## Chapter 283 – (4)
“Are you really sure about this?”
“Well, what can I say… if she wants to…”
Unlike our worried selves, Eira wore a satisfied expression.
Even the slave merchant was scratching the back of his head.
“Wow… are you really okay with this? I hesitate to say it myself, but she has a strong sense of pride…”
It was rare for a slave merchant to say something like that.
She must have quite the personality.
Then, he asked us both for our final confirmation.
Eira was sending us intense looks.
We had no choice but to follow her will.
After all, she was the one who would be working, and she was the one who would be teaching the new servant.
Upon hearing our answer, the slave merchant headed somewhere and appeared behind the glass window.
He seemed to be approaching the woman named Silver to inform her that she had been sold.
Silver chuckled and nodded before following the slave merchant out.
And after about five minutes,
“I apologize for the delay.”
The slave merchant brought Silver before us.
It was the first time we could see Silver up close, not just through the glass window, but within arm’s reach.
She was a beastwoman with an imposing presence, thanks to her tall stature and sharp eyes.
It took a little while to bring her out, as Silver was wearing a dress.
“Since the dress code here requires it… I gave her clothes so she wouldn’t look like a slave. It’s complimentary, of course.”
“Hmm, nice.”
Just changing her clothes made quite a difference.
But the woman wearing the dress seemed uncomfortable.
Or perhaps, the tail part was constricting her, as she kept lifting the dress to expose her bare legs.
“Alright, introduce yourselves.”
“You’re the one who bought me?”
As soon as the slave merchant told them to introduce themselves, Silver asked roughly.
Not to us, but to Eira.
“…She doesn’t even recognize her master. I’m glad I bought her.”
Eira smiled and nodded at Silver’s attitude.
Then, she corrected her.
“These are the masters.”
“This one… Hmph.”
Even after knowing who her masters were, her attitude didn’t change.
Well, it’s good to be consistent.
“Well, then, I’ll be going!”
The slave merchant quickly left, fearing we might ask for a refund.
There was no explanation.
Nothing about what to do from now on.
He didn’t even give us additional information about this slave named Silver.
“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.”
Seeing the worried expressions on my and Hanna’s faces, Eira puffed out her chest as if to say, “Leave it to me.”
It was a confident pose.
She was trustworthy.
Even though Eira was the reason for all this worry.
We decided to acquire the other servant through an auction.
Eira didn’t seem too pleased, but since she had purchased Silver of her own volition,
she seemed willing to follow our wishes for the remaining one.
Even while climbing the stairs, Silver only stole glances at us with her arms crossed.
“A slave auction…”
“Nervous?”
Hanna entered the auction house with a slightly nervous expression.
I gently wrapped my arm around Hanna’s shoulders.
Only then did she grab my hand around her shoulder and wear a much more relaxed expression.
“I’m okay now.”
[This auction will…]
The auction was already in full swing.
Slaves of various races and with various stories were being presented.
Some appealed with the uniqueness of their race, while others stimulated buyers with their sad stories.
“Hmm…”
“It’s good, but…”
This time, Hanna and I were hesitating.
It wasn’t that everyone’s conditions were bad.
But they were a bit unique.
You could say they were specialized in certain areas.
For example, a female of the mermaid race.
Beautiful and special, but
not suitable as a servant.
And, a male of the orc race.
Strong and good at carrying heavy things.
This was certainly an advantage, but
with the trained Eira and me around, there was no need for a particularly strong servant.
Besides them, slaves of various other races were auctioned off, but they were all unenthusiastic as they appealed with their unusual strengths.
Eira, on the other hand, was scowling and looking up at the stage warily.
When the orc was auctioned off, she clenched and unclenched her fists as if she was going to have an arm-wrestling match, testing her own strength.
Then, rarely, a human came onto the stage.
“This person is a well-raised young lady from a duke’s family. There is a very sad story behind how the duke’s daughter became a slave…”
“Let’s bid.”
As soon as she heard those words, Eira said to me.
She hasn’t heard anything yet?
Putting Eira’s will aside for now, we listened to the story a little more.
It wasn’t a particularly special story.
