"Hero-sama, are we leaving the city just like this?"
After leaving the royal palace, Drake led Myne through the city gates and arrived in the outskirts of the royal capital.
Although a stone-paved highway cut through the plains, the lush green grass almost swallowed the field of vision, giving the illusion that one would lose their way the mont they stepped off the path.
"I thought you would go to a blacksmith in the city to pick out so high-quality equipnt first."
"I do not need to."
Drake snapped his fingers, and in the blink of an eye, a suit of bright crimson armor resembling molten lava materialized on his body.
Forged from Hellstone Bars, the "Molten Armor" was the suit with the highest defense Drake owned, aside from his Soft Shell armor.
In situations that did not require facing formidable foes or demanding high agility, Drake preferred wearing this armor over the Soft Shell set, which reduced his movent speed.
The exceptional appearance of the Molten Armor made the eyes of Myne light up.
"I can feel surging fire elents from this armor... Hero-sama, could this be magic armor?!"
"Magic armor? You could say that."
He did not know what the standard for "magic armor" was in this world.
If it ant "having additional effects," then every set of armor Drake crafted would fall into that category.
"I have never seen magic armor before." With a gleam of excitent in her eyes, Myne acted coquettish, pressing her chest against Drake's arm.
"Could you take it off and let get a good look at this armor, Hero-sama?"
"Oh? As the First Princess of lromarc, have you never seen magic armor before?"
Drake's reply made Myne's body and facial expression freeze.
She suppressed her internal shock and panic, forcing out a look of confusion.
"S-Sword Hero-sama, what are you talking about? How could I be the princess?"
"Malty S. lromarc."
With every syllable uttered, Drake saw the red-haired girl's face turn a shade paler.
"As royalty, you take pleasure in framing others, and you embezzle national treasury funds to live a life of extravagance."
"Showing no remorse after being discovered by the queen, you were forced to assist a hero to avoid punishnt, just so you would not be married off to the Pig Orc King."
"You were just thinking about how to steal my armor and sell it for money, were you not?"
"As the First Princess, falling to this pathetic state is your own doing."
A fireball smashed toward Drake's face.
The First Princess, her identity and intentions laid bare, launched an attack spell at him in desperation.
Drake dashed forward, charging straight through the scattering flas and out of the spell's blast radius. T
he sa Myne who was just in front of him had already run over a dozen ters away.
'Using a spell as a feint to take the opportunity to escape...'
'This woman is full of tricks.'
It was a pity that against Drake, a Shadow Monarch, such tactics were useless.
He brought this woman outside the city on purpose just to prevent this exact situation.
"Bring her back."
The Shadow Skeleton King erged behind Drake in a flash, swinging its massive arm in a sweeping arc toward Myne.
A mont later, the Skeleton King brought Myne before Drake by her hair, as if dangling a rat by its tail.
"Let go!" Overco by pain, a manic grimace twisted Myne's features.
"You know I am the First Princess, yet you dare commit violence against !"
"When I return to the royal capital, I will report your cris against to Father!"
"You will have that chance." A grin split Drake's face as he reached out, pressing his hand against Myne's face with force.
"But only after signing a contract with ."
"Wha—"
This was one of the few tis Drake used forceful ans to establish a contract.
It seed a bit inconsistent with his current status as a hero, but he had to do it.
Otherwise... killing this First Princess outright was also an option.
In a sense, Myne was the number one villain of this world.
Early on, she frad the protagonist, Naofumi Iwatani, instigated the Spear Hero, and deceived the king and nobles.
To seize power and succeed the throne, she would not hesitate to murder her own sister.
Later, she even killed her own mother and defected to the organization behind the Waves of Calamity.
This woman was the absolute pinnacle of troublemakers in the "Shield Hero" universe!
If he did not crush her right here and now, heaven knew what catastrophic sses she would cause down the line.
Claiming Myne as his own was a major contribution to world peace.
After all, she was a madwoman who would switch sides to stand against humanity.
A few seconds later, Drake withdrew his arm, ordering the Skeleton King to release its grip on Myne.
