LIGHTNOVELSTORY chapter 31
31. All we have lost is the chain,
What is the difference between the upper and the higher. If trading in various cities with products is a trade union, a gathering of such trade unions is a meeting.
That’s why the slave trader we met in the realm of the orcs and this mansion located in a splendid city shared the same name, but there was an overwhelming difference in size.
In addition, if you consider that a trade association that is a combination of several trade associations will maintain the name of an independent trade union in the future, this trade association must have been promoted as one trade union grew in size to that extent.
It is impossible to dare to compare the organizational power of Sanghoi, which feels like a cooperative, and Sanghoi, which is uniform as a single organization. Even more so, if slave traders proudly held out their nameplates in upper-class residential areas.
[Hero, you were a gold spoon!]
It’s just that there’s no title, but at this level, minor aristocratic families can’t even give out their business cards.
“Come in. Master. Hey! You go and call the commander-in-chief.”
“Yes, yes!”
The soldiers who had been flustered for a while soon scattered and one rushed inside, while the other guided the warrior with utmost sincerity. As they followed inside, the hero tilted his eyes around him.
I wonder if the soldiers who almost panicked after seeing me didn’t care. Entering the splendid mansion, the warrior asked a question to the pale-faced soldier.
“Doggy, what?”
“Oh, he was away for a while.”
I was worried from the owner’s mention earlier, so I wonder if the soldiers guarding this mansion are also slave soldiers. No, more than that, no matter how much he is a slave, his position is lower than that of a pet dog.
The desire to tackle was like a chimney, but for now, the holy sword and I were busy looking around in silence. The interior of the high school mansion became very luxurious.
Occasionally, those who looked like clerks or attendants came and went, but their faces often turned pale when they saw the hero. They greeted each other in a moment of embarrassment, and then quickly ran away.
Unlike others, the face of the soldier guiding the warrior who couldn’t run away was blue and there was nothing special about bamboo. I impulsively spoke to the soldier.
[Hey, are you good at work?]
“Yes? That’s right, Ice Company’s welfare is always the best… Wait, what is it?”
The soldier who had been spitting out the words of his mouth automatically seemed to realize that it was not the voice of a hero. The soldier glanced around and screamed to leave.
“It’s a ghost!”
No, but you might think so because you hear voices when no one is around. Isn’t it common sense to assume that Ego Sword talked to you here?
“Please save me! Master!”
The soldier, despite his age and size, screamed like a child and hid behind the hero. It’s nice to see a man wearing her armor that looks like that…
“What a fuss?”
But before the hero could explain anything, someone ran from the other side of the hallway as if rolling over. The hero, who had already sensed it for a long time, waved his hand expressionlessly.
“Coffee, long time no see.”
His voice is as blunt as ever, but I could read the sign of joy in it. Soon, a man called Coffee, no, an old man appeared.
Coffee was an elderly gentleman dressed neatly enough to be exhibited at an exhibition as an example of a butler. The specks of jade are the torn eyes and the stigma of a slave pierced in the forehead, just like those of the treacherous person.
Ordinary slaves do not carve their stigma on such places. Since there are noble nobles who are uncomfortable just looking at the mark, most of them place it where it can be easily covered with clothes or decorations.
“Did you enjoy your long outing?”
“All right, all right.”
However, to be regarded simply as a slave, Coffee’s gestures were too noble, and the clothes he wore were too classy. As a result, the heterogeneous stigma was further highlighted.
“Tsk, you should go now. Come on, eat inside.”
Coffee, who commanded the soldier who sat down in a sloppy posture in a calm tone, soon returned to the gentle butler’s face and guided the warrior.
We soon reached the third floor of the mansion. If the 1st and 2nd floors were the home of the fancy and ostentatious upper floors, the 3rd floor smelled more like people living there. It was surprising how different the atmosphere was in the same building.
“I’ll be hungry, so I’ll serve you a meal first.”
[Wait. I have something I want to ask you.]
I kept quiet, but I couldn’t stand it any longer because I was curious! I didn’t go inside the 3rd floor, and grabbed the coffee I was about to buy at the threshold.
“Hmm?”
It’s good that he didn’t make a fuss about being a ghost like the soldier, but he also didn’t seem to have figured out the source of this mental wave. Eventually, the brave warrior opened his mouth.
“My sword.”
“Oh! A talking weapon from legend? It doesn’t look like a holy sword, but it seems to be another harvest of this trip.”
“Similar.”
As if he had known the old man named Coffee for quite some time, the hero was talking more casually than usual. He was still talkative, but like an old slave, Coffee understood his master’s will well.
“Then Talking Weapon, what are you curious about?”
Looking at me crouching like this right now. I took another look at the coffee. He’s a high-class slave who can be easily introduced as a butler of an aristocratic family.
But in fact, the important thing now was not that old man. It seems like there’s an unusual story, but no matter how much, I’ll only be a hero.
[Is this the hero’s? No matter how you look at it, the hero doesn’t seem to have good business skills enough to organize a grand meeting like this.]
“Mmm. By the way, didn’t you originally say you were going to get the holy sword? Ah, you are next to the talking weapon.”
“This is a demonic sword.”
When that nobleman heard that the lady he was serving had brought a demonic sword, he calmly said something like, “It seemed so.” I burst out screaming.
[Answer my question!]
“My lady, would it be all right if I explained the story related to the Demonic Sword?”
“I don’t care.”
