Half-Dragon Slave Life Prologue

Prologue 1: Legends

In the beginning, a Single Seed existed in the world.

Along with the Seed that encompa.s.sed everything, an empty s.p.a.ce where nothing existed.
That was the world in it’s entirety.

But, one day, the Seed made a wish.

『I want to bud』

But in order to bud, not enough things existed in this world.

Light.
Air.
Earth to take up roots.

Therefore, the Seed separated from within itself those various things. It brought forth Light, It crafted the Earth, It circulated Air.
From it Water was born, and along with Water living creatures were created.

So that the newly born Children wouldn’t get lost in the darkness of the night. It arranged the Sun and the Moon.

And thus, in this world created by the Seed, It sprouted in the Heart of the world, Took roots, and became an enormous and Large Tree.
The Large Tree acted as the Children’s home, it created dwellings within itself to shelter them.

Before long, the creatures of the world matured. Various being began to surface.
Their diversity surpa.s.sed the Large Tree’s wildest imaginations.

And then one day, Beings with higher intelligence began to surface from among the creatures.
They were the ones who ruled over the other creatures. They fought with those of different races. War was brought into the world.

Watching over that scene, the Large Tree was saddened. It decided to give birth to 『G.o.ds』 that could supervise them.
And thus various G.o.ds were born.

The Sun G.o.d: Horus
The Water G.o.d: Eir
The Wind G.o.d: Huster
The Drifting G.o.d: Levi

――And The Destruction G.o.d: Yuuri

They were 『G.o.ds』, In other words they regulated humans. By broken up the world up into multiple countries, for the time being an end to all the fighting was finally in sight.

Before long the Large Tree was called the『World Tree』, It became the cornerstone of Faith.
『G.o.ds』 obeyed the 『World Tree』, the world had reached peace…… Or so it seemed.

One day in the land of the North, a being called the 『Demon King』 had appeared.
At the time the world had become independent of the World Tree. The world had begun progressing on it’s own.

The 『Demon King』 wanted a position amongst the G.o.ds. In order to supersede the World Tree, it had it’s eyes set on taking the Large Tree.
Over there was, a condensation of the World Tree’s Lifeforce:『Buds』 existed there.

The various G.o.ds scrambled to arms in opposition of the 『Demon King』.
The 『G.o.ds』 joined their hands together, Many people fought.

However…… Their power was not enough, the 『Demon King』 was able to grab hold of the Bud.
The ruler of the world had changed―― In that moment, A G.o.d calling herself the『Destruction G.o.d』 caused that power to go out of control.
The 『Destruction G.o.d’s』 power, it cut down the 『Demon King』…… The 『World Tree』 was also blown away.

With the 『World Tree』half destroyed, the world had lost the heart of it’s creation and faith. Many were thrown into disarray.
In the future, this war would be called the『Great War of G.o.ds and Demons』. It was told as a story of something that must be avoid.

The world of humans had not yet regained peace, the necessary time would be many years.
For the Demon Beasts of the North as well, they had lost their figurehead the『Demon King』. Let us say that their weakened influence was a blessing in disguise.
And thus the humans, they regained peace in the world.

And so, after 500 years have pa.s.sed since the Great War of G.o.ds and Demons, we reach the current age.

From the Legend inherited by a Nameless Storyteller

Author Note: It’s a Legend pa.s.sed down through oral tradition, so the details are rather vague you see.
The full details can be found in my previous work (http://ncode.syosetu.com/n8735cc/)  Please give it a read. (TL note: It’s a link to “Yuuri of the Destructive Eyes”).

TL Note about the G.o.ds names:
Horus is an Egyptian “Sky” G.o.d
Eir is a valkyrie/norse G.o.ddess of healing. Name means Peace and Mercy
Huster/Hastur is otherwise known as Iapyx. He is a minor greek G.o.d of the north-west wind.
Levi is a Bible figure who had is tribe of Levites scattered by a “curse” for their wrongdoings. Ironically, Levi means “To Join”

Prologue 2: Origin

From the memoir of ？？？

『Watas.h.i.+[1] (I)』 lived near the city of Marba, born at the foot of a mountain.
The village where 『Watas.h.i.+-tachi (We)』 lived was, an area carved out of the trees by the mountainside, earning a living by baking charcoal.
In the past, 『Watas.h.i.+-tachi (We)』 climbed the mountain to this place where a Evil G.o.d’s shrine was said to exist. 『Savages who didn’t know fear』 the people of this village were thought of as such, This was taught to all at a very young age.
The truth, if one climbed halfway up the mountainside, for some reason they would they would end up losing their way and getting lost.
Their sense of direction would go astray, and even though they should have been climbing up, for some reason they would end up in the place where they started…… That was something that remorselessly happened on this mountain.
However, it was necessary for the village to have fire. As a Fuel, As a Light. For that reason 『Watas.h.i.+-tachi (We)』 continued to live off the natural greenery that was deep in this mountain. Even if we despised it, it became a necessary resource to live.

