Chapter 44: The Broken Spirit
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 44: The Broken Spirit
“This is...”
Yuria and I stared at the slave inside the iron cage.
Among the slaves afflicted by the Curse of Transformation, she was a woman who appeared relatively normal.
“Her limbs are intact. She seems to be in better shape than I expected. Why is she here?”
She had brown skin, pitch-black hair, and mysterious characters and tattoos peeking through her clothes.
She didn't look like she was from the East; she seemed more like a member of a minority tribe from the South. She had the air of a girl who might have lived in a jungle somewhere.
Compared to the other slaves I’d seen in the basement so far, her appearance was perfectly normal. No antennae were sprouting from her head, nor was her body covered in fur.
She just looked like a Latina girl from the South. Why was she in a Black Market slave shop where only the freaks were gathered?
As I expressed my doubt, Yuria pointed toward the girl’s eyes.
“Sion, look closely.”
“Huh? Oh.”
“I think she’s blind.”
“I see. She’s sightless.”
Her eyes looked as if they had lost their light. The girl seemed unable to see what was in front of her.
So she has a disability.
Of course, even with a disability, as long as she was a woman, there was bound to be demand. In fact, there were some bastards who preferred them that way precisely because they couldn't see.
But the real problem wasn't something like blindness. After observing her a bit longer, I realized why she hadn't been sold.
“She’s gone.”
“Her mind seems to be slipping.”
The girl’s mental state looked terrible. She was incessantly muttering to herself, and every chance she got, she tried to dig into the floor.
“I have to go back... again... I have to go back down there... No... give up... You’re finished... You’re broken... Give up...”
Rather than simply trying to dig, it looked like she was trying to carve something into the floor with her fingers. Even though the slave trader had wrapped bandages around her index fingers to keep the merchandise from getting damaged, she stubbornly tried to dig and draw characters.
Was she a witch who had gone mad? If so, she was extremely dangerous. There was nothing more perilous than a crazed mage. The unwritten rule that a mage with dementia must be killed wasn't created for no reason.
Maybe the mental instability itself is a type of curse.
It might not be the Curse of Transformation, but a curse of mental derangement. I’d know if I asked the slave trader about her.
“Hey. Is this one also under a Labyrinth curse?”
“Hm? Ah. It’s not a curse; she’s just a bit sick in the head. She was working as a porter, died a few times, and then she just completely lost it. Her mental state is in shambles. She got passed around here and there until she ended up here.”
“...”
She really was just someone who was mentally ill.
From the sounds of it, she had caused several accidents in other legitimate slave shops before tumbling down to this one next to the Black Market. A woman who drifted in from the South, worked as an adventurer, and after experiencing death several times, ended up completely broken. Furthermore, since she hadn't sold and became dead stock, she had eventually flowed into this shop—the worst possible route.
“She won’t sell. Hardly anyone wants to buy someone with mental issues. If she happens to bite you, she’ll tear your flesh right off.”
“What happens in cases like this?”
“If she doesn't sell, what can you do? She has no choice but to wait in that cage until she dies or gets bought. If it really doesn't work out, she’ll probably head to the mines. Or be sent as an experimental subject for the Magic Tower. The worst-case scenario would be being dragged off to the Red Light District... after being heavily modified, that is.”
The mention of her being "modified" gave me a slight chill. To put a mentally ill person to work in a brothel, what kind of modifications would they put her through? At the very least, they’d make it so she couldn't use her limbs properly. Just imagining it made me feel nauseous.
“Sion, are you going to help her?”
“I don't know.”
To be honest, she was dead weight. You can't help everyone just because you feel sorry for them. Yuria knew this fact well, too. This world was far too harsh to take full responsibility for a person based solely on pity. I wasn't well-off enough to support a blind person just because I felt bad for her. Neither mentally nor materially did I have the luxury to live with a disabled person.
“There’s nothing to buy, so shall we head back?”
“Let’s do that. It’s a shame. Let’s buy a slave later.”
“Hehe. Then until then, can’t you just keep being the housekeeper at my place, Sion?”
“Hey! 'Housekeeper' sounds a bit much. Let’s go with 'housemate' for now.”
“Great! If you come over, Sion, at least my house will get a little cleaner. Right?”
“You’re not trying to dump all the housework on me, are you? You’re not testing the waters to see if you can slack off, right? Huh? Why no answer?”
“N-no way! I’m not that much of a lost cause! I’ll clean with you. Probably. Hehehe.”
“What do you mean 'probably'? Ugh... Yuria.”
“Aww, honey. Don’t be mad. Okay? If you keep nagging, I’ll give you the windmill spin!”
“Ugh...”
When I looked at her with a pathetic expression, Yuria quickly linked her arm with mine and acted extremely cute. I definitely didn't shut up because I was afraid of Yuria’s windmill spin. I was letting it slide because her aegyo was cute.
Anyway, buying a slave was out of the question for now. Well, the original goal was a date with Yuria anyway. I had intended to look around slave shops during the date to buy a slave for domestic help, but since no particular 'item' caught my eye, it was right to head back.
Still, thanks to this, I learned that a place like this existed. The Slime Human was quite impressive. A slave whose defense and offense changed depending on the master... It seemed like there would be quite a bit of demand.
“Let’s come back for another look if we get the chance later.”
“Yeah, yeah. It was fun, though. It felt like I came to see a circus.”
“True. It was quite a sight.”
I was satisfied since I’d seen plenty of strange slaves. Let’s head back up, grab some food, and go to the guild. The settlement money from the Monster Dismantling Room should have come out by today.
“Update... clear conditions... new monster...”
“Huh?”
