Chapter 58 - Episode 1: "I Shall Start a Slave Trade"
Gokigenyou. I am Violia Nico Fortesia.
I am currently in a state of shock.
...It seems he was there when Doran was shot by Fruitier's henchmen at the port.
Onii-sama was!
"Eh? 'Onii-sama'? What, Young Lady, you had a big brother?"
"I do!"
"You definitely seem like a little sister type, after all~"
"That is right! I am indeed a little sister!"
"...Somehow, based on what I can imagine from Doran's story just now, I get the feeling that 'Onii-sama' is a dangerous guy?"
"Well, that is exactly right!"
Each of them reacted in their own way, but I am in no state for that.
After all... I have found out that Onii-sama, whose survival was uncertain, is alive!? I cannot possibly remain calm!
"It has been half a year since the manor burned. Ah, Onii-sama, I wonder where you are now..."
When I think that I might have met Onii-sama if I had gone to the port with Doran, I am filled with regret. I might have been able to see him...
"Well, Onii-chan probably knows about you too, Young Lady. After all, you climbed onto the execution platform, didn't you? He's noticed."
That is true. Onii-sama surely knows that I am doing well.
And yet, since Onii-sama has not come to contact me... he must have something in mind.
"So? Why was Violia's brother at the port? Was he targeting something from House Fruitier just like us?"
As Keeb says, I do not know about that.
"Wasn't it that? According to Doran's story, your brother was slaughtering Fruitier's henchmen while swinging a steel pipe and laughing his head off, right? Then wasn't killing them the goal?"
"Onii-sama is not the type of person to kill people without a purpose. Though he does have a bit of a battle-hungry streak."
"So you're saying he kills people if he has a purpose... what's up with your brother?"
If you start saying things like that, we are all much the same!
"...Well, it's also hard to imagine he'd kill the Fruitier lot at the port without a purpose. In that case, Violia's brother was likely targeting the Fruitier group after all."
I suppose so.
If Fruitier is an enemy to me, they are an enemy to Onii-sama as well. The sin of burning down our manor is heavy!
"But, I am glad. Onii-sama is energetic..."
"...Energetically swinging a steel pipe, that is."
Yes. It seems he has not changed. I am relieved.
What passes through my mind is the sight of Onii-sama from when I was still a small child—that is, when House Fortesia was not yet nobility... running around the back alleys at dusk with a steel pipe, thumping the pampered sons of local nobles to make them hand over their money.
Even back then, Onii-sama was a robust, nimble, and shrewd, wonderful person. After attaining noble status, those qualities were polished even further, and as a member of the 'hiring guards is a waste of money' House Fortesia, he has acquired a level of combat ability that he can be proud of anywhere.
We are close as siblings, too. Therefore, I am a little lonely not being able to see him for so long.
...But, just knowing that Onii-sama is doing well is enough.
I am starting to feel energetic myself!
If Onii-sama deems it the right time, we shall meet eventually. Until then, I shall simply continue on my path as I have before!
Now then. While the news about Onii-sama was joyful, I must now face a slightly troublesome matter.
"I would like to finally decide what to do with this person..."
I pointed to one of the Spatial Bags.
...Inside this bag.
Two of Fruitier's guards and the eldest son are still inside...
Yes, that is right.
I burned the head of House Fruitier along with his carriage.
However, I failed to burn the eldest son, whom I had knocked unconscious in the inn room. Therefore, I put him in the bag and brought him back...
"Does anyone have any interesting ideas?"
"Well... maybe use him for human experimentation?"
Human experimentation, huh. That is not bad. I want to advance the research on my blood further, and having a convenient human for that would be useful in its own way.
"Or maybe sell his organs? Unfortunately, my shop doesn't deal in those, though."
"Organs? Hmm, that feels like a bit of a waste... He is the eldest son of House Fruitier, after all. Even if we turn him into money, there must be a more profitable way."
"Then why not just make him work? There are plenty of drug fields and such, aren't there?"
"Do you really think a pampered noble brat can work? That would be inefficient beyond belief."
Since I have him, I want to use him for something interesting. I burned the head of the house, but I have done almost nothing to the eldest son yet. Since he was also present at the place where I was denounced, I definitely want to make him suffer!
Ah, is there no method of disposal that is both profitable and interesting?
We discussed it this way and that after that, but in the end, no good ideas came up.
Therefore, as a change of pace, I decided to take a walk through the town.
...Yes, that is right! I have become able to walk through this town!
Currently, Elsemarin is effectively my town. The Guild that controls the town pretends to be a good little boy obedient to the Royal Family, while behind the scenes, they serve me and rebel against the Royal Family. That is the arrangement.
Therefore, the Elsemarin security forces managed by the Guild listen to me completely.
...And in this Elsemarin now, there are hardly any people who hate me.
After all, the nobles who treated me as a nuisance are all dead, and other than that, I suppose there are only a few nobles left at the academy and the Cathedral? They are people who hardly ever come outside anyway, so there is no point in being cautious.
If there are no nobles, all that remains are commoners. The people in this town are commoners who have been oppressed by nobles, adventurers full of rebellious spirit living day-to-day, and small-time crooks from the backstreets who have no choice but to suck up to the nail that sticks out too far.
...In an Elsemarin filled with such people, I, who possess plenty of money and have raised the flag of rebellion against the Royal Family, might be an object of worship, but I will not be an object of hatred.
Things are often like that. The masses want change. Change that 'arrives even if they do not actively participate.'
Therefore, as a form of passive participation, the masses of Elsemarin do not report me even if I am walking around. No, occasionally someone does, but since the report goes to the Guild, they just cover it up and that is the end of it. And if we clean up the person who reported me later, the order of Elsemarin will be preserved even further!
Basking in the sea breeze, I entered the backstreets.
When I was a student, I often snuck out of the academy to play here, and it is as dim as ever.
However, the appearance of the streets has changed somewhat from half a year ago.
First, with the spread of Mystic Ruby, the leaf-sellers who used to be all over the place have disappeared. Now, drugs are our exclusive monopoly.
Thanks to that, the public order seems to have improved a bit? In reality, it is just that the dangerous types have stopped coming out into the open. Well, it is a good thing for the townscape to be beautiful.
...Furthermore, since the shops for nobles on the main streets have disappeared, they have increased in the backstreets.
That is only natural. Noble customers now are only temporary visitors arriving by ship. If one deals in products for nobles, there are hardly any buyers!
So, regarding the noble shops in the backstreets... their selection is of the backstreet variety.
It is not that there are no precious metals or jewelry. Even in the backstreets, there is demand for such things.
However, besides those refined items... they also sell high-end drugs, cursed tools, expensive weapons, and the like.
And then.
"Oh. A rare peddler has come."
The pinnacle of items that are expensive but not refined—rather, they are vulgar and cannot be traded on the main streets.
... 'Slaves' are occasionally sold.
I decided to observe the slave peddler on a whim.
Inside the cage integrated with the carriage, there were several slaves.
Since this country starts wars with surrounding nations for the sake of making money, naturally, the number of slaves increases accordingly. As long as we keep winning, the number of defeated nations around us just keeps increasing, so it is only natural.
Consequently, slaves circulate to a fair degree. Men and women, well, various kinds are sold. Their uses vary too, of course.
...As I looked at the slave cage, an idea struck me.
"Humans turn into money when you sell them, don't they..."
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