She refused to believe that this had happened. However, the fact that she had been working this hard just to find out her parents were dead…. Was something that left her stunned.
"Ah, you broke her…" The adventurer with scars reacted in a fake surprised tone.
"They always react like that. But not that it matters as long as they sell at a great price. Besides, she was the one who wanted to know. I simply granted that last wish of hers." The merchant casually responded.
"That's awful." The adventurer with scars on his face smiled as he heard the merchant's confession.
He was only working as a mercenary who ran different errands. So for as long as he was getting paid, he didn't really care about others, no matter how awful they actually were.
Aya, on the other hand, began muttering to herself as she was looking at the floor, almost motionless from the sudden truth that had just been shoved at her.
"...mom….. Dad…are…...?"
While tears could be seen in her eyes some moments ago, right now, Aya's eyes were losing their light as the white part of her hair was beginning to spread out to the rest of the brown parts.
The merchant and the adventurer beside him also noticed this weird behavior, which is why they didn't say anything.
They knew that something must've been wrong, and it was going to be a matter of time before her hair would turn completely white. And in order to forget this small detail about her, the merchant thought of using her as a rare product.
After Aya's hair had become almost completely white, the darkness around her was starting to spread, and her eyes were getting more tired.
"Well, this is how this world works. Sorry, little girl, but you're just going to accept your fate and pray that your new master won't kill you."
The warrior said to the pitiful-looking girl, who no longer raised her head. Even though he was the one who kidnapped her, he somehow felt that what he was doing was wrong.
In his eyes, however, this was just another casual job for which he was well compensated by this slave trader. The fact that this girl was experiencing all of this terrible stuff right now was only because of her weakness. If she wasn't so weak, then none of this would've happened.
"You may leave, Ramon."
The merchant gave a sigh before letting the warrior with a scar on his eye and nose leave the room.
"I will give your payment as usu…."
*thump thump* *thump thump* *thump thump*
However, both the merchant and the warrior next to him suddenly froze up as they felt a sudden cold feeling on their backs. Their hearts were beating much faster, as if a sense within them was giving them the instinct to run away.
"....???!?"
"W-what i-is… t-this?!"
Both the merchant and the adventurer were on their guard as they were scanning the whole room for any potential assassins. They knew that whoever that assassin was, it was an incredibly experienced one.
While the merchant was trying to understand this sense of danger, the adventurer kept his guard up as he understood what this sense of danger was…
A killing intent!
'But from where!?' The adventurer questioned himself while trying to figure out where this killing intent came from.
"...."
He looked all around the spots in the room until his eyes finally met the chained girl whose hair was turning completely white. Her head was completely hung low, so they all assumed that she simply passed out from shock.
But that was the real situation in this room. Because that killing intent was definitely coming from the chained girl.
As the adventurer was carefully looking at the girl, he saw in a split second as she broke from the chains, allowing her to get up. Her head was slightly hung forward, making it hard for the kidnappers to see what sort of expression she was making.
"....H-how did you break free from your chains?!"
The fat merchant tried inquiring with a stern, trembling voice as he tried suppressing his shaking hands from that killing intent.
"....." Aya did not give any replies.
She stood still for a few moments as the two men watched her with caution, not wanting to do anything reckless right away. Her menacing display didn't last long before she jumped from where she was and dashed over to the fat merchant in an instant.
"W-whAgh!?"
The fat merchant was taken aback for a moment as his eyes couldn't grasp how fast she closed her distance with him. But before he could get a grasp of what just happened, the fat merchant found himself tripping on the floor while the white-haired girl was on top of him.
"Ghk?! AGH!"
His breathing was getting harder as a heavy pressure could be felt on his neck. But as soon as his eyes and mind knew what was happening, the fat merchant understood that he was being strangled by two powerful hands that wouldn't let him go.
The long, slender girl, who seemed weak and fragile on the outside, had become two powerful claws that were about to break the neck of the fat merchant.
"Y-yyou….ghk!..... S-stupid…. agh!.... Brat!...."
The fat merchant glared at the girl in hatred and frustration. The fact that a mere piece of merchandise was strangling him to death, was something that he had never expected or experienced before.
"... I w-will….."
He continued to curse with all of his might, only releasing small sounds. But what the fat merchant soon realized was that he was running out of air. His voice was getting weaker, and his eyes were beginning to let out tears due to the pressure on his neck.
As the claw-like hands were choking him, he got a grasp of the girl's cold eyes through her hair, which were devoid of emotion.
The fat merchant was always treated as a privileged person, which is why he never used to feel this weak. And right now, a feeling of fear was implanted in the merchant's eyes the moment he understood that, right now, he wasn't invisible anymore….
As the fat merchant was trying to stop the death claw like the hands of the little girl, who wasn't budging from her position, his eyes rolled up in order to seek help from his employee.
"...cougH!!!..... H-hel....."
However, the adventurer with the scars that he had employed was nowhere to be found.
".....Ghk!!...."
The merchant's eyes widened in fear and sorrow when the guardian he had hired to kidnap not only Aya but many other products as well wasn't there.
And right now, when he needed him the most, he was gone from the room.
'That, bastard!!!!!!!!' The fat merchant cursed, as he was unable to breathe anymore.
The claw-like hands that were choking him were beginning to get tighter and tighter until, in the next moment….. a snapping sound was heard.
*Crack*
"Agk..."
The cracking sound of his neck was followed by a gasp of shock as his eyes rolled all the way back while his mouth remained open.
"....."
And Aya, whose eyes remained dead on the inside, continued looking at the unmoving merchant for a moment before letting go of his neck.