by Aneko Yusagi
Prologue: To Market
“This way.”
We followed, descending the stairway. My name is Naofumi Iwatani. I was a university student until I got summoned to another world to serve as the Shield Hero, and at the moment, I was with my companions in Zeltoble , the country of merchants and mercenaries . We came here to purchase additional slaves, which is why we were following a couple of slave traders to the underground slave market.
After the whole Spirit Tortoise ordeal ended, I knew we needed to increase our offensive capabilities before the appearance of the next guardian beast — the Phoenix —and before the next wave. I decided to establish my own village, so I had the Queen of Melromarc grant me a territory and the requisite noble title. That’s when we ended up getting involved in the whole mess with Lurolona , the village Raphtalia was from.
Despite being citizens of Melromarc, the village residents had been forced into slavery in their own country and were being abused simply because they were demi-humans. Thanks to my efforts, the primary instigators of the demi-human discrimination — Trash and the Church of the Three Heroes — were dealt with and the queen issued an emancipation proclamation. But in a string of unlucky events, that proclamation came just a moment too late and the slaves ended up being sold off to another country, where they were being traded at ridiculously high prices. Numerous attempts were made to secure the villagers, but these worked against us. The result was that certain merchants, taking advantage of the situation, pushed prices up even further.
It was a truly miserable state of affairs. Rumors about my sidekick Raphtalia were apparently another reason for the skyrocketing prices, but whatever. Either way, a long string of unlucky events had resulted in the surging prices of the Lurolona slaves. As a result, we were forced to fight in the underground coliseums of Zeltoble to make money. And, well . . . we had a rough time, but we managed to win a tournament and successfully buy back the Lurolona slaves, fortunately.
“So you still want more people, little Naofumi?”
“I’m sure the numbers we have now won’t be enough. You know we’re rebuilding the territory, too, right?”
That woman hanging on to my arm was Sadeena. She was like a big sister to Raphtalia, and she had joined the coliseum fight tournament on her own in an attempt to rescue the Lurolona slaves. She was in her demi-human form now, but she could also transform into a therianthrope form that resembled a killer whale. As for her appearance . . . she was beautiful and had a certain Japanese air about her, while her expression hinted at being a carefree drunkard.
Even though Raphtalia, Filo, and I were currently in a weakened state due to the effects of a curse, I was sure we were still far stronger than your average adventurer. And yet Sadeena was strong enough that it took all three of us just to barely defeat her in the tournament. She insisted that she wasn’t that strong and that it was because we had been debuffed while she had been buffed via support magic during the fight. But judging by her skills and fighting abilities, I was still sure she was quite formidable.
Oh, and there was a reason that she wouldn’t stop hanging on to my arm, too. She had apparently decided long ago that her heart would belong to the man who could outdrink her. She started coming on to me when she saw that I was unaffected by eating rucolu fruit, which was kind of like highly concentrated alcohol.
“Oh? So you really are serious about rebuilding the village, I guess.”
“Well, yeah. Just rounding up and securing the slaves isn’t going to solve the problem.”
There was also the incident of slave hunters attacking the village because of the skyrocketing prices of the Lurolona slaves. Fortunately, we had been training the villagers prior to that and they were able to turn the tables on the attackers. That was just it. We needed to make them realize that they couldn’t keep holding on to naïve hopes of someone always being there to save them, and that realistically it was up to them to protect their own village.
The people of this world had a bad habit of depending on the heroes every time they were in trouble. If they actually took a moment to think about it, they might have realized how absurd summoning people from another world to fix their problems really was. Although, there were certain aspects of this world that made it feel just like a game, like the concept of levels and defeating monsters to raise your level.
“Oh, little Naofumi! You’re so great! I think I’m falling in love all over again!”
“Get your hands off me! I told you I have no interest in that kind of thing!”
“Sadeena! Get a hold of yourself, please!”
That was Raphtalia that just reprimanded Sadeena. Raphtalia was a demi-human girl and a former slave who now fights by my side as my closest companion. She was chosen as the owner of the katana vassal weapon by the katana itself, which signified hero status in another world we had visited. She had proven her fighting prowess, and it fell upon her to actually defeat my enemies for me, since being the Shield Hero meant that I was unable to attack other people myself.
Raphtalia wanted nothing to do with romance or sexual relations, probably due to prioritizing her mission to save the world from the waves. I was repulsed by the thought of romantic relationships, too. Of course, it was being framed by that worthless bitch that had made me that way.
Raphtalia looked really, really good in miko outfits, by the way. But she refused to wear them because of her utilitarian nature. She was quite attractive, and her tanuki ears and tail provided the perfect accent, which was probably why the miko outfits looked so abnormally good on her. I would have been happy if that was all she wore, so I was secretly considering having a miko outfit with powerful effects custom-made for her.
“Oh?”
Lately, Sadeena had constantly been trying to get close to me and she always teased Raphtalia in the process. I really wished she would try thinking about what it was like always having to calm Raphtalia down.
