Chapter 247 : Chapter 247
Chapter 247: Harein (2)
“You are beautiful.”
Kubel complimented her.
It was praise Harad had no desire to hear. He scratched at his neck.
The skin beneath his fingernails felt strange. Soft and yielding. Yet it did not feel unfamiliar.
On the contrary, it felt familiar.
“How strange.”
The same was true of his clear, higher voice.
Is this really my voice?
Rather than thinking that, he found himself thinking, If I were a woman, then of course my voice should sound like this.
It was a bizarre sensation.
‘No wonder her acting was so flawless.’
Elaine had been the perfect Grand Heir.
And also the perfect man. Harad of his previous life had never once sensed even the faintest trace of dissonance.
That made sense.
Harad was accepting the Harein reflected in the mirror with perfect ease.
If I were a woman.
Then naturally I should have been born and grown up like this.
Those were the only thoughts that came to him.
There was no dissonance.
It felt as though a hypothetical had been forced into him as fact.
The transparent necklace that disguised Ellen as Elaine was that sort of Magical Item.
“A remarkable Magical Item.”
Its performance was astonishing, but its subtlety was even more astonishing.
He was wearing it around his neck, and yet felt nothing at all. Never mind the sensation of it against his skin—even now, while the Magical Item was functioning, he could not feel it.
Mana was being poured into it. It was in operation. Yet Harad could not sense even the slightest sign of it.
‘So it consumes mana when I use it, and Aura when Ellen uses it? The consumption is negligible.’
It would not be an exaggeration to say that it consumed no mana at all.
And yet the result was extraordinary. The Harein in the mirror was unmistakably a woman.
“It’s like a mirror.”
A mirror reversed the world from left to right.
No one thought that was strange.
This Magical Item reversed sex.
And Harad could not think the result was strange.
“Oh. That’s right. They said it was like a mirror.”
Beside him, Ellen eagerly chimed in.
“Who did?”
“His Highness.”
“Did he tell you how he got it too?”
“No. He never told me that.”
Its effect was certain, and unless you were the person using it, you could not even notice it.
This necklace was not the sort of Magical Item one could obtain easily. Harad thought of the Sage known as Elder.
Grand Duke Aratus’s bad friend.
It would likely take someone around the 6th Rank to have anything to do with a Magical Item like this.
“Your speech.”
“Hm?”
“Your speech slipped back.”
“It’s still fine for now, isn’t it?”
They were still inside the inn room.
“I’ll speak properly once we go out.”
Harad still did not want to become Harein.
Even if he felt no dissonance, he still hated it all the same.
Harad found himself admiring Elaine of his previous life.
Pretending to be the opposite sex was not an easy thing.
“I’ll go to the washroom for a moment.”
“Will you be alright? Should I come with you?”
“……Do not follow me. Under any circumstances.”
In every sense.
Truly.
“You’re back already?”
“…….”
It was an even more astonishing Magical Item than he had imagined.
To the point of being frightening.
***
Akuldag was both the name of the southern imperial Margrave and the land itself.
Its culture, however, resembled that of desert Norbu.
That was because Akuldag had once been Norbu’s land, back when Norbu itself had been an empire.
What Norbu trod upon was sand.
Inside that bleak giant’s chest, there beat not a heart but fire. That was the sort of land the desert was.
Akuldag, too, was covered in sand.
The weather was like a boiling cauldron, and the difference between day and night temperatures was severe enough to burden ordinary people.
Of course, compared to the true desert, it was still bearable.
The same was true of its people. Those of the desert were harsh. They had grown harsh alongside the barren desert.
Whether one spoke of the land or its people, Akuldag was not that merciless. Rather than a true desert, it was closer to a place where one merely experienced the desert.
But to Harad—or rather, to Harein—it felt like being cast into the inferno the Church spoke of.
It was still daytime.
That meant not even a full day had passed since Shura had been kidnapped. That was a good thing. In a kidnapping, time was life.
‘Jis is still there.’
Jis was a kind child, but not a kind mage.
If something had happened to Shura, he would have reacted somehow.
‘So Shura is still safe.’
Fortunately, Harein did not need to wrap herself from head to toe.
She was, after all, someone who had appeared in the world for the first time today.
But she was also a woman.
No woman went about bare-chested.
It was hot even when half-naked, and hotter still when covered.
Even standing still, she sweated like rain. The thin, scanty clothing had already grown damp back at the inn.
“It’s hot.”
Harein kept fanning her clothes without pause.
Women had one extra place where sweat gathered.
It was not intentional. The Magical Item had built the body as it pleased. That was beyond Harad’s power to interfere.
Elaine had not been made according to Ellen’s taste.
She had been a figure the Magical Item itself decided on.
“It’s unbearably hot.”
He had never gone to the desert in his previous life.
Of all the lands Harein had ever experienced, Akuldag was the hottest.
“…….”
The stares were hotter still.
It felt as though every movement was being watched.
Even standing still, someone stared openly. When Harein met his eyes, the man quickly looked away. It was the slave trader who had set up in front of the inn. The bastard swallowed hard.
“Are you insane?”
