Chapter 8: Slave Traders 1

Part 1

It was far easier to hide one’s presence and tail someone than it was to observe someone else stalking you. Especially if there were a lot of obstacles to hide behind.

Of course, it still wasn’t easy to shadow someone who was sensitive to the flow of mana or someone who had undergone extraordinary training because their senses were extremely sharp.

This was Ianna’s first time tailing someone, but she could still skillfully hide her presence so that no one could sense her. She was confident that no one would catch her unless her target happened to turn around and see her by chance.

But things were different when her target was Arhad. He may be younger than she remembered, but she would still have to put in serious effort if she wanted to tail him.

Ianna made no noise as she stalked across earth like an apparition. She breathed slowly and allowed her heart to beat at a leisure pace. Ianna seemed to assimilate into the atmosphere around her, and even her eye-catching appearance seemed to grow hazier as time passed. At this rate, people would simply pass her by without so much as registering her even if she ran into someone.

Ianna mimicked Arhad whenever he changed directions and walked into a new alley and followed after him while hiding behind the buildings. Thankfully, Arhad never noticed her as he walked ahead with large strides. Ianna felt like she was seeing the Arhad of the past, as his every step was filled with an arrogance that seemed to declare that none may block his path. It was a stark difference from the stifling manner in which he acted at the Institution.

Ianna smirked. The man walking before her was the very Arhad who had defeated her.

The dark and narrow alleys smelled strongly of dust, trash, and drug, and it worsened as they went deeper. And there were more grey rats squeaking about as they scuttled across the ground. One rat tried to walk across Ianna’s, who was still hiding her presence, foot. She took her eyes off of Arhad and kicked it away in disgust, but then it squeaked loudly in fright.

The reason why the area was in such a poor condition despite being a sizeable portion of the capital, even as remote of an area it may be, was because it was where secret powers moved about while avoiding the people’s attention and where beggars lived away from the public eye.

There always needed to be a place of darkness to balance out and maintain a bright place of light. This place, which the royal palace had abandoned because it was busy enough preserving the bright light, was a necessary evil.

“Hey, the mister in the black robe! Wanna spend a night with me? I’ll make it real cheap.”

A woman wearing thick makeup ran out of a building. She shoved her bare breasts at Arhad’s direction as she called out to him.

This place was filled with trashy women who sold their bodies for cheap. They were women who had failed to succeed in the fancy red light district and instigated men into having sex with them for cheaper than what a high-class prostitute would charge. They still made good money though, as there were many gangs based around the area who would fool around with them all at once as a group.

“Eek!”

But the woman shrieked, more vigorously than when she had first run out from the building, and hurried back inside.

Ianna tilted her head to the side in bafflement. They may make decent money, but such women tended to cling persistently to any men whom they’d marked as targets because most of their money was spent on their business or their living expenses. But the woman had grown scared out of her wits as soon as she had seen Arhad’s white mask and had immediately given up on seducing him.

‘Does the white mask mean something?’

The woman’s behavior fanned the flames of Ianna’s curiosity. Arhad, who had not spared the woman a single glance throughout the entire ordeal, continued walking ahead.

“You’re here?”

A little while later, someone jumped down in front of Arhad from the second story window of a building. He was wearing a white mask and black robes, just like Arhad. The only difference was that there was a black teardrop painted underneath the newcomer’s eye.

“Bruce will be on higher alert than usual today. The bastards are surely cooking something up because we haven’t been able to be active as of late because of you, and today is what it is.”

The newcomers voice was grating to the ear and sounded like he had phlegm stuck in his throat. Ianna pointlessly wondered if he had damaged his vocal cords by smoking or using drugs, as it generally wasn’t easy to force oneself to talk like that, while she listened in on their conversation. He continued,

“In any event, they’re desperate to sniff you out right now, so please always remember to be careful.”

Ianna had wondered if he was Arhad’s subordinate, but his tone was a little too insolent for someone speaking to his master, so she dismissed the idea. Still, they were surely members of the same organization since they were both wearing white masks.

Arhad, who had been listening as the man spoke, nodded slowly.

“Stop worrying over nothing. It’s you who needs to be careful, not I.”

His cool voice was not the voice Ianna was accustomed to hearing, but that of a middle-aged man’s.

She was so startled for a moment that her focus faltered, and her foot scraped audibly across the ground in the midst of the silence. Ianna cursed to herself. She had made a foolish mistake because she had been so bewildered over the thought that she might have tailed the wrong person entirely.

Swooosh!

The throwing knives at the other man’s belt flashed white as soon as he touched them.

The knives rushed toward the building wall because Ianna had been hiding behind it. Any normal person would have sneered when they saw how the knives were stopped by the wall. Ianna, however, left her spot as soon as she had seen the blades flashed and hid in another dark corner.

Then, the knives cut through the wall like butter and pierced the place where Ianna had just been standing.

Pow! Bam!

Squeak, squeeeak!

The grey rat had simply been in search of food. It had simply seen some scraps left around a certain individual’s shoes and had rushed forward to happily partake in its newfound meal. How was it to have known that such a simple action would result in its death?

The poor rat was kicked into the air before it realized what was going on while it was still chewing and was instantly pierce by the knives. It spasmed its death throes for a moment before falling over dead.

The man looked dumbfounded when he came over to confirm his kill.

“What? A rat? What a weird rat.”

The man clicked his tongue as he retrieved his bloody knives and returned to where Arhad was waiting. He continued,

“Then again, there’s no way you would’ve allowed yourself to be shadowed.”

Ianna quietly stepped out from her hiding place as he walked away.

He had fortified his knives before he had thrown them. And he had done it instantaneously. His speed was formidable. And his throw had been clean and had looked like it came to him as easily as did breathing. He was a rare individual of unique talent.

“There was someone sneaking after me, but they aren’t around anymore.”

Ianna wrapped her robe more tightly around herself as she sidled against the wall. Her mind was in chaos as she watched the men walk away.

She had definitely seen Arhad before he had put on the mask and walked into the alleys. There was no way she would have mistaken him. But, why was his voice so different? Was he really Arhad?

Ianna tailed after them dubiously before she abruptly recalled that there was a type of bio magic that could alter one’s appearance. Spells meant for changing one’s body were high-leveled, but a mage who researched the field extensively could cast them quite easily. Such spells were also sealed into artefacts and used by high-ranking nobles when they wanted to travel incognito.

Arhad could have a mage among his supporters who altered his vocal cords, or he could have been using an artefact to change his voice.

It was a weak hypothesis based solely on the fact that she had seen Arhad’s face before he entered the alleys, but Ianna was sure of her eyes and decided to trust that she was right.

In the meanwhile, the men had entered a rather narrow path. Ianna walked up to the path when their footsteps grew quieter and frowned. It was only wide enough for one person to pass at a time. It was highly likely that she would get caught if she walked in, even if she was hiding her presence, if there were no obstacles she could hide behind.

Ianna did not want to be found out. It was dishonorable to follow someone discreetly, but more importantly, her targets were acting secretly out of the public eye and would definitely find her suspicious. And so, it wasn’t wise to reveal herself before she made contact with them or they invited her into their group.

That being said, she it didn’t suit her to simply give up without gaining something from the experience, nor did she want to simply leave without satiating her curiosity, which was bubbling over for the first time in a long while.

And more importantly, she did not think she would ever get another chance to uncover Arhad’s secrets without having to monitor his each and every move.

She pondered over how she should tail the men as she sensed them grow farther away—and she looked up at the buildings surrounding the path as she contemplated. They weren’t very tall. She was confident she could use the window frames that cropped up here and there to climb up to the rooftops.

She moved as soon as she got the idea. She used only her physical abilities as she jumped up because she was afraid that Arhad might notice her if she used mana, grabbed a window, climbed on top of it, and leapt again as she made her way up.

But they had vanished without a trace by the time she had made it to the rooftops. Ianna was alarmed as she sought out their presence with her brows furrowed, but found nothing. Arhad was one thing, since he was extraordinarily skilled, but the fact that she couldn’t even sense the other man meant that they had either entered a mana-proofed building or that they had travelled far enough that she could no longer sense their presence.

“……Whew…….”

Ianna was overcome by a sense of futility as she scowled heavily in her growing irritation. The first opportunity she had found in uncovering Arhad’s past had slipped away. She grew mentally exhausted for having lost her chance even after uncharacteristically tailing him to learn what he was up to.

But she had no real reason to uncover his secrets, of course, and her vow to be as his sword in the future would not change just because she had failed to satiate her curiosity now. Arhad would inevitably reach out to her one day, and all she had to do was wait for that day to come.

Her rage stemmed only from her endless curiosity.