“Fehhh . . .”
That was Rishia behind us that just made a really pathetic sound. There were times when she would step up to the plate — she could be a real force to be reckoned with when she got emotional. But she usually just stuck to handling the more intellectual side of things for us. It felt like her performance had been especially lackluster lately, even though she’d apparently been up to all sorts of things. Of course, having her fight at a place like the coliseum, while she was still a weakling, would have basically been signing her death warrant. So I guess she hadn’t really had a chance to impress recently.
“Hmm?”
That was Filo cocking her head to the side with a confused look on her face. Filo was a little girl that was actually a filolial, which was a type of monster that loved nothing more than pulling carriages. Filolials exhibited a special pattern of development when raised by a hero that enabled them to transform into a human form resembling an angel with wings on its back.
Judging from her appearance, you might think she was just a cute little angel girl with blonde hair and blue eyes — until she opened her mouth. She was simple and innocent, but her instincts were impressive when it came to combat. Her performance in our most recent battle was still fresh in my mind. We’d found ourselves in a situation unable to use magic, yet Filo had managed to force our opponent into a corner by . . . singing. She’d learned a singing technique that was similar to magic while we were in Kizuna’s world. I knew I could rely on her in combat.
“Rafu?”
That little thing sitting on Filo’s shoulder and chirping was a shikigami — known as a familiar in this world —that I made using a lock of Raphtalia’s hair. I named her Raph-chan. If Raphtalia had a therianthrope form that she could transform into l
ike Sadeena, Raph-chan was what I imagined it would look like.
“Mr. Naofumi? You’re thinking about something rude again, aren’t you?”
“Oh! Little Raphtalia can understand what little Naofumi is thinking! I’m jealous!”
“Shut up.”
Thinking about Raph-chan would restore some of my sanity that they had been chipping away at. Raph-chan was always up for a good time and would happily join in whenever I started making mischief. The cursed shield, which had been stuck to my arm since being summoned here, had abilities that let me make a familiar more powerful. Lately, though, I had been paying more attention to tweaking properties that had nothing to do with combat, like the quality of Raph-chan’s fur. I wanted to get as close as possible to an ideal texture that would feel simply blissful when I pet her. But I had to make sure that Raphtalia, in particular, never figured that out.
Umm . . . I guess I got off track there for a second. Anyway, we needed more slaves to continue developing the village, and we were here to buy those slaves at a cheap price.
“We’re here. Yes sir.”
“Good. It’s about time."
We had finished descending the stairway and arrived at the underground slave market. I looked around at the surprisingly fancy cages that the slaves were being held in. Sitting inside of one of the cages was a female demi-human that had horns like you might expect to see on an ogre. She had dark brown skin and a rather nice face. Her frame was a bit on the large side, and she had large breasts, too. I guess she would have been worthy of being called a rare beauty. She had a healthy complexion, too, which was odd. It made me think she had probably been eating well. But she wasn’t the kind of slave I was looking for. She seemed like the type that would be traded as a sex slave or something.
“I’m not interested in sex slaves.”
“On the contrary, this is one of the more combat-proficient demi-human types known as a kiki.”
“That is?”
The slave was waving at me with a big, fake smile on her face that made me think she wanted to sell me something. Something about her really gave me the creeps. That face gave me the sudden urge to just punch it. But I was sure that wouldn’t make anyone else here happy.
“She looks expensive. I’ll pass.”
When she heard my response, the slave’s expression turned into one of being upset.
“Not at all. I’ll give you a very good price.”
“Even so . . .”
There was something about her I didn’t like. Or rather, I just didn’t want her being one of my slaves. It wasn’t like I had decided to only buy slaves that were children, so it wasn’t an issue of standards. But something about her just seemed wrong. Then it hit me. It was because she reminded me of Bitch. Yeah, she looked like the former princess of Melromarc, who had falsely accused me of raping her just after I had been summoned to this world. Sheesh . . . I’d gotten tangled up in some real nonsense back then.
“Shall we move on to the next slave, then?” asked the slave trader.
“Yeah. Sorry, but I’ll pass on this one.”
“Oh? That’s too bad!” said Sadeena as she pressed herself up against me in a rather provocative manner, making sure that the slave noticed.
“Why is that woman okay and I’m not?!”
The slave shouted at me angrily. I guess I had hurt her pride or something. Her behavior sure was confusing for a sex slave. But wait . . . why did she want me to buy her anyway?
“You’re not the kind of slave I prefer. That’s all.”
“Sorry I’m not a cute little girl!”
Her outbursts sure were annoying. I glared at the slave traders.
Slave trading was a family business for the two slave traders standing in front of me. One of them handled the slave trade in Melromarc, while the other was based out of Zeltoble, and they were the spitting image of each other. If I were forced to come up with some kind of difference between them, the colors of their tailcoats would probably be the best I could do.
