The horrible man was selling me.
Either that or his torture game ran out of time.
"Dammit! I would like some service!" The horrible man roared.
I gagged and wheezed. He pulled me deeper into a tent by a collar and chain. It was filled with animals and horrible smells. A slave trader's domain as I remember the last one I was in.
"This is one of my best products, good sir." A sleazy voice chimed. "I believe he fits what you are-"
"Hey! I said I need some service, peasant!" The horrible man sneered. He got the attention of a plump man that was dressed nicely. The plump man was showing off a large Wolf Man to someone hidden by the Beastman.
"My, my. Excuse me dear sir, but it seems I have other business to attend to," The plump man gave out a sigh of annoyance. "I shall be right back once I am done."
Huh? I never saw a man hop for a walk, but this plump slave trader did. He came up and gave the horrible man a grin. "How may I help you, sir?... Ah, right, you had a contract, right?... Wait, where is the cat demi-human I sold you?"
"She died," The horrible man snorted, "Hence I came to sell this raccoon Demi-human in her stead."
I froze.
This was the slave trader that the terrible man gotten Rifana from?...
The slave trader that sold my best friend to her death?
Would he be selling me to my death, too?
"Cough!" I hacked out when the horrible man yanked me forward and I fell onto the floor.
I trembled as my chest ached and burnt.
It... Didn't matter anymore.
I failed my parents... No, I failed everyone.
I even caught Rifana's cold.
That would be my end.
Die... Die... Just like everyone kept whispering in my dreams.
Where the villagers blamed me for being a bad kid… Having no right to live as they died.
Not even my name, Raphtalia, was of any worth.
I was to suffer till death finally breaks me free of my mind-numbing nightmares and aching body.
I would never smile again.
I didn't want to... Because... Because I broke the one promise I should have kept no matter what.
"Tch. This goes well against the contract." The plump slave trader snorted, "And she's on the verge of death."
"You will buy her off me?" The horrible man asked in an arrogant tone.
"Yes, but her worth is well under what it used to be. I must take away the lost time from the price. Especially with the chance of her dying before resale-"
"Hm-hum." A cough interrupted the plump slave trader, "How much is her original value? If in normal condition?" A rough sounding voice grumbled out. It was enough to make the plump slave trader and the horrible man jumped.
"A... A golem?" I whispered. I looked up at a giant made of leather and metal. The shadows that came off his armor made him look fierce and a pair of glowing blue eyes to be seen though his helm's half-visor.
Glowing blue eyes that were so cold and lifeless... I truly wondered if some magician used magic to make a living creature out of armor.
"Who are you?" The horrible man snapped at the iron giant. He stood there unfazed and looked at the plump slave trader.
"The price?" He repeated. His voice made him sound sick and rough... Like he had something stuck in his throat or his nose clogged up.
"About ten gold. Now, she might be only worth a single gold piece in such condition." The plump slave trader sighed while looking at me. "I have to give her medicine and hope for the best."
"One gold piece?!" The horrible man snarled, "How can she be worth so little now!"
"Maybe if you took better care of your slaves then their worth would be more." My eyes widen at the golem. "... Are you sure one gold piece. A hundred silver is what she's worth?" The iron golem looked at the plump slave trader.
The horrible man that was my owner was turning red with anger. He looked ready to hurt someone...
Likely me.
I curled into a ball.
I don't want to be whipped! Not anymore!
"Yes."
"Then, I will pay three hundred silver for the girl." The iron golem said and he looked at the horrible man's face... Wait, he's shorter than he looked? He was taller than the nasty man with hate filled eyes and looked like a nobleman… But not a giant with realizing his size to the cages around us.
"You can take it or leave it... Or is your hearing just as short as our temper?"
"You..."
"Please do not fight in my establishment," With a snap of his fingers, scary men with huge muscles appeared near the plump slave trader and us. "I am not afraid to kick out an unruly customer."
"Then please throw this rude child out," The horrible man snarled.
"I am not referring to him, good sir. If I remember correctly, he's the one offering you more than me. You were the one to interrupt my business with him beforehand, no?" The plump man sighed with a shrug as the horrible man glared at him. "And, personally, I am starting to-"
"Fine!" The horrible man snarled at the iron golem. "Four hundred silver."
"Two hundred."
"What?!"
