A beastkin girl suddenly appeared, her fluffy tail swaying behind her.
Her outfit had more exposure than a midsummer beach scene.
Sure, a crop top and short shorts are perfect for showing off curves, chest, and thighs.
The healthy tan was another big plus in my book.
And hey, there it was—the top button of her shorts undone. That was a nice touch.
「Master? What exactly are you looking at?」
「I-I wasn’t looking at anything…」
That voice was cold!
Behind her smile was the face of a hannya!
But come on. Anyone would look.
Wearing something like that?
Of course, a guy’s eyes are going to be drawn to those healthy thighs.
「Looking is free, you know? So take as long a look as you want ssu!」
「Right?!」
「We’ve got all kinds of oils here. If you want, I’ll explain them for just one 1000 Nohl copper coin ssu!」
Oh, she meant that kind of explanation.
And now her speech pattern is rubbing off on me.
「Ara, you’re a slave too, aren’t you?」
「That’s right! So please don’t take away my explaining job!」
「Understood. Then, Master, please start by paying this girl one 1000 Nohl copper coin」
「Huh? Sorry, I’m not following. Mind explaining it to me?」
Do I have to pay just for the explanation?
Is that how it works when a slave is standing at the front of a store?
「When a slave is hired by a shop, no other slave is allowed to take over their job explaining things. Slaves contribute to the shop’s sales and put 10 percent of that toward repaying their debt. Money always goes to debt repayment first, so they have to earn lunch money through things like these explanations」
「Wait, but isn’t the master supposed to provide meals?」
「No, most likely she’s a temporary worker from Yasis-sama’s shop. In those cases, slaves can keep any money they earn from explanations and such, but they don’t get meals provided」
So it’s a choice between earning money you can use freely or getting meals covered.
And she chose the path of earning money she can use as she likes.
「Ohh, you used to belong to Yasis-samassu? I recently messed up a bit and couldn’t pay my penalty fine, so I ended up a slave myself ssu」
I see. That’s why she didn’t know Wendy.
「So, a debt slave then? Not a criminal?」
「Well, there are minor offensessu in this world too! Not everyone becomes a criminal slave, ssu yo!」
「Got it. Okay, go ahead and give me the explanation」
「All right! I’ll take your 1000 Nohl, then ssu!」
She took the 1000 Nohl copper coin I handed her and slipped it into a pouch pulled from her cleavage, then returned it right back to where it came from.
Just that act alone was worth a thousand Nohl… A-ah, sorry. I wasn’t looking, Wendy-san!
「Alright, let’s get started with the explanation ssu yo! So, are you looking for cooking oil or maintenance oil ssu?」
「For cooking」
「Then I recommend this one ssu! It’s a bit pricey, but this is our pride—Olivul oil!」
「My! You have Olivul oil? I’ve heard the extraction process is quite difficult」
「That’s where our boss’s skill comes in ssu! You can’t use tools; the pressure has to be applied directly by hand ssu! There’s nothing mixed in, so you can get it appraised if you want ssu yo!」
「Then I’ll take you up on that」
『Olivul Oil – Extracted by pressing the seed of the fruit from the Olivul tree using clean, bare hands. Cannot be touched by tools during extraction or it becomes too foul-tasting for consumption. After extraction, it’s safe to handle with tools. Condition: Good』
「Wow… That’s impressive. Pressing the seeds by hand… Is your boss a bear or something?」
「Exactly ssu! With a bearkin boss, handling a hundred or even two hundred seeds is no problem ssu! I wanna get that strong too one day ssu!」
Ah, I see. So the boss is a bearkin.
Do bears have strong grip strength?
If you can’t use tools, then you can’t even press them against a cutting board or anything.
Also, young lady, I don’t think that’s a goal you should be aiming for.
「Ah, but don’t worry—we always clean our hands thoroughly ssu yo! And there’s no risk of shedding hair into the oil ssu!」
「I see. Alright, I’ll take this one」
「Sure thing! A small bottle is 20,000 Nohl. A large bottle is 100,000 Nohl」
That’s not cheap.
