The situation is extremely chaotic right now. Everyone is arguing with each other to compete over that fox girl. They are like wild beasts staring at prey right in front of their eyes.
Not a single one of them wants to back down. They don't care who they argue with—their only goal is to take that girl home.
Because that girl belongs to a beast-man race whose existence is extremely scarce—perhaps it could even be called a rare race—that is why they all want her.
Whether it's to show her off, use her to satisfy their desires, or perhaps be cared for by someone who simply wishes to live together with her.
The host tries to ask the girl to go back behind the curtain to take shelter from the noise here.
The girl can only follow the request given to her, turning around and trying to walk quickly to go inside.
At a glance, I did see the side of the girl's face, but her expression was very flat, just like before. I don't know whether she feels afraid or doesn't feel anything at all—her face is very hard to read.
Oh... Is that some kind of scar? There is a thin scar from a knife cut on her left cheek. Ah, maybe I just saw it wrong.
She must be trying to protect her mental state, so that she won't see and won't know what these people are going to do in order to buy her.
... I truly feel like this place is a cage for animals. They are all consumed by their own urges, and that might be disgusting to some people.
As someone who dislikes slavery, I want to quickly finish our Party's mission, but we haven't even finished looking for a slave collar yet.
If only I could punish all of them, maybe I would feel a bit satisfied, because they have treated a weak living being like an object.
They are nothing but demons wearing human skin to drag others into darkness—their actions look exactly like that.
It seems... it's time to leave this place. There's nothing I want to see in a place this bad—
"Yukito, where are you going?" Luke tries to hold my hand when I start to stand up like the others.
I only give a signal using my thumb, pointing toward the wall at the very top of the seats, where no one is there.
He finally lets go of my hand before standing up and following me to the place I pointed out.
—
I lean my back against the wall, allowing my view to open wide and see the entire interior of this place.
The small stage in the middle is very clearly visible from here. I didn't choose this place wrong.
The voices of those people are also slightly quieter here, making me feel calmer because the condition is quite comfortable.
"That girl, she is one of a rare race, right?" I ask after Luke stands beside me.
He puts on a serious expression after hearing my statement. He should have already realized that, even more than I have.
"Yeah. The fox tribe—their numbers are very small now. Maybe like a single village in Riruyo, you get what I mean, right?"
"That few? I thought there would be more than that. No wonder they all started fighting over her." I reply while starting to think about how big the villages in Riruyo are.
Iris has shown them to me before. That means their numbers are only in the hundreds—maybe they could even disappear if they keep getting exploited.
"For the past two decades, many of our human race have enslaved the fox tribe. They go to their place and abduct them by force."
"Do they have their own place to live?"
"Yeah... But it's quite far from here. Do you remember the city of Bissura? From there, the distance to the fox tribe's homeland could probably be traveled in just two days if the weather is good."
As far as I remember, aside from being a high-level beast-man race, they also possess extraordinary magical abilities.
If I'm not mistaken, even one adult alone would be enough to kill hundreds of human soldiers trying to attack them.
With that insane power, combined with the fox tribe's attractive physical appearance, it makes greedy humans try to dominate them.
They want to see up close how powerful the fox tribe really is. That's why they abduct girls and children from there to study them further.
"Doesn't that feel strange? They should be able to defend themselves. I don't think human forces could even enter that place." I say.
"This is just a rumor... But I think this rumor is quite real." Luke replies.
"The Chyvera forces have allied with Abbys."
My eyes widen immediately when I hear that statement. I truly can't believe what Luke just said—this sounds impossible!
"The fox tribe—their homeland has been frequently attacked by Abbys forces at unpredictable times."
"Taking advantage of that situation, they cooperate, and when some of the fox tribe start to let their guard down, Chyvera forces come out and join the attack."
"Because of those sudden attacks, they go berserk—abducting women and children, then killing adult foxes who try to fight back."
"The last attack that was heard of was about a month ago. If we take that point, then that girl was likely abducted at the same time."
... It all makes sense if that is truly the case. Indeed, we can't immediately believe that rumor, because it could just be a made-up story.
But one thing is certain—I feel like I want to help the fox tribe who are currently in an unfavorable situation.
However... I can't buy that girl because of our Party. Even Vol-san doesn't have enough money to bring her back.
If we go there while Vol-san finishes his concoction... maybe it's possible.
