I brace myself. A life-or-death battle is likely waiting ahead.
I can’t remain in a field trip mindset forever.
I curl up and sit cross-legged, trying to play the part of a young man who has given up on his future as much as possible.
And I keep my face down, avoiding eye contact as much as I can – perfect.
The carriage stops moving.
“………..”
With my head bowed, I glance sideways at the mansion.
The large size is hard to make out due to the black-painted walls, but it’s clearly a spacious building.
Light spills out from the mansion’s windows, which seems at odds with the quiet night.
The inside seems to be quite lively, as I can hear laughter and music even standing near the entrance.
“… Seems rather in poor taste.”
“Parties are a good way for the nobility to flaunt their wealth, after all.”
“I see… Ah, looks like it’s done.”
While observing, it seems my father has completed the check-in procedure at the reception.
The carriage starts moving again, heading to the back of the mansion.
There, two burly-looking men stand as gatekeepers, and a slender man with glasses is there to receive us.
“There are two of them. They’re Vellet’s goods, so don’t be rough with them.”
“Of course. We can’t afford to reduce their commercial value. Master Juke wouldn’t want that either.”
“Alright then, leave it to you.”
“Oi, you two. Don’t cause any trouble.”
Taken out of the cage, me and Reina are carried inside the mansion like luggage, through the back entrance and down the stairs to the basement.
There’s no need to get angry here. Our goal is to rescue Alice, so we should avoid unnecessary conflict.
Unlike the glittering facade, this area is like a haunted house.
The dim, damp, and gloomy corridor is lined with small prison-like cells,
where men and women of all ages are chained up, hands and feet bound.
Many of them are young women, likely captured from their villages by bandits.
“… Help me… Please, God…”
“Why… Daddy… Mommy…”
“I want to go home… I want to go home…”
Cries can be heard from various corners.
That’s understandable. Being bought by unknown nobles, awaiting a life of hell.
Even if they’re just used as labor, that’s still the better outcome.
Facing the twisted desires of perverted nobles would be far worse, Day in and day out, you will be used as a toy to play with their twisted sexuality, only to be discarded once they’re bored.
It’s no wonder they’re in tears.
“Shut up, you pieces of trash!”
One of the gatekeepers bangs on the wall, shouting loudly.
The cries subside, the anger spreading.
“Tch, you lowlifes better not piss me off… Damn scum.”
The gatekeepers roughly toss us into an empty cell, deeper inside.
The impact hurts a little. Didn’t they just say not to be rough?
They seem to be all brawn and no brain. Most of their grey matter must be concentrated elsewhere.
“So you’re really the slaves the Vellet household prepared, huh… The eyes may be pretty, but you’re a terrible bunch of merchandise they brought.”
One of the gatekeepers leans in close, glaring at us, then spits.
“Don’t cry. Don’t scream. Just do that, and you’ll get out of the cage safely. As slaves, that is.”
“It’s best if you don’t upset us. Otherwise… this is what’ll happen!”
The gatekeeper swings his thick arm, his fist sinking into the wall, cracking it.
“If you understand, stay quiet and behave.”
Seeming to have vented his frustration,
the two return to their posts.
Once their presence has completely faded, I speak up.
“… What score would you give that?”
“10 points. If it were Ouga, his arm would have gone through the wall.”
“Heheh, correct. But I won’t be putting on such a stupid performance.”
To avoid being overheard, we huddle close together.
“Now, how should we proceed?”
“…Alice is listed as the star item. She is supposed to appear at the very end of the slave auction.”
“It might be tight if we can’t find Alice in time. This mansion seems even larger than I thought.”
After all, they have even prepared a dedicated prison cell for slaves within the mansion.
And considering the distance they traveled by carriage to the back entrance, the depth of the mansion should be substantial as well.
Moreover, to have this kind of underground area as well…
In such a place, finding Alice will be a struggle.
“Then, let’s move as soon as the party starts. We’ll take down the gatekeeper and the handover personnel, and begin the search.”
“Is it alright to kill them? Wouldn’t it be better to keep them alive for when the slave auction begins?”
“Unless I’m certain they’ll betray the Andraus, they’re the same as us. We can’t assume they’ll obediently follow orders.”
“I see. By the way, what about the other slaves…?”
