CH 14

November 15, 2022

After breakfast, Stella prepared for her second trip to the slave market in the Central District. She was planning to leave Marie in charge of the store and take Rye with her, but . . .

“The slave market? Why would you go there? I’m not going. I hate that place.”

. . . she refused to go.

“I want to buy someone to guard the store,” said Stella. “And I’d like you to come with. Without a second opinion, I’d just buy another interesting-looking human on impulse.”

“. . . Stop talking about buying people like it’s nothing. People are not cattle. You do understand that, right?” Rye didn’t attempt to hide her grimace.

Stella considered what Rye said. I suppose that’s one way to look at it. “Let me correct myself, then. I want to buy some furniture that understands human language. And I want a second opinion, so—”

“That’s even worse! It’s the notion of buying people that I can’t accept. Ugh, just thinking about it is making my skin crawl!” Rye punched the table.

She had a very strong sense of justice by this town’s—no, this world’s standards. Still, her indignation never went beyond indignation, and the slaves remained slaves. If she can’t accept it, she should do something about it, thought Stella. Though her attempts probably wouldn’t lead anywhere.

“Oh, really. Is that because of your own experience being sold as a slave?”

“Well, that too, but . . . Anyway, I’m not going. I’m not setting foot in that rotten place ever again!”

Before Stella could answer, Rye dashed out into the store. This behavior of hers was unreasonable, but children are unreasonable creatures. Stella dare not try to fix her, though, for fear of destroying the very liveliness which made her so interesting. And as Mace’s book of sayings had taught her, “sometimes you just have to give up.” It was more a book of overgeneralized statements, but Stella liked some of them, like “two birds with one stone.”

“Please don’t think too badly of her, Miss Stella. She doesn’t mean you ill.” Marie hesitated for a few moments, then lowered her head. “It’s just that . . . that place was truly horrible.”

“No need to apologize for her, I didn’t take offense. Rye is fine the way she is.”

Clever started flying around Stella as if to tease her, sending red feathers flying everywhere. It was a massive nuisance. ‘Keke! ’Aving a fight with yer friend, eh, Master?’

“What’s so amusing about it?”

‘Does it make ya sad, eh? Are ya sad?’

Clever leaned closer, his face inches from Stella’s. She grabbed his neck and flung him at the closest wall, making him shriek like a strangled chicken.

“Anyway, I have to visit that place again. And if Rye isn’t coming, I suppose I’ll make do with Bonehead and Cheekyfeathers here.”

‘It’—Clever coughed, trying to catch his breath—‘It’s Clever, eh! ’Ow could you forget my name, Master?!’

“Bonehead? Who, me?!” Beck’s voice cracked in disbelief as he looked up at her from his plate. Apparently, he had come back from cleaning the canal with an appetite.

“You don’t even pull your own weight, yet you eat the most out of all of us. But I expected nothing less from you.”

In response, Beck started choking on his food. Clever chirped cheerfully.

At least he was good as a shield (one use only), though that was clearly not worth the cost of keeping him around. The mere thought irritated her, and the irritation grew stronger the longer she turned it in her mind. Why do I even bother keeping him? For all of three seconds, she considered disposing of the man. No. Give it some more time. He may be useless, but he was her prized first possession. I should care about that, she thought. Like a human would.

“Get ready,” she said. “We’re leaving.”

“Y-Yes, ma’am! Just a moment!”

Beck started wolfing down the rest of his meal. There was rice flying everywhere. What a mess. “Oh my,” said Marie as she set to cleaning the floor around him. And thus, here, on this fateful moment, a miniature model of society manifested itself before Stella, with the working class once again bearing the dead weight of freeloaders.

Looking at them, Stella realized something shocking.

“Why am I waiting for you? This is nonsense. I can’t believe I’ve just wasted three minutes and three seconds of my life standing here.”

Stella donned her pointy hat and rushed out of the store. A stupid voice called her to wait; she paid it no mind.

After joining up with Beck, who’d come running after her in a panic, Stella headed toward the slave market. Her legs were short, and Beck had to walk slowly to keep at her pace. For some reason, he had a creepy grin on his face, suggesting that he’d already forgotten his mess-up. Praying that his answer would be worth her time, Stella asked, “Why are you in such a good mood? Was it the punishment I gave you yesterday?”

“What? No! I was really out of line yesterday, ma’am. I’m sorry!”

“I’ve heard enough of your apologies. I want to know why you’re so cheery.”