Well then, in regards to 『Watas.h.i.+ (Me)』 …… Ah, you’re probably wondering why I refer to myself as 『Watas.h.i.+』, but the answer is simple. It’s because I have simply forgotten my name. I’ll explain the reason at a later time.
From the moment of birth, 『Watas.h.i.+』 possessed a single 『Gift』.
That 『Gift』 was, it was a blessing bestowed onto someone by G.o.d. Leaving that topic aside, possessing such a thing meant that you could display things like Exceptional Talent or Abilities (Unusual Powers).
However, although the genres included things like talent for swordsmans.h.i.+p and sorcery, it covered a wide variety of abilities including things like being good at Rock-Paper-Scissors.
The one that『Watas.h.i.+』 possessed, a praiseworthy ability was given to her.

That ability was “Other Dimension Storage”.
By opening up a hole to a different dimension, a Power that let her put things in there, and retrieve them again later.

The 『Watas.h.i.+』 without strength, without magic powers, without much intelligence. This Ability that could be used to carry goods, it could bring her constant respect from this community to which She was born.
Enormously large trees, Freshly baked charcoals, and the meat and fur from animals.
The things placed in “Other Dimension Storage” had their time stopped. As if fresh, it was possible to carry them to the village as if they were freshly roasted.
But this Ability wasn’t used as a simple convenience.
This Ability of 『Watas.h.i.+』, her father cleverly hid it. And he told her to make sure to hide it so that the important people of the village wouldn’t discover it.
The young 『Watas.h.i.+』 didn’t understand at the time, but it seems like this Ability had a very dangerous side to it.
Successfully escaping from the public eye, while hiding her unusual power, 『Watas.h.i.+』 believed that she lived a live filled with happiness. That is, until that day.

At the time when 『Watas.h.i.+』was 13, the mountain suddenly erupted.
That eruption happened all too suddenly…… Fire abruptly spewed forth from the summit, the Earth shook, Destruction…… An avalanche of debris came raining down from above.
”Avalanche” is a vocabulary word that She learned after the fact.
In any case, all of a sudden, earth and sand came flowing down like a landslide, and She remembered the entire village being swallowed up in an instant.

By the time 『Watas.h.i.+』 came to her senses, she was buried underneath all the rubble.
The fact that she had barely enough room to breathe, that would be consider the very definition of a miracle.

However, her movement was completely sealed…… It would be difficult to call her current situation “safe”.

She couldn’t really tell since it was pitch dark, her left eye hurt.
But She could still tell that that some sort of warm and sticky fluid was flowing from around her eye socket.
She couldn’t move her left arm either.
It seems like something was pinning it down, almost like it was being crushed flat.
Rather than pain, She felt the sensation of heat from it.
A similar feeling came from her right leg.
Her body was held down in a diagonal fas.h.i.+on, her movement restrained so She couldn’t even twitch.

By the time 『Watas.h.i.+』 realized her current condition, her strength was exhausted, and her consciousness left her.
In short, right now 『Watas.h.i.+』 was…. she had fallen into such a situation.

When I once again opened my eyes, the situation had not changed at all.
If I had to say, from my right leg to my left arm, and also my left eye, I could clearly feel a dull pain being transmitted from them.

――This is the Worst. It would be much better if I didn’t know about any of this!

The pain was agonizing, it made me want to squirm…… but I couldn’t so much as move. The rubble that pinned down my chest left me with just enough room to let out a scream. But my stamina was once again exhausted, and 『Watas.h.i.+ (I)』 lost consciousness for a second time.

Just, just how much time has pa.s.sed……?
When, when will help come……?
When, when will 『I』 die……?

Hazy thoughts and the dull pain clouded my thoughts, I could only think about those three things.

The first thing to come, was Hunger.
The stamina and blood I have lost, I think my body wanted nutrients to repair the wounds I had.
Of course, there was no food beside『Me』 who was covered by this rubble.