The duke’s family had been secretly earning huge profits by using their power, but as a peaceful world arrived, the various corruptions and benefits they had gained through power were revealed one by one over the course of 10 years.
And finally, it had come to this.
“Should we bid…?”
“Should we…?”
Honestly, I didn’t really want to buy her.
But no one else was bidding, and the other slaves up for auction weren’t great either.
She seemed quiet and docile, so I thought she would be better than Silver.
She was also human, and Eira seemed to like her.
I raised my hand and bid the lowest price, and the former noble lady became a slave.
***
“…”
“…”
The atmosphere inside the carriage was awkward.
No conversation took place.
Only curious gazes crossed in the air.
Eira was driving the carriage, and Silver was in front.
Silver was staring intently at my face with her arms crossed and a glaring expression.
‘Why just me?’
She wasn’t giving Hanna any attention.
Next to her, Victoria, the duke’s daughter, was quietly gazing out the window with a mournful expression.
She was exuding the aura of a woman with a sad story.
It was hard to talk to her like that.
Hanna looked at Silver, the beastwoman, with curiosity, and then whispered to me.
“Oppa, look at her ears. Can you see them twitching every time we whisper?”
“…Really?”
As Hanna said, Silver’s ears twitched whenever the two of us talked.
She seemed to be trying to eavesdrop with her beastman hearing, but even if she could hear, she couldn’t understand, so she frowned slightly.
“Silver… her name sounds a bit masculine.”
“Hmph…”
When her name came up, Silver snorted, as if she didn’t like it even if she didn’t know what it meant.
I guess we can’t even whisper.
Hanna and I smiled faintly.
“Say something to her.”
“…Me?”
“I can’t. Oppa.”
Hanna had said she would think about what to call me in this world, but it seemed she had finally decided on “Oppa.”
The two words “Oppa” melted away my reluctance.
No matter what, I liked that title the most.
“Silver?”
“What.”
“How did you become a slave?”
“…”
Was that too direct of a question?
Silver was momentarily flustered and unfolded her arms, then answered in a small voice.
“…It’s nothing grand… The size of the knights was reduced every year, and eventually, I was laid off six months ago… I, well, couldn’t find another job…”
She was originally a knight of a country, but as peace came and the need for the knighthood gradually faded.
Silver, she also lost her job.
The problem was that Silver was sharp and had never considered any job other than being a knight her whole life.
She couldn’t adapt to other jobs.
Even the knight job was poorly paid after peace came, so she didn’t have much money saved up.
So the job she chose was slavery.
It’s called a choice, but she had no other options.
“…Happy now!”
After revealing her embarrassing past, she suddenly shouted and turned her head.
Silver’s tail drooped.
Silver’s somewhat rough behavior and expression must have come from her life in the knighthood.
It seemed that the arrival of peace could also be a misfortune for someone.
“…If you’re going to cut me, cut me anytime…”
Now even her ears were drooping.
I had heard from Eira that once a slave is cut, their situation becomes unfavorable.
For some reason, people didn’t want to buy slaves who had been cut once.
If they weren’t sold as slaves for a long time, they would eventually lose time and either go to jail or return to their impoverished days.
“Oppa, did you bully the woman? Aww.”
“I didn’t do that.”
Hanna teased playfully from the side, and I denied it.
I didn’t do that.
I just asked about her past.
Since it had come to this, I decided to reassure Silver.
“Don’t worry, I don’t intend to kick people out just because they can’t do their job.”
“…I don’t believe you.”
Silver, who had already been kicked out of the knighthood, didn’t believe me and didn’t turn her head.
But her tail wiggled slightly.
Maybe she’ll believe me when trust is built.
“…Really?”
The one who reacted more to my words than Silver was Victoria, who was sitting next to her.
She looked up at me with a frightened expression.
She probably can’t do her job either.
She’s a duke’s daughter who has never touched water in her life.
“Yes.”
“Phew…”
When I answered, Victoria wore a noticeably relieved expression.
On the other hand, this one trusted people too easily.
I felt like I had hired unusual servants.
The carriage slowly entered the mansion.
