Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: The Slave Market of Antara's Rest
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Sein stepped out of the Otlmeo information broker.
A satisfied smile crept across his lips.
*All the information on Antara's Rest.*
The deal had gone off without a hitch.
*And some additional info we figured you might need.*
Even a bonus he hadn't expected.
"I thought they were washed up."
Otlmeo, with whom he shared a deep history.
Sein had been disappointed by how much they'd changed.
"But there was at least one decent guy, right?"
Antara's branch chief, Britz.
The man had delivered exactly what Sein wanted.
That alone would have earned him a pat on the back and some praise for a job well done, but Britz had exceeded expectations.
*This is a status badge that lets you meet branch chiefs at any Otlmeo location.*
The ability to read people and know where to invest.
An information broker was a businessman, after all.
And that was where Britz had pleased Sein.
*That's it?*
From there, it was Sein's turn.
Sure, it had eased his disappointment, but only just.
*Uh? What...*
*We'll be seeing a lot of each other, so how about a little extra generosity?*
He'd even cleaned out Otlmeo's vault.
The good news was that Britz hadn't tried to stop him.
*He probably figured it out.*
Sein's demeanor, unafraid of the Demorus name, and the info on the witch.
That had given away his own status.
"I used to think it was just some highly advanced AI or whatever."
Whistling a tune, Sein tucked the bulging pouch against his chest and muttered.
"But what is it now, I wonder."
Curiosity about the upended world.
It was a thought that always crossed his mind, one he'd tucked away in a corner while focusing on survival.
But that was as far as it went.
"Anyway..."
Sein had to focus on his current goal.
"The slave market, huh."
The largest slave market in District 7.
Something that hadn't existed in the pristine Sanctuary back then.
He'd have to pay a visit to that cesspit.
*
*
*
"Goblins for sale!"
"Fresh orcs, hot off the grill!"
Antara's Rest.
What had sprung up around the grand temple that once boasted immense scale was none other than the slave market.
In place of the clean, beautiful streets.
"Kieeeek!"
"Chweek!"
The streets teemed with monsters' cries and the stench of their rotting bodily fluids.
"You fucking idiot!"
And the biggest change from the past—the clear, peaceful human hearts.
*Crack!*
Had been dyed black with malice.
"What a sight."
That was Sein's short impression of Antara's slave district.
The novelty of this new slave market intrigued him, but it also turned his stomach.
"You okay?"
Beside him, a short-haired young man spoke up.
"Why the formal speech?"
The young man he'd beaten black and blue in Antara's back alleys for spilling Otlmeo's base location.
*The slave market's a maze, so you'll need a guide.*
This was Palu, the Otlmeo guide Britz had assigned.
"Feels weird hearing polite talk from the guy who was mouthing off while getting pummeled."
Palu flashed a friendly smile at Sein's words.
"That was just some crazy bastard."
"And now?"
"You're no ordinary customer."
He must have gotten a warning from Britz.
Still, not bad.
The ability to switch to a mask in an instant.
Or rather.
*Is this the real him?*
He was quick on the uptake about what paid and what didn't.
*I thought Britz was the only worthwhile one left in Otlmeo.*
Palu was starting to grow on him too.
Refusing to give up the base, keeping the banter even on the brink of death.
And now this shift in attitude when money was on the table.
Some might call it sleazy, but for an information broker, it was a solid talent.
"But what do you mean 'okay'?"
"The slave market."
Palu stepped ahead of Sein as he spoke.
"First-timers usually freak out at the stench."
The reek, the malice, the sticky evil soaking the streets.
"And those who remember old Antara..."
Antara's Rest.
Even now, with faith in Angel faded, some recalled its past beauty.
From mothers to children.
From grandparents to grandchildren.
Those raised on handed-down tales, imagining Antara.
"Urp!"
"Like that guy over there."
They couldn't hold back the vomit at the sight.
"Didn't you have some fantasy about Antara?"
"You heard that much?"
"I'm a pretty trusted guy in the organization."
He'd caught wind that Sein was asking around about Antara's Rest.
"Hm."
A fantasy, huh.
"I've already seen how brutal reality is."
A reality he'd created himself, no less.
"By the way, what's the point of goblins?"