"If you haggle, then I shall haggle back. Would you like it at a hundred fifty or take my offer of three hundred?" The iron golem growled back.
"Fine! Three hundred it is!" The horrible man threw the chain at the iron golem. "You better pay up or you'll find yourself in a collar, you rat!"
"No need to fuss." The iron golem reached into his armor though the neck opening and pulled out a pouch. He tossed it to the horrible man. "Three hundred silver, exact." We all waited as the horrible man counted the coins and put them away. He then snorted back at the golem and stomped off without a word.
"Well, rarely do someone skip the middleman like that." The plump slave trader chimed, "You're already giving me goosebumps. How about I do the processing for cheap? Forty silver?"
"On the condition, you don't make me into a slave... And do you have a bucket," The iron golem asked?
"Yes, right over there near... Wait, what?" I only stared as the iron golem bolted to the bucket and collapsed to his knees and hands. The sounds of wrecking and sloshing made my face heat up.
Was my new owner... Sick? Like me?
"Are you alright, good sir?" The plump slave owner asked. He picked up the chain my owner dropped. "Plus, I would never sell such a good customer as yourself. In fact, I hope you become a regular!"
He must have thought I would run away... There's no way I could considering how everything ached and hurt. I probably trip before reaching the exit.
"Coming from the man who happened to be talking to one of that bird mask guys about making me a slave?" The plump slave trader's face turned a rosy color. My new owner got back on his feet and dusted himself off.
Huh…His voice now sounded... younger?
Not adult… but close? I couldn't tell.
"What do you-Oh!" The plump slave trader put his free hand over his mouth. "My my! Well, if I knew who you were, I would have gotten something more in taste with your tastes in-"
Slam!
I jumped and trembled. The cage near me had several of its bars…
They broke when my owner's hand punched right through it.
If he hit me with such strength... I wouldn't live.
I would snap like a twig and die.
"I didn't do it." He growled out. His eyes had gone from lifeless to scolding hot. So hot that it seemed to turn his eyes into flames.
"I see," The plump slave trader sighed, "However, to think instead of considering that interesting order… I get myself quite a customer. Now, let's make her yours, good sir. You will need to share your information through blood for the curse to register you."
I gulped as the slave trader snapped his fingers. A man in robes appeared with a jar of ink.
"Is it alright if I try something instead of blood?" My new owner sighed. He held his hand over a table with a dish on it.
"What might that-Oh?" My eyes widened. A glowing orange substance came out of the golem's metal gloves and dropped into the dish. It seemed to pulse, as if alive.
When the black ink from the jar hit the liquid, it turned a scolding reddish-orange color that seemed angry.
My cloak was pulled up by the robed man. He then dipped a brush into the oddly colored ink. I took in a deep breath and closed my eyes as I felt the ink painted onto the curse magic. A magic that forced me to obey my owner's commands.
"Aaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiieeeeee," I howled out in agony.
It hurt so much. It was worse than the past times I was registered. My body seemed to pulse as something warm, almost scolding hot, seemed to seep from the curse and into my chest.
Every inch of my body ached. My vision narrowed everything spun.
I didn't know when the spell to register a slave ended... All I knew was last was sweet, painless darkness welcomed me next
When I woke up, I found myself laying on a sheet. My body had been washed off… And I was wearing odd clothes? It seemed like a dark shirt and pants... But, it wasn't like anything I saw in this country of Melromarc.
They were big on me and tied up so I could move in them.
"Er… So… This herb is… No, if I look closer, it kind of looks like mint I use back home… Yet here… Scary." Mumbling brought my drowsy mind into focus. "I agree, Dad. I wonder how Kaguya and her kind survived when she arrived back home."
"Huh?" I sat up and saw quite an odd scene before me.
The iron golem was sitting next to a fire with a cooking stand… And surrounded by books, long rolls of paper, and odd tools. Tools I've only seen in the herbalist's home back in my village.
The sun showed his intimating figure better and it was even… scarier than in the dark tent.
"Oh? You're awake?" I froze as my owner looks at me. His eyes were soft instead of cold or hot. "How are you feeling?" He got up from where he was studying and kneeled before me...
Wait... He's not as tall as I remember... He looked so much bigger in the tent! He just looks like a short adult…
Okay, a medium adult considering the plump slave trader and my past owner.
