The Price of a Prince

Schwarz. An auction house hidden deep within the underbelly of the black market. The prison cells here were nothing more than iron cages, the kind used to pen wild beasts. The stench of unwashed bodies, the rot of decaying food, and the damp, mildewed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠air clung to the space, blending into a sickening harmony. And there I sat, completely bound, locked away in the dark.

Five restraints pinned me down. My ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠arms were bound so tightly I couldn't even lift them, let alone cover my nose to block out the stench. For a shut-in who had spent his days making game guides on YouTube, being suddenly thrown into a situation like this was enough to make my head spin. Yet, perhaps because Jin Barenberg's personality had merged with mine, or because I had inherited the player's abilities, I remained strangely cold and calm.

"You're scheduled to go up on the auction block soon, so get ready. And don't try anything stupid. The elite forces of Schwarz are gathered in this underground auction house."

The guard left after dropping those words. I tilted my head slightly to look around. There were plenty of others locked up beside me. Naturally, they spanned all races—elves, beastkin, dwarves, and more.

I even see young girls. Some of these nobles must have incredibly twisted tastes.

Like the trash game it was, the nobles of this world were absolute garbage. Well, as someone from an era where slavery had been abolished long ago, it was only natural that I couldn't comprehend this. If I could, I would have loved to rescue them all, but I quickly dismissed the thought. There was nothing I could do right now anyway. More than anything, I had to worry about myself first.

If things go according to plan, I'll end up with Franche Decartes.

But would the future really unfold exactly as destined? If I went to Franche, it would be fine since she was a familiar character, but I couldn't ignore the possibility of unexpected variables.

"How'd a guy like you end up in a place like this?" asked a middle-aged man in the cell next to mine.

He was a scruffy fellow with a thick beard that looked like it hadn't seen a razor in years, and long hair that fell past his shoulders. A musty, stale odor wafted from him, making my brow furrow.

"Because we lost the war."

The man's eyes widened at my response. "Lost the war? Does that mean you're from Barenberg?"

"I am."

"To think a defeat in war would drag you all the way here... Were you some high-ranking official? A noble lord, perhaps?"

"I was the Prince of Barenberg."

The man's eyes went wide once more. "Ha! I've lived a long life, but I never thought I'd see Barenberg royalty in a dump like this." He let out a breathless chuckle, shaking his head. The sheer bewilderment in his voice made it clear just how shocked he was.

"Fate is a fickle thing; no one can see even an inch ahead. I never expected to end up here either."

"Haha, it seems even the Prince of Barenberg has resigned himself to his fate."

"How could anyone not resign themselves in a situation like this?" I replied, glancing at him out of the corner of my eye. "And what about you? How did you end up here?"

The man let out a hollow, self-deprecating laugh. His face was a mask of utter futility. "Gambling. That's what did me in. If I'd known it would end like this, I never would have borrowed money from the underworld. If I'd just stopped while I was ahead, I would've ended up broke, sure, but at least I'd be free. Well, no use crying over spilled milk now."

He smiled bitterly. The reason he had been enslaved was even more pathetic than I'd thought. Even if you have nowhere else to turn, borrowing from the underworld is madness. This is why gambling is so terrifying, folks.

I asked him, "What usually happens to the other slaves sold here?"

I had a vague idea, but curiosity is a hard thing to suppress. I wanted to confirm if my assumptions were correct.

"Well, the young elves who haven't awakened their talents yet, along with the pretty beastkin and humans, will be used as sex slaves for the high nobility. Those dwarves shoved into the corner over there will probably be sent to military factories. Once in a while, a slave might luck out and find a decent master, living a slightly more comfortable life than before, but that's incredibly rare."

It was exactly as I had expected. This trash game's world-building was thoroughly nauseating. Then again, most dark medieval fantasy games were like this.

They call this a romance fantasy, so why is the setting so utterly hopeless...?

Honestly, I suspected there had been a massive clash between the game director and the developers. The developers probably wanted to make a gritty, traditional fantasy Soulslike, while the director insisted on a dating sim romance.

What an absolute joke of a game.

Our idle chatter was cut short. The heavy iron door groaned open, and a guard stepped inside.

"Get out."

The guard slotted a key into the lock of my cage and swung the door open. He grabbed the chain around my neck, hauling me to my feet, and forcibly shoved a gag into my mouth. Talk about a miserable experience.

"Keep your eyes forward and walk. If you trip and fall, it's just more trouble for me."

Oh, how sweet of him. If only the circumstances were different. Dragged by the guard, I was led up the stairs. My eyes stung and instinctively squeezed shut at the sudden assault of light after so long in the dark.

"I told you to keep your eyes open!"

Crack!

A short whip in the guard's hand struck my back. A sharp, dizzying pain flared across my skin. I wanted to scream, but with Jin Barenberg's stoic personality suppressing my reactions, only a faint grunt escaped my lips. Clenching my teeth against the pain, I forced myself up the stairs.

As I stepped onto the auction stage, masked nobles seated in the gallery began to whisper among themselves.

