Karma
Karma
Finding the payment those bastards had received from the humans they called customers wasn't difficult, so there was no need to wake the unconscious one up again.
Ultimately, perhaps because this secret space was the safest, a safe was also kept there. A money pouch was even placed next to it for convenient access, so after smashing the safe's lock, I threw the money pouch in there with it and hoisted the safe onto my shoulder. I felt a considerable weight.
It was an iron safe I wouldn't have dared to carry off like this without Magic Power, but to the current me, it weighed about as much as a sack of rice, so it wasn't a big burden.
With the safe hoisted on one shoulder and the slave trader tucked under my other arm, we left the secret space. When we returned to where the captives were, a fierce reaction greeted us.
"Hero! Can we leave this place now?"
"Are we free now?"
"That damned bastard is being punished, right?"
Well, most of those words were far from thankful towards us for saving them, but I wasn't expecting that anyway, so I didn't really care. Honestly, the fact that the headcount was the same as when I left earlier was enough to make me want to applaud them.
But that aside, I wanted to speak now, and I couldn't indulge them milling about and just wanting to say their piece. I deliberately answered by roughly throwing the safe to the floor.
Thud! The safe, made of solid metal and gold coins, had enough presence that just dropping it from my height drew everyone's eyes and silenced the room. As I gently set down the slave trader I had tucked under my arm, I spoke to the audience, now ready to listen, with a dignified attitude.
"The slave traders are no longer a threat, but there's still something left to deal with. According to the laws of the Kingdom of Itisel, the property of slave traders who engaged in illegal activities is to be paid as compensation to the victims."
And, as if it were nothing, I kicked open the safe door, revealed the gold coins inside, and scanned the crowd.
"We didn't exactly dispose of those bastards legally. So we can't go to court and resolve your grievances. Instead, I'd like to at least distribute the property inside this safe according to the law."
Originally, "that property" doesn't just mean the money in the safe, but all assets owned by the slave trader in question. But that's not something I can do right now.
But even dividing just the gold coins in the safe would be enough for each person to take at least six gold coins, and this amount was plenty for them to accept without any complaints.
Living normally, they could go at least a few years without worrying about money.
"There may be parts you don't like since I'm announcing this unilaterally, but this is all we can do for you. Does anyone have another proposal?"
Whether speaking in an intentionally stiff tone that wasn't very friendly had an effect, or simply because they were people who had followed my words well and had no complaints this time either, there were no objections. So I poured the contents of the safe out right in front of them, sat on top of it, and began dividing the scattered gold coins.
Even though it was a rather long and tedious task, the captives didn't ask any questions while I distributed the money. Some still hadn't fully shed their distrust even at this point, some sent glances full of expectation, and some just stared at me silently with deeply subdued eyes, hard to read what they were thinking.
Without knowing the exact amount, I just stacked the gold coins in piles of ten and divided them. When I was done, 24 pouches were filled, each containing a huge fortune of 8 gold coins per person.
I was curious about what kind of prices slaves were traded at for so many gold coins to be piled up like this, but looking over the people here, I could somewhat understand.
Beautiful men and women, or beastmen rare enough to count on one hand in Itisel. If they hunted these people down one by one according to customer orders, they'd certainly be able to demand an exorbitant price.
"Now, please come up one by one and take your share."
Whether it was because they were comrades from the same iron cage, none of them rushed or acted greedily. I watched them each take a pouch with satisfaction and bid them farewell.
"I sincerely hope you can all return safely to your homelands, or wherever you wish to go. Even if you do something else with that money, I wish you the best."
"I-Is this the end?"
"Hm? Is something lacking?"
"Ah, no! That's not it! I meant, can we really go home now! There's no way it's lacking!"
They say if you save a drowning man, he'll ask for his bundle. I thought they were trying to find some delayed fault or something.
"Of course. The night is late, so it would be safer to start moving tomorrow morning, but you are now free. Your home might be too far, or the road there might be unsafe... but with that amount of gold coins, you'll surely be able to manage."
