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Chapter 3 – Fire Fox "Kuuna"

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TL: Kazue Kurosaki

ED: Kazue Kurosaki

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I continued running and managed to reach the Sealed City while the sun was still high in the sky.

No matter how many times I see it, I’m still speechless at the bizarre appearance of the Sealed City.

The entire city was encircled by a huge wall, perhaps 10 meters high and 3 meters thick. It’s not designed to protect the city from external enemies, but to stop anything from leaving.

“I’m tired. 100,000 Bars should be enough for the admission fee.”

If you don’t have citizenship or an entrance permit, you have to pay 100,000 Bars at the gate. By paying that, you’re granted a temporary one month admission pass.

I looked towards the gate and saw the line of people waiting to get in.

This is the most chaotic city in the world. It’s dangerous, but it attracts more money and people than anywhere else. It’s no exaggeration to say that there’s nothing that can’t be gathered in this city.

For example, slaves are treated as a commodity.

A horse-drawn carriage passed by me with a cage on the back. The female slaves were sitting on their knees with eyes like that of a dead fish.

I want to help them, but what can I do with them? I can’t be responsible for their lives. Even if I helped them, it would be impossible for me to give them the skills to live on their own.

“It can’t be helped. The other side also has their reasons.”

This is also a form of business. I shouldn’t interfere with that.

I walked slowly and got in line at the entrance checkpoint.

I looked to my side at the line of carriages and saw the slaver from before talking to a girl. I was curious, so I activated my magic. It’s a wind magic that helps me hear.

“Excuse me, sir, how can I enter this city?”

She was a very pretty girl. She was in her mid-teens, about the same age I am now. Her long blond hair reflected the light and her fair skin looked attractive. Her face seemed a little gentle, but also unbelievably attractive. Also, even though her body is slender, it’s also really erotic.

And the best features are her fox ears and tail the same color as her hair. It really suits her.

I gasped in surprise. She was a friend who had traveled with me in my gaming days. The girl I once abandoned… Kuuna.

I came here because she’d be here, but I didn’t expect to see her so soon. We were supposed to meet a few years from now going by what I learned from the game Irulande.

“Ah, ojou-chan, is this your first time in this city?”

“Yes. This is the first city I came to after leaving my hometown, so I don’t know how to get into such a big city.”

Kuuna replies with a friendly smile.

Are you insane?! If you’re going to ask someone, why would you ask a slaver?

“Is there no one with you?”

The slaver, with greed in his eyes, signals with his hands to the carriage. A man was sneaking around behind Kuuna from her blindspot.

“Yes, I’m alone. I ran away from my village! I heard that there’s a shortage of labor in this city and that there’s a lot of jobs available, so I can survive on my own.”

“I see, I see, that’s great. You’re a very brave ojou-chan to run away from home and come alone to another city.”

“Thank you very much. I’m going to become a fully independent person in this city and look back on my father and brothers!”

Kuuna’s eyes light up as she tightens her fists. The slaver’s smile grows.

That’s only expected. The only demi-humans with fox ears and tails are the Fire Fox race.

The Fire Foxes are a very useful race. Their songs are imbued with magic that soothes and captivates the hearts of those who hear them. And when it comes to fire magic, they can intuitively construct the magic formulas and have an innate talent for quickly manipulating powerful flames.

And they age slowly. Although their lifespan is about the same as a human’s, Fire Foxes remain young and beautiful until the moment they die. They are the best combat slaves as well as sex slaves and can be sold at high prices. And… there’s one more thing that makes them valuable.

“Then, let uncle here find you a job.”

“Really?! Moguu!”

She was so engrossed in talking with the slaver that she didn’t notice the other guy sneaking up behind her.

A cloth was pressed against her mouth and she lost consciousness. The slaver then ties her up with ropes and puts a few magic-blocking charms on her before loading her into the carriage.

“I’ll give you a proper job, ojou-chan. From tomorrow onwards, you’ll be a slave, which is a very respectable profession.”

The slaver and the other man laugh loudly. They must be happy because they obtained such good goods in a place like this.

The people around them were watching, but no one was intervening. In this world, once you’re outside the city, there’s no law.