Ianna tousled her hair as she bit down at her lip. She knew next to nothing about Arhad. She had not been able to write anything of note about him back when she had tried to write about him when she was young. All she knew about him was that he had been the emperor and that he was the strongest swordsman.

The woe and embarrassment she had felt upon staring at the mostly blank page had eventually become curiosity and greed. Ianna sincerely wanted to learn more about him now that she had decided to serve him.

As a child, she had not had any means of learning more about Arhad and there had been nothing she could have done even if she had somehow managed to learn more. All she could do was lock her greed away in her heart and toil away as she trained to grow stronger.

But things were different now. She was finally old enough to put her greed into action by the merit of her own strength. And so, she was resentful about letting the opportunity vainly slip her by when the truth was right in front of her nose.

Ianna decided to give up and return to the Institution before changing her mind and deciding to remain on stand-by for the rest of the night on the rooftops. If they had entered a building instead of walking too far away, then it was likely they would come back out at some point.

“Shit, where did those bastards go?”

She heard a man rage furiously as soon as she had made up her mind.

“There was someone sneaking after me, but they aren’t around anymore.”

Ianna had been focusing on Arhad, but even she had been vaguely aware that someone else had been following behind the both of them. She had simply felt no point in paying any heed to him because he had felt even more worthless than the rats rummaging about the sewers.

And yet, the man she was looking down on felt somehow familiar to her. The man, who was walking around with a dagger in the hand that hadn’t been crushed was the kidnapper whom she had utterly destroyed and crammed into a garbage can earlier that day.

It was possible that he had come in search for her, considering how much bloodlust he was giving off. She may have been hiding her presence, but that didn’t mean that she turned invisible, so it was possible that he had caught a glimpse of her and had tried to follow after her.

Ianna narrowed her eyes like a tiger staring down her prey before jumping down from the rooftops.

Thump.

A cloud of dust stirred up around her as she landed lightly on the ground. The man was about to walk into the alley that he had been carefully eyeing before Ianna grabbed him by the back of his neck and threw him to the ground.

Slam!

“Ack!”

The man, who had suddenly been pulled back and down to the hard ground, screamed. He had been aching already, and the additional impact rendered him immobile on the floor groaning.

“Fuck…….”

The man cursed as the pain slowly began to subside to the point where he could tolerate it. He told himself that he wouldn’t let the bastard who had pulled him down get away with it.

“Shit, who the fuck……ack!”

But he began trembling in his boots when he found that the “bastard” in question was the woman who had beaten him up earlier that day and crammed him inside a garbage can, and he pointed at her while saying,

“W-why are you here?! Did you chase me down to kill me, you little bi—?! I mean, Ma’am?!”

“……You.”

She had been about to ask him whether he had followed her for revenge. His fate would have changed depending on his answer, but Ianna realized that she needed to rectify her understanding of the situation upon hearing what he had said.

‘He was following Arhad, not me.’

Ianna quietly looked down at the terrified man. Why was this piece of trash after Arhad?

But just as she was about to ask, “Why were you following the robed men?”

“P-please spare me!”

He had thought that Ianna was wracking her brains figuring out how she wanted to kill him. He immediately pressed his head against the ground without any hesitation. He continued,

“I-I swear I’ll never lay a finger against the young master no matter what the higher-ups order me to do. I’ll swear it on my family jewels!”

Ianna’s words dissipated before she had the chance to say them. Unless she had misunderstood, the man had just admitted that his superiors had ordered Finn’s abduction.

‘But who are they? And why? Do they know that Finn is a rare half-elf? Or is it just because his father’s rich?’

Ianna turned her head a little to the side without a word. She suddenly had a lot of information she needed to extract from the man before her.

“Eek…….”

Ianna hadn’t been thinking anything in particular, but her turning her head while staring at him terrified the man. Then, she opened her mouth to say,

“Make sure you answer me properly. I’ll kill you as soon as you hesitate before answering.”

“Y-yes. Yes Ma’am.”

The man sniffled as he nodded furiously. His jaw and hand, which had been crushed earlier that day, began throbbing like crazy with pain as he looked into the red eyes of the woman who held his life in her hands in the darkness. He felt like he would soil his pants again for the second time that day.

“Why is your organization trying to kidnap that child?”

“I don’t know —I’m only a low-ranking member. I just follow orders when I get them. Why would I just kidnap people at random if it wasn’t my mission?!”

The floundering man did not appear to be lying. Most large underground organizations operated with their superiors hidden behind a veil of secrecy sending out lower-ranking members to carry out their orders like worker ants.

‘Does that mean this man’s organization ordered him to follow Arhad too?’

“And why are you shadowing the men wearing white masks and black robes?”

“Camastros!”

The man’s tongue was as loose as a feather. He continued,

“It’s because those bastards are Camastros! They’re my organization’s sworn enemy! My boss grinds his teeth together whenever he talks about them, and he said to kill them on sight……! The higher-ups will give us a huge reward if we kill them and drag their bodies back!”

Camastros. Ianna silently repeated the unfamiliar name in her head. She wasn’t sure if she’d heard of it before, but she felt like it was connected to Arhad somehow.

‘But why is Arhad affiliated with Camastros?’

Judging by the circumstances, it was likely that Camastros was a military force that Arhad was building up to pit against Bahamut. But then, why were they at odds with the organization that this piece of trash was affiliated with?

Ianna grew curious about the organization that the quivering man was with.

“What is your affiliation?”

“T-that’s…….”

Swish— Baaam!

Ianna drew her sword from her waist when the man hesitated and thrust it deep inside the wall. The man shrieked—and looked sideways in terror at the blade which had scraped his cheek as it stabbed into the solid wall as if it had merely been cake.

“There are other ways to make you talk.”

Ianna pulled her sword out of the wall and expressionlessly looked down at the man as she frigidly whispered,

“You have five seconds. I’ll cut off the fingers of your right hand one by one if you don’t start talking. Five, four…….”

“Sooob, t-the Black Fox!”

The man, who had broken out sobbing at the hair-raising cruelty in Ianna’s voice, immediately bellowed out. He needed to stop the sword that was slowly approaching his fingers a quickly as possible. He was prohibited from telling anyone what organization he belonged to, but couldn’t have cared less about that particular taboo at the moment.

“I’m with the Black Fox!”

The Black Fox.

Ianna remembered where she had heard the name Camastros before now that she was hearing it in relation to the Black Fox. Camastros was the organization that had fought brutally against the Black Fox in her past before Ianna had become a duchess.

The terrified man suddenly regained his vigor when he saw that Ianna had paused.

“Yeah, that’s right —I’m with the Black Fox! They’ll never leave you alone if you touch me, you bitch! You’ll be targeted for assassination if I tell them that you were my greatest obstacle in obeying my orders! But I’ll keep my mouth shut if you spare me!”

Ianna was almost confused when she heard the nonsense he was sprouting. Had the fear messed with his brain?

Bam!

She kicked the man hard in the face with her sturdy boots. The man sprawled out against the ground from the impact as more blood and a few teeth spilled out from his already bloody mouth.

“……!”

The man was shocked when the name of his organization didn’t hold its intended effect and his limbs trembled endlessly as he lay on the ground.

“Who said I was going to spare you?”

Ianna fell into thought and ran her hand over her face as the man was even more shocked and began floundering about.

‘Black Fox ordered its members to abduct Finn. And they’re at odds with Arhad too?’

The Black Fox was the Bahamut Empire’s hunting dog. They played the role of hunting down game in the form of goods, people, and intelligence and offered it before their master.

The Black Fox had existed back when Arhad had become the Bahamut Emperor in the future. But now, they were sworn enemies with their future master……?

‘Does the Black Fox know that Arhad is a Bahamut prince? Or did he rally them under his banner only afterward?’

Ianna could not come to any definitive conclusions because she wasn’t fully aware of the circumstances, but she still knew that a rabid dog that bit its master needed to die. Otherwise, it could come back to bite its master from behind.

“Hmph…….”

Ianna smiled frigidly. She hit the man against the back of his head with her scabbard as he tried to crawl away while she was deep in thought. His face planted against the ground before he could even scream, and Ianna grabbed him by his clothes and hurled him against the wall.

Ianna stabbed her sword through the wall right next to his throat as the air was beaten out from his lungs. The blade, which glistened in a frightening light, had sliced his flesh ever so slightly.

“Ack!”

“I’ve decided to judge you by your actions just now. I will pull what information I can out from you before I kill you.”

“I’m sorry! Please spare me!”

The man stopped floundering and knelt flat against the ground before Ianna, who was oozing of bloodlust. He continued,

“I have a beautiful, foxlike wife and children as cute as baby rabbits back home……!”

“Try something new.”

Ianna flatly dismissed his story.

“P-please spare me, I beg of you. I’m just worthless trash that follows the Black Fox’s orders!”

