Chapter 6:Luna and Fei
What if this old man has bad intentions?
Sensing his thoughts, Gandrel spoke. "No need to worry. I wouldn't steal from my buyers, as long as they don't harbor ill intentions toward me. I can see you're inexperienced, but I have my own boundaries."
Leon breathed a sigh of relief as Gandrel produced a key seemingly out of nowhere and unlocked the iron bars.
The two black-robed men escorted the girl out and presented her to Leon.
"Young man, please inspect her carefully. Once you buy her, there are no returns or refunds."
The girl lowered her head, her expression blank.
"Feel free to look at the human slaves as well—see if anyone interests you."
Leon walked forward, scanning the women above their heads. He paused when he saw a girl around the same age as the demi-human he had chosen.
He pointed to the girl with long black hair and emerald eyes.This girl has a beauty score of 94.
Gandrel ordered his men to bring the girl before Leon. Unlike the others, her eyes were not dull—there was a faint glimmer of hope in them.
The two girls Leon had chosen were led out, their gaze fixed on Leon's back as Gandrel and Leon took the lead. The two shadowy guards held the chains attached to the girls' shackles.
The girl with black hair and emerald eyes flickered with hope and expectation, while the demi-human girl looked back at Leon with a look full of hatred—perhaps not toward Leon himself, but toward the humans who had abducted her.
Once back at the counter. "How much?"
"Twenty gold coins," Gandrel answered without hesitation.
"Ten," Leon countered.
"No."
"Twelve," Leon tried again.
"No, it's too low."
"Fourteen," Leon said, locking eyes with the old man.
Gandrel sighed. "Young man, you must understand—I have to pay thirty percent of my profits to the House of Viscount Ravenhold. On top of that, I have a quota to meet, regardless of profit. If I fail, the Viscount will revoke my permit and ban me from his territory."
"Add one more gold coin and we have a deal," Gandrel said seriously. "I can see you're a good person. From what I observe, you've never taken a life before. So, I'm willing to lower the price for you. Otherwise, forget it."
"Have you seen those human slaves?" Gandrel asked Leon.
"Yes," Leon replied.
"You probably don't know, but many of them are commoners who couldn't pay the entry fee, so they were sold into slavery."
"Whether I accept them or not isn't my problem. The reality is, if I refuse, their fate is worse than slavery."
Leon's eyes widened as the two girls looked toward the old man.
Gandrel sighed helplessly. "You know, all my wives were slaves before I met them. If I hadn't accepted them, they would have been cast out. Without enough strength, they would have surely died."
"And if they become slaves, at least they have a chance to survive. Some might even find a kind-hearted master who won't mistreat them."
"So, you two are very lucky. If you behave well, I'm sure your master won't threaten you badly."
"I've been in this business for a long time and have seen many individuals of different races. I can tell at a glance what kind of person they are."
Hearing the old man sigh, Leon reached into his pocket and tossed a handkerchief containing exactly fifteen gold coins to Gandrel.
The ten gold coins Leon had shown earlier had already been spent, so these fifteen were the ones he had withdrawn from his system inventory after leaving the clothing shop.
As for the clothes, soap, toothpaste, and toothbrush he had bought earlier—they had already been stored in his system inventory when he discreetly set them aside in a hidden corner.
Gandrel caught the handkerchief and counted the coins inside—exactly fifteen gold coins. Then, he inscribed a rune mark on his left hand to transfer control of the slaves to Leon.
Leon took back his handkerchief and removed the shackles from the two girls before preparing to leave.
Looking at the old man he had just met, Leon noted that despite his loud, rough voice, Gandrel seemed kindhearted and trustworthy.
"Old man, please reserve any slaves you think I might like when you have them," Leon said.
"No need to worry—I already know your preferences. Just don't keep me waiting too long. Of course, I'll preserve them until you return, as long as you pay for their food and lodging. I promise to take good care of them," Gandrel replied.
"If that's the case, please do as you say. I'll cover their food and lodging costs, just as long as you don't deceive me."
"You can rest assured—I have strict rules and bottom lines that I would not break."
