Chapter 71: Who is the Evil One? (2)
"Camellia, take Rose and the younger siblings inside the carriage."
"Yes? But I want to watch too..."
"I know you have enough strength to protect yourself. But even so, it's a mother's heart to worry, and as the eldest sister, shouldn't you protect your younger siblings who don't yet have the power to defend themselves?"
"If you put it that way... I guess I have no choice~"
Camellia, thinking she had my trust, happily took Rose from me and entered the carriage tent. Or maybe she just wasn't particularly interested in the approaching people.
Soon, as the women in ragged clothes drew close enough, Rita spoke first to stop them.
"Don't come any closer. Who are you?"
"Are you adventurers? Please, help us sisters!"
"Asking for help out of the blue is confusing, but we'll hear you out. First, please answer my question."
"We're fugitives who barely escaped from cruel slave traders, and we're still being chased. There's no time-if you don't protect us, we'll be caught soon!"
This is really tricky. Taking in people with baggage is problematic with the kids around, but chasing them away...
...Hmm, does it really matter...?
"Slave traders, you say? We need more explanation. If you're escaped slaves, we have no reason or justification to get involved."
I was worried that Rita, who reveres justice, would step up to help right away, but surprisingly, she didn't treat them unconditionally kindly.
Slavery might sound negative just from the name, but it's legal in most regions of the continent.
It's true that slaves are treated as property at the lowest rung of the class system. However, upon closer inspection, their treatment isn't as bad as public perception might suggest.
No matter how lowly they are, they're still human in the end. Abusing or killing slaves privately results in the same legal punishment as for commoners.
Slaves can also possess personal property, and I've heard cases where they save up money to buy their freedom.
Anyway, that's a digression... The reason Rita isn't readily helping them and is interrogating instead is because the process of becoming a slave is overseen and strictly monitored by the state.
Those who become slaves have committed crimes or have legitimate reasons like debt or contracts, so there are no innocent slaves.
To prevent fraudulent contracts or slave hunting through coercive and violent means, regions practicing slavery conduct thorough investigations to ensure the process is legal.
If these women became slaves through proper procedures, we can't help them. No, we shouldn't.
That would be breaking the law ourselves and doing something unjust. That's why Rita is holding back like this.
"We... we were living in the city of Turnil ahead with our father, who worked as an accountant for a trading company. But two months ago, our father fell ill from overwork, so we borrowed money from loan sharks for his medical bills..."
"If your father was an accountant for a trading company, I wouldn't think he'd be short on money."
"That trading company! They messed up their orders and blamed it on our father's mistake, demanding we compensate for the losses. On the day he fell ill, the accounting was suddenly vacant, causing losses, so they fired him without a single coin in severance!"
Hmm, comparing their story to the thoughts in their status windows, it didn't seem like they were lying.
It was true that the trading company's decision was ruthless, but that level was pretty much the average for merchants. Merchants are the kind of people who can only succeed by selfishly judging others based on profit or loss.
Challenging the trading company to get his severance would mean facing a massive organization, and with their father ill and unable to think straight, they must have chosen to borrow money.
"...Sorry for raising my voice suddenly; I've just been too on edge..."
"It's fine, calm down and tell us slowly."
"So, with no money on hand, we borrowed from a loan shark business called 'Shylock' for our father's treatment. At first, they sweet-talked us with low interest rates and flexible repayment, but after our father passed away a few days ago...!"
"They completely changed their attitude?"
"Yes! Exactly! They suddenly showed up demanding repayment of the overdue amount, and when we said we couldn't pay it all at once, they said they'd sell us as slaves and kidnapped and imprisoned us!"
Hmm, their words match their thoughts, so it doesn't seem like a lie...
When I looked at Rita, she turned to me with a dubious expression, and we faced each other.
Even though they were a bit excited, their claims were consistent. It didn't prove they were true, but it lent weight to their story.
Hmm, but even if they were tricked by a fraudulent contract, was it right to borrow money when they couldn't repay...?
Anyway, you shouldn't judge everything based on one side's story. Humans are ultimately selfish beings who can twist tales to their advantage or portray themselves as victims even when at fault.
As I was thinking that, just then, something far off raised a cloud of dust and approached us very quickly.
Looking closely, it was two men in black clothes riding horses. Seeing the sisters who approached us tremble in terror, they must be the pursuers.
"Eek...! Adventurers, please! Hide us! If those slave traders catch us, we're surely dead!"
"Don't worry. If you're truly innocent, we'll take your side."
Which implied the opposite: if they lied even a little, we could sell them to the pursuers.
"You can't run anymore! You insolent, bewitching wicked women!"
One of the pursuers approached spewing curses, and before they got close, Rita stepped forward to block the way.
"Please stop."
"Who the hell are you? Get out of the way!"
"Calm down. Our goal is to recapture the escaped slaves. No need to involve unrelated people."
One man was extremely furious, while the other calmly soothed his comrade, dismounted, and approached Rita.
"May I ask who you honorable person might be, to be protecting those two women?"
"To answer your first question, we're just passing travelers. And to the second, we're not protecting them. They seem to be in a difficult situation after hearing their story, so we're mediating while keeping them with us."
"No need for mediation or whatever. This doesn't concern outsiders. Hand them over."
"If you're not willing to talk, then we have even more reason to trust these women's words."
The man grimaced in thought, then glared at the women behind us and spoke.
"...Fine. Let's talk. What did they say?"
We relayed exactly what the sisters had told us, and the men's expressions soured even more.
The hot-tempered man tried to charge forward on his horse, but the calm one anticipated and restrained him quickly.
"Let go! Those bitches right now...!"
"Calm down. Our mission isn't to kill them."
"Those bitches killed Tommy!"
Huh? Who did they kill?
It seems there's something we don't know. Noticing our curiosity, the rational man began to explain.
"Their story is way too favorable to them. Listen: they're not as innocent as they claim."
"Please speak. Our ears are open."
"It's true they borrowed money from us for their father's treatment. They said if their father recovered, they'd repay without issue, and we judged that as an accountant for a trading company, they had the ability and credit, so we lent it. Considering his illness, we even offered no interest for a few months."
"Then wasn't it a proper agreement with money exchanged?"
"If they'd paid properly, yeah."
The angry man from the side interjected gruffly.
"...We visit debtors once a week to check on them. To see if they've fled in the night or can't repay. But these sisters had no jobs and rarely left the house except for errands."
"Obvious! They never intended to pay from the start!"
"No, that's not...! My little sister has a chronic illness, so as her older sister, I had to take care of her!"
"Never mentioned that before, and now a convenient chronic illness pops up!"
Another round of bickering. If they're just going to yell at each other noisily, I'd prefer they hurry up and conclude...
As I started feeling a bit annoyed, the speaking man calmed his comrade again and continued.
"Moreover, a few days ago, they asked to borrow more money. We had a bad feeling after lending, so we followed and found their father already dead from illness, and they were preparing to leave. We judged they had neither the ability nor intent to repay, so we arrested them immediately."
"What they did after was even more outrageous."
"Yes. We locked the sisters in an iron-barred cell and went to the city hall to submit documents for their demotion to slave status. In that time, these sisters murdered our comrade guarding the prison and escaped. Shameful to admit, but these women seduced our comrade like succubi to lower his guard, kicked and crushed his groin, then stabbed a hairpin into his throat to kill him. How cruel is that?"