Chapter 77: Those Who Have Seeped into Fermaton's Darkness (7)
Chapter 77: Those Who Have Seeped into Fermaton's Darkness (7)
A short while later.
"This way, please. I shall escort you."
Following behind Charlotte, whose demeanor had become even more supple than before, I passed through basement stairs and secret chambers until we arrived at the true Nine-Tail.
"Impressive. It’s so lavish I find it hard to believe such a place existed."
"Is that so? I was under the impression that the former Count Fermaton was the one who granted permission to expand this space."
Sting.
Charlotte’s eyes narrowed into thin crescents.
It felt like I’d made a slip of the tongue, but if I let myself get hung up on things like that, I’d end up unable to say anything at all.
In that case...
"The former Count died quite suddenly. Despite his obligation to teach me many things."
"Ah, ahem. I see. My apologies."
"It’s fine. I can simply learn from now on."
I would use my weakness as a weapon. By using the logic that the former Count died before he could fully raise me as a perfect successor, I could cover for my lack of knowledge regarding the things a Fermaton heir should know.
‘I can also use the fact that he took Zenith as a new bride as cover.’
The former Count hadn't recognized Ruji as his heir. He intended to have his new bride, Zenith, bear a new child and then quietly dispose of Ruji Fermaton. Because of that, he hadn't taught his heir much of what he needed to know.
Then, he died suddenly.
From the Empire’s perspective, I was essentially 'low-hanging fruit.' If I made them believe that since Zenith was from the Kingdom, I could be swayed to their side with a little coaxing, it would make things much easier for me.
"Then... shall we proceed with the slave purchase while I provide a detailed explanation of Nine-Tail?"
"Please do."
I needed to get as close to Charlotte as possible, even if it meant showing a bit of weakness.
"Yes. The slave trader Nine-Tail sells slaves captured from various regions here at Count Fermaton’s castle. they are used in a vast array of roles, and their abilities vary wildly."
Charlotte stood before me, spreading her arms wide. Behind her lay a massive 'prison,' with iron bars caging people like animals.
"A long time ago, this was a large-scale prison managed by Fermaton Castle. Were you aware?"
"We managed this...? My apologies, but there was no mention of such a place in the asset ledgers I reviewed."
"Indeed. About a hundred years ago, our Weissgarten family purchased the ownership rights to this prison. We paid a sum so exorbitant one could have built an entire castle with it."
"Since the ownership was transferred, it’s only natural I wasn't aware of it."
"Fufu. If you were to buy it back, you would have to pay an even higher price. Though, unfortunately, this place is an essential warehouse for our Nine-Tail business."
The things inside those bars weren't people; they were goods. Charlotte ruthlessly treated the slaves as objects as she pointed further inside.
"Most of the slaves here are those who have committed grave crimes. Some sold their status into slavery due to massive debts, while others were sentenced to slavery and demotion of status for crimes too numerous to count or for being truly heinous."
"Hmm."
According to what I’d studied about the common sense of this world before coming to the slave market:
If even one parent is a slave, the child is a slave. Every person who becomes a slave is branded with a Slave Seal, an engraving placed somewhere on their body.
It was a different form from a succubus’s Yin Gate. The womb tattoos engraved on the lower abdomens of Laura or Yurdias were similar in the sense that they marked them as slaves to my cock, but these slaves were truly people who had been stripped of various freedoms.
"But surely there are those who were captured by force?"
"We do not engage in illegal acts."
Charlotte shrugged.
"Both the Kingdom and the Empire strictly forbid forcibly turning people into slaves. While it’s said that 'Slave Hunts'—where humans were hunted and sold—were rampant in the distant past, we at Nine-Tail do not conduct business by breaking the law."
"Laws are for humans, after all."
"...Fufu."
Charlotte pointed toward one of the cages.
"Exactly. The slaves we handle at Nine-Tail are no ordinary slaves."
Clank.
Hearing our footsteps and voices, something twitched within the darkness of the cage. When Charlotte snapped her fingers toward the interior, the identity of the occupant was revealed.
"A Main. Or perhaps I should call her a half-demon."
"......Hoo."
Inside was a goblin. Short, with a protruding belly and green skin. That kind of goblin...
Or rather, a female goblin.
‘As expected.’
While the corruption-type goblins from RPG Maker adult games certainly existed in this world, the green-skinned goblin shackled before me definitely had a 'moe-fied' filter over her.
Green skin. Large pupils. A physique that looked much younger than Charlotte’s. It was a form that would be more accurately called a 'Pedoblin.'