It was just as I was giving up on buying a slave and about to walk away from the girl in the cage. In that moment, words that shouldn't be heard in this world reached my ears.
Update, clear conditions, and new monster?
In this world, the creatures of the Labyrinth were called 'magical beasts' or 'monsters,' but they didn't use the English loanword 'Monster.' Furthermore, the word 'Update' itself was a term almost never used in this world. This was a world where leveling up was called 'Mana Adaptation.' A world where skills were named 'Abilities.'
'Clear' aside, 'Update' and 'Monster' were definitely words that were quite alien to this world.
“Wait a second.”
“Hmm? What’s wrong?”
“This girl. There’s something about her.”
“Did you sense something unusual?”
“Yeah. There’s something I need to check. Can you wait a moment?”
At my request, Yuria nodded. As if telling me to check as much as I wanted. Perhaps because her trust in me was high, she went along with my eccentric behavior without a second thought.
I approached the girl in the cage again.
“Hey. You. Hey. Hey, hey.”
“Hua... N-no... Nooo...”
At my call, the girl in the cage jumped in surprise and backed away. Even though there was nowhere to run, she crawled across the floor to stick to the very edge of the cage, trembling violently to get as far away from me as possible.
“H-hey! What are you doing all of a sudden!”
As I approached with the intensity of someone about to climb into the cage, the Dwarf slave trader ran toward us.
“No, I’m not trying to harass her. There’s just something I need to confirm. By the way, what is this girl’s name?”
“Name? Uh. Ah! Right, I think it was Olivia.”
“Olivia? I see.”
The girl in the cage was named Olivia. Whether that was her real name or a pseudonym she created to live in this world, like the name Sion I used, I couldn't know. But for now, I tried calling her name to calm her down as much as possible.
“Listen, Olivia. I’m not trying to hurt you. So don’t be scared and listen to what I have to say, okay?”
“Uuu...”
“Olivia, by any chance... do you know about Earth?”
At my question, Olivia’s body, which had been frozen in fear, flinched and then went stiff.
“E-Earth... Earth... N-no way... No. It can’t be. I couldn't find it no matter how hard I looked. Why are you appearing only now... It’s too late. No... This is an illusion... The Labyrinth is mocking me again. I’m already dead... No...”
Communication wasn't working. She was strongly denying reality. She was rejecting everything that approached her, dismissing my very existence as a trick of the Labyrinth.
I understood in an instant why she hadn't been sold and had tumbled all the way down here. Olivia was defenseless against external stimuli. No, she was far too defensive. She regarded everything that approached her as an enemy.
I had to calm her down. Judging by her reaction when I mentioned Earth, she was definitely an Earthling. I felt like I needed to talk more about Earth to ease her tension.
“Olivia. Olivia! Calm down for a second and keep listening to me. You... do you happen to know about the United States?”
“The... United States...!”
“What about China or the UK? How about Australia? Do you know the countries I just mentioned? Computer. Cell phone. Internet. Wi-Fi. Do you understand? How about movies or mobile games?”
“....”
Olivia stared at me blankly. Her two eyes had turned white and likely couldn't reflect anything. Yet, for some reason, she was accurately perceiving my position. Rather than just perceiving the direction through my voice, it was as if she was looking right at me. Even though her eyes shouldn't be able to see anything.
Now I see it. What she was writing on the floor was English.
What she had been desperately drawing on the ground were alphabets. They were characters I hadn't seen once since falling into this world.
This woman... is she a Transferee like me?
Looking at the characters or tattoos engraved on her body, they were too crude to be from Earth. There was a high probability they weren't tattoos she got on Earth, but ones she got in this world. In that sense, she seemed like a Possessor.
I wasn't entirely sure, but it was clear her place of origin was Earth. And although I couldn't be certain what she wanted to write, I could recognize a few of the words she was using.
Dungeon?
Looking closely, it seemed to be about having to clear the dungeon. Since they were characters she was carving by forcibly digging into the ground with her fingers, I couldn't make them out properly. If I could give her a pen and paper, I might be able to see more coherent writing.
Perhaps she possessed knowledge crucial to conquering the Labyrinth.
If I play this right, I might be able to use her.
While I was organizing my thoughts, Yuria, unable to contain her curiosity, asked what an Earthling was.
“Hey, Sion. What on earth is an Earthling? Is it the name of some tribe?”
“Huh? Yeah. Something like that. I think she’s from the same hometown as me.”
“Aha. So that’s why you can communicate. I was surprised because you were saying things I didn't understand.”
Once I said Olivia and I were from the same hometown, Yuria accepted it immediately. She probably took names like Earth or the United States as names of places somewhere on the Eastern continent. She likely regarded the talk about modern civilization like computers or cell phones as something that existed in the East as well.
In times like this, I really liked how simple Yuria was. Because she just roughly understood and moved on, it reduced the need for difficult explanations.
“H-hey... You. Are you really... really an Earthling?”
While I was talking to Yuria for a moment, Olivia asked from inside the cage in a trembling, anxious voice. I answered her question with conviction.
“Yeah. I’m an Earthling, just like you.”
“Ah... Aaaaah.”
Tears poured from the girl’s eyes. Soon, she approached me, reached her hands out through the bars, and hugged me tightly. I didn't avoid the embrace. I didn't feel any ill intent from her.
“Thank goodness... I really wasn't alone... Finally. I finally met someone...”
At the very bottom of the Labyrinth City, I had met someone from my hometown. An Earthling who might possess precious knowledge about the Labyrinth. Furthermore, she was a Possessor who had fallen into this world before me, died several times alone, and after being kicked around again and again, had her spirit completely broken.