Academy’S Gumiho Is A Magical Genius [EN]: Chapter 192

Academy Gumiho is a Magic Genius – Episode 192

Slave Market (2)

Slave market.

A place that feels unpleasant just from the name.

It’s so unpleasant that it’s hard to believe such a place exists in the 21st century.

However, surprisingly, its exterior was no different from an ordinary market.

Tents were set up along the street.

Underneath them, middle-aged men and elderly women were doing business. Various items were piled on mats spread on the ground.

“Welcome, handsome masked man. Is there anything you are looking for?”

“No, I don’t need anything in particular right now. I’m just looking around for the moment.”

A woman soliciting customers.

Her amiable expression and a smile that could stir the hearts of many men were beautiful, but the moment they realized what she was selling, everyone’s face would turn cold.

“……”

“……Lord, that’s…”

“Don’t say anything. We don’t want to arouse suspicion.”

“……The descriptions I read about were just the tip of the iceberg.”

Wow, if Mencius [a Chinese philosopher] who advocated the theory of innate goodness, saw this scene, he would cry and prostrate himself before Xunzi [another Chinese philosopher who argued that humans are inherently selfish], admitting he was wrong.

“P, please buy me……”

“Sister, I’m scared……”

“……Just give up. It’ll be easier. Really.”

It was such an inhumane tragedy.

Boys and girls with their ankles tied.

The passersby around them didn’t think about saving them, only looking down at them with eyes that seemed to be appraising merchandise.

The children, with no one to rely on, had no choice but to depend on such passersby.

Because there were no adults to help them.

“Lord, please relax your expression.”

“……When did I harden my face?”

“Wearing a mask doesn’t mean people won’t recognize you. Your atmosphere has become so stiff; who wouldn’t notice?”

That’s right.

My face and atmosphere were frighteningly frozen right now.

Fortunately, I was wearing the 「Mask of the White-Faced Golden Monkey」.

The magic to conceal my tail and ears prevented anyone from identifying me and Baek Eun-ho. My facial expression was also hidden.

The slave market was a closed-off place.

People wearing masks were not uncommon, as they tried to hide their identities from society.

“……Crap.”

Right then.

The ‘cra—’ sound instinctively burst from my mouth.

I bit my tongue hard because I was worried that people passing by might look at me strangely for such a raw curse. I bit so hard that blood flowed from the corner of my mouth.

“L, Lord, there’s blood at the corner of your mouth…!”

“It’s nothing. Just keep walking ahead.”

“But……”

“Just walk. Don’t bother me.”

I acted nonchalantly.

A little blood did fall on the ground, but it wasn’t very noticeable because of the bloodstains already hardened on the ground from whipping disobedient slaves.

If I had finished the curse, it would have been more noticeable.

‘If I had cursed there, I would have been caught by the guards disguised as passersby or merchants.’

Again, the slave market is a closed-off place.

If it became known that people were being bought and sold for money, rather than being hired in the 21st century, the repercussions would be significant. Not just S-class players [powerful individuals with special abilities].

The association would also have to get off its heavy ass and take action.

Therefore, those who manage this market thoroughly monitor it.

They arrest anyone even slightly suspicious.

That’s what Baek Eun-ho told me.

It was information I didn’t particularly care about, but I never thought I would use it so usefully as soon as I stepped into the market.

‘He said that curses stemming from disgust might stimulate the guards’ five senses and intuition, but simple grumbling is okay.’

Since it’s an illegal market, the personalities of the main customers tend to be clearly divided. Either they are hot-tempered ruffians who get angry easily, or crazy bastards with amiable impressions who speak politely like damned gentlemen even while people are being sold as slaves.

Most are one of the two.

What I would adopt was the former, the hot-tempered ruffian.

“It’s narrower and more cramped than I thought.”

But even as a ruffian, I had to control the level of my words and the emotions within them.

Even if I was a ruffian, the guards’ job was to maintain the market’s security in case anything happened. If I said too much, they might use it as an excuse to kick me out.

“Unpleasant. Very unpleasant.”

I avoided cursing as much as possible.

However, the emotion contained within was genuine without an ounce of falsehood.

Are the humans I want to protect.

Those who capture their own kind and sell them as slaves?

Absolutely not.

I don’t acknowledge such things as the same humans.

Or even as a living being.

“I’ll skip dinner tonight. There’s a lot of pork here.”

“I apologize, but I am in the rearguard unit, so I am not familiar with the military’s slang. If you don’t mind, could you explain it to me?”

“Of course. I’ll interpret it as many times as you want.”

This was usually a phrase used when executing greedy rebel factions.

More precisely, it was a saying my teacher used to say, remarking that the smell of roasting pigs was so greasy, which became a kind of slang.

“Tonight’s late-night snack is a pig party. There will be at least hundreds, or even over 1,000, so stomach medicine is essential.”

“……Ah, I see.”

At this point, Baek Eun-ho also realized what I was saying.

Even if he lacked knowledge, he wasn’t an unobservant child.

Baek Eun-ho, looking visibly uneasy, stared at me.

He also knew well what kind of mindset I had.

