He had been bought.
Of course he had.
It would have been strange if a warrior of his caliber went unnoticed.
He'd briefly considered running away when the slave merchant's men came to brand him with the Slave Crest.
He'd already scoped things out when he was led from the cage.
The slave merchant had at most the fighting power of half a goose, and though his subordinates were better, none posed a threat to him.
As for his new master…
She was just a young girl, slender shoulders, delicate arms, and although a sword hung from her waist, she clearly had little real combat experience.
No threat. Absolutely no threat.
But he hadn't expected the slave merchant to be so cunning.
The slave merchant had first ordered his subordinate to brand him with the Slave Crest linked to his new master, and only then removed the merchant's own Crest from him.
Thus, he'd had no chance whatsoever. The moment he tried to resist, the Slave Crest punished him mercilessly, leaving him writhing on the ground in pain.
He had no choice but to obediently follow his new master to a room in an inn.
What he hadn't expected was that his new master already had another slave.
Before him stood a young tanuki-type demi-human girl.
As a fellow demi-human, of course he knew about tanuki.
Demi-humans came in countless varieties, each with their own special traits.
For example, he himself was a Dogkin, and the special trait of Dogkins was… slacking off.
The tanuki's special trait was manipulating illusions through the refraction of light and shadows.
"Lute, this is Raphtalia. Come on, greet her properly."
His new master was said to be the fifth summoned along with the Four Cardinal Heroes, known as the Zero Hero.
Zero Hero? Never heard of it. Moreover, from the viewpoint of someone from Siltvelt, who worshipped only the Shield Hero, the other heroes were mere clowns. Only the Shield Hero could save this world.
Yet, one of the legendary Shield Heroes summoned to Siltvelt in the past had left behind a memorable quote—
A true man must be able to attack as well as endure!
The phrase might have originally meant something else, but in modern Siltvelt, it was widely interpreted as, "A real man knows patience, for the patient ninja is invincible."
Forget it. She's still my master, and such a pretty girl too. Just endure it.
However, regarding his new coworker, he felt he had to set some ground rules first.
Lute approached Raphtalia, who trembled nervously.
"You might have come here before me, but we need to set a few rules. First, from today onward, you'll listen to—"
Smack!
A sword hilt smacked the Dogkin squarely on the back of his head, knocking him flat to the floor.
Lute felt utterly baffled.
Survival of the strongest was an unwritten law in Siltvelt.
If a younger brother was stronger than his elder brother, it was perfectly normal for the elder to fetch tea for the younger.
Even though he'd been reduced to slavery after his defeat, anyone with half a brain could see that his strength far surpassed this little tanuki, right?
The Dogkin fell into deep thought.
Then he realized.
Ah, I was so busy showing off, I completely forgot about the master.
"This person here is our master, our supreme ruler whom we must serve wholeheartedly. But you'd better remember clearly—beneath our master, I'm the number-one bootlicker—"
Smack!
Lute, who'd just stood up, got smacked on the head again.
"I was wrong, I was wrong! You're the number-one bootlicker—"
Smack!
"But why—"
Smack!
"I—"
Smack!
"Mommy! What do you want from me?!"
This time, the sword sheath didn't hit him again.
The Dogkin lay on the ground, slowly lowering his paws from his aching head.
"Now, that's more like it."
Kiriko, looking satisfied, pointed her sheath toward Raphtalia, who'd initially seemed frightened but was now staring curiously.
"Starting today, she's your mom."
...
The blood-red sky cracked open, revealing massive fissures.
Countless pitch-black monsters spilled out of the cracks, swarming like locusts.
The air was thick with an overwhelming, sickening stench of blood.
"Raphtalia, please forgive Mom and Dad for being selfish."
"No! Mom, Dad—!"
Raphtalia woke from her nightmare in panic.
Ever since the first Wave, she'd had the same nightmare every night.
That first Wave had eventually been repelled by adventurers and soldiers from the royal capital.
But after learning that the lord who protected Raphtalia's village had died in the Wave, the soldiers from the capital captured her and the other surviving villagers, selling them into slavery.
