Death March kara Hajimaru Isekai Kyusoukyoku (LN) - Volume Ex1 - Chapter SS1.2

Liza's Old Friends - Part 2

"If you're looking for a sex slave, you're in the wrong place. Head to one of the shops out front."

I went to Mossu Shop on Irode Street just like the guard told me to, and those are the first words that come out of Mossu-san's mouth.

Do I really look like such a pervert?

"One of the town guards introduced me to this store."

"Huh? A guard?"

Mossu-san starts scrutinizing me. He seems to be doubtful of my story.

"All we have here are diseased human slaves, and demi-human slaves that are headed for the mines."

Just like he says, this store seems to have several STD-infected human slaves, both male and female.

"Oh, then did you come to sell those three?"

Mossu-san gets the wrong idea and says something preposterous.

"D-don't throw Tama away~."

"You can't leave Pochi nanodesu!"

Tama and Pochi seem to have believed his words, and start hugging me with tears in their eyes.

"M-Master..."

Liza is making a worried face too.

There's no way I could throw you all away like that.

"I have no intention of that."

I pet Tama and Pochi's head, while giving Liza a smile to reassure them.

"I was just thinking of buying a few demi-human slaves."

After I tell him that, he takes us into the backroom to show us the slaves.

"Bear!"

"It's Leopard-oneesan nanodesu!"

Tama and Pochi jump out of their chairs when they see the slaves brought in."

Apparently, these slaves were just given the animal names 'Bear' and 'Leopard', just like the three beast-girls had at first.

"Cat and Dog?"

"And you're Lizard!"

After hearing their names called, the bear-kin woman and the leopardhead-kin woman respond using the beast-girls' old names.

The bear-kin looks similar to a normal bear that is standing upright. However, the leopardhead-kin woman only has the head of a leopard. Below the neck, she looks almost identical to a human. Pretty much the only difference is her leopard-like tail.

Like most demi-humans, it's a little hard to understand their speech, so I mentally adjust as usual.

"Tama is Tama~?"

"Pochi got named Pochi by Master nanodesu!"

"And I have received the name Liza."

The three beast-girls tell the bear-kin and leopardhead-kin about their new names.

They seem to be pretty proud of those.

"I see, so you were looking for the acquaintances of those slaves then."

Mossu-san makes a nasty smile as he licks his lips.

It looks like he plans to suck as much money as possible out of me.

"Are these girls getting sent to the mines?"

"Yeah, that's what's going to happen if you don't buy them."

The mines in this world are much more lethal than the mines on Earth. It's a harsh place where the slaves are worked to death.

Not the mention that these girls are demi-humans. They'll likely be sent to the most dangerous areas.

I really don't want any more slaves, but I can't bring myself to just leave Liza's friends to die. That's why I decided to buy these two.

"I can offer 2 gold for both of them."

Before he can try to overcharge me, I offer the upper limit shown by my Estimation skill.

Slaves being sent to the mines should be incredibly cheap, so this would make him a huge profit.

"10 gold for both of them."

"That's ridiculous. Also, the leopardhead-kin woman should have a baby too. Three gold for all of them, including the baby."

He tries to rip me off, just like I thought. I drop the act and start seriously negotiating with him.

"We can add the baby, but 5 gold for all of them."

"Fine, 5 gold for all three, if you include the contract and renaming fees."

"Aw yeah! You've got a deal!"

And so, I bought the bear-kin, as well as the leopardhead-kin mother and child. Their names were changed from Bear and Leopard to their preferred names.

The bear-kin is Arbe, the leopardhead-kin mother is Chita, and her baby is Sui.

They only had rags to wear, so I have the store's manservant go buy clothes and shoes for them.

"Huh~?"

"Mouse isn't here nanodesu?"

Tama and Pochi seem to have realized something.

"Yeah, she was already sold."

"Oh no~."

"She can't come with us nanodesu."

Tama and Pochi seem disappointed at the bear-kin Arbe's response.

Liza explains to me that there was a longhair rat-kin woman among her friends as well.

I use my map search to look for 'Mouse' but there aren't any hits over the entire Seiryuu Earldom.

She was likely bought by someone from another territory or another country.

"Don't worry, she has always been the lucky one."

The leopardhead-kin Chita tries to console the beast-girls.

"You might be right about that one. That hag is a miser and a weirdo, but she doesn't seem the type to abuse slaves for no reason.

Mossu-san is happily counting the gold coins as he tells us about the person who bought Mouse.

The girls seem to be a bit relieved after hearing that.

"--I bought the clothes."

The manservant comes back carrying clothes and shoes.

They are pretty worn-down, but at least these cloaks can be used to hide their appearance as demi-humans.

"Thanks for the help."

As thanks for the service, I hand him a generous tip.

I have a little bit of time now since I need to wait for Arbe and Chita to finish changing.

