Volume 7 Chapter 1 It’s A Simple Job Of Hunting Slave Hunters
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Are you both ready?” I asked Lena and Vera, holding two chains in my hands.
”Yes. Please leave it to us,” Vera replied.
”Yes, indeed,” Lena agreed.
My beloved two slave girls nodded firmly, their gazes meeting mine from beneath their hoods.
”Alright then, let’s go.”
Turning on my heel, I pulled the chains toward the building. In response, Lena and Vera, wrapped in their shabby cloaks, followed closely behind. The two chains I held were connected to their collars.
* * *
”Hello there.”
I unceremoniously opened the door and stepped inside. It looked like a rundown tavern—the kind frequented by unsavory characters. The dimly lit room was filled with the smoke of cigarettes and dubious herbs, and at several tables sat thuggish-looking men and the gaudy women entertaining them.
I walked straight up to the man standing at the counter in the back, who seemed the most capable among them. The surrounding thugs silently watched us with narrowed eyes.
”I heard I could buy slaves here?” I jangled the chains in my hand, showing them to the man. Naturally, the chains were connected to Lena and Vera’s collars, and as they were pulled, the two let out small gasps of surprise.
”Hmph… A kid coming to sell kids. What a world we live in,” the man muttered, glaring at me with eyes that appraised me coldly—not moving a single eyebrow.
”But you’re selling your own slaves too, aren’t you? And in this shithole of a world, it’s already the end times. So stop with the unnecessary comments and look at the merchandise. I’m sure you’ll want them.”
Saying this, I pulled back the hoods of the cloaks the two were wearing.
”What!? Hey, kid, those two—”
”Yeah. One’s from the south. They sell for a high price, right? And the other is a half-elf. As you can see, her ears have been properly cut off.”
Lena glared at me with a furrowed brow, looking regretful. Vera, tears in her eyes, had blood-stained cloths wrapped around both ears.
”How… how did you get two such fine specimens?”
”That’s a trade secret. So, old man, are you buying or not? Both of them, or just one is fine too. Even if they don’t sell here, I can find buyers for them anywhere.”
At my rough sales pitch, the man briefly glanced around before speaking.
”Hmph, fine. I’ll take them all.”
”Oh? That’s a relief. So it’s settled then. Now, about the price──”
Just as I was about to say more, the man broke into a foolish grin.
”No, I said, ‘I’ll take all three.’”
At his words, the men in the room all stood up at once, surrounding us. Ah, these kinds of people are really easy to deal with—that’s quite helpful.
”Wait, am I going to be sold as a slave too? That’s scary,” I muttered.
”You, bratty little shit, even someone like you has a certain demand, huh? If I look closely, you’ve got a face that could attract both men and women. How about I give you a taste first?” the man sneered.
The ugly smile of the man who glared at me was sickening. Alright, I’ll make sure to kill this bastard as painfully as possible.
I quickly scanned the area. The men were gradually closing in, while the women kept a sharp distance. The numbers were… eight men and five women. And behind the counter, one old man.
── Yeah. This will be easy.
”Ha… you two don’t need to hold back. ‘Unlock.’”
With my ‘powerful words,’ the chains fell away. At the same moment, the two who had discarded their cloaks sprang into action.
”YAAAH!” Lena pulled a dagger from her waist and charged toward the men ahead. The two blades, held in reverse grip, instantly slashed the throats of two thugs.
”Silph. Please,” Vera said, turning her magic toward the men surrounding us from behind. The wind spirit (Silph) she summoned released numerous vacuum blades, and in the blink of an eye, three thugs were reduced to ragged sacks. Both of them had been through the horrors of slave hunting in the past, so there was no hesitation or mercy in their attacks.
”Ugh!?!”
”Ah!”
”Are they monsters!?”
The thugs who had just seen five of their own slaughtered in an instant realized they were outmatched and, true to their nature, fled in panic. Of course, the women weren’t kind enough to let them escape.
”You won’t get away!”
”I won’t forgive you.”
Of the remaining three, two were struck down by Lena’s dagger from behind, and the last one was captured by the water spirit (Undine) Vera had summoned. The man, completely enveloped in water, struggled violently but soon quieted.
Watching this carnage, the old man behind the counter slowly stepped out, not showing any sign of panic.
”…So you’re not just a bunch of kids. You’re the ones causing trouble for us, huh?” he said.
With a relaxed air, he discarded the scabbard of his sword. The sword, likely made of mithril (T/N: a rare, magical metal often used for crafting powerful weapons), still glimmered in the dim light of the room.
”Heh, you’ve got a magic sword, huh? Seems like a fine weapon, though it doesn’t quite suit a filthy old man like you.”
”Enough with the chatter. This sword can even slice through spirits. Your half-elf magic won’t work on me.”
The old man, wielding the magic sword, slowly closed the distance with an impeccable stance, showing no openings. Well, he looked like a tough opponent, after all…
”Then I guess I’ll get a little exercise myself. ‘Enchant!’”
At my magic, my sword began to glow with a faint purple hue.
”A magic swordsman, huh!?” the old man exclaimed briefly, surprised but still boldly charged at me.
I parried his strike with my own sword and casually moved to the center of the room.
”Not bad, for an old man.”
Yeah, adding a bit of acting to make it look like I’m ‘struggling.’
