Chapter 261: Trainiac
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 261: Trainiac
“Can’t you run any faster? At this rate, the customer’s going to file a complaint!”
Crack!
The driver swung his red whip.
A sound like tearing silk split the air.
Another wound appeared on the back of the girl pulling the carriage.
A pair of animal ears perched on her head. A pure white horse’s tail swished at her back. Miro, a horse beastkin with the soul of a horse mixed into a human body, was a carriage puller—a common sight anywhere in Veltreck. They called her a carriage puller, but that was just a nice way of saying she was a slave.
She hadn’t always been one.
She was once an ordinary citizen of the beastkin nation, Vestia.
The eldest daughter of five orphaned siblings, and their sole provider.
A student at the Beastialis Academy.
Like any horse beastkin, she had a talent for running, and she loved it. She was good enough to earn a scholarship for her excellent performance at the academy.
But she couldn’t spend her whole life running. To feed her younger siblings, she had to earn money, which meant working after school.
She could somehow make ends meet, but then her frail youngest sibling fell ill. She needed more money for medicine.
Working every moment she wasn’t at the academy took its toll on her body, and the exhaustion began to affect her studies. Her grades plummeted.
When she lost her scholarship, she could no longer afford tuition and had to drop out.
She had given up her future, but now she could work more and earn more, so at least there was no problem with putting food on the table.
If her story had ended there with everyone laughing happily ever after, Miro wouldn’t be pulling a carriage now, a whip cracking against her back.
It was because of a mysterious illness.
Sometimes, when she ran, a sharp pain would shoot through her back.
Have I pushed my body too hard? Tormented by the pain, Miro reached a point where she could no longer work.
Seeking help, she visited a renowned fox fortune-teller in Vestia, but all she got was nonsense.
The old fox claimed that Miro, a horse, would one day run with wings unfurled. That she would sing and dance before a great crowd as people waved glowing sticks for her.
It was no help at all.
To save her siblings, Miro chose to sell herself.
She chose to become a slave. With the money she received, she paid for her sibling’s medical care and entrusted them to an orphanage.
A touching story of a young provider’s self-sacrifice.
At first, Miro had been proud of herself, but after coming to Veltreck, things began to change.
Forced to pull a carriage while being beaten, her broken body began to drag her mind down with it, pushing her to her limit.
Why is the world so cruel?
If only I didn't have my siblings.
If only I were alone.
Pride was curdling into regret. Miro teetered precariously on that edge.
Crack!
“Tch! Why are you so sluggish! You’ll have to skip dinner again to learn your lesson!”
The driver’s merciless whip shoved Miro clean over the edge.
Thud.
Her strength finally gave out, and Miro collapsed in the middle of the street. The driver, with a practiced hand, raised his whip to strike again.
“What should I do, Master?”
“Destroy it.”
“Yes, Master.”
Swoosh!
A red haze shimmered.
A series of whooshes sliced through the air.
The harness connecting Miro to the carriage snapped.
For a moment, the carriage she had been pulling was diced into pieces, and a subsequent kick shattered it into splinters.
“Ugh!”
Like a baby pig whose house was blown down by the big bad wolf, the driver tumbled to the ground. Having carried out her orders, Narsha sheathed her rapier and glanced down at him.
“Wh-what is the meaning of this! Attacking a carriage from Mercurius’s Wheel in the middle of Veltreck! Do you think you can get away with this?”
“This beastkin child is a slave who was legally transferred to my master. This is the price for laying a hand on another’s property.”
Narsha presented a document to the driver.
It bore the seal of Mercurius’s Wheel, so there was no mistake. The driver’s attitude became slightly more polite, but his voice was still laced with anger.
“The contract was just signed, wasn’t it? If I had known, I wouldn’t have hit her! You will compensate me for the broken carriage and for drawing your sword on me!”
“And that’s our problem, how?”
Karami emerged from the crowd, his hands clasped behind his back.
“Our problem?”
“If you had a system that notified all association members the moment a contract was finalized, this wouldn’t have happened, would it? Am I expected to concern myself with your incompetence as well?”
“I give you an inch and you spout endless nonsense! To think such a ridiculous argument would work here, in Veltreck of all places!”
City guards, alerted to the commotion, swarmed the area. Seeing the broken carriage, the fallen driver, and the sword-wielding Narsha, they quickly assessed the situation.
“Drop your weapon and surrender peacefully.”
The guards cautiously approached Karami, threatening him with their spears and holding ropes.
Narsha moved again.
It was over in an instant.
A straight red line was drawn through the air like a constellation.
A series of sharp strikes to their vitals with her pommel sent the guards in her path crumpling to the ground.
