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<h1 class="has-text-align-center">Episode 32: I picked up an abandoned elf slave</h1>
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“Well, today’s quest is …? There are so many.”
I was looking at the bulletin board where the C rank quests were posted in the same way I usually receive quests, but there were probably 1.5 times as many as usual. I also felt that there were more quests for other ranks than usual.
I thought to myself, “Well, there are days like that,” and continued to browse through the quests.
“Ah, it’s been a long time, Yuki-sama! Aleria-sama!”
The usual receptionist was glad to see us.
It’s true that I haven’t come in a long time, so when I see a familiar face, I feel a little soothed.
“It’s been a long time. Anyway, why Yuki-sama?”
“Regulus-sama, No, as soon as His Majesty resolved the misunderstanding about Yuki-sama, people started talking asking,” Who is this Yuki that was recognized by Regulus? ” The fact that it was you spread, and before I knew it, everyone in the royal capital came to call you Yuki-sama!”
What a tremendous flip over …
Well, it’s no wonder that people believe it if it’s announced by an authoritative source.
Somehow, being called that feels itchy.
“Apart from me, does Aleria have any rumors?”\n
</ins>\n“There are rumors that she’s a goddess who serves Yuki! Everyone is convinced because she’s so beautiful.”
“There’s such a rumor?” (Aleria)
“Well, about that?”
“Hmm?”
“Um, is Aleria actually a goddess …”
So you believed it too!
I was dumbfounded so I stayed silent.
“Oh, there are things you can’t talk about! I understand perfectly!”
“No, you don’t understand …”
“I’m not a goddess? I’m not that big of a deal.” (Aleria)
No, if you’re a princess of the empire, you’re still a big deal …
“That’s a shame … actually it’s not! Rather, it’s easier to get close to you and improves your likability!”
Um, she shouldn’t be so friendly. It’s a princess, an imperial princess.
——Well, she doesn’t know, so it can’t be helped. It’s complicated to talk about, so for now, I’ll just keep silent.
“I feel that there are more quests than usual, why is that?”
“Ah yes, monsters have become a little more active lately.”\n</ins>\n“Do you know the cause?”
“No, it’s unclear, but it’s common for the number of monsters to fluctuate depending on the time of year, so I don’t think it’s anything to be worried about.”
“Is that the case?”
I’ve only been in this world for about a month.
This receptionist, who’s a guild staff member, should be more familiar with the common sense and data of this world.
I think she can analyze it more objectively than I can.
“I’m glad that Yuki-sama came because the quests were getting inexhaustible! The number of quests keep increasing one after another, so you can accept them all!”
“No, even I can’t do everything …”
She might have misunderstood me as a superhuman or something.
“That’s right. No matter how great you are, it’s impossible! It’s better to limit the number to about 50, right?”
“That’s right. It’s not good to overdo it.”
“No, that’s enough! I mean I was joking !?”
It seems she was really surprised I took her joke seriously.
◇
We chose quests that could be completed as soon as possible and decided to leave immediately.
All requests should be completed by mid-afternoon.
We headed towards the gate of the royal capital.
“— Hmm? A stray cat?”
I found a swaying shadow in the garbage dump of an alley.
When I approached and checked, it was bigger than I expected. Not a cat.\n</ins>\n It looks like a person, and its characteristics are a little different from ordinary people.
“Could it be, a subhuman?
Her clothes, hair, and body are all dirty, but she was a sub-human girl.
She looks about the same age as Aleria.
Long silver hair and beautiful blue eyes. Her chest is quite big and she could be a match for Aleria.
Her most prominent characteristics are her long and pointed ears.
If she was cleaned properly, she would be an amazingly beautiful girl.
Such a girl is tied to a collar, handcuffed, and carrying a weight on her back.
When she sees us, she shudders.
“She’s an elf. Even so, being treated so badly …” (Yuki)
“I heard the kingdom’s slave traders secretly buy and sell sub-humans, but did she escape?”
“No, the slave trader would have abandoned her. Since the kingdom has taken a new system, we’ve imposed severe penalties for buying and selling sub-humans. He probably thought he should cut his losses before getting caught.”
In the first place, treaties with neighboring countries prohibit discrimination against subhumans.
In other countries, there is no discrimination against sub-humans.
Only the old kingdom virtually allowed discrimination against sub-humans, and there were no penalties for slave traders.\n</ins>\n In addition, trafficking of persons other than sub-humans is prohibited, and there are penalties.
Well, in the old kingdom, the king himself broke the law, so the actual system may have been quite loose.
I took it as a problem and issued a statement to impose severe penalties and release the slaves. —— Via Regulus.
Instead of holding them for past sins, I instructed him to give them enough cash to release them without losses, but it seems that some slave traders didn’t comply.
“This is also my responsibility. I was too lax in my approach. I’ll do the quests later, but before that I want to help this girl. Aleria, will you forgive me?”
“I thought that would be the case with you. I’m also worried. This takes priority.”
“I’m sorry. Thank you Aleria.”
I broke all the chains of the elf girl with my bare hands.
“Can you stand? You’ll get sick if you eat that. I’ll give you something good to eat so come with me.”
The girl’s eyes, which had been trembling and dead, lit up.\n</ins>\n She grabbed my hand hesitantly.\n