With that, Leon waved goodbye and strode out of the establishment, followed by the two girls.
He led them into a secluded alley where he took out two cloaks from the system inventory: one green and one gold. He draped the green cloak over the human girl and placed the gold cloak on the demi-human girl.
The two girls widened their eyes in surprise—magic pouches were typically seen only among wealthy individuals and nobles, yet Leon had one.
The human girl happily accepted the cloak, while the demi-human girl hesitated, then finally accepted it.
Leon looked at them and asked, "What's your name?"
"My name is Luna—Luna Gale," the human girl replied.
"Wait, Gale? Are you from the fallen Gale family?"
Luna lowered her head and clenched her fist. "Yes. I'm a daughter of Baron Gale."
"I heard the Gale territory was annihilated in one night. How did you survive?" Leon asked.
"My father ordered me to escape first when he realized we had no chance to survive," Luna said.
"At that time, I was accompanied by my two servants, Sil and Fiona. They intercepted the undead so I could get away."
"But how did you end up a slave?"
"I ran almost nonstop for three days," she explained. "During the day, I rested briefly, but at night the undead respawn everywhere. Fortunately, I learned our family's magical arts; without that, I likely would have died."
"When I was exhausted, two men spotted me. When I woke up, I was bound and sold to a slave trader."
"Those bastards… one day, I'll make them pay," Luna said with irritation.
Hearing her story, Leon felt grateful that Anastasia had rescued him. Otherwise, he might have shared Luna's grim fate.
"And what about you?" Leon asked, turning to the demi-human girl.
"I… My name is Fei. I was abducted by humans when we went outside our clan's fortress to gather fruit," she said, her voice filled with hatred.
"Alright, Luna, Fei."
"From now on, you can follow me. I promise that, as long as you behave well, I will grant your freedom when the time comes."
"Follow me—I'll buy you some clothes and bathe, then you can have a meal."
At Leon's words, their eyes brightened. Luna immediately hugged Leon's left arm, her eyes sparkling.
"Yes, my lord," Luna said happily.
Fei, watching Luna's reaction and feeling hope rise within her, also grasped Leon's right hand.
"Yes, my lord," Fei said softly.
Leon then withdrew another gold coin from his system inventory and put it in his pocket. He headed back toward the clothing shop, where the old man at the counter looked surprised. There was also a woman accompanying him.
"Find them five sets of clothes, including underwear, and a pair of gloves and boots," Leon said, noting Luna's and Fei's bare feet.
The old man glanced at the woman beside him.
"Yes, sir!" she replied, gently guiding the girls away.
"Wait—take them to bathe first before dressing them in their new clothes," the old man added.
Leon smiled inwardly. This man truly knew how to satisfy his customers.
"Young man, where do you live? You seem new here," the old man asked.
"Oh, it seems rude of me not to introduce myself. My name is Jonathan," he said, extending his hand.
"Hello, nice to meet you, Jonathan. I'm Leon," Leon replied, grasping the old man's hand.
As mentioned earlier, Leon explained that he was one of the refugees fleeing the undead disaster who had been rescued by someone.
"Your lucky, as a kind-hearted person is rare in this world. Without a powerful background, don't expect help from others—only those with influence can offer generous rewards, which is why they're willing to assist."
"Most likely, they would have plundered your belongings or, worse, sold you as slaves."
"You're right, Jonathan," Leon replied, remembering Luna's encounter.
"Don't call me 'old man.' Just call me Jonathan."
"Okay, if you insist."
Jonathan sighed. "I just hope the undead disaster doesn't breach this fortress. Even if we escape, the Death Fog has likely already reached nearby territories, causing undead to spawn in large numbers."
"It takes two to three days to travel between territories if you only move during the day."
"No wonder there are still many people here, despite the nightly undead attacks. Fortunately, only low-tier undead are attacking at the moment."
"Especially the merchants—they're willing to gamble their lives. With limited strength, escaping the undead is crucial."
"As Anastasia said, the land inside the fortress is purified by magic, so no undead can spawn inside the walls."