Spit It All Out Before You Leave
“...Tch.”
Kael clicked his tongue.
Disgust rose in him.
Were the bastards who did things like this really the same species as him?
Kael looked at the children locked behind the iron bars. Their gaunt bodies were covered in bruises and scars.
They all looked different, but their eyes were the same.
Empty eyes that had given up on hope.
They were all children. Innocent children.
In just half a day, they had found this many slaves.
This city was a long way from normal, but even so, Kael wanted to normalize Nox.
He had started by cleaning out Bipolar, but the residue and traces of it were still scattered all over the city.
Nox was vast. It was impossible for just Kael and Luke to manage it alone.
That was exactly why Kael had expanded the guard force.
Bipolar had made its main profit not only from stolen goods, but from human trafficking as well. They kidnapped innocent children and sold them as slaves.
Where there was demand, supply followed.
If no one bought slaves, there would be no reason for slaves to exist in the first place.
Trash of every kind gathered in Nox, and there was no shortage of customers willing to buy human beings.
As for those who had already been sold off to other cities, there was nothing to be done about them. But the children still left in Nox could not be ignored.
Kael had no intention of letting beasts wearing human skin infest the city where he was the guard captain.
“How many of the bastards who do this kind of thing do you think are still around?”
Kael looked from Hagen to Dining and back again.
Their role was that of hunting dogs.
Hagen, as the boss of a competing organization, and Dining, as an executive of the organization he had belonged to, both had information about Bipolar.
Bipolar had collapsed. But its remaining faction, the slaves it had captured, and the customers it had done business with were still there.
“...I don’t know exactly, but there should still be quite a few. That crazy... no, that woman was careful.”
“...As far as I know, there were merchants who traded with them regularly. Nox’s capital has its limits, after all. They were probably trying to open up trade with a larger market.”
“Tch.”
Kael frowned.
The boss of Bipolar had clearly been a capable woman, whatever her personality had been like.
Well, if she hadn’t been capable, she never would have managed to bring in a curse mage tied to the Seven Deadly Sins.
This city’s a complete mess.
He had thought this would be over quickly, but there were more festering sores than he’d expected. It looked like cutting them out would take more time than he’d planned.
“Luke.”
“Yes, Captain.”
“You’re going to have to suffer for a while.”
“That’s fine. This doesn’t even count as suffering.”
Luke grinned as he answered. Unlike usual, he looked downright motivated.
That guy’s not human.
He suddenly remembered what Balmung had said, but he didn’t bother taking it to heart.
Honestly, he didn’t care all that much. There were swords that talked, so what was the big deal?
“For now, release all the kids locked up here, and feed them first.”
The sight of the skin-and-bones children made him uneasy.
At this point, I might as well build an orphanage.
Obvious as it was, Nox had no orphanage.
There was nowhere to house this many children, so they would have to build it all from scratch.
There were really no shortage of things that needed attention if the city was going to be brought back to normal.
Just then, a new guard recruit who had come in recently hesitated for a moment, then approached Kael, who was scowling.
“Um... Captain?”
“What is it?”
“Th-there’s someone here looking for you.”
“Now?”
“Yes. He just showed up out of nowhere and came all the way here...”
Kael’s brow furrowed.
Came all the way here?
From the direction the guard pointed, a plump man was waddling toward them.
The man looked like walking was a struggle for him, and he was draped in expensive clothes and jewelry from head to toe.
He was so gaudy he almost came off as grotesque.
“...Who the hell is that?”
“Well... from what I heard, he said he had something very important he wanted to tell you.”
“Something he wanted to tell me?”
Kael frowned and eyed the man with narrowed eyes.
Judging people by first impressions wasn’t right. Still, it was impossible not to form one here.
The man approached with a wobbling gait.
Unlike his smiling face, his eyes were scanning the surroundings like a snake choosing its prey.
“You’re the guard captain, right? Hahaha, just as I heard, you’re quite young.”
The stout man greeted him with an ingratiating smile.
His name was Bront. He made his living buying and selling people.
In other words, he was a slave trader.
For a slave trader, Nox was a goose that laid golden eggs.
No matter how unethical or criminal the act, it wasn’t a crime here.
All you had to do was show the proper amount of sincerity.
Innocent until proven guilty? No. In Nox, money was law.
That was exactly why Bront liked this city so much.