Having dismantled the encirclement in the blink of an eye, Narsha returned to Karami’s side. Both their gazes fell upon the driver.
“Did you say my argument was ridiculous?”
“W-well, that is…”
“Is my master expected to concern himself with the circumstances of someone like you?”
“N-no, sir. A carriage can always be rebuilt.”
“A wise decision. A carriage can be rebuilt, but you can’t put a chopped-up body back together. Right? Or am I wrong? Should we test that theory?”
“N-no, sir! There’s no need to test it! You are a hundred times right, sir.”
Karami beamed, and the driver forced a stiff smile.
Everyone was smiling. A happy ending!
Karami walked over to Miro, who was collapsed on the ground. Malnourished and overworked, she had fainted from exhaustion.
He gently lifted her into his arms.
“Let’s go, Miro. I’m going to make you an idol beloved by all.”
*
“Doggy…”
“Why is everything with ears and a tail a doggy to you! Anyone can see she’s a horse!”
“Neigh…?”
A commotion rang out.
Miro’s ears twitched unconsciously.
“Mmm…”
With a soft groan, Miro’s heavy eyelids slowly fluttered open. After a few blinks, her vision focused.
Her brilliant golden eyes took in three figures.
A girl in a navy maid outfit.
A little fox with nine tails.
And a woman who looked like a snow princess.
“You’re awake! Are you okay? Should I get you some water?”
“Neigh…”
“She can understand you if you speak like a person! You’re doing this on purpose to tease the beastkin, aren’t you?”
Blinking, still unsure of the situation, Miro suddenly came to her senses and shot upright.
Thwack!
“Yelp!”
“Neigh!”
Jumping up so suddenly, Miro bumped heads with Rin. Clutching her forehead, she fell back onto the bed, only to sit right back up again.
“Wh-who are you?”
“My name is Mirabelle. I’m the Master’s exclusive maid!”
“Rin is Rin.”
“Azyeth…”
It didn’t completely clear up her confusion, but seeing the shackle around Mirabelle’s neck, Miro was able to piece things together.
That was the mark of a slave.
But she wasn’t a beastkin.
More importantly, Miro wasn’t in a stable but in a clean room. Instead of a pile of straw, a soft bed supported her.
The softness soothed her weary body and soul.
“Where… am I?”
“This is the home of our Master and his slaves. The headquarters of the Merchants of Death in Noctar.”
“Sorry, that explanation doesn’t really help. Anyway, you’re all slaves like me, and there’s a master somewhere, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Huh? But I was pulling a carriage in Veltreck.”
“The Master went to Veltreck and took ownership of you, Miss Miro. He had me treat all the wounds on your back, too.”
At Mirabelle’s explanation, Miro finally took stock of her own body. The wounds from the driver’s whip were gone from her back.
“Wow, you’re right… Did you… um…”
“It’s Mirabelle!”
“Mirabelle, did you heal me?”
“Yes, the Master told me to. I made sure there wouldn’t be any scars. You have a very pretty back, you know?”
“Hehe, thank you. I’ve never heard that compliment before.”
At the genuine praise, Miro smiled shyly, like a girl her age.
“You’re a horse beastkin, right?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“While I was healing you, I saw something on your back…”
“Are you awake?”
“Ah, Master!”
At the word “Master,” Miro reacted.
Karami entered the room.
“Mirabelle, how is Miss Miro’s condition?”
“I’ve treated all her wounds. It seems she hasn’t been eating well, and her spirit is weary, but she should be fine with enough rest. Also…”
Mirabelle was about to explain further, but when Karami looked at her with a smile, she quickly took the hint and closed her mouth.
“A pleasure to meet you, Miss Miro. I am the Slave Reaper, Karami. Your current master.”
“Slave Reaper…?”
The nickname sparked a sense of déjà vu, and Miro searched her memory.
She had been in a daze right before being sold into slavery, but she was sure she had seen a human with that nickname back in Vestia. And the fox beastkin who was always with him.
“Ah! Then you must be that pink fox, right?”
“What, you never seen a pink fox before?”
“No, I was sure I’d seen you somewhere, but I couldn’t remember where. I remember now.”
Miro stuck out her tongue and laughed it off.
“So, why did the Slave Reaper buy me? To pull a carriage? Should I call you Master, too?”
“Hold on.”
“Huh?”
Karami’s expression turned solemn.
Miro tensed up in response.
“What did you just say?”
“Why… did you buy me?”
“After that.”
“To pull a carriage?”
“After that.”
“Should I call you Master…”
“Trainer.”
“Huh?”
Karami stated it plainly.
“From now on, Miss Miro, you will call me Trainer.”
In that moment, Miro’s very purpose in life was decided.