The next one to come, was Thirst.
From what I could tell, not a single thing has entered my mouth for a whole day now.
How many days can a human go without drinking any water, Do they die after that?

Waking up, Being tortured by the Pain and Hunger, then losing consciousness.
How many times have I repeated this? I have already lost track of how much time has pa.s.sed, but then a single drop of water fell on my face. It ran down my cheek, using my mouth I desperately tried to lick it up.
Was some of my own blood mixed in with it? The drop tasted irony and had hints of blood in it, but for 『Me』 it tasted like sweet nectar flowing down from the heavens.

Drop by drop, I continued to lick up the falling droplets as if it was my final lifeline, I wonder how much time has pa.s.sed?
『I』 finally came to realize an abnormality.

――My arm…… could, move?

My right arm could just barely move. My left leg―― could move too!
I still couldn’t move my pinned down left arm and right leg, but I somehow managed to pull them free.
With my impaired body I desperately clawed at the dirt. The s.p.a.ce I could move in slowly widened, I was able to dig away until there was just enough room for me to curl up into a ball.
A feeling I haven’t felt in a long time, my body was free. The sense of freedom caused tears to flow from my eyes.
After I cradled my very own body for a while, I began thinking about what to do next.

「If I stay trapped underneath this rubble forever; eventually I will exhaust all my energy. In any case, I’ve got to escape ……」

Anyhow, if I don’t get out from under this rubble then…… Thinking that, I hastily faced the surface and began digging at the earth.
Maybe it was because the fluid from before gave me back some strength, but it was much easier than I thought it would be to dig through the dirt.
As after advancing what I believed to be a few meters, a wall made of stone appeared before me.

「In…… A place like this……!」

This was without a doubt man-made, From 『My』 point of view, it was like a colossal obstacle blocked my path to the revered Earth’s surface.
Some sort of design was carved on the stone surface. I tried hitting the wall with my hands just to see but it didn’t leave a single scratch. Perhaps this 【Toughness】 was because of those “black magics” I heard rumors about?
I was aware of the potential danger of a cave-in if I carelessly kept digging around, but if I can’t get past this stone wall somehow then I won’t be able to reach the surface.
If I took a different route around the wall then maybe there will be a break in it somewhere.

I tried digging a small detour, and discovered an area where there the stone wall was damaged.
The crack barely wide enough for something small to fit in, but with a small body like 『Mine』, it was possible for me to slip past.
Squeezing past the crack by crawling through, the s.p.a.ce opened up into what seemed like a considerably large room.

A questionable room that was about 20 meter in all directions, an enormous s.p.a.ce. In the center of the room was a stone with perfectly shaped sides.
Is this place what you would call a ‘Stone Hut’? 『I』 rested my upper body against the rock.
Taking up more than 70% of this room was the ma.s.s of this giant rock.
A few days pa.s.sed, and when I woke up I heard the sounds of rippling water by my feet. Did the water that fell on my face earlier come from this place?
It seems like water was oozing out of this lump of stone.

「You’re not beaten easily huh…… “Watas.h.i.+”」

Rather than being unlucky that my limbs got crushed, I was lucky enough to have a figure that allowed me to squeeze through the narrow crevice to get here. Then suddenly I realized the strange reality of my current situation.

「Huh? Why can I…… Why can I tell how big this place is?」

It wasn’t because there was some light. I was in completely darkness without even a glimmer of light.
『I』 could… This stone hut that was 20 meters on all sides, and the physique of the large stone installed in the center, I could clearly see it all.
Being raised on a mountain, there was a saying that we could naturally see better in the dark, but this was still strange.

「But…… Right now I should be grateful, I guess?」

This was much better than seeing nothing, after all.
Also my throat was completely dry, I’m almost at my limit. Since water is leaking out of that stone, maybe there’s more water inside of it.

「This giant rock…… Since water is coming out of it, does that mean its some kind of container?」

I patted down the surface of the stone, and as I was surprised by it’s lightness one of the stone’s surfaces Slid ・Right ・Off.