「Then I’ll take five large bottles. That’ll be 500,000 Nohl」
「Eh… You need that much?」
「Well, I figure I’ll be using it pretty often」
If I’m going to be making fried food, I’ll need that much.
And maybe with alchemical reconstruction, I could separate impurities and reuse it too.
「Ooooooh… I just earned 50,000 Nohl from this one sale ssu… My quota for the day is already in the bag ssu…」
「Master, your spending habits are reckless…」
「Well, I don’t like going out that much. Coming to buy this stuff every time would be annoying. I can just earn more money later. And don’t you want to eat tasty food?」
「Haa… If I don’t start keeping you on a tighter leash, I feel like we’re going to end up in trouble someday…」
No, no.
Food is important, right?
We only get so many meals in a day, so each one should be something delicious.
「You’ve got an amazing Master. I’m jealous ssu」
「Of course, I’m proud of our Master…」
「Are you going to become his concubine ssu?」
「A concubine…? Oh, no… That’s far too lofty for someone like me. But if I could someday, maybe… just maybe…」
「Shiro will become one. I’ll bear lord’s child and be his concubine」
「Ooh… So you two have that kind of relationship. And you’re both so pretty too ssu…」
「Lord likes ecchi things」
「Shiro still can’t do it yet though」
「Wow… I wonder if I could get bought too ssu」
「I’m not looking to add anyone else right now. Sorry」
「So… does that mean maybe someday?」
「Uh, why are you asking?」
Does she actually want me to buy her?
「There’s this ideal kind of Master most slaves hope for—kind, wealthy, and already owning other slaves. They judge based on how those slaves are treated」
「Hmm. Lord is the best. Lots of food. And kind」
「Sounds great! So what do you say? Won’t you buy me too ssu? I’ll give you tons of special service ssu yo!」
As she said that, the fluffy beastgirl subtly showed off her cleavage.
Wendy blocked my view without hesitation—took less than a second.
「That won’t be necessary! Master already has me and that’s more than enough!」
「And lord also has two other slaves. Any more would be too many」
「Eeh, but he was totally staring at my thighs, you know ssu?」
「…Master?」
O-oh, look at that interestingly colored seasoning over there…
Too scared to make eye contact right now!
「Why do you want me to buy you so badly?」
「Well, I’ve got my reasonssu. I figure you’d probably set me free pretty quickly. Oh, but even after that, I wouldn’t mind sleeping with you sometimessu」
「Reasons?」
「Yeah. See, I’m technically an adventurer, but it seems like one of my party members was forced into slavery by some asshle ssu. I can’t rest easy until I kill that bastard ssu」
「How awful… But isn’t unjust enslavement punishable by death?」
「That’s the thing—it wasn’t considered unjust, apparently. I only saw the letter, so I don’t know the details」
……
「Is he cunning? But if Yasis is involved, then she must know who he is」
「Exactly! But when I asked Yasis-sama about him, he just smiled and said not to worry about it. Claims it’s confidential and won’t tell me anything ssu yo!」
……………….
「Is that party member a woman?」
「Yeah! One of them was fine, but the other one got roped into sex stuff!? She’s super pretty, so I’m sure he’s got something on her ssu yo! What a scumbag ssu!」
「Sounds like Dadaril.」
「I thought of him too.」
「You know him!?」
………………
「But Dadaril could never do that.」
「Right. He couldn’t.」
「Why not ssu? I don’t get it, explain it to me!」
Wait a second.
They’re talking about me, aren’t they?
She must be talking about Aina and Sorte when she said party members, and Yasis just smiled at it too..
「Wow, that happened? Master’s actually kind of manly ssu.」
「Yes. He was really cool back then. He smiled and said it would be okay, and stepped up to take the challenge. Just remembering it makes my heart flutter!」
「Shiro got food from Lord. His food was warm and tasty. And he was really kind.」
「Sounds like you found a good Master.」
She seems to like me now, but what’ll happen when she finds out the truth?
No, wait, it’s still too early to be sure.
