Chapter 97
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 97
Chapter Title: Slave
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Clear morning.
Ian opened his eyes a bit later than usual.
Fatigue hadn't fully lifted due to various reasons, making it a slightly late morning compared to normal.
Letting out a weary sigh, Ian stepped out of his room and spotted his corps members gathered by the second-floor window as he descended the stairs.
They all seemed to be peering out the window, watching something.
Ian approached and spoke first.
"What are you all doing there?"
"Oh, Captain."
His voice suddenly coming from behind startled them, and they flinched unnecessarily before stepping back from the window.
Wondering what they had been looking at so intently, Ian peeked out the window.
"What's going on outside?"
"Something's happening over there."
Rin pointed out the window.
A small procession with soldiers was passing by. People in chains and shackles followed behind the soldiers, walking down the street.
The reconstruction work was nearly complete, and with the festival approaching, the atmosphere in the streets was starting to buzz with excitement.
This sight didn't fit the gradually lively mood at all.
The corps members peering out beside Ian muttered.
"Prisoners, I guess."
"Wonder what they did wrong?"
"Who knows..."
Anyone could tell they were prisoners from the looks of it, but even Ian couldn't make out their crimes just from a distant glimpse.
The procession of prisoners continued down the street toward the eastern district, where festival preparations were in full swing.
Everyone watched the prisoners pass with puzzled expressions.
"Where are they headed?"
"The prison's in the opposite direction."
It was a rare sight, so even people on the street were stopping to gawk.
And among the procession.
The petite female mercenary at the very back lifted her head.
She looked extremely timid even from afar. Scanning her surroundings anxiously, she happened to lock eyes with Ian at the second-floor window.
The mercenary flinched in surprise and quickly averted her gaze.
Ian's eyes fixed intently on the passing mercenary, observing her.
Louise walked briskly down the street.
Glancing back, she gestured hurriedly for Ian and the others to hurry up.
"She's got so much energy today."
"Well, she's been waiting for this for a week now..."
Rin and Mika, following behind Ian, commented.
It was their second Labyrinth festival.
Tanya had gone out sightseeing with friends, and Lia was resting. Rin and Mika, having already experienced the last one, had planned to stay in and relax this time too.
They'd already fallen victim to the merchants' wicked tricks that melted away money.
It hadn't been no fun, honestly... but not enough to justify spending that much twice.
But while killing time in the lounge, they overheard Ian was heading out and quickly tagged along.
When they asked about going out with Louise, the destination sounded pretty intriguing.
Today, it wasn't the main festival streets but an event in another district.
Monster Market.
The largest marketplace trading materials from the massive haul of monsters gathered during the invasion.
"This the place?"
"Why didn't you tell us about a spot like this last time?!"
"You two wouldn't even have a use for monster materials anyway."
Upon arriving at the market, Louise, Rin, and Mika's eyes sparkled with excitement.
The Monster Market was already packed with people.
Monster corpses and materials littered everywhere, giving it a gruesome vibe at first glance, but no one gathered here minded a bit.
"Whoa... aren't all the merchants in the city here?"
Rin muttered, eyeing the merchants crammed on all sides.
Countless merchants bustled about, trading monster materials. It felt like every merchant in Labyrinth had converged here.
Most who came to Labyrinth this season aimed for this place anyway. It wasn't far off.
Louise, quietly surveying the market, lit up.
This is it...
She murmured to herself inwardly.
Rare materials hard to even spot elsewhere—or ones you'd have to beg to buy—were piled up here like market junk.
This was exactly why she'd come all the way to Labyrinth.
Louise turned to look at Ian.
She'd gotten his promise beforehand, but confirmed once more.
"You really mean I can buy whatever I want?"
"Yeah. The shop's opening soon anyway. Grab what we need for stock and whatever you want personally. Just enough to fit in the warehouse."
Basic materials could be delivered, but high-end stuff not handled there was plentiful.
Monster Market let you stock up cheap and in bulk.
You could get them later, sure, but it'd cost a fortune then. And supply might run dry when needed.
If they were serious about the shop, stocking up now made sense.
With Ian's approval, Louise's eyes gleamed as she set off alone.
"First, this one... Oh, need some of that too..."
Rin and Mika's eyes sparkled too.
Mika knew theory inside out from books, so materials were her jam.
Rin didn't care much for materials but loved gawking at strong monster parts.
And here, they were everywhere.
"Captain, can we buy stuff we want too?"
"...What for?"
Rin pointed sheepishly at a stuffed griffon head.
...Furniture's personal taste, sure.
Who'd buy something like that? Rin, apparently.
Since it was her money, Ian didn't stop her.
Ian strolled the market with his corps members.
Louise walked a bit ahead, meticulously checking stalls and mulling over purchases.
"Hmm... Want both, but..."
She'd grabbed freely at first, but warehouse space was finite.
With little room left, her deliberations dragged on.
No limits, and she'd have bought the lot.
Moments later, Louise decided and paid.
"Deliver to this address, please."
She smiled brightly and moved to the next stall.
"She's so pumped."
"First time seeing her this lively."
She was always slumped in the basement.
Rin and Mika followed Louise from behind, chatting.
It was paradise for an alchemist, after all.
Ian leisurely browsed the shops too.
He knew many materials, but had no real use for buying any.
Merchants recognized him and approached, but he declined them all, slowly circling the market.
And finally.
After a full lap back to the entrance.
Ian and his group spotted a new tent beside the market entrance that hadn't been there when they arrived.
Festival booth?
Rin and Mika hurried over thinking that, but it wasn't a snack stand or show.
Shackled people lined up there.
Rin stared, a bit flustered.
"What... is that?"
"Slave market."
"Slaves?!"
Rin and Mika's gazes turned there.
Shackled, name-tagged people stood in grim silence.
...It sure looked like slaves for sale.
Mika whispered to Ian, too quiet for the people ahead to hear.
"They have... slaves here too?"
"They're people sentenced to slave labor."
It wasn't Ian who answered Mika.
A nearby staffer approached, mistaking their interest as they stood by the tent.
"Slave labor?"
"Yes. They work as slaves for a set period instead of other punishments for their crimes."
Hearing that, Ian looked back at the captives.
Slave labor.
A fairly common penalty alongside fines, corporal punishment, or imprisonment here.
Usually for money-related crimes.
Like failing to repay debts on time.
"So they're all criminals?"
"Pretty much, but these are mostly 1-2 year sentences. Debts for the lot."
Slave sentences took effort to manage, so they were typical in big cities like this.
Rin and Mika, from rural backgrounds, eyed it curiously and peppered the staffer with questions.
"......"
Scanning the slaves, Ian spotted a vaguely familiar face.
Petite build, mercenary gear.
The timid-looking one anxiously glanced around, tense.
Seen her somewhere...?
Focusing on her, the slave mercenary turned and met Ian's eyes. She panicked and looked away.
Seeing that, Ian remembered.
The mercenary from the street procession earlier, eye contact from the window.
Twice now. Quite the coincidence.
Intrigued, Ian checked her status.
Meanwhile, Louise finished her long shopping and emerged at the entrance, spotting Ian's group and approaching.
She called out to Ian, who seemed lost in thought by the slave shop.
"Oh, a slave market. Thinking of buying one?"
"Contemplating it."
The mercenary, overhearing and looking up in shock, met Ian's eyes again and flinched, shrinking back.