Chapter 15. Hypothetically, Is There a Way to Free Her? (Just Asking)

Chapter 15: 15. Hypothetically, Is There a Way to Free Her? (Just Asking)

Elsbeth stepped up beside me, and I noticed she was looking at the band around the rabbit woman’s wrist. And then I saw that her ears had gone flat again.

"That is a mana-suppression collar," she said, very coldly.

"It’s a precaution," the merchant said, waving a hand. "Perfectly standard."

"It suppresses her power, and it causes pain when she disobeys..."

"Only when necessary, but that’s the only way that keeps her calm at any time."

I looked at the woman in the cage and then at the man in front of me. "Has she ever hurt anybody...?"

"Eh. I fail to see how that matters."

"Humor me."

He shrugged. "It doesn’t affect her market value either way, so it’s not a big deal."

I took a slow breath and counted to five in my head, because it was that or... break his jaw in front of forty witnesses.

Behind the merchant, in the corner of the cage, the woman lifted her head slightly. She had overheard us, and her eyes were wide and frightened.

Then she did something that made my stomach drop. She crawled forward on her hands and knees to the bars, pressed her forehead against the iron, and spoke in a tiny, shaking voice.

"I... I’m sorry..." she whispered. "I didn’t mean to... cause any trouble."

"W-what...?" I stared at her. "What are you apologizing for?"

She didn’t answer. She just kept her eyes on the floor.

"You haven’t done anything wrong," I said. "Don’t worry about it..."

Her head came up slowly. She looked at me like I’d said something in a language she didn’t understand, and for a second... I thought I saw something crack open behind her eyes.

It was small and brief, and it vanished almost instantly, but I’d seen it... with my own eyes.

This is just... messed up.

"Please..." she whispered. "Please don’t argue with him..."

"He gets angry, and I... don’t want you to get hurt."

I had never been so furious in my life hearing those words. I fucking know it... but I don’t want to fucking explain it.

I’d been angry before, plenty of times, but it had always been about stupid things, like a rude waiter or a bad parking spot... But this... this was something else, something with weight and heat.

She was in a cage, with a magical shackle on her wrist, and the only thing she was worried about was a stranger’s safety.

"What’s your name...?" I asked softly.

She hesitated. "Millie."

"Cute name, you can call me Leon... And I promise that I’m going to figure something out, Millie."

She flinched, as if I’d made a promise, and she knew exactly how much those were worth.

I’m not sure what made me do it... I think I just wanted to understand how that thing on her wrist worked, so I leaned toward the bars to get a closer look at the engraved band.

The second my eyes focused on the runes, the system lit up in the corner of my vision like a siren.

Ding!

[SSS-RANK TARGET DETECTED]

[Target: Millie]

[Species: Bunnykin]

[Gender: Female, Adult]

[Rank: SSS]

[Current Condition: Severely Suppressed]

[Warning: The target’s magical output is restricted by an external device.]

[Hidden Trait: Unknown]

[Potential Threat Level: Unmeasurable]

I actually took a step backward. And I didn’t expect that she was going to be this... dangerous.

But of course... I didn’t see her as a threat or anything, but it still surprises me.

"What?" Elsbeth said sharply.

She had been watching my face. "What is it? What’s wrong...?"

"Millie," I whispered, so the merchant wouldn’t hear. "She’s an... SSS-Rank."

Elsbeth’s eyes went wide, and for the first time since I’d met her, I saw her honestly shocked. "That is... not possible..."

"Bunnykin are not warriors! They rely on speed and luck... and the strongest of them rarely rank above B!"

"I just know that she’s an SSS rank."

"Then you’re probably thinking it wrong..." She stopped herself and frowned deeply, her ears twitching. "No... It would not be wrong, would it...?"

"It hasn’t been so far... and I can predict this sort of... thing."

She looked at Millie again, studying her more carefully than before, and I saw her thoughts moving behind her eyes. "I see now..."

"There is an old legend," she said slowly, "about a branch of Bunnykin who were thought to be extinct..."

"The Lunhare... They were said to be tied to moon magic, to illusions, and to a talent for escaping any trap... even impossible ones."

