Things Money Can’t Buy (3)
It felt as if I were sticking my head into a tiger’s mouth, so all I could do was grip Cho Hyejin’s hand tightly.
"Please don’t. Even like this, I’m quite charming, you know. Is the mask keeping you from seeing my face? How inconvenient. I can’t even take it off…."
"If circumstances allow, perhaps we can meet again another time. I’m sorry, but I already have plans today."
"What about just for a moment? If even that’s inconvenient, then I’d like to talk somewhere quiet. I don’t do this with just anyone… I really mean it."
"I apologize."
I stole a glance at Cho Hyejin, silently urging her to do something about the insane woman in front of us, and perhaps catching my meaning, she stepped forward.
Still holding my hand and looking faintly flustered, she seemed to understand at last that I was uncomfortable.
"I don’t know who you are, but let us leave it here. Haven’t we made our refusal clear? Continuing like this is rude."
"Ahhh…."
"Let’s go, Yucca."
"Yes, Lady Haruka."
"What? So she’s not your lover, but your subordinate?"
"Whatever my relationship with this person may be is none of your concern. Now, would you kindly step aside? If you continue making things difficult for us, I’ll call security. I have no wish to cause trouble, so I’d appreciate it if you’d simply disappear from my sight. Standing in our way like this is also extremely unpleasant."
"You’re more possessive than I expected. The subordinate-type…."
"This isn’t a matter of possessiveness. I’m speaking to you about basic courtesy."
"……."
"……."
The two women glared at each other.
I was a little tense, but there was no way the crazy woman in front of us could actually do anything.
She would know better than to cause a scene here.
Cho Hyejin pulled me closer to her once more, and naturally my body ended up pressed a little more tightly against hers.
There was no strange meaning behind it.
It seemed to be nothing more than a protective gesture, but to everyone else around us, it apparently looked a lot like she was marking her territory.
The woman with the unique trait of being a corpse enthusiast glanced our way, then quietly shifted elsewhere, and the other woman, whose unique trait was something like a cruel master who inflicted pain, also lost interest.
What kind of insane women are there in this world?
There were plenty of insane men too, of course, but I had no interest in that side of the equation, so I’ll leave them out of it.
Perhaps sensing that too many eyes were still on her, Xiao Lin finally began to step away from us at a leisurely pace.
Seeing several men nearby hurry over to her, I assumed they were her attendants.
"Paper and pen."
"Yes."
"This is the address where you can send me a letter. I do hope you’ll contact me."
"If I have the opportunity, I’ll get in touch."
"It seems we’re both the same when it comes to not wanting to reveal our identities… though from the fact that you’re here, I suppose you’re no different from me. Still, I’m far more capable than you think. I’d likely be helpful to you, in many ways…."
"I can’t promise that I’ll definitely contact you, but I’ll come to see you someday."
I’m never doing that, you lunatic.
"Then it’s a promise, yes? Well, I’ll be off then…."
Hurry up and disappear. Please disappear. Disappear from this continent….
I could feel her lingering gaze, still reluctant to leave.
It was only natural that gooseflesh crawled over my skin.
As I did my best to avoid her eyes, there came a moment when I was certain she had finally vanished completely from my field of view.
"You’re quite popular."
"In a place like this, that kind of popularity is anything but welcome. I’d rather you clung a little closer."
"……."
"I don’t exactly enjoy pretending to be close with Yucca either, but could you at least act as if you’re marking your territory? All those stares from everywhere are getting on my nerves."
"What, are you spraying pheromones or something?"
"Feels about right. It’s a little heartbreaking that the people affected are the sort of people they are, but… well, anyway. Let’s walk a little more amicably."
"You’re getting too close. It’s making me a bit uncomfortable."
"Hearing that to my face is rather heartbreaking."
"……."
Still, it works.
Walking along like lovers whispering sweet nothings, we were clearly slipping out of everyone else’s range of attention.
To begin with, talking to another person in a place like this was itself hardly normal behavior.
The woman named Xiao Lin we’d just seen had clearly been a little too aggressive.
Since this was a place that had to be absolutely strict about security and customer safety, I figured I could worry a little less about some sudden incident breaking out.
Let’s never meet again.
I had no desire to run into the women in this place again.
There was no denying that each of them had their own kind of ability, but I drew the line at having to deal with any more women than I already had to.
In any case, since my purpose was my purpose, I had no choice but to slowly look around again.
Cho Hyejin seemed to have adjusted as well, because she began peering here and there with obvious curiosity. For the moment, she seemed less disgusted by the place than intrigued by it.
That said, as we went farther inside, she must have noticed the atmosphere changing, because she began to look wary as well.
With people gradually disappearing from the corridor that had once been packed full, it seemed everyone was too busy attending to their own business.
I decided it was about time to go in, so I chose a random place and entered.
When I glanced toward the guards standing watch at the door, they opened the large entrance for us.
What lay beyond was a classic slave auction house.
The sight of people seated in luxurious chairs, chatting away as if nothing were amiss, only made it clearer that they were accustomed to this sort of thing.
Is this my first time seeing another race in person?
After leading Cho Hyejin to a seat, I saw one of the attendants approach us.
