Chapter 53

Makoto stood at the entrance of the classroom, took a deep breath, and firmly gripped the letter containing secrets given to him by his mother.

---

Kurahito bought the woman as a slave.

It was not yet decided whether to take her to Saulan, but he thought it would be fine to make her a Nine-Star and then release her in the worst case.

There were no issues with the registration at the Slave Bureau.

It seemed that the bureau did not want to sell to people from countries without a slave system, but here, the deep green ring on Kurahito's arm proved to be effective.

Kurahito did not show it intentionally, but the staff at the Slave Bureau mistakenly assumed that Kurahito was a 'Moon Goddess Attendant' upon noticing the deep green ring on his arm.

They thought that if he was not kidnapping her for protection without paying, and was instead paying a large sum of 10,000 rods (100,000 pammits) to protect the woman, there would be no problem, and they registered her as Kurahito's slave as if they were getting rid of a nuisance.

Since a 'Bat-type Beastman,' 30 years old, married, and covered in scars, would not be worth 10,000 pammits, there was no issue for the Slave Bureau.

Moreover, the staff of the Slave Bureau did not care about 'Bat-type Beastmen' at all.

The price was set at 10,000 rods, which is 100,000 pammits, as the woman requested.

The Slave Bureau added 10% as a registration fee and tax, so Kurahito had to pay 110,000 pammits.

Since a debt slave is a slave due to debt, it was necessary to set conditions for release, and Kurahito planned to release her in ten years.

In reality, the annual interest was set at 15%, and the woman's annual repayment to Kurahito, assuming her annual income was 10,000 pammits, would not even offset the interest, but rather slightly increase the principal, meaning the debt would never decrease.

In other words, unless the owner, Kurahito, released her or the woman found a way to earn more money, there was no possibility of release.

By the way, Kurahito, who did not have enough money, had to go to the guild and withdraw from his account.

"May I ask a question?"

After leaving the Slave Bureau, Yobi formally asked Kurahito.

Yobi is the name given to the 'Bat-type Beastman' woman when she was registered as a slave.

When Kurahito first saw her, she appeared like a blue-white light in the middle of the night, hence the name.

Yobi is written as "Yahibi" in Japanese, but when asked, Yobi said there was an old name "Yobi" in this world as well, so it was not unnatural, which became the deciding factor in naming her.

"Snow White" is a Japanese name and might be recognized by the hero, so he avoided giving her a Japanese name, but he couldn't just give up.

"... What is it?"

"Was the master a 'Moon Goddess Attendant'? ... A male, right?"

A 'Moon Goddess Attendant' can only be a female.

Yobi knew this, which is why she asked Kurahito.

"... Can't you call me something else?"

"Since I am a slave, if I don't, the master might be harmed by others."

"... Do you have to ask for permission for everything?"

"Since I am a slave."

Saying this, Yobi touched the black leather collar around her neck. Slaves were required to wear collars.

"I see. Then, when there's no one around, you don't have to ask for permission. Also, I am a male and not a 'Moon Goddess Attendant.' I just have some circumstances and need a guarantee of identity.

... Is it better that I'm not a 'Moon Goddess Attendant'?"

Kurahito asked meaningfully.

"... Maybe."

After that, Yobi fell silent.

Kurahito walked ahead, feeling Yobi's gaze on his back, and recalled the reason why she became a slave.

Yobi said that her husband and his family might have killed her child.

Upon hearing this, Kurahito naturally asked the obvious question.

"Why would your husband kill his own child?"

"... My husband was originally a seventh-level explorer but became addicted to alcohol and gambling. He extorted money from his family, who he had fled from, and demanded that I sell my body to make money. My husband, who despised me like a snake or a scorpion, might kill the child if his family, who also despised me, told him to do so in exchange for money and alcohol."

"... This is just out of curiosity, but why did your husband fall so low?"

"Have you heard that the hero came to this country a year and a half ago?"

"... I don't know."

Since Kurahito was summoned to this world about two years ago, it was not strange for the hero to have come to this country a year and a half ago.

Another hero, Kurahito sighed.

"Several heroes were dispatched from Albaum, and a pair of them completely cleared a certain ruin."

The Ankwaar Islands are known for their numerous ancient ruins.

The ruins consist of historical structures on the surface and dungeons that extend deep underground, containing old gold and silver coins, gems, life essence stones, and extremely rare permanent magical artifacts that can no longer be made today.

However, the dungeons periodically alter their interiors, are guarded by traps and guardians, and extend deep underground, making exploration very difficult, especially in the deeper layers.

