I blended in, but I wouldn't be attending the auction right away.

　I kept my cool and focused on gathering information first.
　At the first venue, I hid in the back of the room and observed the flow of the auction. I had to make sure that the information I had was the same as the information I had.

　All the while, however, the same discomfort that I felt when I saw the slaves in the labyrinth built up inside me. But this time, with reason, I discipline myself. Logically, I select only what is necessary for me and put only the information in my head.

　Because I was careful, I didn't buy a slave at the first venue.

　Of course, I was going to intervene if there were substandard slaves, but they were all average slaves.

　Apparently, there are different types of slave markets, and this first slave market was clean and beginner-friendly. So there would be no special slaves who would excel at something. Those are said to be sold in the darker parts of the slave market.

　Incidentally, all the information now was the result of eavesdropping on all the chatter of the participants in the hall with magic 《Dimension》. It was quite a rough job, but I managed to succeed by consuming more MP.

　Among the information was the location and time of the special slave market that would be opened after this.

　On the way there, there were many rogues who got involved with the young me, but I had them faint out of sight. It's a good idea to have a few of these people on hand to help you out.

　Trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, I went around the market one by one.
　This meant that I was diving into the depths of this world.

　Gradually, the quality of the slave market changed from common to illegal.
　The price of slaves went up, and slaves who were not simple victims of war went up to the platform.

　Warlords and rare beastmen who would have been kidnapped. Some are young children who were never seen in the general slave market, others have a peculiar constitution and have lost the pigment in their skin and hair. It varies.

............

　I felt dizzy from the primal heat of the human body.
　I knew it was coming.
　I knew it, and I was prepared for it.

　But there was a difference between what I expected and what I actually felt.
　It's not that I don't think of myself as an innocent person. I came here with a willingness to accept the culture of slavery.

　Still, I couldn't adapt to this space.

　The narcotic scent that clung to his nasal passages.
　Every human body odor mixed in with it.
　The vile laughter of the rich people who dominate this space.
　The pathetically-eyed slaves standing on the dais in a tight corner.

　I continue to watch them from my seat in the corner of the slave market, hiding my expression.

　Most of all, the condition of the slaves (...) chips away at me.
　My 'display' conveys it without pretense and without mercy.

'............!'

　His face naturally contorts.

　A late night slave auction held only for the rich.
　There is nothing fragile about its purpose.
　Most of the customers are looking for slaves with the intention of using them up.

　I continue to check the talents of the slaves, devouring my mind.

　I look at the levels, status and skills of the slaves as if working to avoid recognizing their names.
　I never look at their names.
　I knew that if I didn't do that thoroughly, I would get emotionally invested in them.

　Then, another new slave lined up on the stage and the man who was moderating the event let out a loud voice that echoed throughout the hall.

'This will be the next item. Let me explain slaves numbered five to ten--'

　I don't listen to the moderator's words and just keep 'gazing' at him.

　Number five, status is low across the board, skills are average.
　Number six, average status, none of the skills.
　Number seven, high level and high status, but no skills.
　No. 8, well-balanced stats and 4 skills. However, there is a deficit in status.
　Number nine, poor status and skills, with a status of ......--.

Let's not go to .......

　I stopped myself.
　I thought I wanted to be extraordinarily determined, but it still didn't work.

　I could hold my own in the slave market, which was still shallow.
　But I couldn't seem to keep my cool in this slave market to keep looking for what I wanted.

　The adults in the hall were laughing and bidding on slaves without any resistance. I'm no different from the rich people here. Once I felt that way, I couldn't keep looking at the slaves.

　While I was heartbroken, the masked host continued to introduce the slaves, one after another.
　Since it was an auction format, the slaves would soon be priced at a price.

　I can't help but wonder what will happen to these priced slaves in the future.
　I think about what the little fat man who just bought the red-haired girl bought her for. Observing people has become a habit, and I do it unconsciously.

　It would be better if she were bought as a servant or laborer. But the kind of customer who buys a slave in a place like this is not a decent person. Depending on the customer's hobby, he or she might lose a body part or two. If it was a minor bad taste, it would be worse. There's no life tomorrow.

　It's depressing.
　This is a man. You're just like me.

　And it's not just because you're from another world. The same kind of people did the same kind of things in our world. There are plenty of dead spaces in the world.
　And this time, because of the foul technique of magic 《Dimension》, I just unfortunately found it--

　I didn't want to watch any more.

