Squeak- the mansion doors opened and we went in. Perfume- heavily perfumed or so Escalor told me. I couldn't really smell it. I could smell the slaves though and they were no longer in cages now; they wore collars instead.
They stood erect, showcasing their bodies and I guess, beauty? These weren't as scrawny or poor-looking as the ones outside.
It was a big mansion, but there wasn't much in it apart from large windows and some warm lighting. A massive spiraling staircase led up and even down. There was a basement?
From the moment we went in, three staff members came to us and gave us a very warm welcome. They quickly led us to the noble section of the sale.
Yes, there were various sections. Commoners were sold in the garden outside. The better-looking ones were sold inside the mansion on the first floor and nobles were sold on the second floor. Nobles didn't just mean undead or halfdead. There were all kinds. The Half-deads of course considered themselves superior but this world had Demihuman, elf, even some human nobles. And yes, I did spot three humans so far: I suppose they were captured during a recent skirmish or something. None of the slaves so far had been rebellious thus far.
I thought we were headed for the second floor but we were taken to the third floor instead.
These weren't just nobles; they were fallen nobles of the high caliber and rare creatures or special individuals. Two particular creatures stood out. One, A Succubus; she was covered but I could tell she was a succubus thanks to that heart shape tip tail and horns. And two, a Druid. The succubus in particular had her mouth gagged and almost all of her skin, bound by bandages. Apparently, she could produce a seductive scent just from her skin, so they had to keep her under wraps. Interesting.
The druid meanwhile was a different case. He had vines and leaves growing out of his orifices and Escalor said druids were excellent healers. Useless for me.
"Demons were part of the demihumans, right?"
"That is correct, my lord."
"Thought I told you to call me Sean?"
"Lord Sean."
"Better than nothing." I yawned as I stared at the slaves.
Beautiful woman. Ghouls, demihumans, and of course dwarves. But sadly, no elf.
Elves weren't considered high commodity, I guess. Which was good, cause I didn't see them as commodities either but… 'Then again, I'm here to buy slaves.'
"This beastwoman might be a good fit, Lord Sean," Escalor said, pointing at a woman near the far end.
She wore a tank top, black tank top. Flimsy sweatpants; rather short. Tanned body, some scars here, some scars there and a glare.
She was a beastwoman. Probably wolf kind. She had the ears but no tail or other sort of fur…. Her glare intensified when she caught me staring at her bottom.
And yes, all slaves were indeed standing and showing off their bodies so it was only natural I'd... never mind.
Ahem, "So…" Turning around. "Why?"
Because she had a nice body?
She looked twenty-five ish and kind of beautiful but I wasn't looking for a sex slave…. I mean… I didn't have a dick to begin with.
"Rank A beastwoman," Escalor already had a list on his hand. "Ex Merc, Ex Adventurer B rank and Ex Potion master. I think she'd make a wonderful companion."
"Ah, rumors were true," a man approached us. Round, full of luscious skin. Dead skin. He had no face, rather just some bones and muscles. Somewhat of a ghoul. He wasn't a half-ling judging by that demeanor and the fancy suit. "Ares Somersault," The round man offered a bow, waving his cane the whole time.
"Sean Jackson," I said.
Escalor translated.
The man found it a bit strange but didn't bother questioning. "Even from the list of elites present here, she is indeed quite the outlier. Normally, I'd save her as a prize for tomorrow's auction, but these days beastwoman are hardly appealing, particularly ones with muscles like that."
Muscles like that? To me she didn't appear all that muscular; just toned. Did men of this era like women with fat rather than muscle or was this like Asia where the leaner you are, the prettier?
"But she does have skills," Escalor said.
"Indeed," the man, Ares confirmed handing me a card.
Vivia Longshard
Type: Beastwoman (Fox)
Evo: 01
Class: BA
Level: 59
HP: 1200/2811
MP: 09/09
Strength: B
Stamina: B+
Defense: D
Speed: D+
Affinity: Fire.
Skill: Two handed (A), Sword Play (B), Knife wielding (B), Clawing (C), Brew (C), Howl (C), Cook (D), Forage (incomplete), Sprint (Incomplete), Cuddle (incomplete)
Weakness: Fire, Ice, Earth, water, lightning, darkness.
***
Hmm… not bad, and her HP was much higher than even Escalor though she was lower level. Consequently, she didn't have much MP.
