Chapter 38
A man, wrapped up snugly in a smooth and delicate robe like silk, clutched the terrace railing and leaned forward eagerly.
At the end of his gaze was a boy with snow-white hair, murmuring to himself—it was Lian.
“Haah, haah -… so, so beautiful!”
The voice that slipped out from between the robe’s folds was husky and deep. Behind him, a hunchback, hands clasped like a praying mantis, nervously swallowed his saliva and spoke with a sultry tone.
“I prepared this stage especially for you, Lord Totogen. How did you find it?”
“Ahh -, really… truly a magnificent stage.”
His voice, filled with excitement, wobbled like a drunk. The hunchback rubbed his hands vigorously, grinning to the point of annoyance. Then, the dark merchant known as Totogen pulled a heavy purse from inside his robe and tossed it.
“Ah – thank you! I’ll make sure to prepare even better stages in the future!”
The hunchback’s eyes sparkled as he bowed deeply, carefully pocketing the purse.
“Then have a good time—”
“Wait.”
Before the hunchback could finish, Totogen raised a hand to interrupt.
“Those white-haired kids.”
“Y-yes?”
“I’m buying them.”
“Excuse…?”
“How much will it cost?”
Slaves with looks and skills that stood out were rare treasures.
Every time they took to the stage, hordes of big shots who claimed to be their fans showed up. Of course, these big shots didn’t come to just watch for fun.
No, they were looking to use the ‘star’ slaves as their playthings for a night.
Those who bought a gladiator’s night often forced them into all sorts of cruel acts or used them for horrific experiments.
Sometimes the gladiator slaves would end up dead, but in those cases, the owners could rake in more than the slaves would earn in their entire lives.
If Totogen wanted that kind of thing, I wouldn’t be against it; but outright buying them? Well, that was a whole different ball game.
‘Thinking about the amount they could earn in the future…’
Could it possibly be just one buyer for one night with a gladiatorial slave? If they were sold each night to someone like Totogen, it would mean heaps of cash overflowing!
When I calculated it all, the total sum was definitely something that’d make you gasp. Even for someone as wealthy as Totogen, this amount would be a burden.
“Well, you see… the two white-haired slaves were specially brought by Lord Jiso, so selling them would be tricky. Hahaha…”
“Hm… then how about renting them for a night?”
“.! That can be arranged! But since they’re still young, they’re pretty fragile. If you handle them too harshly, they might break. In that case—”
“I’ll compensate for any damages. Let’s book them for a year.”
“…..!!”
Thinking about monopolizing a star-quality slave for a whole year was like pouring out money straight from a waterfall, rather than just spilling a few coins.
As the hunchback furiously hit an imaginary calculator, his eyes wandered aimlessly until a foolish grin stretched across his face.
“Alright, let’s do that! Which slave do you want?”
“Can I see them and choose?”
“Of course!”
The hunchback nodded eagerly. Once he somewhat calmed down, Totogen stepped away from the terrace overlooking the arena and headed toward the connected spacious living room.
When he sat on the sofa, his personal attendants and secretary rushed to serve him. The hunchback took a step back and said,
“If you need anything, just call! I’ll come running!”
Totogen, without answering, took a sip of tea brought by an attendant. The hunchback swiftly dashed out of the room.
“Quickly, get that white-haired kid who just fought, and his sibling too!”
“Yes!”
With the hunchback’s excited orders, the attendants who were on standby darted into action.
*
After shoving snacks into Iris’s mouth, I returned to our room, holding her hand tight as she tried not to let go.
Whoosh!
As I opened the door, something came flying at me. It was the demon sword I had flung onto the bed.
[Give me blood—… Aaaack!]
The moment the sword shot toward my stomach, Iris caught it by the hilt.
[Le-let me go…]
The demon sword flailed like it was about to die.
Clang!
Iris tossed the sword to the floor.
[Ahh…]
The demon sword rolled pitifully on the ground. Iris quickly turned to me and pointed at the sword with her finger.
Having spent hours together, I could finally understand some of Iris’s gestures. It seemed like she was asking if she could smash that sword.
[Yikes! Damn, god’s wretched mutt! I am the great demon sword Gargandoa! How dare you treat me like this—…!]
