Chapter 3
"Farewell, old man. Pray that you are blessed with a good master. Though, I doubt any decent person would want to buy the likes of you."
The bandit said to Kuders as he accepted the money from the slave merchant.
Now, we must go back a little in order to understand how Kuders got here.
When the bandit attacked, Kuders fell into a state of shock over the hopelessness of his reality.
As he was unable to resist, the bandit bound him up and pushed him onto the back of his wagon as if he were luggage. Kuders then spent the next several days on that wagon without food or water.
When he next saw the sunlight, all that was in front of him was an empty street and a stone building.
The walls looked strong but were quite plain, other than a few metal hooks to hold torches and tie your horse to. It was so desolate that he could not help but sigh in disgust.
Kuders was presently tied to one of the hooks.
"Uhh. Could this be one of those…slave things?"
He asked, addressing an angry-looking fellow who appeared to work for the slave merchant. The man looked at him as if he was gravely stupid.
"You"re a strange old man. What else would this be?"
"Exactly. I could not think of anything else. But I still had hope…"
Kuders laughed dryly. The man looked at him and snorted before taking out some keys.
"…What a queer thing to say. Now, come over here before someone sees you."
The man used the key to free Kuders from the metal hook and then pushed him into the building.
As he seemed to care about the eyes of others, this was clearly not a legal operation.
The interior of the building was very dark.
Not only that, but it smelled terrible and suspiciously similar to human waste. Kuders was a.s.saulted by an urge to use his power to get rid of the smell.
"Hey, I know it smells bad, but that"s no reason to faint! If you keep this up, I will have to drag you through it."
"I-I"m impressed that you can even breathe in this."
Upon hearing Kuders"s words, the jailor, for that is what the man was, smiled cynically.
"…I was born without the ability to smell."
Indeed. So what was usually considered a disability could be an advantage in a place like this.
"By the way, would it bother you if I asked you a question?"
"Yes. Now shut up and follow me."
The man was very tired of Kuders"s inquiries, and he began to walk again.
"But, it is so very important!"
"I said, shut up. Know your d.a.m.n place."
Kuders"s feet remained planted where he was. The man looked at him with irritation.
However, Kuders did not seem affected by the looks of hatred. His face remained serious.
"These slave markets. Do people ever fall in love in such places?"
"Bwafha!?"
The words must have had an odd effect on him.
He started coughing horribly.
"Are you alright?"
"Ggagh…gffa… I"ll tell you what"s not alright. Your d.a.m.n head! What fool goes to a slave market for romance!"
Unfortunately, he was looking at such a person.
Reality was too brutal.
"Well, I just thought…"
Wordlessly, the man kicked Kuders in the shin. Kuders"s face looked as cool as ever.
On the other hand, the man"s foot was exploding with pain.
While he may have not looked like much…Kuders used to be one of the Four Great Kings. His body was as strong as iron.
"You…monster!!"
"Ah, thank you. I"m quite weak to compliments."
"I"m not complimenting you!! Now, look here. Don"t talk anymore! d.a.m.n that b.a.s.t.a.r.d… What did he sell to us!! Listen. If you speak one more word, it may be your last!!"
That being said, he had no idea what he could even do against someone who had a body like iron.
—I hope you step on a small rock with you bare foot!!
All he could really do was act tough, while he whimpered in his heart.
Of course, Kuders continued to talk to him after that, but the man with the angry eyes just ignored him.
This strategy proved to be effective, and Kuders soon started to follow him quietly with a dejected look on his face.
While he had high physical defense, he was clearly weak to psychological attacks.
The jailor allowed himself to gloat a little as Kuders could be heard sniffling sadly to himself. Then they turned a corner and he stopped.
"Hey, stop here. This is your room."
"Huh? This thing? But there is no bed and the toilet is visible from the outside."
Kuders took one look at the room and expressed his confusion.
"Eh? Were you expecting a hotel room! You idiot."
That seemed like the most obvious response to such a question, but Kuders just tilted his head with further puzzlement.
"But, don"t you sell slaves? Isn"t it rather odd to ruin the condition of what you"re selling? I don"t think you understand the basics of the trade business at all."
The only thing behind the bars was a chamber pot and a straw mat to sleep on. It was hardly sanitary or conducive to good health.
"Th-that"s not my concern! Hey, stop looking at me with those piteous eyes!!"
The angry-looking man was clearly shocked to be treated as some kind of novice.
Had he been his master, he may have argued his position. But as he knew nothing about trade, he could not even answer Kuders.
"Just get in there."
"I don"t want to."
The jailor opened the door and tried to make Kuders get in. But Kuders stubbornly refused.
And so he tried to use force, but it was as if Kuders"s body had become a part of the stone floor. He did not move an inch.
"Knock it off, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d!! I said get in. So get in!!"
"I"d rather not."
Anger caused the jailor to kick Kuders from behind, but it only resulted in pain shooting up his foot.
He rolled on the ground as he held it and thought.
—I don"t know how that bandit captured this monster, but it must mean he has a weakness.
At least, it seemed that physical force would not work here.
So, something psychological? No, that"s not it.
This flower field b.a.s.t.a.r.d who at a glance, seemed like a serious public servant type…would have that weakness!!
"Now that I think of it, the previous occupant left some erotic drawings in the corner over there."
In the next instant.
Kuders"s foot moved forward with the speed of the wind.
"Huh? Where is this artwork!? Oh, huh? Why are you closing the door?"
"The auction is in three days. You"ll be staying here until then. And don"t you dare think about escaping."
The man locked the door with a look satisfaction and then left.
Jawbrie: Hope you all enjoy reading this. Still not decided if I"ll pick it up. But we"ll see how it goes…