Chapter 14. I Had a Line for Every Situation, Until I Didn’t

Chapter 14: 14. I Had a Line for Every Situation, Until I Didn’t

I didn’t say anything hearing that answer from Elsbeth... I couldn’t, because my brain had hit a wall.

And now that I realize something... in a fantasy world, merchandise... or should I call slaves normal things? And it’s always those humans with extra features who become the slaves.

"Not every clan... lives the same way," Elsbeth went on, lowering her voice as we shuffled forward in the line. "Some clans have treaties with the human kingdoms..."

"Their people can trade, join guilds, and live in towns as long as they follow the local law... Others, like mine, keep to their own territory, and it’s also because we have long memories."

"There were massacres... such as land grabs... and also wars over magic springs and hunting grounds." Elsbeth exhaled hard. "A lot of the old clans... do not trust anyone with a human face."

"And what about the ones in chains...? It sounded wrong to be called merchandise if they’re acting like slaves to these humans."

"They were hunted." She said it slowly, as if every word cost her something. "Their ears, their tails, their blood, and their magic are all valuable..."

"Some poachers kill them for alchemy ingredients and even bounties... but the others catch them alive and sell them in places where nobody asks questions." Elsbeth crossed her arms. "They’re worth tons of money to a human, and for me... that’s the sickest thing a human could do."

"W-what...? Isn’t that... illegal?" I tried to calm myself down, but I could hear my heartbeat keep beating really fast. "There’s no way that these kinds of things are legal everywhere!"

"In some kingdoms, yes... but sadly, in border towns, it depends on how much tax the merchants pay and how convincing their papers look." She let out a short, bitter laugh. "Some lords officially ban it... and then look the other way for a share of the profits."

I stared at the line of chained women... It was strange, because I’d spent half my life dreaming about this place.

I’d imagined it as a paradise with fluffy ears and tails and adorable, warm-hearted catgirls who wanted to be my best friends. But I forgot about the most important thing... in my previous life there were humans that could be called racists because of differences like race and stuff...

And shit... it had never once occurred to me that the thing I loved about them—the exact thing—would be the reason someone wanted to put a chain around their necks. This is the dark side of it, and some fucking bastards saw slaves as something good for their own.

I can’t tolerate this kind of shit...

I felt sick... and I can go insane.

I’m not trying to be dramatic here, but it’s the truth... those beastwomen have free will, and they’re not supposed to be used as... slaves.

"S-so... these fucking... dickheads hunt them because of what they are, huh...?" I said.

"Some hunt them for money, like I said before, but there are some others who hunt them just for power."

"And some simply believe that a beastwoman’s life is worth less than their own." She turned and looked at me directly. "It does not mean that all humans are cruel, Leon... I realize that fact right about now."

"And I know that... there are many humans who shelter and protect us... and there are beastwomen who commit terrible violence of their own."

"But when the strong decide that the weak have a price... the weak have very few ways to refuse."

We shuffled another few steps forward, and I watched the last woman in the chain stumble. A guard yanked her upright by the collar without even looking at her.

Fuck... fuck... fuck...! I can’t just stand like a fucking dumbass watching this.

I have to do something.

"The world does not become cruel just because monsters exist," Elsbeth said quietly. "Sometimes... the monsters wear human faces."

I didn’t have a joke for that. I didn’t have anything at all, and I think that was the first time since I’d died that I felt like a different person...

And what she just said about ’monsters wearing human faces. ’ There are tons of humans like that in my previous life... mostly the fucking government, and I fucking know these types of shitholes exist here as well.

Getting into Frosthaven was easier than I expected... mostly because the guard at the gate took one look at Elsbeth, saw the size of her sword, and decided that he was suddenly acting very busy checking someone else’s cart.

What a fuckin’ pussy.

...

Inside the walls, the town opened up into a maze of narrow and crowded streets, with timber houses leaning over cobblestones and smoke curling from a hundred chimneys. It smelled like wet wool, roasting meat, and horse shit... and I honestly loved it.

Elsbeth led me through the market district toward a district of big warehouses near the north wall, because apparently... she needed to find a messenger house that could send word to her clan.

