Chapter 14: Slave and Adventurer
Suddenly shouting, the man came closer to me.
Looking at him again, he had a really nasty and coa.r.s.e physique.
Anyways, his muscles were certainly no joke, and his height was enormous. It wouldn’t be hard to believe that he was about 2 meters tall.
(TL note: 6 ft. 5.5″)
I’m not a very short person but, even still I normally would have to tilt my head back to look at him. Since I was sitting down, if I fixed my eyes on him for too long then I think my neck would start to hurt pretty bad.
And I think his equipment were pretty good items as well.
Resting on his shoulders was black scale armor that looked like it used the Demon Beast “Black Turtle” as raw materials.
I think that his gauntlet and greaves were made similarly.
At a glace I could not tell if it had some Magic Effect attached to it, but I do know that the Black Turtle itself is extremely hard.
If you attacked it with an average weapon then I doubt it would even leave a scratch.
In addition, gathering these raw materials must have been extremely difficult. Just from that I could tell that he was a pretty skilled adventurer.
Well, all that’s left is his face huh. Yea, his angular face was also quite large. And his hair was a crimson color.
With a face like that, if he covered it in scars then it would be plenty intimidating.
Well, even if he didn’t have any scars it was still a very rugged and gruff face. If you showed it to a child they would without a doubt start crying. It was that kind of face.
And, that guy was glaring at me as if he despised me.
What should I do, I’m shaking in my boots. Just kidding.
Actually, because of this guy that girl who brought us our food hastily retreated to the back huh.
「I’ve been listening for a while now――」
Whoa, he opened up his big mouth just like a turtle does when it swallows something huh.
「And you’ve only been spouting random bulls.h.i.t!」
Looks like he snapped once again huh. I can hear you even if you don’t shout in a loud voice though――
「Frankly speaking, I have absolutely no idea why you feel so offended」(Hitto)
「Ahhn? Ya don’t get it? Are you making fun of me, –kora[1]!」
I’m not really making fun of you. Or rather, I don’t understand a single thing this guy is saying.
「What I’m fking p.i.s.sed off at! Is the way you treat that slave! You b.a.s.t.a.r.d―― What’s with the way you treat your fking slave, –Gora!」
It sort of fits his appearance, but his way of talking oozed of idiocy.
Just how much of a “Yankee[2]” is this guy?
「I’m was just thinking about feeding her dinner like normal though」(Hitto)
「Ahhn? Normal you say?」
「That’s right. Is something strange about that?」(Hitto)
「Of fking course there is, –kora! In the first place, that b.i.t.c.h[3], she isn’t sitting on the floor! Why is she fking sitting in a chair like a human being, –kora!
Ahh, I see. Basically, this guy is like “that”. He is a believer in the segregation of slaves huh, I see no wonder why.
「Goshujin-sama. I will move to the floor so here we should――」(Melissa)
「No, it’s fine. Just stay there」(Hitto)
「But that is……」(Melissa)
「It’s fine so just stay where you are. Also, if you did something like that then I would feel bad because it would look like I somehow lost」(Hitto)
After I said that much, while showing a concerned expression, Melissa remained sitting in the chair.
However, as expected, this guy doesn’t seem like he would accept that.
「b.a.s.t.a.r.d, you’ve got some nerve. To think that you wouldn’t fix things even after I said so much huh」
「I don’t need to fix anything. I don’t know how you do things, and I don’t plan on nitpicking at your methods but, when it comes to Melissa I will do things as I want. In addition, you don’t have any right to complain about it」(Hitto)
「Do as you want, you say? You mean the way you treat her like a human being? Earlier you also wanted food to be prepared for that b.i.t.c.h, you’ve only been fking around so far」
「I’m not really “messing around”. Also, I would appreciate it if you stopped saying “b.i.t.c.h, b.i.t.c.h”. Melissa is a person, a human being. She’s not some animal」(Hitto)
After I answered back at him again and again, the man snorted while making a sort of stupid looking expression.
