Chapter 71

"Looking for a model, I came to the slave shop for the first time."

"Hey, hey, hey, what are you saying, the one who bought Laokles? Hey, hey."

"At that time, I just happened to find a naturally talented model, not because I was looking for a model."

What should I do? If I thought this was a specialized model shop, not a slave shop, I suddenly felt very excited. A change in mindset is powerful.

"Oh, it's been a while. What kind of slave are you looking for today?"

"I'm looking for someone like an angel."

As soon as I entered the slave shop and was approached by the shop staff, I answered like that. ...Is this the face of someone who has been hit by a bean blaster? Yes, that's the face I got.

"Ah... Well, basically, a beautiful person. That's what you're looking for, right? It seems you want to use them as a model for a painting."

"Model, huh..."

"Yes!"

Last time, I was looking for someone to do housework, which took a while to find Laokles, but this time, I told them I came specifically to look for a model. This way, I should be able to find someone like an angel.

"Hmm, an angel-like, model-suited slave, huh... Please wait a moment."

The shop staff said that and went to the back.

Well, I wonder what kind of model will come.

After waiting for a while, the shop staff eventually brought several models.

"Sorry for the wait. How about these?"

The models brought in... were beautiful women.

"Oh, we meet again, cute boy!"

"Will you buy me this time? I'll do something nice for you!"

"Shut up, you leftovers! Hey! Choose me! I'll definitely be useful to you!"

...Yeah.

"All of them are not angels but little devils."

This won't do!

Faye started laughing at the 'all of them are not angels but little devils' comment, and the shop staff started sending the women away with a wry smile. The beautiful women also giggled as they left. Yeah, I get it, but still...

...Well, then, the next to come were the child models.

Many boys and girls younger than me. They were all quiet, just silently staring at me. ...Hmm.

"Um, what kind of circumstances made these kids slaves?"

"They were probably taken from villages hit by famine to reduce the number of mouths to feed. They've been flowing in recently."

...They all have their own stories.

"What do you think? These slaves are all very well-behaved and easy to handle. They have some education as well. Even as models for paintings, they are good at sitting quietly and waiting."

As the shop staff explained, the children lined up indeed looked well-behaved. They didn't talk and didn't move unnecessarily. Some of them were swaying their feet a bit, but when I got close, they quickly corrected their posture. ...Hmm.

"They don't seem very angel-like..."

Somehow, they are not angels. They are human, but not really human, and... what should I say? Hmm, I don't feel like drawing them...

"By the way, what kind of purpose do people usually buy these children for?"

I asked, thinking not everyone would buy them as models for paintings. The shop staff answered, "Many people buy them to help with farm work or as shepherds, or to use as apprentices in workshops. Some even adopt them as foster children."

I see, shepherds and apprentices... In this world, even children are labor. It's like post-industrial revolution England.

"Yeah, I can see why Togo would say they don't seem angel-like. Yeah."

Faye said this beside me, looking a bit complicated. Yeah, choosing a model is difficult.

"...Well, what should we do? If you don't find anything you like, you can also look at the lineup of slaves..."

When we were hesitating, the shop staff suggested this.

In other words, we can look at the models like last time when I found Laokles.

"Yes. I'll look!"

Last time, Laokles wasn't introduced at first but was quietly in the back. This time, there might be a hidden gem.

So, I agreed to go to the back of the shop.

"Well, it always ends up like this, doesn't it?"

"Yeah... sorry."

Well, it's tough. Looking at many models is unexpectedly difficult.

"Um, young and beautiful women, or children, not infants, but around the age of a boy..."

"There aren't that many child slaves. It's a bit of a hassle to find them."

Hmm, then, should I focus on young women? ...Well, okay. Let's just look at everything.

...So, I went around the young women's corner and the children's corner, but the results were not quite what I was looking for.

"How about it, Togo? Did you find an angel-like sister?"

"No, I couldn't find one..."

When I answered, Faye tilted her head a bit.

"There were quite a few beautiful women, though."

"Being just beautiful isn't enough. Besides, because of Clio, my standards have gotten quite high..."

"Ah... Yeah, if you have such a beautiful person around, your standards would definitely get higher..."

Yeah. Mostly because of Clio. If she sets the standard, most people in the world would seem unattractive.

"...If you're looking for someone more beautiful than Clio, that's a bit unrealistic, right? Do you understand that?"

"Yeah. That's why I'm not looking for just a beautiful person... I'm looking for someone who seems like an angel."

An angel-like person might include the condition of being beautiful, but more importantly, I want someone with a certain atmosphere, something that makes me want to draw them.

"...You really like criminal slaves, don't you?"

"I'm not particularly fond of criminal slaves..."

So, we finally arrived at the last corner... the criminal slaves' corner. This place is as crazy as ever. Things and words are flying around.

But, since it's the second time, it's not as scary. I just looked around, hoping to find an angel in the cages...

"...No, they're not here."

"Of course not!? These are criminal slaves! They are the opposite of angels!"

Yeah. It seems difficult to find an angel in the criminal slaves' corner. I heard voices like "I'm an angel! I can see angels!" from the cages, but unfortunately, the people in those cages were mostly a bit dangerous. No angels.

By the way, if I found someone like Laokles, I thought I might hire them as a statue again, but there were no statues either. Hmm.

"...What should I do?"

"Hmm... How about going to the capital? The scale is much larger there?"

...Maybe. I don't have a good impression of the capital because of Clio, but... it's a beautiful city, and since we're here, it might be worth a try.

