Chapter 308: Slave Experience (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 308: Slave Experience (1)
It wasn’t Mirabelle’s kiss that woke Karami, but a chaotic noise.
The ice Azyeth had given him kept his room cool even in midsummer, but now he was suffocating from the sweltering heat.
On top of that, there was the gritty taste of dust in the air.
It was an impossible environment to sleep in, so he opened his eyes. What greeted him were iron bars.
A cramped iron cage, barely big enough for one person. A cloth covering the top blocked the sunlight, but it didn't help much.
“…?”
A question mark floated in his head.
What… what happened?
Where am I?
Why am I here?
As Karami, utterly confused, turned his head, something foreign caught the bottom of his vision.
When he looked down, he saw a chest.
A chest.
Not a flat man's chest, but the full bosom of a woman. Milk bags. A symbol of motherhood. They were as large as those of the other slaves around him.
He couldn't grasp the situation, but…
1. First, touch the boobs.
2. Then, think.
Touching something soft and squishy calmed his chaotic thoughts.
There was no mirror, so he couldn't check his exact appearance, but his hair was the same black color. However, it was longer now, a medium bob.
He'd gained a chest, but the space between his legs felt empty.
Karami, well-versed in subculture, immediately understood what was happening.
Gender swap.
TS.
Overnight, he had become a woman.
‘Why?’
He didn't know the reason.
But this iron cage… it felt awkward yet familiar. He'd been in all sorts of prisons, but this was slightly different.
Right, he'd seen it often in slave markets. It was the kind of cage slaves were kept in.
And the fact that he, now a woman, was trapped inside meant…
“Uh, welcome, Lady Laurentius! W-what brings a noble person such as yourself to this humble place?”
A fawning voice cut through the air.
Karami pricked up his ears.
“Why else would I come to a slave market if not to buy a slave? What, did I come somewhere I'm not supposed to be?”
“O-of course not. What kind of slave are you looking for? Just say the word.”
“Hah! Don't get ahead of yourself. As if there'd be any slave here that could possibly satisfy me. I just came to look around, so don't mind me.”
Violetta Laurentius, of the House of Duke Laurentius, one of only two ducal families in the Traul Kingdom.
Befitting the prestige of her lofty family, Violetta was so arrogant she wouldn't deign to associate with lowly slaves.
The reason she'd come to the slave market…
Recently, raising slaves had become all the rage among the nobility. Beastkin, in particular, were popular because of the races.
She'd come once out of curiosity, and just as she'd expected… Violetta's gaze was icy as she looked over the slaves.
Filthy.
Ugly.
Smelly.
Lowly and hideous by birth.
That's what slaves were.
Fwap!
Violetta snapped open her fan and began to wave it.
“Tsk, tsk, what pathetic people.”
What was so fun about this?
Just having to breathe the same air as these filthy things was dreadful.
But to think she had to actually exchange words with them.
A shiver ran down Violetta's spine.
“Are you all right, my lady?” asked Violetta's knight escort, Raul.
“All right? My nose is about to go numb from the stench. There's nothing to see here, let's just go back…”
Finding it difficult to stay any longer, Violetta was about to leave the slave market when she felt a gaze. Inside a cage, a slave was staring intently at her.
While fondling her own breasts.
“…What is that?”
She tried to ignore it, thinking it was some crazy woman, but she couldn't look away. An unknown pull kept her eyes fixed on the slave.
Medium-length black hair that held a blue sheen in the light. Sharp eyes that looked dazed yet charismatic. Black pupils that seemed to pull you in deeper the more you looked.
In contrast to that darkness, her skin was snow-white. The black hair and eyes stood in stark contrast, like ink lines drawn on a white sculpture.
A bewitching charm that made you feel you'd offer up your soul if you weren't careful. And this was without any makeup, while wearing what were essentially rags.
It was the first time in her life Violetta had ever had such an impression of a lowly slave.
She looked like the child of some noble house.
If only she weren't fondling her damn breasts.
“Who is that?”
“Uhm? W-well, I'm not sure. I've never seen that slave before…”
“A merchant doesn't even know what goods are in his own stock?”
“My apologies! But, I really have never seen her before…”
“Is that so?”
Violetta stared intently at Karami.
‘How dare he lie to me. He must have a death wish.’
A slave he's never seen before?
Impossible.
Unlike the other slaves, she was very well-maintained. Her hair was neat and her skin was clean, without a single scar.
She didn't smell.
She wasn't hideous.
She wasn't ugly.
There must be a reason she couldn't be treated carelessly. A noble background, for instance.
She was just about to leave, but she changed her mind.
“I'll take that one.”
“What?!”
“Why the reaction when I say I'll buy a product on display? Is there some secret reason I can't take her?”
“Not at all. If the Lady wishes it, I will offer anything. What are you doing? Get this one out of there, now. Don't you see the Lady is waiting? Be careful not to hurt her.”
Karami was pulled from the cage and stood before Violetta.
Squeeze, squeeze.
Squeeze, squeeze.
“Stop fondling your breasts!”
“Ah…” Karami lowered his hands with a sullen look.
“What's your name?”
“Name. Uhm, Rami. It's Rami.”
“Surname?”
“I'm a woman now.”
“Who doesn't know you're a woman? I'm talking about your family name!”
“Ah. I don't have one.”
