episode_0109

After accidentally finding out about the slave market.

I literally couldn’t contain my excitement.

Strictly speaking, it’s just looking after the slave market…

‘Well, the details would depend on how much the Hell’s Angels squeezed.’

“Chris, are you sure you want to do this?”

Sylvia asked with a worried look.

“Okay! You can do it.”

To ease her worries, he answered in a confident voice.

“Are you thinking of using Midas?”

“Uh… No?”

I thought that people’s thoughts were all similar.

Sylvia closed her eyes in horror as her prediction came true.

“If you could turn all the slaves in the slave market into gold, you could make a huge profit.”

“No… I’m not that much of a villain.”

“Then what do you plan to do?”

A reaction as if he was waiting for my answer.

“Well, first of all! Aren’t there going to be some bad guys among the slaves?”

“I don’t think it’ll be much.”

“Hey, does that mean I’m the kind of guy who’d turn just anyone into gold? You wouldn’t ask Midas to do that.”

Even as I spoke, I felt a prick in my conscience.

Hasn’t the triangle in my heart already become a round drop of blood?

“…That’s fortunate.”

I’ve felt this way for a long time, but Sylvia wasn’t the type of person who fit into Magusfall.

Of course, that part of her is attractive.

I thought I could somehow get through it like that.

Here, Lund suddenly intervened.

“Wouldn’t it be easier to just make it all gold?”

“Mr. Lund?”

“…Huh?”

What Lund meant was simple.

A practical decision worthy of the association’s president.

But even our President Lund couldn’t stand up to our Director Sylvia.

“…Hey, let go of this!”

Lund flinched as he was held by an earplug in his wolf form.

Her panicked eyes were trembling, as if she had not expected Sylvia to react so violently.

“Mr. Lund, I don’t think it’s right for you to be criticizing Chris when he’s doing such a great job.”

Sylvia said that and freed Lund from his suffering.

“….”

Lund said nothing, perhaps because his ears were numb.

“Sigh, why did you get hit for no reason?”

Instead, I consoled Lund by stroking his floppy ears.

If Lund hadn’t been in wolf form, he probably wouldn’t have been pushed back this much by Sylvia.

As it turned out, my usual habits were having a negative effect.

***

The president of an association lost to a mere director.

Is it because I comforted Lund? Or is it because he is just naturally easygoing?

Lund didn’t really stumble over that.

Maybe it’s because I’ve been touching your ears all day?

The next day after that happened.

With the Hell’s Angels out of Auckland, I decided to go and visit David in the hospital.

I have visited him in the hospital several times in the meantime.

But this visit has a special meaning.

Should we call it a consolation prize that also includes a visitation? It was a joyous thought to convey this good news to the victim, David.

‘And let’s take a look at some cute kids there.’

David’s two children.

Despite the horrific events that the father and his two children had gone through, the children were very active and bright.

It would have been better if my mother had existed.

I had this thought even though I had only met him a few times.

And is Leia taking good care of David?

It was also necessary to check if Psylocke was playing well with the kids without any strange ulterior motives.

No matter what anyone says, those two were my people.

It was natural to check whether the work entrusted to us was being carried out properly.

“Sheila, General. Then I’ll be back!”

“Yes, Chris!”

The two responded in cheerful voices.

That would be the case, since I took them there without the need for them to see Midas.

“Okay, Midas. Let’s go.”

“Wow!”

At some point, Midas started responding like a real dog instead of speaking in human language.

Is it to hide the fact that he can speak human language?

Even so, it was already an elimination as it was a golden shining puppy.

I got into the flying car while holding Midas lightly in my arms.

Sylvia and Lund followed suit.

There were three people in the flying car and one dog.

On the way to the hospital where David was admitted, we stopped at a certain place.

A slave market watched over by Hell’s Angels.

‘Grove Avenue Supermarket’

Just looking at the name on the sign gave me a sense of discomfort.

“Welcome. The manager is waiting for you.”

“…Oh?”

Is it because they are guys who have lived under the Angels of Hell and eaten rice cakes?

I guess he knew I was coming.

‘These guys aren’t easy.’

We followed our guide and entered the slave market building.

It was cleaner than I expected… It matched the appearance of the Dream City game.

Several races taking certain poses at a specific promotional booth.

Humans, elves, orcs, dwarves, beastmen. And even androids and rare flora and fauna.

There were various people here that you wouldn’t meet even if you walked through the streets of Magusfall.

These people are deprived of their basic human rights and are forced to remain here until they can be sold at a higher price.

Of course, Sylvia’s face couldn’t have been good.

There was only a subtle change in Lund’s and my expression.

As the guide explained.

You can visit us in person and purchase the products you want… or simply order them online.

“That’s really convenient.”

The guide responded with a businesslike smile to my sarcastic answer.

Besides that, let me name one more feature.

The guards present throughout the slave market were all dressed in white suits.

In a harmonious spectacle of various products and guards in white suits.

Before we knew it, we had arrived at our destination.

The manager’s office.

As the guide stepped back without taking his eyes off us, the door opened by itself.

***

The person who was waiting for us inside the office.

He was dressed in white, just like the guards.

What was important was not his clothes but his appearance itself.

An android with a simple oval-shaped face with no accentuated facial features.