The haughty First Princess from monts prior hung her head in weakness, her entire body trembling.
"Raise your head." Drake's command forced her to lift her pale, pretty face. "What should you call now?"
"...M-Master..."
"Good." Drake nodded in satisfaction. "I never thought this title could bring such peace of mind."
According to his appraisal results, Myne possessed no pact skills.
From head to toe, her appearance was her only redeeming quality.
As for her inner personality, it was awful.
If left undisciplined... even Drake would find her repulsive.
'It looks like I need to consult a professional to exchange so tips.'
Thinking this, Drake glanced at Myne, who was staring at him with eyes full of dread.
"You must know where the slave rchants are in the royal capital, right? Take to them."
This world still harbored "slaves" and a comprehensive slave industry chain. Besides humans, there were various demi-human and beastkin races.
Even before the Waves descended, nations would attack each other and wage wars over differences in race and faith.
Following the disaster, villages and towns in once-peaceful regions suffered inevitable destruction.
Displaced refugees, whether of their own accord or by force, fell into the hands of slave traders and were branded with a cursed "Slave Crest."
This curse forbade slaves from disobeying their master's commands, triggering severe, even lethal, punishnts if they resisted!
"Were you looking for ?"
After Myne had led Drake through the back alleys of the royal capital for an unknown number of hours, an eccentric man wearing a top hat and a swallowtail suit appeared in front of Drake.
"..."
Drake scrutinized the man's attire and could not help but remark, "Does everyone in your... rather twisted line of work dress like this?"
The eccentric man in the swallowtail suit reminded him of a plumper version of Kagetane Hiruko.
"Hehe, the custor is quite humorous." The strange man adjusted the glasses on his nose, showing no signs of anger. "I am a Slave rchant. Are you in need of a new slave, or..."
Saying this, the man shifted his gaze to Myne, uttering words that filled her with terror.
"...Are you looking to sell the young lady by your side to ?"
"Oh? So that is an option." Drake stroked his chin with interest. "How much do you think she would sell for?"
"That depends on whether she possesses any combat capability."
"From what I know, she can cast interdiate fire magic."
"Hmm... That is a bonus. For female slaves, background and sexual experience are also vital details."
"Her identity is anything but ordinary..." Drake glanced at Myne, noticing her shooting him frantic, pleading looks.
It appeared she did not want her status as the First Princess exposed at a ti like this.
"Just consider her the daughter of so noble. As for your next question—Myne, are you a virgin?"
The First Princess bit her lip and nodded in humiliation.
"Tsk tsk tsk, that exceeds my expectations." Drake raised an eyebrow in genuine surprise. It seed this piece of work was not just trash, but a master manipulator.
After so calculation, the Slave rchant beside them quoted a price.
"A clean, beautiful human girl with a noble background and the status of an interdiate fire mage should sell for around 10 gold coins."
"More than that, no?"
"Hehe... That is the purchasing price. Please understand." The Slave rchant chuckled. "Besides, you do not actually intend to sell her to ."
"You are correct." Drake nodded, pulling out a heavy coin pouch. "Take to see your stock."
Hearing the clinking of gold and silver coins, the Slave rchant perked up and made an inviting gesture. "Please, follow ."
Navigating the labyrinthine alleys, the Slave rchant led Drake into a circus tent. Deep within the tent lay a spiral staircase descending underground.
"Take a look. These are my shop's most highly recomnded slaves."
In a subterranean space resembling a prison, the Slave rchant presented his wares to Drake with pride. Inside a cage sat a creature that resembled a human, yet its skin was covered in beastly fur, complete with sharp fangs and claws.
"Is this... a werewolf?"
"To be precise, it is a wolf beastkin," the Slave rchant corrected. "In the common tongue, 'werewolf' usually refers to wolf demi-humans in most contexts. Demi-humans possess appearances similar to humans but differ in certain parts. Beastkin are demi-humans with a higher degree of beastification. Please be mindful of the distinction."
"I see." Drake had not expected a lesson in biology while browsing a slave market. "What is his price?"
"15 gold coins."
