Vol 3 Chapter 12 (1/2)
Chapter 12
Record of Wortenia War - v3-c12
Chapter 3 Episode 12
Editor: mr.tanen
Proofreader: Mr.Blue
Day 17th, 8th Month, the Year 2812, Western continent calendar: (Towards the peninsula 12)
Melissa and the other slaves finished putting the clothes on.
However, because none of them had ever taken a bath before, their hair was all tangled and twisted like a dumpling.
In other words, their appearance was one that shared quite a few similarities with that of modern vagabonds that could often be found sitting depressedly in an alley.
And now, after having donned new garments, it rather made their dirty bodies stand out all the more.
”Well... First, we need to give them food... After that, a bath, huh? It will be quite the challenge with this many...”
Ryouma’s concern was only to be expected.
A group of slaves was simply standing in front of him with empty eyes. It was a large group of over 300 people.
He could easily handle clothes and meals, but when it came to taking baths, the difficulty involved grew considerably.
There were public baths for the general public, but there was no way any of them would be able to take care of 320 people all at once.
And not only that, but because the slaves were terribly filthy, no matter how much Ryouma paid the public bathhouse, they would likely reject him.
Just imagining 320 people entering a single public bathhouse felt ludicrous to him.
As expected, it was out of the question to only rent a single building for bathing.
Of course, it would have been possible to push such unreasonableness if Ryouma had flaunted his n.o.ble status, but Epiroz belonged to Earl Salzberg.
It would only spell trouble were he to force his wishes in a territory with a resident lord that was not him.
”First of all, let them eat their meals. It would be a pitiful waste if they were to get cold... As for the bath, we can just boil some water and let them scrub and wash their bodies.”
Ryouma nodded his head after hearing Laura's suggestion, then he called Lione out.
”Alright then... Lione! Go ahead and get started!”
There were a lot of things he needed to do; he felt like a juggler at a fair, keeping half a dozen b.a.l.l.s in the air at once.
”Alright, everyone! Line up!”
Following Lione's directives, the children split into five lines.
They moved sluggishly, but they didn’t fail to follow the instructions properly.
The children showed a confused expression while following Lione's instructions.
They were all still scared of the pain caused by the slavers’ whips. Although Ryouma did not even consider the possibility of flogging them if they did not obey, the slaves believed differently. They were firmly convinced that their new master was no different to their previous ones, and would not hesitate to put the whip to use whenever he became displeased or had they not done as ordered.
Even after the children listened to Laura and wore their clothes, their eyes remained vacant.
”Heed my words, alright?! It's hot, so you need to eat it slowly and with care so that you don’t get scalded!”
Once again Melissa could not give credence to her ears, from what she had just heard; nor to her eyes, for in front of her she could see a steaming, hot bowl of soup.
The soup was even filled with plenty of different ingredients.
Not only were there carrots, onions and potatoes, but also meat... It might have been different had the meat been just big enough for the sake of making sto
ck, but this was not the case.
This kind of food was considered lavish even for the average commoner, let alone them, who had been abandoned by the G.o.ds of fortune.
Most commoners would only be able to afford a couple of daily bowls of corn soup with onions or the like.
Meat and other equally sumptuous vegetables would only be present on their tables during special occasions.
At least for Melissa, who hailed from a poor fis.h.i.+ng village, the soup in front of her looked like nothing less than a luxurious meal.
(T-This is... What are they trying to do? Why would they give us something so extravagant?)
Melissa could tell the soup was hot just from holding the bowl.
Her diet for the past few years as a slave was nothing short of miserable.
She would only be fed twice a day, once in the morning, and again at night.
The slave merchant would pour the soup in plates that, more often than not, could barely hold the watery brew, and the soup itself would be nigh on tasteless.
Furthermore, ever since falling into slavery, she had never witnessed it being served hot. It was made in large batches, and was distributed in the form of a cold insipid soup.
And since the bread given along with it was never less than a couple days old, it was unsurprisingly hard. So much so, that she wouldn’t have been able to eat it properly if she hadn’t soaked it in the water-like soup.
Even the lowest of commoners would eat better food. They could eat meat several times a year. Compared to that, what was known as slave food was downright horrible.
That was why she simply couldn’t believe what was served in front of her.
The memories from the times before she had become a slave emerged in Melissa's mind.
(Warm... It's like the soup that mother usually made...)
Even though Melissa's family had been poor, her mother would have always made sure to put warm food on their table.
Of course, it would have been just a soup affordable for poor commoners.
The ingredients themselves wouldn’t have been that great. Generally they’d have consisted of just some vegetables, and only rarely would there have been fish or meat in the dish.
However, for Melissa, her mother’s soup was the greatest of feasts.
Always warm, and the taste had been good too...
”Hot!”
Besides Melissa, a boy raised a surprised voice.
Along with his surprise, the bowl fell from his hands, and the soup spilled over the ground.
Looking at his hand held in his mouth, he seemed to have been unable to hold his urge and endeavored to gorge on the soup even when the master had told them not to eat it yet.
A frightened expression appeared on the face of the surrounding children.
To them, what he did was akin to abandoning one's life. Not to mention, he had also wasted such a luxurious soup...
The youths around him immediately distanced themselves from him, while he immediately crouched down out of instinct.
This was also how slaves normally behaved, since no one could predict what kind of brutality would befall them if they stayed near someone being, or about to be, punished. This behavior was concededly a form of self-defense.
The surrounding children could only pray that they wouldn’t get dragged in and get punished when they saw a silver-haired girl running towards the boy.
However, their expectations and what actually followed were worlds apart...