The man even called himself trash as he plead desperately for his life. He continued,

“Your sword will get dirty if you cut down this piece of trash, Miss! Your sword will cry rivers!”

His pleading intensified. Ianna showed him a slight opening just as his begging had reached its peak.

“Very well. I might be inclined to let you go without torturing you if you choose to talk.”

She knew that it was time to bring down her blackmail a bit before he started growing truly desperate. Ianna had stressed the word ‘inclined,’ but the man had found greater importance in the fight that she might let him go as he looked up and visibly brightened.

“W-what do you want me to talk about? Ask me anything!”

“Tell me what kind of organization Camastros is. And about their relationship with the Black Fox.”

The man was a low-ranking member, so he probably didn’t even know where his superiors were, much less who they were. Ianna, who had skimmed through information regarding the Black Fox in her past, was actually more likely to know more about his superiors than he did.

The identities of the leaders of the Black Fox were shrouded in layers upon layers of secrets. On top of that, the leaders changed regularly and raiding their bases had proven vain, so it was next to impossible to catch hold of their top brass.

And so, the Black Fox was an organization in which it was only natural that the rank and file members did not know who their leaders were or where they stayed.

Which was why it was pointless to consider using the man to catch his superiors off guard even if he had admitted to being a member of the Black Fox. It was a waste of time to ask him about the Black Fox, so all Ianna could do was ask him things that any member of the underworld would know.

What Ianna needed to learn from the man was information regarding Camastros, which Arhad was affiliated with, and the rough outline of its relationship with the Black Fox.

“Y-you’ve never heard of Camastros? They’re a group of bastards in black robes and white masks.”

The man heaved as he gulped down the blood and spit that had pooled in his mouth. He continued,

“The underworld might just be one giant pile of trash, but there are two powers that absolutely no one can touch. The Black Fox and Camastros. Any fool who dares to touch either of them will get their entire organization annihilated.”

It was apparently a rather large organization. How had Arhad come to be a part of it? He had probably killed off anyone who had stood above him, since he would never be under another —the man was a ruler to his very core.

Did that mean that Arhad was the leader of Camastros?

Ianna’s thought swung heavily to one side. It was far more likely than it was for Arhad to be following someone else’s orders.

“All I know is that he’s a major player in the underworld.”

The words that Rikijen had once said to her added weight to her convictions.

The man continued as follows.

Camastros was an up-and-coming organization that had only sprung up a few years ago. Most people in the underworld knew about them now that they were large enough to hold their ground against the Black Fox, but they had been a relatively unknown group that acted only in secret until just a few years prior.

The Black Fox was the only organization it was at odds with. It was almost as if Camastros’ only goal was to destroy the Black Fox from its roots, and they had made a name for themselves by destroying all the branches the Black Fox had once operated in another kingdom.

The Black Fox had grown suspicious as their branches were destroyed one after another. Their branches had been based in hard-to-find places for the most part, but it wasn’t unusual for them to be occasionally found out and erased. But it was still unusual for all of their bases in one kingdom to be wiped out and more unusual still for the same thing to repeat across several countries. After all, it was uncommon for all their bases in one location to be found out at once, as though they had been marked as black dots on white paper.

Which was why the higher-ups had set out a large bounty for the offender’s name and affiliation, but not even the informant who acted as the boss who controlled their intelligence operations could not sniff them out, which meant that their underlings couldn’t either.

All the Black Fox had managed to figure out was that they spectacularly pretended to either not know that they were dealing with the Black Fox or be grateful that the Black Fox had saved them from some other villain before they raided the Black Fox, and that a prostitute who had survived one such raid had seen them wearing peculiar white masks and black robes.

Camastros had eaten away at the Black Fox bit by bit and had suddenly appeared in the middle of the Kingdom of Roanne’s capital, where the Black Fox’s main branch was based, and had openly declared themselves as Camastros in the underworld just as the Black Fox had decided that they were an enemy that needed to be dealt with.

Every member of Camastros who had appeared in the capital was strong enough to be considered an executive member. They were all capable of controlling mana, and any fight they were involved in was rampant with high-leveled magic or fortification. They were not people whom just anybody could pick a fight with.

The Black Fox had been the largest player in the entire continent’s underworld even just a few years ago, but they, who were powerful because of their numbers, found themselves at a loss when squared up against Camastros —a small group in which every member was highly skilled. The underworld only grew more divided between the two as time passed.

At first, it was thought that Camastros was a group of highly skilled people who held a grudge against the Black Fox. But now it was rumored that Camastros was backed by the royal family and some extremely high-ranking nobles who were tired of the Black Fox’s antics but did not personally wish to get their hands dirty or even by wealthy merchants with large spheres of influence.

The Black Fox had resolutely looked into where Camastros’ funding was coming from, but they had not even found the smallest clue. The fact that an organization as powerful as the Black Fox could not fish out information on Camastros made it obvious that they were being backed by an even bigger power.

“They burn down Black Fox bases and kill off any merchants affiliated with us whenever they show up in the capital —it’s like they always have an eye out for us or something. Some of our executive members, who are much stronger than I, stepped forward and tried to wash their hands of Camastros, but failed. It was all because of leader of Camastros is a monster. Cough.”

The man spat out bloody phlegm and stole a glance at Ianna. He brightened up a little as he found hope in how interested Ianna appeared.

“The leader of Camastros is a man in his forties, judging by his immense strength and his voice, and he usually watches his men work from behind, but he personally steps forward and cuts down our members like they’re just stacks of hay when he judges that things are getting dangerous.”

It was only then that Ianna realized that something was suspicious about the man’s story.

“Why do you, a low-ranking member, know so much about Camastros?”

“Well, that’s only natural because the higher-ups always give us new intel on them to memorize every month. Everyone in the Black Fox knows about Camastros —it’s not just me. That’s why we hate them so much. They’re making our organization grow weaker. Tch.”

Ianna guessed at the man’s superior’s intentions for giving such orders as he spat out blood in disgust.

‘They probably wanted to plant seeds of hatred against Camastros in their members.’

The Black Fox’s members were very prideful of their affiliation because the Black Fox was a household name that all common folk were terrified of and was the strongest force in the underworld that even nations were wary of. By ordering its members to memorize information regarding Camastros’ activities, the Black Fox was essentially brainwashing its members into realizing that their organization, which was the only reason why they were able to act as wickedly as they pleased, would only grow smaller if things continued and goaded them into killing any members of Camastros on sight.

“Anyway, the Lords in our upper brass practically shake in anger whenever they’re so much as mentioned. There’s a high-profile slave action today, so my superiors ordered us to either kill Camastros on sight if we happen to see them or to at least keep an eye on their location…….”

The man trailed off as he finished. He started looking around nervously as he desperately prayed that Ianna would judge his fate kindly.

Ianna focused on the high-profile slave auction that the man had referenced. She pondered for a moment before nodding and dragging the man up by the collar. The man was startled.

“Eek— You said you’d spare me if I told you everything I know!”

“Lead the way.”

“What?”

Ianna dragged the man in front of her as he voiced a question upon failing to understand what she wanted him to do and gently answered,

“Take me to where the slave auction is being held.”

“Y-you wish to buy slaves? But only those who were invited can attend the Black Fox’s slave auctions.”

Slaves were valuable. A slave could never go against their master’s wishes, and the master could treat their slaves in any way they pleased.

And the slaves sold during the Black Fox’s occasional auctions were especially attractive. Slaves purchased from other traders could rebel, but the Black Fox branded its slaves’ foreheads with a hypnosis artefact that would force the slave to register the first person they saw after being branded as their master and obey only that person.

This was why the Black Fox’s wonderful slaves were held with high acclaim. The Black Fox’s sex slaves, in particular, were perfectly suited to catering to the hobbies of rich and powerful nobles who wished to enjoy their nightly activities away from their aging partners.

There did exist nobles with secretive hobbies as the aforementioned, but most purchased slaves for other reasons. They wanted young slaves to groom into becoming obedient servants or slaves to act as tools for fulfilling a particular objective.

The rich and powerful enjoyed the Black Fox’s occasional slave auctions because the slaves were easy to get rid of when things turned sour. Which was why they backed the Black Fox over other organizations that undertook human trafficking.

Slaves that had been trafficked were generally prisoners of war, but there were occasionally also people who had been abducted and forced into slavery, so most kingdoms forbade human trafficking on the surface because it was inhumane. But it was still tacitly tolerated, however, because nobles supported it from the shadows and because it was prevalent all throughout the continent.

Still, there was no merit in being open about the slave auction, so it was only known to a very select few and held in a confidential location where only the select few could enter.

Ianna had absolutely no interest in purchasing a slave. She was simply interested in what plot Arhad had planned for the auction.