「Ah wah!? This, It’s…… Like I thought, a box?」

More accurately, this cube-like thing placed here was… I clearly thought it was something man-made. That’s why I thought it might be something like a wicker basket.
The st.u.r.dy lid on this rock, even though 『I』 was impaired, for some reason I was able to easily push it off.
Moving the over 10m lid on this stone with only one hand, Was some sort of sorcery at work here too?
Ever so carefully, 『I』 took a peek inside――

「――Hiiii!」

Even though I let out an unsightly cry, I think it couldn’t be helped.
After all, in that box…… No, in that “coffin” was the dead corpse of a dragon frozen in ice.
It was bigger than 10 meters, the body of a dragon with it’s head crushed. The section that was frozen in ice, it was melting and had creva.s.ses that were leaking.
Having just died a while ago, or you could say it died just now, the fresh corpse of a dragon.
From it blood oozed out and mixed together with the melting ice…… In other words, what 『I』 was drinking was――

「Uguuu!?」

A disgusting feeling as if my stomach was turning.
I went and vomited in a corner of the room for a while, but since my stomach was completely empty all that came out was stomach acid.
The acid burned my throat, that unpleasant feeling made me start crying once again.

Once 『I』 had calmed down I took one more look inside the coffin.
I didn’t look at it in fear, but rather――

「I’m…… hungry」

Several days, No, maybe a week has already pa.s.sed?
I didn’t know exactly how many days, but 『I』 was buried and wounded under the earth and sand, and worked laboriously to reach this place.

My body desired nourishment.
It craved moisture.
And in front of me… was the meat of a dragon. And it had blood flowing from it.

That day, 『I』 lost to the starvation and thirst, and devoured that flesh and blood.

Still, devouring raw meat and blood wasn’t very good…… That day, for an entire day, Fever and Stomach Pains, my entire body suffered aching until I was on the verge of pa.s.sing out.
Since I figured that the corpse might rot if left alone like that, I tossed it into “Other Dimension Storage”.
After all, it won’t spoil in there even though it was a corpse.
Even if it was revolting, Even if eating it would destroy my body, in this place without any food or water, this corpse was the last lifeline keeping 『Me』 alive.
But still, maybe it was punishment for eating gross food, the resulting fever and pains were extremely terrible…… Eventually I lost consciousness because of it.

How must time has pa.s.sed until I woke up…… My throat was dry and I was hungry, I could physically tell that quite a bit of time has pa.s.sed.
Maybe it was because I slept on the stone floor, My joints were in pain.
I used my Left ・Hand to fix my messy hair…… left hand?

「No way, I’m sure that my left hand couldn’t move much―― Eh?」

The left arm that came into my view…… was not in the form of a human’s.

The upper arm was covered in a tough hide, and furthermore scales were sprouting from it.
The hand portion had become rough and bony, and the fingernails were long and sharp.

This was… no matter how you looked at it it was like a reptiles―― No, it was aDragon’s.

「Lies, this is a lie…… My arm…… Ha, haha…… It became like a Dragon…… A ha ha ha ha」

A laugh came out in a hollow voice.
The only thing left to do was laugh. Her home in the mountains was destroyed, The village was buried, and『Watas.h.i.+』 had lost her “humanity”.

「A ha, a-ha-ha-ha…… AHAHAHAHAHAHA, HAHAHAHAHAHA!!」

Perplexed at the still human form of her right hand, loud laughter cried out as if driven by madness.
And with that right hand, a shocking realization suddenly struck her.
Hidden behind her hair, a small horn was sticking out. It was growing out of her head.

「Hahaha…… Yup, this is all a dream. This has to be a dream」

She gently laid herself on the floor. If it was a dream then if all she had to do was wake up again…… She went to sleep while tightly holding on to that small ray of hope.
Even though her hunger was at an unbearable level, she decided that if this was all a dream then none of that should matter. Though it took a lot of effort, she closed her eyes.

Of course, no matter how many times she tried, this was not a dream. It was reality, however sad that may be.
『Watas.h.i.+’s (My)』 left arm and right leg had become exactly like a Dragon’s, and a horn was growing out of her head.
And, this left eye of hers that could distinctly see the surroundings in this dark place, Surely it was no longer something a human would have.

But still, in order to live, 『Watas.h.i.+』 had no choice other than to continue devouring the dragon’s flesh.

TL note: I hope the change in narrative wasn’t too confusing/annoying. I just wasn’t sure how to portray the story properly without incorporating 『Watas.h.i.+』 to help set the mood.

I wanted the story to come across the best way possible so if you have some qualms with it then please comment. I will be grateful for it.

Also I left a few end-notes explaining some things. I could’ve added links during the story but I felt that it was distracting so I’ll leave it as an after-thought. Please read if you are curious.

1.

