"You're still young but already that strong," The bartender said. "It's rare for someone as strong as you at such a young age, seeing you makes me remember the past. When a warrior about your age comes to my bar to buy drinking water. With your power you can earn a lot of money in the battle arena."
"I don't really care about money, because all I want from you is information," Shirou said as he once again showed the class 3-a timesheet to the bartender after he took it from Negi. "Do you remember anything when you look at the photos of the girls in this book?"
"Ah, yes I remember the girl with short hair who has a lot of freckles on her face," The bartender said, pointing at Natsumi's photo. "She's the girl who asked me for water in a very friendly manner, and if I'm not mistaken she is the same as you arguing with the thugs on the streets. She also seems to be walking along with two other girls. Since they got into the horse carriage which looks suspicious I hope they both don't become slaves."
The bartender's words made Kotarou and Negi's faces very pale. Because they both realized that the girl who asked the bartender for water was Natsumi. And right now there was a possibility that Natsumi was made a slave.
After getting a very important information from the bartender, the five of them decided to find more information by going around the city of Hecate.
"When all the information we've gathered is combined, Natsumi, Akira and Ako are taken away by a group of slave traders and headed to the southern port city, Granicus," Chisame said.
"And according to one of the witnesses we asked, there was someone in between, Natsumi, Ako and Akira who looked sick," Shirou said with a worried look on his face. "Right now we have to quickly find the three of them. Otherwise I'm afraid something bad will happen to the three of them."
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In an open-air restaurant in the port city of Granicus. Natsumi Murakami was sweeping in one part of the open-air restaurant which had closed because the sun had set.
"Fyuuh," Natsumi said as she wiped the sweat off her forehead. "The whales floating in the sky, as well as the majestic buildings that look foreign. Come to think of it, everything I'm seeing right now really feels unreal. But after I've pinched my cheeks many times and I feel hurt, it clearly shows that I'm not dreaming right now."
Natsumi was currently feeling very hopeless. Because she was in a place that could be considered very strange and foreign to her.
"That day I went to follow Negi-Sensei and the others to a place very similar to Stonehenge," Natsumi said while remembering the last day when she was still on the earth. "And after that I don't know what happened to me, because all of a sudden I, Ako-san and Akira-san are appear in this amazing fantasy world."
After Natsumi finished sweeping, she decided to return to the room she shared with Ako and Akira to rest.
When Natsumi opened the door from the room, it was Akira who was taking care of the sick Ako. Welcoming her with a faint smile, Akira's face currently looks dirty and the clothes she wears also look bad and tattered. Akira's current state was like someone who hadn't showered and changing clothes in a long time.
"You've finished your work, apparently Natsumi," Akira said who felt happy when she saw Natsumi. "When you're working nothing weird happens right?"
"Nothing," Natsumi said in answer to Akira's question. "But I feel that working as a maid in an open-air restaurant in a fantasy world is a very hard part-time job."
"Well, it can't be helped," Akira said feeling bad to Natsumi who was working as a maid alone. "Right now the three of us are slaves, until we get enough money to pay our debts, then we can be free again."
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"How is Ako doing?" Asked Natsumi who was curious about the condition of her sick classmate. "Is she all right?"
"Her fever hasn't gone down yet, and she hasn't regained her consciousness either," Akira replied. "She even went so far as to deliriously mention Shirou-kun's cousin name in her sleep. And if the medicine given to Ako really works, Ako will wake up in two or three days."
"Thank God," Natsumi said who was relieved to hear Akira's answer.
"At that time I was really confused when Ako's face suddenly turned pale and she passed out in the middle of the barren desert where we appeared in this strange fantasy world," Akira said. "If you weren't around at that time, I would definitely have a hard time helping Ako."
"But unfortunately once the three of us arrived at a nearby town and were helped by someone who gave medicine to Ako, I didn't think that the three of us would became a slaves," Natsumi who felt cheated by the slave trader. "We've all been completely deceived."
"We didn't have any other choice Natsumi, if we don't receive help from the slave trader. Then Ako diseasw won't be cured," Akira said with a sigh. "Apart from the fact that we don't have any money, receiving help from the slave traders is the only way we can survive. So now we can only work to be able to pay off the debt."
But how much one million Drachmas is!! And how long do we have to work so that we can pay that amount of money!" Natsumi said who was crying a little after she lamenting her fate "Plus since we are currently a slaves it will be very difficult for us to collect that much money."
"Slavery is now very rare on Earth, But in this magical world, it look like slavery is something natural," Akira said in a serious tone. "Do you think all the things that happen to us right now are real?"
"I think what we're currently experiencing is reality," Natsumi said. "Because there's no way I can feel pain in a dream."
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"But have you seen the make-up and clothes worn by most of the people in this city, they are all dressed like the clowns in the Mahora Festival costume parade," Akira said with a serious look on her face. "I've never heard of or seen a place like this fantasy world on Earth."
"Akira-san I think you have some truth in what you said, though, but those are all things that make us all feel that what we're currently experiencing feels like a dream," Natsumi said. "In this place we can feel pain, hunger, thirst, sleepiness. We can even see dreams when we sleep."
"There is a possibility that we are currently in the same dream or we are thrown into another world like in manga, light novels and anime," Akira said while expressing part of her opinion. "All the possibilities I just mentioned could happen to the three of us right now."
"Or we're currently in the game! If we were actually in the game it would make sense that we could currently exist in a fantasy world like this!" Natsumi said who this time expressed her own opinion. "Because Virtual Reality is currently very advanced, isn't it!"
"No matter how advanced Virtual Reality is today, it is impossible for us to experience what we are currently feeling," Akira said. "Even AI* and other virtual reality games on the market are not as realistic the situation that we faces today."
"Whatever happens to us right now, whether it's in the game world, or being traversers to another world, we won't be able to do much while Ako is still sick," Natsumi said. "And even if Ako has recovered, what should we do afterward?"
Akira and Natsumi are really confused by the strange and crazy things that are currently happening to them. They currently don't know what to do other than work to pay off their debt, Akira and Natsumi can only hope that someone they know, can help them..
Read advanced Chapter at Pa. treon.com/Raylight25