Ellen smacked away Harein’s hand as she fanned at her clothes.
“Behave properly. Either put on more clothes or sit still.”
“If I do that, it’s hot.”
“Then at least keep still. Everyone’s staring.”
“Let them stare.”
Harein could not care less.
This was not even her real body anyway.
The lustful stares of men were unpleasant, but the heat was the more urgent matter.
“So you’d like it if I did the same?”
If Elaine did this.
“I would hate that.”
Harein felt she would hate that too.
That would not be Elaine. It would be Ellen in disguise.
If she went around half-naked, it would be Ellen going around half-naked.
“I understand. I’ll endure it.”
Harein lowered her hand.
But the stares on the street hardly lessened.
“I didn’t realize you’d be this beautiful.”
For some reason, Ellen seemed dissatisfied.
“That is a good thing.”
Appearance was an important factor.
Among slaves, too, the more exceptional one looked, the more they stood out.
“I know. I do. But it feels strange.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re more beautiful than I am.”
Harein laughed softly.
It was a laugh modeled after Grand Duke Elaine.
“Don’t laugh like that.”
“Because it sounds like that bitch?”
“No. Because it makes you even prettier.”
Ellen’s expression grew complicated.
“You’re smitten.”
“Objectively, you’re beautiful.”
“I know. But not as beautiful as you.”
“What?”
“To my eyes, you are the more beautiful one.”
Harein said it with a bright smile.
Ellen’s eyes widened. Her face flushed a little, then returned to that same complicated expression.
“……I think I’d be fine with Harein too.”
“So you dislike me.”
It was a choice made only because of Shura.
He would never do this again.
The auction house stood at the southern end of the city.
It was far closer to the wall facing the desert than to the lord’s castle.
That was because it existed for slaves.
Slavery had little to do with the Empire. It was utterly familiar to Norbu.
Perhaps for that reason, the men guarding the front of the auction house were dark-skinned. Anyone could tell they were desert-born.
“Halt.”
The biggest man among them spoke in a low voice.
Kubel stopped as ordered. Harein and Ellen, who followed behind him, half hid behind Kubel’s back.
“What are you?”
The North considered scars glorious.
The desert was much the same. The man narrowed the scar that crossed one of his eyes and glared at them threateningly.
“I’ve come to sell a slave.”
“You?”
The man looked Kubel up and down.
“You’ve got the look of a warrior.”
The man before them was the largest warrior among them all.
Kubel stood at least a head taller than him. Sideways, it felt as though the man would need two more arms added just to compare.
“I retired. There’s not a single place on my body that doesn’t ache.”
Kubel bent and straightened his thick elbow while grimacing. That alone gave off tremendous force. The man flinched slightly.
“So you were a wise warrior.”
“That’s all in the past.”
“Good to meet you. Where are you from?”
The man’s voice softened noticeably.
In the desert, a wise retirement was valued more highly than a foolish death. It meant one could control even one’s own death.
The desert despised ignorance.
“I’m Kubel, from Norbu.”
“Then why is your skin so ill-omened?”
“I was born cursed.”
Kubel answered naturally.
He merely repeated exactly what Harad had told him beforehand.
“My.”
The man clicked his tongue.
Barbaric, or noble.
In the desert, white skin meant one of those two things.
There could be no such thing as a white warrior.
The sun and sand darkened people. The desert believed a pale warrior to be something cursed.
“Still, it seems the Eternal Fire did not entirely turn its back on you. You became a warrior wise enough to choose retirement.”
The man looked up at the sky as he said it.
There was no god in the desert.
But they believed that somewhere deep within it, a fire burned eternally and never went out.
“You came to sell slaves? Good timing. If you’d come after the shift, you’d have gotten only a handful of coins.”
“So the next shift is imperial dogs?”
“That’s right. Pathetic creatures.”
The man clicked his tongue.
Norbu had long been the Empire’s enemy.
The balance had long since been broken, but those born in the desert still believed Norbu to be greater even than Enverque.
“If you run into them, avoid them. There’s no reason to deal with filthy things.”
Blood was thicker than water, and the man was even worrying for Kubel’s sake.
“But is that really allowed? I heard the auction house only allows guaranteed slave traders inside.”
“I may only be a gatekeeper, but I’ve got that much discretion. Wise retiree, you go and think about your bargaining. If you want an appraiser, go downstairs.”
The man readily stepped aside.
Kubel passed them.
Then—
“Which of the two is the slave?”
The man spoke while looking at Harein and Ellen behind Kubel.
“The blonde.”
Today.
Harein was going to become a slave.
“That’s my taste too. The black-haired one looks sharp-tongued.”
“…….”
“No need to bargain at all. Wise retiree Kubel, you’re going to make a fortune today.”
The man licked his lips.
If one wanted to call it praise, then it was praise.
***
“So I look sharp-tongued?”
The instant they entered the auction house, Ellen spoke.
Kubel avoided her gaze. So did Harein. Reacting like that meant they both felt guilty.
“We couldn’t ask about Shura.”
Ellen changed the subject.
This was no time to get angry.
“He probably didn’t know. He was only a guard dog.”
