Magic Warrior Chapter 25 (Patreon)

Slave Girl

At the very least, we could not just leave them there.

After consulting with Claire, I told them that we would go to the town from a nearby village, and that if they were okay with that, I would be happy to accompany them. They said they would be happy to go with us, and we would head for the town of Gardia.

The girl did not say anything, but stared at us with her big red eyes.

Her deep blue hair was left unattended. Her well-shaped face, which would be considered pretty if she smiled, never changed expression.

Judging by her height, she was probably around 12 years old.

Like the other two, she was dressed in a simple kantougi, but this one looked ragged and tattered, with noticeable splice marks, and it looked dirty, as if it hadn't been washed.

Even so, I could see that she was well-developed. I wondered if she had two small melons in her robe. Mmmm.

After getting out of the carriage and into the light, I noticed that the girl's clothes were different in design from the other two.

"When we were carried to the town of Gardia, the girl was also brought on board. I think they were talking about going in a hurry before the governor discovered them and paid the fare."

"Yes, there was other talk, but I didn't hear it well. That was bad luck."

It was rare for monsters to appear on a road where there were stone pillars to ward them off.

I thought it would be unusual to send out a carriage without an escort, even on a safe road, but Solgeplante was surprisingly safe along the road, so I heard that it was rather more common than one might think.

I guess it would not be wrong to say that it was bad luck.

We started walking, chatting without much ado. Claire was unresponsive, and told me that she had never been out of the village before.

Claire was wondering about the unresponsive girl, and before I knew it, we were walking hand in hand.

◇

The gates and walls of the town came into view. The town was surrounded by large dark gray stone walls.

The town of Gardia was built as a fortress as an outpost during the war with the neighboring principality of Valecorina, and after the war, people gradually settled in the town.

That was a long time ago now. Nowadays, the town had friendly relations with its neighbors, and it seems that only historians and soldiers who study about the town during their apprenticeship know such things.

The town had four gates, east, south, west, and north. There were always a few soldiers stationed at the south gate, keeping an eye on the comings and goings of people.

Although we were the only ones there at the moment, there were several windows, as if there were many people coming and going depending on the time of the year.

"Welcome to the town of Gardia. We are asking for identification or your name and your business at the counter."

I stood there, not knowing what to do, and a nearby soldier ran up to me and urged me to go.

The soldiers seemed to be well-trained, perhaps because the town was also a gateway from the neighboring country.

"Please show me your ID or tell me your name and what you want."

"I am Mina, this is Claire, and I am here to deliver a letter from Feld Village to the Adventurers' Guild."

"When you say Feld Village, do you mean the village chief or Mark-san sent you? And who are the three of them?"

The soldier at the reception desk seemed to know my father's name. I wondered if he remembered my name because we'd been going back and forth a lot lately.

Three people wearing slave collars. He must have thought it was indeed suspicious.

"Yes, well, you see. Those three over there were being attacked by monsters along the road, so I came along to help them, but was it a bad idea? The carriage and the monsters I defeated are still there."

"Please wait a moment, so I can check it out."

I could see soldiers checking documents and exchanging information inside. Even soldiers, who tend to have an image of fighting, may be doing a lot of office work here.

"It may take some time, so please wait in the guest room."

A female soldier appeared from inside and leads us to a guest room in the back.

The room was carpeted, with a low table made of whitish stone, each side of which had a magnificent leather sofa.

Too luxurious?

I wondered if many aristocrats and wealthy merchants were made to wait, and enjoyed the tea served in the room. The tea seemed to be the kind of tea that comes to the village at fairs and other events.

I couldn't tell the quality of the tea, but from the impression I got in this room, I guessed it wasn't bad.

"B, big sis!"

"They told us to wait, so we should wait. The guy at the counter seemed to know my dad."

Claire sat beside me, fidgeting, unsure of what to do. Normally, I wouldn't get used to this. I'm used to waiting in government offices, in banks, in my life in Japan.

The three slaves were told that they would hear their stories individually in a separate room, and after listening to their stories, they would come into the guest room one by one, as if they were told to wait in the same place.

Tea was also served for the slaves. I was thinking how polite they were, and almost laughed a little when I saw them fidgeting as well.

When the girl returned at the end and was offered the tea, she mumbled "thank you" and picked up the cup and took a sip. Her expression did not change, but her gesture looked elegant.

◇

After a while, the soldier came back with a man.

The man who came in with him was a middle-aged man with a beard and the same armor as the soldiers, but he had a badge around his shoulder that indicated his rank.

He seemed to be a little more senior than the other soldiers.

A well-dressed man with a turban on his head came in behind him.