So, Faye, Laokles, and I decided to go to the capital.

"I'll stay here. It's a pity, though."

"If we take Clio to the capital now, it might cause trouble..."

Clio is being pursued in the underworld. We have to live quietly in the forest until things calm down.

"Um, I'll bring back some souvenirs. What would you like?"

"Oh, that's nice. I'll make a list, so can I ask you to do the shopping?"

"Yeah."

Clio giggled and started writing. Her handwriting is beautiful. Since I can read the script of this world, I can now tell if it's beautiful or not... Clio's writing flows beautifully without breaking, making it very elegant.

By the way, Faye's writing is surprisingly neat and beautiful, and Laokles' writing is... well, hard. Yeah. Hard.

"Here, I'm done. Please take this."

A little later, I received Clio's shopping list.

Lemon cake and walnut cookies from the blue sign bakery on the main street, bread from the royal bakery, a can of tea, five thin knives from the back alley weapon shop, and "something I find beautiful."

"I'm especially looking forward to the last one."

Clio smiled happily.

...This is a tough errand.

"Okay, have a good trip. Do the shopping well, okay?"

"Thanks, we'll go."

Then, we packed lightly and took off into the sky. Laokles as an Alicorn, Faye as a Red Dragon, and I holding onto a Phoenix.

...I thought I might get tired and ride on the Alicorn, but surprisingly, I didn't get tired.

I was worried the Phoenix might get tired, but it seemed fine. It chirped energetically.

"Hey, aren't you tired?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"...Is it because you became a spirit?"

...Hmm.

I think it's different. I want to think it's different. I could hold onto the Phoenix and fly even before becoming a spirit...

"Maybe you got even lighter when you became a spirit?"

"No, I didn't."

...I'm a bit sensitive about my weight, so please don't say I'm light.

The capital is quite a distance away, but with a Red Dragon, an Alicorn, and a Phoenix, it doesn't take long. ...It took less than half a day. Yeah, this might be a new record.

"The capital is still glamorous, isn't it?"

The capital hasn't changed since we came here about three months ago. Well, it feels a bit cooler. It might get chilly at night. ...This is due to the change in weather, not the capital.

"Um, shall we go see the slaves first?"

"Yeah. We can do Clio's errands later."

Our main goal is to find a model. I hope we can find one here.

The slave shop, now a model shop, is at the edge of the capital, deep in the back alleys. Slavery in this world is much healthier and brighter than I imagined, but it's still not something you'd want to see on the main streets.

...And the back alleys were, well, dark.

In stark contrast to the glamour of the capital, they were dark, rundown, and... seemed to have poor security. Yeah. People have been looking at us suspiciously since we arrived.

"Hey, Togo, be careful. This area has poor security."

Ah, I see? ...So, the people looking at us are... Yeah, let's not think about it.

"Stay close to me. Come a bit closer."

Yeah. I'll do that. I moved closer to Laokles without hesitation.

When I got close to Laokles, the people who were looking at us quickly turned away. ...I guess I looked like an easy target, but being near Laokles made it impossible for them to act. Yeah. A bit annoying.

So, we walked to the slave shop.

"It's big."

"Well, it's a slave shop in the capital. It's bigger than most town slave shops, right?"

...Is there a town with a bigger slave shop than the capital?

"I hope we can find someone like an angel this time."

"Sure, you'll find one. You're not going to skimp on money, right?"

"Yeah, of course."

I can't compromise on hiring a model. Especially for a commissioned painting. I can't compromise due to money.

"...I've worked hard to prepare the money for this."

Yeah. I prepared the money. I worked hard a bit.

...The source of funds is, of course, the gems I drew. However, if I put too much effort into drawing gems, I end up with something... well, something terrible. So, I had to draw without putting too much magic into it, but still make it materialize...

In short, the fine-tuning was very difficult. And Laokles, who sold them and turned them into money, had a tough time. Thank you.

"Well... with that amount, you can buy any slave. Yeah."

I brought all the money I got from selling the gems. So, I can buy even the highest-quality model. Yeah. I'm looking forward to it.

While we were walking through the back alleys, something happened.

There was a light impact on my waist.

I turned around, thinking what it was... and then I saw a child who had just passed by me grab the bag in my bag and run away.

"Hey, a pickpocket! Leave it to me!"

Faye immediately summoned fire spirits. The fire spirits, in the shape of birds, flew quickly and blocked the child's path. Then, the wolf-shaped spirits ran after and tackled the child from behind, making the child fall. Hmm, quick work.

The child let out a scream. However, the fire spirits didn't seem to hurt the child. The wolf acted as a cushion, and the bird perched on top of the child, immobilizing them. The coordination was impressive.

"Alright. I'll take this back."

Faye caught up to the child and gently twisted their hand from behind.

"What are you doing? Let go!"

"What are you doing? That's my line."

Faye took the bag from the child's hand. At that moment, the child glared at Faye with a hateful, almost resentful look.

"Hey, what do we do with this kid?"

"What do we do...?"

I caught up and looked at the child.

...The child, pinned down by the fire spirits, was quite dirty, but their eyes were sharp.

At that moment,

Something flew towards Faye.

"Whoa!"

Faye dodged it, but the spirits, who were holding the child, prioritized protecting Faye over restraining the child.

...The child slipped out of the loosened grip.

"...Die!"

The child spat out these words and quickly slipped through the gap between us, escaping.

"...Damn, what was that?"

"Can't tell. It looked like some kind of magic."

We checked