"I saw Elda over there, right that way!"
The Ice Human looked in the direction I hurriedly pointed at randomly, then turned back to look at me.
Then, they gave me a thumbs-up and nodded as if to say thanks.
I returned the thumbs-up and nodded back, acknowledging their gratitude.
And so, we parted ways amicably, each going our separate paths.
I went back to get Sora, who looked dejected, her ears drooping, her eyes darting around nervously at everything.
But when she saw me, her eyes welled up with tears, on the verge of crying.
I' ve never been the type to cry in front of my big sisters, not once.
So why do I have to pat the head of a crybaby like this?
Sora, with her uninjured arm, hugged me tightly, nuzzling against my stomach.
Her tail wagged furiously.
"Hurry up, or I' ll leave you behind!"
"Mm, mm!"
Sora nodded rapidly, as if afraid I' d refuse her.
After weaving through alleys and taking breaks because my body couldn' t handle the strain, it took quite a while, but we finally spotted Sora' s master' s house.
It was a dilapidated wooden house, unremarkable, but I didn' t take her inside. I let Sora go back on her own.
Who knows if the boss or someone inside would grab me too?
I needed to get home quick, or my sisters would worry and come looking for me, and that' d cause a huge mess.
But then, a big man blocked my path.
"You made it back, huh, Sora? Where' s everyone else?"
Sora shook her head and forced out a reply.
"Don' t… know… cough, cough."
"Damn it! Why didn' t you stab that bitch from the start?!"
I crouched to run, but he grabbed my collar and yanked me up.
"Perfect timing. I' ll use this kid to pay off some debts."
"W-Wait, please let me go! I' m not involved in this!"
"Not involved? Then why' d you help her?"
"She said she' d pay me if I helped her get here."
"Ha, you' re scamming people now, huh?"
After saying that, the man lifted his foot and stomped on Sora' s head, grinding it into the ground.
"If it' s about money, I' ll cover her share. She' s already the boss' s slave anyway."
Despite his words, his grin was downright sinister.
"N-No, it' s fine! I was tricked, I don' t need the money!"
"Don' t want it? That' s your problem. Who cares?"
Then he grabbed Sora' s leg and dragged her into the house, with me in tow.
I' m done for. Struggling won' t help—if I resist and he gets mad, he' ll probably beat me. So I let him take me.
Past the door, we entered an empty room with just two old men lying on piles of ragged cloth, breathing heavily.
But when they saw the man with Sora, they sprang up with surprising energy.
"Hahaha! I won the bet!"
"Damn it, why didn' t I bet on Sora?"
"Yeah, I messed up too, old man."
Then the three of them started talking about who bet on whom, who backed Sora, how much the winner got, and how much they lost.
Once they were done, the two old men went back to their cloth piles and kicked them aside.
Underneath was a hidden trapdoor leading to a basement.
The man dragging us didn' t care about Sora' s injuries, pulling her down the stairs.
Of course, Sora' s head hit every step, splitting open.
"Hey, Bui, ease up! Let the boss see she' s alive first, or we won' t get paid!"
"Whatever, I didn' t bet on her anyway, haha!"
"Sigh…"
The old man who bet on Sora hurried to lift her head, keeping it from hitting the steps and dying before they got there.
But at the bottom, he let go immediately and went back up, closing the trapdoor.
The pitch-black corridor lit up with magical devices.
I saw the rough, filthy floor. No need to guess how scraped up Sora' s face was from being dragged.
The basement was a long, winding corridor, with their men posted at every turn.
It felt like a setup for ambushes, perfect for dodging arrows or magic.
Big Sis Tiara once told me about this when she had nothing else to do but lie around.
The corridor was wide enough for three adults to stand side by side, with rooms for living quarters, a kitchen, bathrooms, weapon storage, and more. The stuff inside looked high-quality.
They' re slum dwellers like us, dressed similarly, but way richer and more comfortable.
Sora and I were taken to the innermost room.
Once inside, he let go of Sora and tossed me onto the floor in front of him.
Luckily, the floor here was smooth, so I didn' t get hurt much when I rolled.
The room was lined with shelves packed with expensive-looking items.
About 30 workers, men and women, were busy recording, moving, cleaning, shelving, or packing items into fancy boxes for someone else to take.
The room was warm, making it easier to breathe and feel better physically.
"The only one who made it back is this Sora bitch. As for this kid, can I use her to offset my bet?"
The so-called boss, a cat-human, inspected every item and decided what to sell or do with it.
She glanced at me briefly before turning to the man who brought me.
"She' s so weak, she probably can' t even lift light stuff."
"Come on, boss, use her to nurse Sora. She helped her get here, didn' t she? Once she' s healed, you can sell her to the child trafficking rings."