After considering what the man had told her about Camastros’ current activities, it was obvious to Ianna that Arhad, who had been quietly attending the Institution for the past few weeks while Ianna persistently chased him around, was here today precisely because of the high-profile slave auction.

The Black Fox had been active in Ianna’s past life. Their dealings in the slave and drug markets had been thriving. Arhad had enjoyed a charismatic image for allowing the Black Fox to do as they pleased, but he had not been seen as righteous. He was the type of man to rule by his absolute charisma, rather than his virtue.

Ianna was certain that Arhad was the leader of Camastros, considering his character. Which meant that Camastros was hostile to the Black Fox in accordance to Arhad’s will.

Which was strange. He was weakening the Black Fox, which was to become as his hands and feet one day, and he was eliminating its slave traders and drug dealers?

Ianna was piping with curiosity. And she did not wish to let the key that might be able to satiate her curiosity slip through her fingers this time.

“Listen close.”

Craaack!

Veins began popping out of Ianna’s hand as fissures spread across the building wall like a spider’s web. The man quivered as he watched parts of the wall crumble off and fall to the ground. Ianna looked down at him and smirked.

“I am capable of ripping my way out from steel prison bars with brute strength alone, and I am most certainly capable of crushing your throat if I felt like it.”

The man nodded furiously as he recalled how Ianna had almost crushed the bones of his neck earlier that day.

“I will kill you if you do anything foolish, but I promise I will let you go if you do exactly as I say.”

“W-what do you want me to do?”

Ianna pulled back the hood on her robe when the man asked. He grew gloomy again upon seeing her. She looked amazing no matter how many times he saw her. Ianna’s appearance was superior to even those of the lovely women who were sold as sex slaves.

He had only meant to kidnap the child at first, but he had later decided to kidnap Ianna as well after seeing her because he thought that she would fetch a hefty price if he sold her as a sex slave. And it had been this very decision that had sent him straight to the pits of hell.

“Pretend that you’ve abducted me and take me to the slave auction. All you have to do is sell me to the person in charge of the auction and forget about me and everything else that’s happened between us today. It’ll be like none of it ever happened.”

The man looked incredulous when he heard Ianna’s insane proposal. He almost wondered if she was mocking him.

“A-are you serious?”

“Just shut up and do as I tell you. But say that I’m an enchanting swordswoman whom the nobles can string around as decoration so I can keep my sword with me. And……”

The mana surrounding Ianna fluctuated and began growing sharper. The resulting bloodlust seemed to reach out like a dense fog and strangle the man.

The man coughed, unable to breathe properly. He couldn’t even stand properly because his legs were giving out. Ianna pulled him up by the collar before he could slump down. The man’s eyes were completely dyed in the color of terror as his legs dangled weakly beneath him.

“Remember that it will be on your head if you slip up and your organization tries to restrain me, and I will sniff you out and personally murder you no matter where you try to hide.”

Part 2

The man did exactly as he was told. He had told the man overseeing the auction that, while the pretty lass couldn’t handle her sword that well, she was still a rare swordswoman who an amazing body due to her training and that the empty-headed noblemen would come for her open-mouthed and panting because of what a rare specimen she was as he vapidly wagged his tongue. He was certainly a glib man —he had proved as much while he had been begging for his life.

The auction master looked pleased as he blindly accepted the man’s words, and he even praised he man for bringing over such a high-quality item before handing him a sizeable sum of money. The man laughed as he accepted it— but he was promptly startled as his eyes met Ianna’s and he quickly made himself scarce.

“Get in!”

The basement cell, which Ianna had been shoves into with her hands and body tied up in thick rope, was crammed with people writhing in despair.

“Sniff.”

“Sob.”

Ianna was thrown into a cell filled with women and children, and there was another cell filled with men just across the bars. Most of the women there, save for those who had fallen asleep from exhaustion, were crying absentmindedly with reddened eyes.

Among the children, there were some who were sitting around blankly because they didn’t fully understand what was going on, some who had grown up under difficult conditions and were depressed because they understood exactly what was going on, and others who had cried out for their mothers and were being hugged by some of the women after their jailers yelled at them to quiet down.

Not many of the men were crying, but they all looked distressed or even resigned. A few had been lashed for rebelling and were sprawled out on the floor while reeking of blood.

There were apparently a few animals around somewhere too, as Ianna heard their sorrowful cries echoing about.

Any warriors had been bound tightly in chains, and they were even kept under an artefact that restricted their use of mana. But Ianna had only been tied in regular rope and shackled only at the ankles like a normal slave. This was because she was there as a swordswoman.

The man Ianna had blackmailed had told the auction master that Ianna did not have an ounce of skill, and the auction master had believed him. It was obvious to him that Ianna, who had been captured by a mere low-ranking member of the organization, was probably a vagrant who only looked the part of a warrior.

The auction master had not bothered to even tie her up in chains, let alone use an expensive artefact to restrict her mana. Ianna was to be sold as a sex slave, not a warrior slave, so he had to prevent her skin from being damaged or affected by the steel chains.

And so, Ianna’s wrists were tied together behind her back and her body was wrapped up tightly in rope from under the chest like any normal male slave would be. The other women looked to her with pity when they saw that she was bound more tightly than they were as she was shoved into the cell.

“Tch.”

The jailer had taken her sword from her, lest she somehow cut her ropes with it. Ianna, however, remained calm. Not only had she heard the auction master mumble about how he would have to equip her with it again when she was up so they could emphasize the fact that she was a swordswoman, but her sword was simply resting next to a yawning jailor. If push came to shove, she could break through the bars and retrieve her sword anytime she wanted.

Ianna pulled the rope around her wrists taut.

‘I can break out of this easily.’

She was the only carefree soul in the cells otherwise filled with despair. She walked forward as if nothing was wrong and sat down against the cold wall.

Slaves marked by the Black Fox. Those who had been stamped with the seal of imprisonment, a high-level psychic magic artefact.

The Black Fox did not drug their slaves when they marked them. Mind control magic was more effective if the target was fully conscious.

The slaves would be marked, screaming and kicking, in front of their new masters after the auction once the successful bidder had paid for their purchase. The slaves would then bow courteously to their new masters as if they had never even thought to rebel in the first place.

The sight of the slaves being marked after their bidders had paid generously for them was slowly growing into an attraction.

The seals could not be abused, of course. Otherwise, the Black Fox would have long since abused them to bend the world to their crazy whims.

The first reason why the seals couldn’t be abused was because the high-level mind control spells they used consumed so much mana that it transcended the imagination, thereby requiring the consumption of expensive mana stones to make the spell even possible to cast to begin with, and the second was that the hypnosis spell was relatively weak because it was manifest from an artefact instead of being cast directly by a mage. And so, the seal was useless against someone whose willpower was stronger than the weakened spell.

Still, not many ordinary people had willpower strong enough to break the spell. It was still impossible to reject a spell unless you were a certain level even if you could control mana.

And in conclusion, it meant that most of the people here were destined to become slaves.

“Sob. Whimper.”

Ianna had unintentionally sat down an arm’s length away from a child who looked barely seven years old and was bawling her eyes out.¹

“Mom, Mommy…… I’m sorry……. I won’t let go of your hand ever again……. Mommy, Mommy, don’t go. I’m so scared……. Help……. Sob.”

Ianna, whose mood had soured, turned her eyes toward the child. For whatever reason, she always grew emotional when a child was crying. She choked up and felt like something was gushing out from her heart, and she wanted to take her hand and help her as much as her abilities would allow.

This was why she always helped every child she could despite always putting her own safety first and foremost otherwise. She wanted to hug them close when she saw a child crying as they shivered in fear, and she wanted to take their hand and help them —but she didn’t quite know why her heart felt this way.

Ianna closed her eyes and rested her head against the wall.

Finn. He was a good and cute child. Ianna had something she needed to do even if she had been wrong about everything else and Arhad was not here.

That fact that this was a high-profile slave auction meant that it was highly likely that some of the Black Fox’s top brass would be present. She would have no need to go out of her way to do so if Camastros —and Arhad— was here to raid the auction as she expected them to, but she planned to kidnap one of the Black Fox’s executives and flee the scene in case they weren’t.

There was sure to be a commotion of no small scale at the scene, and those who hadn’t been marked would be able to escape if they were skilled enough to do so.

The reason why Ianna was planning something so outrageous was because she had resolved herself to something so strongly it had basically become as a mission to her. She would use the executive she kidnapped to find out why the Black Fox was after Finn, and she would decide how she wanted to deal with them depending on what she learned.

The Black Fox may belong to Arhad one day, but Ianna would not tolerate allowing Finn, who was like a little brother to her, to have to live in fear of being abducting until that day came. She even considered making the Black Fox her enemy and slaughtering every last one of them in the event they refused to give up on taking Finn.

