"It’s truly a misunderstanding, Mr. Fischer. Since this involves you and a slave, there’s no issue. You’re free to leave now."
The soldier captain, who looked kindly and well-tempered, smiled as he stepped aside to clear the path out of the holding area.
Fischer, his black suit soaked with mud, adjusted his clothes slightly and turned to look at Raphaëlle and the slave trader behind him.
Earlier, he’d been detained by the guards of Keken City due to his street fight with Raphaëlle. Fortunately, once the situation was clarified, the soldiers let them go with understanding...
Well, truth be told, it was because Keken himself had heard about it and rushed over. This was his city—letting a person or two go was a piece of cake.
But for Fischer, who disliked owing others, this left a strange feeling in his gut. After bothering someone for a whole day, and then making them come out again over something this trivial—it just wasn’t the behavior of a proper gentleman.
"Appreciate your help, Keken."
"Not at all. There’s not much here to offer you anyway. I’m just lucky to have helped in some small way. Oh, and about that Dragonkin slave—you wanted to purchase him, right? Even though the other party already agreed to hand him over for free, it still felt improper... I’ve paid for him on your behalf. Just take the slave and go."
“...”
With that in mind, Fischer no longer protested and simply bid Keken farewell. Keken, from his carriage, waved back with a smile. But just as Fischer turned to leave, Keken pulled back the curtain, his expression suddenly more serious.
"Ah yes, look at me forgetting something important… When you pass through Fieron City, be cautious. The environment’s nice, but don’t linger there too long."
"Oh?" Fischer had just put on his hat and was now intrigued by what Keken had mentioned. "Is there something in particular to watch out for?"
Keken gave a small, uneasy laugh.
"Maybe it’s just my imagination... I just find the city lord there a bit peculiar. He’s the kind who loves talented people like you—he might end up wasting a lot of your time."
"Is that so? Noted."
Fischer nodded again to Keken. Once the latter’s carriage disappeared down the road, Fischer turned back to the grinning slave trader, who stood beside the Dragonkin child.
"Ah, sir, here’s the slave and the mark. Please confirm it."
Fischer didn’t take the slave mark. Instead, he glanced at Raphaëlle.
"This is the result of your trade—you decide what to do with it. But don’t take too long."
Raphaëlle paused for a moment, then quickly ran over and tore the leather scroll containing the slave mark in half.
The slave trader’s brow twitched at the sight of the destroyed mark, but he said nothing. He simply dropped the iron chain he held that bound the young Dragonkin and quickly took his leave, bidding them farewell as he scurried away.
Raphaëlle looked down at the child, his body covered in wounds. She tried to crouch down to match his height, but pain flared in her injured left foot, forcing her to simply bend over slightly. She spoke in Draconian,
"What’s your name? Which tribe are you from?"
"...Chur. I’m... from the Northern Branch Tribe. I ran away from the forest after fighting with my mom."
Apparently, there were slight dialectal differences between Dragonkin tribes—Fischer could detect a few grammatical quirks in his speech.
"I see..."
Raphaëlle glanced at Fischer, who stood silently beside her. His once spotless suit was now filthy and drenched—because he had... carried her earlier. The thought made her hesitate, but after a brief pause, she still asked,
"Can we take this child outside the city tomorrow when we leave?"
Fischer gave her a sidelong look, then chuckled.
"Since you’re going to accept two rounds of punishment, I’m feeling generous. I’ll take him out of the city tomorrow when we leave. But tonight’s food—he eats your share. As for now, come back with me and clean yourself and your clothes."
That usual biting tone of the human man’s voice didn’t anger her this time. Raphaëlle clutched her injured arm and looked back at the Dragonkin child.
"Don’t be scared. You’ll be going home tomorrow."
...
...
With a carriage, there was technically no need to pay for a hotel room. But since they needed to clean themselves and change clothes, it became a necessary expense.
Looks like when you’re on the road, spending money is just fate.
"So... why only book one room?"
Curled up in a bath barrel, Raphaëlle suddenly spoke up in the steam-filled bathroom. From the adjoining bathing room behind a wooden partition came Fischer’s voice.
"For just bathing, a room with two washrooms is the most practical, isn’t it?"
It certainly wasn’t out of some cheap excuse like saving money—just optimal resource use.
After they returned to the carriage and got cleaned up, sorted dinner, and set aside the muddy supplies they’d dropped earlier, Fischer booked a hotel room to bathe. Their clothes had been handed to the maids for cleaning—which came with a bit of a tip.
"I’m done..."
Once she heard his reply, Raphaëlle softly spoke. Even with a wall between them, she still felt a little awkward.
Her red tail rose from beneath the water’s surface. She lowered her gaze to the gash on her arm—it still throbbed.
She didn’t understand—she had just gone all out trying to assassinate Fischer, yet he acted like it didn’t bother him at all. As if it wasn’t worth noticing.
Was it because she was too weak? That to him, her assassination attempt was nothing more than a little game?
How could a simple game ever move someone like him emotionally?
Raphaëlle stood up carefully, using the cloth called a “bath towel” to dry her scales. When she reached a certain spot, she suddenly let out a soft hiss—not from a wound.
The scales there hadn’t peeled or cracked, yet they gave off a tingling, prickly sensation—like something was growing.
It was a sign of a Dragonkin nearing adulthood. Once she came of age, her body would fully awaken, and those scales would harden like armor.
So I’m not an adult yet...
If she were back in the tribe, her mother would’ve arranged a grand coming-of-age ceremony for her.
Although, if she hadn’t been captured by humans, she probably would’ve resisted such a ceremony.
Raphaëlle’s lips curved faintly as she thought of that.
Knock knock...
A sudden knock startled her, snapping her out of her thoughts.
"Are you done?"
“...” Raphaëlle quickly pulled on the coarse cloth garments and replied while dressing, "Yeah, what now?"
"Did you forget? Tonight’s punishment time..."
Her hands froze mid-motion.