"Are you alright?" He asked again and I nodded. With thinking about it...
My body no longer ached so bad as it did before.
"Good. I was worried my healing would not be able to fix all that guy did to you," My owner let out a breath of relief. "Never seen a civilian that beaten up before. Only myself back in the day at your age… And maybe Shikamaru when he had the bad luck of getting Kiba as a sparring partner." My owner chuckled while he ruffled my hair.
"Huh?" I blinked as he rubbed my ears. It felt kind of nice. When I looked down... I realized I was no longer covered in bruises and cuts. Instead, my skin was pale with patches of yellow where the bruises were finishing their healing.
"As you can guess, I'm a healer in training." My owner said with an air of… jolly? "Now, what's your name? You have one, right?"
I frowned and looked away.
There was no point in saying it.
This young man would be my last owner. I know this because I... I didn't have much time left.
Cough cough!
The cold was still with me.
"Eeeen." I groaned. My chest burned due to the curse. It ate at my magic power and zapped me.
"Ack!" My owner gasped, "That counted as an order?! Hurry! Say your name! I don't know how to turn it ooooooooffffff!" He cried out. I could see tears in his eyes. He grabbed my shoulder and my eyes widen.
Nooo!
He was going to beat me!
"R-Raphtalia!" I gasped out and went into a fit of coughing. The curse began to die down. I wheezed to try to catch my breath.
"Raf... Tail... Iea?" He slowly pronounced, "Raphtalia. Raphtalia... Raphtalia... Okay, got it. Let's deal with that nasty cough." I watched cautiously as he moved to my side... Where an odd chest with many drawers was leaning against a tree?
"Now, let's see... Aelo... Cofemy... Lidl... Ah, wait, this one is the one I needed." I pulled some grass out of one of the drawers and moved back to the fire. He put the grass in a pot that was boiling. "Now, let that seep and then the herbal tea will be done."
"Herbal... Tea?" I asked. Wasn't he going to hurt me for coughing? Or trying to avoid saying my name?
"Yes. I ended up breaking my field kit mortar and pestle. This should do for your cough… At least, I hope I am doing this right." My owner sighed. He took something from the other side of the fire. "Are you hungry?"
My owner held up a fish skewered on a stick.
Food?
No. He was going to throw it to the ground the instant I reach for it.
I shook my head.
I know he would get angry if I was happy. If I-
Rumble.
Noooo!
He was going to yell at me!
I shook my head harder.
I wanted to tell him I was just fine, but my mouth became dry.
It was fine.
So, don't be mad at me!
Don't whip me!
My owner... Just sighed?
I felt my clenched hand had something slipped into it.
Was... He angry?
I cracked opened an eye I hadn't realized I closed.
My owner was back at the fire. He grabbed another fish and began to eat with his back to me. I looked at my hands and found the fish in it.
He... Was feeding me?
He was probably playing a prank... But, I didn't care.
I tore into the fish as fast as I could.
This might be my last meal.
It tasted good even with just being fish. I guessed my new owner was at least giving me my last rights.
Those so-called rights criminals were supposed to have.
"Here." He offered me some strangely color liquid once the fish was a skeleton. I took it and sipped it.
"Blech!" I gasped and stuck out my tongue.
Soooooo bitter!
"Drink it. It will make you feel better."
Nooo! He will get anger if I don't drink it!
I could feel the curse begin to burn and gulped down the whole glass. My face felt stiff after swallowing it all down and my stomach turned.
"You need to drink the whole pot." My face drained of blood, but I did as my owner asked me.
"Oooh..." I groaned.
My stomach was bloated. I drank all that supposed herbal tea. Why would he...
Oh?
I haven't coughed for a little while.
Did that tea cure my cough?
"Alright. Packed up." I looked back at my owner. He had packed everything away. The fire was now ashes buried under the earth. He put his weird chest on his back with a lid now covering the drawers. "Come on. We need to sell most of these herbs."
"O-Okay." I nodded and looked at his outstretched, armored hand. I finally noticed he wore a mantle around his shoulders. It made them look bigger and covered his right side.
No wonder I confused him for a giant. My owner just looked big with being wide. Even with the armor, without the mantle… He would look a bit thin compared to adventurers I have seen sometimes back home.