When I glared at them, they both suddenly shifted their gaze elsewhere. Whatever. They were doing plenty to help me out, after all. I glared at the slave.
“Cute little girl? It almost sounds like you might know who I am.”
When she heard my response, the slave suddenly fell silent. Aha! I knew something seemed fishy.
“Oh? Do I really look that young?” teased Sadeena.
“How old are you, anyway?” I asked.
“Twenty-three. Tee hee!”
She was batting her eyes at me. I felt like throwing up. And besides, the way she was acting only made it seem even more like she was lying.
“I’m pretty sure that’s the truth. I remember my father mentioning Sadeena’s age before.”
Raphtalia corroborated Sadeena’s answer.
“I thought women were supposed to lie about their age.”
“Some of them do, but several years ago father was talking about it being about time to have Sadeena start meeting potential suitors. Adding the number of years that have passed since then to the age that he mentioned would indeed make her 23 years old now.”
“Oh? You remember that? Children have such impressive memories!” Sadeena exclaimed.
Saying things like that is exactly why I figured she was a lot older. Frankly, she usually sounded like an old lady.
Anyway, I didn’t have any illusions about myself, despite how it might have seemed. Yes, most of the slaves I bought were children. And female. That’s just how it had turned out, since I was focused primarily on gathering up the Lurolona slaves.
“Judging by her pronunciation and language use, I would say that slave is . . .”
I guessed Rishia had figured out where the slave was from. That reminded me of the fact that my shield had translation capabilities. Multiple languages were spoken in this world, just like in my own world . . . just like back on Earth. Conveniently for me, my shield could translate all of those languages for me. As for the official Melromarc language, I was pretty sure it was used in countries with . . . large populations of pure humans.
“It doesn’t really matter, anyway. Just forget about it, Rishia.”
“Oh, umm, understood.”
“On to the next one.”
“Understood. Yes sir.”
“Why?! Why won’t you take me?!”
I ignored the shouts of the slave and followed behind the slave traders.
Chapter One: Sacred Tree Elixir
“This is the next slave.”
I looked inside of the cage that the slave traders had brought us to. It was another demi-human slave that looked healthy and well taken care of. This one was a child . . . and a female. She was waving at me with a big, fake smile on her face.
“Uhh . . . no thanks.”
“What?!”
Just as I expected, she started complaining. Her response was slightly more childish than the last slave, but she was still way more chipper than she should have been. The slaves I knew all started out with lifeless eyes. They’d given up on everything. Even our fearless Keel had been terrified until she saw Raphtalia. This kid looked like a dreamy-eyed adventurer. There was no way she was a real slave.
I had the slave traders show me another slave. Once again, the slave complained when I showed no interest. I started to understand what was going on. I squinted my eyes and glared at the slave traders, who both started wiping the nervous sweat from their brows.
“Seriously?”
“It’s unfortunate that none of our offerings seem to satisfy your preferences today. Yes sir.”
I sighed.
“You’ve left me no choice. I didn’t want to do this.”
I beckoned to the slave that we had been brought to. When she got closer, I slowly reached out and grabbed her by the collar, and then started questioning her using my best threatening tone.
“Spit it out! Who’s behind this? I’m the Shield Hero, you know. If you don’t tell me, I’ll destroy the country you
came from.”
The slave shrieked.
“D-d-daddy made me do it! He told me I had to marry the Shield Hero! They say the Shield Hero only associates with slaves, so daddy paid someone to set this up.”
The slave explained while cowering in fear as I glared at her. She was just a child. This wasn’t her fault.
“And is that what you want?” I asked.
“Huh?”
“Even if it is for your family’s sake, you’re being given as an offering to someone you don’t even have feelings for.”
Judging by the slave’s appearance, she was probably a bit younger than Raphtalia was when I first saw her. The thought of someone using a small child like this to boost their own status filled me with disgust.
“Either way, I want you to go home. Tell them I saw through their plan. If that’s not enough for them, tell them that the Shield Hero said he only helps demi-humans that are truly in need.”
It was becoming clear that these kinds of slaves were being sent in groups.
“So that settles that. I kindly refuse your offer,” I told the slave.
Siltvelt—the demi-human country—was obviously trying to set up an arranged marriage. They were disguising children of wealthy and noble families as slaves and sending them here for me to purchase.
“I’m pretty sure that country considers my word as gospel, right? I’m on the verge of personally notifying them in writing that it’s going to work against them if they keep trying to force slaves onto me like this.”
“Understood. Yes sir. I believe they will stop if that is what you wish. Yes sir.”
“The Shield Hero does it again! Of course you would notice the slaves were fake! Such perceptivity sends tingles of excitement down my spine!”
“There’s no way anyone wouldn’t notice!”
It was as if they were practically shouting out that they were fakes! They could have tried to make it a little less obvious. Or they could have even sent slaves bought from some human-supremacist country or something.
“How deplorable . . .”
Even Raphtalia was losing her patience.