Let's go back to .......

　It was a bittersweet experience, but it was also a lesson in hindsight.
　And that's okay this time. The harvest had been made.
　That's what I told myself, and as I slowly got up from my seat--

Hm, my brother. You going home?

　I'm approached.

　I guess it wasn't a good idea to leave the seat abruptly. I was conspicuous by my youthful appearance, even if I was just a young man, but I seemed to have caught the eye of a man.

　It was a tall man. The man was dressed like a merchant and had an unusually fearless face among his customers.

　I was surprised, but he quickly moved away with a bland remark.

'...... I'm not in a good mood,'
Yeah. Maybe it was too much for my young brother, huh?
...... separately.

　No need for a long story.
　I'll just leave with those last words.

"Oh. Haha, now the bought child is miserable. This nobleman is notorious for his bad taste.

　The man speaks so that I can hear him.
　I stop in my tracks in response to his words.

　Then I see the screaming slave. Perhaps he knew the rumors about that nobleman. The slave was resisting, saying he would rather die than be bought by that nobleman.

　I look away from the situation - and see the face of the man who is grimacing.

...... What do you want to say to me?
No, what. I'm flirting with you because you looked like fun.
............

　After all, there are no good guys.
　I sigh, then decide not to deal with them and try to get away from here.

''--Then let me explain the next item. The thirteenth, from Fania, will be a moderately rare dark-haired, black-eyed girl--

　As I tried to move away, I heard the moderator's voice.

　From Fania: ......?
　Black hair and dark eyes ......?

　That odd background makes me pull back.
　I've tried so many times to get away from this place, but I can't get away from the weakness in my heart. Disgusted with myself, I made up my mind that it was the last time, and I looked at the podium for a moment.

'......!'

　There was a girl on the stage who had learned her name.
　This is the girl who a few days ago had told each other her name.

　-- "...... My name is Maria. My name is Maria." -- "My name is Maria.

　I remember her voice and her name.

　At the same time, I look at the empty eyes of the girl on the stage, Maria.

　Coincidentally, she also seems to have noticed me. We only met once - it was only a few seconds' encounter, but it seems that she also remembered me.

　A faint glint in her vacant eyes lit up, and our gazes met.

　The audience and the stage. Me and a girl.
　We looked at each other and couldn't let go.

'Hmm, brother?　What's wrong with that slave?
Separately: ......

　The man's words had not entered my ears.

'Brother. You don't look like you're doing anything wrong, so you get teased by people like me, right?

　I continue to stare at the girl named Maria, despite the man's words.

　She is an ordinary girl.
　Her status has not changed since I saw her before. A girl who is good at cooking - a girl with a little bit of talent. There were plenty of others with this level of status.

　But I had spoken to the girl, and I even knew her name.
　I had fulfilled the conditions for emotional involvement that I had feared earlier.

　--worst.

'Oh, the auction has begun.'

　The man keeps talking as if to hurry me up, which I did not do.

　At the same time, the emotions that had been pent up in my chest started to swirl around.
　I'm not sure I'll ever be able to get my mind off of it.

　Calm down ....... Calm down.
　Remember what happened a while ago .......
　The slave I met in the labyrinth couldn't help himself in the end .......
　Learn from that experience and become an adult. Aikawa Uzumi .......

''Ah. If I keep this up, I'm going to be bought by that aristocrat with bad taste again ....... That aristocrat is planning to buy all of them today. Hey, brother.

　But .......

　-- but the situation is different from the slaves I met in the labyrinth.

　And I've noticed that.

　I'm not going to be able to get a hold of that slave because it belonged to someone else. I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work. If you have money, it's easy to get them out of here.

　As long as I speak up here, I can prevent that Maria girl's voice from being tainted with grief.
　On the other hand, leaving here without doing anything would mean leaving that Maria girl to die.
　Can my immature mind be able to bear that guilt?

　To get confirmation, I talk to the man.

You can check ....... How can I participate in the auction here?
Hm, my brother. Are you still going to participate?　If you're going to bid, just throw your hand up in the air and say the price. It's not much different here than anywhere else. We'll be fine if we copy the others.

　I got confirmation.
　There's no way to go wrong with the procedure.

　However, my reasoning will try to restrain me in the end.

　There's no point in saving one person .......
　It's an ugly act .......

　Yes, it's an accusation.