Since they weren't slaves in the first place, there were no slave documents or brands. And with the slave traders all dead, there was no way it would be a problem. The capital was right next door, so as long as they didn't get greedy and insist on carrying all that money themselves, they could return home somehow, whether by posting a request at the Adventurer's Guild or negotiating with merchants.
Under that assumption, my confirmation was treated like a court verdict, and almost simultaneously, the people let out sighs of relief.
"The rest is up to your conscience. Still, as people who have suffered the same pain, I hope none of you will try to steal another's money here. After all, money can't buy life."
A few tilted their heads as if they didn't understand my last words, but the beastmen, who had been exchanging different glances with each other since earlier, clearly seemed to understand what I meant.
Anyway, seeing them in person was really fascinating. Some looked almost completely like animals, some conveniently had only ears and tails, like characters from a comic, and some even slightly resembled animals in the face. They were so diverse.
The reason they stuck together was likely due to their strong distrust of humans. Seeing them flinch and stay wary even while taking the money pouch from me, they must have been through a lot.
"Well then, I'll be going. There are many corpses outside, so those with weak stomachs, please be careful."
"W-Wait, human!"
Since I had plans tomorrow, I couldn't look after them all day, and just as I was about to leave, a beastman spoke to me.
He was a male beastman with muscles so solid that I strongly wondered just how they managed to capture someone of his size. Whether the leader stepped forward himself or they mobbed him, it couldn't have been easy.
The feline beastman, whose first word I expected to be a roar, hesitantly opened his mouth when I wordlessly turned to look at him.
"I am called Krul Pitali Bazaraso. Friends. Call Krul."
"It was under terrible circumstances, but since we were ultimately able to return your freedom, I'll call this a good meeting and say it's a pleasure to meet you, Krul Pitali Bazaraso. My name is Eldmia Ega. Is there something you wish to say?"
"No. I wanted know name of human who saved me. I not used to human speech. Sorry for rudeness."
It was a relief his communication was clear despite not being used to it. Still, it was interesting to know that beastmen are so closed-off or live in their own spaces that they aren't even used to the continental common language.
Knowledge increased!
"It's fine. I don't know the beastmen's language at all. The meaning was conveyed sufficiently, Krul Pitali Bazaraso."
"You are savior. Call Krul. I was moved. Savior asks nothing. Just as not all beastmen good, not all humans bad. I learned. I repay debt, no exception. Take this."
Even people who could speak the continental common language perfectly didn't offer any lip service about repaying the debt, but here was a beastman who could barely communicate, desperately trying to repay me. It was touching.
While I didn't show it outwardly, I was inwardly wondering what kind of gift the first beastman I'd ever met in my life would give me. Then, suddenly, he ripped out one of his own fangs without the slightest hesitation!
"Uh."
I had thought it looked quite uncomfortable to talk with, since it wasn't short or small, but I didn't know it was something you could just yank out like that. No, who could have predicted that?
He vigorously polished the extracted fang on his clothes until it made a squeaking sound, wrapped it in both hands, and muttered something. As I just watched quietly, Asilie approached from behind and whispered in my ear.
"This man isn't an ordinary beastman."
The voice was even smaller than usual, in case the beastman might hear.
"Then what?"
"A shaman. So, someone like a tribe's Magic Knight."
"......Why was someone like that captured?"
If the analogy is a Magic Knight, then he couldn't be weak. No matter how many opponents there are, he'd still have the skill to at least save himself.
"Others were probably held hostage. Shamanic magic is powerful, but it takes a long time to prepare. More than anything, even though their appearances vary, beastmen have incredibly strong bonds with each other, so it's more common than you'd think. They even tend to help other beastmen they've never seen before first and ask questions later."
What a race, possessing such an amazing sense of kinship. Just how naive and good-natured are they, if I can accept someone who's essentially a Magic Knight being caught by these bastards?
As I composed myself, feeling more deflated than impressed, the harsh scratching sound resonating from Krul's palm stopped, and he finally handed his fang over to me.
"Is mark. Beastmen know this. No treat you bad. Any beastman not born and raised in human tribe help savior."
"Thank... you, Krul. This is a gift I never thought of."
It carried the meaning that I really hadn't thought of it from any angle, but Krul just nodded, making something like a smile with one fang missing.