She was bought by an obese noble.
"What's with all this screaming? Every night you yell so loudly, disturbing my sleep—do you realize that?!"
The noble had Raphtalia strung up, whipping her mercilessly.
If Raphtalia's cries weren't satisfying enough, or if her expression wasn't pained enough to please him, he'd think up new ways to torture her.
She spent three full days in that noble's dungeon.
Then…
A squat figure wearing a tall top hat entered the dungeon alongside the noble.
"This is truly pitiful. With her in such a terrible state, the purchase price will be extremely low."
"She's already half-dead. If you'll buy her at all, I'll be satisfied."
"Understood."
The short man in the top hat purchased Raphtalia from the noble, taking her back to his own shop.
"There were plenty of better ways to handle this…"
The short man took out medicine and food, feeding it to Raphtalia.
"Cough, cough…"
"At this rate, she might not last long."
He muttered to himself, placing Raphtalia in a cage.
Her parents were dead.
The village that should have been rebuilt, left unprotected by their lord, had been destroyed by soldiers. Villagers were killed or enslaved. The friends she'd grown up with had died in that noble's dungeon…
It hurts… It hurts so much, I wish I could just die.
Raphtalia sat numbly in her cage. Illness and torture had dulled her consciousness. Every day, she'd hear footsteps—the slave merchant bringing customers to browse his merchandise.
She thought she'd die alone in that cage…
Until the cloth covering her cage was suddenly lifted.
"I'll take her."
Raphtalia had never imagined she'd be sold again.
But this would surely be the last time, as she was already terminally ill. Even if she'd been cheap, her new owner had probably wasted money on her.
Yet, for some reason, her new master took her to a potion shop and asked a pharmacist to examine her.
Why?
The only reason she'd gotten sick was because humans outside her village had tortured her. Why was this woman pretending to be nice, buying medicine for her?
As they left the potion shop, Raphtalia's stomach growled loudly.
She quickly shook her head.
Saying she was hungry would only get her beaten.
But her new master merely laughed.
Why isn't she angry?
Her master brought her into a tavern and ordered a table full of food.
Oh no!
Raphtalia immediately jumped down from her chair.
Her master hadn't brought her here to eat. Clearly, she was meeting someone else for lunch.
She was definitely going to get whipped now!
But her master's next actions left Raphtalia stunned.
She neither hit her nor scolded her. Instead, she wrapped Raphtalia in her own cloak and took her to wash her hands.
The hamburg steak tasted delicious. Though not as good as Mom's stew, it was infinitely better than the muddy soup she'd been forced to drink in the noble's dungeon.
Her master even offered her all the other dishes.
The taste of long-lost delicious food made Raphtalia's face light up.
Oh no!
Expressing happiness meant punishment. Surely her master would knock away the food and ridicule her.
But instead, her master watched with a gentle smile until Raphtalia had finished every last bite.
Afterwards, she gave Raphtalia a bath and went out to buy medicine and beautiful new clothes.
The medicine tasted bitter, but it immediately lessened her pain and even stopped her coughing.
The clothes were prettier than anything she'd ever worn. They were all meant just for her.
Why?
Raphtalia stared again at her new master.
Why is she so different from all my previous masters?
When nightmares haunted her again that night, her master held her gently, comforting her tirelessly.
Even when Raphtalia wet the bed, her master didn't scold or look disgusted.
This woman wasn't like other humans outside her village. She was kind and wouldn't hurt her.
Though this world was cruel—taking her parents, destroying her village, killing or enslaving everyone—at least in this cruel world, good and gentle people like her master still existed.
"That's right."
Her master nodded toward her, pointing at the new Dogkin slave.
"Starting today, she's your mom."
---
T/N: LMAOOO btw for peopel who don't get it by saying she's your mom basically means she's your boss or like you have to listen to EVERYTHING she says because you know you have to listen to your parents
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Okay, real talk: I am extremely hungry for money, so I'm raising membership prices soon.
BUT.
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