Ignoring the sword’s whining, I turned to Iris.
“We can’t break that sword. Got it?”
[So you’re saying—wait, are you really gonna break me?]
“Uh…”
At my words, the sword freaked out, and Iris looked all gloomy. The sword flopped its way toward my feet and stood upright, pressing its hilt and blade against my leg.
[Hey, Contractor. You really aren’t thinking of smashing me, right?]
“Since when was I a contractor?”
[Well—because! Obviously, it was the moment you picked me up and swung me around like a maniac!]
The demon sword desperately clung to me, buzzing like it was about to blow up. It looked a bit like someone holding onto the hem of someone’s pants.
Zzztt!
The instant the sword acknowledged me as its contractor, a peculiar symbol popped up on the back of my hand. The deep red mark looked like something a moody middle schooler drew during their rebellious phase.
[Even if you wanted to scrub it off, it’s too late! We’re bound by contract. That mark on your hand proves it… You must protect me well, Contractor!]
Every time Iris’s gaze landed on it, the sword squirmed little by little, hiding behind my ankle like a mouse in front of a cat.
‘Now he’s playing games too… I’m really touched.’
Iris, squinting her eyes, watched the demon sword clinging to me, reminding me of a cat tracking a piece of moving grass.
It was moving to see the once-dull kid now reacting to other things.
“Alright, that’s enough; I might cut my ankle here.”
Despite the sword not cutting my skin since it had its edge positioned flat, it could still cause an accident if it kept fidgeting.
‘Cleaning up blood is such a pain.’
I picked up the hilt of the demon sword, and as Iris gave it a fiery look, the sword started dripping sweat like cold beads.
[Ugh…! Contractor, when you need me, just think of Gargandoa in your head! Do you understand?!]
“Oh? Sure, that works.”
I nodded to the panicked tone of the sword. It transformed into light and seeped into the back of my hand. The symbol glowed ominously before settling down.
“Whoa, that’s convenient?”
As I rubbed my hand, preparing to mentally call Gargandoa’s name,
Bang!
The door burst open abruptly, and a familiar rat beastman entered. After checking our faces, he sidestepped to the side.
Behind him were about ten people, all dressed in tight-fitting clothes, donning turban-like headgear, and thin veils covering their faces.
“Prepare them well for our important guest!”
“Yes!”
They barged in, swiftly lifted Iris and me like we were balloons, and began carrying us off like we were on a celebratory ride. Iris, not wanting to let go, stared intently at the back of my hand.
‘Being called by an important guest, huh?’
I was clueless about what was happening around me as I looked around in a frenzy. Before I knew it, we’d arrived at a completely new place.
It looked exactly like a bathhouse.
“Wash them thoroughly and get them dressed! Fit them with the best clothes!”
Following the rat beastman’s orders, Iris and I were set down. I figured it was time to wash up.
‘No resisting here.’
I remembered the talk I’d heard about ‘iron collars’ during our snack run.
‘They said all sorts of spells were cast on them to easily manage rebellious slaves.’
Electric shocks, and even pain-inducing magic that felt like being slashed by blades, were all involved. If I resisted here and the magic kicked in, only Iris and I would suffer.
“Iris, we’ll meet again soon, so just be good and wait, okay?”
As the people wrapped in cloth prepped to wash us, I whispered to Iris.
Iris looked back and forth between my hand and face, her little face sulking before she bowed her head. Her twitchy hands slowly fell away.
“Move it, move quickly!”
Timed perfectly with the rat beastman’s urgent voice, my worries were for nothing; Iris and I were dragged into separate rooms despite our ‘sibling’ setup.
From what I overheard, it appeared the preparation for guys was different from that of girls.
In a flash, my clothes were snatched off, and I found myself thrown into a fragrant, bubbly bath. The brief moment of embarrassment at being undressed in front of a group of others faded quickly.
‘Huh…?’
Someone washed my hair, while another scrubbed my body. Relaxing in the warm water, floating calmly, I thought to myself.
‘This kinda feels… like those therapy sessions I went to with Mom?’
I floated like a happy sea otter, and it felt like the hands washing me grew even softer.