TL note: [Watas.h.i.+] is a way to refer to yourself, like I or Me. Technically [Watas.h.i.+] is gender neutral but it is mainly used by girls. Augmenting it to [Watas.h.i.+-tachi] means “I and others” or just “We”. Almost everything in 『Brackets』 is originally 『Watas.h.i.+』 except for a few that are obvious. I tried keeping as many 『Watas.h.i.+』’s as I could until it made sense to switch. For any strange conversions like Watas.h.i.+’s I added context like (My).

Keep in mind that [Watas.h.i.+] is the girl herself. I only treated [Watas.h.i.+] as a name to retain the mood.

In j.a.panese p.r.o.nouns/possessives aren’t used as often as in English, but I added extra ones to help the flow.

Extra TL notes:

1. I chose to use “memoir” instead of diary because I felt it was more fitting as a collection of memories.
2. The opening paragraph has really strange sentence structure so I’m sorry if any of it is incorrect, the contents should all be there though.
3. The word for “Stone Hut” can also be used to refer to a “Burial Ground/Mound”. Like a stone cave used to hide away a corpse.
4. I read the description of the “box” to be square but if it was square and 70% of the room then [Watas.h.i.+] would have to be 10m tall to even see over it. So I a.s.sumed square sides meant that the sides were “Perpendicular” and I use the term “cube-like” loosely.

5. Random thought: If the coffin was leaking out blood+water… and [Watas.h.i.+] woke up soaking wet… Then that’s pretty messed up, waking up to be covered in blood.

Prologue 3: Slave

Author Warning: This chapter contains scenes of cannibalism and s.e.xual content, those who are not good with those subjects do be cautious.
TL Note: None of this is described in detail and is mentioned in pa.s.sing. If you have an “active imagination” and would prefer not to read then feel free to skip this chapter. Or you can read until the slave dealers show up and then stop, your call.

From the memoir of ？？？

『Watas.h.i.+’s (My)』 『Mutation』 continued even further.
From her back sprouted the thin membrane of wings. She absentmindedly became aware of this transformation.
At this point, instead of getting agitated by the changes to her own body, it was more like she was astonished by them.
Her left eye could see through the darkness as if it was high noon, and her transformed limbs were limitlessly tough.
However, the varied strengths of her limbs caused her to lose balance. For a short while it was troublesome to even walk.
And―― Along with her listless mind[1] , her memories also began to become faded.
It was already past the point where she couldn’t even remember her name. The faces of her parents were also forgotten.
The only memory left was the truth that they 『Existed』. A heart that was capable of feeling that sadness, it too had been lost.

Fortunately the 『Mutations』 had stopped there.
『Watas.h.i.+』 was still… Just barely, one could say that her body was still “human”.
There were still remains of the rotten dragon flesh. However, she could not stay put in this stone hut forever. She had to escape somehow.
As her vision was not impaired even in this darkness, she went around and inspected every nook and cranny of the walls, and she discovered a section of the wall that opened up.
Pus.h.i.+ng it open, behind the wall was yet another enormous room. And casually lying inside, was a vast fortune of Gold and Magic items. So much that you could even overthrow a country with it.
Among them were Demon Blades that were on the level of Sacred Treasures, Greatswords that were way too large to lift, St.u.r.dy Bows that a human’s strength might not be able to draw back, and numerous other items were left discarded. Her jaw dropped as she beheld how casually they were just lying there.

「This place…… is this the Evil G.o.d’s Shrine that was mentioned in legends?」

In any case, it will be convenient to have all this money and weapons. And the other things like dust-covered magic textbooks and publications might be useful in the future.
『Watas.h.i.+ (I)』 arbitrarily stuffed everything into “Other Dimension Storage”, and continued my search of the place.

Instead of a concealed door, inside this room was a normal door. Beyond it was a small pa.s.sageway made of stone.
Aligned to the left and right were rooms. Inside them were the remnants of various equipments such as water supply systems that were destroyed by the landslide.
In other rooms were living accommodations, it was certain that something had been living here.
However, it must have been hundreds of years since they were last used. The piles and piles of dust had built up until looked like a carpet, to the point where my feet almost sunk into it.

「Even during a landslide, for the foundation to withstand this…… No, this facility had  【Toughness】 built into it’s entirety…… Must have been the dwelling of a powerful magician」

From the horn growing out of my head, I could sense the flow of magic power flowing through the entirety of the facility.
My body had become a convenient thing.

Climbing the stairs to the upper level, I expected the ceiling to rise higher, but it looks like this area was closed off by the earth and dirt.
Looks like the upper floor didn’t have 【Toughness】 built into it.

