chapter 9

I won the bid for the fox girl and was led to another room.

I bought it.

A demi-human. A slave. A girl.

I wonder what my classmates will look like when they see us together. And I doubt we’ll ever meet.

“Thank you for your purchase.“

The one in the room was a tall man wearing what looked like a white robe.

The huge body that looks like it’s about 2 meters tall. However, the upper half of his face is covered with a white cloth and his expression cannot be seen.

I wonder if this shop is in the habit of blindfolding both merchants and slaves…….

“Hmmm……”

“What is it?”

The man moved his face closer to me.

“No, no, we’re delighted to have a wonderful customer who has purchased it.”

The man holds his right hand to his chest in a large motion and bows his left hand horizontally. Bow and scrape, I think.

“Those numbers around your neck are fantastic.”

‘They call it a number……’

The number at the neck – the power of humanity called the [Bonds list].

The more friends we make, the more bonds we weave, the more that power is transformed into something immense.

…… and, well, if they’re the ones taking the high road, they are. Like with my classmates.

But I’m off.

The number engraved around my neck is ’00’.

“I don’t know what’s so good about this number that proves you’re a loner.”

“It’s good, isn’t it? A solitary adventurer. I think it’s wonderful. I admire it.”

The man spins around. It’s creepy, like a clown.

He says he admires it, but he sounds agitated because the person in question has ’12’ inscribed on his neck.

Can I trust this merchant?

“The girl is very happy to see you, sir.”

Before I knew it, a girl was standing next to me. She’s expressionless, but is she happy about this? Are the blindfold communicating with each other?

“Let’s get right to work on the deal.

We’ll start with this one, this one, this one, and this one, and this one, and this one, and this one, and this one, and this one, and this one.”

Come on.

“What’s with this bunch of paper?”

“It’s the contract.”

“A contract! I thought you were going to do a quick and easy job with magic!”

“Of course, we will also perform a magical contract. Before we can do that, you’ll have to agree to all the terms and conditions related to our sl*ves, taxes, and other things.”

The man sticks out his index finger.

“A sl*ve is an asset and a life. You must be just as careful with them as you are with the weapons and lodgings you use in your daily life. And since they are lives, if you disrespect them, there will be retribution from the slaves and punishment from the state. Please be aware that you are buying a life.”

“Yes. …… Yes.”

Before I bought a demi-human or a slave, I bought a life. I’d almost forgotten that.

I’m not sure why he’s such a good guy to be advising me on that.

Maybe I can trust this merchant.

“’Yes, a customer who understands that will be a wonderful master and his slave will follow him for life! Look, the girl is smiling at the sight of her reliable master, too!”

No matter how you look at her, she’s expressionless, thank you very much.

This merchant is not to be trusted.

I go through the documents, albeit lightly.

Simply put, we’re talking about treating slaves as one asset to be cherished. Violence and abuse will get you caught, you’ll have to provide proper food, clothing, and shelter, or you’ll have to pay a slave tax at the end of the year.

Well, it’s almost like having a child, isn’t it?

Kids who are ready to work right away, kids who require immediate help. It’s hard.