Chapter 97: A New Day. Peaceful Times Where Nothing Happens
Saturday, so the townspeople have the day off from work.
In the morning, people gather at the church to pray and listen to the priest’s valuable teachings.
The Ralm Church where we’re staying, and the Lute Church run by Priest Griess who oversaw the status examination, apparently welcome anyone — even those who don’t worship a specific god — to come pray freely.
They seem to collectively revere benevolent gods friendly to humanity, such as Ralm and Lute, under the general term "Holy Gods Faith."
I sensed a large crowd in the sanctuary, so I peeked in. The pews were completely full.
I had thought no one worshipped Ralm because it was usually empty, but that wasn’t the case — people simply don’t come on weekdays because they’re working. The morning bell signaling "time to work" is apparently part of the teachings too.
I didn’t have anything in particular I wanted to pray for, so I went over to Letri-san, who was leaning against the wall in the courtyard.
In the courtyard, the beastmen were sunbathing and spacing out.
The dog girls occasionally teased each other and bounced around playfully.
"Aren’t you going to pray, Letri-san?"
"Eh?"
"Oh, was that a weird question?"
"U-um, yes..."
"Ah, is it because you worship a different god? I’m from a faraway country, so I don’t really understand the customs here."
"No, it’s not that... The beings called Holy Gods, like Ralm and Lute, are protectors of humans. There’s a belief that they do not protect beastmen. Because of that, some humans don’t like it when we approach the church."
"I see... So if you pray, people would harass you..."
"Yes... Especially those of us without collars... Um, Masaharu-san. Could you please give us collars? Please make us your slaves."
"Whoa, whoa. You finally gained your freedom, so you don’t have to become slaves. Besides, I’d be happier with ’surname slaves’ than regular slaves, you know~"
"Yes. Then please make us your surname slaves. Everyone, come here."
"Eh?"
When Letri-san called them, Petit Letri, Shepa, big sister Lian, and little sister Lian instantly stopped playing and rushed over to me. All the dog girls assembled.
"Everyone. Just as we discussed."
Letri-san stepped away from the wall and joined the line of dog girls. The five dog girls knelt like knights receiving an accolade — the ceremony where a king or priest taps the knight’s shoulder or cheek with the flat of a sword.
"Please make the five of us your surname slaves."
"I don’t like this master-slave thing. Can’t we just be friends?"
"No. Please make us your surname slaves."
Hm?
There’s clear desperation in their voices.
It’s not possible that all of them are perverted and want to become sex slaves, yet every single one has their head bowed.
Is there some circumstance here?
"Um... Like I said earlier, I don’t understand the culture or customs of this country at all. Actually, since I’m from a really distant land, I have no common sense here. Is there some reason you want to become slaves?"
"Yes... We are weak beings."
Judging from their movements, all of them seem to have higher physical ability than ordinary humans, so when they say "weak," they probably mean their social standing in human society.
"If we walk around town without collars and get caught by someone with ill intentions, we’ll be thrown back into the underground prison and wait to be sold as slaves again. But if we have an owner, the situation changes. Stealing someone else’s slave is a crime, so slave traders won’t be able to touch us."
Ah, so stray dogs get caught, but owned dogs are safe.
"I understand the situation. Forming a slave contract to avoid being captured by bad people is fine, but..."
Gulp...
The dog girls waited nervously for me to continue.
"...I don’t have money to buy collars..."
"Can’t you use slave magic, Masaharu-san?"
"Slave magic, huh..."
I saw slave traders using some kind of crystal-like tool, so maybe something like that is necessary.
But I don’t have money to buy those tools either.
"For now, is it okay if I promise to give you chokers as presents once I save up some money? Until then, if you feel like you’re about to be caught by bad people, call for me. Saying ’Sahar’ should get through to most people in this town."
"Yes. Master. We’ll be in your care from now on."
Letri-san hugged me and licked my cheek. Then the other dog girls jumped on me too, and I was pushed down. All five dog girls took turns licking my face all over.
But collars... I don’t even have money for normal collars, let alone tools for slave magic.
More importantly, I don’t have a house big enough to live with slaves. I can’t stay at the church forever, so I’ll have to move out eventually. This is troubling.
In web novels, you sometimes suddenly get a big abandoned mansion deep in the forest, but I doubt things will go that conveniently. There’s also Iferaski and the Kemololi girls. It would be nice if we could go to some beastman town or something.
"By the way, Letri-san. Where were you living before you were captured by humans?"
"We lived in the forest. We hunted rabbits and weasels and sold them to humans for trade. However..."
"You got tricked by a bad slave trader during that trade and were captured?"
"Yes."
"Then living in that forest is dangerous."
As expected, we really need a beastman country or town.
This is getting to be quite a large-scale issue.
This world doesn’t seem to have clearly defined territories or borders. If there’s military power to protect land, maybe I could just build a town and declare myself lord, but I wonder if there’s any unused land like that. Well, it’s a vast world, so there must be plenty of land, but I have no way to find it.
Even on Earth, accurate borders couldn’t be drawn until satellites were launched to view the land from above. There were even islands that weren’t discovered until the 20th century that caused territorial sea disputes.
This world probably doesn’t even have accurate maps...
Oh. That’s right.
I should consult Iria.
She was demoted for opposing the slave system, so she’s probably tolerant toward beastman slaves. She didn’t seem to have prejudice against horse girls either.
She’s a lord, even if it’s a remote rural area. She should be able to do something about twenty or so beastmen.
Which means...
I’ll also need to talk with Rafilia-san, but something like this?
First, ask the church to let the beastmen stay a little longer.
Then obtain a map or hire a guide and head to Marglant, which Iria governs.
Consult with Iria.
If she gives permission, bring the beastmen along...
How does that plan sound?
"Alright. Letri-san, I have an idea, so once Rafilia-san is free later, let’s talk with her."
"Yes."
...Or so I thought, but apparently Rafilia-san is busy all day today.
When noon came, she hurriedly prepared lunch for us and then returned to the sanctuary.
She was apparently giving a sermon.
Not the scolding kind — the kind where she teaches useful information for daily life.
Things like "Winter is coming, so let’s prepare firewood" and "It’s about time to double up the wooden boards on the windows."
She also shares various pieces of knowledge the church has inherited so citizens can use them in their lives, and offers consultation for sick people.
Apparently the whole weekend is spent like this.
I see. In medieval times, you couldn’t just Google things, and there were no books or newspapers for the average person. So the only way to get useful daily information was to hear it from someone. You either learned from your parents or listened to the priest at church.
During the weekend, the beastmen can just sunbathe in the courtyard.
Since I have free time, I think I’ll go to gatekeeper A’s place in the afternoon to thank her for letting me keep the long robe I borrowed.
