Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody

Satou here. They say fate is a strange connection, but sometimes you end up meeting people you never wanted to be involved with.

It seems such destiny exists.

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The plaza where the slave market was held was about 200 to 300 meters in diameter, with bonfires lit every 20 meters or so.

Like a festival, numerous thin wooden poles were erected, and countless thin metal plates tied to strings stretched between them shimmered, reflecting magical light. If it weren’t for the fact it was a slave market, it would feel quite romantic, perfect for a date…

In the center, where an auction hall seemed to be, ropes were strung up.

The slave auction hadn’t started yet, but on the stage, several musicians were playing a slow, lewd-sounding tune, setting a provocative atmosphere.

We didn’t enter the plaza but walked along the road, observing the scene as we passed by.

“Lord Satou!”

Lord? Who would call me that…

It was Mr. Nidoren, the slave trader I had rescued from the spiders in the labyrinth. He came out from a small tent next to a horse carriage loaded with slaves. On top of the carriage, girls chained in rows were displayed.

“Those lined up on the carriage are the slaves for today’s auction. Some have arithmetic skill and secretary skills, so Lord Satou, would you like to take one as a servant? They’ve been properly trained, all are virgins, and I can guarantee none of them refuse nighttime activity.”

…Training, huh.

But before I could be sarcastic, I had business.

“Sorry, but I need to process my current slaves first before acquiring new ones…”

“Oh? You’re going to sell them? In that case, please come to our trade company! Right now, we’re offering beautiful virgin slaves in exchange! How about it?”

Such eagerness. Not like I’m interested.

…Because I’m not, I kept holding onto their robes at my feet and looked up anxiously. I roughly patted Pochi and Tama’s heads. Though I couldn’t see it from behind, I felt Liza was also uneasy.

“As I said before, I have no intention of selling them.”

Yeah, I think releasing them is fine though.

My grip on Pochi and Tama’s robes loosened.

“I see, that’s unfortunate. Then what procedures do you mean? It’s not slave emancipation, right?”

“It’s still a provisional contract, so I want to complete the formal slave contracts. Do you know where I can do that?”

“In that case, I can help. My subordinate has the contract skill.”

“Then, may I ask you for assistance?”

“Certainly.”

I was invited inside Mr. Nidoren’s tent and offered a seat. He instructed a young man, presumably his subordinate, to prepare the contracts.

Apparently, the documents had a fixed format, so all that was needed was to fill in the names of the master and slave.

“Please write your name here. Since slaves cannot write, have them press their thumbprint with this ink.”

I signed where the young man indicated. Although it was a template, it only contained four clauses: who becomes whose slave; the slave shall not harm the master; the slave shall obey the master’s orders; and the slave shall preserve their own life. The last two clauses were reversed in order but were very similar to the Three Laws of Robotics.

After completing the contract, the young man began a ritual.

“■■■■■■■■■■■ ■■■ ■■■■ ■■■■■■■■ contract.”

What…?! Magic?

After the command word ended, the contract document burned to ashes, from which a blue light emerged and connected me and Liza with a glowing band. It blinked two or three times before the light seeped away.

Checking the young man’s status, the “contract skill” was indeed listed under skills.

Is it a skill that only uses that one magic?

] “Acquired contract skill.”

Alright, I’ll try using this skill later.

“The slave contract is now complete. If you wish, there’s a simple type of Yamato Stone behind the auction hall in the plaza where you can verify the contract.”

After finalizing the contracts for the three of us, I tried to pay the fee, but Mr. Nidoren said handling money was under his authority and asked me to wait a moment. Come to think of it, he had left the tent around the time the ritual started. He said he’d be back soon, but the wait was awkward.