Chapter 188: Ordinary Hell
Two weeks ago, Ramin Solost Muel, Hwee Juran Muel, and Gorgota Falu were in the storage compartment of the passenger ship, on their way to sneak into the western continent.
"Why are we playing the role of slaves?"
At Juran’s question, Gorgota replied, "Unlike the southern continent where things are chaotic due to the war, and classes are mixed up according to needs, the mainland of the Danly Union Kingdom is quite clearly divided by species. Species with tails are referred to as Full Tailed and hold the highest status. On the other hand, species without tails, called Tailless, have a lower status."
At those words, Ramin said, "Wait a minute. Frogmen don’t have tails either.”
"Do you not know? We also had tails when we were young. They gradually shrink as we grow."
"Really? I didn't know that."
"Usually people only pay attention to their own species." Gorgota continued to say, "The reason they have Full Tailed, Tailless, and Half Tailed in between is because during the unification war, the species that belonged to Danly were integrated into the main species of the Union Kingdom. The Tailless class were generally the main species of other countries."
Ramin said, "The Garang Kingdom where I was born did have Gnomes as the royal family. I think I also remember that the lord of the village where I lived was a Gnome as well...."
Juran then said, "But can’t we play any other roles? Not all Tailless individuals are slaves, right?"
"That's true. But in many ways, it's more convenient to play slaves. Most Tailless-class people end up as serfs bound to fields and farms, or they work as factory laborers. The class is also allowed limited moving range, so if you take on different roles and move around without a good reason, they'll check your status everywhere you go. And there’s also another reason.”
“Another reason?”
Gorgota said, "The identities provided by the Intelligence Agency aren’t simple fakes, it's quite specific. We will meet with another agent of the Intelligence Agency operating within the Union Kingdom, and we will receive other assistance from them."
"Another agent?"
Gorgota nodded.
"Espionage activities take place more overseas than inside our country. There were instructions before we left the Thunderstrider."
Even though the role didn’t seem very appealing to Ramin, she decided to go with it because of the fact that they could receive help. When given some thought, the life of a Vampire always required acting. It wasn't a life of living entirely as oneself, but rather pretending not to drink blood, not to harm others, and to act as if they were living a normal life.
‘...I did prepare myself, but this is even worse than I thought.’
Both Ramin and Juran, who had decided to take on the role of slaves, found the task not particularly difficult. Rather, Gorgota was the source of discomfort.
Gorgota, who took on the role as the slave trader, Gor, was conversing with the nobleman of the Union Kingdom, Levony Dorandotte. To Ramin, Gorgota appeared so much like a slave trader that it raised suspicions to her about whether Gorgota's actual profession was a slave trader. Ramin didn’t feel particularly comfortable listening to their conversation.
As the Gnoll, Levony, was riding the Centaur and moving forward, they said, "But to treat Humans as slaves, you have unique taste."
Beside Levony, Gorgota was riding on a horse. Levony had offered to let Gorgota get on the Centaur Levony was riding on, but Gorgota declined with an appropriate excuse.
Gorgota replied, "Among the Ronante-Oroban Alliance, Humans are quite common as slaves. I've heard that there are also many Human slaves in the Union Kingdom as well, referred to as the Tailless-class."
"That's true. However, the ones we treat as slaves are a bit more..."
"A bit more?"
"They are strong-willed species. Centaurs are considered to be in the Half Tailed-class in the Union Kingdom. This Centaur was demoted to a slave due to a punishment. We prefer Half Tailed slaves. Rather than using Tailless slaves as actual slaves…yes. We just prefer them to stay out of sight.”
"I see."
"So, I am a bit concerned."
“Pardon?
Levony replied, "In the Ronante-Oroban Alliance, if you mainly use Humans, who are like the Half Tailed-class, as slaves, it might be difficult for us to give you a proper price for the slave purchase this time."
At those words, Gorgota smiled and said, "You don't need to worry. In fact, you should be pleased."
"Is that so?"
"Since the Union Kingdom is reluctant to use species considered as the Half Tailed-class as slaves due to their reputation of being fierce, we, the Ronante-Oroban Alliance would be able to provide more slaves considering the supply and demand,”
“Oh wow.”
"It’s all about balancing the market, isn’t it?"
"That does make sense."
With that, Gorgota arrived at Levony’s villa and entered it along with Levony. Levony explained that the villa had been used by Frogmen nobles in the past and thus there was a swimming pool in the banquet hall.
Gorgota entered the villa, leaving Ramin and Juran behind. The two were then led to the stable.
"Even though we were brought along as slaves, we can't even enter that spacious villa?"
"Noonim, in my opinion, Gorgota has been considerate of us.”
"Considerate?"
"Inside the villa, we would have to continue pretending to be slaves, so it would be a concern. At least here, we can stay comfortable despite the smell of horse dung."
"In my opinion…even if that's the case, it's probably because Gorgota is worried that we might make a mistake, not because they’re being considerate of us."
"Well, there might be some truth to that as well."
Juran looked at Ramin with a smile.
"You can speak freely. You can also address me comfortably as well."
"But as I mentioned before..."
"Even if you're not my real noonim, can't I call a lady with a significant age difference noonim? Or should I call you grandma?"