"Thank you for waiting. We've finished checking. Captain?"

"Yes."

The man called "captain" and the man with the turban also sat down on the sofa and started talking.

"A little further from the south gate, we found the carcass of a wolf subspecies and a carriage, just as Mina-san said. As for you and your sister, you are welcome to enter the town, but we would like to check a few things, if you don't mind."

"Yes."

"Thank you. First, regarding the wolves, I have secured them because they were a rare subspecies. We would be happy to have the Adventurers' Guild buy it from you, or if you don't mind, we can fetch it but at a slightly lower price."

If the carcasses of monsters were left lying on the streets, other monsters might be attracted to them because of the smell, etc. If not brought back, they need to be buried or burned.

I had no idea about this, so I left the carcass there, but I heard that soldiers who heard my story went there.

The Bloody Wolves seemed to be treated as a subspecies. It was originally a rarely seen monster in the game as well, and perhaps it was completely unknown to the public.

When materials were brought to the Adventurers' Guild, they would be distributed to wherever they were needed in town through the Adventurers' Guild's subordinate organizations and the Merchants' Guild.

I heard that if I had them taken in at the gate on my own, it would not make much difference, but it would be enough to get preferential treatment from the soldiers.

I didn't want to carry that corpse around, so I decided to have them take it back here.

"Next, let's talk about the slaves. The two over there were taken in by a merchant, so I asked them to come over."

"My name is Thomas, the slave trader. Pleased to meet you."

The man in the turban, a slaver who introduced himself as Thomas, bowed politely to me.

I was a little concerned because I had never seen a turban before. He was also dressed in Islamic-style clothing called a galabeya.

"Oh, this bothers you? This is a hat used in my hometown of Desierto."

The merchant smiled. Maybe he's wearing it because it was a conversation piece with someone he'd never met before, given his familiarity with it.

"As for those two slaves over there, they are slaves we are planning to accept, and if there are no problems, we will take them back here as they are. Of course, we will give you a reward for protecting them."

He pointed to the two slaves, a man and a woman. It seems that these two people even have a buyer in mind. They looked happy as they looked at each other, so I guess it was not a bad deal.

Claire was there, too, and I didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable by getting involved, so I agreed. I wasn't like a cheat character in the story who could do anything; the scope of my reach was limited.

And the girl in question, I checked the 'collar of slavery' and found no source or destination for her shipment, and her registration was erased.

A "collar of servitude" was a collar worn by slaves. It was apparently embedded with magic to prevent them from harming their masters or disobeying their commands. Although it was named a collar, it also exists in the form of a bracelet or an anklet.

The history of the slave would be recorded on the collar by magic power. Using the slaver's skills, it was said that it is usually possible to know the type of slave, which trading house the slave was sold to and bought from, and who the current owner was.

"Honestly, the records have been erased except for the fact that the classification was pet slave."

Slaves could be sold by those who have too much debt to pay back or by those who are unable to make ends meet due to some other reason, or by criminals serving prison sentences.

Slaves were further classified into four categories.

There were labor slaves, intellectual slaves, combat slaves, and pet slaves.

Labor slaves were used for simple physical labor.

They were used by merchants, manufacturers, processors, miners, etc. Most of them were men. Women were assigned to sewing, babysitting, and household chores.

Intellectual slaves were used for intellectual labor.

They were often required to do clerical work, especially in the area of paperwork. If their abilities were recognized, they could be released from their slave status and rise to a position of respectability. They should have more magical power and learning than others, or the ability to think outside the box to make up for it.

It was said that it was easier to get ahead in life, and if you were smart enough, you could be freed from slavery faster.

Combat slaves were required to fight.

They were often found to be bought for guard duty or by adventurers.

In this world, where there was little difference between men and women in terms of fighting ability due to the existence of skills, there are many female adventurers.

Female adventurers often preferred to travel with the same sex, and it was said that they could easily be sold to both men and women.

Pet slaves were more in demand than their female counterparts, as they could be used as nighttime companions.

They tend to be better looking than work slaves, and if they could do housework and office work, they were often bought as servant footmen or housemaids, contrary to the name "pet slaves".

To increase their value as a commodity, some slave traders educate them before selling them.

"In this case, since there is neither a trading company nor an individual possessor, it belongs to the finder, Mina-sama. We can take care of the procedures here, and we can also take it back in the form of you selling it to us, but what do you want to do? If you are willing to sell it to us, we would be happy to pay you a reasonable price for it."

The merchant was right, this girl was quite pretty and might be a bargain. Thomas smiles and frowns.

...I feel like I've been presented with a pretty heavy choice.