And sure enough, this kind of old man always reacts the same way. After decades of experience, there’s no mistake about it.
”You bratty little shit… I’ll have to teach you a lesson as an adult… HA!” he growled.
I thought to myself, Look, he’s getting cocky and coming at me full force. Well, he seems to be doing his best for an old man, constantly positioning Lena behind me to protect my back, while keeping an eye on Vera’s spirit magic. He’s probably been through his fair share of battles—his movements are smooth and well-practiced, based on experience.
But… he’s still ‘young.’
The problem is, he’s completely underestimating me, the one right in front of him. Well, I did lead him to think that way.
So—I casually block the sword coming at me and push into a deadlock, slowly adjusting my strength as I gradually press forward—
”Okay, this will sting a bit,” I warned.
I shifted my body slightly to deflect the sword, then with a ring hidden on my pinky, I stabbed it into the old man’s hand.
”Ugh… you… bastard…” he cursed.
The effect was immediate—his movements slowed down in an instant.
The ring has a tiny poison needle hidden in it, coated with a neurotoxic venom extracted from a poison frog, gradually paralyzing his body. By the time he’s counted to a hundred, he’ll just be a piece of meat.
”Alright, that’s it. Oh, and since you’ve been looking at me with those disgusting eyes, I won’t kill you that easily. Here.”
”Ugh!”
I made a quick stab at his carotid artery.
”One more time.”
I tripped the old man, now barely able to move, and stabbed him again near his heel.
Now, the old man, paralyzed and unable to stop the bleeding, would slowly die. Ahaha, it felt like when you stun a fish. I’d like to make him suffer a bit more, but I still have work to do, so I’ll let him off easy for now.
Yes. It’s not over yet.
I glanced around the room, now filled with corpses, and looked at the women huddling in the corner, shaking. One of them in particular—I threw a dart at her.
”Tch!? Why…?” the woman exclaimed, eyes wide with shock, swatting the dart away with a knife she pulled from her garish dress’s inner thigh.
”Why? Well, it’s just the way things go, right? You criminals always do the same thing, don’t you? Is there a manual for this or something?”
Seriously, this is why petty criminal organizations are useless. They always put someone who looks like a boss in a visible position to stand out, while the real boss hides in the shadows, giving orders. I’m actually surprised they still think this old trick works. They’re utterly incompetent.
”So, I’m not going to kill you yet. I’ll torture you later, so spill everything you know, okay? Here.”
This time, I threw eight darts all at once.
Four at the supposed ‘underboss’ woman, and the remaining four at the others.
The underboss woman couldn’t avoid all four of them, and the rest of the women were hit too. With the anesthetic I coated them with, they all collapsed and stopped moving.
”Alright, that should be enough. Good job, both of you. I think you’re fine, but are you hurt?” I called out to Lena and Vera, who were keeping watch around us.
They responded with innocent smiles, as though the furious expressions they wore earlier were just a figment of imagination.
”Yes. Lena is fine.”
”I’m fine too.”
Lena spun her daggers to shake off the blood, then put them back in their sheaths with a bow. Vera peeled off the bloodstained cloth she was wearing and, while complaining about how it itched, wiggled her ears. Yeah, they were both fine.
”Alright. Well then, the mission’s complete without any issues. I hope this time it’s the right one.”
I muttered, glancing at the unconscious female underboss.
Yes. For the past few months, we had been repeating this same thing over and over again.
There are countless organizations in this country alone that illegally hunt slaves. Among them, we target the most malicious ones. The reason, of course, is to track down those who captured Vera and sold her.
These people are so vile that they even engage in ‘elf hunting’ (T/N: hunting elves is a serious taboo not only among half-elves but all humans). If we let them run wild, we could end up in another war with the elves, and that would be the worst-case scenario.
Perhaps… even my master could end up on their radar.
My master, the rogue elf who was driven out of the elf village and loves living among humans, would absolutely never forgive them if she found out about such organizations. To them, someone like her—a rogue elf—would be the perfect prey.
Though, knowing my strong, tough master, I don’t think she’d ever fall into such a trap… but if, by some chance, something like that were to happen…
”Sir Soyuz… You look troubled. Has something upset you?” Lena asked softly.
”Soyuu. Is something wrong? Please, tell us if there is,” Vera added, concern furrowing her brows.
Suddenly snapping back to reality, I saw Lena and Vera looking up at me with worried expressions.
”…Sorry, you two. I was just lost in thought for a bit,” I apologized.
Ah, I’m hopeless. I’ve made them anxious again. This isn’t how a master should behave.
”Don’t worry, it’s nothing. More importantly, we’ve finished a big job today. We’ll probably get a nice reward, so let’s go eat something delicious outside tonight,” I said, returning their worried looks with a smile, trying to reassure my beloved slaves.
Since I had that ‘dream,’ I’ve been feeling restless inside. Deep down, I think I still carry regret and affection for not being able to help my master… those feelings are swirling inside me.
But—
I gently stroked the cheeks of the two still looking at me with concern, one after the other, and smiled back. Finally, they relaxed their expressions and squinted their eyes in a softer gaze.
Right now, the two of them are the most important to me.
Of course, finding my master is my life’s goal, and I have no intention of giving up on that. But now, that comes second.
What I must prioritize above all is making these two happy.
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.
Thanks for reading.
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