　In response, I pile on the excuses.
　If I save him here, I'll feel a little better. Even if it's an ugly act, I'm not going to let the skill "?" run amok. I don't mind paying out money for the purpose of resting my mind so that my skill '??' doesn't go out of control. Fortunately, I have an unusual amount of money in my possession.

"--Facilitator. I'll double it.

　I raised my hand and said it so they could all hear me.
　The slave girl, Maria's eyes widened. And she continued to stare back at me with the same eyes as when I first met her, eyes that seemed to have found something.

　A groan went through the entire hall.
　Some of them looked at me with curiosity. Some looked at me with curiosity. Some start discussing it curiously. The rich people in the hall look at me and buzz around.

"Well, here's the bid of the rich young man!　What a price!　We are beyond gold!　This slave who has fulfilled the young man's glasses, is there any other gentleman who is interested in this slave!

　The moderator accelerates his speech.
　He raises his voice to get the audience excited, so as not to lose this heat.

　The man next to him laughs at that.

"Haha, brother, you're lifting it up too quickly. If you do that, you know.

　The man laughed and pointed at me. The one on the tip of his finger is the nobleman who was bidding before me.
　The nobleman shouts loud enough to be heard over the noise in the hall.

''And double it!''
'Oops, here's Lord Febvre's bid!　Twice as young as the young man!　The price is first class here, but also very first class. It jumped up to five times the market price!

　He raises the price even more and the nobleman looks at me.
　My seat is far away, but I can tell he doesn't have a good impression of me.
　The moderator looks excited and is pleased with the unexpectedly increased prices of the items.

　The guy next to me shrugs and talks to me.

"See, I'm pissed.
U......

　It was indeed rash.
　I had an impulse to do something stupid and imitated it.

　Because of me, some people became interested in the nondescript girl. With that, the price gradually rose. That girl had no talent whatsoever, but they were fools.

　In inverse proportion to the enthusiasm in the hall, I became calm and calm--

You're in trouble, young man. If you want, I can make a good bid for you.

　--but the man's sweet nothings make him lose his composure.

'...... well?　Why are you helping me?

　I answer the man, using my words roughly to avoid getting licked.
　The man chuckles at me.

"No, what. No, no, no. I just thought it would be fun.
...... if you can do it. We don't have that much of a budget.
Yes. What's the best you can do?

　The man says, "I can do it," as if it were easy, and asks me for my budget.
　I'm shaken by his easy way of talking and I calculate the money I can raise in my head.

"...... three gold coins. Up to three gold coins.
Hmm. I can give you four gold pieces. I'll see you in a minute.
I don't really trust you, you know.
It's fine. Just wait and see.

　With that, the man joins the auction.
　He raises his hand, raises the price slightly, and bids.

　I continue to watch in a daze.
　Although he interrupts the price in detail, he doesn't look so obvious.
　However, he occasionally waves to his auctioneer. The auctioneer also sees this man and waves. Apparently, this man has a wide face.

　In the end, he competed with Lord Febvre, but it didn't matter, and with three gold coins and a few more, the man made the winning bid.

'I made the winning bid.

　The man easily won the bid for the slave Maria.
　However, the winning bid is slightly higher than the price I offered.

...... I said no more than three gold coins.
Yeah. Well, I guess I'll take the matter up with Lord Febvre.
I told you, I asked for it. I'm not going to renege on that.
That's funny. Okay, four gold pieces.

　The man holds his stomach and demands his share of the money.
　I raise an eyebrow at the demand, but I quickly sigh and give up.

'I don't mind.'
'Huh?　Are you sure?
I knew it was in the palm of your hand no matter how hard I tried.
You're no fun to give up. d*mn it, I need to play some more.

　The man laughs with a mean face and gets up from his seat. Then he beckons me over.

'Brother, you can't bear to look at it, can you?　Why don't we leave the hall and accept the goods first?
...... I'm coming.

　The man seems to know what I'm feeling, too.
　I feel helpless and do as I'm told.

　The man and I leave the venue. An attendant at the other end of the hall leads us to the back of the hall.

　There were many slaves who had been successfully bid on, lined up in a row.

　Maria was standing among them.
　Her eyes kept shooting out at me.

　The man finishes the formalities with his attendants and takes Maria in.
　Then he walks over to me and holds out his hand. I pulled out four gold coins from my pocket and flipped them into the man's palm.