“…Hmph, that’s obvious, isn’t it? We’ll take them back to the Vellet territory as per father’s prior arrangement.”
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Kukuku, securing valuable future labor force, how splendid.
Working on our own territory would be far better than being at the mercy of those depraved aristocrats.
After all, those here are most likely those who have already lost their homeland.
In this world, slaves are only commoners. Only the aristocracy can use magic. So slaves don’t fall as low in status.
There are even rare cases where fallen aristocrats are picked up, but those are very few and precious.
There’s no way they’d be left in this dung heap.
That’s why, with Reina, who can use magic, here, taking down these three who seem to be relying on the absence of any other magic users will be easy.
“Once the party starts, those who finished registration should come back inside the mansion. That’s when we’ll lure the muscle-brains.”
“So we’ll ambush them then. I’ll handle the bespectacled one who seems more intelligent. Let’s see if he can spill any information about Alice.”
“In that case, we’ll first need to have them unlock the door and come in.”
Judging from the earlier situation, they seem like easy targets to provoke. Luring them in should be simple.
The flow is set. Now, we just have to hold our breath and wait with Reina.
And then, the moment has come.
“…And with this, the reception is over. I’ll go check on the condition of the merchandise before the auction starts.”
“This time, there were some pretty high-quality women. Ah, I’d love to bed one just once.”
“Geez! Damn it. Every night, I’m sick of those cheap, ugly whores.”
“…Your conversation is as vulgar as ever.”
“Shut up, you homo. I don’t wanna hear that from you.”
The three’s base voices and the sound of the back door closing can be heard.
We immediately made eye contact and sprang into action.
“[Transcendence of Limits]”
I circulate the power through my bloodstream, accelerating the heart’s function to enhance my physical body.
“Hmph.”
I tear apart my own handcuffs, and forcibly widen the locked portion of Reina’s handcuffs, rendering them useless.
After that, just keeping our hands behind our backs, and we’re free in no time.
I position my body in front of Reina to conceal that her leg shackles have been removed.
And in a small but clear voice, I spoke.
“You three are a bunch of vulgar beings, idiots.”
A moment of silence. Then, a trembling voice mixed with anger echoed in the cell.
“…Looks like we’ve got someone here who wants to die, huh?”
“…I’ll kill you, just like you wish.”
“Hey, wait you two! Don’t forget they’re merchandise!”
They took the bait.
The two fools come stomping in with loud footsteps, as if trying to intimidate.
Ignoring the bespectacled one’s warning.
The men who have entered our room unlocked the cell door. They’re truly like moths drawn to the flame.
“Hey, brat. You’re gonna regret-…Huh?”
“Too bad. Looks like I won’t be getting to bed even those cheap whores anymore.”
The moment they stepped in, I violently shattered my own leg shackle.
The slave who was supposed to be restrained had freed himself from the iron chains. This fatal oversight, born from their shock at this fact.
I put all my strength into a kick aimed at the first one’s groin.
“…Ugh…Gakh!?”
I can feel the devastating impact as I shatter his pelvis.
Unable to withstand the unimaginable pain, he collapsed, frothing at the mouth.
“Reina.”
She slipped through the space opened up by the fallen man, almost simultaneously with me calling her name.
The next moment, the bespectacled one’s scream rang out.
The plan has practically succeeded at this point.
“Damn it!? You bastard!”
The man who had displayed impressive strength earlier winds up a powerful punch.
But it’s slow and lacks power. I easily catch his sloppy strike with a light thud.
This level doesn’t even require using [Transcendence of Limits], my raw physical strength alone is enough to overwhelm him.
“What!? You blocked my straight right punch!?”
“Don’t be so surprised. There are thousands of people in this world who can do this much.”
I twist the man’s arm, fist and all, upwards.
One-eighty, one-ninety, two-hundred… I savor the pain, slowly.
The man, his previous bravado gone, kneels down, tears welling in his eyes from the excruciating pain of the crackling bone.
“Ow, ow! Stop, please! Any more and my arm will snap!”
“Don’t worry. The human body isn’t so fragile.”
“That can’t be true! I’m begging you, let me go from here and I’ll stop!”
“I’ll continue. …Two hundred and ten.”
Twisting further, there’s a loud popping sound as the bone dislocates.
“Aaargh?! You bastard!!”
Mustering his last bit of strength, the man swings his remaining left fist.
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