「For the essential upper levels to not be reinforced…… A strange building?」

At any rate, since it was possible to break through the sealed off facilities overhead, all I had to do was excavate the dirt in order to reach the surface.
Since this time I could start off by using the weapons as tools, it should be easy to clear a path through bedrock that was blocking my path.

After about an hour had pa.s.sed, Perhaps it was when I had dug about 5m?
All of a sudden the soil overhead fell apart. The light of the sun came s.h.i.+ning through.

「Finally…… Got out」

For my exhausted spirit that had to go through so many ups and downs, muttering this was the best I could do.
“I survived”―― That normally emotional feeling was now dull. Tears didn’t even come out.

I went out the surface and as I was aimlessly wandering around in a daze, A voice called out to me from behind.

「HEY, Is someone there? Are you a Survivor!?」

『I』 turned to look towards that voice.
Standing on the crooked surface of a collapsed ledge, A man who looked like a laborer.
Most likely he was a.s.signed to search for survivors, probably a citizen from Marba City[2].

「Ah, “Watas.h.i.+” is――」
「Y-You! Are you a Demon!?」
「――Eh?」

With that scream, I was shaken back to reality.
Right now 『My』 figure was… I was in tattered clothes with the left arm and right leg of a Dragon. On my back were small wings, and even a horn was growing out of me.
And also…… I learned of this after the fact but, my left eye was glimmering with the color of gold, and the pupil had changed into long and narrow slit that resembled a reptile’s.
I see… the Demons you hear about in myths would certainly have appearances like this, right?

「You’re wrong, I am――」
「Silence! You b.a.s.t.a.r.d, Did that eruption wake you up!? Hey, there’s a Monster[3] over here!」

Perhaps the man had confidence in his abilities, he approached while grasping the ice axe[4] that he was using during the search. He called out to his allies.
In rapid succession, about 5 other workers a.s.sembled. In each one of their hands… it looks like none of them forgot to bring their tools with them.

「Please listen, I was one of this village’s――」
「I TOLD YOU TO SHUT UP!」

Without listening to 『My』 words, the man with obviously not very good hearing came at me and swung the ice axe down at my head.
My Dragon left eye could precisely grasp his movements…… But with my mind too confused to even think about dodging,『Watas.h.i.+ (I)』 once again lost consciousness.

By the time 『I』 had once again regained consciousness, I was dumbfounded by my current surroundings.
My hands and feet had iron handcuffs put on them, I was dressed in a plainKantoui[5], and was rolling back and forth on the floor.
*Goro-Goro* Becoming aware of the sound of vibrations, I went to look at where it was coming from… Are we inside a wagon?
Surrounding me were lots of children my age that were also wearing the same outfit, Crouched with eyes that were completely pale and lifeless[6].

「……This is, where?」
「……………………」

As expected the other children didn’t respond.
Enclosed by a cage and placed in the wagon bed. While being treated as cargo, it doesn’t look like『Watas.h.i.+-tachi (We)』 have any chance of escaping.

「Although it seems like I wasn’t killed, This isn’t a very good situation either, I suppose?」

I’ve only heard about this this from rumors, but these guys are probably so-called “Slave Dealers”. From the appearances of the surrounding children, that’s what I concluded.
If that’s the case the it would be bad to stay for very long. If I don’t figure out a way to take off these restraints and escape then…
Since my arm and leg had transformed into a dragon’s, their brute strength were on an entirely different level. If I’m lucky, I might be able to tear them off……

「Kuu-, This―― Guuu![7]」

As I tried to forcibly rip off the handcuffs, my opposite hand that was still a human’s was pulled along. My bones creaked.
Now that I think about it, if I try to tear them off without putting the same strength into the opposite hand then it will only end up with that other hand being dragged along with it.
My right arm could still pa.s.s as a human’s…… No, probably because of the several days of malnourished, it’s appearance was more like a disabled girl’s.

「With my hands bound together like this, I won’t be able to pull them apart, hm……」
「Awake already? As expected of a Monster」

As I was clanking and fiddling around with the handcuffs, a brawny man came beside the cage.
He opened up the cage with a key and yanked 『Watas.h.i.+ (Me)』 out of it.

