Chapter 2
「Lilia, can you break the chain around her neck with a bow?」
「Of course. With this magic bow I got from 『Sekhmet』 and my skills, it should be a piece of cake.」
Nodding her head, Lilia pulls out a bow from her 『Treasure House of Dream』 and draws it.
Unlike the bows she had used in the past, this bow was small.
Although it was a lightweight bow, its power was comparable to that of a large, stiff bow.
Lilia would have preferred to use the bow that Mars had bought her, but she was told by Mars that a lighter bow would be better for actual combat, so she had no choice but to use it.
「All right. If the chain breaks, I'll use my 『Body Strengthening』 to retrieve her. If she falls, she'll get caught in the wheel.」
「Got it. ――Good luck.」
「I'll be careful too, but maybe there will be a counterattack against Lilia from the other side. You and Hazuki-chan should be careful. Also, they are probably nobles. If you make them your enemy, it will be a little troublesome. ――I'm going to piss them off a little bit, though. If he stays calm, it won't go well.」
Both Lilia and Hazuki nod their heads when they hear that Mars intends to intentionally provoke the man.
Even the taking of Nemu would make him angry, so what need is there to deliberately make him even angrier?
「As long as he doesn't ignore me, that's all that matters. I'm going to make a scene to raise the man's perception of me from 『the rest of the crowd』」
Nothing can move forward if it sits in one of the galleries.
He needed to be recognized by Mars as an individual.
The man with the tattoo was considered to be a nobleman of some sort.
Considering that there were nearly a thousand slaves, the man's wealth and power were not that of a common man.
The price of a slave is not cheap or easy to obtain, since it buys a person's entire life.
『Body Strengthening』, all right, I'm ready
「I'm coming.」
Mars' entire body is filled with power. Despite his heated emotions, his body is filled with a cold sensation.
He slips out of the desert clothes he was wearing on top and puts them in the treasure room.
The sound of the crowd talking, the movement of the wind, and everything else become sensitively felt.
It is a strange feeling as if my body itself has been expanded.
The only drawback is that the gradual rise in physical exuberance affects your spirit and you become a bit belligerent.
Lilia suppresses her killing intent so as not to be noticed, and with her ice-blue eyes sharpened, she holds her bow amid the crowd.
Some of the crowd noticed Lilia's bow, but it was too late.
The ubiquitous iron arrowhead flies in a straight line, unencumbered by gravity, breaking the chain that connects the man and the girl.
Mars leaps out of the way, leaving a trail of steps on the ground.
The timing is almost exactly the same as when the chain was broken.
He runs through the air as fast as or faster than an arrow flying at high speed, and for a moment, a storm blows around it.
「Are you okay?」
「Cough, cough ......, w-who are you-nya ......?」
「I'm here to help you.」
Picking Nemu up in a princess carry, Mars rapidly reverses and distances himself from the carriage.
――She's too light. Not just small in stature, this one.
Surprised at the lightness of her weight, he hands Nemu to Lilia, who has come up behind him. Healing magic is Lilia and Hazuki's specialty.
Mars' action was so sudden that none of the crowd could react.
But the two people on the carriage ― the tattooed man and the woman in his entourage ― were different.
The tattooed man seemed unmoved in the face of Mars' physical prowess and seemed unmoving as he realized what had happened. He was calmly trying to determine the purpose of Mars and his group's actions and showed a ruthless lack of interest in Nemu itself. He simply did not dare to react.
「Who the hell are you? 『It』 is my property. I want it back now.」
His voice sounds calm, but Mars, who is directed at it, senses his anger.
Apparently, the tattooed man is not good at hiding his emotions.
Deep creases are etched between the eyebrows of his sallow face, and his mouth is so gritted that you can see his teeth clenched.
He must have high pride, as he refers to himself using "Wagahai," which is a very arrogant thing to say. [TLN: Wagahai (吾輩) is a classical way to say “I” that was used by older men of high social stature]
It seems that he is truly angry that his triumphal parade was interrupted.
The reason he is not distraught is probably to avoid showing such narrow-mindedness to the crowd.
――I'm sure he is noble.
If this is the case, then I guess I can use the same strategy I had in mind at first, Mars turns to the tattooed man.
「You were going to kill her if I left her alone. I can't have her killed.」
「......? What the hell does any of this have to do with you?」
The tattooed man's reaction was predictable.
It is also true that it has nothing to do with Mars.
Mars will not change his response, regardless of whether someone criticizes his favorable response to Lilia and the others. In the same way, how the tattooed man responds to his slaves is not a matter that is inherently open for him to interfere with.
In this world, slaves are one of the assets, and some people treat them the same as livestock or tools, and it is also accepted.
But on the other hand, some masters value them because they are assets.
