chapter 14
< The magic formula was in Korean >
* * *
The building where the imperial merchants were staying was quite close to the auction house.
It is unlikely that merchants from the empire, who are neither nobles nor soldiers, will use it as they please, and it seems that the kingdom of Kania, which has taken control of the city, is renting it for a short period of time in exchange for a price.
Rough men were guarding the entrance and surroundings of the building.
In front of the building were several wagons for transporting slaves.
It looks similar to the one I rode when I came to the auction house, but this one is an iron bar, not a tree.
The size also seemed a bit large.
There was also a regular wagon next to the slave wagon, and slaves with metal chains around their necks stacked their loads on the roof and on the space behind the wagon.
In front of the building, Mustache turned to look at Rudy and the slaves.
“From now on, you will receive two meals a day. I’ll give you time to evacuate after eating, so make sure to do your errands at the appointed time!”
“…”
The slaves who came with Rudy hesitated and lowered their heads, as if remembering the mustache.
“Ah, there will be a slave execution this afternoon, so keep an eye on it. You need to know what happens to a disobedient slave.”
Mustache smirked and turned away.
The men standing next to the mustache led Rudy and the slaves into the building.
Inexpensive slaves were taken to rooms on the first floor.
It was a separate room for men and women.
“Your high-class slaves are this way.”
The men pulled the chains of the slaves and headed for the second floor.
The place Rudy entered looked like a warehouse, but it was a fairly clean room.
High-class slaves were also put into separate rooms for men and women.
Rudy is the women’s room.
Were you afraid of what might happen to you?
The female slaves trembled in fear as men on leashes entered the room.
The men looked at the women as if they were sucking, but they did nothing other than remove the wire from the necklace.
One muttered as if regretting it.
“It’s for sale anyway, so I’d like to try it at least once.”
Hearing that, the other man frowned.
“It might be better to just think about it. If you touch the product, you will be whipped and kicked out.”
“So it’s not that I’m sorry. As long as they keep their mouths shut, no one will know…”
“stop. If it really happened, whipping alone wouldn’t end it. If you damage the product, you will have to pay compensation. That’s a lot of money!”
“Sheesh! What are you getting so excited about just saying something?”
The story ended there.
The owner of this place is a slave trader, but it seems to have its own rules.
‘At least it’s not the worst.’
I could hear the women huddled in the corner sighing in relief.
It seems that the women were also afraid of what might happen to them.
After the men left, they were served a meal.
It was a stew and a loaf of dark bread.
Bread, I came here and tried it for the first time.
Unlike the ones he ate on Earth, it was hard and tasteless, but Rudy hurriedly tore off a piece of bread and put it in his mouth.
The bread was so chewy that I had to chew it for a while. By the time I finished eating, my jaw hurt a little.
After that, a slave brought two wooden buckets for defecation.
One by one they were forced to do their errands, and after a while the slave took the barrel back out.
After that, no one came for a while.
Perhaps they calmed down after knowing that they had no fear of getting into trouble.
It was mainly a story about what happens when you are sold as a slave, and what happens to a slave with a smooth appearance.
Among them were stories of slaves who died from being flogged, or rumors that only female slaves were punished because they were caught daily being abused by the servants of their masters.
“The best thing is to become the master’s concubine. Then at least no one else can touch it.”
When one woman said that, everyone fell silent.
In the afternoon, when the sun was setting in the sky, the door burst open and the slave house men entered.
“Come on, let’s go.”
“Hurry! It is an execution spectacle.”
The men pushed the women out and drove them out. Everyone is dragged out in a row.
Rudy also clung to the edge of the women and followed them.
All the slaves in the other rooms were coming out, but most of the male slaves had chains on their collars.
The slave house men led the slaves to the back of the building.
Slaves were already gathered there, standing in a circle.
Rudy went in the farthest because of his short stature. There was nothing that prevented a child from seeing an execution.
Not one slave was executed.
All five people.
The slaves had their hands tied behind their backs and their mouths gagged.
But one of them is wearing a strange necklace.
All the slaves Rudy had seen so far were wearing thick metal collars.
Some were painted or narrow, but all were made of thick iron.
In fact, four out of five people wear such necklaces.
However, the necklace of the slave who knelt down at the end and looked down was very thin unlike the others.
And there was a mixture of gems, glass, or stone dust.
Maybe that necklace isn’t made of iron. It occurred to me that it might have been made of porcelain or baked clay.
The strangest thing is that the necklace has letters written on it.
Rudy blankly looked at the slave’s necklace.
What is written there must be Korean, if his eyes are not mistaken.
‘What is this…’
The following was written on the slave’s collar in clumsy Korean.
[Stun gun; blood authentication; work···]
There were more letters on the back, but they are not visible from this side.
Suddenly, the word ‘Corea Dynasty’ mentioned by the head of the guard and the nanny came to mind.
Perhaps it is because the word ‘Korea’ has been misrepresented.
someone muttered.
“The horse necklace that slave is wearing is very expensive. Are you really giving up?”
I turned my head slightly to check, and it was the man who had been telling me to secretly taste female slaves earlier.
The person who stopped him then said as if he was pathetic.
“You don’t know anything about magic tools. can’t use that anymore It’s already been activated, so it can’t be released without the owner.”
