All Sorts of Conveniences Exist, but It's a Medieval Fantasy World. What Do You Mean, You Ask? I Was About to Talk About the Value of Human Rights.
All Sorts of Comforts Exist, but It's Still a Medieval Fantasy World. What Do You Mean, Nonsense? I Was About to Talk About the Value of Human Rights.
No matter how well-endowed Chris might be or how he possesses seemingly endless stamina, now that I know he's a vicious criminal who's been deflowering virgins left and right, I can't just casually mess with him.
'At least not yet...'
"Should we hand him over to the Guard Unit first?"
"Hand him over to the Guard Unit like this? Not even taking him to the neighboring city? So they can rack up achievements?"
"Achievements... That would be nice, but not this time."
"Then what?"
When I told her I had no intention of using criminal Chris to build achievements or even personally dragging him to the neighboring city to hand him over to victims for a hefty sum, Leira tilted her head cutely in confusion.
"Hehe, think about it carefully~"
"Hmm... I really want Chris... There won't be another man like him."
'She's definitely right about that.'
I do have a cheat skill called 'Stamina Kiss,' but this only replenishes virility, sexual desire, and semen - it doesn't restore the direct physical stamina or mental energy needed for sex itself.
In that sense, Chris - who apparently shook his hips for 12 hours straight without even a sip of water - would be truly desirable talent for Leira, who's still suffering from the aftereffects of Doskebe Village.
"Hmm... But still..."
So Leira, acting as if she'd been told to return a rescued puppy, tightly gripped the rope binding Chris and refused to hand him over...
"This will be good news for you and the brothel sisters too, so hand him over quietly."
"Huh? For us too? Oh... Ah! Perfect timing for our security! Since one retired!"
"Right?"
Actually, the biggest reason I brought Chris to the guild was to take him as a slave and use him as our security, meaning as a bodyguard for the brothel.
Most nations on the Atroxia Continent permit class systems and slavery, and this adventurer city, as an autonomous territory of this country, is no exception.
'Since Chris is definitely a criminal anyway, instead of handing him over, we can just take custody of him ourselves.'
I don't know how much trouble he caused in the neighboring city, but judging by how proudly he boasted about it himself, most victims seem to be ordinary women, so we can just capture him, sell him as a slave, then distribute the bounty money.
'As for noble victims... Well, I'll just talk nicely to the Lord.'
It's somewhat ironic how I was so afraid before but now treat him like "Lord-emong" rather than the Lord, but thinking about it, since I'm asking the Lord who enjoys helping me, it's not bad for either of us? A WIN-WIN plan, isn't it?
'Yes, yes. Exactly.'
"Hehehe~♪ I'll share him~♪ With my sisters~♪ Hehe~♡"
Though all the girls are actually younger than her, Leira consistently calls even the new sisters who just turned twenty "unnie" because they started brothel work before her.
It's a bit concerning, but I thought it's better than awkwardly pretending to be formal, so I patted Leira's head, which was considerably smaller than mine.
"There there~ After we brand him with the Slave Brand, I'll have to taste him too... Slurp♡"
"N-no! Shephy, you later! If you seriously go at him, even Chris might not survive!"
"Why are you treating me like some man-eating monster?"
And so, excited about acquiring what could be considered both a pet and a snack?, Leira and I left for the Guard Unit after telling the guild we'd hand him over directly, chatting casually along the way.
.
.
.
"We'd received reports and tips from the neighboring city and were searching for him, but I never expected you'd already caught him. As expected... I-impressive!"
'Whether he means I'm impressive or my breasts are impressive...'
"Hehe, thank you. If you visit us next time, we'll give you special service♡ More importantly..."
Watching the young guards from the guild who were praising us for capturing Chris while staring intently at my exposed cleavage in my Madam outfit, I chuckled inwardly before getting to the main point.
"You mean about slave acquisition?"
"Yes. Chris is at least a Class 2 criminal, if not Class 1, correct?"
"Just a moment... I see. Checking the received documents, he's definitely a Class 2 criminal. He's not even denying it."
"How is loving women who desired love a crime!?"
"Shut up, you pervert bastard!"
Thump!-
"Ack!"
"Hahaha, this young man is a bit simple but doesn't seem like a bad kid, so please go easy on him."
After lightly defending Chris, who got hit on the back of his head for adding unnecessary comments, I continued with my request.
"In that case, we who captured this young man, Chris, would like to acquire him as a slave and pay the victim compensation. We plan to use him as a bodyguard and handyman."
This would be absolutely impossible for adventurers or ordinary citizens.
