Chapter 12: Chapter 012: 'Monster' Trader
Author: WolfSpatial
Co-Author: Lucifer
[Hell may be before you, but you may still fight so long as you haven't set a foot inside it.]
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I found Naofumi in the forest with a teenage girl who sported a fluffy tail and soft-looking ears. The two of them were sat down on a picnic blanket eating lunch as Naofumi fed pieces of orange rubber to his shield.
Curious about what he was doing, I jumped up onto a tree branch and crouched with my staff beside me. I opened the girl's sheet to find a decently strong level seventeen Raccoon Demi-Human named Raphtalia. Naofumi himself was a level below me, sitting at twenty-four.
The disparity in levels between his party and Itsuki's made me think that Itsuki and Malty had spent more time vanquishing each other than actual enemies. I sighed at the thought and pointed a finger toward them.
I was surprised when Raphtalia's hair stood on end before I had even done anything. Then I shot a Magic Missile into the piece of rubber Naofumi was about to feed his shield. The attack left the ground it struck smoking as I moved to another tree as fast as I could, using my staff to aid in longer jumps with its ability to float.
The duo shot up and began looking around, putting their backs together. Raphtalia pulled out a sword whilst Naofumi held up his shield, "Who's there?"
Her voice was a little high-pitched, but she was still a kid so it was expected. She puffed her cheek after getting no response, her bright red eyes scanning the trees.
I left Magic Missiles in the air as I ran from tree to tree in a circle around them, hoping the flurry of Mana would confuse whatever the girl had sensed me with before.
I wouldn't try to actually hurt either of them, I just wanted to see how well they fought together. Thus, I released a Magic Missile toward Raphtalia and watched as Naofumi turned and reached around her to block it.
Frowning slightly, I sent two more Missiles, this time from opposite directions. Naofumi pulled Raphtalia to the side and swung his shield at the Missile closest to him, redirecting it into the other.
Surprise etched its way onto my face as I moved to sit on the branch I had chosen and fired three more of the fifteen remaining Magic Missiles at them.
It seemed to be Raphtalia's turn to show off, slicing a Missile in half and dodging another that left a small crater in the ground. Naofumi, on the other hand, found himself pushed back by the Magic Missile, though not injured in the slightest.
"Who could this be, Mister Naofumi?" Raphtalia questioned her Party Leader, glancing over at him, "I can't sense them, we should try to escape."
"I don't know if we can, their shots make me think we're surrounded." He explained and then hummed, "But where have I seen this color Magic before?"
If he could place it on the first try I'd have given him all of my money, but I was still happy to know that he recognized my Magic after only seeing it two or three times. Not that he had put the Magic to the name yet, of course.
Looking at the twelve Missiles that lingered in the trees, I dispersed seven and sent the remainder toward Naofumi silently. While the two of them scanned the trees and bushes, my Magic Missiles floated above their heads without making a sound.
It made me worry about them, if they couldn't feel the swirling of five distinct Magic Missiles above their heads, how would they fight against the waves that we were summoned for?
I clicked my tongue loud enough for them to hear, causing their heads to snap to my direction. I could see a slight fear grip Raphtalia as the only thing she could see in the darkness of the tree tops was the dim glow of my staff's red orb.
Naofumi narrowed his eyes as a million thoughts crossed his mind, and then he dropped his guard. He set a hand on Raphtalia's shoulder and shouted, "Come out, Itsuki, Malty!"
Not getting a response, he frowned and stared at the red glow sitting on the branch. I couldn't fight the smile that formed on my face, which, unfortunately, Raphtalia could see with her vision being better than Naofumi's.
She gripped her short sword tighter and stepped in front of Naofumi, "I'll protect you, run away."
My smile turned into a chuckle and then full-blown laughter as my voice howled through the forest. I leaned back clutching my stomach and fell off the branch.
I was happy that Naofumi had found such a trustworthy companion that would so easily lay her life on the line to keep him safe. It truly warmed my heart.