‘In any case, a slave auction’s just another auction —so what makes this one so special?’

The words ‘high-profile’ were only used in very particular instances, was it not? Which meant that there was a high-profile slave here that made the auction special, so Ianna decided to look around to relieve herself of her boredom.

The princess of a ruined kingdom, an infamous knight, a beauty who shook the lands, an individual of mysterious ability, a misfit with a peculiar appearance, a vicious monster that was difficult to capture alive, a creature of an endangered species, or one that had never been seen before in the world…….

Ianna listed several hypotheticals and furrowed her brows when she could not come up with anything else. Any slave auction showcasing a member of the mythical races would be marked special, of course, but she ignored the possibility because it was unlikely to happen.

“Back off, you lowly dog-like humans! Don’t come near me!”

A husky voice reverberated throughout the cells just then.

“Are you really a dwarf? How’d you get captured?”

“Shut up —don’t talk to me!”

Ianna stiffened up. She thought she had misheard for a moment, but the husky voice from the other cell kept shouting things that seemed to suggest he wasn’t human.

The others, who was already exhausted from dealing with their own wretched fates, paid the dwarf no heed. They were already used to his screaming and simply shut their ears in annoyance. Only Ianna was surprised.

“Oh……?”

Ianna stood up with a cold smile on her face and walked up to the cell bars.

A dwarf. They were the short mythical race that specialized in blacksmithing. They spent their lives crafting weapons, and were masters of their art who were said to blaze away their passions in the glow of the forge.

The Karankell Rocky Mountains, where the dwarves lived, was located at the southernmost reaches of the continent. Unlike the elves, who were self-sufficient, the dwarves traded with humans to some extent for food and other daily necessities.

The dwarves were said to be particularly close with the Jabellon Company and the archmage Maimayè, who specialized in flame magic.

They were close with the Jabellon Company because of the latter’s trademark beer. The dwarves did not like to hand over their creations to humans, but they needed to trade for food and daily necessities to maintain their production-focused lifestyles. Which is why they had engaged in business with humans since ancient times.

The dwarves had fallen head over heels for the beer that the Jabellon Company had gifted them in bulk to commemorate the relationship. Which was why they had entered an exclusive deal with the Jabellon Company to trade them a small number of dwarven-made weapons and armor in exchange for food, daily necessities, and a stockpile of beer once a year.

The Jabellon Company had been rich and famous ever since. The Jabellon Company controlled the small supply of dwarven goods there were in the market, and they were so astronomically expensive that even some nobles could not dream of purchasing one. What few dwarven weapons there were in circulation usually ended up in the hands of royalty or large noble houses, and it was said that it was probably easier for a commoner to pluck a star from the heavens than it was for them to even look at dwarven craft in their lifetime.

And so, a dwarven slave who could craft weaponry was practically a guarantee of abundant wealth.

Maimayè, the archmage of fire, had created and gifted the dwarves many artefacts. One such artefact was an item that could effortlessly cast Hellfire, one of the highest-level flame spells in existence.

The dwarves, who liked their fire especially hot, had rejoiced and welcomed Maimayè, who did not carry any ill intentions toward them, as a friend.

Still, other than Hanidelf, a dwarf who had taken an interest in magic and lived with Maimayè in the archmage’s magic tower to research it with him, most dwarves did not look favorably upon living alongside humans and never left their home in the rugged mountains.

And yet, unbelievably, there was one such dwarf right before Ianna’s eyes.

“Sob, sob.”

The wheezing dwarf with bloodshot eyes had slightly pointed eyes, a bushy beard, and was only about as tall as a fully-grown man’s waist —just as it was depicted in the books. He was stocky in build and bulky with muscle, and his skin was on the darker side.

What stood out was that the dwarf’s skin was scarred as if he had been burned. A dull-looking man sitting next to him continued prodding,

“But what happened to your hands?”

Ianna’s eyes subconsciously moved toward the dwarf’s hands when the man voiced his question, and she flinched at what she saw. The dwarf had no hands attached to his wrists.

“You bastard……I’ll kill you!”

Bam!

The dwarf with bloodshot eyes snorted as he jumped up and headbutted the man hard in the face.

“Ouch!”

“Just die!”

The man fell backward with a nosebleed, and the dwarf climbed on top of him. Then, because he had no hands, he began punching at the man with the stubs of his wrists.

Pow! Pow!

“You humans are worse than monsters!”

The dwarf breathed heavily as he wailed on the man’s face. The fierce hatred of humanity in his voice frightened the people around him.

The dwarf’s breathing grew more off-beat every time he hit the man. Transparent tears fell down the dwarf’s face with each irregular breath.

“May a dreadful curse fall upon you all! You…you monsters!”

The dwarf’s grief-filled cries echoed throughout the cells.

“K-Karankell, sob…….”

The dwarf gave up on hitting the man and simply cried with a stupefied look on his face as he called out for Karankell.

“My God Laos, take pity on my soul and take me back to Karankell! Please let me die in the arms of my homeland!”

The dwarf, who had mournfully pled for the God Laos to take him back to his homeland, simply continued to lament without another word.

A few minutes after the dwarf had starting wailing, an annoyed jailer walked out with his lunchbox and said,

“Jeez, is there really a point in keeping it here? And it kicks up a storm if we try to tie it up……what a pain in the ass.”

The jailor walked inside the cell and hit the dwarf across the back of his neck, rendering the latter unconscious. He yawned from the tedium of it all when the dwarf plopped to the floor, walked out, locked the cell, and began picking away at his late-night snack like nothing had happened.

The other people had stopped crying at some point and were looking between their jailor and the dwarf in turns. They had inadvertently stopped crying and held their breaths because the deep-seated hatred in the dwarf’s voice was dozens of times fiercer than their own indignation at their tragic situation. The jailor warned them,

“Quit provoking the dwarf. He may look quiet, but he freaks out whenever someone pays him any attention.”

Ianna stared at the unconscious dwarf with darkened eyes. He had surely been a master craftsman once, but his hands had been cut off and he looked only wretched now that all he had left was his hatred. How had the dwarf lost his hands? —they had surely meant everything to him.

Ianna didn’t know the cause, but she was certain of the culprit. He had obviously been maimed by humans, judging by his tears of blood and the hatred he had spat out.

‘Is the dwarf the reason why this slave auction is “high-profile”?’

But the dwarf had already lost his worth as a dwarf. So, what was it that made him “high-profile”? Was it because dwarves were still rare, even if they were without their hands?

This was likely the case. Not only were dwarves rare to begin with, but just the knowledge in his head made him a treasure worth more than a thousand gold.

Ianna was rendered speechless by how truly cruel humanity could be. And the dwarf had nothing more to say when he woke up a little while later.

“Now, make sure you look nice so you can be sold for a higher price. You want to meet good masters, don’t you?”

It was time for the slave auction to start. A woman with makeup so thick she was caked with at least a few millimeters of it walked in while absolutely reeking of powder and began taking away the slave women one after another. She took Ianna as well.

Ianna obediently followed along instead of struggling like the other women. She was then pushed into a room filled with women and young boys. It was obvious that all of them were meant to be sold for nightly activities.

The slave traders’ employees dressed up the to-be-slaves to make them fancy and gorgeous. It was like how an animal seller dressed up their goods with ribbons and brushed their fur so they could be sold for a hefty sum as pets.

One woman, who was trembling as she was being dressed, posed the employee who was dressing her a question in a teary voice.

“What’ll happen to me after I become a slave?”

“What do you mean? You’ll meet a good master —that’s what’ll happen. Nothing bad will happen even if you’re marked with the seal of imprisonment. You won’t feel any pain. Your thought process might change a bit, but that’s all. You will all be happy. I guarantee it. I’ll swear it on my life.”

It was evil. She was saying honeyed words to keep the slaves from growing too defiant.

The seal of imprisonment that the slaves were to be marked with was regarded as a top secret even among the Black Fox’s ranks. Most regular members did not know what kind of magic the slaves suffered from. The employees were sincere as they stressed the fact that the slaves would be happy, and the slaves grew confused when they heard the sincerity in their voices.

It was only natural that the employee sounded sincere, since what she was saying was technically true. Once their minds were being controlled, the slaves would remain fully conscious and experience only bliss as they served their masters.

But, even if they retained their consciousness, how could the employees compare losing one’s entire sense of self and only feeling happiness in obeying their master like a dog to having their thought process change a bit? How could they call that kind of lifestyle happiness?

Such happiness could only be called artificial. It was a sweet poison meant to kill one’s soul. Ianna thought it would honestly be preferable to die.

Burly men came to drag the women away once they were done being dressed up. They were being prepared to go up on stage.

“My, are you a swordswoman? Goodness. You’re perfect for nobles who like to show off.”