A blue force field rose above the oval-shaped metal surface, as if representing a human face.

“Blue Heart Office, it is such a great honor to have you here.”

“Oh, oh right.”

“My name is Sebastian and I am in charge here.”

Sebastian? That’s quite a mysterious name.

It seemed like a name that would suit an old butler.

“I···.”

“Are you Chris?”

There was no need to introduce myself.

Sebastian then went on to mention Sylvia.

Looking at the fact that Lund and Midas are missing, I guess they don’t know each other?

Before coming here, I heard something from Sylvia.

Sebastian and his men were originally a separate, small organization.

Like the three Auckland gangs, there was plenty of ambition to move up.

It failed because the opportunity was not available.

As a result, they were unable to avoid being exploited or taken advantage of by lower-level organizations under the influence of the Hell’s Angels.

“The angel guys won’t be able to do anything here anymore.”

“Thank you so much for that part.”

“Thank you. Do you know why I came today?”

“Yes….”

It seemed like he would always look relaxed.

That doesn’t seem to be the case.

Sebastian shivered slightly as he answered me.

Just looking at its appearance, it looks like it’s either an android or one that’s had its body modified to an extreme.

He seemed more scared than he looked or more nervous than necessary.

“I’ll just do the detailed operations as before. I’ll delegate everything to you.”

“…Yes, I understand.”

“But there is a condition.”

“….”

A momentary silence to wait for me to speak directly about the conditions.

“Improve the treatment of slaves.”

“What do you mean by improvement in treatment?”

“It’s telling me to do well not only in what’s visible on the outside, but also in places that aren’t visible.”

It seemed clean and neat, considering that it was being treated as a product for sale.

But that’s not enough.

“If that happens, there may be a problem with the profit structure.”

I told him not to worry, even though he was showing signs of discomfort.

“Midas, come here.”

“Wow!”

A golden puppy that was called out of nowhere.

Sebastian’s eyes were completely focused on Midas.

“Midas, ask.”

“…Really?”

“It’s okay.”

Midas bit my index finger.

Immediately after that hesitant gesture, a vicious right hand cut off the index finger of his left hand.

“….”

Sebastian was shocked by what happened in an instant.

A golden finger that fell to the ground, no matter what the process or principle.

I lifted that finger and threw it at Sebastian.

“Do it even if it means taking a little loss. If you pick a few slaves and turn them into gold like this, you can make up for that loss.”

“…Yes. Okay. ”

The guy’s face was suddenly filled with excitement.

Maybe he thought it was an opportunity that would never come again.

“Only those with bad character or no hope will be turned into gold.”

I clearly stated the criteria, and Sebastian immediately replied that he understood.

In the end, if it’s a gain, it’s a gain.

You probably already realized that it wasn’t a loss to you.

I couldn’t help but say this as I looked into his greedy eyes.

“But if you betray my favor, I won’t stay still.”

“Name, I will keep that in mind.”

For example, an act to make more gold out of slaves.

Things like turning innocent slaves into slaves with bad crimes.

When I brought this up, Sebastian said he understood.

Actually, I don’t think he has any other choice than that.

“I will visit with this child periodically and turn the slaves who meet the criteria into gold.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“There will also be a need to decide on the distribution ratio of the profits from the golden slaves.

“Of course.”

Sebastian responded immediately to Sylvia’s words.

“How about starting with 7 vs 3?”

“Chris, wouldn’t 6 to 4 be enough?”

“No. How about 9 to 1?”

What I proposed was 7 to 3. Of course, I was 7 and Sebastian and the slave market side were 3.

But Sylvia gave a lower score of 6 to 4. Lund gave Sebastian a score of 9 to 1, which was shocking to hear.

“How much did the angel guys take?”

“9 to 1.”

“…They’re not angels, they’re demons?”

“I agree with you.”

Naturally, my gaze turned to Lund.

Even so, that was a bit much. Then it was clear that Sebastian would lose motivation as well.

But what Sylvia offered seemed too generous.

“First, let’s start with 7 to 3. After that, if you consider the profit level and think it’s okay, you can lower it to 5 to 5.”

I decided to leave some room for possibility.

Sebastian couldn’t have refused this offer without going crazy.

***

We came out of the manager’s office.

I headed back outside the building to the flying car.

“Lund, but even so, isn’t 9 to 1 too much?”

“That’s normal.”

That’s a bit shocking.

“No, no matter what, I think that’s too much.”

“Is the level of gangs normal in Lund?”

Sylvia also chimed in, and I asked Lund just in case.

Lund’s response was to avoid answering.

I felt like I was getting to know a new side of the chairman.

We returned the way we came and left the slave market. We boarded the flying car and headed straight to the hospital where David was admitted.

I regret not having packed presents for David’s kids.

“We’re here!”

The children were sleeping, and Psylocke was nowhere to be seen.

However, the two men and women… give off a strange vibe.

The sight of David and Leia caught our eye.

“Huh…?”

David, you!

You seduced a vampire noble like Leia?!

Sylvia tried hard not to show her feelings by looking away.

I was just secretly happy.

But there was one word that Midas said on Lund’s back.

“Are you two dating?”

“…What?!”

The expressions on David and Laia’s faces at Midas’s fastball were worth seeing.

Oh, that’s right. That’s right.