"…You' re something else. Fine, I' ll knock off 3 copper coins."
"That' s too low, boss!"
"Take it or leave it. Or maybe you buy her for 3 copper coins?"
"Fine, deal."
After the deal, he left. Then a worker came over, chained a collar around my neck, and yanked me to follow to another room.
The room they took me to had just a large wooden tub, big enough for three adults to soak in, about waist-high.
The person who brought me lifted me by the collar over the tub.
At first, I thought I was done for—the collar choked me, and I couldn' t breathe.
But when I saw what was in the tub, I forgot the pain in my neck.
They used water magic to wash the grime off me from head to toe, just enough to get me clean, then dropped me to the floor and dragged me out.
Inside the tub were black slimes, writhing and crawling over each other, nearly spilling over the edge.
Big Sis Tiara once told me slimes are monsters used for waste disposal, but regular people or civilians can' t use them.
Only royalty, nobles, or guilds with B-rank or higher fire mages who regularly manage them can.
Guilds need permits to keep slimes and face random inspections to ensure they' re controlled.
If they' re negligent, the slimes are confiscated, destroyed, and the guild faces huge fines or even jail time for the whole group, since they' re complicit.
Slimes taken from dungeons can evolve into beasts if their numbers aren' t kept in check.
According to Big Sis Tiara, usable slimes must be white and transparent. If they evolve, they' re destroyed immediately.
After leaving the room, the person nodded to another mage sitting outside, looking bored.
The mage stood and shot a small fireball into the tub.
The slimes' screeches and the sound of burning lasted only a moment before he slammed the door shut.
I was taken back to the main room and told to look up so their boss could see me.
"Hmm… now she might fetch a decent price."
Then she waved me off, losing interest.
I was taken to a corner where Sora lay curled up in pain, sweating profusely.
She was definitely running a fever.
I was chained to a shelf, and they tossed me a mortar and some unknown herbs.
The herbs were dark brown with black spots, looking like they should be thrown out, not used.
"Grind it fine, mix it with her spit or blood, and rub it on her wounds. If she dies, you' re paying for these herbs."
Then they went back to work.
The stone mortar was heavy for me. I had to use both hands to lift it and let it drop.
Spit alone wouldn' t be enough.
Just then, one of them walked up to the mortar.
He pulled down his pants and pissed into the mortar I was grinding. I pulled my hands away in time but couldn' t lift the mortar to dodge.
His piss mixed into it.
"Say thanks! I went out of my way to give you water to help your friend."
"…Thank you."
"Whoa! Hahaha, she thanked me for my piss!"
The others burst out laughing.
If I dumped the piss, they' d probably accuse me of making a mess and beat me.
Sorry, Sora. I have to use it like this. I hope you can fight off the infection.
I lifted the pestle and ground it again, enduring the piss splashing on me.
I could only get it somewhat fine—my arms were too weak to keep going.
If I apply this and Sora dies, will I be a murderer?
Feeling guilty won' t help. If I don' t do it, they' ll kill me. The weak have to submit to the strong, right?
I dipped my hand into the mortar and smeared it on Sora' s wounds.
Sora sniffed, then scrunched her face in disgust.
I leaned down and whispered in her ear.
"If you can' t take it, don' t force yourself. It' ll be easier. Just sleep and never wake up."
As I applied the paste, Sora cried the whole time, sobbing over her pitiful life.
When I finished, I sat in the corner, hugging my knees, head down, but secretly watching and listening to everything they said.
Sora' s wounds didn' t heal at all—just bled a little less.
"Hey, what' re you sitting around for? Clean this!"
One of them handed me a beautifully patterned jar with a large gem in the center and a clean cloth.
I raised both hands, glancing at the mortar and the guy who pissed in it.
"Damn useless!"
He snatched the jar and cloth back and stormed off.
After that, whenever someone told me to do something, I used the same trick, and no one dared use me again.
The guy who pissed in the mortar got dirty looks from his own people instead.
And he glared at me with pure hatred.
He caused this mess, yet he' s mad at me?
Sora' s face twisted in agony, her body trembling despite the warm air.
She reached out her right hand to me with sad, hollow eyes, probably terrified of dying alone.
I wiped my hands on my shirt and held her hand tightly, like I did for Big Sis Tiara when she had nightmares.
I wonder if Big Sis Tiara' s stressing out and hurting herself again. I' m so worried.
Big Sis Calika' s probably back by now, searching everywhere for me.
I want to go home.
Sora' s hand twitched harder. I leaned down and whispered to comfort her.
"Don' t worry, Elda' s here with you. Sleep peacefully, okay?"
I used the same words I always say to Big Sis Tiara.
Soon, Sora' s hand stopped trembling, slipped from mine, and fell to the floor.