Vampire (1)
Armed men radiating a dark, oppressive air hauled wagons packed with people. I swept their levels at a glance — every last one of them was over thirty.
And the long-haired man standing at the very head of the procession — the one who looked like their leader — was nearly Level 60. Those were considerable levels for a mere slave caravan. Just what were these bastards?
With Super Senses sharpening my hearing, I caught the murmurs of passersby.
"…It's Valkylov."
"Hey, hey — don't stare."
Valkylov?
The name rang familiar, and I soon recalled who they were. Valkylov — they were the ones, weren't they? The largest and most notorious outfit in the 3rd Lord's Territory…
That's right. Those bastards.
The information surfaced piece by piece. A dangerous organization whose main business was selling slaves, and who didn't shy away from any other filthy work besides. In the game, there had been a side story about assassinating a high-ranking official from a Lord's castle who attended their secret auction as a VIP.
I stared at the slaves locked in the iron cages. Every one of them had dead eyes, as if they'd lost all will to live. It was only natural. In this fantasy world where the class system still thrived, slavery existed as well. I remembered there were nations where the institution was illegal, but Calderic certainly wasn't one of them. A Lord could, if they wished, ban it within their own territory — but what Lord would bother?
"You there! There's a perfectly good line — what do you think you're doing cutting through it?!"
A young man had climbed down from a carriage not far ahead of me, his face sour with complaint. Looking every bit the noble, he strode toward the slave traders passing beside him, his knight escort in tow. The atmosphere among the watching pedestrians quietly sank. The long-haired leader looked at the approaching man and smirked.
"As you can see, we've got a lot of merchandise loaded up, so waiting in line would be rather inconvenient. I'd ask you to be a little understanding."
He gestured at the slaves in the wagons behind him. He'd called them merchandise.
"Understanding? Are you joking? For a reason that absurd—"
"My lord, might I ask which house you hail from?"
The young man laughed incredulously.
"House? Are you threatening me? My father is the deputy mayor of Volkadion Cheil City in the First Lord's Territory! How dare you lowly slave traders—"
The men listening to him snickered. The unexpected reaction left the young man flustered.
"Y-you bastards, you really—?"
"Oh my. I failed to recognize the deputy mayor's own son. How rude of me. My apologies."
"R-right. I—"
"Though it seems you've come from quite far away, and don't quite know who we are."
The long-haired man leaned in and whispered into the young man's ear. Thanks to Super Senses, every word reached me with perfect clarity.
"…Stop being a pain and get lost, brat. Don't throw your weight around with that pathetic title. Want me to twist all four of your limbs off?"
The young man went deathly pale, couldn't get a word out, and stumbled back. The long-haired man bowed his head with a cheerful smile, as if he'd never said such a thing, and went on his way.
I watched the whole scene and let out a hollow laugh.
What a joke of a guy.
Valkylov likely had deep connections with any number of high officials in the Lord's castle. They weren't the most notorious organization in a Lord's territory for nothing. A noble from another territory — and from a mere deputy mayor's family at that — wasn't worth their attention.
The young man stared after them, trembling with a look of humiliation, then returned to his carriage. The gate guards exchanged a few familiar words with the traders and let the wagons through into the city one by one.
"You don't look pleased."
Ashel was watching them with ice-cold eyes, so I spoke up. She looked away as she answered.
"No, it isn't."
"Do you pity the slaves?"
"…Yes. Honestly."
"So you want to help them?"
"No. I know it is not something I can do anything about."
She was right. This was a different matter from helping that waitress in the 5th Lord's Territory last time. In this world, the slave trade was legal, and those men were merely merchants buying and selling slaves within that framework. Dig deeper and they'd be committing all manner of illegal acts — but on the surface, that was the story.
But what if I felt so sorry for the slaves that I slaughtered those men and set them free? What would I do with the ones I'd saved? Would I take full responsibility and guide them toward a normal life? And what about Valkylov? I'd struck first, so they'd come after me with everything they had.
Of course, with a Lord's authority, I could uproot an underworld organization like that without breaking a sweat. Even if they belonged to the 3rd Lord's Territory, opposing a Lord was an act Calderic would never tolerate. But what would that even mean?
It'd just be a moment of self-satisfaction.
It wasn't just Valkylov. This continent had countless slave caravans and countless slaves. Was I going to kill every trader I ran into from now on and set the slaves free without a thought for the aftermath? That would be no different from a rampaging thug — no clear standard, no conviction, just doing whatever I felt like and leaving a mess behind.
I'd help people in difficulty up to the point I reasonably could, but going beyond that line and overreaching was a problem. My top priority right now was collecting Hidden Pieces and raising my odds of survival. I wasn't wandering Calderic to play the apostle of justice.
Still, it is pitiful.
Through a modern person's eyes, it was a tragic scene of human rights being trampled. I watched the wagons vanish one by one through the city gate.
Then my eyes flew wide.
Among the slaves in the last wagon, one girl had caught my attention — a young girl with black hair and crimson eyes.
…A vampire?
I pushed Super Senses further, sharpening my vision, and saw the fangs protruding from her mouth as well. She was definitely a vampire. Black hair and crimson eyes were racial traits of their kind. Unless they were a mutant, every vampire had black hair and crimson eyes.
I also caught the chatter of the men beside her.