If a slave is purchased by a master who takes good care of him or her, he or she can be employed permanently, in effect.
As is the case with Mars and others, in the end, it all depends on the master.
「You bastard! Who do you think this man is!? You dare to appear before Kruse-sama, the fourth prince of the kingdom of Laofite, without permission! And then you attacked, you insolent brute!」
A red-haired woman in the entourage jumps off the carriage and rushes toward Mars with a slender sword - a rapier - held at her waist out in front of her.
The woman's speed is comparable to that of Mars, who has used 『Body Strengthening』. Likely, she is actually using the same magic.
However, to Mars, the woman's movements seem to be in slow motion.
In a word, the level of mastery of the technique and the depth of study of the body movements were different.
Mars is the one who has diligently mastered 『Body Strengthening』 which most people think they have mastered just by learning it in a single pass, and that level is no longer at a level that can be called the same magic.
「――Too slow」
「What!?」
Mars calmly draws his sword and calmly places his own sword on top of the rapier.
He then slides his own sword over the rapier's blade, so that it flows under it.
A high-pitched metallic sound was heard as the blade scraped from root to tip.
Avoiding the flying sparks, Mars pulls her arm while using the momentum of the woman's charge, and falls to the ground and robs her of her sword.
It was a momentary attack that lasted less than a second.
「I don't want to fight. Sorry if I hurt you.」
「Kughh ......!」
He puts his knees on her shoulder blades and presses down on her arm joints with no force.
Because of the armor, the joints are not very flexible, to begin with.
He made it so that if the woman exerted force unnecessarily, it would fracture or dislocate from itself.
If she doesn't resist, he tells her by the movement of his body that he won't do anything more.
「That's enough. Both of you, put your swords away. Julis, you cannot defeat this man. And I never instructed you to kill him.」
「Kruse-sama, m-my apologies, I even made a disgrace of myself. ......」
As he is holding the rampaging woman, the tattooed man - Prince Kruse - claps his hands in an exasperated manner.
Mars stands up, sheathes his sword, and reaches out his hand to Julis, the female knight on the ground.
However, his hand was repelled and the sword he had taken was forcibly recaptured.
Julis is no longer willing to fight, despite her hostility, and she returns to Kruse with her hair done.
It seems that Prince Kruse's orders are absolute.
「――What do you want to do in the end? As I said before, "it" is my property. Stealing is a crime under the laws of any country, right?」
「You're absolutely right about that, but ......Just because she's your property doesn't mean you can treat other people's lives poorly, right?」
Mars glances at the crowd.
He could see that everyone was paying attention to the exchange between Kruse and Mars.
「Others ......? Don't tell me you equate those monsters with people? "It" is a beastman ― a different race, even though it has some human blood in it, you know?」
「So what? I don't care.」
In theory, it is understandable to avoid inbred species that are similar but different from humans.
For example, if a chimpanzee could understand human language and live like a human, not many people today would be able to give it the same rights and accept it as a human.
It is a question of whether they would accept a chimpanzee moving in next door or a chimpanzee coming to work as a newcomer.
They are afraid that they will be displaced because they are close to humans.
But that's just a matter of logic, and now that he knows someone like Lilia, he can't accept it on an emotional level.
If he were to abandon Nemu here, he would give Lilia and Hazuki the impression that he is that kind of person.
Since Mars and others are going to dive into the Seven Great Dungeon from now on, he wants to eliminate the seeds of distrust, and above all, he doesn't want Lilia and the others to dislike him.
Therefore, Mars went ahead, knowing that his actions were not smart or rational, extremely hypocritical, and in some ways discriminatory.
Mars does not seek consistency in his actions along the way, as long as the ultimate goal is achieved.
Lilia, who had been caring for Nemu, left Hazuki to heal Nemu and removed the robe that covered Lilia's head, exposing her ears, the most distinctive feature of the elves, to the crowd.
She then stands next to Mars and points her bow at Kruse.
Kruse rolls his eyes for a moment, then laughs out loud.
「Elf ......? Ku, kuhahaha! You are just like them, keeping a hideous alien race as slaves! They're monsters with murderous impulses!」
「Don't mix a lowlife like you with my master. And, the murderous impulse is just a prejudice. The humans took our land and we just resisted.」
Julis, a woman in his entourage, reacts to Lilia's words and actions and draws her sword.
「I won't discriminate against them just because they are a different race, and I won't treat them coldly just because they are a slave. I mean, isn't she cute?」
「It seems that you and I have very different values. It would be pointless to ask and answer any more questions. It seems that you don't know the true value of a slave with such gentleness. ――『Nemu Nail. Kill this man』」
Kruse sticks one arm out in front of his face and activates the slave crest as if to show it to Mars.
The limp girl ― Nemu ― pulled away from Hazuki and curled herself up on all fours.