"Hold it. I don't want to lose you in the crowd." I took his hand and was surprised by the gentleness.
Wasn't he a warrior or something?
Shouldn't his grip be hard and unforgiving as he looked?
I pondered this as we left the seemingly endless fields of grass… To a fortress of a castle.
I shivered at the gate guards' glares at us when we entered.
They are mad because of me, right?
Everyone was mad at me, it seems. People on the streets would whisper and glare at my owner and me as we passed by.
This place must really hate Demi-humans like me.
"Gramps! I got some herbs and medicine for ya!" My noise burnt with entering a shop with a leaf on its sign. Inside was full of shelves with many herbs and jars. A mist of seemingly endless wisps of smoke gave a mysterious air to the place.
"I hear ya, kid." A fit, old man snorted from behind the counter.
WHAMP!
"EH?!" I gasped in shock. My owner grabbed the book that had hit his helmet out of the air.
"That's a book on proper techniques for processing plants and medicine. I noticed your medicines are still a bit unrefined." The old man pointed his pipe at my master. "So, what you got for me?"
"Heh heh. Sorry." Master stored the book away into his armor and put the case onto the shop owner's counter. "I've collected quite a lot of herbs and made some medicine... But, I am wondering if you have some old tools lying around. My tools broke... And I'm broke." Master let out a weak laugh.
"I can tell with that armor." The old medicine man sighed, "Well, I got some old stuff I wouldn't mind giving ya. You are becoming my little protégé of sorts."
And after that... I was at a lost. I tried to keep up with my master and his supposed teacher's words to only made my head hurt. It ended with my master getting a bunch of odd tools he stored away in his chest and several silver coins.
The next shop we went to... It scared me to death.
"Uncle! I need back stock clothes, a knife, staff, and gloves for about six to seven silver!" Master shouted with a stride into the scary place.
Spears, knives, bows... All sorts of tools meant for violence and hurting others. I found my whole body going cold. Yet, I still followed behind Master in fear of him snapping.
"Geez kid. What you spent all that... Oh?" A huge man wearing smithing clothes cocked his head at me. "Who's the... You bought a slave?" He frowned at us.
"I... Ended up in the wrong place... Thankfully, I got out of it without selling myself... At the cost of her." Master sighed.
Wait… Was that relief in his tone?
"I mean... I just couldn't leave her there. I mean, not after coming from war and…" Master smacked his lips and went silent.
"Kid... That good heart of yours is going to end up getting ya killed." The huge man sighed, "Alright. A knife and staff? Interesting combination."
"I want to figure out what works for her. We will be fighting even if I don't wanna. Better teach her right then have her die."
Die?!
I wanted to cry.
Have I been so bad that I must fight monsters?
The shop owner and my master quickly found a bronze knife and a small wooden staff for me. They then had me change into a white undershirt and red over shirt I was more used to seeing before my village was destroyed.
I even got a bag with more clothes. Oddly, the dark clothes weren't in there.
"Okay, Raphtalia. I am giving you a knife and staff due to we will be going to dangerous places." My owner said. He held the knife out to me. The staff stayed on the counter. "I know it is probably scary for you, but I need your assistance in fighting. However, if you fight by my side, I will protect you."
"Huh?" I cocked my head. He handed me the blade and staff along with their holsters. "W-What do you mean?"
No!
He will probably get mad at me back talking!
"Because… I'm too strong."
Eh?
I stared at my master.
What… kind of answer was that?
"Er… That came out wrong." Master pinched his visor. "I have a lot of people watching me, so I can't go all out. At least not with knowing who's my enemy and possibly causing problems. Which I rather not happen. So, I need a helper for when I'm going around... Oh! Can you read?" His tone shifted to sudden joy.
"I-If it's simple," I replied. I was so shocked I just said it without thinking.
"Awesome!" He grabbed my shoulder and then yanked me into a hug. How could he be so strong, yet his hug so gentle? … Oh, he was only using one arm?
I'd probably be crushed into mush if he used both.
"My cure for my woes! If you keep surprising me with such good things, then I'll have to spoil you rotten!" Master twirled me around with pure joy in his voice. "You're already paying me back for the money I've spent!"
I was speechless... Did he really say that?
No!
He had to be luring me into a trap!
Make me feel secure and then stomp down on any hope and happiness!
Just like the others.
