Volume 1 Chapter 3 Slave Girl Lena 2️⃣
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
By the time the sun had reached its peak overhead, we finally arrived at the village.
The gatekeeper, upon spotting us, quickly dashed off to report our arrival. In no time, the once quiet, cold village erupted into chaos, as if someone had kicked over a hornet’s nest.
The children we had rescued rushed into the village, tears still clinging to their faces.
All of them—except for one girl.
”Aren’t you going?”
I knew how heartless that question must’ve sounded.
But I didn’t say anything else. I simply kept walking, not slowing down, not looking back.
Her face was hidden behind tangled strands of hair, but I could easily imagine her expression.
She had likely given up on everything.
* * *
”Who are you…? Are you my new master?”
Those were the first words she spoke upon waking that morning.
When she noticed the unfamiliar cloak wrapped around her shoulders, she lowered her gaze and quietly said,
”I am Lena. As you can see, I am ugly and worthless. But I will serve you with all I have, so… please take care of me.”
Her voice was flat, devoid of any emotion. She knelt on the floor as if it was second nature.
”No. I’m not your master,” I said. “I only came here to help. It was the village head who asked me.”
”…Help?”
She lifted her head slowly, peering up through strands of unwashed black hair. For just a moment, I caught a glimpse of her eyes—one of them a deep, flawless black, just as I had imagined.
”I took care of all of them. Not a single one left.”
”…I see.”
Her expression shifted—just slightly. It was a strange blend of a smile and sorrow, but the moment passed, and her face fell back into that blank stillness.
”…Thank you,” she whispered.
Later, we had a simple breakfast, using the dried meat and tough bread I had in my pack.
”It’s so hard.”
”It’s way too salty.”
”This tastes awful!”
The other children sat at a distance, grumbling to each other. She, however, remained standing off to the side, perfectly still.
”What’s wrong? Hurry and eat,” I said, walking over and holding out the food.
She hesitated, staring at it with disbelief.
”…Is it really okay… for someone like me to have this?”
”Just eat it.”
I pressed the food into her hands. After a brief pause, she took it gently with both hands as if it were something precious. Then, once again, she knelt, bowing her head low.
”Thank you… for the food.”
The three other girls glanced over at her with cold, dismissive eyes.
There was no need for anyone to explain the reason. Anyone could see it.
She was a slave. And not just any slave—she was considered the lowest of the low.
The brutal scars all across her body. Her crushed eye. Even if she had once been beautiful, it was clear she was deemed worthless now.
The village head must’ve used what little savings he had to purchase her, not out of kindness, but simply to use her as cheap, disposable labor.
Given that, it wasn’t surprising that the other girls treated her with contempt. Especially considering what I saw the night before—the practiced, almost resigned movements of those girls during the attack. Everything made sense now.
* * *
In small, isolated villages like this, relationships between people tend to be twisted and cruel.
Those with even a shred of power grow arrogant in their little bubble. And the powerless? They look for someone even weaker to trample on.
Even among the captives, she was treated as lesser than the rest. That much was obvious.
To her, there was probably no difference between being taken by bandits or returned to this village.
No matter where she went, she’d be worked to exhaustion by day… and used at night.
It’s a pitiful story.
And yet—
I can’t do anything about it.
I’ve been through something similar. So I understand, maybe more than I want to admit. But this is a matter of “ownership,” and in this country, that’s not something I can challenge.
No matter how unjust it seems… I don’t have the right to interfere.
* * *
After that, I was immediately invited to the village head’s residence. Though, calling it a “residence” was generous—it was only slightly better than the other rundown houses.
I was brought straight into the reception room.
After a short wait, a group of villagers arrived. Leading them was the village head—the man who had originally requested my help. Behind him were a few men and the three girls I’d rescued.
And finally, Lena entered quietly. She closed the door behind her, then stood silently in the corner.
She was no longer wearing the cloak I’d lent her, nor the filthy rags from the night before. Instead, she wore a plain, frayed tunic. It looked like something pulled out of a trash heap.
If this were a proper city, even a slave would be given clean clothes to wear in front of guests.
But this was just a poor village. I guess I shouldn’t expect anything more.
”Lord Soyuz, thank you so much for saving the girls. On behalf of the village, allow me to express our gratitude.”
The village head’s tone lacked any real sincerity.
From the first time I met him, he’d carried himself with this inflated sense of self-importance.
Does he even realize how dangerous it is to underestimate someone just because of how young they look?
He was short, balding, overweight, and had a face that practically screamed ‘idiot.’
Truly a textbook country fool.
I had no intention of wasting time or effort on someone like him.
”I don’t need your thanks. I just want my reward,” I said bluntly.
Because this was an emergency job, I’d been dispatched directly, without the usual process of going through the guild’s payment center.
────Normally, adventurers like me operate through the Adventurers’ Guild. We pay hefty registration fees to be part of that mutual aid system. In return, the guild assigns us jobs and handles the payments—with a fee deducted, of course.
But in sudden cases like this one, we’re sent out immediately, with the understanding that we’ll settle things directly on-site.
It’s still a guild job. It just relies more on trust.
”…About the reward… our village’s harvests have been poor recently, and our funds are low. Would you be open to discussing… a compromise?”
There it was. Occasionally, a real fool would try something like this.
”The reward is 15 gold coins. That was the agreement, wasn’t it?”
I sighed, already tired of this exchange.
”I said we could discuss it,” the village head said with an oily smile.
The men behind him subtly shifted, surrounding me.
”How about this?” he said. “Let’s make it ten gold coins. That’s fair, right?”
He grinned, as if expecting me to simply accept.
They must’ve thought that since I looked young, they could pressure me with a few men and a thin threat.
How stupid.
”…Discuss, huh.”
I exhaled slowly, cracking my knuckles. This was annoying. But work was work.
I needed coin for tomorrow’s meals. And besides—
These people were starting to really piss me off.
So I smiled.
”Well then… goodbye.”
I stepped forward and drove a palm strike into the solar plexus of the man in front of me.
”Gah!?”
As he folded over, gasping, I spun and threw him into the man to my left.
”Urgh!”
I twisted my body and drew two darts from my belt—one in each hand—and hurled them at the two men on my right.
”Wha—!?”
”Shit!”
One hit. The other dodged. No problem.
With a dramatic slowness, I drew my sword and aimed its gleaming tip at the village head’s throat.
”Let’s try this again. You wanted to negotiate, right?”
”H-huh!?”
The silver blade trembled slightly at his throat. The man’s face turned pale.
In the corner of the room, the three rescued girls were huddled together, trembling.
* * *
I glanced across the room.
Lena was still standing there, same as before—expressionless.
But her hands, pressed tightly to her chest, were clenched.
And when I saw that—
The fury I had been suppressing since last night reignited in full force.
”Village head. I’ll say it one more time,” I said.
”The reward is fifteen gold coins. And… I want that girl.”
”…What?”
For the first time, Lena’s voice cracked.
She looked up in disbelief.
Notes:
• Lena – Female. A young slave girl in her early teens. Her appearance is emaciated with brown skin, long black hair, and grotesque scars across her face, including one that blinds her left eye. She wears a black collar and tattered clothing. Her relationship to the protagonist is that of a rescued victim. She is silent and appears to have endured severe physical and emotional abuse.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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