You can see transparent claws forming on the five toes of both limbs as if they were clothed in the wind.
They were like shimmering flames.
Each one appeared to be about 30 centimeters long.
Mars did not know, but it was clear that it was some kind of magic.
「Even if you are dying, you cannot escape from the slave print. This is the true essence of a slave. This is why they are still property after all.」
「I don't want to-nyaa ...... Even though I don't want to-nyaa!」
With a rough, labored breath, Nemu makes a desperate resistance.
However, her eyes soon turned vacant. The magic of the slave's crest bound her spirit.
「Wait! I know the atmosphere is dangerous, but I'm out here to negotiate!」
「Negotiations? ...... 『Nemu Nail, halt』」
「It was my bad to get into a fight. Like I said, I wanted to negotiate. ――Will you sell the girl to me?」
「You think I'm interested in money? And to a rude man like you――」
「Don't say that. I like different kinds of races.」
――Bite me. I know you're angry with me and I've behaved rudely.
He must be very annoyed with Mars because he's going to kill Mars right now. He must want to get out of this mess as soon as possible.
At Mars' suggestion, Kruse's eyes remain cold and he looks thoughtful.
――He is thinking about it for the time being. Should I stir things up more ......?
As long as they are property bound by the slave crest, there is no way to get Nemu except by consent unless they kill Kruse.
Since it was obvious that Kruse was a nobleman, it seemed impossible to get him to the negotiating table by simply offering to pay him.
The reason why the merchants did not approach him to buy or sell even though he was holding up a rare dungeon treasure was probably because he had already turned them down or they were not even willing to deal with him.
However, this situation would be different.
Whatever the case may be, if the situation becomes troublesome, there is always a need to find a place to drop the matter.
If he was tired after returning from the dungeon, and his thoughts were disorganized with anger, he might be willing to go to the negotiating table that Mars had prepared for him.
「――One hundred million. I'll sell you 100 million in common currency. I don't think you can afford it, though.」
With a condescending expression as if to say it would be impossible, Kruse spread his hands wide.
The 100 million he offered was quite a large sum.
Even for an ordinary human slave, even one with high abilities, it is at most 20 million.
Even Zerius, the master swordsman he meets in the dungeon last time, would not go over the 20 million mark if he were to purchase as a slave.
With 5 million, people could buy a house for an average family.
――I've caught a fish!
Mars was inwardly excited while maintaining as much normalcy as possible.
He felt that things were going as he had planned.
Mars' inducement to give the other person's statements and actions the direction he wanted was working.
There was a feeling that Kruse, who had been interrupted in his triumphal return, seen his subordinate's blunder by the crowd, and had his own pride wounded, would do the same as Mars.
In other words, he would hurt Mars' pride.
So Mars brought up the subject of money.
He thought that Kruse would show the crowd that he was a daredevil by offering a sum of money that Mars would not be able to pay.
He knows that Mars does not look like a rich man or noble in his appearance and behavior.
It was more convenient this time to be underestimated.
「I'll buy her!」
Mars puts his hand into the dreamy treasure room and brings out the treasures and money it contained on the ground.
Cash alone is not enough, but it is not a difficult amount if he cashes in the unwanted magical weapons, armors, and ornaments he acquired in 『Sekhmet』.
Fortunately, there are plenty of buyers in this trading town.
The crowds were attracted by the treasures, and some began to ask to sell them immediately.
This environment is also a tailwind for Mars.
With a crowd of who knows how many people watching, he is too proud to back down from his statement.
「The 『Treasure House of Dreams』...... You're a dungeon treader, aren't you?」
「Yeah. Then can I have the slave contract canceled? The girl is mine now.」
You can't make a promise in front of a big audience and then make a mistake.
Pride would not allow it.
Tsuuuu, without a sound, one of the slave prints on Kruse's arm disappears.
「If you are here, does that mean that your purpose is to visit the Seven Great Dungeon?」
「Yeah. I got something I want.」
「I'm going there too. ――Don't think you can talk as big in the dungeon as you are now. I will kill you before the monsters do.」
「I've been told something similar before. I got into trouble, but if we ever meet in the dungeon, I'd like to cooperate with you.」
「――I am the one who will leave my mark on history by stepping on lands yet to be explored by mankind. It will not be you!」
Hearing Kruse spit it out, Mars turns his back, waves his hand, and runs to Lilia and the others.
The Seven Great Dungeons, is an unprecedented place. Conquering them is the path to becoming a hero.
Just as the names of the first adventurers to conquer a dungeon remain in history, the names of those who conquer the Seven Great Dungeons will also remain in history.
Mars thought that this was probably the majority of people's goal, but he didn't really care.
He doesn't want honor that he will one day lose or possessions that cannot be replaced by what he wants.
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