That woman was starting to look even more suspicious. I had never heard of, let alone seen, someone buying five slaves at the same time.
And the prices she offered were also quite high. At the very least, she bid 300 gold coins for a middle-aged woman.
Maybe, if that person were a man, the impression would be that he was manipulative and prioritized his own interests.
But the one in front of me right now was a woman with elf ears. That meant she came from the same race as Iris and Cyve, right?
From what I saw when visiting Riruyo before, the elves there seemed very kind and friendly.
I couldn't imagine them being involved in something like this, and if that woman really lived in Riruyo, Iris should have told me about her.
... This is getting stranger the more I let it continue. The two of us also can't do anything about it anyway. After all, our original goal was just to buy a collar.
"How long are we going to stay here?" I asked.
"...I don't know. How about we wait until that woman stops spending her money?" Luke replied while asking for my opinion.
I don't know what time it is right now, but it might be getting close to evening... I guess it's fine if we wait a little longer.
"Alright... But what about after this? Do you know any other place to buy a slave collar?" I asked again.
There was no way we could return to Vol-san's residence without completing the request he gave us. I couldn't afford to lose his trust.
"That's the problem. In the worst-case scenario, we won't be able to get that item. Well, we'll just have to think of another way as a substitute for that collar," Luke answered.
A substitute for a slave collar? That means the item has to be made of iron, have a part that is very difficult to remove, and most importantly, contain magical properties...
Is there even such a thing? If there were, we would have bought it instead of buying a collar directly from the slave seller.
—
After the last buyer returned to their seat along with the slave they had just purchased, the atmosphere in this place became quiet again.
I don't understand why the atmosphere here changes so easily, especially when someone finishes their transaction.
"Alright, here it is—the moment we've all been waiting for! The most special item we've prepared today. Make sure to check your gold coins again!"
The announcer looked very excited, and so did some of the others.
They immediately took out small pouches or wallets, preparing to pour out their money to bring home the slave of their dreams.
But he said the next item is something special, right? Does that mean it's a high-quality slave?
I probably don't need to pay too much attention to this, but I guess I need to know how these people define something as "special."
The announcer gestured toward the curtain behind him before calling for the slave to come out, as the time had come.
He smiled widely, pleased that he would soon earn a large amount of money.
"Here she is! Ladies and gentlemen, the number one quality item for today, obtained through great effort by our group!"
"Even the general public rarely knows about a being like her. No! Perhaps she is like a goddess who has descended among us!"
The curtain behind him slowly opened, and someone walked out from behind it, carefully matching her steps to a steady rhythm.
"Take a good look, customers! Don't miss out on this expensive item!"
—
The so-called high-quality item walked out from behind the curtain, and everyone was captivated by her appearance, including me.
Once again, it was a girl—but unlike most of the slaves that had been offered before.
The girl wore a long white dress, with the back fully covered and the front slightly open, the skirt lifted up to below her knees.
Her hands were placed together in front of her stomach. Her legs looked very bright even though she wore no footwear at all—maybe that's why they looked so beautiful.
Her arms were also visible. Her fair and smooth skin could be seen by everyone here, but the most astonishing part was... her upper body.
The girl's hair was a slightly dark shade of yellow—not shining, but elegant because it extended past her chest.
As she walked toward the center of the stage, I could see her tail, the same color as her hair but with a white tip.
Her tail looked very soft. Perhaps everyone here wanted to buy her immediately just to feel the softness of that tail.
She had two fairly long ears on top of her head, with fur the same color as her tail.
Just by looking at those ears, I could tell that the girl came from the beast-man race—a fox.
From what I've heard, foxes are one of the beast-man races whose numbers are very few across the world.
Their population drastically declined due to hunting carried out by the Abyss forces several decades ago.
Those who managed to survive were protected on this continent and allowed to rebuild their race.
Even now, they continue to live in peace without pressure, although their numbers are still small.
The girl still looked very young. Her appearance was very cute—it was no wonder she was considered a special item with a body like that.
She kept her gaze lowered to the floor. She looked too afraid to look at the people staring at her with various emotions.
"The bidding starts at one hundred gold! We will not accept any offers below that price!" the announcer declared to begin the auction.
Almost everyone immediately stood up and called out the amounts they were willing to pay for the girl.
"One hundred one!" "One hundred fifty!"
"Give her to me! I'll pay two hundred gold!"
"Hey, she's mine!" "Shut up, old man! Three hundred! I'm ready to buy her for three hundred gold!"
The atmosphere changed rapidly as they began to argue loudly.
They fought over who would take the girl home. She even flinched slightly when these people started competing over her with money.
Even the announcer looked confused about what to do because the situation had become so heated.
The people beside us also stood up, trying to monopolize the fox girl so she would become theirs.
That woman did the same, joining in with the others, while the slaves she had already bought simply sat behind her, trying to understand the situation.
Perhaps only those slaves and the two of us were still sitting. Luke and I didn't really have anything to talk about—
Ehhmm, wait a second—