In the past, when a certain media outlet interviewed me, this information had spread widely around the world.

“Don’t worry too much. The person who ate the food is the one who cleans up, so there won’t be any chance of being followed or caught.”

There’s also a saying, isn’t there?

The person who cleans up their seat is also the one with a clean heart.

I decided to scrub so cleanly that it would make a squeaky-clean sound in my heart.

Now, let’s grease our bellies with greedy pigs today.

……Is it rude to say such things to pigs?

* * *

A little later.

After examining various ‘items,’ we returned to the beginning.

For reference, the items I’m referring to here are tools like weapons and armor, miscellaneous goods like shorts, hats, and gloves, and slaves who are not treated as people.

Thinking about it makes me feel bad.

“Things that are worse than livestock define slaves as not being human.”

If you treat this as nonsense, the dogs all over the country will feel uncomfortable. But they were even worse than livestock.

Baek Eun-ho soothed my unpleasant mood.

“Lord, it might be better to refrain from violent language.”

“I guess you’re right, I shouldn’t stand out among those who calmly accept this situation.”

I need to calm down.

I know that in my head, but I can’t follow it.

That was why the question kept popping up in my head.

‘Isn’t there a way to kill them all?’

To open an illegal market of this size, you need the power of a big shot who can operate not only in the shadows but also in the light.

That’s why you shouldn’t act rashly.

You have to move meticulously and secretly.

You can’t just kill everyone because this scene is disgusting.

‘But I’ll kill most of them. A comfortable death for those whose sins are too small to be painfully killed. Torture to make those with even fewer sins understand the pain of others. And only instill fear in those whose crimes are even lesser.’

Killing indiscriminately doesn’t suit my temperament.

Even if my hands are stained with the blood of demons and my own kind.

I know I have to keep a limit.

But well.

Is there anyone here worth saving?

‘First, I’ll save and liberate the slaves. Since I’m liberating them as I please, I’ll take responsibility for the aftermath.’

I’ll protect them.

That was what I had to do.

With that mindset, I walked around the market.

I meticulously examined the market until my feet were sweating.

I came back to places I had already been and looked at things I had already seen.

To clearly imprint this market in my eyes.

Also, I don’t know how many laps I made to participate in the big event of the market that would be held in a few hours.

It wasn’t easy physically.

So, our current appearances were.

“Oh my, looks like a young master from a wealthy family has come. You’ve bought a lot.”

Quite flashy compared to being exhausted.

Baek Eun-ho’s hands were already full of bags.

Luxurious bags and cases.

They looked full of expensive items that anyone could see.

Like a wealthy madam in a drama using her attendant as a porter. He became my attendant for the day.

In fact, it would be convenient to use a subspace ring [a magical item that allows storage of items in another dimension], but using such an ultra-expensive item could identify me, so I couldn’t use it carelessly.

“Is it heavy?”

“T, to be honest, it’s very heavy…!”

“Just bear with it a little longer. This market will be over in an hour.”

The big market that will open in an hour.

As the highlight of this market, all the merchants and passersby gather together to dispose of their goods all at once.

It’s like an auction.

But in reality, the one who raises their hand fastest wins.

This place isn’t a systematized place like an auction house.

As time passed.

The time we had been waiting for had arrived.

The merchants who had been spreading mats and selling goods in the market were now gathered in the center and began selling their goods.

A time to see all the goods and compare them at a glance.

Some merchants were discounting their goods cheaply to gain competitiveness.

Passersby scratching their heads, saying they hadn’t discovered such precious items until now, caught my eye.

The time has come.

“Give me the items.”

“Finally……?”

“Yes, the time has come.”

The time to rob all the goods.

Kill the merchants.

And free the children with the shackles of slavery around their necks.

Swish.

Now, with all eyes and crowds focused on the center of the market.

I put all the items Baek Eun-ho was holding into the ring.

In the process, I heard the sound of something squirming as a person was hit by the items.

I wondered if I had put a person in the ring, but I didn’t remember doing that, so I piled them up one by one.

Just as I was about to raise my hand to start.

My gaze was fixed on one place in the market.

A bald child.

It didn’t seem like a congenital baldness; it just looked like someone had cut off all their hair.

Judging from the emaciated body, it wasn’t a congenital problem like mine. They were just emaciated from hunger.

No passersby paid attention to the child, who was dirty and wearing dirty clothes. The child also sat still, as if that was natural.

Toward the child sitting quietly in the cage.

Step by step.

I walked as if possessed.

“Why don’t you try becoming my disciple?”

I reached out my hands to the girl trapped in the cage.

And caressed her small hand.

Although I was wearing gloves, so I couldn’t feel the warmth and texture of her hand, I could clearly feel how small the child was.

“Dis…… ciple……?”

The mouth opened with difficulty.

The timbre, which was hard to tell whether it was a girl or a boy, was cracked like the land above a dry drought. It was a voice that hadn’t drunk water for a long time.

I was surprised once by the child’s voice, and then twice more.

“What…… is that……?”

Because the child’s eyes were so cloudy.

I couldn’t hide the disgust rising from my chest.

That indescribable emotion was materialized and became violence that swept around. A storm of blood raged.