Perhaps it’s a very sensitive story, Coffee looked at the warrior’s eyes and asked for permission. The hero nodded his head inconsiderately, and soon he sighed and loosened his throat.
“If we traveled together, it must have been strange that the young lady led a company like this, right? I will explain it openly without hiding anything.”
[Take a look. I just thought of a better way?]
What the coffee tells is probably a very interesting and crappy story. I’m sorry, but I don’t have the patience to go around the circle by taking a shortcut.
There is a much better way. And the hero who read the idea of a ‘good way’ that I came up with quietly raised a flame from his hand.
[No, wait. Stop leaving your hands first!]
“I still can’t come to my senses.”
[Listen to me for now.]
Thanks to my desperate persuasion, the hero immediately gave me a chin with a pouty face instead of supporting me with divine power. Is this giving you the final say?
[It’s not that I’m using him as my owner, it’s that I’m just holding hands for a while! You use the holy sword too!]
The ‘good way’ I thought was direct contact with that old man. If you apply soul erosion well, it is possible to read only the opponent’s memories.
Of course, it doesn’t work on the hero. If it’s not a short-lived person, but the memory of a long-lived species who lived for hundreds of years, it’s a burden for me to accept.
“So, these days, the holy sword. You don’t use it.”
[Was that the reason?!]
The Holy Sword was surprised and I was also surprised. Certainly, these days, even when there was a fight, I used to settle it with my fists. I shook my head to refute the hero who had come out with a shameful flag.
[Honestly, it’s just a short touch, but honestly, this much is fine!]
“I, no, I’m fine.”
This is a mine! The hero stayed still while I let out a silent scream. Outwardly, the appearance was no different from before.
However, around the hero, an air current of intangible power began to run amok. Without any warning, the high-quality wooden desk near the hero turned to dust and crumbled.
“Why, you, are you okay?”
[aaah!]
[Calm down, warrior! There are also ordinary people next to me!]
Coffee, who was exposed to the aftermath of the hero’s power, seemed to have trouble breathing. As his gaze focused, he said while shaking his body pitifully.
“Koo, cool. I am okay.”
Even so, the hero’s spirit shrank for a moment after seeing the coffee. Taking advantage of that gap, I quickly seized the right to speak.
[No, I didn’t say that my girlfriend was going on a 2-day trip with her male friend, or that we were going to have a drink together at night.
Oops. Since I was so sincere, I stopped spitting out the modern case as an example. I hesitated for a moment, but I didn’t know, so I just spit out the words to the end.
[Everybody hates it when it’s too restrictive!]
And silence.
I wondered if it was too much, so I carefully checked the hero’s eyes. The hero seemed to have roughly guessed the meaning of my words through the transmitted will, but the hero was silent for a while.
Soon, the hero spoke in a low voice as if sighing.
“・・・・・・Okay.”
For a moment I doubted what I had heard. Does this really work?
“Just this time.”
Well, originally, once becomes twice, then ten times. The pouty-looking hero soon tampered with the seal on my handle.
The power of the seal was greatly weakened within a short time. It wasn’t completely canceled, but like when I was surrounded by slimes in the labyrinth in the past, it was in a state where it wouldn’t hurt if someone grabbed it for a while.
[Now, catch me!]
“Umm, I wonder if it will be okay…”
Coffee seemed reluctant to see me spouting ominous force like a magic sword. However, the master had already given permission, and the slave had no right to decide.
Soon the old man reached out his wrinkled hand and grasped the handle of his mine. I stretched out my soul’s senses and began to read the history of the memories engraved in his soul.
*
Where is there a word in the world that does not suit morality and slavery?
However, the Ice Merchant was a rare moral and law-abiding slave trader. This was due to the unique personality of Baskin, who was the founder of the Ice Merchant.
A bounty hunter in his youth and a moneylender in his old age, he suffered from a mistrust of humans and possessed a strangely obsessive law-abiding spirit.
Accordingly, most of the slaves he handled were those authorized by law. Because they are poor, in debt, or because they have nothing to eat, those who give up their human rights and decide to be sold as commodities.
His business philosophy was palatable to self-proclaimed good and moral aristocrats. As the number of regular customers increased, the size of the business grew day by day, and the top ranks became above.
However, there was one thing that did not change no matter how much Sanghoe grew. Baskin may be a model citizen outside the High Council, but inside the High Council, he was a cold tyrant and he was the only human being.
A merchant who failed in business, a clerk dismissed for corruption, and a gladiator slave expelled were the employees who supported his company, and were the slaves held by him on a leash. Baskin was never a generous boss.
The slaves had no choice but to work desperately because their families were being held hostage, fearful of the pursuers chasing the debtors, and even the nobles and powerful people of the city sided with Baskin.
It was no different for coffee. With a grace and learning that is not like a slave, he has been active as Baskin’s right-hand man since the days of the Ice Merchant, and wielded enormous power and wealth, but he was a slave nonetheless.
It can only operate within the fence set by its owner. To ensure that the possessions do not lose sight of their place, the ruthless owner has placed a mark in the most visible place, where it cannot be hidden.
Everything a slave had belonged to the master, and all the wealth they enjoyed existed only under the master’s grace. Their equipment was always top-notch, and dinners were held daily in the dining room.
The staff couldn’t even bring a piece of bread left at the dinner table to their hungry child. On the night that he personally punished an employee who stole at least one chicken leg, Coffee cried a lot inside.
The days slowly become dull in tears and regret. When, from a certain moment, I was able to calmly issue orders as cruel as my master’s.
One day, his master brought a girl.