“So it’s come to this…”
I slumped my shoulders and returned to my seat with Nina. Clarice watched me with a worried expression, and Anju, on my lap, did too.
“What’s wrong?”
“Well, in exchange for not interfering with me bidding on the auction, she wants to have dinner with me alone tonight.”
“…That won’t just be dinner, will it?”
“Yeah, in a way, I guess Derus can be eaten.”
Nina certainly speaks frankly.
“I have Nina, Clarice, and Anju. Maybe I should just flat-out refuse her tonight.”
“…But the reward for Derus offering her body is immense, you know. While I admit I have complicated feelings, to be honest, I’m consumed by jealousy. But considering the other party…”
“Lady Derus, I have a wonderful idea! During the act, at the very least, could we put a sack over the face of that Dwarf named Mariu…”
As we were talking, the auction began anew.
“Now, first up is a Beastman Slave! Among Beastmen, the sexiest of the sexy! For those with a particular taste, the sexy Cat Beastkin, Butch!”
Ah, the first one to appear was a Cat Beastkin with a very large chest. Poor thing, I wonder what happened to her. Demi-human slaves are usually a target of discrimination, so it should be a strict process.
“This Butch here is a Cat Fighter, Level 34, Class C! She is 28 years old and can be used not only as a combat slave but also as a sex slave!”
It’s harsh to make that announcement in front of so many people. I suppose it can’t be helped, but it makes me want to buy her out of pity and set her free.
“Now, for the first bid… starting at ten gold coins!”
“Twenty coins!” “Twenty-two coins!” “Thirty-five coins!” “Fifty coins!”
Ah, but maybe a cat beastkin would be nice and fluffy to the touch? And I can’t say I’m not interested in those large breasts…
“What is it, Derus? Do you want to buy her?”
“N-no, well, if she’s going to be a plaything for some pervert, I thought it might be good to buy her cheap and release her immediately.”
“Master, if that’s the case, please release my companions quickly after purchase as well. Please.”
Helen appealed to me as she returned to her seat. Even if we made her part of my separate forces, if I removed the Collar of Subjugation, would she still obey?
“Sold!”
(Ah, she’s been bought. Oh well.)
“Next up is also a Cat Beastkin, but this time it’s a child. She has a lovely appearance and her name is Pero…”
Ugh, they’re selling children too? How ruthless. Come to think of it, the tanned tribe I saw during the exhibition also had girls among them.
“Derus, shouldn’t you be saving someone like that?”
“Honestly, I can’t just release a child into the wild. I’d have to take responsibility for raising her.”
“Then there’s the option of having the Church of the Goddess take her in.”
“A Beastkin?! Are you sure about that? If so, it would be much better to give her to an underground information broker…”
It would be a nuisance to just foist her off on them.
“Eighty coins!” “Ninety-nine coins!”
Ah, a proper noble and a clearly shady old man are bidding. I imagine the noble will welcome her into their mansion with care, while the old man, regardless of her being a child, will have her in his bed at night… I wonder if that sort of thing isn’t against the law in this country when it comes to slaves?
(What would happen if I threw in a platinum coin here?)
“Um, Kelpie, you have some budget left, right?”
“That would be a bit painful, wouldn’t it? It looks like a noble is going to win the bid.”
“But, you know, Anju also had a terrible experience when she was taken in by a noble.”
“Um, Lady Nina, Master Derus is also of noble birth, isn’t he?”
“Hmm, there are all sorts of nobles. And there are all sorts of churches, aren’t there?”
Helen looked at me anxiously.
“Um, um…”
“I understand. We have that budget too.”
The auctioneer, an older woman, was getting quite animated, jumping and patting her cheeks with both hands.
“Now, no more bids? No more bids? Then…”
“One platinum coin!”
A roar of surprise swept through the hall at my voice! The noble and the beastman old man fell silent.
“Unbelievable! A platinum coin on the second item for sale! Are there any more bids? None? None, at all, are there???”
She’s buying time like that. Is it over now?
“Then, sold…!”
I bought her. What should I do now?
“Anju, can you appraise her?”
“…Yes. It’s a bit difficult to read from this far.”
“It’s okay to float a little.”
She floated up and squinted.
“Name: Pero. Race: Cat Beastkin. Age: 10 years old. Gender: Female. Level: 1. Occupation: Cat Warrior. Special Skill: Seafood Transport. That’s all for now.”
Ah, Anju’s spirit seems to have broken. Oh well, I wonder where and how I should release her.
“Derus, confirm. What do you plan to do with that slave girl you bought?”
“I won’t do anything to her. I plan to release her, but it might be good for her to work with Hyō at the underground information broker.”
“That depends on whether the boss will hire her.”
“If not, well, I’ll think of something. At worst, I could send her to my family home, but she can’t go alone, can she?”
“If she’s still a slave, wouldn’t she be handled as cargo and somehow get there?”
Hmm, I’m concerned about the environment she’d be transported in.
“However, Derus, playing rescuer with slaves should end here.”
“Yes, there’s no end to it.”
Is the operation deliberately putting out such pitiable children early to make people pity and take them in… That’s probably overthinking it.
“Next up is a Taming Monster! Look at this pure white fluffiness! A bear-type monster, like a giant stuffed animal! Its name is Produce…”
From then on, I just watched the subsequent items for sale. I was slightly interested in an old woman called a ‘Tickler,’ but she seemed like a gag character whom I didn’t want to develop strange fetishes for, so I passed on her being sold for fifteen gold coins, and then…
“Now, we’ve reached the final item of the first half! Once again, the final item of the first half is an item that would usually be sold towards the end of the second half, but we’re bringing it forward…”
I don’t think it’s possible, but I’ll brace myself for the slight chance of a Kelpie appearing here. I thought it might be one of Helen’s former companions, but that’s unlikely.
“It’s a legendary fairy! Everyone, be amazed at its appearance!!”
(Huh? A fairy?! Not a phantom beast? That’s a relief.)
What appeared was an old man with a white beard and a round body. No, I don’t mean fat like a human; it had limbs attached to a giant spherical body and a hat like a head chef on its head. A fairy like this! Its body was plump, and it didn’t seem like it could fly.
“My name is the fairy Donajin. If you feed it the magic stones here… Presto! A flavored round bread comes out. According to appraisal, it’s a food called ‘Donut’!”
Yeah, it certainly looks delicious.
“Let me try one… What is this! So sweeet! Sugar sprinkled on fluffy bread, and yet the taste is so exquisite! Mmm, I could eat countless ones without getting tired of it!”
This would be good for supplying food when diving deep into a Dungeon.
“Derus, you could make a business out of that.”
“Ah, right. There’s also the option of selling the ones that come out normally.”
I wonder if they let you try samples? Or maybe they did during the exhibition, but I was too preoccupied to notice.
“Now, for the first bid… starting at one hundred gold coins!”
“Three platinum coins♪”
A cheer went up! I recognized that voice. It was indeed the Female Hero, Korome! She’s here at the Slave Auction too! Well, as a seller, that’s natural.
“I love delicious things~♪”
Could she even have Taming skills? Helen is a Summoner, but she possesses Taming magic. It wouldn’t be impossible for a Hero to also have Taming magic…
“Any more bids? No more? None, are there? Then, then, then, then, with three platinum coins… SOLD!”
Hmm, for that ‘Donut’ he mentioned, I wish they’d let the slave girl next to him have some too…
