CH 46

Chapter 46 – Finding the Slave Trader 

Kazam!

White streaks of light swarmed from Arje’s hands.

“Please forgive me!”

No matter how much the frightened men begged, Arje shot out light in silence, and burnt the ones caught in the fire. As cold as expected from the empress of the Empire.

“Please let us go!”

“Do you know who I am? I am …ahhhh!”

Not even the participants of the auction were an exception. Of course, to have taken part in the auction, they must be significant individuals, and killing them would not be something Arje could do without consequences. Instead, she used the light to blind them.

“How pathetic! To be trading slaves at such a place! Be ashamed of yourselves!”

I could not tell her expression as she wore a mask, I could tell that she was angry from her voice. Well, at least compared to her, I was pretty forgiving.

“Who gave that rabbit a sword?”

“She was already wearing one!”

“What? Why didn’t you take it off?”

“It was under a spell, so I couldn’t!”

I easily defeated the attackers with my rapier and dagger, frightening the mobs of the slave trade, but it would be better than bruning to death. This way of killing them was a more honorable death than what these criminals deserved.

“I should have taken that bunny to Pucci!”

I heard someone’s remorse at that instant. Probably, he should have sent me to Pucci, but he was planning to sell me off on his own. Since Arje was not someone that Pucci sent, he was probably right. Still, Arje was a critical miscalculation.

“Aris, are you all right?”

Unlike the voice that called them trash earlier, Arje looked over me in a soft and friendly voice. Was Arje bipolar?

“Yes. I’m fine. It wasn’t too bad.”

Although it was a bit embarrassing to say this, I think I had gotten special treatment. So, unlike the other women, I was in such a room. Although I wasn’t happy.

“Aris. Then let’s find the guy in charge of this auction. Before he runs.”

Although the situation was clear, Arje seemed to be ready to kill whoever opened up the auction as if her revenge was not yet over.

“Yes. I must find that guy.”

Also, to find out more about Pucci, we needed to find the guy in charge.”

“Hey you.”

I poked the rapier closer to the guy who was shaking from earlier.

“Take me to your boss.”

So we walked along a hall, after getting out of the mess as he led us.

“Why are you going in so deep? If you are tricking us, I won’t let you live.”

Still, we could tell that this guy was not lying. 

“Aris! Watch out!”

I knew that I heard something weird underneath, and there were giant vines that were trying to snatch our legs.

“Eek.”

I hopped to escape, and Arje was surrounded in a bright layer of light as the vines that wrapped her burned away.

“Ahhhh! Help! Nooooo!”

The man who had no reflex motor skills nor magic to protect him was surrounded by vines and was eaten up into the ground.

“Isn’t that a little too harsh for someone on the same side?”

Whoever killed that guy, it was for sure magic by a sorcerer. This also meant that they would definitely not be nice to us.

“I don’t need traitors. And you shall not pass here.”

There was a man in a distressed robe and a man wearing expensive armor by him. If they were not here to play, they must be protecting something important, which should be where the person for whom we are looking is located.

“Aris, I will get the sorcerer.”

Arje pointed to the hobo-looking man.

“You will get me? How brave. Still, I like brave women like you.”

The man called upon a cane that was extravagant compared to his state and held it in his hands.

“It’s more fun when I catch them in the end.”

The magician laughed in a freaky style. Normally, people would get frightened or grossed out, but Arje’s expression underneath the mask must be neutral.

“Okay. I will get that beefy one.”

I slightly warmed up, then turned to the side. Rapier to the front and dagger next to my ears…or where my ears would have been if I were human.

“I guess we can skip the intro?”

The man who was wearing fancy armor for a criminal slave trader smirked at my comment.

“You must be cocky because you have a sorcerer friend, but my sorcerer isn’t so easy.”

The man in front of me was holding a giant mace that I wouldn’t even be able to lift with two hands in one hand. The mace alone was my size, so he probably assumed that I was the weaker one of the group.

“You are all wrong. The sorceress on my side is no easy opponent, and I trust my sword.”

Arje glanced at my side as she was fighting the sorcerer. She must have been disappointed. 

“Of course, I trust you too, Arje.”

Then Arje focused on the sorcerer again after I said this.

“Is that so? Then how about this? I don’t know why you are siding with a sorceress that Pucci sent over, but it will be better to side with us. Since we treat our team more humanely.”

Arje seemed to be ready to rant over his comment on her being on Pucci’s side, but she had to focus on the vines that were coming towards her face.

“You miss, lack serious attention span. Why do you keep looking that way when you should have all your attention on this?”

The other sorcerer made a creepy smile.

“No? I will kill you and Pucci. Don’t worry.”

Then, the man with the mace shrugged his shoulders.”

“I don’t know what deal you made with that sorceress, but I have no choice. You will be worth less if you have scratches, but broken things should be fixed.”

The man approached me swinging the mace.

“Hiyat!”

The man striked his mace with force.

Thud!

With a sound, he swung the mace almost to the point where the floor would crack. If I hadn’t dodge, I would have lost my shape.

“Bunny. Do you think that you can run away from me?”

The man started to laugh, thinking that I was buying time by dodging around.

“What do you mean running? I will end it here.”

I used the dagger in my right hand to strike the mace.

Tang!

The sound of two metals clashing was heard.

“I don’t know what you are thinking, but…”

But he could not finish his sentence.

“Hmm?”

The head of the mace and the wooden handle fell apart. As he was wondering what had just happened, he had let his guard down, and this will be his biggest mistake.

Stab!

A standard rapier would not be able to pierce the armor that he was wearing. But my rapier melted down his armor with heat, and directly stabbed the heart and came back out.

Thud!

The man fell down, not even able to let out a scream. Even if he were to be alive, he would have died quickly from the heat damage in his intestines.

Now, it was time to watch Arje’s side.

“Who are you? Why is a sorceress at your level working with Pucci?”

Unlike the composure from earlier, the sad magician clenched his teeth as he barely dodge Arje’s attacks.

“I am not a servant of Pucci!”

Arje stretched her arms out further, furious at his comment, and 

“Ahhhhh!”

The vines that were blocking Arje’s attacks burned along with the magician.

“Wheww. Why is he keep tying me to that Pucci guy.”

Arje shuffled her hair and murmured to herself in an annoyed manner.

“Arje, I’m done on this side, too.”

When I approached, Arje looked back towards me and ran over to give a hug.

“I was worried!”

….If she is on your side, she is really nice. If I had kept a man’s body, friendship would have developed into something deeper into love for her.

“No need. You don’t ever need to worry about a swordsman like me.”

“You still can talk.”

When I spoke confidently, Arje smirked, got off, then walked forward.

“Let’s go. Before he escapes.”

After a short walk, a door appeared. It must be the right door, since it was written ‘forbidden to outsiders: room of the chapter head.’

“But how did you know that I would be here?”

I asked Arje, who was about to open the door without even knocking. This was a question that I was holding back. How did she know that I would be at this auction?

“Someone helped me.”

“Who?”

“It was a pink-haired bartender who was bartending at the old man’s bar.”

“Pink hair?”

But I did not have to ask how the pink-haired bartender appeared.

“Good work, everyone.”

Because the pink hair who I know and the one Arje had seen already was welcoming us, and the slave trader was already dead on the chair when we entered.