The Slave rchant stated the exorbitant figure without hesitation. This price could buy one and a half Mynes.
Drake glanced at the chained wolf beastkin slave.
[Combat Slave: Lv75, Race: Werewolf]
A Level 75 combat slave... no wonder he was so expensive.
"He does not look very healthy." Since he did not intend to buy it anyway, Drake offered a passing remark.
"Correct. He was originally a gladiator slave, but after injuring his limbs, he was disposed of and sent to ."
"Do you have any other slaves?"
At Drake's question, the Slave rchant rubbed his hands together with a troubled look.
"You have already seen my best rchandise. May I ask what type of slave you prefer?"
"Hmm..." Drake pondered for a mont, then pulled Myne, who had been trying to erase her presence, to the front. "Soone like her, understand?"
Realization dawned on the Slave rchant's face.
"You an you require a beautiful, young woman who is clean, possesses so combat ability, and hails from noble origins..."
"You can drop that last condition." Drake waved his hand. "I do not mind if they are human or demi-human."
"Your tastes are quite broad... Let see, ah, here we are." The Slave rchant flipped through his ledger and found rchandise that t the criteria.
"Custor, your luck is quite good. A batch of demi-human slaves just arrived today from the Free City of Lanaritta. I heard they are fresh arrivals who lost their hos due to war and disaster, only to be caught by slavers."
"...Take to see them."
Drake furrowed his brow, feeling that the na 'Free City of Lanaritta' sounded familiar. Did such a place exist in the world of the Shield Hero?
"Right this way."
The group ventured into the deepest part of the dungeon, arriving at the cages holding the "new arrivals."
"These two barely et your requirents, sir. But in a way... they are defective goods."
He pointed at the two cages ahead. Confined within the first cage was an emaciated little girl with a pair of round ears and a thick tail. She stared in fear, trembling and coughing without pause.
"Since she is a rather unpopular raccoon demi-human, you can take her away for just 30 silver coins." The Slave rchant introduced his goods from the side. "If she were a fox-kin, people would be willing to pay a high price even if she had physical defects."
'A raccoon... it is her.'
Though he had already recognized her identity, hearing the rchant's description cented Drake's certainty.
This skinny, skin-and-bones demi-human girl in front of him was the heroine of the Shield Hero story, Raphtalia.
Her hotown had been destroyed by the Waves, and her parents had perished in the disaster.
At a young age, she ended up in the hands of slave traffickers. Her signature trait was her identity as a raccoon-type demi-human.
As for the other cage...
"This is a rare Ice Wolf tribe demi-human. If she did not have a terminal illness and an extrely fierce temperant, her price would be ten tis higher."
Seeing Drake's expression turn strange, the slaver assud he had a problem with the goods and hurried to add context.
"Right now, you only need 1 gold coin to take her ho. While her remaining lifespan is short, it is enough ti for you to savor..."
"I will take them both."
Without letting him finish, Drake tossed him two gold coins. Next, he walked up to the Ice Wolf girl, who wore a fierce glare born of illness and pain.
"Tell your na."
The demi-human girl with ice-blue hair and eyebrows glared viciously at him.
"If you can satisfy , I'll help you take revenge…"
"I'll kill the slave-hunting squad that attacked your holand, along with the humans who slaughtered your people."
Drake's words made the ice-wolf girl's eyes widen instantly. Her icy-blue pupils stared fixedly at the young man before her.
"…Setsuna."
"My na is Setsuna."
Hearing that na, Drake finally could not stop the corners of his mouth from twitching a few tis.
He suddenly turned around and grabbed Myne by the collar.
"Is there a kingdom called Jioral on this continent?"
"What are you talking about…"
Although Myne did not understand, she still answered honestly.
"The Kingdom of Jioral is right beside our kingdom. It's one of lromarc's neighbors."
"…Very good."
Drake released her and swept his gaze around.
His eyes passed over the slave rchant, the snow-wolf girl, the little raccoon demi-human girl, and Myne one after another.
It seed this place was not rely the world of Shield Hero.
It was a mixed ani otherworld ford from the fusion of several different works.
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