Chapter 6

One of the five heroes summoned from another world, Cosmo. Her real name is Nishizawa Akizakura.

I don’t know why she is fighting in the middle of town, but it seems like a problem to overlook this.

“Sir Butler, can we get closer to them?”

“It’s difficult. Fortunately, there is a carriage for the princess, so if we can get one of the soldiers to come from there, we can approach on foot.”

“She’s fighting alone even though there are other soldiers… I see, let’s do that.”

First, the butler got off the driver’s seat and approached the princess’s carriage, then returned with one of the soldiers.

During that time, I put on the defensive weapons and shield I had prepared in the carriage, borrowed from the temple.

The weapon is a small mace like a truncheon, a type with low lethality that can be used in town. The shield is a small shield. Just in case, I also tucked a dagger into my belt.

There is a mace large enough to kill someone, but since the people Cosmo is fighting look like thugs, I decided to leave it in the carriage.

The butler left the carriage in the care of the soldier, and we two hurried to where Cosmo was fighting.

There were only the carriage I was in and the one the princess was in, but instead, there were several rickshaws.

In this world, horses are mainly used for military purposes, so rickshaws are more common than carriages.

Other than that, it was all people, people, people. A large crowd of onlookers.

According to what the butler heard from the soldier, Cosmo and the princess were in a carriage moving around for shopping.

However, during the move, they encountered a scene where thugs were trying to kidnap a town girl, and Cosmo rushed out to stop them.

Hearing this, I thought that if that’s the case, it wouldn’t be a problem to help.

“Master Touya, please look over there.”

“Huh?”

The butler pointed to a fat man in unusually flashy clothes who was shouting.

Listening closely as I approached, he was yelling things like “Hurry up and finish it!” He seemed to be the employer of the thugs fighting Cosmo.

“Isn’t the hero’s face known?”

“Until the departure ceremony, it’s unlikely to be widely known.”

In other words, the fat man was making his subordinates fight without knowing that they were fighting a hero.

“Sir Butler, hold this.”

“Huh.”

I handed the truncheon mace to the butler, pulled out my dagger, and approached the fat man from behind. I put my arm around his shoulder and pressed the knife to his neck.

“Hey, I’m a friend of the hero fighting over there. Can you tell me what’s going on?”

“What!?”

The fat man, surprised by the sudden event, tried to struggle, but he calmed down immediately when I poked his neck.

Two thugs nearby drew their swords and attacked, but the butler easily dealt with them using the truncheon mace he had been holding. I really don’t know who this perverted gentleman is.

“Finish!”

“Huh?”

I thought that by restraining the employer, I could make the thugs calm down, but it seemed a bit too late.

Looking at Cosmo, she was striking the last thug with rapid shots while posing. I don’t know what she was shooting, but it was clearly a fatal wound.

“Excellent, Hero!”

As the man who was shot fell, the princess, who had been watching from a distance, approached Cosmo with the soldiers.

“No, no, I was about to fight the boss… Wait, what?”

Saying this, Cosmo looked at us and finally noticed our presence. The princess also looked at us with wide eyes.

“Anyway, I’ve restrained him… Do you have any ropes or something?”

“Yes, yes.”

The princess nodded, and one of the soldiers, who seemed to be her guard, brought a rope. We worked together to tie up the man. By the way, the soldier was a woman.

“Master Touya.”

“Yeah.”

Putting the dagger back in its sheath, the butler returned the truncheon mace to me. I took it, and the butler turned to the princess.

“Your Highness, are you injured?”

“No, thanks to the hero, I’m not hurt at all. I’m also grateful for your assistance.”

“You’re too kind.”

As for Cosmo, she was approaching a girl who had collapsed nearby and talking to her. She was probably the one who was about to be kidnapped.

Not knowing how to talk to the princess, I called out to Cosmo.

“Cosmo, what happened?”

“Huh? Oh, this girl was about to be kidnapped, so I rushed out. I’m going to hear the details now.”

“...Huh?”

I couldn’t help but turn and look at the man I had restrained. In other words, there’s a possibility that it was a misunderstanding when I hear the details.

After hearing the girl’s story in detail, it turned out that the fat man was a loan shark, and the girl’s parents couldn’t pay back their debt, so they were trying to take the girl as collateral.

They probably intended to make her a laborer.

If that was all, it would be a bit ambiguous who was in the wrong, but apparently, the fat man was a loan shark with a bad reputation.

“He’s a usurious loan shark.”