The skill set was also quite appealing.
But- but there were more slaves to choose from here. Hence, I looked around. The succubus was looking at me quiet affectionately but her charms weren't working, sadly.
"If you're looking for a seasoned fighter," normal- the beast woman spoke normally. "Choose me."
The beastwoman, despite the situation she was in, stared directly into my eye sockets. There was much vigor in her eyes, much determination but also, rebellion.
"Chances of her rebelling?" I didn't speak. I didn't need to.
"None," Escalor said telepathically. "That collar's got you covered and she'll never be able to disobey your orders unless it morally violates her rights which are the following-" He was reading through a list. "The right for food: You can deprive her for a whole day if you deem her unworthy. The right for treatment: although you can deprive her of it if you lack funds, it is still advised you treat her with kindness. The right for sex: You can have sex with her as long as she says yes. And since slaves cannot disobey a direct order-" He didn't finish. Yeah, but I didn't have a dick. "And last but not least: any order that puts her life in needless danger. Now, this is a lenient clause and more of a suggestion, after all, she is your slave. But telling her to die because you felt like it, would invalidate your claim over her."
There were other clauses too. What was this? Was I buying a slave or a fucking employee?
"What happens when I still order her to do something of this nature."
"The collar comes off and she's free," Escalor said. And yes, he spoke out loud.
'She could just pay me back and demand I let her go.'
"I've made up my mind," I stared at the woman, the woman stared back. "We'll buy you."
Escalor grinned and so did the fat ghoul.
"She's worth a pretty penny but for you my lord, Only 9 Hex." He perhaps caught up with my displeasure. "Six Hex…"
I stared at the man. No, that wasn't quite right. I looked down on him, I looked down so much he almost balled himself in fright. "Are you sure that's as lowest as you can go?"
"O-One Hex…." He squealed. "That's the lowest we can manage my lord…"
He cut the price by basically 90%? Wow.
"Then One hex it is," Escalor shrugged chucking out a coin from his pocket and giving it to the shivering ghoul. I was wrong. It wasn't an undead itself. It was a halfdead… particularly why Escalor didn't bother showring it with praise. "The contract?" he said.
"Right!" The fat halfdead stood up and- "Please excuse me," grabbed my hand and the woman's- he then made us shake hands but with his hands still present. "I hereby renounce my ownership rights exclusively to lord Shwuean Jackusonn!"
And he pronounced my name wrong…
It was a good thing most people didn't call me by my name cause they sure loved butchering it…. Anyway-
Weird patterns appeared and slowly meshed with our hands. Kind of like that time back at the guild. Apparently, the name didn't matter. Just the contract alone was enough.
"With that, you are now the rightful master of this slave, Vivia Longshard."
I felt a faint connection to her. I could vaguely gauge her stats despite not looking at the card directly.
"Let's go," I said, handing the card to its owner, her.
We'd garnered quite the attention here. People were really staring daggers. I didn't catch any malicious pair of eyes but we really were the center of attention. From some of the other slaves too.
"Yes." Escalor led the way. I walked behind him and the slave walked behind us.
"Please come to tomorrow's auction if you should have some free time my lord!" That halfdead gave us a shout as we strode down the stairs.
"We still have two Hex coins left, so if you want something, we can just buy it," Escalor spoke casually.
"You came prepared. And wait, aren't you spending a little too much?"
He shrugged. "This is the least I can do."
Huh? Was he trying to win some points before leaving?
Why?
"How-how should I address you, my lord?" the woman spoke. She didn't sound manly. She didn't sound very womanly either. She was just- normal. She didn't speak with any sort of prejudice; she wasn't teetering with anger or anything of that sort. Kind of blank. Or was she just testing the waters?
"Sean is fine," I said. Escalor translated. But instead, he said- "Always address him as your master. Slaves are not permitted to call their masters by their name, you should know that."
"Forgive me… my master."
It did feel weird. But at the same time- I didn't want to bother with the semantics of this. I didn't want to bother with worrying about every little crap against my morals. Why? Because I didn't have any left. Everything died with me, on that god damn street. I'd only been pretending to-
"I want another one," I said. "Elf. Dark elf."
"Dark elf?" Escalor scratched his head. Some of his skin almost tore off- "That might be troublesome. We might find elves on the first floor but I'm not sure about the dark ones. They're kind of rare and…"
"And?"
"Unwanted."