Chapter 313: Slaves - 2
"Leo!" Uraan called out. Then, as if realising his mistake, he quickly glanced around, making sure nobody was paying attention.
If people knew Leo was here, a crowd would gather for autographs. Yes, for autographsânot scorn for being found in a slave area. There was no shame or defamation in owning or looking for slavesâfor literally any âpurposeâ. Because of the way the world operated, slaves were the least of the concerns, especially when only strong individuals were capable of having slaves.
Capable in the sense that their soul was able to provide that âtinyâ part of it by which the slaveâs soul was bound. A weak soul barely maintained the body and couldnât afford to share that small portion, and a weak soul directly equated to a weak individual. Therefore, no weak person could bind slavesâor risk binding them when, at some point, their soul overloaded, the lease of the slave broke, and the slave killed them.
As for a strong individual having a slave stronger than themselves, it was possible. Diligent researchers had found a way to achieve that within the slave collar mechanism. Itâs just that the soul of the master had to be of considerable strength to be able to share that tiny part without problem, which meant a soul of a certain rank. A person without soul rank wouldnât be able to have slaves.
Uraan approached Leo with a pleasant smile and shook his hand; the avian beastkins were still trailing behind him, their expression sudden and eyes darting, knowing their future was uncertain.
"Are you also looking for some specific slave for your territory defence?" Uraan guessed.
Leo nodded, retracting his hand from the handshake.
"Yes..." Leo said, glancing at the slaves behind Uraan.
The avian girls flinched at Leoâs sight, their beast instincts alarming them of Leoâs threatâone that felt greater than Uraanâs.
Understanding Leoâs intention, Uraan answered.
"Yes, I bought them for my territory defence." Then he side-eyed him.
"Donât tell me you thought I was going to do some stupid things with them. Haha, I already have 3 fiancĂ©s, mind you. And one of them is so fiery-headed she will kill me if I try to touch any more girls anytime soonâespecially when the girls in question arenât even human."
He said it jokingly, but as if the words were magic, Leo felt the tension in the 4 girls behind Uraan loosen.
Seeing Uraan being so proactive, Leo spoke as well.
"Actually, I was looking for a knowledgeable person to answer some of my questions... especially about certain slaves."
Uraan raised a brow, interested.
"Ask me. I might know something. I did plenty of research on slaves that would be suitable for my territory... though I wonât disclose anything more about my territory." Uraan said, making it clear that he was also preparing for the time when the bounty would be issued on his territory. Though, Leo being higher ranked, wouldnât be able to attack, it didnât mean he could share that information.
"I had a question regarding those goblins and orcs. Arenât they beasts? Like, they are supposed to be tamed by Beast Masters to function properly, so how are they able to be enslaved? Whatâs the use of beast taming talent then?"
Uraan listened to the question, thinking for a while.
"I donât know... but I have heard only intelligent beings can be enslaved... and I guess the ones brought here are intelligent? Thatâs really a good question... suited for scholars. Why do I need to bother with that when my job is just to tame and kill?" Uraan shrugged, as if the answer served no purpose to him.
Leo nodded.
So intelligent beasts can be enslaved...
His thoughts naturally drifted to Bigfoot, who was an untamed intelligent beast.
Wait... doesnât that mean the Tree Behemoth back in the trail could have been enslaved?
Damn...
This suddenly gave him an idea for when he came across beasts that were intelligent but he didnât want to tame.
"Yo! Leo!" Uraan called when he saw Leo spacing out.
"Uh, yes, thanks for the information. But at least tell me where to find a person who can answer my question," Leo said.
Uraan scratched his head.
"I really donât know what you will do with that answer, but... I guess an official priest might be able to help you," he said.
"They sit back there where they turn other races into slaves. Just find a free official priestâyouâll find quite a fewâand ask them. If anyone makes stupid faces, just pay him 1000 AC or punch him in the face or whatever. Or simply go to the library for detailed information, but I guess youâll need to turn through many pages to find that answer."
After telling Leo what he wanted to know, Uraan asked his own question.
"What slave are you looking for? I donât thinkâor recommendâorcs or goblins... especially since you surely have a girl in your territory. Those bastards are real incarnations of lustful demons, if you ask me."
"I am seeing my options right now." Then Leo once again looked at the girls behind Uraan and pointed at them. "Those collarsâwhere did you find them?"
"That? Just pay extra while buying them to get the choice of your collar from the priest. The price varies depending on the material and type. Though they donât have any special function added compared to a normal heavy collar... I just didnât want to look at those ugly collars every day in my territory."
Leo nodded.
Then, all of a sudden, Uraanâs expression changed.
"Be careful on your territoryâs bounty day, and keep your eye on the skyâor a meteor might fall over your head," Uraan said with an evil glint in his eyes that looked competitve.
Leo responded with the same expression.
"You too. Keep your eyes on the ground, or an earthquake might swallow you whole."
"Heh, we will see," Uraan scoffed playfully, turning around to leave.
Leo noticed that the avian beast girlsâ steps were much lighter now that they had caught a glimpse of Uraanâs character through his chat with Leo. Another relieving thing was that Uraan had clearly stated he wouldnât do anything inappropriate with them. This mattered, because they had noticed the gazes of various menâespecially those who werenât able to buy them due to less money.
Watching the departing figure, Leo allowed himself to be momentarily distracted.
It felt very wrong to see these people in this condition, especially when they werenât the ones who had done anything wrongâand their broken parts of the world had simply ended up fusing into human territory.
Is the Emperor really this cruel? Or is there something bigger hiding behind the scenes...
Because there was no way a normal person, who had control over these unfortunate beingsâ lives, would simply decide to leave their fate like this. Even an insane person would want some benefits before doing such things, or he would simply not bother.
There must be a reason to enslave them so unreasonably... What am I missing?