Explorers who specialize in targeting treasures in ruins had to navigate these challenges.

"That completely cleared ruin was the one my husband always explored."

When a dungeon's final guardian is defeated, the dungeon disappears, leaving only the historical structures above ground.

"Did he lose his hunting ground and can't explore anymore?"

"No, my husband was a well-known seventh-level explorer, so he had several familiar ruins. However, by coincidence, the pair of heroes targeted and completely cleared the ruins my husband knew one after another. In the end, all the ruins my husband knew were cleared before the Ankwaar Islands Federation intervened to stop them."

It is said that completely clearing a single dungeon takes 50 to 100 years, but that is just an average, and some dungeons have been cleared in about a year.

However, the remaining dungeons are those that could not be cleared in a short period, so clearing them in a short time indicates that the heroes' power was indeed abnormal.

"But the ruins didn't disappear, did they?"

"That's true. There is a certain territory, but it's not a problem if you follow the rules. However, my husband, a Peacock-type Birdman, could not perform as well in other ruins. In the ruins that were completely cleared by the heroes, he could fly and serve as a key member of the party, even leading it. However, in the remaining unexplored ruins, flying was of no use.

Even after his original party members left, my husband bowed his head and performed rear support and assistance in other parties, but he was considered unnecessary in every party.

After such repeated incidents, he lost an arm due to a party conflict.

Although his life was saved, losing an arm, which is the life of a Birdman, made it impossible for him to fly, and he could not easily become a mercenary or hunter.

Then, he became addicted to alcohol and gambling. By then, I had already given birth to a child, so I could not help him explore. Even if I could, I don't think I could have done much as a tenth-level explorer."

There was no reason for the hero who came to Ankwaar to deliberately ruin an unknown seventh-level explorer.

Simply put, the hero's blessing was a superior version of the Peacock-type Birdman's ability, and as a result, the ruins where Yobi's husband could excel were completely cleared.

He should have changed his job. There should be plenty of other jobs.

That might be true.

However, Kurahito felt something he couldn't believe.

It is indeed a reasonable and normal answer.

However, there are people who cannot live that way.

There are people who can only become competent by immersing themselves in one thing and pouring all their pride into their work.

While it is not possible to consider everyone, if the hero from Albaum had not greedily cleared multiple ruins, Yobi's husband might not have fallen so low.

It is a meritocracy, and he doesn't blame the hero, but he can't help but think that the hero's existence is unnecessary. This applies to Kurahito himself as well.

"... Do you hate the hero?"

While saying this, Kurahito couldn't tell if it was a question to Yobi or to himself, and he smiled slightly.

"Explorers are meritocratic, so I don't hate the hero. ... I don't, but I can't have good feelings. ... I heard later that the Ankwaar Islands Federation gave all the magical artifacts and life essence stones excavated by the hero to Albaum, which may be why I feel uneasy."

The items brought back by explorers from ruins are generally the property of the explorers, but in exceptional cases, rare magical artifacts are forcibly bought by the country that owns the ruins at a high price, and in return, they grant official positions and medals. Therefore, the explorer guild has branches at the entrance of almost all ruins to monitor the entry and exit of items.

However, it is not difficult to understand why Yobi felt uneasy when the Ankwaar Islands Federation easily handed over the items to Albaum, which they had managed so strictly.

Kurahito's wild guess was that the Ankwaar Islands Federation might have asked Albaum to send heroes for some reason, and the reward was the magical artifacts from the completely cleared ruins.

Since it was impossible to completely clear the ruins in a short period, they might have intended to use the heroes for a while.

However, contrary to the Ankwaar Islands Federation's expectations, the heroes cleared several ruins with their extraordinary power.

Since the heroes were dispatched from Albaum, it is normal to think that these actions were related to Albaum. It is also possible that the heroes went on a rampage, but it can be said that Albaum was manipulating them, so it is reasonable to think that Albaum was up to something.

Whether it was a political motive against a country they once dominated or just a nuisance, Kurahito couldn't tell.

Kurahito stopped thinking about Albaum's intentions, which he couldn't understand, and looked at Yobi.

"Another thing, why would your husband's family want to kill your child? No matter how much they dislike their daughter-in-law, would they kill their runaway son's child? Or is it because you are a 'Bat-type Beastman'?"

Yobi said, "That's part of it," and then explained about her husband's family.

Yobi's husband's family was a prestigious family that had been granted official positions by the royal family for generations as influential military