He'd assumed a slave market meant people, but they sold all sorts.
"Can't even use 'em for labor."
Born monsters.
Their utility was laughably low.
Hostile to humans, barely communicable.
"I get orcs, maybe."
Orcs were the least bad off.
"Well, world's full of people with all kinds of tastes."
"Now I really might puke."
As they chatted, the streets grew even dimmer.
Deeper in.
They'd reached the heart of the already grim slave district, a place to tense up, but Sein stayed his usual self.
Palu clicked his tongue at the sight, but soon enough, they arrived.
"Old man. Long time."
Palu greeted first.
Before him sat an elderly man shrunken to the bone, age impossible to guess.
"Palu."
He looked like a corpse that could drop dead tomorrow.
"Brought a customer?"
"No need to be so wary. He's the branch chief's guest."
The old man's milky white eyes glared at Sein.
"...I..."
The elder started to say something.
His eyes, his body began to tremble.
"Mind if I go in?"
Sein brushed past Palu as he spoke.
*Thud.*
Sein's hand on the old man's shoulder.
The elder froze as if the trembling had been a lie.
"Come... in."
Permission granted at last.
"What's this about."
Palu followed behind.
"Galli the geezer using polite speech."
It was Palu's reaction to seeing Galli—the slave district's eldest, even lording over the lord with casual talk—speak formally for the first time.
"Finally lost it, huh."
As they descended the underground entrance, Palu's voice faded into silence.
Left alone, old man Galli gazed at the pitch-black sky and murmured.
"Angel..."
*
*
*
The world was a tangle of countless self-interests.
The darker it got, the more those complex black threads blanketed everything.
But the darker the world grew, the clearer one thing became.
"Ha."
A simple fact.
The Sanctuary now ruled by the dark underworld.
Dark Sanctuary had few laws.
Pretexts to bind each other.
And what could surpass even those...
"Now this is a sight."
Profit.
*Shaaa-!*
Holy light illuminated the underground of the slave district.
*Antara's Rest has been closed off.*
Britz had said.
*I don't know what you're after, but I can introduce you to people who can help.*
He'd offer a way to get closer to what Sein sought.
And so, the slave market.
The darkest depths.
"This is Tarian, the biggest trading company in Antara's slave market."
Tarian.
"Not that many call it that..."
Palu smirked.
"They call it the Dark Temple."
Dark Temple.
*Shaaa-!*
The holy light healed a human, fulfilling its role.
The healed human wore metal shackles around neck and arms.
"For real?"
"What about?"
Sein spoke in disbelief.
"Angel's followers as slave traders."
Humans emanating holy power.
Those once called priests now managed and healed slaves.
"I never heard..."
Palu started to freak out at Sein's words.
"Would you call them merchants? More like overseers, perhaps?"
A voice from behind.
Sein turned slowly, as if he'd sensed it coming.
There stood a neat middle-aged man with a kindly smile.
"...! Lord Barus!"
Palu panicked and raised his voice.
The guy who'd kept up the banter while getting beaten now switched to honorifics on sight.
"I'm Barus, head of Tarian Trading."
This was Tarian's boss.
"First time in Antara, I take it. Britz mentioned sending a guest."
Barus.
Sein met Barus's eyes.
Neither looked away.
Barus had a warm face unfit for a man trading thousands of slaves.
"Ha."
Sein tsked again.
"This is insane."
More shocking than the revolting slave streets.
Angel's priests as slave traders.
And their overseer, the trading head...
*Archbishop level.*
The fact he was an archbishop-level priest.
It was just a game religion, nothing to overthink, but Sein—once obsessed with Sanctuary—felt a unique pang.
So even if times changed, seeing Angel's priests, who preached love and embrace for humanity, running a slave trade was quite the shock.
Especially.
*Is Angel lending them power?*
The god Angel granting them holy power.
"I figured as much since Britz sent you, but you're no ordinary man."
Barus had noticed Sein's appraising gaze.
"Care to come in and talk?"
Barus extended the invitation slowly.
"No."
But Sein refused.
No matter how shocking the scene.
Sein's goal was singular from start to finish.
"Archbishop level works perfect."
"......"
"I want to enter the Rest."
The Rest.