He chuckled. “Well, at first I didn’t take well to being treated like trash, but I’ve come to realize that that’s not all bad. I mean, now the company men actually greet me when they see me. Makes me want to serve you twice as hard, ma’am!”

One day. It had been a quick recovery. Maybe he’s just thick-skinned. That might be simply his personality, but Stella’s bile kept rising all the same. “Good for you.”

“It’s all thanks to you, ma’am. I mean, Mr. Mace’s our third-in-command, no less, and there’s word on the street about the little witch under his personal protection. If they’re talking about you, then naturally they’ll be talking about me, your first minion. How lucky is that, huh?”

You may be my first minion, thought Stella, but you’ve also proved to be the most incompetent. “Hmm.” Stella stopped, looked up at Beck, and beckoned him closer with a hand. “Beck, show me your face. Come on, don’t be afraid.”

He was initially startled, but his face soon broke into a grin. “W-What, you gonna reward me with a kiss? I don’t know, there’s so many people here . . .”

Stooping, Beck brought his stupid slack grin into Stella’s range. No sooner had he done that than she reached into an inner pocket, produced her Magic Crystal, and bashed it against his defenseless cheek with all the force of her scrawny arms. She was not worried it would break; this crystal could not be destroyed by physical means. The hit connected with a satisfying crack.

Screaming and with his nose bleeding, Beck lost his balance and fell to hands and knees. Stella didn’t miss the chance to plant a foot in his rear. The kick was not powerful by any means, but it had enough momentum to send the man face first into the ground.

He groaned.

‘Nicely done, eh, Master!’

“That”—Stella stopped to gasp for air—“That was reckless of me. I should have saved my strength.”

‘But ya blew off some steam, eh? It’s the law of equal exchange!’

She wasn’t sure about that, but decided to take his word for it.

“Why is it so irritating when useless slobs like him get full of themselves? I didn’t mean to resort to violence, but my emotions got the better of me.”

‘Keke! Methinks tha’s perfectly normal for a ’uman, eh? If ya ask me, you weren’t violent enough!’

“You think so? Then I suppose it’s finally time to crush his precious treasures. There’s no point in him leaving any offspring.”

Just for practice, Stella raised her foot and drove it into the ground. It didn’t make as much noise as she’d expected. I’m too light, but this should be enough to turn them into mush.

“P-Please, I beg you!” said Beck. “I’m sorry! This won’t be repeated! I won’t get carried away again, I swear! Please, anything but that!”

“Quiet. Clever told me everything. It wasn’t just that night. You were out some other night, blowing your allowance, having some fun. You even had a harem, and you were telling them all about how ‘that store owes everything to you.’ I have to give it to you—you’re bolder than I thought.” Stella was tempted to ask what exactly the store owed to him, but she knew she would regret the answer.

“I’m really sorry, I-I swear!”

“How many times have you apologized to me so far? Tell me.”

“. . . What?”

“How many times have you apologized to me so far? If all those apologies were sincere, you should remember.”

“Uh . . . Uhm . . .”

Beads of cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He didn’t remember; of course he didn’t. Every time he’d apologized, it had been to avoid punishment and nothing more.

Stella couldn’t help laughing. “You apologize, then immediately forget what you apologized for and repeat the same mistake.”

“N-Not this time! I’ll remember this time!” he said, prostrating himself before her.

I thought I’d weeded the fight out of him, but it looks like he’s still prone to getting carried away. Humans didn’t change so easily, then; it was a good lesson to learn. For the first time, Stella was grateful for having Beck. She had a feeling that he had many more things to teach her from here on out. Unfortunately, each lesson would cost a bout of headaches.

People started staring. It was the natural response to seeing such an obvious criminal type on hands and knees begging forgiveness from a child. Stella sighed. “On your feet,” she commanded. “I see you need a good whack on the head from time to time, so you don’t forget yourself. It’s not something I’d like to waste time on, but I won’t shirk my responsibilities as your master.”

‘Keke! ’E’s the nail and yer the ’ammer, eh! Except nails are actually useful!’

“Still, he’s my property and my responsibility. I’ll do my best to suffer his presence just a while longer.”

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry! It’s not me, it’s the drink, it’s always been like that when I drink, I . . .”

It was not just the drink. He had tasted recognition, and it had felt good; so he’d pushed his luck for more. And when Stella had chided him for it, he immediately started blaming outside factors. In his head, he must be just another victim of this cruel, unforgiving world.

And why did she know that? Because her father had been the same. Glenn was no thug, but he’d raised his hand to Stella many, many times. And to her mother, whenever she’d tried to stop him. She could remember it clear as day.