"Wait, I recognize that voice." Naofumi seemed skeptical as I stood up with a chuckle still on my lips, "But, he's…"
"Yo!" Stepping into the light of the tiny clearing, I dodged the swipe from Raphtalia's sword and pointed upward.
They both looked up and Naofumi's eyes widened in horror, "When did you…"
"Wake up? About a day ago." Snapping my fingers, the Missiles turned into fireworks and disappeared shortly thereafter, "Put those there? Shortly after the last attack."
Raphtalia looked at me angrily, her sword still at the ready. I looked down at her and noticed something strange, a slave crest on her barely-developed chest that didn't show up on her sheet.
"You're gonna have to tell me what happened on your end while I was gone," Setting my staff sideways in the air, I sat on it. To be perfectly honest, the first time I did that — which was yesterday on my way to find Naofumi — I thought I'd fall flat on my ass. I was lucky I didn't.
"Where to start," Naofumi gestured for Raphtalia to put her sword away and sat back down on his picnic blanket, "First off, I'm sure you already know, but this is Raphtalia."
"Yes," I nodded to him and then looked at the girl, "The level seventeen Raccoon Demi-Human that you bought from a Slave Trader the night I left. Why does her Crest not have any effects?"
"Oh, that's something of a long story." Seeing me get comfortable, he sighed and continued, "About three days ago, Motoyasu called me out at a party for the Five Heroes. We had a competition and I ended up losing because a member of his party used Earth Magic to trap one of my feet. That made them remove Raphtalia's Crest. But, she felt like the Crest represented our bond, but I didn't like the thought of controlling her with it."
"So you had the slave trader draw the Crest in normal ink instead of the Magic Ink," I sighed and looked over at the blushing girl, "She seems like a handful, but you two make a pretty good team. Now for the important part."
Naofumi gave me a confused look, "The important part?"
"Why did you ditch Itsuki?" Furrowing my brow, I gave my best not mad just disappointed look, "I didn't tell you to stay together, obviously, but he is still your friend. I know you went to him for information on forming a party, why didn't you just stick with him?"
"Have you seen what he and Malty do when they think no one's around?" Naofumi shivered at the thought, "Not even God could purify that."
"I try not to see that kind of stuff," I shook my head with a small smile on my face, "So no, I haven't seen what they do when alone."
"It's… mortifying." His eyes unfocused as he stared blankly toward me, "I didn't know the Human body could make those sounds, could bend like that."
"You make it sound like torture." Despite my laugh and joking tone, Raphtalia puffed her cheek and turned away from me. She still seemed upset about me testing them.
"For me, it was." Naofumi shook his head and coughed, "Let's change the subject; what happened to you? You've been out of it for weeks and suddenly you come back falling out of trees?"
"I found a new world," He nodded once before realizing what I said, his expression pausing somewhere between disbelief and shock, "They don't use Magic or seem to have skills like us, but they have Runic Enchantments that make ours seem paltry."
"How did you do that if your body was here?" He posed a good question, and it was something I hadn't thought about yet. When I went to the other world — which I now knew was called Cantria after a short conversation with the newly-promoted Flame Spirit — my body stayed here in Cardinal.
That meant I either had a body double in Cantria or I had somehow created one when I transferred over, the third option was that my soul became tangible, but I felt that option was the least realistic.
There was probably a much more plausible explanation for what had happened that I simply hadn't considered yet, for now, I'd just assume I didn't know how it worked and act like I did.
As such, I winked at Naofumi and turned my gaze to his companion, "What made you choose this girl? I'm positive there were other options in that place."
"I thought about what you said the night before," He smiled and set a hand on her head, "You know; about meeting my wife or something like that."
"I see," I was just spouting bullshit, but if he really found someone he likes then it's not my place to tell him off. Besides, she looked legal enough and Demi-Humans did age differently than normal Humans, so they'd be the same age here soon.
