Wow, that's what it looked like from the sky.
There are so many people in the second largest city in the continent.
　Now, Saasan and I are flying above the royal capital Gamelan.
　And she uses her "transformation" skill to take on the form of a harpy.

I thought you don't like harpies.
　Lamia's avenger in the Great Maze, the avenger of her family.
　The fact that he was taking that form made me feel uncomfortable.

I'm sure you're right. I've been fighting all my life, so it was easy for me to 'change'.
　Sa-san chuckled.
　Perhaps the painful memories of the past had faded a bit.
　That must make you happy.

'So, Sa-san. Where are you headed?
'What?　It's a date. You had a date with Fuu during the day. Let's go for a walk.
　Sa-san replied in a blunt tone.
　A date, huh?

　I looked at the face of my friend I've known since middle school.
　His expression was serious and he seemed to be searching for something.

(Sa-san isn't the type to hang around aimlessly.)

　She's the opposite of me.
　When we play RPG games together, I talk to every city dweller two (...) times (...) less than two (...) times, because I'm a jerk! And then I remembered that I had moved on.
　Well, I think I'm overdoing it.
　But you know how sometimes NPCs change their conversations between the first and second time?

Hey, Takatsuki, what's that big building over there? What's that big building over there?
　Sa-san's words brought me back to consciousness.

'Well, that's the arena. The venue where the martial arts tournament is held.
Well, that's the arena...
Do you want to go check it out?
　Sa-san has entered a martial arts tournament.
　If you're going to enter the competition, it wouldn't hurt to watch it.

''Nah, I'm not going to do that today.
　Sa-san shook her head.
　Apparently, it's not about the martial arts competition.
　If that's the case........

''Isn't that what Sa-san is looking for?
　I pointed in one direction.
　Sa-san turns his head in that direction too.

'Takatsuki-kun, what about that square with all those tents?'
　From our vantage point, we could see a number of huge tents lined up in what looked like a large open space.

　The tents are about the size of the circus we saw in the Water Country (Roses) one day.
　The sight of dozens of them lined up looks like a bizarre sight.
　And I'm asking Fujiyan what's there, and I have the knowledge of what's there.

'It's a slave market, Sa-san. It's the biggest slave trading floor in the Fire Nation (Great Keith).
"The slave market...　
　Sa-san's eyes grow grim.

(After all, is the purpose of Kahoku-san?)
　According to Fujiyan's story, there was no strong information about the aristocrat buyer of Kahoku-san as an example.
　There were only a few days left until a large scale slave auction was held.

''Hey, Takatsuki-kun. Why don't we take a side trip?
　Sa-san turned to me and stared at me seriously.


''Do you want to head to the Fire Nation slave market?''

　Yes.
　No.


...so here's an option.
　What(s) is(are).
　Maybe it's an action that goes into the tiger's den.
　But we're doing Mr. Sa-san a favor.

Let's go, Sa-san. Let's go say hi to Mr. Kahoku.
'Yes!　Thank you!
　Sa-san's voice suddenly flashed.

'But let's get creative with one of them.
?
　I told Sa-san, who tilted his head, what I thought.


　◇


Hey, hey, is this really what you want?
　Mr. Saasan is shaking his huge body restlessly.
　The current Sa-san uses the "change" skill to transform herself into a rich madam.

I don't like it.
Well, well, if you look like that, you won't be suspicious of me entering the slave market.
　She has a big, fat body and a flashy dress.
　She looks like a wealthy lady wearing a number of large jewelry rings.

　I've changed a little bit by being the attendant.
　I'm just hiding my eyes by making my bangs look long.
　So to speak, it is the style of the "erotic hero".

　I'd like to talk about the difference of "Change" skill between me and Mr. Saasan.

　Sa-san is a Lamia tribe and is good at "transformation" by nature.
　He is good at it for the scary reason that he can transform himself into a human, deceive people, and prey on them.
　It also has the unique skill of transforming itself into whatever shape it wants for 24 hours.

　By comparison, I was born with the ability to change my appearance through training.
　That's why I can only change for an hour or so, and I can't turn into anything.
　I couldn't transform into a harpy and fly like Sa-san.
　This time, I'm doing a partial change at the front of my hair to keep it in place for a long time.


I don't need to disguise myself. Do you need to disguise yourself?
　Sa-san has a strange look on his face.

''Yeah, the Fire Nation's general was looking into our party. Maybe if we go to the slave market as the brave men of the Water Country, that information will be passed on.
　General Talisker was aware of Friae-san, the Moon Priestess.
　Apparently there are a lot of military people in this slave market for protection.
　I don't want them to remember my face too much.　

As a last resort, don't you want to get in trouble if you have to kidnap Miss Kahoku?
　I whispered to Sa-san in a whisper.
　The words startled Sa-san, and then he grinned.

'You're a badass. Takatsuki-kun.
'It's really a last resort. I'd avoid it if I could.
　It's usually a crime.

Let's go then.
　Me and Sa-san gave a small nod and passed through the gate into the slave market.


　◇


　I was stopped by the gatekeeper when entering, he let me through easily when I gave a large tip.
　Manners in this area, Fujiyan taught me.

　Inside the slave market, unlike the image, clean and lively.
　The main product is of course 'slaves', but in addition to the sale and purchase of slaves, there are also 'betting matches' going on.

　The most preferred slaves here in the Fire Nation are those with high fighting power.
　The Great Keith is also known as the Land of War, and those who are strong and possess strong warriors are respected.

　It is said that even slaves are treated quite well if they are top-notch warriors.
　It is said that if a slave is empty-headed, but has excellent fighting skills, there are even those who find a master who pays well and sell him or her themselves.

　So strong slaves are valuable and expensive.
　And how to spot a strong slave is of course to look at the 'soul book' which has status and skills, but the fastest way is to make them fight.