"Thanks, Uncle."
"More like I am trying to figure out if you're way too naive or a slippery little-"
"U~ncle." A creepy voice came out of Master's voice. "Please do not disrespect my father."
"Sorry, sorry. Forgot it translates the saying to something rude to you." Uncle sighed, "See ya and better not come back pinching bronze."
"Not making any promises," Master said before we left the shop.
However, to my dismay... My stomach began to growl again.
No!
Now he would really be mad!
Maybe even beat me with the staff under his arm…Or stab me with the blade he got me!
There's no way he would be happy if he must-
"Thought the fish were kind of small," I almost tripped and fell on my face. I swung my arms out and managed to keep my balance. "I wonder if there is a good place to eat around here?"
Master lead me to another shop. One that sold food...
But, this time, the employees and owner didn't look too happy to see us. Still, they seated us down as I looked around to get my mind off the nasty looks.
There was even a family with a child. Jealousy knotted in my gut as they chatted and ate together.
Their faces with smiles and without any worries.
I missed my parents so much.
"I'll have the cheapest lunch you've got. Give my companion what that kid is having over there."
"What?!" I looked back and saw my glaze had wondered to what the kid was eating. Just seeing it and his happy family made me yearn for it, yet my new owner just bought it for me?
Who was this insane person?
I couldn't believe my own ears.
Wasn't everyone outside my village supposed to be evil?
That's what all the owners and slave traders I been through showed me... Right?
"W-Why?" I couldn't help but ask.
I was a slave.
Why were you treating me like a normal person!
"Hm?" He frowned before realizing what I said. "You looked like you wanted to eat it. Did you want to eat something else?
I shook my head. "Why are you feeding me?"
No one has ever treated me this way since I became a slave.
"Eh? I already said it. You looked like ya wanted to eat that." Master sighed. He even rolled his eyes at me! "What's so hard to understand about that?"
"But..."
"Just eat. You're still quite ill. If ya stay skinny and don't get some meat on your bones, you're just gonna die."
Die?... Right. I would die...
Just like Rifana.
I'd die of the same disease even if my owner made my cough go away.
"Here you are." The waitress set a big, elaborate meal in front of me. There was a flag sticking out of it.
What I was envious of, only minutes before, I had one of my own now.
I hesitated.
I bet that when I went to eat it, Master would throw it to the ground and laugh at me.
Or maybe even spat into my food before I bit into it.
Or maybe he was waiting for me to start and throw my drink in my face and food?
"Aren't cha gonna eat?" My owner asked with a strip of meat… hanging out under his visor? He was eating with his visor down? … And he looked very confused to me?
"Can I?" I asked in a pitiful voice.
No. Hope.
If he saw that, he would crush it.
"Yeah. Hurry up. I wanna try and get in the forest today. I heard there are lots of herbs there."
He would probably destroy it all.
I knew he would.
I slowly reached out my hand while I glanced at him.
He... He didn't look like he was going to do anything. If anything, he glared at the red fruits on his plate?
I touched the food.
No reaction.
Still had a glaring match with the fruit.
I plucked the little flag out. Accomplishment filled me for the first time in ages.
I felt...
If I had that flag, I didn't need anything from anyone.
I felt like I was back in my village.
I felt like it was the very same flag, the one that we'd lost.
I held tight to the flag as I ate my food without any manners. It was so delicious that I found tears streamed down my cheeks.
If I cried, he'd yelled at me for sure.
I tried to wipe them away without letting him notice.
"Is it good?"
"Yes!"
No!
I'd accidently answered him… And Master saw that I was happy and crying.
He would punish me for sure!
"That's good. Since my bacon sucks… How can you make bacon watery?" Master mumbled before he patted me on the head. "Plus, it's alright to cry when you're happy. You ain't a crybaby for that."
That's all he said.
I couldn't understand.
I held the flag in my hands tightly.
I felt like... It was filled with something I had forgotten.
Compared to the flag our lord had given us… This one was very small and cheap.
Yet, it felt like it contained all that I'd lost. It felt like it wanted me to remember something important.
I turned to the iron golem that was my owner and master.
He just looked angry at his food as he ate. Yet, I could see something else amongst his silt narrow eyes.
What was it?
Was he... Really a nice person?
Wasn't it an act?
I had so many doubts.
