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Slaves. Yes. A slave.
Why a slave, you may ask,
because Fay says, “I don’t believe that Tougo can remember to change the
sealing tool’s magic stone once a day! Tougo is too incapable of living! If he
is left alone, he will die!” And He insisted.
Regarding the exchange of magic
stones, I was going to tell him that it was not true that I would die if I was left
alone, but when he mentioned that I had fainted many times due to “magic
power depletion,” I was no longer in any capacity to argue with him.
Then everyone decided that if
I was going to live in the forest, it would be better if I had someone close by
to take care of me. Mainly in terms of managing my food and shelter.
…That brings me back to my
earlier point. We were talking about “buying a slave”.
It seems there is slavery in
this world. Criminals, the poor, people in debt, and people from enemy
countries who have lost a war? These people become slaves.
…However, I have quite a bit
of resistance. Because there is slavery, there are slaves. No matter how accepted…
I have a strong attachment to the morals of my original world, and I feel a lot
of resistance.
“I see. In your world,
there were no slaves.” (Fay)
“Yes.” (Tougo)
After all, this place is a
different world, I think. Their common sense is something that is completely
different from what I grew up with, and naturally, our morals are also
different.
Fay is a good person, but at
times like this, I can’t help but feel a little distant from him.
…But.
“… Huh? What does your
world do with the people who were hungry? Don’t tell me they were all begging
on the street?” (Fay)
When Fay started to say that,
I felt a bit like, “What?”
“Umm… the government
paid for those who couldn’t work or were unemployed.” (Tougo)
Anyway, I tell Fay a little
bit about my world, about welfare, culture, and so on. Yeah. I told him a
little about my world.
“I’m not sure I
understand. …Well, does that mean that in a way, it’s a system where those
with money help those without?” (Fay)
“Hmm… yes, something
like that.” (Tougo)
It’s a rough summary, but
maybe that’s mostly it. Mostly.
“If that’s the case, it’s
not much different from slavery, is it? It’s rather good that there is a proper
place of employment, isn’t it?” (Fay)
…huh?
“It’s true that if you become
a slave, you can’t choose your job. But at any rate, you will definitely be
able to sleep, eat, and get a job, won’t you? And when you accumulate some
money, you can buy your status back and be free. It’s not that bad, right?
Right?” (Fay)
I feel… that something is different
from the “slave” that I thought of.
“…slaves aren’t, you know,
being forced to do whatever others say, or being treated badly, or something
like that?” (Tougo)
Just in case, I asked. Isn’t
there some kind of difference between the “slave” in this world and the connotation
of “slave” in my world?
Fay snorted and answered.
“No… I can’t say there
isn’t. There are times when they are treated that way. It’s just that when
you’re a criminal slave, the percentage of that happening is inevitably higher.
But at the very least it is illegal to mistreat those who are enslaved because
they have no money.” (Fay)
Oh, there’s a law against it?
Something has gone way beyond my expectations. I don’t know, this world is a
strange place after all.
“Um… is there such a
treatment when it’s illegal?” (Tougo)
“I’m sure there are some
people who do it out of sight, out of mind. The only thing is, it’s hard to
crack down on this kind of thing. Yeah… Is there no such a thing in your
world?” (Fay)
“There are.” (Tougo)
It is true that there are
people in my world who repeatedly commit illegal acts. I know, labor laws are
often broken.
…I see. Slavery in this world
is more relatable than I thought. It feels a little strange, but it makes sense
now that we talked about it.
Then we got to town.
“…there are a lot of
people here.” (Tougo)
“Ah, Tougo, isn’t this
your first time coming to town!?” (Fay)
“Yes.” (Tougo)
It was the first time I had
been in a town since I came to this world.
The town is made up of many
houses made of wood and stone. Well, there is a forest nearby, so there is a
good amount of wood available. Naturally so. However, they are not built like
Japanese houses, so there is an exotic atmosphere.
The walls are usually
plastered. However, they are not pure white, but rather colored, which is
fashionable. Some walls are chic gray, some are light pink beige, and some are
champagne gold.
So that means there are
colored materials to mix with the plaster. I’m a little curious…
Then the windows. There are some
with glass windows, but in most private houses there are many with wooden
shutters. Apparently, glass is a bit of a luxury item.
The street is paved with
cobblestones. The dark-colored stones give a subdued impression, but among the
dark stones, some are pure white. The white accents are quite nice.
Children were running on the
cobblestones. There is a fountain in the plaza, which seems to be a place of
relaxation for children and various other people.
…how unusual.
I see. The town in the other
world is like this.
“Is that right? Is this your
first time in town? …Then I should have planned to make it more enjoyable. I
failed.” (Fay)
Fay looked at me and made a
face as if he had “failed”. It’s kind of funny.
“It doesn’t matter. You
don’t have to do that…” (Tougo)
“But you’re from another
world, aren’t you? I have to show people from another world around town, right?
It’s definitely better when it is fun, right?” (Fay)
Oh, so that we can enjoy it, well,
not me, but Fay.
…Yeah, I like that about him.
We walked a little further and
came to the outskirts of town. There I found a big old building. The plaster on
the walls was peeling away, revealing stone and brick in places.
Apparently, this was the place
where slaves were sold.
As soon as we entered the
store, Fay started talking with the shopkeeper. I was left out of the
conversation, but Fay looked at me and said, “I’m here today to find a
caretaker for him, not one of our employees,” to which the shopkeeper
looked at me.
I bowed my head. I felt a
little uncomfortable at moments like this.