　In the slave market, there are several simple rings set up.
　The slaves would compete with each other for strength.
　I felt the spirit of commerce in the marketplace.
　There seems to be a restorative monk nearby, so it seems to be a legitimate match.
　It's barbaric, though.

　So, the market was filled with excitement.
　Since it's called a slave market, I was expecting a darker atmosphere.

'Wow, Takatsuki-kun. Those are girl slaves fighting each other.
'In a manner of speaking, you seem to be categorized by body size, species and gender.
　Is it for the sake of fairness?
　It seems like a sport now.

　By the way, the only people fighting are the warriors.
　The wizard slaves are not fighting.　
　It seems that the battle strength of that side is judged by looking at the 'soul book'.
　Well, if wizards fight each other in the city, we'll have a serious problem.

Takatsuki-kun!　Who do you think those two will win?
Hmm, the Amazons and the Beastmen. They're both so strong.
　Sa-san is in full spectator mode.

　The two warriors fighting are a dark-colored, body-tight female warrior and a beastly female warrior with tiger-like ears.
　The battle seems to be evenly matched, and both are too strong for me to discern.
　I mean, aren't they as strong as Nina?　Those two.

I wonder if I could jump in too...
　Mr. Sa-san made a disturbing statement.
　Oh, come on, Sa-san.
　How can you be so obvious?　I was trying to make light of it.


　--Zzzzz.....


　I felt a buzz in the air.
　For a moment, I realized it was a sign that had leaked out from Sa-san.

　At the same time, the two female warriors who had been fighting a moment ago stared at me with a jittery look on their faces - at Sa-san next to me.
　Not only those two, but also a number of the warrior slaves in the hall were looking back at us.
　Fortunately, the merchants in the audience didn't notice.

(Sa-san, let's get away from them!　(Hurry up.)
(Uh, yeah, yeah.)
　We hurried away.


　◇


　We came to a fountain in the middle of the square.
　It seems to be an oasis of sorts.
　The merchants' carriages were lined up, and the horses tethered to them were drinking water.
　And near the spring, a water spirit could be seen here and there.

''Ah, I'm in a hurry...''
I'm sorry. Takatsuki-kun.
　After escaping the gaze of the warriors and taking a breath, Sa-san apologized to me.
　By the way, she's back to her original girl form now.

''Well, you'll just have to be careful next time. Did Sa-san's 'intimidation' skills leak out?
　Anyway, the surprise of those warriors was extraordinary.
　It was like a snake staring at you like a frog?

Ugh ... it was unconscious.
　Sa-san is depressed.
　Maybe he's just evolved and isn't used to change.
　We'll just have to try things around here.
　I said something to change Sa-san's mood.

I'm sure you'll be able to find your way around. I found the place you're looking for.
What?
　The other side of the fountain.
　My gaze was on a tent that was obviously different from the other tents, huge and with many guards standing in it.

'This is where the next slave auction's eyeball(s) trade(s) items are stored...'
...there's Keiko.
Hold your horses.
　You are about to unleash a stronger murderous atmosphere than before, so you calm Sa-san down in a hurry.

Then, Sa-san. Shall we go back?
'What?　Come here!
　Sa-san turns around accusingly.

'We'll come back at midnight. We've cased the place and the number of guards, and we need to get ready to sneak in.
　In the meantime, I'll have to enlist the help of Mr. Freyae.
　There's a lot to do.
　Sa-san made a puzzled face at my reply.

"You look happy, Takatsuki.
"Hey, hey, look at my eyes, Mr. Sah. Are you serious?
Okay.
　For some reason, he laughed at me.

'Then I'll go to Takatsuki's room for a nap.
　No, I think that's fine in my room.

　We went back to the inn and prepared for the 'infiltration'.


◇ After midnight that day, ◇.

　The noisy slave market has been completely quieted down.
　However, there are many soldiers on guard, so we can't be too careful.

　I asked Saasan to change into a harpy, and we aimed at the huge tent from the sky.
　However, we are found as it is.


　--Water Magic, Fog


　While borrowing the magic of the water spirit, he covered the neighborhood of the slave market with fog.
　In fact, I wanted to cover the entire King's Landing, but it was impossible due to the lack of water spirits.

　The royal capital of the Fire Nation is located relatively close to the coast.
　It's a tropical climate, and although the amount of rainfall during the dry season is low, the wind from the sea side brings water, and it's said that it's 'rare' for fog to appear.

(But we can't relax. Let's hurry up, Sa-san.)
(Yes, my 'covert' skills are spot on.)

　Me and Sa-san go down quietly by the tent.
　Then I took out a special item that I had asked Furiae to make for me.

　The contents in the perfume-like container are just 'water'.
　However, the moon maiden's "cursed magic" has turned it into a vicious substitute.

　The names of the magic cast are "Sleep" and "Oblivion".

　I used water magic to make the cursed water mist and put the guard to sleep.
　And even if they were to wake up, they would have lost their memories for several hours.

　Me and Sa-san quietly sneaked into the tent where the protective magic was applied, making a gap with a dagger.
　Of course there are guards inside the tent, but we put them all to sleep as well.
　I used my "stealth" skills to quietly explore the inside of the tent.

　Thus, we find a woman in the most luxurious cage at the far end of the tent.
　It was a room with a luxurious interior to be called a slave, and if it weren't for the iron bars, the room could be mistaken for a luxury inn.

　It was past midnight, so the woman in the cage was asleep, but her sleeping face was familiar to me.
　The last time I saw her was at the Water Temple.
　And they were classmates who took classes in the same classroom at Tokyo Metropolitan Higashi-Shinagawa High School.

'Keiko-chan!
　Sa-san ran up to the cage with a small cry.