena!”

Along with the auctioneer’s promotional announcement, the curtain behind the stage was drawn back, revealing today’s auction item – Selena, the fallen saint, kneeling with her hands and feet bound in a priestess outfit.

“Is she really up for auction…?”

I had a feeling that she would be, but seeing her in person was still shocking.

The people here didn’t seem to know that she was still a real saint.

Anyway, even if I were to say it, no one would believe me.

The auctioneer continued with his pitch to sell Selena at a high price.

“Expelled from the position of a saint, a rare commodity obtained through a secretive route! Even if it was fake, once it was a pure and clean body that occupied the saint’s position! Acquired directly through the church without going through middlemen, the body is purity itself! Extra care was taken not to defile the body to maintain its highest marketability! Now, starting at 500 gold! Bidding in increments of 10! Let the auction begin!”

“500!”

“500 has been bid! 500!”

“600!”

“600! Ah~! The price is rising quickly! 600 it is! 600!”

“1000!”

“1000! 1000 gold has been bid!”

As the auctioneer announced the starting bid and began the auction, the price started to rise at a frightening speed.

However, there was a problem.

I only thought about rescuing the saint here, but I didn’t think about how to do it.

Not knowing how things worked here or what the atmosphere was like, I just planned to find the saint first and figure it out later.

But I never expected to be presented as the representative item in such a highly anticipated slave market auction.

“1500! 1500 gold!”

Even as I was thinking, the auction price continued to rise.

And of course, I didn’t have enough money to win the bid for the saint in this auction.

This… was unavoidable.

Although Alcott hoped to finish the job quietly without attracting attention, it seemed impossible in this situation.

If we cause a scene here, assassins will be on our tail…

The auction for the saint Selena was steadily increasing.

As the price soared, the pace of new bidders coming forward slowed down.

If I stayed like this, I would be sold as a slave to someone else.

I’m sorry, Alcott.

I can only hope that causing a little disturbance will not put the demon sanctuary in danger.

“Mirabel, listen for a moment… Meruru, you too.”

While everyone’s attention was on the auction, I whispered to Mirabel and Meruru in advance.

Mirabel’s face showed a mix of concern and surprise, but she soon nodded.

I quietly watched the auction, waiting for an opportunity.

* * *