"What about you?" Naofumi looked at me expectantly as Raphtalia enjoyed a piece of pie from their woven picnic basket, "When does the great Jayce Fateweaver get to have his happy-ever-after?"
"Oh," I laughed and dismissed the thought almost immediately, "I don't get anything like that, I'm afraid. It's simply not in the cards for me."
"Of all the things you've told me," Naofumi scowled at me, "That's the one I don't believe. Itsuki once told me that Fate had favorites, I didn't really believe him but if it does, it's you."
"Yeah," Standing up from my sideways staff, I looked down at Naofumi and his companion as they sat comfortably, "Fate's also a twenty-dollar hooker, so don't put your hopes in it."
He laughed and Raphtalia gave him a confused look, to which I sighed and began walking away. I'd leave them to their date, Naofumi deserved a happy ending. Hell, Itsuki deserved a happy ending.
They all did, just not me. I wasn't the type of person that got to have the girl, but I definitely was able to have all the power I wanted. It seemed strange, Itsuki and Naofumi had both gotten their hands on a girl that they both really liked.
How come I hadn't? Should I have taken the Duke's offer to marry Catheine? Am I truly destined to be alone for the rest of my life? With the way things were going, I probably would be, honestly.
Shaking my head, I smiled into the dense forest and told myself, "Just give it time, Jayce. There's a woman out there for everyone."
However, I decided to go Itsuki's route as it was a good idea to get a close-quarters combatant to balance out my long-distance capabilities. With that in mind, I followed Naofumi's path to the slave trader in Melromarc's Castle Town.
It wasn't all that difficult to find him in all honesty. Any person with a half-decent brain could find his 'Monster Trader' store and see that the sleazebag did other stuff on the side. After all, nobody made that much money selling monsters to adventurers that could barely afford new gear from Erhard's shop.
Speaking of Erhard, I needed to stop in and say 'hi,' maybe check out his wares again.
The Slave Trader was a man named Beloukas who daylighted as a monster trader, so his nightlife wasn't much of a stretch for the man. He was a short, creepy-looking little man wearing a traditional circus ringmaster's tuxedo, glasses with a small chain attached, white alchemist's gloves, a long top hat, and a red bow tie with a small diamond brooch in its center. He had a small, old-fashioned handlebar mustache and bore a somewhat sinister, omnipresent grin on his face.
Despite that, I could tell that he was a mostly-upstanding citizen. He didn't cheat or lie to his customers and instead gave an honest explanation for each piece of merchandise that he sold in his little shop.
He explained monster after monster to me as we passed them by, eventually stopping in front of a cage with a canvas covering draped over it, "What's this one?"
"I didn't think you'd be interested in that," He explained with his hands behind his back, "But I see that you have a fine eye."
The way he said it made me think he knew something about my Demonic Eye, causing my vision to snap to his sleazy, shifty eyes. He coughed and continued, removing the canvas covering from the cage, "This is Sir Percival, formerly of Siltvelt. Despite that country being almost completely Demi-Humans, I haven't found a trace of such lineage on his body."
"No," Staring at the knight's character sheet, I leaned closer to the Demi-Human shapeshifter and gave a toothy grin, "You wouldn't. I want him. How much?"
"For you?" Beloukas twirled his mustache with the pinky of his right hand, "A hundred and twenty-three silvers."
"Sold," Handing him a bag of coin — which had almost all of the coin Itsuki had given me when I woke up — I waited for him to count through and clutched next to the cage.
The older-looking man opened his strong silver eyes and stared at me, "Are you my new master?"
"I am, but don't think that changes anything," He nodded in understanding, though I wasn't sure he got the message, "By that, I mean you're still a knight and I'll be treating you as such. In my eyes, you are not a lowly slave. Anyone with value, no matter how small, will be properly used by me."
"You're not just some noble brat, are you? Not gonna whip me for talking or asking for food, will you?" He seemed like a good guy, so I gave a shit-eating grin.
"Of course not," Standing up, I began walking toward Beloukas, "I'm way worse."
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