"As you may know, Lord Ruji, adventurers who enter the Infinite Labyrinth meet many different ends. This is one of those forms."
"A human who became a monster."
"Yes. This woman is currently under a goblin’s curse. Even if she wished to conceive, she cannot do so with a human; she can only become pregnant if she takes a goblin’s seed."
A horrific story. To enter the Infinite Labyrinth with dreams of striking it rich as an adventurer, only to end up as a female goblin slave.
But there was one question. Even if she was a goblin right now, she was someone who had previously been 'human.' Does such a being immediately fall into slavery just because they became a Main?
Not necessarily. It was just that...
"This woman stabbed someone inside the Infinite Labyrinth. She was arrested for murder and imprisoned, during which time she turned into a goblin, and eventually ended up here."
"A murderer, then."
When one commits acts unbecoming of a human, they are simply stripped of their status as one.
"Why did she kill? Do you happen to know?"
"It was a murder for profit. She used goblins to kill adventurers and took their valuables."
"Tsk."
Wait, isn't that very human? Being faithful to one's greed regardless of the location is the essence of humanity. She might wear the mask of a goblin, but her soul was still human. She was just locked up as a slave for now; no one knew what she would do if she were released from her slave status.
"By the way, Miss Charlotte."
"Yes, Lord Ruji."
"Is that woman a virgin?"
"...Your tastes are quite broad. Are you saying that as long as they are female and a virgin, even a Main is fine?"
"The only pussy worth discriminating against is one that has already been visited by another man's cock."
There was no need to mince words in front of a slave trader. I boldly stated my philosophy.
"If it’s a female with a pussy who is a virgin and can tighten around my cock, I’m a man who could even fuck a giantess over six meters tall. Provided that giantess is a virgin, of course."
"How should I put this... Lord Ruji, you truly seem to be someone who transcends common sense."
"Because I have the specs for it."
"...Pardon?"
"Good grief. It’s not like I can just show you directly. Well, I could show you, but it would be troublesome to do so right here. Laura!"
I signaled to Laura.
"Roughly how high are my specs?"
"......A-About this much?"
Laura held out her right forearm and placed her other hand near the elbow, circling it with her thumb and forefinger.
"So it seems."
"......."
Charlotte’s face flushed red as if she understood immediately, and even the goblin inside the cage recoiled in horror, pressing herself against the wall.
"It would be like shoving this entire arm into that little goblin... A pity."
"...Is it difficult for you to deal with small women?"
"Hmm? No. I can handle small women as much as I want. Even if I can't fit it all in, that has its own kind of fun. It’s just..."
I clicked my tongue at the goblin.
"Whether that woman is a true virgin or not is something I won't know until I fuck her."
"......."
"Is there some kind of certificate of authenticity? Evidence that this Main is a virgin? If I fuck her only to find out another cock has already been in that pussy, I might feel genuine murderous intent."
I stepped between Laura and Yurdias, pulling them both by their waists.
"Putting my cock into a pussy that another cock has visited is an act of defiling my member. I cannot fuck my women’s pussies with a defiled cock."
"...So you're saying you need a firm guarantee from me, since you won't know if she's a virgin until you fuck her."
"Exactly. I have my own verification process before I put my cock into a woman."
Is she a Gacha character? Then she’s a virgin. But every other woman is a Schrödinger's Virgin. Until I actually put my cock in, there’s no way to know if she’s a true virgin or a loose slut who’s lying through her teeth.
While I could draw an inductive conclusion with a 4-for-4 win rate that 'Gacha characters are virgins,' I needed a different method for other women.
"Do you happen to have any Demonized humans who are virgins and also vampires? Vampires can distinguish the blood of a virgin, can't they?"
"...I’m sorry, but we have no such Demonized humans at the moment. Unless we were to capture one directly from the Infinite Labyrinth..."
"That’s a shame. Then let’s take a look around. For those suitable for me to purchase."
There were specific people I was looking for. Even if it wasn't them exactly, anyone with similar abilities would do. Because the slaves I intended to buy were...
"Ho."
Found them. They weren't exactly what I was looking for, but they were slaves suitable for achieving my goal.
"What about these women?"
"...One was cursed by the Infinite Labyrinth, and the other is a Half by birth. Though both are slaves."
Inside the bars. Two women, one black and one white, had two horns on their heads and pointed ears.
"They are Half-Minotaurs."
Mana Cows. In other words, Cowgirls.
‘They have the perfect physique for excavation.’
They were women optimized to be mining slaves.