“Is there a legal interest rate or something?”

By the way, there doesn’t seem to be such a law in this world. It seems to be judged on a case-by-case basis.

In this case, since the princess recognized that Cosmo was right, my restraining the loan shark and Cosmo shooting the thugs were both considered acceptable.

“Still, it’s strange.”

After hearing the story, the butler tilted his head in confusion.

“What’s strange?”

“Yes, the labor market is a prestigious institution operated under the name of the Holy Capital Jupiter Polis and the Holy King...”

Cosmo and the princess, for some reason, both gasped in surprise, but I had already heard about it, so I listened to the butler’s explanation.

“I’m not saying that there are no cases where people become laborers due to debt, but that’s only after going through the proper procedures.”

“Was it supposed to be processed later?”

“It’s impossible. If someone becomes a laborer due to debt, it’s only the person who incurred the debt, and only while they are alive. This is stipulated by national law.”

In the girl’s case, the debt was originally her parents’, and when I asked, both of her parents were alive. In other words, the ones who should become laborers were her parents, not the girl.

“Are there people who are illegally made laborers in the labor market?”

“...I can’t say there aren’t.”

“I can’t allow it!”

Hearing our conversation, Cosmo stood up forcefully.

“Laborers are essentially slaves! Taking away people’s freedom and forcing them to work!”

“You’re right, Hero!”

Moreover, the princess also started to make a fuss. From the way she was surprised by the labor market story, it seems she is a sheltered princess who doesn’t know much about the world.

If I argue with the princess, I might be accused of being disrespectful, so I decided to talk to Cosmo.

“Cosmo, calm down. I heard the story, but it’s not like the slaves we imagine! It’s a type of employment contract in this world!”

“But freedom...!”

“That’s not what we think. Remember the people who worked at the temple? The people at the workshop when we placed orders for weapons? They are all laborers.”

“There are also laborers in the castle. In fact, many of the soldiers are hired laborers.”

Saying this, the butler looked at the female soldier who had tied up the loan shark, and she bowed to us.

Then Cosmo seemed to be shocked and stumbled.

“Such... This world is full of villains...!”

“Listen to me, will you?”

It seems he misunderstood in a strange direction.

Judging that this wouldn’t get us anywhere, I decided to ask the butler to explain to the princess.

Since they seem to be companions, it would be better to have her convince Cosmo.

In the end, the princess, who had realized that she usually interacts with laborers, quickly understood, but it took nearly an hour to convince Cosmo.

It must be painful for a hero to be misunderstood as having a villain for a parent. The princess’s desperate efforts to convince Cosmo were quite intense.

Since it took longer than expected, we moved to a tavern run by the girl’s parents, who were about to be kidnapped, and had a light meal.

During that time, the butler instructed one of the soldiers to contact the castle. He probably reported the incident, suspecting foul play.

“I understand the labor system... It’s not pleasant, but I understand.”

“Well, there are still some issues with the buying and selling of people.”

Nodding, Cosmo and I agreed. This reaction is probably because we are Japanese living in modern Earth.

“But, I can’t allow forcing innocent girls to become laborers!”

“It’s illegal. I was just about to go to the labor market, so hearing this makes me think.”

Hearing this, Cosmo tilted her head and asked.

“What are you going to the labor market for?”

“Oh, to look for a combat laborer of a sub-human race.”

It’s not a bad thing, but if I say I’m looking for a female laborer, she’ll probably get angry, so I mentioned another purpose to avoid it.

In the end, Cosmo and the princess seemed to want to investigate the issue of illegal laborers, so we decided to go to the labor market together.

Since I might get involved in problems again if I stay with them, we decided to split up at the entrance of the market.

With the information about the loan shark we had captured, Cosmo and the others went to the store where he was said to have sold laborers, leading the soldiers.

I decided to leave the job of rescuing people who were illegally made laborers from the loan shark’s gang to them.

So, I straightened up and looked at the labor market. It looks more like a large coliseum than a store.

Inside, there is a stage where laborer auctions are held regularly.

There are several windows in the circular building surrounding the stage, and you go to the appropriate window to buy a laborer.

“The window for combat laborers is over there.”

“Let’s go check it out.”

We walked down a curved corridor and arrived at a door with a crossed swords sign. This room has the window for combat laborers.

After knocking and opening the door, a very friendly merchant greeted us.

His cheerful expression seemed suspicious, probably due to my preconceived notions about merchants dealing with laborers.