「Hey, are you the type who doesn’t like men?」
「Hm? How’d you know that ssu?」
「Thought so. Wait, then what about me?」
「Hmm, you’re still a man, Master. But if you can free me faster if we have sex, that’s fine with me ssu.」
「Wait, you’re okay with being touched by someone you hate?」
「Of course I hate it, but won’t Master feel good ssu? I get freed faster too, so it’s a win-win. More importantly, I can’t rest until I kill that bastard ssu.」
She’s dangerous…
She doesn’t just ignore the means for the sake of the goal—she’s even willing to sleep with a man she hates…
What do I even do?
I already bought oil, and I could get the seasonings somewhere else and just escape.
Or should I clear up the misunderstanding properly…?
Ugh… Man…
Seriously, what do I do?
「So anyway, what do you say? If you bought those two from Yasis-sama too, then you must know them, right? Then why not just buy me and get it over with?」
「Uh…」
Should I keep quiet?
But I really should say something…
「Hey, can I ask you something, Renge?」
「Huh…? How do you know my name?」
「I think the guy you’re talking about is probab—」
BOOM!
「Master!」
「Tch! That barely deflected it! Lord, are you okay!?」
「Ugh」
It huuuurts!!
Is my side still there!? Do I still have a side!?!
It was so fast I didn’t see anything!
Oh right, Shiro must’ve blocked it for me. That was close…
「Not bad, little one. But sorry, I’m still gonna kill him ssu. Otherwise my teammate’s never getting freed.」
「I don’t understand what you’re saying. Attacking someone out of nowhere? You’re insane.」
「Shiro. Protect lord. I’m angry too.」
「Huh, I thought you were just a pretty face, but you might actually be strong.」
「Ugh… that hurt…」
I’m amazed I didn’t die.
My HP is crazy low.
Shiro, if I make it out of this alive, tonight’s a meat party just for you…
I pull out a medium healing potion and chug it, but the pain doesn’t go away.
「I don’t care about you two. Could you step aside? You’re just slaves, so doing nothing should be easy, right? But if you get in my way, I’ll kill you all together.」
「Right back at you. Back off now and I’ll only go halfway. Come at us, and I’ll kill you.」
「Heh. You’ve got guts.」
Sigh…
So much for peace…
Still, hearing a young girl talk about killing so casually is kinda terrifying…
「Sigh…」
「Lord! Are you okay?」
「Master!」
「Sigh…」
「Master…?」
「Hey… maybe look around a bit.」
At some point, a crowd had gathered and surrounded us.
And behind Renge stood a giant bear of a man with his arms crossed.
「Sigh…」
「Sigh… That’s a breach of contract. Raising a hand against a customer…」
「O-oh crap, pa—GYAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!」
Renge clutched her head and rolled on the ground.
「Ow ow ow owwwwww!」
「Obviously, you idiot… I’m going to see Yasis. Sit there and reflect.」
「No way, it’s gonna hurt the whole time!?」
「You’re a slave, of course it will. Sorry, but could you wait a bit, sir?」
「Sure. Rough day for both of us.」
「Seriously… Losing a top-tier customer like you is a big hit.」
「Haha, well… let’s hope there’s a next time.」
Honestly, there’s no way I’m in the mood to shop here again right now.
More importantly, I’ve got something else to do.
「Shiro, thanks for protecting me. I’ll throw you a meat party later.」
「Yay! It’s only right to protect Master!」
「Wendy too. Thanks for getting mad on my behalf.」
「Of course. Though… I’m still not over it…」
I pull both of them into a tight hug.
Man… I’m lucky.
Just having people who care about me this much is enough to make me feel blessed.
「But… try not to do anything too dangerous, alright?」
「But I did it to protect you, Master!」
「Hmm. I’ll always protect lord. I’ll kill the enemy.」
「If they’re an enemy, sure. But that girl was definitely in Aina and Sorte’s party member.」
「…Ah!」
Wait, you just now realized that, Shiro?
She was an adventurer, one of the two was sex-permitted, hated men, and Yasis let her through with a smile even though there was something fishy about it.
「I knew. But since she raised her hand against Master, even if she’s a friend of someone we know, an enemy is still an enemy.」
「Sh-Shiro knew too. Same as Wendy.」
「No you didn’t, Shiro. You just went ‘Ah!’ like you figured it out.」
「I knew! The ‘Ah!’ was something else!」
「Sure, sure.」
「It’s true! I wasn’t lying!」
「Ughhh… Could someone help me already…?」
「Yeah, no way.」
「Come onnn… My head’s splitting…」
「You brought it on yourself. I can’t even feel sorry for you.」
Renge was still lying on the ground, clutching her head.
