Chapter 122

Human trafficking .

This was an illegal trade, even in this world .

It seems that, a long time ago, beastmen would sell humans who were working away from their homes, as slaves .

This practice was shut down by the third generation hero who was summoned from another world .

In this world, the hero summoning was performed four times in the past, and the four heroes had various influences in each of the continents .

Leaving aside the first and second heroes who had some connections to the elves and demons, due to their appearances having been relatively recent, the tales of the third and fourth heroes who had relations with the beastmen and humans were recorded in various books .

What the third hero was particularly famous for was: taijutsu, kenjutsu, and the human trafficking incident .

TN: Taijutsu is an umbrella term that refers to any technique or martial arts that do not involve weapons, in other words, hand-to-hand combat . On the other hand, kenjutsu is the umbrella term for all schools of Japanese swordsmanship .

He had taught the beastmen who had less affinity with magic, but excelled in their physical abilities, the arts of taijutsu and kenjutsu . On top of that, he had shut down the ongoing human trafficking incidents .

He was a human, but it seems that he was as big as a bear and had a lively personality like the beastmen .

He had great charisma, even when compared to the successive generations of heroes, and his popularity did not decline even now .

It was because of him that the rampant human trafficking within the beastmen continent had been eliminated .

In honor of the third hero, the first thing that the beastmen children were taught was to use their powers to help the weak .

This was what was written in a book within the library of Retice castle .

When I glanced at him, Kurou was baring his fangs in displeasure and his fur was prickling up .

For the beastmen, human trafficking was an extremely abominable act, and was an act that was a blasphemy to their beloved and respected third hero .

It was also understandable that Kurou did not realize it .

In the first place, it was unbelievable that such a thing in itself still existed among the beastmen .

「…maa, there’s another part to the rumor . The pageant winners were disappearing one after another and there are people who are saying that it’s just a bad joke going around, and so the information is all jumbled up . 」

Were they talking about the organ trade?

…in regards to the beauty pageant, one would think that there would be some truth to the human trafficking .

Let’s keep it in mind just in case .

「…at any rate, I’ll warn you in advance . This is within that guy’s sphere of influence as well . 」

Kurou’s eyes darkened .

There was only one person within the sight of those eyes, and that was Gram, the object of his revenge for the death of his younger sister .

Certainly, Uruk, where Gram was the guildmaster, was not that far away from Mari .

If there was in fact human trafficking and organ trading, then that meant someone in the background was controlling the flow of information .

Gram was the former prime minister, so he should be quite knowledgeable about that type of thing .

It was quite possible .

「Akira, I’ll entrust that to you . 」

When I looked up at Kurou’s voice, those dark and sharp eyes pierced into me, just like on that day .

In an instant, my mouth was dry, and I lowered my head slightly .

I could tell by his glance that he was referring to the first thing he told me when we spoke in private; his reason for saving us .

Regarding that matter, even now, I could not give him an answer .

Kurou knew this and was urging me .

Normally he wouldn’t address me by name, but when he did, it showed just how serious he was .

However, it was not something that I could carelessly give an answer to, so it’s not like I’m trying to drag it out .

Perhaps Kurou knew that I was troubled by this, as he walked out of the alleyway with a satisfied expression .

Having been left behind, Zeal-san looked at me and furrowed his brows in worry .

「…I know that it’s not something that I can give you advice on, but don’t overdo it . 」

It seems that Kurou did not tell Zeal-san either .

I realized that and laughed .

「I don’t want to hear that from Zeal-san who is, by nature, a workaholic . 」

TN: it was supposed to be ‘corporate slave’ here, but I thought that Zeal-san might not necessarily know what that is, so I made it broader and settled for ‘workaholic . And just in case, a corporate slave is basically someone who is a slave to their company and they work all the time and have almost no time off . This is more common than you’d think in Japan, actually .

I don’t know if it had anything to do with Commander Saran, but even though he had become a completely different person ever since he left the castle, I didn’t think that he would come all the way to this kind of place with us .

And, I didn’t think that the hero and the others would slip out of Retice castle by themselves .

This person definitely made all the necessary arrangements .

Rather than saying he’s meddlesome, though he liked to worry, perhaps him willingly putting himself in these situations was just my imagination .

I said that, and Zeal-san, whose face was the very picture of seriousness, gave a broad grin .

「Certainly, I was like that . 」

When we left the alleyway, Amelia, Latisneil, and the hero party gathered together .

It would be better to say that Amelia and Latisneil were chatting quite happily while the hero and the others surrounded them from afar .

「Ah! Akira, Kurou said that he’ll be going to the hotel first . 」

Now that she mentioned it, I told them that I would go to find a hotel to stay in .

Unfortunately, the conversation I had after that was too shocking and I kind of forgot .

「Latisneil, what are you going to do?」

When I asked the person who was not included in our numbers, Latisneil gave a bitter smile and shook her head .

She gave the hero and the others a glance and scratched her head .

「I’ll be sleeping outside around there . They could probably get a better night’s sleep if I’m not around as well!」

We parted ways with Latisneil there .

Perhaps Amelia liked Latisneil quite a bit, as she seemed a bit lonely .

「Did you want to stay together with her that much?」

「…that girl, she’s somewhat similar to Kirika and I can’t leave her alone . If I told her this kind of thing, Kirika might get mad at me . 」

She said that and I tilted my head in confusion .

She’s similar…?

Maa, the only time I interacted with Kirika was when we were in the elven territory, and this may be something that could only be understood by family .

「Maa, you can probably see her again tomorrow . 」

If the rumor proved to be true, then Latisneil would also be targeted, but after seeing that status of hers, we might be the ones dragging her down .

Aside from me, there’s no doubt that the hero and the others who don’t have a good impression of Latisneil would only be hindrances .