I looked around the room. The interior is somewhat like an office, with a fantasy feel.

It’s not a very large room, and there are no laborers in sight.

“Are the laborers not here?”

Since the merchant is a stranger, I spoke a bit more politely.

“If you mean the ones guarding this place or the ones over there, I can call them immediately. The others...”

When I asked, I got this response. Apparently, the laborers don’t wait here.

The merchant pointed to a large building visible through the window. It’s not as big as the labor market.

“What’s that building?”

“It’s where criminal laborers and those who became laborers due to debt wait.”

The girl who was about to be kidnapped might have been taken there if Cosmo hadn’t stopped it.

“So, not all registered laborers are here?”

“Mostly, yes. If they waited here, it would cost money for food, and we don’t know when customers will come.”

“I see. Especially for combat laborers.”

“Yes, they usually work outside.”

While saying this, the merchant brought a shallow box with a bundle of papers and placed it on the table, inviting us to sit.

The paper was similar to washi, which seems to be quite common in this world. It might have been brought by the first Holy King, who was also a hero summoned like me.

I sat as instructed, but the butler stood next to me. The merchant didn’t say anything, probably because it’s the proper response for a butler.

“What kind of combat laborer are you looking for?”

“Do you have any sub-human combat laborers?”

The butler answered the merchant’s question.

When I looked at him, he said, “Since there are few, let’s take care of it first.”

My true purpose is to find a female combat laborer, but if there are sub-human females with animal ears, I’d like to see them, so I decided to leave it to him without saying anything.

“Sub-human combat laborers are a bit...”

The merchant was vague. As the butler predicted, or even more so.

“Are they really rare?”

“There are hardly any in the entire laborer population.”

“Not just combat, but the number itself is low?”

“Sub-humans who become laborers are usually criminal laborers who attacked humans and were captured. They don’t become combat laborers.”

“Because they are dangerous?”

“That’s one reason, but combat laborers are almost free to act as they please except when hired temporarily.”

“I see, it’s not a punishment.”

Unlike the slaves we imagine, laborers in this world are not so restricted in their freedom. That’s why they are not suitable as a punishment for criminals.

Most importantly, I don’t want to make a criminal laborer who attacked humans a companion.

By the way, the thugs the loan shark hired were combat laborers.

The two men around him who weren’t shot were also combat laborers, and they will be demoted to criminal laborers after being captured.

“Most of them become labor laborers. They are assigned to relatively harsh jobs.”

“But you said there might be sub-humans...”

“It’s just a possibility.”

The butler, who was looking at me with a deadpan expression, didn’t change his attitude.

“So, let’s see the human combat laborers next. Can you show me the list of females?”

The butler, who seemed to have given up on sub-human laborers, quickly moved on.

The merchant was selecting the list of female laborers as instructed, but then he stopped and looked up at the ceiling as if remembering something.

“Oh, by the way...”

“Is something wrong?”

“There is a unique sub-human laborer, but he’s a labor laborer, not a combat laborer.”

“Unique?”

I latched onto that word.

“He’s a lizardman who came to sell himself for money. He says he’ll do any harsh work, so he wants to be bought at a high price.”

“What’s that?”

I can understand wanting money, but why sell yourself? Even if you get the money, you can’t use it yourself.

Out of curiosity, I asked the merchant.

“Do lizardmen take baths?”

“Um, are you asking if they are swamp or desert type? If so, he’s a desert type. A male Sand Lizardman.”

After saying this, I thought it was a strange question, but the merchant didn’t take it that way. He gave an answer with unfamiliar words mixed in.

I can imagine that lizardmen are somewhat like lizard people, but I don’t understand the difference between the two types.

When I couldn’t answer, the merchant, perhaps to sell, gave a more detailed explanation.

Lizardmen usually act in groups, but they are divided into two types, swamp and desert, depending on their habitat.

Swamp type live in wetlands like swamps, and those who live by rivers are also included in the swamp type.

Desert type, on the other hand, live in dry areas like deserts.

They are adapted to their respective environments, with swamp type being good swimmers and desert type having strong bodies to survive harsh conditions.

“Desert type lizardmen don’t like humid places, so they don’t take baths, but they do take water baths, so they are not unclean. What do you think?”

“O-Okay...”

I couldn’t help but flinch at the merchant’s enthusiastic pitch.

One thing I understood is that this male Sand Lizardman doesn’t need to take baths, which meets the condition of a combat laborer who doesn’t need to take baths.