Then Fay and the store clerk
talked for a bit… at which point, Fay grinned and whispered into the store
clerk’s ear.
…What is it?
And finally, I was asked to
see the slaves.
“All right. What do you
think, Tougo? Is there a girl you’re interested in?” (Fay)
There are slaves in front of
me.
…It feels strange. After all,
the slaves here seem… very aggressive.
“Oh, my sweet boy! Hey, why
don’t you let me be the one you choose? I can cook and clean.” (Slave)
“Well, why don’t you just
pick me over that old lady over there, ‘big brother’? I’m not going to say
anything bad about you.” (Slave)
“Oh, my gosh! You’re a
beautiful boy! I want you to buy me! Pick me! I’ll do all kinds of fun things
for you!” (Slave)
…yes.
I’m in trouble.
I’m looking at a lot of women
smiling at me. And they are saying some rather, you know, questionable things.
By the way, their clothes are also quite revealing. What should I do with this…?
“Okay, Tougo. Who do you
want? Who among them caught your eye?” (Fay)
And Fay asks me that with a
smirk. …I’m sure he’s making fun of me. He’s grinning. No matter how I look
at the women in front of me, they don’t look like housekeepers, somehow they’re
different.
…So let me tell him my
opinion.
“Well, I don’t like these
women because they… make me feel uncomfortable.” (Tougo)
As far as I’m concerned, I’m
not comfortable with someone I’m not comfortable with.
“Eh! Are you sure!?”
(Fay)
“Eh?” (Tougo)
“What!?” (Slaves)
What is wrong?
“No. …Hey, Tougo. You
came here looking for a slave to take care of your living, right? You’re going
to live with that slave, okay?” (Fay)
“Yes.” (Tougo)
“If they are going to be
with you, you’d rather it be with a beautiful girl! If they are going to take
care of you, they better be able to do everything, from morning till night!”
(Fay)
“Hmm…?” (Tougo)
“You’re all alone in the
depths of the forest, you know? You don’t have any social status, and you don’t
have any ties, so nobody will complain about you buying a slave like them!”
(Fay)
“No. I don’t feel
comfortable.” (Tougo)
A difference of opinion.
If we are going to live
together, I don’t want to be with someone I don’t feel comfortable with.
… At any rate, I decided to ask him to show me the other slaves.
But I’d like to refrain from a
grumpy uncle. I also don’t want to be with a strict-looking auntie. I would
like to refrain from the sexy older lady because I feel uncomfortable, and I
would also like to refrain from an older brother who looks kind of sexy.
…There are some people who
think that this person would be good, but I don’t think so.
Hmm… even if I was told to
choose a slave, it might be useless because I don’t know who to choose…
In the end, I decided that it
would be faster for me to look around than to have the slaves brought to me, so
I asked them to bring me to the slave waiting area.
There were many rooms with
large windows, and the slaves were in them one by one or in groups.
On the door of each room,
there are descriptions of the slaves. I can’t read it, but Fay read it to me.
It says that they are good at housework, or that they can use magic or
something like that. It seems that such things are written.
Apparently, the slaves were
categorized into several groups. They are “good at housework,” “good
at fighting,” “good at farming,” and so on. The slaves are divided
into categories to some extent, and there is a line of slaves of similar
abilities in one line.
…There was also a line of
people who looked like the women Fay had asked to be brought to me earlier. I
felt awkward there, so I walked right past them.
Then, when I went deeper and
deeper into the store, there was a place with iron bars.
…I wondered what it was, it was
very close to the image I had imagined of a store that sold slaves.
“Hey, Tougo. From there
onwards is the criminal slave area.” (Fay)
Oh, I see. Criminal slaves…
Yeah.
Fay stopped me, but I’m going
to go take a look anyway, just to be sure. Because so far, I’m not sure about
all of them. If that’s the case, I’d like to look around at all of them and
then make a decision after I’m satisfied.
However… a “criminal
slave” was more than I expected.
The sound of clanging. It was
the sound of the iron bars clanging.
And the one who rang the bars
was a man with the appearance of a “bad guy”.
“Hey, you little brat.
Are you a nobleman’s kid?” (Man)
“No, mister.”
(Tougo)
“I see. If you don’t have
money, I have no use for you.” (Man)
And then, the man who looked
like a “bad guy” went away behind the bars again. I was a little
surprised.
“Hey, Tougo. That guy…”
(Fay)
“I was a little
surprised, but I really want to see everyone.” (Tougo)
Fay stopped me one more time,
but I really want to see this one too.
The people behind the bars
could be scary-looking people with glowing eyes, or they could be sleeping all
the time, or they could be head-butting against the wall while muttering
something. They are definitely not the best people to take care of your daily
life. And by the way, I don’t feel comfortable. They are uncomfortable in a
different way than the women earlier.
Some people even threw things
through the cracks in the iron bars. Please don’t throw the remains of broken
glass bottles too much. I think I’m going to get hurt. Well, Fay’s summoned
beasts will protect me, so I’m safe, but…
Still, I was looking at the
row of iron bars. Looking, watching a lot of scary people, looking, watching…
and then.
At the far end of the bars, I
found it.
…Sharp eyes, a straight nasal
bridge, a well-trained body, hair, and beard that makes you say, “I just left
it alone, and it grew”. The man with the appearance of a “warrior”
reminded me of the image of the plaster statue in the art room.
A plaster statue in the art
room.
It was a statue of Hercules.
“I choose that person.”
(Tougo)
I decided on this person.
Because I wanted to paint him.
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