Now that I think about it, there was one thing that had been bothering me.
「Ugh… I smacked my head real hard, so I’d like a healing potion…」
「I don’t mind giving you one, but can I ask something first?」
「What is it? If you give me the potion, I might answer…」
「Oh, never mind then.」
「Lies! I’ll answer anything! Ah, I’m a virgin, you bastard!」
I don’t care about that at all…
「Your name’s Renge, right?」
「Yep. Been Renge since the day I was born.」
Hmm…
That’s kind of vague.
Renge sounds like a Japanese name, so I thought there might be a connection, but maybe it’s just a coincidence.
「Ugh… My head… Can I have the potion now?」
「Yeah, my bad. Just so you know, the whole Aina and Sorte thing is a misunderstanding. Actually, they’re almost free now.」
I hand her a medium healing potion.
It’s not a physical wound, so I’m not sure it’ll help, but her expression does start to ease a little.
「Ahh… Yeah, guess that makes sense ssu… Thinking about it calmly, they both really care about you, and you don’t act high and mighty toward your slaves, so now that I think about it, it did seem weird ssu.」
「It was a letter, right? From Sorte?」
「Yeah. She wrote that a pervert forced her into slavery, so I rushed back ssu. I forced my way through a checkpoint on the way, which got me enslaved, but once I explained, they brought me to this trading post ssu.」
sigh… I knew it was her.
「Well, I mean, it all just kind of happened… and it wasn’t really my fault to begin with…」
「I’d really like a proper explanation, please…」
「Yes, but before that, Renge-san. I have some unfortunate news for you.」
「Yasis, huh. That was fast.」
「The shopkeeper informed me of the situation, and once I realized who the other party was, I rushed over. This was clearly our oversight. I sincerely apologize.」
「Sorry about this, sir.」
Yasis bowed apologetically.
The bear-like shopkeeper followed suit and bowed as well.
「Well, I guess she understands now that it was a misunderstanding.」
「Haa… But unfortunately, things won’t end with just that.」
「What’s gonna happen to meee…」
「We could handle this in-house, but Yasis offered to take responsibility and handle the compensation, so I’ll leave it to him.」
「Of course. I’ve also caused trouble for the shopkeeper. I’ll be paying the contract violation penalty as well.」
「Yeah. She was a lively girl and good at customer service, too. Next time, bring me a normal one. Sir, I’m truly sorry. If you don’t mind, please come again. I’ll make it up to you.」
With that, the shopkeeper disappeared into the back of the store.
Somehow, his retreating figure looked full of quiet sorrow, and it made me feel guilty too.
Come to think of it, the shopkeeper was a victim in all this as well.
With so many people watching, it must’ve been a scene.
I’ll make sure to buy my seasonings here from now on.
「Renge-san, I told you there wouldn’t be a problem, didn’t I? This is truly disappointing.」
「Ughhh… My head… What’s gonna happen to meee…」
Yasis’s expression had turned deadly serious—enough to be intimidating.
「We’ll be taking appropriate action. And it’s not just about you, you know…」
「Ah… I’d prefer to settle this quietly, if possible…」
She’s still a friend of Aina and Sorte, after all.
If possible, I’d rather not have her punished.
「That won’t be possible… We’re going to the Adventurer’s Guild first. Please come with me.」
With that, Yasis began walking ahead.
I walked beside her, while Renge was held by the arms between Shiro and Wendy, like some alien being escorted away.
Still looking like her head hurt, she couldn’t lift it, and walked unsteadily with their support.
「I apologize, sir. This may cause some inconvenience for you.」
「Haa… My peace never lasts long, does it…」
「I sympathize deeply.」
「You’re smiling though.」
「No, I was just thinking—you really are surrounded by women, aren’t you?」
That’s not my fault, is it…
Sigh.
Adventurer’s Guild, huh… I wonder how this’ll turn out.
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