Was she a bit slow? Not a fallen noble, but a child abandoned for being stupid?
Somehow, she felt she might have made the wrong choice.
The slave trader attempted to place a slave contract on Karami.
But.
Pzzzt—!
“Ugh?!”
The magic was repelled by an unknown force.
He tried again, but it was the same. The subjugation contract wouldn't take.
“What's wrong?”
“I-it's just, the magic won't stick. It's like there's some kind of massive wall…”
The magic wouldn't stick?
On the outside, she was just an ordinary woman with no mana.
She shouldn't possibly have such resistance.
Violetta, who had been frowning the whole time, gave a faint smile.
“Interesting.”
“What should we do…?”
“Just put shackles on her so she can't escape and hand her over. We'll take care of the rest. You can at least do that, right?”
“Regular shackles should be possible.”
The slave trader fastened metal shackles around Karami's neck, wrists, and ankles.
Thankfully, they didn't shatter.
A satisfying shopping trip.
“Good. Let's return to the estate.”
*
Sold as a slave, Karami became Violetta's property and was taken to the Laurentius ducal estate where she resided.
Karami had heard of the House of Laurentius before.
They were quite famous in the kingdom.
Every one of them was said to have a nasty personality, and if you got on their bad side, heads would fly like popping popcorn.
Despite being sold as a slave to such a family, Karami wasn't particularly concerned.
‘So this is Mirabelle's magic~’
The heat of the sun, the feel of his breasts—it was all as vivid as reality, but it was strictly not real.
Mirabelle was brilliant, after all.
She must have created a virtual environment identical to reality with her magic to let him experience being a slave.
So he could feel the happiness they felt as slaves.
As for why she turned him into a woman, that was because of Mirabelle's way of thinking. She'd been influenced by his motto of only taking female slaves.
‘But I want to enslave pretty women, not become a woman myself.’
He wanted to be doted on by a cool older woman, not become a woman and be some man's slave.
Besides, he'd imagined being gender-swapped before, but now that it had actually happened, it was just awkward.
The rags he was wearing were so short they only reached his thighs, leaving his legs completely exposed.
His breasts were soft and squishy, but that was only nice at first. Now that they were his own, the novelty had worn off.
Most importantly, they didn't give slaves underwear. The chafing on his chest, the breeze between his legs… it was all making him anxious in various ways.
“Uhm…”
“Why are you so fidgety? Has the situation finally sunk in?”
“I suppose so.”
Look at how high my voice is. It's unnecessarily nice. To think this is coming from my own throat. This is driving me crazy.
“Of course it has! You've come to our Laurentius estate, where our prestige alone can make birds fall from the sky!”
The slaves Violetta had seen cowered and trembled in the corners of their cages like rats. Their lifeless eyes were incredibly boring to look at.
So it was inevitable that Rami would stand out. She was the only one looking around with eyes full of curiosity.
She was different from ordinary slaves.
But no matter who she was, it must be overwhelming to maintain her composure in the heart of a ducal estate.
“Yes. This is how a slave should be.”
Violetta nodded, satisfied.
Then, her smile vanished as she asked Raul,
“So, what now?”
It was an impulse buy, so she hadn't thought about what to do with Rami.
If Violetta were a man, she might have used her as a sex slave, but she was a woman. She had no interest in harassing the same sex. Nor did she want to lay a hand on a lowly slave.
But she soon shook her head.
“Is there any need to seriously contemplate the treatment of a single slave? Sir Raul, put her on household chores. The head maid will take care of the rest.”
“As you wish, my lady.”
*
“So, you're saying you turned the Master into a female slave and sent him off somewhere in this world?”
“Yes.”
The merchant group woke up to find Karami gone.
As if it were nothing to hide, Mirabelle calmly explained the situation.
She had used magic to turn Karami into a woman and make him live as a slave.
Narsha massaged her throbbing temples at the exhausting explanation.
“Miss Mirabelle, why on earth would you do such a thing…”
“The Master said he wanted to experience it. If he becomes a slave, he'll be able to understand our feelings more easily. That's our Master for you.”
“Even so. What if he runs into some weirdo and gets into trouble?”
Despite Alfia's worries, Mirabelle was confident.
“Don't worry. I've cast a spell to ensure no harm comes to him. I also know where he is, so you don't have to worry about his safety.”
“Where is he?”
“That's a secret. Because you all might interfere. However, I can tell you that he's just been sold.”
“Uhm…”
The five slaves, excluding Mirabelle, wore troubled expressions.
If Karami wanted this, they, as slaves, had no right to argue.
However, even if it was just an experience, the fact that he was now someone else's slave was deeply unsettling.
“Uhm…” Azyeth raised her hand.
“Then… can I become Rami's prince?”
“You're asking if you can become the Master's master? Well, I don't see why not.”
At those words, the slaves' eyes glinted in unison.
“Then Rin…!”
“But you remember, right? Using your powers without the Master's permission is forbidden. So you can't use your abilities to claim him.”
“We can become the Master's master. But using our powers is forbidden. Does that mean we can use our connections?”
“That should be fine, but don't try anything funny. I'll be watching everything.”
This was an extension of the Master Game they had played before.
A chance to become the Master's master.
Win Karami.
Judge: Mirabelle.
After glancing at each other, the slaves all dashed out at once.