Chapter 79.1: New Race Unlocked?
The arrival of the Radiant Sun Church's cavalry unit brought about a significant boost in business to the entertainment establishments lining both sides of the road leading to Indahl's church.
These well-off church knights were much more generous with their spending than the locals and didn't hesitate to give out silver coins even to table boys and gatekeepers, though these guests from the Kenyan Empire were rather hard to please.
However, within just a few days, the ladies prominent in Indahl's social scene had lost their appeal to them.
Ultimately, Indahl was merely a small inland city. No matter how carefully well the socialites of this place portrayed themselves, they would still seem rustic in the eyes of the knights of the Radiant Sun Church; their mannerisms were nowhere near as refined as those of the women from the Kenyan Empire. Once the novelty had worn off, these knights became miserly and hardly even willing to part with a single copper coin.
The manager of the club was reluctant to lose these high-paying guests, and after discreetly consulting Lieutenant Regan, who held a position second only to the commander of the cavalry unit, a mysterious smile played on his lips.
That very day, the club's manager acted in person and led a few knights most enthusiastic about indulging in "curiosity," guiding them discreetly out of the city aboard horse-drawn carriages when the sky grew dark.
Two hours later, four carriages appeared in the small town of Weisshem, located approximately 60 kilometers away from the city of Indahl.
Weisshem was a small town with a population of roughly six thousand, though it boasted a wide main road that was more impressive than towns with double or triple its population. Electric poles flanked both sides of this main street, dense with power lines running through them, which was a sight most inhabitants of a city like Indahl would deem rare.
The buildings lining the main road were no less impressive than the Indahl's commercial district itself. Every establishment and shop front was adorned with colorful neon lights.
Considering that this small town had a less-than-ideal geographic location, devoid of fertile lands, minerals, or noteworthy craftsmanship, one might wonder where the financial resources to construct such an extravagant "townscape" came from.
With regards to this, any man entering Weisshem would instantly understand…
As the carriages entered the town's gates, the eyes of the Kenyan knights lit up. When the club manager instructed the coachmen to halt the four carriages in front of an exotic-looking building, the Kenyan knights seemed to forget their usual dignity as knights of the Radiant Sun Church and eagerly dismounted from the carriages in a hurry.
Before the resplendent golden gates, scantily clad "attendants" bowed respectfully to the Kenyan knights, striving to showcase their primal allure and assets.
This might seem like a shady establishment in the eyes of ordinary folk, but to special groups of people, this was a place of extravagant indulgence. All sorts of different guests, ranging from renowned merchants, business owners, mercenaries, and more, filled the main hall.
The well-off Kenyan knights certainly didn't indulge in the main hall's "offerings." Guided by the club manager, they ascended to the most exclusive VIP rooms, and the establishment's owner came to personally usher them to their selection.
Compared to the clubs in Indahl, this establishment in Weisshem had complete "resources." There were male attendants, female attendants, youths, young girls, humans, orcs…
The Kenyan knights couldn't contain their excitement as they eagerly chose attendants for company.
Four hundred years ago, during the Age of Discovery, when the gold rush from sea trade swept through Navalon, orcish slaves, spices, and various fabrics produced by the Kenyan Empire became hot commodities in the continent. Other than a few countries or regions that rejected the use of orc slaves due to their doctrines, slavery was considered a legal trade in most places.
It was also rather "unfortunate" that the doctrines of Lady Gold Coin also prohibited slavery. Not just a prohibition of orcish slaves, but it extended to human ones as well.
Although there was criticism for being "unscrupulous and shameless," Lady Gold Coin was, after all, a lawful goddess; money and trade were her doctrines, but the kind of goods for such transactions didn't include intelligent races.
It wasn't just Lady Gold Coin; the neighboring Goddess of Prosperity had similar rules. While the noblemen of Camore did everything in their power to turn the common folks into serfs, they didn't dare treat them as slaves. Even if the townspeople of Camore lived no differently from serfs, these noblemen would always make public declarations that the people were "free citizens."
Actions could be taken, but not spoken of. This was an unspoken rule amongst the "civilized" of this world—a tacit understanding.
Be it in the Goddess of Propserity's Duchy of Shiga or the Rhine Kingdom where Lady Gold Coin presided, there were absolutely no serfs, just tenants and laborers. Slavery, too, was strictly nonexistent; everyone was officially classified as a "contract worker," having signed agreements with their respective employers.
Of course, regardless of how this infuriating unspoken rule was widely accepted, minors under 16 and unruly orcs who had to be subjected to restraints were still considered illegal if they appeared in places of vice, regardless of whether they were being bought or sold. It would be a breach of written laws.
