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Villagers who had ended their work for the night, descended down to the first floor to drown themselves in meal and sake. I sit down at an open table and order supper from the auntie. She returns with a stew containing mutton and steamed potatoes. It smells a little, but to have a meal cooked after such a long time, it tastes delicious.
I completely empty the bowl and then pay the additional charge for an extra serving. Also, i was interested in the liquor made from a tree that they serve here, so i ordered that as well.
Apparently it was called ale, i tried it and it wasn’t carbonated. Honestly, i didn’t find it very tasty. However, it was cold. When i observed the kitchen, they seemed to pour the liquor from a wooden barrel only when someone orders ale.
Maybe they used a monster core to cool the ale.
As i was eating silently, a drunken man tried to talk to me.
[Hey! Adventurer. Do you drink!?] (TLN: 兄ちゃん)
He seems to be heavily under the influence of alcohol. The volume of his voice is way too loud considering the short distance. However, the drunken man doesn’t seem to care.
[Yes, i drink. The meals here are delicious.]
[Of course! everything is made in this village, it’s impossible for it to taste disgusting]
This uncle seems cheerful. It’s not as if i’m praising him, but i can feel him improving the mood.
[Are you heading for Koper? It will be easy to live there as an adventurer]
[Why?]
[What, you don’t know? It’s because there’s a dungeon there. No-one has reached the innermost layer yet, so many adventurers are challenging it]
It came to a dungeon at last. Now i have the opportunity to become a fully-fledged adventurer! However, i should be careful when entering, i don’t want my grave to be made there.
After the uncle had finished his one sided narrative, he returned to his seat feeling satisfied. The other members of the drunken man’s party seem tired. I decided to sleep for now in preparation for tomorrow.
On the next morning, i ask the auntie if she has any portable food i can take with me, she returns shortly afterwards with hard bread. How about preserved foods? was what i wanted to ask, however it’s only three days from here to Koper, so i didn’t ask for much. This will do in the mean time.
Leaving the village behind me, i travel further south. Along the way, there were many branches off onto other highways and the road was gradually becoming flat. This was evidence that a town was approaching. Behind me, there was a carriage travelling down the highway, i paid 1 small silver coin and was granted permission to ride with them.
I was riding with some people who were wearing nothing but rags. Seeing my confusion, the carriage driver explained that they were slaves that were to be sold in Koper. Is there slavery in this world?
I felt ashamed at this and decided to observe them. Every one of them has dead eyes, the light in them had simply disappeared. (TLN: I omitted something about レイプ目 which translates literally to “rape eyes”)
The slaves i was travelling with included a 40 year old uncle, a man who was the same age as me, as well as one with a large lizard-like body. Gender is difficult to judge, regardless of that, i was dazzled by the last person.
It was a nekomimi. Is that a tail!? It’s moving so it isn’t part of a costume, it must be real! I think she’s slightly younger than me, she’s a considerably beautiful girl.
The slave owner explained whilst i paid attention. She seems to be a beastman of the cat family, she was good looking and healthy, he seemed rather proud whilst describing her. Although i was hesitant about treating others as a commodity, however this is the norm in this world. By the way, the price was ten large gold coins. I can buy her!? (TLN: Slave owner is the one driving the carriage)
We seem to have arrived at a way point and decided to set up camp for today. My help was requested and as i was given a lift, it’s hard to decline.
Because i have a map, i left it to display for the time being.
By a stroke of luck, i was a.s.signed to watch the nekomimi girl from the carriage. There is a pitfire opposite us. As she had kept silent up until now, i decided to try and talk with her.(TLN: RAW states 2 girls, but i wrote it as one as i wasn’t sure)
[What is your name?]
[….it’s Claire. However, our names change when we’re bought. So it won’t be that for long.]
[May i ask why you became a slave?]
[….It’s fine. I’ve told this story many times]
Little by little, Claire began to narrate her story. Apparently, her village had been poor for a long time, it was difficult to make a living. The bad harvests had continued for 2 to 3 years.
The people in the village tried to break through the situation by buying new agricultural equipment powered by (monster cores). It was going well until suddenly, there was a surprise monster attack on the village. The damage was extensive, the newly purchased farming equipment had been broken.
Because of this, they were swamped with debt and had no way to pay it off. It seems the only profitable thing they had left to sell was people.
[….to protect your parents and brothers, you should become a high priced slave]
I don’t have the words to put into context how sad that story was. Although there were similar stories on Earth, it was never to this extent.
[However, won’t you be liberated from being a slave once the debt is paid off?]
The answer to my question came in the form of a weak smile by Claire.
At that time, two red blinking dots appeared on my map.
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