Yosh, I'll discuss this with Hime and Yuu-chan. I don't expect them to accept it.
However, since my proposal aligns with our mission to eliminate the slave system throughout Chyvera, they should accept it.
Honestly, there are still so many things left to take care of. I'm still confused about who I should build connections with so we can gain more convenience.
"Then, I will help you."
W-who is that?! Luke and I immediately turn our heads to find where that voice is coming from.
"Why are you so surprised? I apologize—I didn't mean to overhear your conversation, but... may I join you here?"
This is bad... This is getting worse...
——
"First of all, let me introduce myself. My name is Clair, one of the clothing merchants in this city. Coincidentally, I was just passing by. How about you two?"
... I really didn't expect that the woman in the black dress heard our conversation, and now she's standing in front of me, trying to talk about the same thing.
Some of the slaves she bought earlier are also standing behind her, but at quite a distance. I don't think they can hear the conversation here.
This woman is possibly the current Queen—that's why we cannot let our guard down even for a moment. Saying the wrong word could be fatal.
"I apologize for our rudeness, ma'am. My name is Yukito, an adventurer." I show my adventurer card to her.
Luke does the same while telling her his name.
Maybe it would be better if we used fake names when introducing ourselves, since she might also be using a fake name.
Rumor says she is Queen Matera, but she says her name is Clair. Everything feels suspicious.
Whether to follow the rumors or believe the words of this woman—both are hard to trust.
Yeah, neither of them can be trusted... Ah, this is confusing!
"I see. So, why did you come here? As for me... I just want to save them." Clair-san says while glancing at the slaves.
"Why are you doing that, Clair-san? Do you want to use them to work in your shop?" I ask.
She looks slightly surprised when she hears my words, before letting out a small laugh while covering her mouth.
"Fufu~ You're not entirely wrong, but please stop treating them as objects. I don't want to use them—I just want to employ them in a place that's far more decent than a cage." she replies with a very serious expression.
I don't feel like she's pretending to be a heroic character. Her face looks pure, filled with empathy.
"Then, how many do you have now? You already spent a lot of money earlier, but you joined the commotion just now."
"Are you also interested in that fox girl?" Luke asks.
"More or less. I'm quite confident I can take that girl with me. I can't stand seeing her with such a blank expression—she would surely look charming if she smiled happily~" she replies while imagining her wish coming true.
"What about you two? Why did you come here? I don't mean to insult you, but I don't think you are people who have the money to come here. Tell me your reason." Clair-san asks back after answering our questions.
Of course... There's no way she would just stay silent, especially if she is truly a merchant.
A merchant must be skilled at gathering information from everyone they meet. That's how they can trade freely.
"Ahaha... You can see it yourself—even the money the two of us have doesn't even reach one gold." Luke replies while chuckling as he says that amount.
"At first, we only wanted to buy a slave collar, but we decided to come and take a look. I was curious about this place." I add.
C-close one! I almost let it slip that we came here by accident. Luckily, I realized it in time.
Clair-san looks slightly confused. Her expression softens a bit before she gives us a small piece of paper from her pocket.
I take the paper and look at it. What is this... Some kind of map leading to a place?
The location is just a few turns from here. The size looks quite large compared to the buildings next to it—is this a building?
"That's my shop. You wanted to buy a slave collar, right? I'll provide it for you for free—is that okay?" Clair-san asks with a tempting offer.
Luke immediately starts thinking deeply. He's definitely tempted after hearing the word "free."
Before I can reply, the host shouts loudly enough to make the entire place fall silent again.
!!!!!!!!
"Ladies and gentlemen, due to what just happened, this auction will resume next week. Please come again when the time comes. Thank you very much!"
He repeatedly says that today's event is over and asks all of us to leave immediately.
This is too sudden... Oh well, Luke and I can adjust our schedule if we come back here next week.
"Yukito-kun, Luke-kun, see you at my place later. I'll be waiting for you~"
Clair-san pats my shoulder before walking out of this place through a door not far from where we were standing earlier.
In that case... Maybe the two of us will return to Vol-san's residence and explain to him that his money isn't enough.
I want to buy it as soon as possible, but it depends on Luke as well. I need his eyes— ahem.
I need his judgment and experience so that the item we buy is in good condition and not damaged.
For now... We just have to wait for these demons to leave. They're all crowding the exit—seriously... move a little faster, will you.