Chapter 98 - Our First Day

"You lied to me!"

"What do you mean, I lying?" I asked Ruciel who was looking at me sharply.

She looks scary. Now, if she says she's going to kill me, I'm going to believe her.

And yes, I don't want any problems. Therefore, "I don't understand what you're talking about. Now, let's go to Slaves Trader to settle this slave contract thing."

I turned around and walked away. However, when I had just taken two steps and Ruciel stopped me by grasping my shoulder. 

She turns over my body forcefully.

"Give me the parchments of our slave contract, now!"

As quickly as possible, I pushed Ruciel away and took steps to keep my distance from her. I hugged three rolls of parchment to my chest tightly.

"No thanks," I told her. "You are mine and I will not let anyone change it. Including you."

"Don't joke around, give me all-"

A hand patted Ruciel's shoulder. That stopped her words.

"That's enough, Ruciel," said the man.

Yes… he was Vyorn, one of two people that Ruciel cared for. This guy, who is taller than me is quite muscular. 

Right now, he was wearing regular clothes. Therefore, I can't guess his capabilities. However, I'm sure, this black-haired man who has green eyes is strong.

"Why should I stop? She was the daughter of that bastard. I can't accept the fact that I'm going to be her slave. It's so sickening, right?"

"That's true but calm yourself down, take a deep breath and think about it once again. You know, it's not a bad thing, we're not going to work in mines or to be forced builders. And more than that, we're so close to that man's daughter. We can decide to do something after we observe them."

Shortly after Vyorn finished speaking, Kimi took my left hand and squeezed it strongly. 

I intended to comfort Kimi by taking a walk out of the house but it seemed like my plan had failed. The little girl saw Ruciel and Vyorn that arguing with anxiety.

Not long after, she looked at me and asked, "Why are they so angry at Papa Wielth?"

Honestly, that's a problematic question to answer.

Should I tell Kimi everything I know when I want her to get along with them?

No, I don't think so. But... What kind of answer I should tell Kimi?

I don't know what to say. And when I was confused, a woman stepped up to stand between Ruciel and Vyorn.

"You two, stop!" snapped the woman.

That's right, that woman's name is Salsa.

The golden-haired woman put on a serious expression mixed with annoyance. Her blue eyes that stared at Ruciel and Vyorn were filled with intimidation.

And hey! It works. Ruciel and Vyorn fell silent.

Then, after she make sure that two wouldn't make a fuss anymore, she moved her sexy body to get close to Kimi. 

She crouched down in front of my sister and said, "You don't need to listen to them. Those two guys are stupid. Your father was a good father. He just got the same misfortune as us. You have to be strong and don't cry, okay?"

My sister nodded and wiped away the tears at the end of her eyes. "Thank you," she said with a thin smile.

So, after all that drama, we left the knight's headquarters and visited Slaves Trader Red Tail.

And of course, I didn't bring Kimi into this store. I don't want her to know about the things we talked about in this place. Therefore, I told the little girl to wait at a restaurant and I asked Salsa to accompany her.

We will do rotation when Salsa's turn arrives.

"Welcome miss," greeted a receptionist with a smile. "Can I help you?"

"Yes," I replied and began to tell her what I wanted.

The receptionist nodded and then began to process my request. She prepared three new contracts to bind us. 

Then, as the contract was almost complete, the receptionist spoke. "May I borrow your Personal Seal, miss?"

"Oh! Sorry, I haven't made a Personal Seal yet."

"Hmm... What about the Personal Seal you've used to buy your freedom? Are you carrying it now? We can use the seal."

"I brought it." I took the jerk's Personal Seal from the bag and gave it to the receptionist.

And I don't know why Ruciel and Vyorn who were silent gave me probing gazes.

Are they really planning to kill me? I asked in my heart.

Then, with a little bit of fear, I waited for the Slave Contract to be completed.

Ruciel, Salsa, and Vyorn become Criminal Slaves. That means they can't buy their freedom within a certain period. In their case, those three would continue to be Slaves for twenty years.

They received lighter verdicts than other suspects because they did not commit murder when they took part in the eastern settlement raid.

As for the other suspects, some of them get forty years of punishment, lifelong detention, and even the death penalty. They get severe punishment because, from the beginning, they are criminals.

And now, when all the business about the Slave Contract is over, we're tracing a sidewalk in this vast city.

The place we want to go to, or I want to visit is Skyport. A place where dozens of Flying Ships are anchored. 

It's time for me to see a Flying Ship up close. 

"You bought us. Tell me, what are your plans for us?" Ruciel asked, she broke the silence that enveloped us.

"Hmm..." I made a strange noise and started thinking. After a minute or two, I said. "I don't have any plans. I've saved... Buying you? Well... I don't know the exact expression for this but, I've done what I want to do. That's more than enough for me."

"Are you serious about that?"

"Yup!" I nodded. 

On the other hand, Ruciel continued to look at me without saying a word. I could see doubt or disbelief emanating from her eyes.

"Why don't you believe?" I started. "If you continue to have feelings like that, how about you give me some ideas about what I should do?"

"..."

I waited, I didn't get an answer. Ruciel didn't say anything and I shrugged.

"Where are we going?" Ruciel chose to change the topic of our conversation.

I nodded and accepted it. "I want to visit Skyport."

"Why?"

"Because I'm planning to leave this city."

Kimi stopped abruptly after hearing what I said. In a slightly loud voice, she said, "We're leaving? Why? Papa just died and we're leaving this town? How could big sis make a decision like this? Does big sis not care for papa? Why doesn't big sis care!? Uwaa..."

The little girl started crying, I became panicked. I approached her and in a hurry, I tried to calm her down.

"No, it's not that I don't care for papa or anything."

"Then, why? Big sis didn't look sad at all when Papa Wielth passed away."

"Because I'm already been prepared. Papa is an adventurer, he can die at any time." I started and I hugged Kimi.

I haven't had time to proceed with my words and the little girl bite my shoulder. I felt pain, I held it. 

I took a deep breath and said, "I prepared my heart for papa's death long before any of this happened. And because of this episode, I remember Mama Haruka. So, I plan to visit our mother's grave. I want to tell her about what happened to papa."

"..."

"Do you want to visit Mama Haruka?"

The little girl nodded, she calmed down, and she kept hugging me without having any intention to let go of me. She doesn't want to move. In the end, I carried the little girl on my back.

Due to this episode, our trip to Skyport was canceled. I decided to go home. And in the middle of our way back, I did not forget to buy the daily needs for ruciel and the others.

We visited a few stores to buy clothes, cutlery, extra blankets, and so on...

My sister? She fell asleep on my back.

"Do any of you have knowledge about Flying Ship?" I asked a question when we bought groceries for dinner.

"I know a few things," Vyorn replied.

As for Ruciel and Salsa, they showed no signs of interest.

"Then please tell me the things you know."

"That's going to be a long story." He said. "It's good to ask about a few things instead of having to listen to them all."

"Hmm... Then, do you know the place where Flying Ships are sold and the price range of a Flying Ship?"

Vyorn nodded. "We can buy a small Flying Ship for about four hundred large gold coins in Craftsman City, Cadebre. A city with a distance of seven days by boarding Flying Ship from this city."

"Cadebre..."

Another name of the city I don't know. And four hundred large coins. That is cheap for a smal Flying Ship. In AFO, a player needs six to seven hundred large coins to buy a small Flying Ship.

"Are you planning to buy a Flying Ship?"

"Yes, but I still needed two hundred large gold coins before I could buy a Flying Ship."

I explained to Vyorn. And... "Why did all of you look at me with that gaze?"

I can't help to ask because three of them look at me without saying anything, again.