Selling and buying slaves might not be illegal in the Empire, but slave traders were despised wherever they went and always drew hostile stares.
Hypocritical bastards.
The same people who mouthed off about morality and justice, who pretended to be good and put on airs of virtue, were ultimately his customers too.
Bront knew the ugliness of human double standards better than anyone.
They wanted slaves more than anybody, and still pointed fingers at him.
But he didn’t care what anyone else said.
Money.
Money didn’t lie. That was why Bront loved it so much.
For him, slaves meant money, and Nox was the best trading post imaginable for obtaining high-quality slaves at a reasonable price.
Then he heard news that trouble had arisen at that trading post.
A guard captain had recently been assigned to Nox, and that captain had dismantled the organization Bront had been trading with steadily.
As the rumor spread, the slave traders who had been frequenting Nox stopped coming for the time being.
They were worried trouble might splash back onto them for no reason.
A bunch of idiots.
But Bront thought this was exactly the opportunity he’d been waiting for.
What in the world can’t be done with money?
No one hated money.
Not devout priests, and not rigid civil servants either.
Much less a guard captain. A man like that would fold easily if you just handed him a little under-the-table cash and flattered him enough.
“My, you’ve really been working hard! You look so distinguished, and seeing you work day and night is truly admirable! Hahaha!”
Kael said nothing as he watched Bront burst into exaggerated laughter.
“Ah, I’m terribly sorry. I’ve been rude and forgot to introduce myself. I’m Bront, a merchant who runs a small trade company. If you’re worrying about what to do with those children, I might be able to ease that burden for you.”
Bront looked around, and a thick smile spread across his face.
“If you’re interested, shall we move somewhere a bit more private?”
“...Captain, that man is...”
“It’s fine. I’ll be right back. You all keep things sorted here.”
Dining, who had recognized Bront, tried to stop him, but Kael had already made up his mind.
“All right, then. Let’s hear what you’ve got.”
“A truly excellent choice.”
The two of them moved to the guard office.
Seeing the luxurious exterior of the building, Bront instinctively knew his judgment had been correct.
Just as I thought.
Even a guard captain was no different. Just another human being who liked money and power.
As a merchant, Bront knew very well how to coax people who were honest about their desires.
“Your reputation for competence has already spread beyond the city. It’s truly an honor to meet you like th...”
“Cut the crap. Get to the point.”
Kael leaned back on the sofa and crossed his legs. He was treating the man like a subordinate from the start.
Bront’s face stiffened for an instant, but he quickly recovered his obsequious smile.
“Ahem. My apologies. I seem to have been thoughtless. You must be busy with official duties, and I shouldn’t waste your time.”
Thud.
He set a heavy bag down on the table.
When he opened it, it was packed full of glittering gold coins.
As Kael stared at the coins with a bland expression, Bront hurriedly waved his hands.
“Please don’t misunderstand. This is just a small gift to mark our first meeting. If you work with me from now on, you stand to make far greater profits than this.”
“Oh, really?”
When Kael seemed interested, Bront moved fast.
“Of course! Captain, there’s no way you can lose in this arrangement. Just handle your official duties like always, and pass me the annoying leftovers you don’t want to deal with. I’ll take care of those trivial matters so you won’t have to bother yourself with them.”
Bront was practically glowing as he kept talking.
Kael rested his chin on the armrest and stared at him for a moment before letting out a snort and speaking.
“A trade, huh... sure, not bad.”
“Right? Exactly. I knew we’d understand each other. I wasn’t going to say this, but honestly, this is a loss for me. Still, looking at your face, I’m willing to take the hit...”
“You must’ve made a decent amount of money here so far, huh?”
“...Huh? Ah... well, not some absurd amount, just enough to scrape by...”
“And I’m sure you didn’t pay taxes.”
For a moment, Bront’s expression hardened slightly.
What the...?
Sensing the conversation veering somewhere strange, he started rolling his eyes around.
“Um, well, that is to say... about that, it’s just that...”
“Sounds like you can spit it all out before you leave.”
“...Pardon?”
Bront wore a stupid blank look, and Kael tilted his head.
“You didn’t hear me?”
“I’m sorry, but... I’m not sure I understand what you mean.”
“I said you should spit out every last coin before you go, leaving not a single one behind.”
Kael’s mouth slowly curled upward.
“You filthy pig.”