The Temple
Wracking my brain over how to extract Selena safely, I walked until I arrived at a place packed wall to wall with cages so cramped a grown man could barely lie down straight.
Aside from the lanterns scattered here and there, not a scrap of light reached the space. The metal cages filling it held naked people locked inside.
"This is..."
Sailors, explorers, the jobless, hostesses, fishermen, cooks… people of every profession imaginable, ranging from their early twenties all the way into their forties. As I took in the assortment of ages and walks of life, Ron — the same man who'd stuffed Hana into a cage — came over and spoke.
"These are the slaves you'll be branding from now on. How do they look? That side's the ones whose training is finished; this side's still being broken in. Young ones sell best, of course, but every now and then you get some freak with a taste for middle-aged stock, so we keep a full range on hand."
He pointed first to the cluster of people staring blankly into empty air, then to the ones trembling with fear, and started back toward the stairs we'd just come down, adding as he went:
"Lucky for me, though. Thanks to you, my workload's about to drop way down. Breaking them so they actually listen used to take forever — one brand and it's done. Heh. Now I can actually enjoy the training."
I had no sense of justice to begin with — if I did, I never would have wished for a slave harem — so as pitiful as the sight was, getting Selena out of here safely mattered more than anything. Leaving behind the fearful gazes of those whose minds hadn't yet collapsed, and the faint hope mixed into them, I followed Ron.
Through the stairs, down the corridor, and out of the building, I finally realized where I'd been: Count Hamel's mansion.
Walking through the garden of a residence that, befitting a count's family who had ruled the kingdom's greatest port city for generations, boasted staggering scale and splendor, I asked:
"You haven't stationed any separate forces to guard the Count?"
"The Count? Ah! Right — the boss is a count. Completely slipped my mind. Well, just basic security. Front gate, back gate, the watchtowers. Can't really put guards all the way inside, you know? If someone finds out, we can always kill them or make them a slave, but there's still some risk."
Ron tilted his head at my question for a moment, then let out a sound of realization and shrugged.
In that case… if Selena just gets her freedom, escaping should be easy… The problem is the Count probably won't hand her over willingly… And her class is Mage A, so with my FFF-rank stats there's not much I can do about it… Is there some way…?
As I looked around, mapping escape routes, Ron frowned and asked:
"Why do you ask? Planning to run or something?"
"Ah, no. It's just… this is dangerous work, so I was wondering if it's safe… I-I've never done anything like this before, so I'm a bit scared…"
I scrambled for a plausible excuse. Whether Ron was sharp or dense, I couldn't tell — he just laughed and said:
"Don't worry. We've held this place for four years and never been attacked once."
Held this place? What does that mean…?
I cocked my head at the odd phrasing, but shaking off suspicion completely was more important, so I exaggerated a sigh of relief.
"Whew… That's a real relief. I've never done anything illegal like this before, so I was pretty worried."
"Heh. That only lasts so long. Sell a few slaves, spend the money having fun, and those thoughts vanish completely."
Speaking with a voice that even carried a hint of pride, Ron didn't press me any further about my questions on security.
A short while later we arrived at the stables, boarded a carriage laden with luxurious ornaments, and set off for the temple.
Stepping down from the carriage and into the massive stone building, a cute-looking priestess approached and asked:
"Might you be Mir?"
Huh?
Hearing a name I hadn't told a single person since entering Hamel, I nodded unconsciously in surprise.
"Ah. We've been expecting you. This way, please."
The priestess bowed politely and guided me inside.
"Oh. So the Goddess really did grant you a class. Nice. Nice."
Ron nodded approvingly at the priestess's reaction and tried to follow, but a burly male priest appeared and blocked his path.
"The only one the Goddess has summoned is Mir."
"Ah… Ha… Fine. Hey. You know, right?"
Ron glared at the priest blocking him, sighed, and left me with a warning. Leaving it behind, I went deeper into the temple and asked the priestess guiding me:
"How did you know I'd come?"
"Why, the Goddess delivered an oracle, of course. That someday, Mir would visit the temple."
