Kenshin had foreseen the need to transport the purchased women in advance, so he spent three hundred thousand ryo to buy an elite carriage harnessed to four of the best horses. The vehicle only resembled carriages from his home world in its properties, but its design was entirely different, leaning toward functionality and practicality.
By the time Kenshin left the House of Flowers, his carriage was harnessed and fully ready to depart. The seller greeted him obsequiously, bowing and chattering about everything Kenshin considered useless information.
"Sir, you will need a driver. For such a respected client as yourself, the driver is provided free of charge," the plump seller said with a smile.
"There is no need for that," Kenshin replied, walking up to the horses. To the seller's astonishment, he gently stroked one of them, and to even greater surprise, the horse lowered its head.
These horses were the strongest yet most aggressive, distant descendants of incredibly powerful horses with enormous amounts of chakra in their bodies. That was why not only the seller was shocked, but also the workers standing at a distance, who knew all too well how insane it was to approach these horses without a special treat.
"Let's go, Makoto. Get in," Kenshin said, inviting the girl into the carriage. She nodded happily and carefully climbed inside. Then, trying to maintain elegance, Meyumi climbed in, and third, with great reluctance, the former captive entered.
Ichiro and Fifteenth stayed outside to manage the horses and prevent any possible ambush.
*****
"Sirrr, where are we going?" Meyumi asked coquettishly, not giving up hope of catching this stately man's eye and easing her life.
"Can't you see he's a pervert? I can't imagine what he'll do to you if he liked a cripple like me," the woman said with a laugh.
"Calm down, Noriko. No one is going to harm you," Kenshin said with a smile, and the woman instantly fell silent. Then, stunned, she turned her gaze to him and exclaimed in shock:
"H-how! How did you know?!"
"You'll understand everything later. Just know that you are in no danger, and perhaps in the future you'll be able to take revenge," Kenshin replied with a smile, glancing once more at her status.
Name: Hasegawa Noriko
Age: 30 years
Talent Level: 31
Chakra Quality: 6
Chakra Amount: 7100
Chakra Control: 76%
Berserk Level 3
"What exactly is this ability…?" Kenshin pondered mentally, but aside from Noriko's aggressive nature, nothing came to mind. He decided not to rack his brains and figure it out later.
"So where are we going, sir?" Meyumi purred, not stopping her attempts to seduce Kenshin.
"Makoto and Noriko are going home with me, and you will soon be dropped off and free to go wherever you wish," Kenshin said calmly, surprising everyone present, especially Makoto, who was momentarily glad at the news before scolding herself for rejoicing at someone else's misfortune. Complete freedom looked like misery in her eyes, because sooner or later someone would ruin the happiness of a free but defenseless person.
"W-what? But why? Please, sir, don't drive me away!" Meyumi exclaimed from across from Kenshin, attempting to throw herself at his feet to beg for mercy. Although Kenshin's offer gave her some chance at a free and normal life, Meyumi could neither return to her homeland nor stay in the Land of Fire, risking capture by the Kimura family. The prospect of becoming a maid to such a merciful—and most importantly influential—man was very tempting for the clever girl.
Kenshin stopped her without much trouble and sighed. "You are too corrupt. You have a black heart, and even with an attractive appearance, I have no need for you."
"B-but why? I'll be good, I promise! I will never repay your kindness with evil, sir! Let me stay…" Meyumi said in a plaintive tone.
"You won't do me harm even if you want to right now. But what about Makoto? As soon as we arrive, you'll forget all your promises and start bullying her again," Kenshin shook his head.
"O-of course not, sir! Makoto and I are good friends; I never even thought of hurting her! Makoto, tell the sir that no one bullies you!"
"I… Um…" Makoto began. She wanted to protect Meyumi but didn't want to lie to Kenshin, so she got confused.
"Enough. Do you take me for a complete idiot, Meyumi? Don't think that just because I seem very kind, I won't throw you out of the carriage while it's moving," Kenshin said seriously. He was still irritated by this cunning girl, so there was no question of leniency.
"S-sir, I…" Meyumi started, but suddenly Noriko's loud laughter rang out.
"Ha-ha-ha! Just throw this stupid whore out already; she's annoying me," Noriko said hoarsely.
"W-what?! How dare you! Sir, don't listen to her. I will be much more useful to you than this disgusting cripple!" Meyumi said proudly. She wasn't used to hearing insults directed at her and was somewhat surprised by such audacity from an ugly, "useless" woman.
Kenshin didn't have time to respond before Noriko, sitting next to Meyumi, elbowed her in the stomach, making her double over and squeal pitifully.
"Noriko! Don't disappoint me," Kenshin said in a displeased tone, restricting her movement with telekinesis and levitating the doubled-over Meyumi onto the bench beside him. Although she still irritated him slightly, others' suffering did not please him at all.
"And what will you do to me? Cut off my other leg or gouge out my other eye? Or maybe rape me especially cruelly? By the way, you'll be the first. Those bastards wanted to, but they weren't allowed to damage the goods! Ha-ha-ha!" Noriko wheezed, spilling rage with every word.
"I won't do anything like that. If you disappoint me, you'll be free to go wherever you want. But along with that, you can forget about physical and spiritual healing," Kenshin replied calmly.
Hearing the first half of his words, Noriko was greatly surprised, eager to "disappoint" this madman as soon as possible. But after hearing the rest, she fell silent. Complete healing of all wounds had long been an unattainable dream for her, and for many months the only thing she wanted was to trade her life for the lives of her tormentors, fully aware of how unlikely it was while exhausted and physically impaired.
"Everything's fine, Meyumi; it'll pass soon," Makoto said gently, holding her and stroking her back. She knew what it was like to be hit hard in the stomach, so she felt very sorry for Meyumi, who had previously beaten her in exactly the same way, trying to maintain authority among the "friends" and humiliate someone weaker.
With every second spent near Makoto, Kenshin felt relaxation and peace. Even the displeasure from Meyumi's and Noriko's antics couldn't overshadow the satisfaction from this bright girl's actions and thoughts.