776 - - 23-12 The Girl
The town of Tellurus at dusk is complicated. It is chaotic because the faces of day and night switch at this time of the day.
Fritz loved this chaotic atmosphere.
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"It's the time of day when the daytime face that has been mending peels off and the face of night begins to appear and disappear, or ......".
Mumbling to himself, he walks to a dimly lit corner. The goal is to find an informant.
Fritz, who has been living as an expatriate for a long time, knew that there were always informants in these towns who could buy and sell information for money.
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During the daytime, Fritz secretly cased the area after Gloria and Cynthia had left for the day for information ...... about such informants, in other words, where the informants might be located.
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In the first place, he was not an officer if he could not suppress such cravings to some extent.
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"The innkeeper said it was around here.
It was a dark and decadent place. Fritz was then approached by a voice.
"Heh heh heh, mister."
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Fritz braced himself.
If you wander around a place like this dressed like a foreign soldier, you are likely to be approached by someone from the other side.
"Is it me?
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"Hehe, this is my husband. ...... sir, there's a nice girl here, isn't there?"
"...... what?"
It seems he was a pimp, not an informant. Fritz was stunned for a moment, but quickly came to himself and said no.
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"I'm already on ...... time."
Fritz's response was curt, as he had no intention of getting involved.
"Heh, don't be so sure. It's your first time here today, isn't it?"
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I'm not interested.
"Sir, at least take a look at it."
The pimp said and pulled a girl out of the dark.
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"......?
The girl was 14.5 years old. Short hair, thin body.
"El ...... the?"
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No, the girl is not Elsa, Fritz himself knows that.
Hair color, eye color, skin color. Everything is different.
Nevertheless, the girl's atmosphere seemed to resemble that of her sister.
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"Heh heh, mister, you like it?"
"......"
Fritz did not answer, but looked straight at the girl.
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"......Ah."
The girl was about 5'5" tall. The girl was frightened when she saw Fritz, who was 6 feet tall, staring at her.
"...... sir?"
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"...... how much?"
"Huh?"
"How much is this woman worth?"
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At Fritz's words, the somewhat stunned pimp smiled amiably.
"Heh, heh, heh. Did you like it? Well, tonight is the first time you've seen us, so we'll give you one gold coin for the night."
Ten thousand dollars. Fritz took three gold coins out of his pocket and handed them to the man.
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"Okay, I'll rent you out for three days.
If tonight was ten thousand dollars, tomorrow and the following days would cost half that amount, five thousand dollars. Fritz paid 30,000 Tolls with the intention of renting the girl out during the day.
"Well, thanks a lot."
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Satisfied with the amount, the man whispered something to the girl and left.
Fritz knew that this was possible because of the many measures taken to prevent the slaves from escaping.
First, the collar. It is a magical device that can be used to constrict the neck if the owner is so inclined.
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It is the same kind of collar worn by criminals who are forced to work in mines.
And tattoos. It is placed on the chest or other parts of the body, and it shows at a glance that the person is a slave. With these tattoos, it is impossible to find a decent job.
The girl had both collar and tattoo.
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"......"
The girl is lying on her face, trembling. The trembling gets worse when Fritz puts his hand on her shoulder.
"...... Come on."
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Fritz grabbed the girl by the shoulders and pulled her close.
"Yes, yes."
Fritz said with a sigh as the girl replied in a muffled voice.
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I'm not going to take it from you, so don't be so scared.
"Yes. ......"
The girl remained down when Fritz said this. Fritz did not care any more and walked away, still holding the girl's shoulders.
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His grip is so strong that the girl has no choice but to follow him as if she were being dragged along.
"......"
What's your name?
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"...... Rita."
Where are you from? Are you from the eastern part of ...... Rivas?
"...... yes."
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As they walk, Fritz asks her name and where she is from. The girl, Rita, looked anxious and answered in a halting manner.
The street gradually became more and more crowded. The girl was looking around with a wry look on her face.
"Come on in."
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They came to the inn where they were staying.
"It's a bit of a long story," Fritz says to the receptionist.
Fritz says no to the receptionist and hands over a silver coin as a gratuity.
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The man sitting at the front desk, who seems to be the keeper, glances at the girl and Rita, smiles knowingly, and lets them pass without saying a word.
Fritz took Rita to the room where they were staying, at the back of the second floor.
"Come on in."
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Fritz opens the door, lets Rita in first, and closes the door behind him.
Inside the room, Gloria and Cynthia were staring at them with surprised faces.
"Mister Fritz, who is that girl?"
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Gloria was the first to speak.
"Yes, her name is Rita. I bought her for three days from today. You can find her at ......."
Fritz was about to say something like that.
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"Mister Fritz, you're filthy!"
Cynthia, red-faced, shouted, got up, kicked over her chair, ran into her room, and slammed the door behind her.
"Shea ......"
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Gloria looked at Fritz with some dismay and turned to him with a serious face and asked him a few words.
"Mister Fritz, is there a reason for this?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact. ......"
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Fritz explained briefly about the girl Rita.
Rita, on the other hand, was afraid of Cynthia's swordplay and was shrinking in the corner of the room.
"Okay, I understand. So what are you going to do with her?
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Gloria understood what was going on. The question then went to Fritz.
"That's the thing, I don't have a good idea to tell you the truth.
What?
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"What?" "For now, can you give Rita ...... a bath? I'd appreciate it if you'd put some clean clothes on if you can. I'm afraid to go shopping for clothes myself."
Rita could not be recognized in the dimly lit street, but in the brightly lit room she was wearing very dirty clothes.
Chuckling, Gloria nodded. Fritz acted without thinking, but he liked his motives.
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"Okay. I'll take care of it."
(I'd appreciate it if you could find out what's going on, if you can.)
In a whisper, Fritz added his request.
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"Yes."
Gloria turned to Rita.
"Rita," she said. Come with me. I'll give you a bath."
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"Uh... ......"
"Don't worry. Neither I nor my ...... friend Mr. Fritz will do anything to Rita.
Yes, yes. ......
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Still wary, Rita followed Gloria's lead.
I'll be back in a few minutes.
"Yeah, sure."
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As they left, Fritz put his mouth to the leftover bottle of wine and downed it in one gulp.
"What can I do in ...... another country?