The man who bought me at the auction was a Black Market Merchant, someone enormously fat... or rather, simply enormous in every dimension.
Not to be rude, but his appearance was, well, quite ugly. Honestly, the first thing I thought when I saw him was, 'Is he a Pig-Pig Fruit Ability User?' So... yeah.
His nose was squashed flat and pointed upward, and he was always grinning in this skin-crawling way...
Even knowing that in the One Piece World, this level of unusual appearance falls well within the range of "individual variation"... still, yeah.
"Buhihihihi... Well then, Sue-tan, you'll be starting work right away today-jo. Make sure you listen carefully to everything I say, got it-jo?"
And on top of everything, there was the way he talked and laughed. Even more cartoonishly grotesque than his looks.
His flawless repulsiveness, so perfect he might as well have wandered straight out of an Ero Doujin, was enough to make even me steel myself and think, 'Well, I guess this is the end of the line for my "pure, unsullied body."'
I mean, no matter how you looked at it or thought about it, that was the image that came to mind.
Well, I already knew that being a slave meant I couldn't exactly expect a decent work environment or fair treatment... Sigh.
...That was what I'd been thinking when I was first purchased.
But in that sense, my expectations were betrayed in a good way, if you could call it that.
Surprisingly, this Black Market Merchant never gave me the kind of depraved orders his appearance and mannerisms would suggest. Everything I was assigned was perfectly ordinary work: carrying goods, helping with housework, assisting with other tasks.
These were all things I'd had Experience with during my time aboard the Kuja ship or when I was running my odd-job business in Town, so I had no trouble getting used to them. Got praised for being a quick learner, even.
The workload and hours were fairly demanding, but it wasn't anything that caused real suffering.
I was given proper meals and breaks, and I could take a bath every other day. Sleeping arrangements meant sharing a large room with everyone, but at least men and women were separated, and it didn't feel too stifling.
A far more decent workplace than I'd imagined, or steeled myself for.
That said, the actual work itself was mercilessly shady.
True to the name "Black Market Merchant," all sorts of dangerous goods were being handled. Weapons, illegal drugs, stolen goods, diverted merchandise, and various other contraband... it seemed like anything could be traded as long as the price was right.
...Hey, they even have Dance Powder.
When you're dealing in stuff like this, hiring the wrong people means information leaks and instant ruin. So that's why slave labor was necessary, since slaves can never defy their Master's orders.
On top of that, the Black Market Merchant had another reason for buying me.
Sure, buying adult slaves who already had physical strength, knowledge, and Experience meant having a ready workforce.
But those adults harbored resentment toward their owners to varying degrees. The possibility of rebellion, given the right trigger, was never zero. The merchant was wary of that.
So here was his plan: buy a small child slave, raise her while feeding her all sorts of convenient ideas, and ultimately create a slave with absolute loyalty to him.
In other words, it was the slave version of the Hikaru Genji plan.
The slave purchased for this purpose needed to be old enough to work right away, yet still young enough to be considered a "child" who didn't know much about the world. The perfect age. That slave was me.
Because of this, while my position and duties were unmistakably those of a slave, I wasn't subjected to particularly harsh treatment. I was worked, yes, but handled as if being coaxed, tamed, domesticated.
At the same time, I was being drilled in the knowledge and skills needed to perform my duties as a slave, and alongside all that, I was being fed what amounted to brainwashing: whispered messages like "Your Master is a wonderful person" and "Working for such a wonderful Master is true happiness."
When I applied what I'd been taught and completed my work well, I was properly praised. Sometimes even rewarded.
...It wasn't that I was trying to meet his expectations or anything. I was just doing my job normally.
"Buhihihi... I was a little worried she might be too young, but this was a good purchase-jo. If you keep being useful to me like this, I'll give you an allowance and better treatment. I'll make sure you have all sorts of nice things too, so keep up the good work-jo!"
Apparently I'd been recognized as a favorite with "promising potential."
Going forward, I'd probably be taught even more knowledge and made to learn more jobs. All to produce an excellent slave who would one day work diligently as this Black Market Merchant's hands and feet.
***
Several more months passed.
Under the Black Market Merchant, I received an elite education in slavery and was steadily walking the path toward becoming an Elite Slave (ha).
Beyond the foundational knowledge for various "jobs," such as how to conduct Underworld deals, what to watch out for, how to distinguish genuine articles from fakes, and so on, I was also taught how to serve as a leader who could direct and manage the slaves working on-site. Complete with hands-on Experience.
What I am now is something like... a Part-time Leader, if I had to put a name to it.
In a workplace that includes male slaves ten and twenty years my senior, a mere thirteen-year-old girl is giving orders and running the show. Oh, I recently had a birthday and turned thirteen. I'd say it's a pretty surreal sight, if I do say so myself.
On top of that, once it became known that I had some training in swordsmanship, I started being groomed for a guard role as well.
Every two or three days, one of the hired Bodyguards would give me lessons or spar with me. The rest of the time was self-training: practice swings, strength exercises, building up my power day by day.
...It felt a lot like the life I'd been living when I was training on my own back in Town.
Actually, in terms of training, things might be even better now. More productive, even.
After all, these were Bodyguards working in the criminal underworld, even if only as hired help. Their combat abilities were considerable.
Back in Town, the only people I could spar with were members of the Self-Defense Corps. Here, I was being trained by people who had survived fights where lives were genuinely on the line.
Sure, they were all pretty rough and crude about it, very much in a 'babysitting some brat is a pain in the ass, but it's the job so whatever' kind of way. But if it gave me Experience, I'd take anything.
So I gave my all every session, trying to learn even a little bit more.
...I had room and board taken care of, was receiving vocational training useful in all sorts of situations (or so I thought), was gaining Experience, and even had practical combat training arranged for me...