「Don’t struggle ya hear. We’re only doing a physical examination」
「Physical examination?」
「To see if ya got any diseases, and if you’re a virgin, dat’s all. We gotta make sure of yur selling price after all」
「No waay, Don’t wanna――」
「If you struggle then we’ll cut off your arms and legs, it’s only gonna be meat. Since yur unusual the selling price might be high, right?」
「Kuu……」

When a slave dies, their meat is crushed and becomes a meal for the other slaves…… That sort of story, the adults used to tell us that to scare us.
Most likely, based on what this man is implying, those scary stories are probably true.

After that, I don’t want to remember the events that happened.
I was strapped to a chair. I still have not forgotten the humiliation of having my genitals thoroughly inspected.
The fact that 『I』 was a virgin was a good thing. If that wasn’t the case… imagining of what could’ve happened sends fear running through my mind.
Even till this day, the echoing sounds of screams and “flirtatious” remarks still linger in my ears.

Fortunately, there was no one among them that had a gift with the power of “Identification”. Because of that they never asked about “Other Dimension Storage”.
Placed in it was gold and weapons, this was 『Watas.h.i.+’s (My)』 trump card.
Given the opportunity, I might be possible for me to buy back my own rights. The problem right now is that if the slave dealers found out then it would all be confiscated, and everything will pretty much come to an end.
I have to be aware of the timing. If I don’t use it at the right time then…

Since then 3 weeks have pa.s.sed.
『Watas.h.i.+-tachi (We)』 were transported to the so-called Holy City of Sokaris.[8]
Since we were not officially recognized as slaves, we were let past the checking point. We were pretty much forced to march through.
Of course, in the meantime it wasn’t like we did nothing. As we were going to become goods for sale, we had a variety of knowledge and techniques driven into us.
Primarily it was knowledge on how to service a man, and the techniques. If you were still a virgin then you weren’t taught “hands on”.

Of course I tried to resist.
However, on『Watas.h.i.+’s (My)』 neck had a『Slave Contract Collar』 placed on it. If I try to resist or try to escape, then the collar will cause me excruciating pain.
This magic device cannot kill the one wearing it. But in exchange, it was able to cause enough pain that it could drive you insane.
In actuality there were children that ended up driven mad by it. And then, on the next day, there would be unusual meat for dinner.
What that really is… I’m sure you understand.

Around the time we arrived at Sokaris, 『I』 had the same lifeless eyes as all the other children.
『I』 think that my condition was better than the other children’s. After all, what little emotion 『I』 had left still went through highs and lows.
Even still, my heart had received plenty of trauma. That experience was carved in『Me』, Ingrained in me.

―― In other words…… “Don’t show Compa.s.sion“, “Show no Mercy“, “Kill or be Killed“, those things.

At that time, because I thought that I shouldn’t hurt that worker with the ice axe, I was too slow in coping with the situation.
That is what resulted in my current circ.u.mstances.

At the heart of this city a broken world tree was towering overhead.
Although it was broken, the ma.s.sive world tree eventually gave birth to a labyrinth. After that it yielded treasures that will be able to grant dreams of getting rich quick.
Currently the labyrinth has reached 700 floors and only 20% of them have been explored.[9]
In order to protect itself, the world tree that was broken by the Great War between G.o.ds and demons summoned powerful monsters inside itself.[10]

And so, a large number of adventurers gathered in this city.
Because of Greed, For Fame, To Earn Money. They gathered because of these.
And if people are gathered here, then the demand for slaves will also rise.
Some are used in battle, Some are used to satisfy l.u.s.t, and Some are used as labor.

Officially they are treated as daily living commodities by the city, and slave dealers were able to open shop.
From what I’ve heard, it looks like they are going to hold an auction in 3 days.
We were told by the slave merchant that we would be able to live a normal life if we’re bought by a nice master, but a wicked adventurer could still use you as a meat s.h.i.+eld. If that happens then from that day on you will be treated as garbage.
And if they pay out a certain amount beforehand, if would be possible to complete the transaction without having to wait 3 days for the auction……

「Say, this one’s horn and wings, are they the real thing?」

Sitting in a cage while in a melancholic mood,『I』 was holding my knees when a young boy with the airs of an adventurer came in front of me.
His age was about the same as mine, you could say that he wasn’t even an adult yet. Wearing a worn-out robe, it was pretty clear that he was no good at close-range combat.
But since the tailoring of his clothes wasn’t that bad, it looks like he has money.