Harein said it, deliberately imitating Grand Duke Elaine.
She had to keep doing so from here on. She had to stand out as much as possible.
‘Though I don’t think that’ll be hard.’
Harein was more popular than expected.
The front of the auction house belonged to the nobles and honored guests with invitations—in other words, the buyers. To reach the underground, they had to use the back.
The stares were intense, but no one stopped them. Simply having entered the auction house seemed to serve as proof of status.
“My name is Laurent Jolan.”
It happened as they walked down the corridor leading toward the back.
Someone spoke to them. He was a greasy nobleman.
“And this young lady would be…?”
“……?”
It seemed appearance itself was guaranteeing their status.
“She’s not a young lady. She’s a slave.”
At Kubel’s words, the nobleman’s eyes widened.
“I-I’ll buy her right now. How much?”
He hurriedly added that, already fumbling inside his clothes for gold coins.
“She’s being sold at auction.”
“I’ll pay more.”
“Can you really afford her?”
Kubel pointed at Harein.
It was unpleasant, but it was an excellent response.
The nobleman looked Harein up and down, then retreated without a word. It seemed his purse was not nearly rich enough.
“You really are remarkable, Lady Harein.”
“…….”
“And not sharp-tongued at all.”
Harein did not answer.
It felt as though she absolutely shouldn’t. Kubel seemed to feel the same and quickened his pace. The entrance leading downstairs came into view. It was bleak, but clean. Kubel went down at once.
The Kubel before them was no longer soft.
Patrolling with the 1st Knights had made him fearsome as a bear, and losing his daughter had made him utterly savage.
Right now, he was only pretending to be calm because he trusted Harad and Ellen. If anything went even slightly wrong, Kubel would explode.
‘It is a little curious.’
What would Kubel be like in full rage?
By nature, a mage had to burst with emotion at least once.
That made it easier to grasp the Vessel’s limits.
Of course, staking his daughter on that just to see would be madness, but there were more than a few mad mages in the world.
The underground was not as deep as he had expected.
And it was cleaner than he had expected as well. Slavery was legal, after all. The auction house handled high-grade slaves.
This underground was not a prison to prevent slaves from escaping, but a place to keep the merchandise from being shown to customers in advance.
After descending what felt like one floor, the stairs ended. A corridor stretched ahead, and to the left of the entrance, a small room jutted out.
There was no window in that little room.
A beardless old man poked his face out and asked,
“Yes?”
“Are you the appraiser?”
“That I am.”
The old man was the appraiser.
It seemed he also handled the merchandise.
Quite a few presences could be felt beyond the small room.
The slaves seemed to be waiting for auction time.
“We’ve come to sell a slave.”
“There was no schedule for that today.”
The old man furrowed his wrinkles.
“We came in a hurry. We happened to acquire an extraordinary slave.”
Kubel turned half sideways and revealed the people behind him. The old man’s eyes widened.
“Two?”
“Only the blonde.”
“The expensive one, then.”
“…….”
Ellen’s face stiffened again.
It was the face of someone whose pride had been wounded.
Harein found herself curious about the standards.
Both the guard dog and the old man ranked Harein above Ellen.
“Why is this one worth more?”
Kubel asked.
It was because Ellen had secretly jabbed him in the waist from behind.
“Because anyone can see the blonde one is prettier.”
The old man replied flatly, as though he had been asked the most obvious question in the world.
“She looks like she’s got precious blood too. Like a ruined high noble.”
Iagar was indeed a Count’s house.
Ellen, however, came from a ducal line.
The old man covered his own eyes with two fingers, ran his palms up and down to indicate the face, then traced a bottle-like curve with both hands. It was his appraisal of Harein.
“There isn’t a single flaw in her. My, my! A rare monster has arrived.”
At that point, Harein’s face hardened too.
It was an extremely complicated feeling.
Even more so than Ellen’s.
Still, there was something she had to do.
“How insolent.”
Harein spoke like a Grand Duke.
The old man’s eyes widened.
He pointed at Harein with one finger while looking at Kubel.
“She’s got something wrong in the head. She thinks she’s some kind of king.”
“So that’s it. I wondered how she could be this perfect and still have something wrong with her.”
“How dare you flap your mouth without knowing who I am.”
Harein added the line at exactly the right timing.
She was someone who had to do that.
“That’s a problem.”
The old man looked troubled.
It was exactly the sort of trouble Harad had expected.
“Isn’t that even better? A flower is sweetest when plucked from a high place.”
“She’s delusional. A madwoman.”
“To her, it’s the truth. If we don’t reveal it, then it’ll become the truth to her owner too.”
“Hm.”
“Wouldn’t it be even more exciting to force a woman like that to kneel? In truth, it doesn’t even matter if it does get out. Something like that isn’t a flaw for a woman like this.”
“……How much?”
After pondering it, the old man nodded.
“How high can you go?”
“I asked the question. It seems to me you’re the one who ought to set the price. A thing like this is worth whatever one names.”
If one wished to call that praise, then it was praise too.
“Our auction house is famously fair-minded.”
Needlessly.