Chapter 14: Chapter 14 – Siltar

Like in a trance I wobbled after Ofris. It was worse than I had expected. Not only had the guards at the town’s gate had made a fuss about him bringing in a slave, they, too, had appraised me as if I was a piece of jewelry rather than a human being.

Naturally, all of their questions about my origins, my age and price were listened onto by a small number of bystanders that soon gathered around us. Thinking that I wouldn’t understand them, two drunkards even had the time of their life imagining what they would do to me.

The chaos of voices and staring eyes drove me to Ofris’ side, as he was the only one left to protect me. I stood as close to him as I possibly could without making him mad, all of this while my whole body was screaming in fear of what would happen to me in this town.

I was shaking, especially thanks to the images that spread in my head whenever I heard the drunk's vivid descriptions about what they would do to me after buying me. For all I knew, I could very well end up being sold just like that as I had neither a way to prove I was a free person nor had I a way to tell them I was originally a human and male to boot.

“I will only make it worse if I told them the truth ...”

It was only minutes after entering through the gates that Ofris was losing his composure. He obviously did not like being at the center of attention like this, or at least couldn’t handle the snarky comments he received every now and them. By now, he just wanted to get it over with, which he showed me by wordlessly bulling at the rope.

We had almost reached the center of the town, which had a building as large as a church waiting for us. Not only had it dozens of glass windows spread over all of its three stories, but it was also built using mainly light-greyish stones, too, which made it far sturdier when compared to the small wooden houses and huts found near the town walls.

The whole structure was several times bigger than the smaller houses I had seen near the walls. It easily toppled over the inns and houses found nearby. Contrary to them, however, this building had several entrances waiting for people to step in, making it look like some sort of townhall or guild center.

About a dozen men and women clad in armors and robes of various shapes and colors were gathered in front of the large double-door on the left side of the building, awaiting entry or simply idling around. And it was this group of strangers we were currently heading to.

“Don’t tell me ...”

My luck was the worst today. Ofris didn’t even hesitate before leading me to the door, and soon enough countless eyes were focused on me, driving an icy chill down my back.

Most of them were adventurers, but I could also see three merchants and two guards mingling with them, later of which wore an armor made from shiny blue-greyish metal. Save for one of the merchants, all of the men and women gathered here had weapons. The guards not only had long spears but also a sword, later of which could be found on most of the men. There were staffs and a warhammer too, and bows strapped on the back of two younger men.

Despite them being so versatile in appearance and choice of weapon, the group seemed to be entirely made of humans. Sure, some had uncommon hair colors, such as a blackish green or a lively yellow, but their ears weren’t long nor were their builds too tall or too small for them to be humans.

“No dwarfs, no elves, no giants. Does this world have that few demi-humans?”
「It has you, Rika.」
“I can’t be the only one!”
「Don’t worry. I am sure they will like you.」
“I don’t want them to like me...” I couldn’t help but mumble to myself.

A gentle pull forced my attention away from the adventurers and onto the man that had attacked me like this. Ofris was staring at me, exhaustion painted all over his face as he once again pulled on the rope he had led me through the town with.

“I don’t need more attention than we are already getting. Keep it down, will you?”
“Who cares about you getting attention!” I couldn't help but protest.
“Who was hiding behind my back?”
“... it was not like I had a chance.”
“You brought it onto yourself.”
「He is right about that!」 The vixen chipped in.
“I didn’t-”
“Keep it down!”
“...”

A part of me still felt like protesting, but the piercing stares coming from the strangers standing by the entrance were far more than enough to bring me back to reason. After all of the shame-play I had endured today, I was far more willing to listen to the Ofris’ rude demands.

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It didn’t take the men and women long to realize there was a rope looped around my hands, and upon doing so, they eagerly moved aside to let us pass through. Seeing them split like this, I once again felt treated like a dangerous animal that only waited for its chance to bite them should they dare to step closer.

“Why are they so afraid of me?” I heard myself ask.
「An armored man has taken you prisoner, Rika. Maybe they think you stole something or murdered somebody?」
“I would never murder somebody!”

The stares were growing more intense. They had clearly heard what I had said. In their minds, I was probably something like a beast already, one that had to be hunted down and punished.

“Don’t look at me like that!” I protested. “I didn’t do anything!”

Ofris finally grew too impatient. Once again he pulled the leash, this time without the care he had given me earlier. Faced with the sudden attack I stumbled forward, trying to catch up to him, but my legs had grown way too shaky from all the gazes weighing down on me. Before I realized, I had already fallen to the ground, my whole body shaking with fear and my tail grew to twice its usual size.

“There is no helping this one ...”

Before I had realized what he was planning, Ofris had already lifted me up. I found myself with two strong arms supporting my legs and back, and pushed against his chest.

「Princess carry!」 A cheerful voice shouted.
“Pri- princess carry?” I stammered.
「You are blushing! So cute~!」
“No, I’m not!”
A long sigh reached my ears. “Just be silent, will you?” Ofris begged me with his tired voice. “Please just be silent for half a minute ...”
“Did you just roll your eyes?! It is me who wants to roll his eyes!” I began to squirm in his arms. “Let me down! Let me down immediately!”
“I just want this to be over, ok?”
「Rika?」
“What?!”
「They can see it.」
“They can see what!?”

A cold breeze answered my question before the goddess had uttered a single word. Looking at the slightly blushing faces of the men we slowly passed by, it was obvious what she was speaking about. They could see, all of them! Instantly, both of my hands shot towards my legs, grabbed for the dress and pulled it onto my skin.

“Damn it! Damn it all! Who asked for them to be black!?”
「So it’s about the color? I can change that, you know?!」
“You can change? No- no! T- the color of my underwear is not the issue!”
A weak answer came from the man carrying me, one that I had heard way too often today: “It is such a shame.”
“I am not crazy!”

When we finally reached the door and stepped inside the building, the missing sunlight was replaced by four balls of light that slowly hovered through the room. There didn’t seem to be any candles or torches, as I couldn’t find either of them on the tables standing on the left side of the room, nor on the walls or hanging down from the ceiling.

“Magic?!”
「You can use magic too, Rika!」
“I can?”
「Do you really think everybody can use ‘Inspect’ and-」
“Are you trying to sell me basic features as magic!?”
“Nobody is trying to sell you anything, girl.” A third voice answered unquestioned. “Just be silent, ok?!”

Saying that much, Ofris once again began walking. He carried me to the end of a long line, sighed, and began waiting.

Minutes went by without a change. A part of Ofris seemed to enjoy carrying me in his arms like the prince charming some of the girls nearby seemed to believe he was. Although they stared at us intensely, together with the men surrounding them, he did not waste a single thought on asking me whether or not I was able to walk again.

“I need a good drink tonight,” he commented, to no one in particular.

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