「Yes, they’re the real deal. This one’s the offspring of a dragon and a human, you see――」

That’s not the truth.
『My』 memories may have faded, but it’s definitely true that I have memories of being a human.
Disregarding the “sales talk” of the slave merchant, I gazed at the boy with my vacant eyes.
Slender arms and legs, Silky blond hair, a well-featured appearance.
If that sort of thing was your fancy then he was a Bishounen[11] that could make you fall for him in a second. However, I suppose his future as an adventurer may look bleak.
If he had a talent for magic then… That would be a different story though.

「This one, she strong?」
「Eh? Ah yes, please take a look at this arm and leg! They’ve got claws dat can cut through iron ya know!」
「In that case, why hasn’t she run away?」
「Da-Dat’s to say…… Because it’s got a contract collar attached to it」
「Hmm……? But it’s weaker than you fellas so that’s why it got caught, right?」
「N-no…… This one was sold to us ya know!」

Gradually the slave merchant started to build up a cold sweat. Looks like the young boys clever tactics were being effective.
In my mind I began searching through the treasures that I had placed “Other Dimension Storage”. There were tons of magic devices that would be useful to the boy.
In a dull and gloomy voice, 『Watas.h.i.+』 called out to the boy.

「I have no combat experience, so I’m not sure if I’m strong. But if you buy『Watas.h.i.+』, I promise I will be useful to you」
「Heh?」
「Hey! Don’t go speak’n on yur own!」

The slave merchant used a cane to push『Watas.h.i.+』 down.
It was possible to dodge it, but『Watas.h.i.+』 did not have the will to do so at the moment. Simply put, “To stay here“, “Being bought be some unknown person“, rather than all that she felt that it would be much better for her to go with that boy instead.
Towards someone like『Watas.h.i.+』 with a background he knew nothing about, the boy looked at her with a strange and curious gaze.

「Interesting…… Her appearance is like that, but…… Occhan[12], how much is this one?」
「Heh! Since it’s before the auction it will be 100 gold coins!」
「That’s expensive. You think that since I’m a kid you can overcharge me?」
「Even if you say that, but this one is a crown jewel and still a virgin, you see. And there are many other customers that would find it’s outward appearance to be well-befitting……」

I haven’t seen any customers like that.

「I see, I’d buy her if it’s 80 though」
「I guess there’s no help’n it! In dat case, I’d happily accept 80」
「You’re pretty good at this huh, Ossan」

And that is how『Watas.h.i.+』 became the young boy’s slave.

Author note: Next time the protagonist’s names will be revealed.

TL side note: They’d better! Too many p.r.o.nouns for me to handle.

1.

TL note: the word for Mind/Spirit/Soul is the same. The description can apply to any of these.

2.

TL note: Originally I translated the first chapter a.s.suming that Marba City was the name of their town/village (since being born ‘near’ the city of Marba didn’t really make sense to me). Apparently, she really was born near Marba. As in, the name of her town/village/settlement wasn’t Marba, Marba was just the nearest big city. a.s.sumedly, this man is from the City, NOT from the village.

3.

TL note: The word for Monster here is “Bakemono” so like a terrifying creature.

4.

TL note: An ice pick is a tool used during climbing/hiking. You can see a picture at the wiki page here

5.

TL note: A Kantoui is a simple piece of clothing with a slit in the top. Here’s a picture

6.

TL note: The original text said “eyes like dead fish eyes” but I decided to put it into context as “pale and lifeless”

7.

TL note: *Kuu* is a sound of dissatisfaction. And *Guuu* is the sound her of tryingreally hard to pull them off.

8.

TL note: Sokaris/Seker is an egyptian G.o.d. He is a falcon G.o.d a.s.sociated with funerals, life, and death.

9.

TL note: I’m not entirely sure if this line means “20% is unexplored” or “only 20% has been explored”. I’ll ask other people later but here’s the raw if someone out there can help me out then I’d be grateful.
I’m pretty sure “only 20% explored” is correct, the grammar just confused me.
Original: 現在は700層にも及ぶ迷宮の2割程度しか踏破できていないそうだ。

10.

TL note: This information come from prologue 1 which has partial spoilers to the previous story/prequel.

Basically, this World Tree was the originator of the world; giving birth to everything. G.o.ds were born to rule over mankind but one day the Demon King wanted a seat of power among the G.o.ds so a war began. The battle between the G.o.ds and the Demons became known as the Great War which left the world tree in ruins. These events too place 500 years prior to this story.

11.

TL note: Bishounen means “Pretty boy”

12.

TL note: Occhan mean “uncle”/middle-aged man (as in he’s talking to the merchant). Same meaning as Ossan