Chapter 5: I'd Rather Be Dead
TL: Scaramochi
***
[Tiana's POV]
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The lights were colorfully lit and there was a bustle of activity all around.
The sound of happy laughter and the smell of delicious food.
My stomach growled.
When was the last time I had a bowl of thin soup with half-rotten vegetables mixed with sand?
I have no more regrets about this world. But I wish I could have had a full meal just one more time.
The chain attached to my collar is heavy, and my head naturally turns downwards. I was grabbed by the hair and made to look up.
"Hey. I told you to show your face to the customer."
I looked vaguely ahead to see several men and women dressed up.
A man frowning at me and spitting on the ground. Some women turned away. But no one pointed at me or raised a hand.
I looked to my left and right and saw no one connected to the stakes.
I see. I'm the only one left.
The man holding my hair makes a grumbling noise behind me.
"Boss. You're wasting your time. No customer is crazy enough to buy this kid."
"Well, I was hoping that if it was an annual Thanksgiving, maybe some of them would loosen their purse strings."
"That's enough. She's just bait. Let's just close up store and go to the festival."
At that moment, a man with a different atmosphere from those around approached us.
He had a bright red face and his eyes were glazed over as he walked unsteadily.
I naturally stiffened. He might be the kind of person who would say terrible things to me, tease me, or throw garbage at me to distract me from my sorrows.
"Hey. She's for sale. Don't come near her when you ain't got no money."
The man who had been holding my hair lets go of my hand and steps forward.
"What? I don't have any money? Where the hell do you think you're going?"
"You're a drunkard. You can't buy her."
"How much......?"
"Three gold coins. See, you can't pay me. So back off."
"I bought it."
"Huh?"
"That's what I said, I bought it."
In no time at all, the chains were removed and I was handed over to a man with an uninterested look on his face.
The man grabbed my arm and walked on and on, whether I wanted to or not.
"You all make me look like a fool ....... I'm going to do it with you."
My heart, which had long since lost all hope, was blackened with despair.
A slave is a thing. Their owners can tear them limb from limb or mutilate them all over, but they are not guilty of a crime.
I look at the man's profile. His brow is furrowed, the corners of his mouth are down, and he seems to be in a bad mood.
We walk into a park on the outskirts of town and stop at a hollow by the city walls.
"Oh. I'm sleepy."
The man touches his shoulders, removes his cloak, puts it on, and lays himself down in the hollow. As soon as he closed his eyes, he began to snore lightly.
I am at a loss. It was late in the evening and the wind was picking up. My body was cold, with only the rags clinging to me.
The face of the man sleeping with his mouth half open doesn't look as horrifying as it did earlier.
Bending over kept the wind off me a little, but I was still cold.
As I approached the man, I could feel the warmth from his body. I curl up and move closer to his side. The snoring stops, and when I look up, the man turns half-lidded. Instantly, the man's cloak was thrown over me with a snap.
I freeze in shock, and then I start to hear the sound of snoring again. With that sound as a lullaby, I too fell asleep.
***
It's been seven days since I met Master Harris, the man who bought me.
He doesn't talk much and I don't know what he is thinking. But he is a very kind man. He healed my body and doesn't beat me or whip me. And he feeds me well.
The chicken thigh he gave me that day was very tasty. It was so good that I could have died already. Apart from that, the Master never eats by himself when he is out in the field. It was crispy cookies and hard, salty dried meat, but he would share it with me, and once he even climbed a tree to get an apple for me.
I mean, he would share with me, but more often than not, he would only give them to me and not eat them herself.
Sometimes, he would drink from a small container instead of eating. Not to the point of drunkenness, but a bit of a glint in his eye. It was the only time I felt uneasy, as if he was pricing me out of something.
I was walking up the hill when I heard a strange voice behind me. Three ugly-looking monsters were coming toward us. In their hands, they held glittering swords.
It brought back bad memories.
When I was still small, my father had died from wounds he sustained while defending us from the monsters.
The scar on my cheek from that time ...... though it has faded a lot now thanks to the Master.
Master, who was thinner than my father, pulled me by the hand and started to run.
He run as hard as he can, but the monster is forever coming up behind us.
The voice of the curse that I have repeatedly heard echoes in my head.
--- "If only he would have given up his crippled daughter, he wouldn't have died."
The Master must be saved. Master was so kind to me that I thought I would have died anyway. I have to repay him properly, but it doesn't look like I will be able to do that either.
"If I don't do this, they will catch up with us! Please leave me!"
Soon, that sword will cut us. But Master is not intimidated by their strength. He gently tapped my pleading hand and stepped in front of the monster.
My knees buckled, and I looked up to see the monster swinging their sword in a wide arc.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
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