“Let’s go,” she said. “We’ve wasted enough time here.”

She resumed walking, Beck scurrying at her heels. After a few paces he decided that it was a good idea to talk. “I’m quick to forget myself. Always been. All my life I just did whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, without thinking or looking back. And since I was confident in my strength, I decided to make it a living. Didn’t get very far, though.”

“Fascinating. Do tell me more.”

“So in between all the drinking and gambling, I suddenly found myself with nothing to eat, nowhere to sleep . . .”

“So you and others like you gathered together to pick on the weak, blackmail them, and steal from them. I wonder, did you also kill for money?”

He hesitated. “This place—no, not just this place—this is just how it is in this world. The strong exploit the weak, and they leave nothing, not even the marrow in the bones. We who joined the Company, we wanted to be on the winning side. We never thought long-term. Having fun today, that was all that mattered.”

“I see. Nature’s law of survival of the fittest—it’s a wonderful thing. Now I think I have an idea of what goes on in your heads and why you do what you do. I’m glad.”

Beck wiped the blood off his nose. It seemed that the story was over. Stella had nothing to say to him, no words of sympathy nor criticism. Their current relationship was a straightforward one—she was his master, and he her property. Her role was to whip him back into shape whenever he served her poorly. And that she would do, every time, without fail.

He was the only Beck she needed, though. These people had a knack for getting full of themselves when in large groups, as the recent drinking party incident had served to prove. Stella couldn’t risk having her other things damaged, so she decided that no more sub-Becks would be tolerated in her company—thus marking the institution of a wholly new Beck bar.

‘C’mon, Master, turn that frown upside down, eh? A smile would suit ya better!’

“You think so? Then how about this?” She raised the corner of her mouth an inch.

Clever covered his face with his wings. Beck shrieked.

‘That face does not go well with yer paleness and yer witch outfit, eh, I’ll tell ya that much! Thought you were cursing me dead, I did!’

“That’s not very nice of you to say.” She paused for a moment. “Was it that bad . . . ?”

‘If I ’ad to give an example, you were like one o’ them cursed dolls, consumed by a burning ’atred for everything living. The air around ya practically turned dark, eh! Gave me goosebumps, it did, even though I’m no goose!’

He spread his wings and looked at her smugly, almost as if he was expecting a compliment.

“I don’t know why,” said Stella, “but I feel like punching something.”

‘Why not that useless nail right there, eh? You’ll feel all better, you will. I’ll bring the ’ammer and the scissors so you can cut ’is balls off while yer at it, eh!’

“No, please!” Beck protested. “Not the balls!”

‘It’s just Beck, eh, there’s a million of ’im out there! C’mon, it’ll be easy, eh! One little snip, is all it takes!’

It didn’t look like Clever would rethink his opinion of Beck any time soon. Still, Stella shook her head. “Not yet. If he’s mine, to do with as I see fit, then I’ll let him live and see how much he grows as a person until the day he dies. His life will be a touchstone for comparing the relative value of other people like him.”

If truth be told, it felt like watering a desert and expecting something to grow. As long as she kept him fed, though, Stella need not concern herself with him, which meant that she had no reason to dispose of him just now. And while he might do something stupid and cause her even more problems, she was ready to take that risk.

‘ ’Ow lenient can ya get, eh?’

“Thank you! Thank you so much! I’ll do my best, I swear! You’ll see!”

“Words are wind. I want actions. The way you’re saying it, it sounds like you haven’t been doing your best before. Do you understand what I’m saying, Beck?”

“Y-Yes, ma’am!”

The next time he fails me so miserably, thought Stella, I’ll deny his very existence. This was how she was going to discipline him from now on. Give him the whip every time, and he might actually enjoy it. The man’s fetishes were nothing if not annoying. Looking at him now, his previous excitement had given place to unconditional obedience; he was like a puppy.

“You have sad, sad tastes,” said Stella.

‘And whose fault is that, eh? By the way, you mentioned “growth”—you really think ’e can grow, eh?’

“Who knows. Either way, he’s a valuable specimen to keep around. I can learn from him.”

‘You’ve relaxed a little lately, eh?’

“You think so?” she asked, feigning ignorance. I’m keeping him around to understand how churls like him think, nothing more. Since his sort comprised such a huge chunk of the population of this town, she had to understand him better. Besides, in case she needed it, he was the best meat shield around.

Where his potential for growth was concerned, however . . . it was about as promising as the prospect of world peace.