“Congratulations to Lord Grease for winning the bid over the first female object of today’s event! Now we move on to Eira, a less skilled but significantly more innocent maid who has never been tainted by men – if you know what I mean… The bid starts at thirty silver!”
I have an admission to make. I’m a complete hypocrite.
If I saw one of the male laborers from the previous round tremble and cry like this little girl, I wouldn’t have felt anything for him. Maybe I would’ve even felt a bit annoyed due to the ugly sight he was showing me. If it was one of the nine adult women, I would’ve felt rather bad for them, but that would’ve been it. If it was a teen boy instead of a girl, my heart would also contort just a little less, truth be told.
Now, however…
“Forty silver.” I raised my hand and spoke my bid while stroking Sera’s sensual thighs to calm myself.
Honestly, I was pissed. The twin bitches had already soured my mood back at the restaurant, but now Amara declared war on me while her unhinged sister was about to start salivating as she eyed a literal child. Add onto that the fat pig and his annoying boasting who took the culinary woman home combined with my learning of this ‘Lady’ whose hobby was to take innocent children off the streets and turn them into sex toys.
While mild in their annoyance level, the fact that I was glared at by Lilith and her Scarlet Lilies as well as Felicity’s maid squad for having my slave in my lap also irked me. What I did with a woman who was very visibly happy with where she was in life was none of their business, but they thought it their place to put their nose into my life and treat me like I was pure trash.
It was like they couldn’t even comprehend the fact that a slave could be happy depending on what kind of life their master gave them.
The Goddess was the same.
A hypocrite who refused me the Healer class just because I acquired some slaves to make my life easier in this harsh land where danger lurked in every corner. I would’ve completely understood if she denied me because she thought my heart was tainted and I was evil, for I truly committed some questionable acts.
However, she refused simply because I had slaves, as far as I understood. Her demand for giving me the Healer class was to free all my slaves and to serve as her Arch Priest for a long time.
Malakar, the old human primordial, had told me that the Goddess thought of Thalorind’s primordials as her extended family, yet she treated me like I was garbage. Why? Because I bought Ayame, Seraphiel, and took Blossom for myself?
They were miserable souls before I did that. Why was I treated like I was a disgusting scum when becoming mine had made their lives so much better? Even after all the trauma they suffered, they were now happy women because of me and how I treated them. Even the laborer slaves led much better lives under my rule than they did before.
I pretended not to care, but if I was being honest, the Goddess’ refusal irked me.
Moving on, the teen girl for whom I just bid glanced in my direction and gasped with wide eyes.
… Alright, I’ll admit that my large frame, face hidden behind a wolf mask, and a sexy elven slave in my lap might’ve not been the most friendly sight for a person with her circumstances.
“One gold!” It was not Amara who shouted but Vivienne.
The second twin also declared war on me as far as I was concerned. Maybe I was a bit dramatic, but as I said, I was just about done. I felt anger boil within me.
Eira glanced at the second bidder and instantly grimaced.
She had a much milder reaction when she saw an ominous man like me bid for her than the dainty Vivienne in her hot oriental dress. I found it quite curious, but the woman’s lustful eyes and her hungry smile must’ve been more scary than my silent confidence for a girl who didn’t have any rights. She couldn’t tell what her fate would be if she became mine, while she perfectly understood that if she were to become Vivienne’s, she would become a pleasure toy.
“Two gold.”
“Five!” It was Amara who shouted it this time. The twins were on the same page for once.
“Sis!!! You can’t torture her, I want to have fun with this one! Once you’re done with your playthings, they are never fun for me to play with! They don’t react even to pain!”
Vivienne accused Amara, who replied by giggling, “Sure-sure… You will get bored of her after a couple of nights, I’ll wait until then.”
“No! I’m serious about this one, I feel very attracted to her, more than ever before. Only that douche’s elf made me feel stronger emotions…” She declared while glaring at me and Kaelira.
“You said the same thing about the previous fifty girls…”
“Hmph! They became boring, it was no fun. I’m sure it’ll be different this time!”
“Alright, I’ll wait however long it takes if that makes you happy.”
“Okay!”
And just like that, their alliance stood on strong legs for once.
“Ten gold.”
My bid was instantly overthrown by Vivienne; “Fifteen. Bastard called Black, you should back off now if you don’t want trouble.”
It’s me who should be saying that.
“Twenty.”
“Thirty. Black, you already have your wife, Blue, no? Didn’t you call yourself a hopeless romantic? Why do you need this one for? Or are you just messing with us on purpose? You want Greenvale as your enemy?”
“My husband is not a freak like you and your sister, don’t assume that he’s bidding for this girl to make her his toy. His noble heart bleeds at the mere thought of letting you take her home.” Jasmine declared with a fierce glare. At long last, my fifth woman gained the mental fortitude to speak back to these creatures despite their rank.
I heard a muted gasp from the princess on my left side, she was surprised by what Jasmine said.
“Grr!” Two hateful growls sounded from the twins. Discover hidden tales at empire
I ignored them when a curious thing caught my attention. Felicity hinted for her head maid to come close. I had to focus to my utmost to hear what she was saying.
“Can I buy this poor girl if he can’t?”
“My Lady… You know very well that you can’t. Your father forbade you to buy slaves, he hates slavery and doesn’t tolerate it in his house. He’s trying to reform the aristocracy’s view on slavery, which he thinks will be most effective by utilizing the lead-by-example strategy. You would ruin his efforts, even if you set this girl free in public. The only thing these arrogant nobles would remember is the princess entering a bidding war for a slave.”
“… You’re right…” Felicity sighed defeatedly.
I found this a truly curious new piece of information, the king of the human nation wasn’t happy with slavery, at least in its current, predatory form?
However, my attention was returned to the twins when they started laughing at me haughtily as the auctioneer was midway through counting down.
“Forty.” I interrupted him, eliciting a giant grin from the man.
Yes, you bastard, you’re going to be eating well tonight.
“Fifty! Black, there’s a limit to how arrogant you can be! Stop trying your best to turn Greenvale into your enemies!” Amara hissed with fury.
“Sixty.”
… “We should stop…” It was Amara who spoke hushedly to her sister.
“So you can waste our funds but I can’t? No! Screw you!” Vivienne growled before shouting, “Seventy!”
“Eighty.”
“One hundred!”
Sigh…
There was a limit to how much I was willing to pay for this innocent soul’s salvation.
I was not a hero who could make everything right with the power of love and friendship. Spending even a single gold on this teen would’ve been a waste as far as cold logic was concerned, going above a hundred? I might miss out on a life-altering artifact or a slave of Seraphiel’s caliber by spending so much on simple kindness. I simply can’t afford to do so. Many lives depend on me now, I can’t risk a brighter future of thousands for a single innocent girl.
However, make no mistake.
I might let this one go momentarily, but it was at this exact moment that I decided.
The twins will be ruined, and not just in a financial sense.
I’ll pay them back for every little grievance I sustained, even from their mere existence.