“No, but if the slave dies, he won’t be released.”
“Because it doesn’t. Regardless of whether the slave dies or is decapitated, once activated, the magic tool will never be released if there is no one who activated it.”
“Then melt that down…”
“That’s stupid. It melts because magic tools melt with fire.”
“It’s a waste.”
“I can’t help it.”
Listening to the sound of the two of them with the back of his ear, Rudy looked at the horse necklace.
However, it is very strange that the magic formula is in Korean.
At that time, I couldn’t let go of my lingering feelings, and I heard a man muttering.
“Damn it, I wish I could only read and write that magic formula.”
“Then I will be born into the Corea Dynasty.”
“…”
Rudy raised his head involuntarily.
No way, people here don’t know Hangul? Like ancient languages, are only a few people learning them? But what does ‘then born into the Corea dynasty’ mean?
Unknowingly, he almost asked such a question, but Rudy quickly averted his eyes.
It’s difficult to get attention by asking a strange question.
Meanwhile, a man with an ax went and stood behind the slaves to be executed.
He approaches the slave standing to the far right among them and knocks him down roughly to the floor.
The slave fell face down on the floor with his hands tied behind his back.
The chain from the collar tumbled over the slave’s body.
Another man pulled the wire tight up, and the necklace climbed up to his chin.
The slave tried to struggle, but the ax man pressed his back with his wrists and feet.
He looked around at the faces of the slaves with mustaches and said.
“This slave stole from his master. The punishment of a slave who steals is death.”
The mustache nodded, and the man stepping on the slave’s back raised his ax to the sky.
When the women couldn’t bear to look and turned their heads, the men in the slave house standing nearby shouted and forced them to look ahead.
As the slaves watched, the ax was struck.
The throat was cut with a thud.
Mustache speaks again.
“The second slave wounded the master he served.”
Again the slave’s throat was cut.
The surroundings are as quiet as a rat, and it seems that even the blinking of an eye can be heard.
The third slave’s crime was not doing what he was told to do.
The fourth slave tried to escape, so first his legs were cut off, then his head fell off.
And finally, it was the turn of the man who was the only one wearing a horse necklace.
Mustache looked around and opened his mouth.
“This slave was an escort slave who guarded his master. But his master lost his life in the war. Some of you will end up wearing horse necklaces.”
Mustache’s gaze was on Rudy and the high-class male slaves.
“It would be good to keep an eye on it. The horse necklace cannot be undone by anyone other than the owner. When the owner dies, the necklace remains permanently wrapped around his neck. And what about the slave?”
said Mustache with a smirk.
“Women are a bit better though. Powerless girls, even if they are wearing another owner’s necklace, there will be a place to use it. But the case of men is different. If you know how to handle a weapon, it’s a mess that’s really difficult to dispose of.”
A mustache glanced at the slave to be executed.
“That man’s sin was not protecting his master.”
The slave wearing the horse collar did not struggle or cry unlike the others.
I just quietly lay my eyes down.
The ax man forcibly grabbed the horseneck slave’s head and lifted it up.
Suddenly, the slave’s gaze turned to Rudy in front.
It was only for a moment, but there was a startling light in his eyes.
“…”
Rudy quickly lowered his gaze.
I don’t know if he’s ever seen him. But he seemed to notice something.
Wouldn’t someone have looked into the eyes of the slave? Maybe that’s why you pay attention to yourself?
My heart beat fast because of fear.
He slightly raised his gaze to examine the horse collar slave, but he lowered his gaze again.
“If you decide to wear a horse necklace in the future, it would be better to protect your master with all your might.”
After the words of the mustache, the ax man knocked the horse necklace man to the ground.
Just as the ax was about to decapitate the horseneck man, he lifted his head upward as if by chance.
His eyes caught Rudy’s and seemed to soften, albeit just a little bit.
Right after that, the man’s head tumbled towards Rudy.
Rudy held his hands tightly and bowed his head.
The execution was over, but no one moved.
The horse necklace that came off the neck is buried in a puddle of blood and dyed red.
Rudy moved near the pool of blood as the slaves started moving to get inside.
The letters on the back of the necklace caught my eye.
The necklace read:
[Stun gun; blood authentication; Input “Feel the pain falling on you”]
The words “Feel the pain that befalls you” were in the invaded Dicoquarian language.
And next to it was a small picture similar to an electric circuit.
As I was still looking down at it, the mustache approached.
“You are a strange child. I don’t even cry when I see this.”
“master!”
Rudy lowered his head, and the moustached horse descended from above.
“If you want to have this, you can take it. That horse necklace has no value anymore.”
“…”
I don’t know why you say that. Unsure of his intentions, he stayed still. Mustache slightly bent his body and spoke in a low voice.
“Did Lee Ja know you? Neither I nor my master believe that you were a servant. But even if you were a noble, it doesn’t matter to us. If you want to receive it as a keepsake, take it. Forgive me until I meet a new owner.”
“!”
Mustache straightened up and entered the building as if nothing had happened.
Rudy picked up the necklace in the pool of blood.
The ax man was nearby but didn’t stop him.
After attaching the dead slave’s head to his body, he looked at his face until everyone had entered.
< The magic formula was in Korean > End