--Time to figure out what I'm going to do next.

I ended up taking custody of these slaves, but it would be difficult to bring a baby on a long journey by carriage.

If they had someone else to take care of them, I could just free them. However, they already told me that they didn't have any relatives or acquaintances that could help.

"Master..."

Liza nervously walks up to me.

It seems like they are done changing now.

"Alright, let's head out."

Rather than returning to the Gatefront Inn, I decided to head to the general store.

It looks like Arisa and the others are still out shopping, and Zena-san is still working, so I decide to go to Nadi-san for help.

◆

"--Please!"

Before we could enter the general store, I hear a familiar voice shouting from the direction of the gate.

"Huh~?"

"Pochi knows that kid nanodesu!"

Tama and Pochi point at the direction of the main gate.

Arguing with the gatekeeper is one of the dog-kin children I met this morning.

According to my AR display, he is a boy named Hauha.

"Ah!"

"Oh no nanodesu!"

Tama and Pochi run off towards the gate when they see the gatekeeper push him to the ground.

I follow right after them.

"Hurt anywhere~?"

"Are you okay nanodesu?"

Tama and Pochi check Hauha for injuries.

"Ah! Please help!"

When Hauha sees me, he starts begging me for help.

"Oi! If you know that kid, then take him out of here."

The gatekeeper waves us away in annoyance.

I bring Hauha a little off to the side to talk to him.

The old lady warned me earlier not to be so friendly with the kids, but this is clearly an emergency. I decide to listen to Hauha's story.

"What's wrong?"

"One-eyed tiger show up. Everyone in danger."

I see, so they ran into a tiger while gathering herbs.

I open my map and use the search to look for tigers.

It seems like their main habitat is the east side of the mountain.

"Bad news! Katame has shown up in the eastern forest!"

"Katame?! That man-eating tiger?!"

"He's that close? His den was supposed to be on the east side of the mountain!"

"That's why I came to warn you!"

I manage to overhear the shouts of the gatekeeper and a pair of hunters that have just returned from the forest. What great timing for an explanation.

I'll try searching the eastern forest.

--Found it.

It's a level 10 named tiger known as Katame.

The dog and cat children are nearby, but they seem to have escaped by climbing a tree. If I remember correctly, tigers should be able to climb trees, but I guess Katame can't do it very well.

The old human lady and longhair rat-kin that were with them seem to be hiding in a ditch under a large boulder.

"Thorne-sama isn't here?"

"His wife is giving birth soon, so he's visiting her right now."

"Damn this timing!"

My Listening skill picks up the soldier's conversation.

Come on, it's not like you're at war or anything. Going to see your wife give birth is completely normal.

"We need to hang on a little longer. The replacement knight should be here any minute now."

All the soldiers that are currently at the gate are fairly low level.

It would be impossible for them to take on Katame.

Also, looking at the movements of Katame's dot, it will only be a matter of time before he reaches the two.

"I'll go help. Can you lead the way?"

"Aye! I can."

I tell Liza that I'm leaving to rescue them, and run off carrying the dog-kin child.

For some reason, Liza and the others are following me. The bear-kin Arbe and the leopardhead-kin Chita look like they want to come along as well.

Bringing a baby is definitely a bad idea, so I order Chita to wait at the gate before heading off.

"Haaa, haaa, w-wait up."

Arbe is starting to slow down a little.

It looks like she has less stamina than I expected.

"Tama, Pochi, slow down and take her with you."

"Aye~."

"Okay nanodesu."

Tama and Pochi seem a bit unsatisfied.

They were probably having fun running through the field at full speed.

"Uwawawa, Dog? Cat?"

"Not Cat, Tama~?"

"Not Dog, Pochi nanodesu!"

Tama and Pochi pick up the bear-kin Arbe, who is twice their size, and start carrying her.

They're pushing themselves too hard.

"Pochi, Tama, we're swapping. Liza, you take Hauha."

I hand Liza the dog child and start carrying Arbe on my back.

Arbe seems to be a bit ashamed, but now isn't the time to worry about that. Saving everyone from Katame is our top priority right now. We pass through the field without issue and enter the eastern forest.

◆

"Found~."

"Danger danger nanodesu!"

Tama and Pochi spot the man-eating tiger Katame.

The old lady and the longhair rat-kin are digging up and expanding the ditch under the boulder so they have more space to hide.

"T-tiger."

The dog child sees Katame and starts panicking in Liza's arms.

"I-it's huge, what the hell is that? Is that really a tiger?"

On my back, the bear-kin Arbe lets out a frightened shout.

I can understand why, this guy is at least twice the size of the tigers you see at a zoo.

"It is just a tiger... Tama, Pochi, take it out!"

"Aye aye sir~."

"Roger nanodesu."

Tama and Pochi pick up some stones.