"But it has been centuries since anyone claimed to have seen one."

"So... she might be one of them?"

"I can’t confirm that... but it might only be a story." She drew me away from the cage by the sleeve, and her voice dropped even lower. "But if the wrong people learn about her true rank, then... she will not simply be sold."

"The kingdoms might fight over her."

I looked over my shoulder. Millie was still pressed against the bars, watching us with those wide, tired eyes, and she had no idea that she was possibly the most valuable person in the entire town.

The merchant probably didn’t know about it either, and thank god then... If this fucking dickhead had known about it... he wouldn’t have been keeping her in a cage by the road like a sack of grain.

But whoever sold her to him might have known, and that meant someone... or maybe somewhere... was looking for her.

My hand tightened into a fist again, and I looked at the band on her wrist.

"Then maybe..." I said quietly, "...someone should make sure they never get the chance."

"You seem genuinely interested in my merchandise," the merchant said, appearing at my elbow again with the smile of a man who smelled money. "I can arrange a fair price, my friend~!"

"And of course~! It’s exclusive for you who keeps staring at her, and so there’s a special rate! Say, three hundred gold?"

I almost choked. I had four copper coins in my pocket and a bag of old buttons.

How the fuck am I supposed to pay that much money?!

"Uhh... Is there a way to free her?" I asked. "Just hypothetically."

He laughed so hard that his belly shook. "Free her? Oh, gehahaha~! That’s a good one, my friend."

"She’s mine, my friend... and keep this in mind that it’s legal!" He said while pointing at my face. "If you want her moved, then that means... it’s a transaction, and you’d better have what I needed... those succulent coins~!"

I pulled out my four coppers, mostly because I couldn’t think of anything else... He looked at them for a second and then at me with the look of someone who’s ready to get a good beating.

"GEHAHAHAHAAA~!" He laughed again, but louder this time.

"Is that a joke?"

"It’s all... I’ve got."

"Then I suggest you go find somewhere else to spend it!"

Elsbeth grabbed my arm.

"Leon," she muttered, "we are in the middle of a crowded city, and there are guards on every corner..."

"If you start a problem here... it will only make things worse for her."

"I know... you don’t have to tell me that."

"Then do not do anything stupid that could’ve killed you instantly!"

"I’m not going to..."

I meant what I said... I had every intention of walking away and figuring out a plan... maybe something clever and something that didn’t involve violence.

I’d been planning to come back that night with a crowbar, or a forged letter, or a very convincing disguise.

Then Millie accidentally knocked over a bowl of water.

It was an accident, a tiny one at that... Her hand slipped while she was reaching for the tin cup sitting beside her, and the bowl tipped over and splashed across the floor of the cage.

It couldn’t have been more than a cup of water... But the merchant’s head snapped around, and the smile left his face like someone had wiped it off with a rag.

"You clumsy... LITTLE BITCH!" he snarled.

He yanked on a thin chain attached to the cage door, and the metal band on Millie’s wrist flared bright red.

She screamed. "GAHHH...!"

It was a thin... broken sound that didn’t last long, because she cut it off by clamping her free hand over her mouth.

But I saw her collapsed onto her knees, shaking all over, with her ears flat and her body curled in on itself, and she started to cry...

Between the sobs... she was whispering the same words over and over.

"I’m sorry...! I’m sorry...! I’m sorry...! I’m sorry...!"

Something in my chest... went very cold and very quiet. The rage that I had managed to control slowly began to surface.

"Stop it now," I said.

The merchant looked at me, and his hand was still on the chain. "Excuse me?"

"I said... stop it. Now!"

"This is none of your business, boy! If you’re not buying, then get your ass out of here!"

Oh... that’s fucking it!

I stepped forward, and two guards in blue tabards materialized out of the crowd and planted themselves in front of me, each with a hand on a sword. They were big men, and they looked like they enjoyed their job.

The merchant smirked. "Ohh... I see how it is."

"You seem to think you’re some kind of hero," he said. "Let me teach you something, boy..."

"In this city... a fucking beastwoman is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for her!"