「A human you say? Are you really saying that, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d! That thing’s a slave you know!」
「What of it? Being a slave doesn’t change the fact that she’s still a person」(Hitto)
「That’s where yur wrong! Listen up! Slaves are possessions[4]! They’re livestock! They’re not fking humans! They are an existence that is forever inferior to humans! Slaves don’t got to eat food that ain’t leftovers, and they don’t got to sit in fking chairs! It’s good enough as long as they service the Masters that buy them! Do you really not understand that, you fking idiot!」
Geez, just be listening to him I think my ears would rot. In the past I also thought that I wanted a slave but, just listening to this conversation only left me feeling disgusted.
「Enough already, I get it. Like I said before, I don’t plan on voicing any complaints about how you treat your slaves. However, I don’t plan on changing the way I do things. Against someone like me, just talking would be completely pointless right? So hurry up and return to your seat――」(Hitto)
In that instant, along with an outrageously loud sound, the round table that I was sitting at suddenly disappeared from in front of me. And from inside the kitchen you can hear the echo of something shattering to pieces.
Most likely that was the table that was just here.
“Kyaa~” a scream resounded out immediately afterwards, and the other guests ran away from the dining hall in a panic.
Wait…… My food――
「What I’m saying is, that I don’t fking like it you piece of s.h.i.t」
Melissa was completely tensed up. For now, it’s good that she wasn’t hurt, but her shoulders were already shaking.
Well that’s to be expected. After all, she had to listen to this guy rant and then he went and destroyed the table.
「I don’t really care but hey you, is it really alright if you make a scene here? Even as a joke, you’re an adventurer right?」(Hitto)
Causing trouble is forbidden right, for adventurers.
「Ahhn? Are you just a poser with that outfit of yours? There isn’t anybody in this town who hasn’t heard of me, the [Expert] rank Zak[5]. There’s no one with a death wish that would go complaining about me doing something like this」(Zak)
I see. No wonder why the kitchen staff retreated inside and are doing nothing but cower in fear.
Doesn’t look like the guards are coming anytime soon either
「So, what exactly do you want from me? No matter how you look at it, starting a fight would be bad right?」(Hitto)
Well, going by the reasoning of that trio I met earlier today, they claimed that it would be OK as long as long as we used only our bare-hands.
「Yea, I won’t be doing something stupid like that. A duel. If we do that then there will be no complaints!」
…… A duel huh. Now that you mention it, I completely forgot about that.
Certainly that sort of System existed back in the game as well. Basically, except for in certain specified areas, it was forbidden for players to commit acts like killing or to PK other players. But the act of dueling was acceptable.
However, even with that it was supposed to be impossible to have a duel while you were in a city. Something like a Colosseum or some other special facility, if you weren’t within one of these Fields then it should be impossible. Obviously, you also needed the consent of both parties to have a duel.
「Having a duel while in the city should be forbidden right?」(Hitto)
Just in case I talked about the parts I knew about. Although there was no evidence yet, but there is a high probability that the game’s system was reflected onto this world.
「Ahhn? What are you talking about, b.a.s.t.a.r.d. This ain’t inside the city, it’s inside an inn right?」(Zak)
This guy just replied with his own nonsensical rule huh…… But based on this, as expected, you basically can’t start a duel while in the city.
Well then, if even you tell me this I still don’t have a reason for doing something so troublesome as a duel.
In the first place, this was something that guy decided on his own without the inn’s okay. If this guy killed me then he might be able to weasel his way out of it, but if I ended up killing him instead then there’s a pretty high chance that it would turn into a big deal.
With all to lose and nothing to gain, it was a completely ridiculous situation.
「Sorry but I refuse. I won’t do something so pointless」(Hitto)
「So your basically saying, even though you said some arrogant things, you’re gonna abandon your very own slave huh?」(Zak)
‘What?’ I turned my head towards Melissa but―― Before I even noticed, that Maid had circled around Melissa and was holding a knife to her neck
「If you happen to decline the duel then I’ll order her to slice and kill your fking slave without hesitation. My “training” is flawless. She absolutely won’t defy me」(Zak)
Kuu…… I let down my guard, this is the worst. In this situation my [Cancel] is completely useless.
The people who got involved with Melissa, it was possible for me to [Cancel] their actions since it was right before they happened. If I used [Cancel] on that Maid then her raised knife might temporarily be put away.
However, right after she hears the order from this man called Zak, she will definitely go for the kill again.
If the target of my [Cancel] happens to be the same opponent, then there will be a short time-delay before I can reuse it on them.