The nobles didn't show much of a reaction, as if they already knew I was going to be put up for sale. They merely parted their lips slightly, letting out a few murmurs of mild interest.

A show? What is he talking about?

From both sides of the stage, Schwarz employees wheeled out massive iron cages. Inside those cages paced ferocious magical beasts. They were so hostile that they were actively trying to gnaw and smash their way through the iron bars.

I didn't recall anything like this happening in the original story.

The auctioneer leaned in close and whispered in my ear. "I suggest you don't try anything foolish. Our elite forces are stationed everywhere, and you bear the Slave Brand."

I lost count of how many times I'd been warned not to do anything foolish today. It felt like a broken record playing ever since I'd been captured.

Clank.

The five restraints binding my arms were released. I stared down at my heavily muscled arms, flexing them this way and that to ensure everything was in working order.

"Here, take this and do your best. We need to drive up your final price."

What the auctioneer handed me wasn't a sword, nor was it a spear. It was just a single, long, heavy chain. How was I supposed to fight with this?

But complaining was a luxury I couldn't afford.

Slam!

The cage doors flew open, and the beasts went wild. The employees who had wheeled them out vanished in the blink of an eye. The combat forces of Schwarz stood poised at the edges of the stage, ready to spring into action at a moment's notice.

Grrrr!

A lion-like magical beast, a Core Lion. And a bipedal, crocodile-faced creature, an Alligatorman. Both were standard, low-level monsters from the Rofanso.

The auctioneer scrambled off the stage. It was almost comical watching him flee from the beasts.

The monsters drooled, closing in on me. Judging by their appearance, they hadn't been fed in days.

Roar!

The beasts lunged at me with jaws wide open. I took a deep breath, calming my racing heart.

"Hup!"

First, I leaped high into the air. The charging Core Lion and Alligatorman collided head-on beneath me. The moment my feet touched the ground, I wrapped the chain around the Core Lion's neck, pulling it taut.

Choke!

The Core Lion thrashed in agony, trying to shake me off.

Snarl!

The Alligatorman lunged to attack. I maneuvered the chain, guiding the Core Lion to take the blow in my stead. Slashed by its ally, the wounded Core Lion thrashed even more violently, spraying blood across the stage.

Rattle!

I tightened the chain further.

Crack!

With a sickening snap, the struggling Core Lion's neck broke, and its massive body went limp. It was a trivial fight. But then, such a result was only natural. These were, after all, the most basic monsters in the Rofanso.

"Phew!"

I exhaled a hot breath. Grabbing the end of the chain, I began to spin it rapidly. The drooling Alligatorman lunged at me once more. With a sudden snap of my wrist, I whipped the chain forward, striking the beast dead center between its eyes.

Smack!

The Alligatorman's head reeled back from the unexpected impact, leaving it completely dazed. I didn't miss the opening. Spinning the chain once more, I used the momentum to bring it crashing down onto the crown of its head.

Slam!

With a heavy, dull thud, the Alligatorman's eyes rolled back, its pupils pointing toward the ceiling. Its skull had been completely crushed.

With that, the battle was over. If they wanted to test Jin Barenberg's true abilities with beasts like these, they should have brought out a whole horde. Testing me with a mere pair of them... Tsk.

As the adrenaline faded, a wave of disgust washed over me. I loathed the fact that I had just been used as entertainment for these people.

The auctioneer cautiously stepped back onto the stage, continuing his pitch.

What kind of sick, twisted nonsense was he spewing now?

One thousand gold. For context, in this game, the annual living cost for a commoner family of four was a mere thirty silver. Yet the starting bid alone was one thousand gold. Perhaps only an exceptionally beautiful, untouched elf would command a price similar to mine.

Thinking about it only made the nobles sitting in the gallery look all the more repulsive.

Just as the auctioneer was about to start the bidding, someone ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠rushed onto the stage and whispered something in his ear. I couldn't hear what was said over the deafening noise of the crowd.

The auction was abruptly halted. I stood there, utterly bewildered.

What? Don't tell me the route has changed?

The possibility was certainly there. After all, so many things had already deviated from the original game since the moment I transmigrated.

This is going to complicate my plans...

My plan was to be captured as a slave, enter Franche Decartes's service as scheduled, alter the future, and ensure I never became the final boss. But if the auction's progression was suddenly changing, I couldn't help but panic.

"What do you mean by that?!"

"Do you know how long I've waited for this?!"

"Just who on earth arrived to warrant stopping the auction?!"

The nobles who had gathered to bid erupted in outrage. However, the auctioneer didn't bat an eye.

At the mention of fifty thousand gold, the entire gallery fell dead silent.

The nobles remained silent. Even for them, throwing away fifty thousand gold on a single slave was far too steep a price to pay.

"Alright, follow me."

The auctioneer grabbed the chain around my neck and dragged me away. He led me to the back of the auction house, the designated area where purchased goods and slaves were traded.

"Here he is. I've brought him as requested."

I raised my gaze to see who had bought me.

"So, you are Jin Barenberg."

A familiar mask. It was Franche Decartes.