If non-nobles could acquire slaves this easily, there would be countless ways to abuse this process.
'Medieval fantasy is still medieval after all.'
Human rights in this world are incomparably lighter than on Earth.
In fact, some territories even turn all criminals - whether minor or serious offenses - into slaves if they become too troublesome, since slavery with Slave Brands ensures secure control and guaranteed safety.
With the state of the country, no, the world being like this,
For me, a brothel Madam with guild backing, acquiring a clearly proven criminal as a slave isn't pushing it - it's as easy as lying down and eating rice cakes.
"Ah... Yes. It's possible. We can notify the victims on our end, but..."
Though it was quite some time ago, the brothel had previously acquired an adventurer who committed crimes as a bodyguard in this manner, so I thought it would proceed as smoothly as last time, but the guards began whispering among themselves.
- "Shouldn't we just give him to her directly? There's that, what's it called. It's in the directives too..."
- "Do you think we don't know that? But this time, since that person is coming personally, isn't that why..."
- "But we were told to prioritize the brothel's Madam above all, so this time too..."
- "There wasn't any specific order to hide it from the Madam, was there? It's just that the Madam rarely comes to the Guard Unit, so we haven't mentioned it..."
Before awakening my abilities, I wouldn't have heard any of this, but after awakening my powers and boosting my stats, I could hear even whispers like this clearly when I focused.
'They normally make accommodations for me, but this time they can't? Why?'
"Is there some problem?"
In situations like this, it's best to just ask rather than pretend to know.
"Well, the thing is..."
As I suspected, just as the guard was about to answer me,
Clunk-
"Enough. Let me speak first."
The moment a man opened the Guard Unit door and entered, the guards instantly transformed from their previous demeanor into perfectly disciplined soldiers, standing at attention and saluting him with tense expressions.
Click!-
"Adventurer City Guild vicinity Guard Unit on duty, all is well!"
Click!-
Click!-
Click!-
"""On duty, all is well!"""
"Hmm, good. You've all been working hard."
The reason the guards hesitated to hand Chris over to me, and the one being in this adventurer city that nobody can defy.
"...Fancy meeting you here, Lord?"
"Ah, hello!"
"Yes. Good to see you, Shephy. And Leira."
Lord Actuare of the Adventurer City had personally arrived at the guild's Guard Unit.
*
"...I see. And he's already with Shephy and Leira... Tsk."
The suddenly visiting Lord carefully examined Chris before clicking his tongue in an uncharacteristic manner and frowning.
"I'll take him for a moment. Is there an empty room?"
"You can use any room!"
"Thank you."
"Huh? This guy's something import... Ack!"
The Lord grabbed Chris and entered the guard captain's office, locking the door behind them.
"Wh-what do we do? A private meeting with the Lord... Is that bastard someone important?"
"How should I know!? I just smacked the back of his head!"
'...I can't hear anything.'
In the suddenly bustling Guard Unit, I quietly tried to focus on the sounds from inside the door, but whether the Lord used some technique or not, the inside of the captain's office was as silent as trying to hear sounds underwater.
.
.
.
This continued for a short while
Creak-
The captain's office door opened in less than 10 minutes, and out walked the Lord, who looked somewhat irritated, and Chris, who appeared completely clueless.
"Sigh~... This fell...ow... gentleman! Do as Madam Shephy wishes. I will take responsibility for all compensation and accountability."
"Understood!"
"Huh? What did I just... Ugh, aaaack!"
As I expected, the Lord let out a deep sigh with a face full of what seemed like unprecedented stress, then personally branded the Slave Mark on Chris's back before handing him over to me.
"Chris's slavery period is one year. Though he committed heinous crimes, none of his victims desired extreme punishment, so that was considered in mitigation. After one year of slavery, he becomes a free man. Until then, he belongs to the Adventurer's Guild brothel centered around Shephy. Remember that well."
"Yes, understood... But Lord?"
I stopped the Lord, who seemed eager to leave quickly as if he couldn't stand the sight of Chris after delivering those words rapidly.
"What is it? Is there still unfinished business?"
"Pfft"
I unintentionally laughed at the Lord's clearly angry response, which would normally have been excessively gentle.
"Shephy, what's so funny about this situa..."
The Lord was about to get angry at my reaction but then paused and apologized to me.
"My apologies."
How much meaning was contained in those two words?
"...No. It's completely fine."
But since there were no further words, it seemed he was still hiding many secrets from me.
"Actually, I was happy to see a new side of you, Lord."
"...Heh, good. That's enough then."
I teased the Lord as best I could under the circumstances, and he quietly held my hand while smiling back at me.