In a bustling city like Indahl, even the shrewdest of club owners couldn't openly display "merchandise" that violated the law. But when it came to the remote town of Weisshem, there were far fewer reservations about creating an unrestricted red-light district.
The establishment's owner led several dozen attendants into the VIP room, but even with their extravagance, the Kenyan knights couldn't keep them all. Over ten attendants were "eliminated" and followed the owner out.
These "eliminated" attendants followed the stern owner back to the waiting area and were continuously berated with phrases like "trash," "money-losing," and "worthless" for over half an hour. It wasn't until a server called the owner away did the room finally fall silent.
In a corner of the waiting area, a young human boy with dark hair watched the establishment's owner storm out in anger. He then reached out and gently tugged the young orc girl seated to his left.
This orc girl had slightly green skin, pointed ears, and protruding canines that jutted out of her lips. Shackles bounded her hands and feet, and an iron muzzle was forcibly fitted over her mouth to prevent her from biting. Despite being an orc, she had been starved to the point that she was nearly as thin as a human girl.
The dark-haired boy tugged her tail, and the starving orc girl turned and met him with a weak, powerless gaze.
Lowering his head, the boy used his fingers to trace two words on her side, "Escape, Lyka."
Lyka's golden eyes hovered blankly over this boy for a moment, then she turned away silently.
She didn't refuse… but she didn't agree either.
She knew this boy had been captured and sold into slavery by a slave merchant caravan; he still had a place he could return to.
Lyka, though, didn't know where she could go even if she escaped the hell that was Weisshem.
The orc girl, Lyka, was not born in the homeland of the orcs but was a "native" of the Navalon continent. Her ancestors had been seized and taken into Navalon some four hundred years ago, and she was a "nth generation slave."
Lyka didn't know the orcish language; she could only speak the common tongue. This was because her father had once been favored by an estate's steward and assigned clerical work, so Lyka could also write in the beautiful script of the Navalon continent's common language.
Before the age of twelve, Lyka's life on the estate was no different from the children of other human servant families. She played hide-and-seek in the stables and warehouses with other human children, ran and played in the fields after the autumn harvest, caught grasshoppers, climbed trees to pick fruits, and caught fish in the river.
Shortly after she turned twelve, Lyka's life changed.
The old steward of the estate, who had favored Lyka's father, was replaced by a man who was the estate owner's valet. This man drove the old steward away, and all that were previously employed by the old steward were dismissed.
It was at this point that Lyka realized that she and her family were different from the human servant families—human servants were merely dismissed, but Lyka and her family, despite having contracts, could be sold off.
Her father was the first to go. The new steward sold him off to a passing merchant caravan.
Next was Lyka's mother, then brother, before Lyka herself.
Seeing her family locked inside iron cages meant for domesticated animals, Lyka thought her world had collapsed. Only after being sold to Weisshem did she realize how naive she had been.
Scoldings, beatings, solitary confinement, starvation, torture… In less than three months, Lyka had transformed from a lively young orc girl into this lifeless shell of her old self.
The boy got a little anxious when he didn't receive a response from Lyka. Not caring about exposing himself anymore, he leaned close to Lyka and whispered in her ear, "Lyka, let's escape together. It won't end well if we stay here."
Her beautiful golden pupils shifted slowly and focused on him once more.
Lyka didn't really want to live anymore. She thought she could try to help this human who resembled her former playmates… Even if she died, if this person could escape, it would still count as a tiny, final victory.
Thus, Lyka nodded and croaked hoarsely, "Alright."
The dark-haired boy's face lit up, and he was just about to tell her a secret—
BOOM—!!
The waiting area where the attendants were housed was located deep within the establishment. For the sake of preventing them (especially orcs) from escaping, the waiting area had thick walls and the windows were sealed with steel plates. The entire room was like a giant jail cell.
But even so, following the loud boom coming from an unknown source, even the waiting area's sturdiest wall swayed slightly.
The waiting area, previously only filled with soft whispers and quiet sobbing, suddenly erupted in commotion.
Even the seemingly confident dark-haired boy was taken aback as he gazed at the main doors of the waiting area in uncertainty.
From outside came the sounds of hurried footsteps, clashing of weapons, and shouting as if a fracas had broken out in the corridor. And from time to time, this was accompanied by cries of pain.
The attendants near the door exchanged glances, some inched toward the back in fear, while others quickly rushed to the door, pressing their ears against it to listen. Someone even knelt down to try and peek through the gap at the bottom of the door.
"Ah!" The male human attendant who had knelt down cried out in alarm and jumped to his feet after a quick glance. "Blood! There's a lot of blood outside!"
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