On the other hand, using [Cancel] on Zak would also be pointless. This guy must have been angry at me from the moment we entered the dinning hall.
[Cancel] won’t be able to erase those feelings he had.
If I used [Cancel] on the duel itself then he would immediately challenge me to another duel.
In this situation I only have one option left to choose.
Che, this really is troublesome.
「Alright, I’ll accept the duel」(Hitto)
「Master don’t! You shouldn’t do it! It’s impossible to go against an [Expert] opponent! Please don’t concern yourself with someone like me and」(Melissa)
「DON’T SAY SOMETHING SO STUPID!」(Hitto)
I unintentionally shouted. Melissa gives up too easily. But, your own life is on the line here. Don’t just give up on your own life like that.
「Melissa. For just a little bit, Believe in your Master」(Hitto)
I could hear her whisper ‘Master’ in a quite voice.
Seriously, I’m p.i.s.sed. To make Melissa suffer because of this――
「So? How are we doing this?」(Hitto)
「Huh, that’s obvious」(Zak)
The man picked up the Bag at his feet, and retrieved his personal weapon from it.
I was always curious about it, but looks like this guy has a Magic Bag as well.
「You b.a.s.t.a.r.d, are those twin swords on your waist your weapons?」(Zak)
I only answered ‘Yea, that’s right’. However, the fact that I took off my armor really sucks huh.
Although my Bag was pretty much sitting near Melissa’s feet, I doubt he would give me the time to go get it.
Thanks to that, right now I’m only dressed in a shirt and trousers.
Conversely, my opponent was wearing armor, and was stylishly brandishing a giant sword on his shoulder.
Well, even so, I don’t plan on killing this guy. Of course this was actually an official duel. In the appropriate situation I won’t hesitate to use legitimate self defense, but the situation right now has way too many undefined elements too it.
「So, let’s do this. Oi Seira, you better not fking let your eyes off that woman until the duel is over」(Zak)
「――Yes, Master」(Seira)
A monotone voice…… it sounded just like a machine huh. Now that I look at it her face is pretty though.
「This ain’t the time to be distracted by another person’s slave!」(Zak)
While saying that, Zak suddenly started to swing his giant sword.
At once I started to move in order to avoid the trajectory of his sword.
But as expected, I could easily tell that my movements were hindered without the benefits of my equipment
That being said, this guy really isn’t holding back huh. Screams continued to come from the kitchen.
Of course they would. After all, everything in the way of this guy’s swing was completely demolished by the giant sword.
There was even a hole in the wall. What will you do about the repair costs? I won’t be held responsible you know?
「Hmph, endlessly running around like that, seems like you’re at least quick on your feet」(Zak)
「Thanks for the compliment」(Hitto)
I casually returned his banter. But the truth is that I can’t be too careless.
What I have been dodging was this guy’s enormously large swings.
I was predicting the trajectory.
Well, thanks to that I pretty much know what Job this guy has though――
TL Extra note: And so it begins. Don’t get too excited though :P
TL Extra note 2: For those who want to know, all the “b.a.s.t.a.r.d”s are the guy calling Hitto [てめぇ]/”Te-mee”, I explained in an earlier chapter that its a rude way of addressing someone. FYI Hitto addressed “the guy” with various rude-ish terms as well, such as “Yatsu” , “Koitsu”, “Omae” etc.
1.
TL Note: “Kora~” is sort of like cursing at someone out of anger. It can be used like “HEY!” but is more similar to saying something “F**ker”.
Same thing with “Gora”
2.
TL note: A Yankee is like an uncultured hooligan/delinquent
3.
TL note: The word here is [雌]/”Mesu” meaning “Female animal”. It’s akin to “b.i.t.c.h, wh.o.r.e, etc.” but would more accurately be something like “Swine”.
4.
TL note: The word here is [物]/”Mono” which means “Thing, Object, Possession, Property, etc.”
5.
TL note: His name is [ザック]/”Zakku” which I converted to Zak. You can transcribe it as Zack or Zach but I think Zak “looks” more like the original.
[Expert rank] is rank 5 from [Beginner]. For reference, that’s 2 ranks above the [Amateur] ranked Thieves and the other trio we’ve encountered so far.