Volume 3 Chapter 21 (2/2)

That’s about 10 times the price of the miners! A large cask of magic liquid metal was about 100 gold, so that’s a considerable amount of money.

Other than slaves, the s.h.i.+p also brings in various goods from other continents. When they went to return to the Fairy Human Continent, they bought Demon Continent slaves, and packed the holds with minerals and suchlike and continued to the other continents.

It was a business with high return, even though there’s a risk of losing their a.s.sets due to the s.h.i.+p getting sunk.

“Lute, your buyer is coming.” “….. really?”

It was the fifth night I stayed at the Rano Slave House. When I was having my dinner at the dining hall, the soldier leader horned guy seated across from me…….Obukhov, nonchalantly talked to me.

He spoke in fluent Fairy Human Continent language and it seems he is the leader of the private army in the Rano Slave Market. Maybe because he had free time because the miners were no longer here and he didn’t have to be so vigilant, the horned guy had been calling me out to talk in the Demon Language. Because of my studies, I was able to hold a normal conversation. I learned the horned guy’s name during one of the conversations.

Obukhov continued his talk while scooping up the bean soup with a spoon.

“It seems they’ll come pick you up tomorrow.” “Err… may I ask what kind of person they are? Maybe their gender.” “Sorry, that was a bad way of putting it. It seems we got hold of a buyer candidate. So, we don’t know the details.”

He swallowed the beans in his mouth without so much as chewing them. Obukhov didn’t say any more than that, and went about his meal.

Even though just a candidate, a buyer’s finally here, huh…. If the buyer is a perverted guy who likes little boys, I’ll kill myself.

(―No, even if I were bought by a perverted guy, even if I wound up at a male brothel, I won’t give up, I’ll survive and go back to the Fairy Human Continent where Snow is!)

Absolutely, whatever it takes!

…… but in the end, rather than getting bought by a guy, it’s better if it were a beautiful lady! In my previous life, I remained a virgin until I died. If you include my 11 years of life after I was born again, I was over 30 years old. If my first time was with a man, and through my back door, that would be too awful!

The next day, in the morning―I was brought from the bas.e.m.e.nt to the top floor, with Obukhov and a private soldier in front and behind me.

My hands were bound with a pair of handcuffs. A 1 meter long chain was attached to my feet, so I could not move so quickly. As always, there was a magic prevention choker on my neck.

It was impossible to run away with a child’s body and no magic.

Rano Slave House, 5th floor. I was brought into an extravagant room. It was probably a customer reception room.

Leather sofa, table made of insect sh.e.l.ls, thick desk. There were no windows, but there were plants arranged, and paintings of scenery hanging on the walls instead. There were also other fine furnis.h.i.+ngs laid out in a calculated manner.

Inside the room, a two-legged frog demon I don’t remember seeing stood up from the leather seat behind the desk and offered his hand for a handshake.

“You’ve been having it hard up to now. I am the manager of Rano Slave House, Rano Merumeru, of the Frog Race. Nice to meet you Lute.” “T, thanks.”

As I returned his handshake, I was surprised at the lack of moisture on his hand.

As you can see from his name, this frog seems to be the head of Rano Slave House.

“Don’t be so stiff. I’m not one to eat human children.”

Rano saw the look on my face, and made his cheeks swell amusingly.

It looks like he was mistaken for a monster because of how he looked, and frightened human kids many times. Rano asked me to sit on the sofa.

“Do you want anything to drink? There’s nothing but scented tea right now, of course children would want fruit juice, I wonder?” “No, I don’t mind.” “Is that so? Then please sit and wait, the customer who might want to buy Lute is being taken here. Obukhov and the soldier leave the room and wait in front of the door.” “”Yes !””

Obukhov and the soldier tagged behind Rano and left the room. I was left alone in the room.

I looked around the room once again. There were no windows. Obukhov was waiting in front of the door, which was the only way out of here.

(Don’t rush. The chance to slip away will surely come!)

While inside the Slave House, the defenses were too strong so there was no chance to escape. But there might be one after I was bought. Rather than giving the buyer a cause to be wary, it’s better to be obedient and look for an opening.

The only thing I can do now is to silently pray that my buyer is a woman. Sitting in the sofa, I put my elbows on my knees and pressed my hands together.

“Dear G.o.d, dear Buddha, dear Tenjin! Please let my buyer be a woman, please let my buyer be a woman, please let my buyer be a woman, please let my buyer be a woman, please let my buyer be a woman―”

While I was making my most earnest prayers, previous life included, I heard the sound of the door being knocked upon. The first one to enter was the frog, Rano. Behind him, my prospective buyer came in.

Rano somewhat pridefully introduced me.

“This is Lute. How is he, unusual, right? A human child with black hair and eyes. He can also speak the Demon Language, though only for normal conversation. We rarely get human children this wonderful, you know.”

“Hahaha! He is certainly rare! h.e.l.lo Lute-kun! You have a lovely name!”

The one who entered is a――――man.

But he’s not just any man. He was wearing expensive looking clothes, but he was extremely tall. Easily two and a half meters. Furthermore, he had well developed muscles like a bodybuilder, and black skin.

He had a moustache over his thick lips that looked like that of a cod. He also had thick eyebrows, and his blonde hair was hardened in a swept-back do.

This muscled monster man standing in front of me looked to be my prospective buyer.

The clip of a camellia flower falling down was played in an endless loop inside my head.

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