I got enough rest days to keep from breaking down, received rewards when I produced results at work, and as long as I did what was expected, I wasn't mistreated or given unreasonable demands (at least for now)...
...Wait. This is an incredibly decent workplace for a slave.
I mean yes, the actual content of the work is shady as all get-out, that much goes without saying.
But if you could overlook that one detail, the conditions were actually pretty good. Almost an ideal workplace...
No, wait, hold on. The whole reason this Master bought me was to raise me into a slave who would swear loyalty to him.
If I started thinking 'This is such a comfortable place to be, I want to keep working hard here forever,' I'd be playing right into his hands. That was close, that was close...
I knew this, and I still almost got brainwashed. Get a grip, me. Too easy.
Besides, once the Black Market Merchant decided my "loyalty" was fully formed, he might start assigning me different kinds of work, or giving me orders he'd never given before...
Like, 'Now that you're ready, I'm going to show you the dirty side of things and give you the dirty jobs I've been keeping from you until now.'
Reasoning that if my loyalty was secure, I wouldn't betray him or refuse.
When I thought about it, the work I'd been involved in so far was... definitely illegal, sure, but nothing too extreme in terms of content.
But what if that was deliberate? What if certain things were being hidden from me because someone decided it was too early for me to know?
Or once my abilities as a guard reached a reliable level, my fighting power might be exploited: 'Hey, go take care of so-and-so for me.'
The Bodyguards, too, would sometimes disappear, and the next morning a business rival would be found floating in the sea... That had happened more than once. Pretty much confirmed black.
...And... regarding the "pure, unsullied body" concern I'd been worried about from the start, I was beginning to think the same logic might apply there too.
Now that I thought about it, this had been true ever since the day I was purchased: the way the Master looked at me clearly carried a shade of lust. That was exactly why I'd thought 'Oh no' back then.
The surprisingly decent work environment afterward had made me forget about it, but... that look in his eyes hadn't changed one bit, right up to the present.
On top of that, the Master kept several beautiful female slaves around him, and I'd seen him call them to his room at night on multiple occasions.
I'd also seen those women emerge from the room late at night or the next morning.
Sometimes he'd also call in women who weren't slaves but were clearly in "that line of work," or he'd go out to those kinds of establishments.
When those women noticed me, they'd say something like, "A bit too early for you, Missy," give me a wink, and saunter off.
For now, I was still a child. A "girl," not a "woman."
And forcing himself on me might breed resentment. My affection, my loyalty toward the Master, wasn't fully developed yet.
So while he looked at me that way, all he did was put me to work and raise me. He kept his hands to himself.
...But once my "body" and my "loyalty" had grown a little more, probably...
Honestly, I wanted to be spared from that... but I didn't have enough power yet to just decide to escape and actually pull it off... Worst case, would I have to resign myself to it?
***
Several more months passed.
Things were starting to feel dicey.
What was? My "pure, unsullied body."
Lately, it seemed like I'd hit a growth spurt... and, not to brag, but various parts of me were filling out quite nicely.
To put it in those terms: I was going "bam, nipped, bam."
Along with that, the Master's gaze had become blatantly suggestive recently... and I could feel the male slaves looking at me differently than before, too.
Thirteen years old meant I was only about a first or second year middle schooler... Was it normal to develop this much?
And it had only been a few months since the growth started. Not even a full year yet.
Well, I supposed in this world it could all be chalked up to "individual variation."
There was at least one upside to my body maturing, though.
My physical attributes like strength and stamina had been boosted across the board.
As a result, my combat ability had improved dramatically.
This wasn't just vanity; there were several concrete instances where I could genuinely feel the difference.
I was now able to put up a real fight in sparring matches against the Bodyguards who used to swat me aside with ease... and I'd even managed to beat some of them.
My swordsmanship had also grown exponentially stronger thanks to increased arm strength and grip power. The sword I was currently using was starting to feel too light, and I'd reached a point where I rarely lost in raw power even against men.
And even when I was overpowered, I'd learned to deflect and redirect, winning through technique instead. I'd been focusing on that side of things, the technical aspect, ever since my early days when I was still inexperienced. My body had finally grown enough to actually execute those techniques. That's what it felt like.
Lately, I could feel myself improving rapidly. If I worked harder, I could get even stronger. I knew it.
That was why both work and training had felt so fulfilling recently.
...Fulfilling as they were, if I didn't find a way to escape or something soon, my "pure, unsullied body" wasn't going to stay that way for much longer, like I said at the beginning...
I was seriously mulling over what to do about that when, one day, I was summoned to the office and received a briefing from the Master about the next job.
"Buhihihihi... Sue-tan, the next job is a pretty big deal, so I need you to be even sharper than usual-jo."
"Yes, understood. And what will my role be on the day?"
"My people and I will set up all the procedures and preparations for the deal. Sue-tan, I'd like you to handle on-site security and also oversee the grunt slaves-jo. Well, we'll hire and position other guards too, so basically you can focus on command. Just fight if something comes up."
"Understood."
"I'm counting on you-jo. Once this deal wraps up safely, my Merchant Association is gonna get even bigger. I'll be able to give Sue-tan and all your underlings plenty of rewards, so do your best-jo."
"Yes, I'll give it everything I have. ...If you'll excuse me, then."
I bowed and left the room.
...This had been happening a lot lately, but partway through, I honestly couldn't tell whether the Master was talking to me or to my chest. Seriously.
In any case, it seemed like the next deal was a pretty important one.
Which meant the risks would be proportionally large. In principle, I just needed to do things the way I always did, but... I should probably account for the possibility of something unexpected happening.
I didn't know yet who the other party was or what was being traded, but I just hoped it would all end without incident.
Damn it, that was a flag.
To be continued...