I followed her, trying not to gawk at every stall. There was a man selling glowing mushrooms in jars.

There was also a woman with a tray of little clockwork birds that hopped around and chirped. And there was a stall with a sign that said Monster Parts, Cheap and a pile of horns, claws, and what I really hoped was not a human thumb.

God... that’ll be awful.

It was around then that I saw the cage. And here I thought that I could catch a break for my mind, but it just keeps getting worse.

The cage sat behind a covered wagon at the edge of a small yard, a big iron-barred box on wheels with a canvas roof stretched over the top.

I can see a fat man... always this kind... in a fur-trimmed coat was leaning against it, picking his teeth with a splinter and watching passersby like a fisherman looking at a river.

I don’t want to see this, but it’s already too late... there are several beastwomen sitting in the cage, some curled up against the bars and some staring at nothing at all.

I slowed down without meaning to... Then I stopped completely, because I’d seen her.

And I don’t know why, but... my whole body felt like it was about to combust, but I tried as strongly as I could to control it.

She was sitting in the back corner of the cage, with her knees pulled up and her arms wrapped around them. She looked to be in her early twenties, with short, soft white hair that curled a little at the ends and a pair of long white rabbit ears that drooped sadly on either side of her head.

And I also can see the small, round tail, like a cotton ball, peeking out from behind her. She wore a faded gray dress that had been patched so many times that it looked like a quilt... and around her left wrist was a thick metal band engraved with strange, glowing runes.

Her eyes were a pale, reddish pink, and they were looking at me.

I opened my mouth to say something, and... nothing came out.

"Tch..." I clenched my fists.

That doesn’t happen to me... I should explain that.

In my old life... I could talk to anyone. I’d flirted with nuns, with girlfriends’ mothers, and once with a police officer who was in the middle of arresting me.

I had a line for every situation and a smile for every face. But as I stood there looking at that woman in the cage, my brain simply blanked out like a screen that had lost its signal.

There was nothing funny to say... and no clever opener that didn’t feel disgusting.

And to make things even worse... She noticed me staring. Her ears snapped back against her head, and she scooted away from the bars until she was pressed against the far wall, with her face hidden behind her knees.

’Nice job, genius,’ I thought. ’You just scared the shit out of her.’

"Hey," I said quietly, taking a half step closer. "I’m not going to hurt you... promise."

She didn’t answer. Her shoulders were shaking, just slightly... I tried a smile, and then I realized how pointless that was.

A stranger’s smile probably meant nothing to someone who had been lied to so many times.

"You look... different," Elsbeth said from beside me.

I jumped. "Gahhh!"

I’d forgotten that she was there. "Different...? Like how...?"

"You have been staring at that woman for nearly a minute without saying anything stupid."

"I’m capable of being quiet... at this kind of serious situation."

"Huh... This is the first evidence I have seen."

I didn’t answer, because I was still looking at the cage, and I didn’t want to joke about it... Elsbeth gave me a long, strange look, but she didn’t push it.

For once, I was grateful.

The man in the fur coat noticed me hovering and strolled over with a big, greasy smile on his face. He was a round, red-cheeked guy with a ring on every finger and the kind of confident, oily charm that I recognized... because it was the same kind I used to have.

"Ohooo~ Hello there, my friend," he said. "That’s a fineeeee eye you got there..."

The man clapped. "You’ve got good taste indeed, and that one’s the pick of the lot."

"What the hell is she doing in a cage?" I asked.

He blinked. "Pardon...?"

"The woman... Why is she locked up behind those cages?"

His smile didn’t waver, but something behind it hardened. "She’s a stock, my friend~!"

"A Bunnykin... caught in the eastern woods last spring!" He starts rubbing his fat ass. "I bought her fair and square from a hunting party, and I’ve got papers to prove it~!"

"Perfectly legitimate business right here, am I right? Gehahaha~!"

"S-stock...?" I repeated.

"Good one, too~! Quiet, obedient, and no trouble at all! And a rare breed, so the price is a bit higher than the usual."