"…But even if we've got a bloodsucker, who's going to bid on one? They're creepy."
"Still, they're rare. Someone'll buy her. There are plenty of noble lords with twisted tastes."
Listening to that conversation, I stared hard at the girl crouched in the iron cage — until the wagon passed through the gate and vanished completely from sight.
I leaned back and sank into thought. They were a rare race you almost never saw. I never expected to find one here — and as a captured slave, no less. Something flashed through my mind.
Vampire… Elrod Forest…
Vampires were a rare race, and as such, their racial solidarity ran deep. So what if I rescued that young vampire and took her to Elrod Forest? I didn't know if she belonged to the same tribe as the vampires there, but she was still one of their kind. If I brought a fellow vampire I'd saved, they wouldn't attack me out of hand — I'd at least get a chance to talk.
Right. That was an option, wasn't it?
An ideal picture painted itself in my mind in an instant. This seemed well worth doing.
After entering the city, I secured lodging, then immediately went looking for the slave shop run by Valkylov. I passed the men standing guard and stepped inside, where a clerk was visible at the counter. A plump middle-aged woman who'd been writing something on paper looked up and greeted me.
"Welcome, young master. What kind of slave are you looking to purchase?"
I said to her,
"I saw a vampire come in as a slave earlier."
"…Oh my, that's right. She just arrived."
The woman looked a little startled, then continued with a note of regret.
"Unfortunately, that child is already reserved for another buyer, so she isn't available for purchase. I'm sorry."
Reserved for sale?
I knew instinctively that she was lying. And I understood the hidden meaning as well.
Come to think of it, they were talking about bidding earlier.
They meant the one held in Domihawk City — the secret auction hosted by Valkylov. The vampire girl had apparently been slated for it. I spoke again.
"Impossible no matter how much I pay?"
"Yes, that's—"
"Even for two hundred gold? Two platinum coins?"
"…Pardon?"
The woman lost her words for a moment, then hurriedly said,
"W-would you wait just a moment, young master? I'll fetch the branch manager right away…"
She went into the back, and it was only a short while later that she returned — with two men in tow. One of them looked familiar.
That's him.
The long-haired bastard I'd seen at the inspection line. He approached with a salesman's smile and greeted me.
"Ah, a pleasure! Young master. I hear you've come to purchase the vampire slave."
"That's right."
"This is Clink, our branch manager, and I'm John, an executive of Valkylov."
As he said that, John swept his gaze over me and Ashel standing behind me in a single instant.
"Might I be so bold as to ask who you are, young master?"
"Do you really need to know?"
At my words, his expression twisted ever so slightly, then smoothed out again.
"Haha! Of course not. I hear you're willing to purchase the vampire slave for two platinum coins."
"That's right."
"However, as you've heard, a buyer has already been arranged, so we're in a bit of a difficult position regarding the sale…"
As his tongue grew longer, probing me, I cut him off firmly.
"Three platinum coins."
"…"
"I'm not going any higher. Quit rambling and tell me whether you'll sell at this price or not. If not, I'm leaving right now."
As I spoke, I produced three platinum coins right in front of his eyes. The branch manager beside him looked at John with wavering eyes. John stared at me, then answered with a pleasant smile.
"Understood, young master. We'll sell her for three platinum coins, as you say. Thank you sincerely for patronizing the Valkylov slave shop."
I followed his lead down into the building's basement. Below, slaves were locked in iron cages set at intervals — a sight that made my face crease of its own accord.
"Here we are."
The cell we finally arrived at held young boys and girls. Among them was the vampire girl I'd been looking for. She wore iron shackles on her ankles, the skin there scraped raw and scabbed with blood. John unlocked the cage, went in, and approached the girl huddled in the corner.
"Get up, you bloodsucker bitch. Your master's here."
The girl slowly lifted her head and looked up at me. In those hollow, empty eyes, I could feel wariness and hostility mixed together. I met her gaze and said,
"Take the shackles off."
"Y-yes. Of course."
He unshackled her ankles and sent the girl out of the cage. Ashel received her.
"If you wish, we can have her bathed and presented to you in a clean state immediately."
He said this with a smiling look at the girl. She flinched under that gaze.
"That won't be necessary. I'll take her now."
"Yes, understood. Then, as for the payment… ah, thank you."
I handed him the three platinum coins at once. After going back up to the ground floor, I was about to leave without further conversation when he caught me and said,
"Young master, are you perhaps aware of the secret auction we host in Domihawk City?"
I looked back. He grinned and pulled something from his coat.
"It's an auction where high-quality slaves of various races generally appear, and occasionally treasures excavated from ruins as well. If you're interested, this…"
What he handed me was an invitation in an elegant envelope.
"If you seek out the branch manager located in Domihawk City, he'll take care of showing you around the auction."
"…"
"I do hope we'll have the pleasure of meeting again, young master."
Meet again, my ass.
I turned and left the building. With Super Senses amplifying my hearing, I caught them talking inside.
"John, sir, is this really all right? She was supposed to go to the auction…"
"I'll talk to the boss. It's fine. Besides, we've still got one more, haven't we?"
"But even so…"
"A vampire wouldn't have fetched more than a hundred gold at best. We sold her for several times that — how is that not a win? Heh. Looks like some noble from another Lord's territory…"
I shook my head and headed for the inn with the girl.