So she wasn't completely hands-off after all?
Touched by the realization that she hadn't just reincarnated me and then irresponsibly washed her hands of everything, I followed the priestess to a wide hall housing a statue of Kylie.
"Looks just like her…"
Gazing at a statue identical to the Kylie I'd met before crossing into this world, a tangle of gratitude, resentment, and hurt welled up. As I muttered, a clear voice rang through the hall.
"Of course. It's my replica."
Huh?
I stared dumbly as the statue suddenly began to move. Kylie spoke in a thoroughly annoyed tone.
"Stop standing there gawking and ask whatever you came to ask."
Uh… well… there are people around…
Since my questions involved reincarnation and blessings, I was cautious. I glanced around, and Kylie pressed:
"The area around this statue is divine realm — people of this world can't perceive it. Just speak."
What? Divine realm?
"Why so surprised? Did you think a god could descend just anywhere?"
Well… I mean, fair enough…
Feeling oddly cowed, I set aside the things I'd been dying to grill her about and asked what I needed to know right now.
"How do I raise my class rank? And more importantly — you dump me in a world with no slavery, then make my class Slave Merchant? And slap it right on my ID card! Do you have any idea what I've been through because of that?"
Asking about the rank-up I needed most to stop Selena from being sold, the resentment from everything the class had put me through boiled over. Kylie crossed her arms, propped her chin on one hand, and said:
"I wonder. Why you ended up in this world, I mean. Honestly… I was clearly trying to send you somewhere perfect for wallowing in filthy, sordid pleasures with slaves, just as you wished. Hmm… Perhaps I failed to fully hide my disgust? And that disgust unconsciously steered you into a world so poorly suited to slavery?"
Hold on. Excuse me?
I stared at the goddess in disbelief as she launched into harsh words the moment we met.
But her merciless commentary didn't stop.
"But how could I not be disgusted? Looking at garbage whose only wished-for blessings are hypnosis, super virility, aphrodisiacs, harems, and slaves — every last one of them filthy and sordid beyond measure… Even if you'd asked to become the Demon King, I wouldn't have found you this repulsive."
Uh… you do realize that 'garbage' is standing right here, right? And my wishes are worse than wanting to be the Demon King?
Having instantly ranked me below even the Demon King as garbage, Kylie let out a long sigh.
"Haa… Still, I should have hidden my feelings better. If I had, this bothersome situation wouldn't have arisen. From now on, I'll need to hide my feelings more carefully."
You're not hiding them at all right now. I can hear every word.
"Well, one way or another it was my mistake, so I'll give you a little compensation. Hmm, before that — rank-ups. Nothing special about them. Sell slaves or rent them out, turn a profit, and your rank will rise."
Hearing the method I'd hoped wasn't the only way, I sighed.
Ah… so in the end… I'll have to send them out for entertainment… I don't want that… But if I don't, the number of slaves I can manage…
The thought of Selena — no, of any of my slaves — being touched by someone else's hands was unbearable. As I stared blankly at the ceiling, Kylie spoke.
"Well, there's the filthy method you're thinking of, but slaves aren't only sex slaves. Combat slaves, domestic slaves, galley slaves, mine slaves, and so on. As long as providing slaves turns a profit, the work itself doesn't matter."
Ah! Right! Slaves aren't only sex slaves!
Hearing Kylie's words — which still carried a casually harsh assessment — I realized something huge. A way to raise my rank, and with it, a way to take custody of Selena and escape.
Perfect. If I say I need more slaves under my management, the Count will have no choice but to hand her over.
"You look happy, so that's a relief. As for the compensation, I'll just—"
"Wait. That's not happening."
Trying to skip out on the compensation, are we?
"Tsk. So greedy. Fine. What would you like? And I'll say it again — a little — so if you demand something ridiculous, the whole thing's off."
Is this goddess for real?
Clicking her tongue and deliberately emphasizing the "a little," Kylie left me staring in exasperation. I spent a long moment thinking about what I needed most right now, then opened my mouth.
"Can I finish my other questions first, then tell you?"