'Hmm, four gold coins indeed. The slave's collar registration is blank, so you're free to go.

　The man pocketed the gold coins and honestly offered Maria to me.
　I was expecting some kind of negotiation, but I was disappointed, because he was a man of habit. I'm not going to be able to get away with it.

I knew you'd be here to add to your list of conditions.
'No, I'm very happy to see my brother upset. So I'm not going to be mean to you. In fact, I even like my brother.
...... bad taste.
But you're welcome.　...... No, if I hadn't been there, would you have been lost in the first place?

　The man continues to tease me, as if he knows what's on my mind.

'That's enough. I'm taking this girl with me.

　I decide that further contact is not a good idea, and I try to move away from the man.
　The man holds it back.

"Wait, wait, don't be so hasty. I'll introduce myself at the end. I'll take complaints later.
...... If you want to tell me your name, go ahead and tell me your name. I won't tell you my name.

　I'm not going to tell you my name, but I decide it's okay to ask for your name.
　In response, the man smiles and begins to introduce himself.

'My name is Palinclone Legacey. I'm a knight of the Northern Hoosiers, this is also one of the positions called 'Seven Knights of Heaven' (Celestial Knights).

　Saying that, Palinclone made a gesture of swinging his sword with his hand, which was holding nothing.

　The gesture was too fluid. It was such a natural movement that it gave the illusion that there was a sword there, even though he wasn't holding anything. I could intuitively understand that it was a skill that would be mastered through tireless repetition and practice.

　Feeling threatened by this, I check the status of the Palinclone while retreating.


[Status]
　Name: Palinclone Legacy HP301/312 MP59/62 Class: Knight
　Level 22.
　Strength 7.89 Strength 9.87 Skill 11.89 Speed 5.67 Wisdom 7.34 Magic 4.77 Elemental 1.80
　Inherent Skill: Observant Eye 1.45
　Acquired skills: swordsmanship 1.89 Sacred magic 1.23
　　　　　　　Physical Arts 1.87 Spellcraft 0.54


　Highest human level.
　Unparalleled qualities.
　Practical and numerical skills.
　I understand that this man, Palinkron, is not just any man.

　My body is taut, and I simply deploy my magic 《Dimension》 without a chant. Then, I put my right hand behind my back so that I can pull my sword out of my 'possession' at any time.

''Kukku. Don't be so nervous. I just came to watch you today.

　Palinclone was amused by my response and turned both palms towards me to show that he was not hostile.

'Come to see, slave ......?'
No, my brother. I had to work hard to get a seat near you so my brother wouldn't see me.

　As if it were nothing, Palinclone tells us that he was following us.

　I am astonished by this fact, and I am convinced that it is not a lie. That's how high Palinkron's status is, and his mannerisms are unusual.

'Why were you following me, ......?'
'I heard you were in my Lord's thoughts. I came to see him before anyone else.

　"My Lord's Lover"?

'I don't know what you're talking about. Does that master mean Franluele?

　I can only think of one person.
　It was Franlleure, whom I met in the maze.

'Franlleure?　No, no. ...... But I didn't expect to see Helvirshine's daughter's name mentioned there. It's still interesting, brother.

　Palinclone said Franloule is different.
　But I have no idea who else she is.

'I don't know who your master is. I don't know anything about it.
Yeah, right. Well, that's a good thing. This time I just came early to check on you. We'll see how it goes, don't worry about it.

　With that, Palinkron turns away.

'See you later, brother.'

　He raises his hand to say goodbye. Palinclone walks to the exit. It looks like he's going to leave.

　I don't know what I'm going to do, I'd like to follow him and question him if I could. But the level of Palinclone is not going to allow it. I don't know what will happen to him if he fights properly. I can't help but think that if he's going to leave, I shouldn't go after him in depth.

　While I'm lost, the Palinkron disappears and me and Maria are left.

　I turn my attention to Maria and she keeps looking at me. I realize that she has been watching me for a long time, both while Palinkron took me in and during the current exchange.

　I feel the abnormality lurking in Maria, and with all the trouble I'm in, I slump my shoulders - and take her hand.

'Follow me ......'
Yes, sir.

　Maria gave a small nod.

　After all, it was one of the slaves she'd contracted for her emotions.

　I understood.
　My mental strength will never be able to overcome the problem of slaves.
　That was now completely proven.

　I swore to myself that I would never come to the slave market again and walked home, tugging on Maria's cold hand.