"Shannon, then stay here and take care of the rest."

"Yes, sir. I'll leave it to you.

　I asked Shannon to take care of Nayuta.



Let's go to the rock then.

Grizz, you take care of her.

　I went to Griz's house in the morning and decided to attend the slave market in the evening.

　I could join as an acquaintance of Dove's, but since I was no longer hostile to Grizz, I would join as a member of Grizz's faction.



"Rock, are you sure you want to do this?"

"Oh, Grizz is scared shitless of you, huh?"

"Oh, Grizz is freaking out?" "Of course not. I'm just excited to be a part of it.

I'm glad you're excited about it.



　When the evening was getting a little dark, the slave market began.

　The slave market is filled with a variety of items, from the legal to the obviously illegal.

"Rock, is there anything you want?　I'll give you some money for it.

　Grizz calls out to me as he looks at the list of items.

"Oh, ......, if you can, I'd appreciate it if you'd bid on this Drakul of the Dragon Gods," he says.

"What, you know him?"



"Well, he's been a bit of a help, or rather a liability."

Okay.

　We've got a lot of slaves being bought and sold right in front of us. I wish I could help everyone here, but that doesn't seem to be an option.



　In particular, there seemed to be a lot of illegally caught criminal slaves being traded.

　May's mother was the last in Seri's order.

　Then we watched the auction going on, and after a while the dracul was put on the auction.

"Oh, so we'll start with 100, yes 200, 300, anyone else, anyone else?"

Grizz ......

I'm good. 400.



　Grizz calls out, and the area goes quiet for a moment. The guys fighting over the 200 and 300 seem to lose their will to fight in an instant.

"Yes, sir!　That'll be bidding at 400."

　Apparently, Grizz's notoriety is having an effect. Rumors that Grizz was persistent and unbeatable at the auction had caused the others to drop out of the auction. With so much more to come, it seems that they are not going to fight over the places they don't want so badly. A sympathetic voice is heard from the crowd, "How about this," says Drakul.



"Well, Rock, have you gained some respect?"

"No, I'm surprised for sure. No, I'm surprised, but isn't four hundred a lot of money?

"Yeah, I think it's a steal. But they are a difficult species to deal with, so they are not very popular in the first place. The two groups that were bidding this time also specialize in combat slaves and mining slaves. In short, they are disposable."



　We were lucky that Drakul won the bidding, but unfortunately, it seems that his fate would have been different if someone else had won the bidding. But the Grizz have a worse reputation than those two groups.

"What should we do with the slaves we've won?"

"We'll pick them up together at the end. We're still on the job."

"That's right."



　Then the slave market began to grow more and more exciting. High-priced beautiful female slaves were traded, and finally it was May's mother's turn.　

　An aquarium is brought in on a stand in front of the market, and there is May's mother, wearing an evil collar.

"Now for the last item. It is no exaggeration to say that she is a diamond swimming in the sea. A mermaid. 100,000.



"Yes, 200,000, 300,000, 500,000. Yes, 600,000. Anybody else?"

　I'm starting to feel a little sorry for Drakul. There's too much difference in the bids.

　Grizz calls out a million.



"Yes, a million. Is there anyone else?　If not, you win."

　The men sitting in the front, who had never moved before, start to move.

　They are dressed in chic black clothes, their faces hidden by cloth.

　At first glance, they look as if some aristocrat has come here on a private visit.

　The men mutter only the words "2 million" in a whisper



"Two million for ......?　Two million was offered."

　Grizz said 2.5 million, and the men murmured a resounding 260.

　From there, the bidding quickly exceeded 4 million, and Grizz finally bid 5 million.

"Oh, it's the first time in a long time that we've gone over 5 million," said Grizz.

"I'm so proud of you, Grizz," he said.



　The crowd was a little tense as the 5 million mark was crossed.

I guess it's all right.

"Oh, thank God."



　The guys in front of us walk out of the hall.

　These men were the half-fish I'd arranged for. They had sold off some of the treasure they had salvaged from the sea, and had been dressed in their finery before joining us as Dobb's introductions.






"Thank you very much for coming today. This is the end of the market. Please wait a moment while we call for the checkout in order.

　There is a general announcement, and soon men dressed in black come to Grizz.



"Mr. Grizz, we have another room for you. This way, please."

"Okay. Let's go pay him then.

Let's go.



　Grizz and I are escorted to another room. There was Chad waiting for us, rubbing his hands together. I finally got to meet him face to face.

"Well, well, well, Mr. Grizz, thank you very much for the mermaid. You're the highest bidder again today, and there's no one in town better than you, Mr. Grizz."



"Oh, yes. But it's not just the mermaids that are selling today.

Yes, what is it?

"Yes, what is it?" "The half-mermaid attack... she's staging one of her own, isn't she?　I'm angry. This town is important to me because I was born and raised here."



　Grizz threw a direct challenge at Chad.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

The battle was about to break out.

Chad is trying to play it cool and run away, but he won't let that happen again.