Chapter 585 Johtaenilm's Market District
Chapter 585 Johtaenilm’s Market District
Katsuki was doing my hair the next morning when Dehyia came into the room.
“Young Mistress, Emilia is here to see you.”
Oh wow, that early? She must either be really looking forward to our outing or she’s really eager to get off her ship.
I’m guessing it must be the latter. I doubt she would be able to sleep well knowing the people around her were against her.
“Umu… Show her in then~”
Dehyia bowed before leaving the room, which prompted Katsuki to speak up.
“Is Mistress sure that I do not need to accompany you today?”
I giggled, “I’m sure. It’ll be fine, Katsuki. I’ll just be walking around the city with Emilia. Of course, that’s just an excuse for her to meet me to talk about her current situation and for me to help her. If it’s just the two of us, her crew would not have a reason to accompany us either.”
“… Understood, Mistress.”
I know for a fact that they’ll most likely follow us at a distance anyway so it’s fine. The main thing is not to have Emilia’s crew find out that Emilia herself is aware of their treachery by keeping them away from us.
I already told the other girls to go and enjoy themselves around the city without minding me so they should be leaving the manor after me. They were already stuck with me for so long during this training camp so I’d think they also want some time for themselves too.
After all, they aren’t exactly my maids and are only participating in this training camp to accompany me and to train themselves.
I felt bad for imposing my selfishness on them like that all the time so maybe they could take this opportunity to go and have some fun.
There was a knock on the door and Dehyia returned with Emilia, the Nekomata immediately looking around the room as she entered. I couldn’t tell if she was evaluating the value of the room or looking for any potential threats.
“Hello Emilia~” I greeted her, spotting her reflection in the mirror.
Emilia finally turned to me, “Ah, sorry. Good morning, Lady Aster.”
“Pfft, please don’t call me that. Aren’t I your friend?”
“Gods… I want to kill myself. I can’t believe I said that…”
“Why? Do you not want to be my friend?”
“Ah, no, no! Please don’t misunderstand! What I meant was that I can’t believe I was daring enough to even claim I was a friend of yours.”
I raised an eyebrow, “But I do consider you as a friend though?”
She seemed surprised, “Eh? Wait… You do?”
“Why wouldn’t I? Haven’t we been through enough together to consider each other friends already?”
“Err… I mean… You don’t really get anything from being friends with me right? At this point, I’m already planning to cut ties with my family and take everything I have earned to escape from them. I won’t have the influence and power that I have anymore and everyone associated with me might be caught up in this problem too.”
“Do you think I decide who I’m friends with based on what they can do for me?”
She paused, “… Erm… No?”
I smiled at her reflection, “Then you see? There’s no problem with me calling you my friend, is there?”
She pursed her lips but said nothing more.
Katsuki finished brushing my hair and took a step back, “It’s done, Mistress.”
“Thank you, Katsuki. Headpat for you~”
Awww~ Look at her tail wagging so cutely despite her face looking so stoic~ It makes me just want to tease her more~
I stood up from my seat and stretched, relieving the aches from my shoulders.
My clothes for today were also prepared by Katsuki since I would be going out with Emilia as the ‘Young Mistress of the Nilm Family’ rather than just ‘Aster’.
But since I would be walking around, instead of the usual elegant dresses, I was wearing a skirt that reached my knees and a simple blouse with a shawl draped over my shoulders.
It was quite comfortable actually.
She passed me the usual mask and I put it on my face before smiling at Emilia, “Shall we go now? My friend?”
“Huh? Ah! Of course… Err… Should I just call you Young Mistress Nilm?”
I smirked, “You can call me whatever you want, how about ‘my dearest friend’?”
Emilia shuddered, “Please… Not that. I’ll just call you Lady Nilm then.”
“Very well~ Then I shall allow you to escort me~” I teased, extending my hand to her.
She rolled her eyes but decided to just play along and gave me an exaggerated bow, “As you wish, my lady.”
I let her take my hand and she led me out of the manor while I gave a wave to Katsuki who wished me a safe trip at the door.
“So… Where’s our first stop?” I asked.
Emilia pointed down one of the paths, “I assume you have yet to eat so we could go to their market street to grab something to eat first.”
“Eh? They serve food at the slave market? I don’t remember seeing any food stalls yesterday though?”
“No, no… That’s the harbour district, Lady Nilm. We’re going to another place.”
Ah… Mother simply called it the market so I thought that was their market street.
I nodded at her and she began leading me down the path she had pointed out.
Once again, I was treated to the sight of various collared monsters and people walking around the city.
Most of them had someone leading them but there were a few who seemed to be walking around on their own. I’m assuming the latter are slaves that already have owners and are out on errands for them.
The market street for this city was a literal long street that stretched from one part of the city to the other side of it with small roads branching out from the street that led to smaller, pocket sized markets.
It sort of gave the image of a tree with several branches leading away from the main trunk.
Not gonna lie, I was prepared to see the standard market stalls lining the side of the road with their goods on display like those standard fantasy cities here. But there’s proper shops complete with glass displays and attendants in them, almost like the Market District back in Crown Capital City but with a different design.
Heck, they even have cafes, boutiques and of course, slave shops lining along the street with various different people strolling around.
I peeked into one of the shops that seemed to be selling clothes and there were both slave customers and attendants inside the store.
Right then, as we were walking past one specific boutique, an angry voice came from inside.
“You expect me to be served by these filthy slaves?! Get the manager out here!”
I turned and saw a well dressed Mahun lady shouting at a collared Rizzie that was barely the size of my palm hovering in the air in front of her. Another pair of Mahun slaves were standing at the side awkwardly.
The Rizzie huffed, “Well just give me a moment then.”
She did a twirl in the air before flying back to the same spot, “Hi, I’m the manager, how can I help you?”
The Mahun lady was not impressed, “You?! A slave as a manager?! Don’t make me laugh!”
“My master has left me in charge of this store and indeed gave me the position of manager. If this bothers you, you’re welcome to shop elsewhere.”
“You dirty slave! Watch me discipline you in your master’s place!”
A male Mahun stormed out from the back of the store angrily, “What the hell are you doing to my Kirie?! Get the fuck out of our store!! Kirie! Did this bitch hurt you?!”
“Not at all, master. I apologise for the ruckus.”
I didn’t stay to see the woman get kicked out since Emilia was still escorting me down the street but I felt that scene was quite entertaining.
“I suppose such sights are new to you since it’s your first time in this city, right?” Emilia asked, evidently witnessing the same scene that I did as well.
“Yeah. Back in Crown Capital city, there’s slaves too but they’re mainly used for manual labour and most slaves I see aren’t allowed to move around by themselves unsupervised.”
She nodded, “It’s different here especially since the country was built up and maintained by slaves. It’s normal for people here to own one or two slaves and treat them like family.”
I guess because there’s slaves here who were sold due to circumstances and not because they were forced to become one, such treatments are considered the norm.
Otherwise… I suppose the slaves would be trying to break free from their bonds instead.
Emilia then gestured to a store down the street, “Let’s get something to eat first shall we? I like to visit that bar when I’m in this city since the food and service there are especially excellent, even if it’s a little pricey.”
I shrugged, “You’re the one leading me here so sure~”
The Nekomata grinned and started leading me towards the store.
Why did I feel a shiver at that smile of hers?
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