"W-wait, Master?! They can't do it! Let me down, Lizard and I will handle it!"

Arbe starts flailing around on my back.

"It'll be fine."

"There's no way!"

"They will be fine. Also, my name is Liza, not Lizard. Please keep that in mind."

Arbe still seems unconvinced after hearing Liza's reassurance.

She tries to argue back, but Tama and Pochi interrupt her by landing a stone toss on Katame.

"Direct hit~?"

"The big meat is coming here nanodesu."

Katame lets loose a pained cry and turns towards the two. Tama and Pochi draw their short swords and begin fighting.

It looks like it is a bit difficult for them since they don't have their shields today.

Just in case, I take a sharp rock out of Storage and hide it in my hands.

If they ever seem to be in trouble, I'll kill Katame with this.

"Y-you're kidding, right? Those two crybabies are fighting head to head with a man-eating tiger?"

"Amazing."

Arbe and the dog child are watching their fight with their eyes wide open.

"Liza, help them out."

"Understood."

Liza started fidgeting a little, so I take the dog-kin child from her and give her permission to fight.

"Master, how in the world...?"

"Those three got stronger during the Demon's Labyrinth incident."

I respond to Arbe's nervous-sounding question.

"They must have worked so hard."

"Yeah, that's right."

Arbe takes pride in the growth of her friends, and I nod in consent.

In the meanwhile, Katame has taken several small wounds from Tama and Pochi, and one heavy injury from Liza's spear. It turns around and begins to retreat.

--I won't let you get away.

I take the pointed rock and throw it at Katame's unguarded flank. It makes a direct hit and pierces the tiger's heart.

Katame's body falls lifelessly into a shrub, getting entangled in it.

"...H-huh? The tiger is...?"

"It fell? Is it dead?"

It looks like Arbe and the dog-kin child didn't manage to see my stone toss.

Liza confirms its death and walks over to report to me.

"Ah~, Mouse~."

"Mouse! Nanodesu!"

"Cat? Dog? Lizard too! What are you all doing here?"

"It's been a while."

The longhair rat-kin crawls out from under the boulder and starts chatting with the three beast-girls.

It's almost as if they know each other from somewhere.

"My name is Kemi now, so please call me that instead."

"Tama is Tama~."

"Pochi was named Pochi by Master nanodesu."

"And I have received the name Liza."

I finally realize it after I see the four telling each other their new names.

This longhair rat-kin Kemi must be their slave friend that was sold earlier.

"Kemi! Help pull me out of here!"

I hear the voice of the old lady from under the boulder.

I leave her to the beast-girls and use my Radar to find the children that had hidden in the trees.

"There! Over there!"

The dog-kin child I brought with me shouts when he sees them.

The children in the trees have noticed us as well and wave back.

"Master and Kemi are...!"

"The tiger is after them!"

"Help Master!"

"Please!"

From the top of the tree, the children all shout for me to help their master and the rat-kin rather than themselves.

Such good kids.

"It's okay, we already helped them. You can come down now."

After hearing my explanation, the children happily climb down the tree.

--Hmm?

There's one cat child that isn't coming down.

"What's wrong Nyai?"

"Come down with us?"

"Everything fine now."

The other children call out to her, but she's still just trembling.

It looks like she's too scared to climb down.

I jump up towards the tree, and then wall-jump off of the trunk in order to grab the branch that she is on.

I pull myself up the branch and reach a hand out to the girl.

"Everything's fine now, let's go down together."

"A-aye."

I carry the girl and jump back down to the ground.

She was desperately clinging on to me, and started to unconsciously claw into my arm. It hurt just a little bit.

"Coooool!"

"So fast~."

The children see me drop down and start complimenting me.

I lead the children back to their master, and I see the old lady having her back rubbed by the rat-kin Kemi.

My AR display tells me that her back is strained. It must have happened when she was hiding under the rock.

"--To think you would be the one who saved us."

"It was because these children asked me for help.

"You're too soft."

"Sorry, that's just how I am."

I ended up breaking my promise to not be friendly with the kids, but I would do the same thing if I was faced with this situation again.

"Thanks, so can Mr Hero tell me his name?"

I had introduced myself to her earlier, but I guess she doesn't remember.

"I am the traveling merchant Satou."

"Merchant?"

She seems surprised upon hearing my occupation.

"You have the wrong job... Well, whatever. You have my thanks, Satou. Call me Yona."

Yona-san ends up thanking me again.

"Master, we are ready to move out."

Liza reports to me with a smile.

It looks like the beast-girls have finished draining the blood from the tiger and tied the body to a pole for transport.

"Your slaves look like they are pretty strong."

"Yes, those girls were trained in the labyrinth."

"I see, so they were the survivors of the labyrinth..."

Looks like she's heard of the labyrinth incident.

I pick her up and carry her on my back as we return to Seiryuu City.