Ramin flicked Juran's antler with her fingers.
"Ouch."
Juran felt a vibration through his horn, but judging from the way Ramin lightly brushed her finger, it seemed that she was the one who felt more pain.
Ramin said, "You can call me noonim if you want, but don't push it with your jokes."
"I'm sorry," Juran said. "Did you and Hwee-Kyung not get along?"
"It's not necessarily that."
"If we share stories about Hwee-Kyung, wouldn't that help us find her?”
Ramin hesitated for a moment, looked around the stable, and then said, "I grew up in a house with many siblings. I think there were about five siblings older and younger than me, but my memories aren’t very clear because it was so long ago. Anyway, I didn't receive much attention while growing up. It's not a big deal to grow up in such a family. Just like other similar households, I would have become a noble housemaid or worked in the fields originally and lived my life until I died."
"But?"
"An epidemic broke out. At the time, I didn't know, but apparently it was an epidemic that spread not only in the Garang Kingdom, but throughout the entire continent. As the epidemic caused a shortage of labor, there was also a shortage of food, and it even led to a famine. We managed to hold on for about a year, but after two, three years passed, all my five siblings, each older or younger than me, died. My parents then decided to sell me, but it turned out to be worse than being sold to a noble house."
"How so?"
"I mentioned there was a food shortage, right? So, there were often cases where children were bought in one village and then sold to another village where a different species lived."
Juran frowned. "So, you mean..."
"They were bought to be eaten." Ramin added, "Do understand. It was a tough time."
"I understand. But as members of the same species, it's a bit sad..."
"There's no need to feel sad. Would a merchant who sells children come to a Human village empty-handed? Why do you think I knew my fate?"
Juran remained silent at those words.
Feeling like she had silenced Juran unnecessarily, Ramin continued with the next part of her story.
"Anyway, I left that village. But just because it was a different village didn't mean there were always spares or extra children to sell, so I witnessed quite a few other children being sold, but I wasn't sold myself. There was one time I almost got sold, but they wanted to buy the bigger kid behind me, so I lost my turn."
"..."
"Then we were attacked. They were Troll bandits, but honestly, it wasn't a good time to live as a bandit either. The merchants fled as soon as they saw them, and the children scattered, but I picked a bad direction to run toward."
"Did you get captured?"
"An arrow pierced my leg. But before a Troll could approach, a Human woman with antlers on her head snuck up behind the Troll and chopped its head off with an ax. She was Hwee-Kyung.”
Juran then said with anticipation, "And she rescued you?"
"Well, yes? Probably?"
"Probably?"
"It can’t simply be described as a rescue."
"What? How so?"
"Hwee-Kyung didn't just rescue me; she gave me a choice. Either let her suck my blood until I die, or to become her servant."
Ramin saw the complex emotions on Juran's face about his ancestor's twisted personality, and she wondered if she should’ve kept that to herself. However, Ramin had some feelings about Hwee-Kyung, so she didn't stop the story there.
“Oh, but of course..."
Then at that moment, the stable door opened. It was the Centaur that Levony had ridden earlier. But unlike before, the female Centaur had no restraints on her hands, no bit in her mouth, and the saddle on her back had been removed.
Ramin whispered, "What do we do in this situation?"
"What kind of situation is this?"
"Is there some kind of magic to make it less awkward when you're in a foreign land with a Centaur slave in a stable?"
"That seems like quite a rude thought."
Contrary to Ramin's expectations, the Centaur walked toward Ramin and Juran.
The Centaur said, "No need to worry, Ramin."
"Wait, huh? How do you know my name…"
“I don’t relieve my feces here.”
"..."
"Oh, no, it's not like that. I guess I was just being self-conscious."
Then Juran replied, "No, it’s okay. That’s a relief."
Ramin was surprised to see Juran actually put on an expression of relief, and it seemed genuine.
Ramin asked, "No, hold on. That's not the important part. How do you know my name?"
Right then, a familiar Frogman entered the stable. It was Gorgota.
Gorgota said, "Oh, don't worry. Ramin, Juran, I'm sorry I didn't introduce you earlier. This Centaur here is Tella, agent number 13 of our Intelligence Agency."
"Oh."
Tella nodded.
Gorgota then continued to say, "I wanted to come out sooner, but that Gnoll was quite persistent. Good thing the Gnoll isn’t a very good drinker and quickly fell asleep. But it seems like you have to spend the night here."
"That's okay."
Tella said, "Being a slave is my undercover identity here. It's a different mission than you guys, but this was the only way to get closer to Levony. You must have been surprised as it was something you wouldn’t have seen before in the Empire.”
"Yes, a bit."
"In the Union Kingdom, the strong Half Tailed or Tailless often have restraints on them according to their owner's will. You will see many Ogres and Trolls in shackles if you go to the slave labor camp."
Ramin frowned.
"Slave labor camp?"
"In the Union Kingdom, those working as a servant or acting as a ride as I do are considered the lucky ones. It's common for those who commit major crimes like rebellion to not receive any compensation and to work in the labor camp until they die."
Gorgota said, "That's why the mission agents like Tella take on here is important."
"By mission, you mean…?"
Tella smiled and said, “A revolution.”
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