"Just bring whatever’s appropriate."
"Yes, sir."
He was probably here to ask what we wanted to drink.
Sinking into a chair plush enough to half-recline in, I felt ready to fall asleep on the spot.
It didn’t seem to have started yet, because one person after another was still taking their seats.
"Where are we?"
"Well, I didn’t exactly confirm it before coming in… but it looks like a slave auction house. Still, you’ll see soon enough. And just in case, let’s not cause any unnecessary trouble."
"I know that much."
"Good. Do you know anything about other races, by any chance?"
"No. I’ve only ever heard about them in stories. And I’ve only seen one before, the last time."
"Really? That’s a little disappointing. I don’t know much about them either."
"More importantly, that woman sitting far over there. Isn’t that the same woman from earlier?"
When I shifted my gaze toward the direction Cho Hyejin indicated, it was indeed her.
Shi… ba….
"She can’t have followed us. Don’t look her way. I don’t want her knowing we’re here."
She had definitely been seated there before we came in.
When I forced my gaze away from her, not long after that I saw someone step onto the stage.
Bright lights flooded the platform, and even our side, darkened like a movie theater, was swept with illumination.
It was right then that the voice came.
"Thank you for waiting. Once again, we’d like to sincerely thank everyone who has come to our auction house today. You can look forward to the quality of today’s merchandise. Our club always puts its heart into everything it does."
A cheap, formulaic line if ever there was one. I’d been expecting something more refined from a place like this, but apparently even here there were limits.
"I’m sure it wouldn’t be good to keep everyone waiting too long. You’re all busy people, after all. So without further delay, let us begin the auction. Our first item is Lumenia, an elf of fifty-four years."
From one side, a woman with long pointed ears slowly appeared.
I hated to admit it, but my eyes widened on their own. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.
But the momentary shock at her appearance vanished almost instantly.
Anyone could see the elf was looking up at the stage with a face full of terror.
Her body was gaunt, her hands and feet shackled in restraints, and she trembled so violently that it was enough to stir pity in anyone watching.
The greed in the eyes of those seated below flared almost at once.
Her mouth was moving as though she were speaking, but no sound came out, so I assumed some kind of spell had been cast on her.
"She was an extremely difficult one to obtain. She has rare emerald-green hair, and as you can see, her figure is excellent as well. Her nutritional condition is good too, and overall she’s a very well-maintained, pristine product."
Two of the people who came with her slowly seized the elf named Lumenia and restrained her. She screamed, her mouth opening wide, but her voice still didn’t reach us.
It looked as if they wanted to make her show her back, but even that was enough to leave her shaking in terror. Tears streamed from her eyes in thick, falling drops, and with her legs giving out beneath her, she could hardly even stand.
"She’s almost completely lacking in combat ability, so we intentionally didn’t educate her. I suspect she’d be the perfect item for customers with a cruel streak. For an elf, she’s also quite young."
"I’d like to hear her voice."
"Ah. If that’s what the customer wants, then of course we must oblige. We ask for the understanding of the other customers. We’ll be lifting the spell for just a brief moment."
The mage on one side of the stage slowly began to chant, and immediately afterward a scream-like voice burst out.
"Please help me! Please… help me. Someone… please help me."
The voice itself was clear and pure, but the content was anything but.
She looked around in tears, crying for help, but there was no chance of anyone responding.
To begin with, some nobles of the Holy Empire didn’t even regard other races as people, and the free citizens who had come here were all obviously the sort whose characters could be guessed at a glance. This was the inevitable reaction.
"A lovely voice."
"Hahaha. I knew you’d think so."
So that was the kind of place this was.
I glanced quietly to the side and caught sight of Cho Hyejin, trembling all over.
Her face was twisted like someone who’d just chewed on a mouthful of filth, and her clenched fists spoke volumes for her feelings.
I’d expected her to be angry, but I never would have imagined she’d be this furious.
Cho Hyejin was evidently a little more virtuous than I’d thought.
"Once again, if you cause any unnecessary trouble…."
"I… know."
To put it plainly, this was a scene of human rights being trampled underfoot. By any modern standard, it was unquestionably incomprehensible.
There was no way our righteous Cho Hyejin could understand the trash who cheered or raised their fingers to signal they wanted to buy.
Those people had no interest at all in the suffering of others. No, to be precise, they enjoyed watching others suffer.
"What do you think the problem is? What do you think could solve it?"
"What exactly are you asking me to hear?"
"Nothing in particular. Yucca."
She seemed regretful, and perhaps even stressed. She probably never would have imagined it.
She’d never have imagined that a place this large, this steeped in madness, even existed. All she’d seen was a simple ledger.
There was no way she had truly felt in her bones how this place actually functioned.
"This much is normal. Honestly, it’s cleaner than I expected, which is a little surprising. There may be places that deal in special slaves, but we don’t have the time. Better to let those go."
"……."
"We’ve confirmed the reality of the slave trade. So don’t you want to know how the illegally captured monsters are being used?"
"That…."
"Stand up."
I could see Cho Hyejin’s lips pressed tightly shut.
"Please get me a drink too."
I had expected her to react this way.
"Let’s move somewhere else, Lady Haruka."
"All right. Yucca."
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