The employee who had come over to dress Ianna up giggled as she praised her mockingly. Ianna stared at the cheap powder and rouge the employee was holding and closed her eyes without a word. The woman frowned as she began doing Ianna’s makeup.

The woman, who had been offended when Ianna ignored her, was rough at first, but she was gentle by the time she had finished. She looked at Ianna’s face when she was done and was astonished by what she saw.

“You’re beautiful. I went light because I didn’t think showy makeup would look good with your clothes, but…… Goodness, you are beautiful. You’re like a high and lofty noble. You might even be the most expensive prize of the day. Isn’t that nice?”

Did the woman seriously think Ianna would be happy about that? If she did, then she had probably been with the Black Fox for so long that it had messed with her head.

Ianna, who had been listening to the woman run her mouth, suddenly broke out in fickle laughter. Her lips, now tinted with rouge, make her sneer all the more apparent.

“If you’re done, then shut your stinking mouth and leave.”

The woman failed to comprehend Ianna’s rough words for a moment and stood there blankly. Her daze only lasted for a moment, though, and she quickly brought her hand up.

“How dare you, you lowly slave bitch!”

She’s not seriously about to slap me, is she? Ianna breathed out a scoff at the absurdity of it all as she bent her waist back a little to dodge the hand that had swiped across her.

The woman, who hadn’t considered that Ianna might dodge her, lost her balance and staggered. She then crashed to the floor when Ianna nonchalantly stuck out a leg to trip her.

“Goodness.”

The other women turned to see what the ruckus was all about. The broke out in giggles as they saw how disgracefully the woman was sprawled across the floor with her skirt flipped over.

The quivering woman stood up with her face as red as a tomato from embarrassment and indignation.

“What are you doing? Why are you clowning around so disgracefully?”

“That’s not it. This little bitch…!”

“Bitch? Watch your tongue —you’re referring to our precious merchandise. And why are you blaming everything on her when you’re the one who fell over like a fool? Giggle!”

“Are you done?”

“I am. And so what of it? What else would I have to say?”

Ianna watched over the women’s squabble indifferently as if it had nothing to do with her before she heard a droning from afar and turned her ear toward it. The noise was coming from the auction, which was just about to begin.

Past the shabby hallway outside of the room Ianna was currently in was a small door that led to the stage. Past the door, up a few steps, and beyond the curtain on the highest step was a brilliant stage illuminated by magic. It was there that the slaves would be sold like objects.

A neatly-dressed man was standing on the stage with a sound amplification artefact in hand and a cheery smile as he greeted his audience.

[Now. I extend my sincerest welcome to everyone here who has graced us with your presence. My name is Mack, and I will be the host of our exciting auction tonight. Please clap your hands and show me how excited you are for our high-profile auction!]

Mack bowed with his right hand over his heart and his left hand behind his back as if he was a nobleman. There was laughter mingled in with the applause as the auditorium erupted because his comical figure wasn’t aristocratic at all.

There was a small stairway between the seats so people could come and go. There was a table with fruit and wine at the end of each row, and the participants of the auction were seated on luxurious sofas.

Everyone in the audience, who were still clapping, was wearing a mask and thick makeup. Slave trade may be permitted in the underworld, but they still wanted to hide their identities because it was frowned upon in the general public.

Masks were like a magic spell that allowed people to act in ways that they usually didn’t. It was a different mask than the one they wore out in public or for personal matters, and they allowed the wearers to hide their real identities.

Normally, nobles would have cursed and censured Mack for his behavior with their veins popping out from their necks, but they were more lenient now that their identities were hidden by their masks. It was also what let them be more magnanimous about the fact that Mack had prefaced the auction with the words ‘high-profile’.

They were eagerly anticipating the high-profile slave auction. The mystery surrounding the special slave piqued their curiosity.

[We have many rare and beautiful handpicked items for sale today! Now, shall we begin? First item —you’re up!]

A trembling woman walked onto the stage from behind the curtains at Mack’s signal. She had lustrous brown hair and golden eyes. The drooping of her eyes already make her appear meek to begin with, and she quivered like a leaf as masked members of the audience stared at her and started considering her price.

[Wow, her chocolate hair looks like it’ll melt if you lick it, and her golden eyes look as sweet as honey —we’re off to a great start. What will I do if this sweet woman fires the audience up too quickly right from the beginning? Now, now. We’ll start with ten gold!]

One man in the audience sluggishly raised two fingers in the air.

[Okay, doubling the price. That makes it twenty gold! Oh, someone’s doubled it again. That brings us up to forty! Wow, four times the price?! We’re at 160 gooold!]

Mack raised his hands as he screamed with glee.

~~*~~

That woman, that woman, that woman, that woman, that woman!

He had overturned this world that Laos created as he recovered his ripped-up fragments one by one. And slowly, ever so slowly, he had recovered himself piece by piece. With every fragment he found, with every piece that fit back together, as his soul became whole again! The thirst as he writhed atop the scorching desert heat, the irritated demands of his heart as it burned black, the fiery and persistent possessive desire in want of that crimson glow!

The crazy Demon howling in want as he reached out his rake-like claws to grasp the crimson.

And the crimson woman who always coldly rejected him.

The damned woman who always loathed to stay by his side.

Yes, you rejected me.

You slipped through my fingers and toyed with me endlessly as I frantically reached out for you, you planted the seeds of hope within me as you told me you would never cast me aside —and yet you always, always rejected me, you betrayed me, you left me, and you killed me.

And you rejected me yet again, as if it was only natural, when time passed and our paths crossed again.

And so, that was why I had honestly meant for it to be the end.

The man’s, who had finally given up on everything and had broken apart the chains of his obsession with his own hands so he could finally put everything to rest, vision trembled. All of his senses were jangling. The buzzing around him as people pointed and sneered at a woman who was already dead. The crimson hair that was growing muddied as she sprawled across the ground.

“Hwoo, haaa…….”

The man’s breath caught like he was struggling to breathe as a crimson mixture of blood and sweat dripped down from his drenched forehead. His eyes were so unfocused now that the ferocity in them when he had mercilessly stabbed the woman in the heart seemed almost like it had been a lie. Madness made a mess of his mind and squeezed at his lungs. The corpse of the woman who had already stopped breathing, whose soul had already left, and who was laying across the ground like a broken doll. The crimson woman who was covered by the dirty mud and had lost her shine.

I had thought that this sorry figure of yours would truly be the last.

“I will cut off the hands of anyone who dares to touch her.”

He furiously brushed aside his loyal subordinates as they tried to collect the woman’s corpse and held her body tighter. Thankfully, the woman in his arms was still warm. But, in accordance to reason, she grew only colder as time passed.

It was only now, after the woman was dead, that she had finally become his as his greatest spoil of war. She only remained in his arms as a doll of clay after the warm breath of her life, which he had so, so coveted, had escaped her.

The blue veins in his hands bulged as he held the woman’s corpse tighter.

“This life……is over. But…….”

Roberstein…….

“In the next, I won’t be your enemy……but your……knight…….”

Ianna……!

You would wield your sword, which you always wielded against me, for me?

The words that the damned woman had uttered with her very last breath after her heart had been pierced truly drove the man insane.

You damned, despicable, ruinous woman!

The woman always tempted him, always betrayed him, and always gave him hope again, and as always, the foolish man could do nothing as his heart began to uncharacteristically cling onto hope yet again.

~~*~~

“Looks like the auction is going smoothly,”

said the man with the teardrop on his white mask who had thrown knives at Ianna while she had been tailing them as he looked to the entrance to the auction venue with blood dripping down his knives. There were about thirty people in black robes with white masks around him. But there were at least twice that number lying dead on the ground.

There was a different drawing on each of the victors’ white masks. Save for one man who had nothing drawn on his, of course.

“And your thoughts?”

The man asked as he gestured to one corner of the building after he had sheathed his greatsword. Someone wearing purple robes, who wore a sour look as they watched the entrance to the slave auction be cleared away, appeared from where he was indicating.

“You were spectacular, oh leader of Camastros. I have seen many skilled individuals working for the royal family, and yet even I cannot help but be astonished by how skilled you are.”

“Thank you for your high evaluation. In any event, I am certain that your master will be sufficiently satisfied by our deal.”

“Indeed. It will not be a terrible idea to let it be known His Highness is supporting Camastros from the shadows. It’s time to rip out the dirty seeds that germinated in our Great Kingdom of Roanne from their roots. We can also wash ourselves clean of our inability to touch these underground organizations out of fear.”

The purple-robed figure fell silent for a moment before they started again,

“But make certain of this. His Highness has agreed to sponsor you under the condition that you will rip out the Black Fox from its roots without future trouble down the line. And do not forget that our promise has finally borne fruit today.”

