Chapter 432: Kira and Tasha
"Thank you for trusting me. Sorry for scaring you. Let’s introduce ourselves first. I’m Qiong Xing, and this is Ars."
"U-Um... I-I’m Kira. And t-this is my older sister, Tasha."
From their conversation, it seemed the two of them were real sisters.
The ears he had thought were simply cute turned out to be fox ears.
He felt a strange sense of nostalgia, realizing they were fox beastmen like Fei.
"Nice to meet you. So... why were you watching Ars?"
"U-Um... I saw him once in front of a shop before. He was being chased by a man... and then he got hit... there was blood..."
Qiong Xing looked toward Ars.
"Probably when I got caught after stealing."
Ars seemed to know exactly what she was referring to.
It had apparently been a common occurrence back then, so he did not know exactly when she had seen it, but she had clearly remembered Ars being beaten and kicked around.
Qiong Xing gently smiled.
"So you were worried about me. Thank you. I’m doing very well now." Ars said.
"Y-Yeah... I’m glad."
"..."
"..."
As if their conversation had naturally come to an end, the girl fell silent again.
Qiong Xing glanced toward Ars, unsure what to do next.
"...Why?"
"Hm?"
"Why were you worried about me? I’m just a stranger. And you... even though you were made into a slave, how can you still worry about other people?"
Ars who had lived each day desperately just to survive without anyone to relying on and to care about others, and who had been forced to live alone at such a young age even if not a slave, seemed genuinely puzzled.
"...Um, I just thought... you were amazing."
"What?"
"I-I’m always like this... I’m bad at talking, and I-I always end up making people angry. Even when I get yelled at, I can’t even talk back. So... s-so I thought it was amazing that you... even when adults caught you and hit you, you didn’t cry. And you talked back saying they were noisy... I thought that was amazing."
"..."
Qiong Xing had once thought the same when he met Ars, but the girl must have felt something similar toward someone who survived so strongly on his own.
He quietly watched the two of them, hoping this encounter would become something meaningful for them both.
After a few minutes of silence...
"...Huh? That’s it?"
Unable to stand it, Qiong Xing finally spoke up as both of them fell silent again.
"...What am I supposed to say?"
"Well... you could say thank you for the compliment or something..."
Only then did he realize, a little too late, that it might be difficult for children sold as slaves to have normal conversations.
"Come to think of it, why are the two of you all the way in the back of the room? With your appearance and age, wouldn’t it make more sense for you to be near the front of the shop?"
"Hah, I knew it. You’re just like I thought. You came here to buy people like us as decorations or tools, didn’t you? Too bad. I won’t be bought by anyone unless it’s together with my little sister. If you try to do anything to her, I’ll stop you even if I have to use force."
She was quite sharp tongued.
Her personality might have been one of the reasons, but even so, would that alone be enough to make him hesitate to buy her?
"U-Um... that’s not it. M-My sister... she can’t leave this place because of me."
"Can’t leave?"
So she "can’t" leave, which meant she obviously wants to leave.
"I-I’ve had bad legs since I was little... so I’m useless, they said. Because of that... my sister got hit and kicked too... I’m sorry, sis..."
"It’s not your fault! The ones who said that are the real trash! Your legs got hurt because those guys kicked you when you were caught, right? Kira didn’t do anything wrong. The ones at fault are the people who hurt you and the humans who capture beastmen just because they are beastmen!"
Just listening to it was painful.
Qiong Xing did not consider himself the same as those humans they were talking about, but if this was normal in their world, then it was still deeply tragic.
"...Ars, what do you think we should do?"
Qiong Xing stayed silent, thinking it should ultimately be Ars who made the choice, not him.
"...But if her legs are bad, she can’t work with us, right?"
It was true that if her legs were weak, it would be difficult for her to help with making miso or working in the fields.
But—
"If that is the only reason you are giving up on her, there are ways to solve that problem. What matters more is not that, but whether you feels he can live together with her."
It was not guaranteed that they would meet someone who perfectly fit their wishes.
In fact, that was rare, and compromise was usually necessary.
"But... if we buy that girl, that woman comes with her too, right?"
It seemed Ars was still bothered by the woman’s rude attitude toward Qiong Xing.
"Do you dislike that? But she also has had many things happen to her, so she can’t trust humans. Just like you used to be. But just like you changed, if you give her a chance, she might change too."
"She might not change, though."
As expected of Ars, he immediately shot back.
"Then do you want to stop?"
"...If you think it’s okay, then fine."
In the end, Ars was probably still curious about the girl.
When given the option to stop, he reluctantly nodded, saying they were fine with her.
Then that left—
"If you’re willing, I’d be happy if you came with us. Your food, clothing, and shelter will be guaranteed, and you won’t be harmed. We just want you to help us with farm work and other tasks alongside the children."