She was caught because she was stupid. That’s what I would have thought under normal circumstances.

But I know Kuuna. I have both her smiling and crying face etched into my memory. That’s why I can’t abandon her. … Even if she is a different person from the one I left behind to die in the game.

This time, I want to be happy with her.

I get up and start walking. I’ll have to get back in line after, but I don’t care. I reach the slaver’s carriage and begin to speak.

“Merchant-san. That girl is the daughter of an acquaintance of mine. I was asked to come to this city to look for her. Would you be willing to let her go?”

“What? What are you talking about? This girl is my merchandise. I brought her here to sell her in this city.”

“I watched you abduct her.”

“So what? She’s the product I procured right here and now.”

“So you admit to kidnapping?”

“Ha! This is outside the city. There’s no law, no nothing.”

“I see. So there’s no problem if I steal your merchandise here, right? Magic Silver Transmutation: Type 1 – Spear.”

I thrust the silver spear at his neck.

“Y-you, what are you-? G-guards! Someone call the guards!”

The slaver shouts, but no one moves.

All these people around us were watching the slaver kidnap the girl. Of course they’d ignore such a man’s cry for help.

“That girl is my benefactor. I will kill you for her. Also the man hiding back there. One step and I kill him.”

The tip of my spear pierces the slaver’s neck, spilling blue particles instead of blood.

This is proof that the goddess’ blessing is working. However, this merchant is at the low end of Rank 1. If I thrust this spear into him, he’ll use up his blessing and die in an instant.

After receiving my warning, the slaver’s companion, who was going to sneak up behind me, stopped on his tracks. He’s at the high end of Rank 1. If I fought him properly I might not be able to win. But I would have at least been able to escape after saving Kuuna.

Everyone stopped moving and the air became tense. Everything was painfully silent.

“What are you doing?! You’re ruining my plan!!”

An out-of-place voice echoed. It was an angry voice, but it was strangely cute, breaking all the tension.

“Um, wha-? Why are you awake?”

The slaver muttered with a blank look on his face.

“Are you talking about the drug you put on the cloth? I am physically incapable of being poisoned. My father made me drink lots of poisons since I was a little girl, so I developed a resistance to it.”

… I heard such a story a long time ago.

Kuuna’s father is quite a spartan and trains his sons and daughters thoroughly.

“Then how did you get caught?!”

“Since I couldn’t pay the entrance fee, I thought I could get in for free as a product. All I had to do after was escape after entering the city. That’s why I went through all the trouble to talk with a slave trader.”

The slaver and his assistant’s jaws dropped to the ground as they stared blankly at each other.

What’s with this unreasonable setup?!

“B-but, even if you’re a Fire Fox, if your magic is blocked then-”

“Are you talking about these toys?”

Kuuna’s eyes flashed red. At the same time, all the magic-blocking charms burned at once.

“What a crude thing. It’s a type of charm that creates a disturbance by putting some noise on your magic, but the pattern is so simple that it’s easy to shut it out. Also, the output is weak. Actually, you put so many of them that they’re interfering with each other, making them less effective. It’s easy to escape, but if it’s this lousy, even I’m going to get annoyed.”

Red flames erupt from all over her body, burning all the magic-blocking charms. The flames burned the slaver’s skin, spilling more particles of blue light.

Maybe this girl could have even beaten the other guy at the top of Rank 1.

“Hi- hiii-! T-that’s enough, please leave, it’s my bad.”

Slowly, while hearing the merchant’s screams, Kuuna exits the carriage.

“Let’s go then. Onii-san over there. I’m going to have you take responsibility for ruining my plan.”

Kuuna said in a teasing manner. This gesture makes me feel nostalgic.

“I wonder if I did something unnecessary.”

“It was the first time in my life a boy saved me, so as a girl I’m happy. So it wasn’t all for nothing.”

Kuuna said with a smile on her face. A smile that she never showed much in my gaming days.

As far as I know, Kuuna is a more quiet and emotionless girl. She’s a girl with no interest in herself or others.

Her smile, it makes me unbelievably happy.

“… I see, that’s good. Let’s talk over there.”

We both walked away from the line.