“Of course.”

“Hmm, this was a good trade.”

The purple-robed figure stared closely at the leader of Camastros —his mask made it so that no one could see that he looked like or what kind of expression he was making. His only visible features were the composed golden eyes that peered out from behind his mask.

This man, who must have been around his forties judging by his voice, was a monster. No other power had come close to the Black Fox’s before, and yet this man had halved the Black Fox’s influence in the span of just a few years. And his skills, which the purple-robed figure had personally confirmed tonight, were overwhelming. Just thinking about the way he had so effortlessly cut down several foes with a single blow —as naturally as if he had merely been taking in a single breath and breathing it back out— made the purple-robed figure shiver uncontrollably.

“Anyway, may I observe from afar for a while longer? It excites my old bones to see such evil people be taken care of for the first time in a long while.”

“Do as you wish. But make sure you only enter the auction after we do.”

“Understood,”

The purple-robed figure replied before vanishing.

“I’m reminding you again, but you’re absolutely not allowed to blindly trust your strength and jump into the fray. Your body is one thing, but our goal is to topple over the Black Fox and shed the name ‘Camastros’ once we’ve raised our members,”

said the man with the teardrop mask as he walked up to the man with the white mask. The man with the white mask shook his head in exasperation.

“I know that. How many times have you told me already?”

“I’m only saying this because you tend to charge into things regardless of my warnings. I know that it’s a good thing to instill a sense of awe in your subordinates —but only in moderation. And you must never use mana. The more reckless you are, your heart…….”

“Enough.”

The man with the teardrop mask was terribly anxious, but he had no choice but to nod when the other man admonished him.

“In any case, we’ll be able to turn their eyes on the Kingdom of Roanne with this. But, are you sure you really can’t beat the crown prince with your current skills? You’re a monster too, just like him.”

“That won’t be feasible quite yet.”

“……Sigh.”

The man with the teardrop mask sighed in frustration at the other man’s immediate reply and nodded. He continued,

“All right. We’ll keep pressing onward as we have been. A third power will begin slowly devouring the Black Fox from its tail all the way to its head under the authority of the Kingdom of Roanne, so you probably won’t be so hard-pressed to hide your identity anymore.”

The man nodded in agreement before pointing with his chin.

“I’ll go in first. Clean things up here and join me with the rest of the group.”

“Understood.”

The man with the white mask stepped over the corpses on the ground and he opened the door and entered the building where the auction was being held.

Only the stage was lit up brightly —the rest of the auditorium was dark— and there was a man tied up tightly being forced to kneel on the stage. His head was bowed and tears were falling from his eyes. He felt so wretched about the fact that people were currently bidding on a price for him that he could not even bear to raise his head.

The man with the white mask slowly looked around his surroundings before heading over to the empty seats at the very back. The audience seats consisted of comfortable sofas —making them perfect as a place to rest.

The man unbuckled his sword and leaned it against the sofa before laying down. He leaned his elbow against the armrest and rested his face against his hand. He made himself comfortable as he stared at the stage without a trace of emotion in his eyes.

“Hmm?”

The people next to him turned to stare as the seat, which had been empty until now, was suddenly filled toward the end of the auction, but they only took one look at the man before turning back to the stage without nary a care in the world. Then, their faces took on a puzzled look. Finally, stared back at the man’s mask in shock and disbelief and gasped upon taking a second look.

[This skilled, dual-wielding swordsman has been sold for 1,400 gold!]

The terrified people were unable to say a word as their eyes darted this way and that before they resolutely jumped up and ran out of the building.

The man with the white mask paid no heed to those who had predicted what was to happen next and fled. He was simply watching the show because he had nothing to do until his subordinates came in.

[And next…… Wow, it’s a lady with ardent looks! Both her face and her body are absolutely gorgeous! I, Mack, can say with confidence that she is by far the most beautiful girl we had on stage tonight!]

The man petrified like stone the very moment he saw the girl who had climbed up on stage.

“…….”

He furrowed his brows, unable to comprehend what on earth was going on.

‘Am I seeing things?’

He sat up straight and stared down at the stage. There was no reason why he would be seeing her here like this, but there was also no way that he would ever mistake her. The girl standing on the stage right now was certainly no hallucination.

But then, did that mean it was actually her?

His once disinterested eyes were now as the seas ravaged by a storm of bewilderment.

“Why the hell is that woman there……?”

[I was wondering why she isn’t wearing a dress like the other girls —but it seems that she was a special case! This lady is a swordswoman —a rare creature you’ll be hard-pressed to find anywhere else! She’s a real swordswoman who knows how to handle a sword!]

Why the hell is that woman standing in such a vile place with these pieces of filth staring at her?

[And I’m sure you all know that you’ll also be hard-pressed to find a girl as beautiful as her elsewhere.]

The girl staggered as the auction master pulled at her rope.

[See how sharp and haughty she looks. Don’t you want to see the face she’ll make when in your hands? And see how voluptuous she is despite her young age. You’ll be more satisfied with her than you would be fooling around with a withered tree trunk. Her face, body, and her stamina are to die for —so you’ll be able to enjoy her all night long!]

The man with the white mask took his eyes off the girl and narrowed them sharply as he glared at the Black Fox auction master who was boasting with his vulgar tongue.

‘She’s not the type of woman who would let herself be abducted by those bastards —she wasn’t drugged or had her mana restricted while she was being careless, was she?’

If he had not had any plans to be here tonight, if he hadn’t just so happened to encounter her due to an outrageous stroke of fate, then she…….

His breath grew sharp and wintry as they escaped from his parted lips.

“How dare those wretched bastards…….”

The man tapped his fingers against the sofa armrest. His wrath seemed to explode between every subtle beat.

His unrest subsided heavily a moment later and he stared coldly as he silently watched the stage with his hands folded while the girl’s bidding price grew higher. A frigid air formed around him when he looked to the latest bidder, a fat man who had bid for 8,700 gold.

“We’ve finished cleaning up. Shall I tell the others to come in?”

The man nodded toward the fat man, who was now bidding 10,000 gold, when the man with the teardrop mask entered the auditorium and whispered to him.

“Let the other members of the audience leave, but keep him here. Tell the others to kidnap him and take him to the cells downstairs —I’ll take care of him myself.”

“……Pardon? But why? Did he do something to you?”

“Look to the stage.”

The man with the teardrop mask was perplexed as to what was going on and looked to the stage as he was told. Then, he fell into silence.

“…….”

The man with the white mask was resting his face against the back of his hand as he stared at the girl.

These bastards, who are ultimately just toys made from mud, could never know your true worth. Is that not so? You can be bought with mere gold? Ridiculous. If gold was enough to entice you and tie you down, then you would have never been able to leave me.

The man stared fixedly, ever so fixedly, at the girl’s aloof visage.

She was crimson from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. He wanted to seize her, hold her tight in his arms, and never let her go. His wanted every strand of her crimson hair, which he wanted to hold in his hands, to flow only toward him, and he burned with his dreadful desires for her crimson eyes, her crimsons lips, which he wanted so much to take a bite out of, and her crimson soul, so beautiful that it brought tears to his eyes —all of it.

The sole reason why he had died at her hands the very moment he was born, why he had repeated the past, crossed over the present, and was heading for a future where he could finally see an unwritten ending —the only reason to clutch onto everything was that crimson woman.

And that was why he forgot the dreadful thirst that seemed to tear apart his throat, and why his cracked heart throbbed like it would finally shatter.

~~*~~

Ianna was the last of the women to go up on stage. Most of the men had already been sold off as well, so it would soon be the dwarf’s turn once Ianna was sold.

A hundred gold, two hundred gold, three hundred gold……. Her price skyrocketed at numbers that commoners would not even be able to utter easily.

Ianna remained laid back even as her worth was being evaluated. She scanned the audience and smirked when she glimpsed how people had stiffed up at the sight of her. There were a few affluent commoners present, but most of the audience were nobles. It had been a while since she had first come to the capital, so there were a few nobles who knew what she looked like.

Things happened just as Ianna had expected. It was only a few people who recognized who she was, and among them, there were those who were wracking their heads over why the daughter of a nobleman was being sold off at a slave auction and those who were simply observing the situation because they found no reason in particular to save her —the ugly duckling of House Roberstein with common blood running through her veins.

On the other hand, there were also a few who were clumsily calling out prices. She was still a member of a count’s household, after all, so they considered having the count owe them a debt.

But no one, even among those who knew who Ianna was, asserted that she shouldn’t be there. Anyone who was being sold at a Black Fox slave auction was a slave, regardless of their origins. It was all too clear that they would be heavily retaliated against if they acted rashly and soured the Black Fox’s mood. And, naturally, no one thought that Ianna was worth getting on their knees to beg for.

