Chapter 431: A New Encounter
That was how they ended up at the slave trader’s place.
Still, seeing so many people crammed into cages against their will was an unsettling sight.
Though he was still a little frightened, the warmth of Qiong Xing’s hand gave Ars the courage to slowly look around.
"Would you rather have a man or a woman?"
"If it’s a human, I’d prefer a man. But if it’s a beastman, either is fine. They’re incredibly strong. Even the women could lift someone my size without any trouble."
"...Seriously?"
Ars knew Leander, the beastman who stayed by Qiong Xing’s side, was large and powerful just from looking at him.
But he had never imagined the women were just as strong.
"Then when your kids grow up, they’ll be that strong too?"
"Probably."
"..."
Ars still remembered what it had felt like to hold Qiong Xing’s baby before.
Everything had been so soft and fragile.
That tiny infant who could neither speak nor walk on her own growing into someone that strong was almost impossible to imagine.
"Pretty amazing, right? So if we think about your safety and everyone else’s, having someone like that around would be a huge help."
"I don’t want a girl protecting me."
No matter how strong they might be, Ars insisted that it would be embarrassing for a boy to be protected by a girl.
Qiong Xing laughed softly.
"That’s exactly what I’d expect from a boy. The fact that you feel that way is very admirable. Become a strong big brother who can protect everyone, alright?"
"Okay."
Being called cool almost made Ars grin, but he managed to hold it back as he continued looking through the cages one by one.
There were no babies, but there were children clearly younger than himself, as well as elderly people with bent backs.
The thought that he himself might have ended up inside one of those cages made his body tremble.
"Let’s start by looking at the beastman. I’d like to find someone who could get along well with you too..."
It’s alright.
Now there was someone walking beside him while holding his hand.
There were arms that embraced him and a family that would take his hand and help him when he needed it.
Repeating those thoughts to himself, Ars realized that the trembling had stopped before he even noticed.
"What age do you think would be best, Ars? Someone too young would be difficult, but if they’re too old, that could also be a pro..."
"Ah."
"Hm?"
The sudden voice from beside them made both of them turn at the same time.
Qiong Xing turned toward the voice from behind, wondering what it was, and saw a girl looking at them from inside a cage.
She had beast ears that looked faintly familiar.
Following the direction of her gaze, Qiong Xing spoke quietly.
"...Would you like to talk to her?"
"Yeah."
Ars also seemed interested, so Qiong Xing slowly approached so as not to scare her.
"Hello. What is your name?"
"G-Gah! Um..."
"It’s alright. Take your time."
Qiong Xing gently soothed the frightened girl who had been suddenly spoken to.
As was often the case with slaves, she seemed afraid to speak, likely because she was in a position where she would be bought and used.
"U-Um... I... Kira—"
"Kira!"
Just as the girl gathered her courage to introduce herself, a sharp angry voice came from behind, and someone grabbed her hand and pulled her away.
"S-Sis—!"
"What do you want with my little sister?"
A girl stepped forward as if to protect her younger sister.
She glared at them warily and Qiong Xing gave a wry smile, thinking she would be difficult to deal with.
"I’m sorry for the sudden interruption. We were hoping we could talk for a moment."
"Hah. No way. What could humans possibly have to talk about with us?"
It seemed she held a deep grudge against humans.
Still, given their circumstances, Qiong Xing understood it was not surprising.
"Well... your little sister seemed interested in this child, so I wondered if something was wrong."
Qiong Xing glanced at Ars and Ars nodded, confirming he had heard the earlier exchange.
"There’s nothing wrong. She was just surprised because a human suddenly showed up."
She clearly had no intention of talking further.
What should he do...
"Let’s go. We should look somewhere else."
While Qiong Xing was still thinking, Ars tugged at his hand, deciding to leave.
"Is that alright?"
It was true that a peaceful conversation seemed difficult, but Qiong Xing had thought that with more time, something might change...
"Yeah. I’m curious about that girl, but... she’s looking down on you."
Qiong Xing had not been bothered by it, but Ars seemed quite upset at the other party’s rude attitude.
He pulled Qiong Xing’s hand, urging him to leave quickly, but Qiong Xing could not help noticing the confused girl fidgeting nervously behind her sister.
"I understand how you feel about your little sister, but we truly just want to talk for a moment... Would that be alright?"
He understood the older sister’s desire to protect her younger sibling, but if they missed this chance, they might not be able to speak at all.
"...Sis, I want to talk."
"Kira! No! They’re humans. You know humans can’t be trusted! They only want to hurt us! They enjoy tormenting us! You know that, right? Humans are the worst. They hurt us and laugh about it!"
It seemed the older sister held a strong grudge against humans.
"But... this person didn’t get angry. He waited for me even when I couldn’t speak properly..."
"That’s a lie! They’ll just hit us later and say we’re annoying!"
"N-No, that’s not true! Other people would’ve hit me already... but this person didn’t!"
"..."
Surprisingly, it seemed the girl had won the argument.
Qiong Xing felt a little sorry for the silent older sister, but he gently gestured for the girl to come over.
The girl slowly approached and Qiong Xing gave her a soft smile.