33-Episode 32: I found an abandoned elf slave.




I'm sorry.

'Well - today's request is ...... hmm? I'm not sure what's going on here.

I was looking at the board where the C rank requests were posted in the same way I usually receive requests, but there were probably 1.5 times as many as usual. I felt that there were more requests for other ranks than usual.

I didn't pay any attention to it, thinking that there would be days like that, and I was browsing through the requests.
Then..,

It's been a while since I've seen you, Yuki-sama! And Aleria-sama too!

The usual receptionist was excited to see us.
It's true that I haven't been here for a long time, so seeing familiar faces calms me down a bit.

'It's been a long time. More importantly, what is Master Yuki?'

'Regulus-sama, no, as soon as His Majesty cleared up the misunderstanding about Yuki-sama, people started talking about "Who is this Yuki that Regulus-sama recognizes? As soon as His Majesty cleared up the misunderstanding about Yuki-sama, people started to talk about him, and the fact that Yuki-sama was the one who conquered the demons spread, and before you knew it, people in the capital started to call him Yuki-sama!

That's some serious flip-flopping right there. .......
Well, if it is announced by an authoritative source, it is not unreasonable to believe it.

It's rather itchy to be called 'sir', though.

'Aside from calling me sama, did any rumors spread about Arelia?

'There's a rumor that she's a goddess who serves youki-sama! Everyone is convinced that she is too beautiful.''

'There is such a rumor? ......'

'Um, so what's the truth about it?

'Hmm?'

'Um, I'm not sure if Arelia-sama is a goddess or not: ......'

You believed that too?
I was so dumbfounded that I fell silent,

'Oh, there are some things you just can't talk about! I understand very well!

'No, you don't understand, you ......'.

'I'm not a goddess, ......? It's not that big of a deal.

No, no, you're a princess of the empire, that's a big deal. .......

''That's a shame,......, but it's not either! On the contrary, it's more friendly and more likeable!

Well, it's not friendly. She's an imperial princess.
--Well, I don't know her, so I can't help it. It's too complicated to talk about, so I'll just keep my mouth shut for now.

'More importantly, there seems to be more requests than usual.

'Ah, the demons have become a bit more active lately, haven't they?

'Do you know the cause?

'No, it's unclear, but it's common for the number of demons to fluctuate depending on the time of year, so I don't think it's something to worry about.

'Is that how it is?

I've only been in this world for about a month.
As a guild employee, the receptionist should be more familiar with the common sense and data of this world.

Then, she must be able to analyze it more objectively than me.

'It was fortunate that Yuki-sama was able to come, since the request was a bit indigestible! The number of requests is increasing one after another, so you can accept them all!

'Even I can't take them all. ......'

I think you've mistaken me for a superhuman or something.

'That's right. Even youki can't do it all! It's better to limit it to 50 or so, right?'

'That's right. It's not good to be too persistent.

'No, no, no, that's enough! I was just kidding!

He seemed to have taken the joke seriously and startled her.

I'll be back.

He chose the requests that could be done as close as possible and decided to leave immediately.
We should be able to finish all the requests by midday.

He headed towards the gates of the capital.

'--Hmm? A stray cat?'

At a dumping ground in an alleyway, I spotted a shadow moving slowly.
It was bigger than I expected. It wasn't a cat.

It seemed to be a person, with features a little different from those of a normal person.

'Is it a subhuman ......?

Her clothes, hair, and body were all dirty, but her true identity was that of a subhuman girl.
She was about the same age as Aleria.

She has long silver hair and beautiful blue eyes. Her breasts are quite large and are a good match for Aleria's.
Her most distinctive feature is her long, pointed ears.
If she were cleaned up properly, she would be an amazingly beautiful girl.

Such a girl is collared, handcuffed, and carrying a weight on her back.
She's shaking and shaking when she sees us.

'It's an elf. But they're still being treated badly. ......'

'I had heard that the slavers of the kingdom were secretly trading in subhumans, but did they escape?

'No, the slavers must have abandoned them. Since the kingdom came under a new regime, they set strict penalties for subhuman trafficking. They probably wanted to cut their losses before they got caught.

In the first place, the treaties with neighboring countries prohibit discrimination against subhumans.
Other countries do not discriminate against subhumans.
Only the Old Kingdom practically allowed discrimination against sub-humans, and there were no penalties for slavers.

Trafficking in persons other than sub-humans is prohibited, and there are penalties.
Well, in the old kingdom, the king himself broke the law, so the actual operation may have been quite loose.

I saw this as a problem, and issued a statement calling for strict penalties and freeing the slaves. --via Regulus.

I instructed them to free the slaves with enough cash to live on, instead of questioning them about their past crimes, but it seems that some slavers did not comply.

'This is my responsibility, too. I was lax in my methods. --I'll take care of the request later, but first, I need to protect this girl. Aleria, can you forgive me?'

'I knew Yuki would say that. I'm worried too. It's our priority.'

'I'm sorry. Thank you, Aleria.



I broke the elf girl's chains all with my bare hands.

Can you stand? You'll be sick to your stomach if you eat that. I'll give you something good to eat. Follow me.'

The girl's eyes, which had been trembling and dead-eyed, lit up.
The elven girl grabbed my hand tightly.