Still, only a very few members of the audience knew who she was, and most people brushed aside their doubts —there was no way a nobleman’s daughter would be at a slave auction, after all— despite the strange mood in the air and continued to call out their bids.

‘There’ll be a few vulgar rumors circulating around, I suppose.’

Ianna watched them and smiled. It was obvious to her that this scandal would be gossiped about amongst the nobility and that her reputation among them would fall to rock-bottom as a result. She had promised Sarachè that she would debut next year, and those rumors would prove fatal to her as a noble.

But she didn’t care. She was planning to leave the kingdom in a few years anyway, so the people of Roanne would have no way of interfering with her life.

Ianna looked around at her surroundings. She could not tell who was who, not only because it was dark but also because everyone was wearing masks. It seemed like Camastros had not stirred up a fuss before her turn came. The auditorium, she found as she climbed on stage, was only filled with merriment.

‘Are they not coming?’

Ianna blinked as she wondered if she had speculated wrong. Her heart sank at the thought that she had been wrong and Arhad was not here.

“6,000 gold!”

“7,000 gold!”

Prices were rising by the thousands now. Ianna sneered at it rose. How much did these rotten humans think she was worth? —she wore an odd mixture of intrigue and scorn as she waited for her price to settle.

“8,700 gold! Is there no generous patron who will go higher than this?”

8,700 gold was an astronomic sum, considering that tuition and board for one semester at the Institution was only twenty-five. But Ianna simply snorted at the absurdity of it all.

“Is that all I’m worth? My, that man must either be blind or not have very deep pockets.”

[Goodness, what is this lady saying? She’s sneering at you and questioning the depth of your pockets! I’ve overseen dozens —hundreds of auctions, but I have never seen a lady as brazen as her before!”

“Tut tut, have you ever seen such a wench so cheeky?”

“It’ll be fun to force her down and humiliate her.”

The greasy bald man who had bid for 8,700 gold smiled repulsively and pompously called for 10,000 gold. The people around him stirred, as 10,000 gold was way too much money to spend on a mere sex slave.

A few people pointed at him and called him an idiot, but the man was immensely pleased with himself that the nobles were paying so much attention to him.

10,000 gold was nothing to him, and the wench standing on the stage was to his tastes. She gave off a young air about her because she was still just a girl, but she would only grow to be more beautiful when she was fully mature and she lost her baby fat as her body ripened. The man reviewed her looks and imagined what she would look like in the future.

And besides, he could take her around as his personal knight and flirt with her and take her away to the shadows to fool around with her from time to time —it wasn’t a bad thought at all.

10,000 gold. He wouldn’t regret the purchase at all, since he figured he’d use the seemingly aloof girl for her worth as soon as he bought her. The man figured she would be pleased with the price too as he smirked at her while she stood atop the stage.

“Only ten-thousand gold……how disappointing. You must be blind.”

Ianna squared off with a dirty smile lingering on her lips. Mack had heard what she had said but he did not repeat it in his megaphone artefact. He simply glanced at her once like she was crazy and smiled as he waved his hand.

Is there no one else? No one at all? Mack’s voice echoed throughout the auditorium. Once the auction is over, I’ll have her marked with the seal as soon as I receive payment! The people around the bidder cheered at his pompous words. It was the more the merrier when it came to watching a struggling slave abruptly submit and kneel before their new master. The audience was pleased by the man’s purchase.

“Haha…….”

Ianna’s lips twisted into a laugh as she watched Mack laugh like his mouth was about to rip apart. Did that man seriously think that her life would be over as soon as he announced that the bid had won?

Surely, he was only laughing because he did not know. Ianna watched generously as Mack laughed while she was planning to abduct him, dig some information out of him, and kill him later.

She had originally planned to slaughter everyone expect for one executive, whom she would only render unconscious, just as she was about to be marked after the auction was over and make her leave, but, contrary to her plans, it looked like she would have to stir up a bit of a fuss.

The hypnosis magic would hold no effect over her even if she was marked with the seal. But it would still leave a physical scar on her because the seal was heated to burn the magic circle onto its victims’ flesh. She did not want such a disturbing thing to touch her and leave behind a scar, even if the magic wouldn’t work as intended.

Ianna clenched her hands into fists. The muscles at her wrists bulged, and the rope around them began to make small popping noising. And then, just as Mack was about to finish his countdown.

“Is a million gold enough?”

The low voice, which had come from the very back of the audience, quickly echoed to the front. It forced the other members of the audience silent, as if it had physically beat against their mouths.

Silence resounded. Jokes were not normally tolerated as these auctions, but this one time, everyone present felt the need to be understanding of the joker’s ignorance and tolerate him until he was satisfied.

A million gold. It was more than enough to buy an entire village and then some. The audience turned toward the back of the auditorium where the voice had come from, wondering who on earth had suddenly poured cold water over the festive mood with his bad joke.

There was only one man wearing a white mask in the back row —no one knew where the others had gone. He was staring at Ianna with his legs crossed and his elbow against the armrest and his chin resting on the back on his hand. His eyes glowed chaotically through his mask.

Ianna’s red eyes and his golden ones crossed through the air and locked on to each other.

“And if that’s not enough, then what about ten million gold?”

The way he uttered the astronomical sum like it was nothing at all only made it seem like he was ridiculing the Black Fox.

Black robes and a white mask. And golden eyes.

Those were the only things about the man that stood out. But the people who saw him were still so overwhelmed that they suddenly found it hard to breathe.

Black robes, a white mask, and piercing golden eyes where the characteristics of the infamous man who instilled terror in the members of the Black Fox.

Mack dropped both his jaw and his megaphone artefact upon recognizing him.

“……But almost everyone outside was someone high up in the organization or even an executive…”

Mack mumbled blankly. Mack only stared in a daze even after he had dropped the expensive artefact that he should have been careful with.

The white mask floated up in the darkness.

Mack had never met the man before, but he had seen him once from afar. He had felt the sudden sense of lethargy, like a rabbit freezing up inside a lion’s jaw, before.

It was him.

……The leader of Camastros.

The nobles grew deathly pale and began to flee from the man with great haste.

“T-the leader of C-Camastros? Is it really him?”

Camastros, the group of powerful warriors that stood against the Black Fox. They had an amazing intelligence network and had managed to sniff out the Black Fox’s well-hidden branch offices one by one and destroy them.

Camastros was one thing, and the group alone more than lived up to its name, but its leader was infamous not only in the underworld but also amongst the nobles that took interest in the underworld’s happenings. Even without seeing the man in person, it was spine-chilling enough just to hear the tales of how he used his weapons to massacre any enemies who stood in his way.

Those who had heard about how he dressed from the rumors screamed, fully aware of what was about to happen next.

“It’s really him!”

“Argh, Lempe, you scoundrel. Hurry up. We need to get out of here fast!”

“Pardon? Are we not going to participate in the rest of the auction? The really special goods haven’t been put up yet.”

The hurried man, who had thrown off his mask because it got in his way, shouted back when he heard his servant’s stupid question.

“You idiot! A fight’s about to break out between Camastros and the Black Fox! We might die if we get caught up in that! Ack!”

The members of Camastros poured in and began crossing blades with the members of the Black Fox. The corners of Ianna’s lips curled up and she laughed when the place became so filled with shouting that it made her ears ring. The man with the white mask frowned because her laughter seemed to be saying, “How foolish. I cannot be bought with money.”

“……You’re right —there would be no reason for me to act so foolishly if you were a cheap woman who could be bought with mere money…….”

The man had muttered quietly to himself, but Ianna had not missed a word he said even with the commotion around them. His golden eyes, so filled with dark greed, were so familiar to her that they left no room for her to doubt.

As I’d guessed, you really are Arhad. Nothing has ever changed about you, both in my past and current life —it’s almost funny how you’ve stayed exactly the same.

Just when exactly had Arhad’s greed begun? What was it about her sword, about her, that he had taken such a liking to that he desired her so strongly even though they had only just met? —Ianna could not fathom.

But she could not fathom herself either. She could not fathom why she felt as though her fixation with him —she did not know where her own obsession stemmed from either— was only natural.

“Pft.”

A scoff escaped Ianna’s now closed lips. The clock had turned back and the life she had once lived had all but vanished —the time she lived in now could never be a continuation of her past life—, and she found it so funny that Arhad still wanted her just like he had in the past, so funny that she thought it was only natural that he would put so much on the line just to have her since the day they had first met in this life, that she could not help but burst out in laughter.

“Ahahaha! Hahahaha!”

Her uncontrollable laughter was made more striking by the fact that it was so clear that it did not suit the bloody situation around her at all.

— “Slave Traders 1” End

—To be continued in Volume 3

↑ The crying child’s gender is not specified in the original raws.