AN: Yo, your lazy author present you chapter 28 :D. Enjoy

PR by Zenla, the royal proofreader

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Kerrina, Muriem, Komodo and I left Argot early in the morning. Muriem was nervous, and it turned into anxiety in the afternoon as we were slowly getting closer to Carduc. Kerrina and I tried to cheer her up during the trip, but it had little effect. After a while, we just walked in silence, holding Muriem's hands from both sides.

She looked at the ground for the rest of walk. Near the evening, we got near enough to see Carduc. Muriem stopped walking, we all stopped. She was looking at the village with grief in her eyes, and tightened her grip on our hands. She slowly started to move again, and near the entrance she stopped, walked backward and finally turned back and took some distance.

Aenthar «... Muriem...» He said while putting a hand on her shoulder.

Muriem « I... I'm not ready... Not yet... *sniff*, Later please... on the way back maybe, but not now.»

Kerrina «Let's just go straight to the inn and leave early tomorrow.»

Aenthar «Yeah, and we will have a little more time on the way back. Here, put the hooded cloak on, this way, people you know won't recognise you and won't bother you.»

Muriem «No, let's camp outside... Please...»

Aenthar «... Fine, lets do that. Come on, I remember a nice spot a little further on the way, let's go.»

Muriem «Thank you Aenthar, Kerri...»

Kerrina «Don't worry about it.»

So we spent the night under the starry sky. Muriem sometimes sobbed in her sleep. It had been so long since the last time it happened. There was little Kerrina and I could do to sooth her except be near her.

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We woke up early and reached Lazaris in the afternoon. We went to an inn with stables for tamed beasts and monsters for Komodo. We took a single room with 2 beds, then I left the girls at the inn and went to the crafting guild. The receptionist recognised me and, shocked, asked if I was here for the expert rank in alchemy. I just gave him Old Johrgard's letter, and after being stunned for a bit by the content, he left to see one of the executives.

A little later, I left the building with my new card and certificate and returned to the inn. Since I was done with the guild, I proposed we stay in the town for fun the following day, and leave the day after. The girls agreed, as it was rare to be in town for us. It would also help with Muriem's mood or so I hoped.

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The next day we spent all our time moving around the town. We did get a bit of attention as the girls were really charming and I was handsome myself. Sometimes I would hold Kerrina or Muriem closer and give a smug look at some clearly jealous guys without being noticed by the girls, though they did catch a few times and pinched me. But they still looked happy, after all, their lover was bragging about them.

We spent quite some time in the marketplace. The girls had a lot of things they wanted to see, and I was ready for it. I used 2 silver coins to buy them simple clothes and accessories, but they were of better quality than what is usually available in Argot. Then another silver coin for a nice meal in a restaurant. But I also used money for myself, I bought a viol. I wanted a violin, but it hadn't been developed yet.

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While strolling on the streets between the merchant district and the noble district, we came across a certain building, the slave market. Yes, there is slavery in this world. I first learned of it shortly after registering at the adventurer guild. One of the adventurer talked about one of his aquitances that made a big mistake and ended up with a huge debt. He had to go into slavery to repay it.

There are 3 kinds of slaves: debt slaves, crime slaves and war slaves. Debt slave are people sold into slavery to repay a debt, and have several rights. Crime slaves are thieves, bandits and other law breakers, and have little to no rights at all depending on the severity of the crime. War slaves are prisoners of war whose release was not paid or negociated, and have a few rights. The cheapest slaves cost at least 40 silver coins, and the price can go as high as 10 gold coins.

All the races of the world practice slavery, though the elves, rexons and the andrellas only practice war slavery. Slavery is a serious business and is well regulated, so there aren't that many cases of abductions by unscrupulous slavers. All slaves must wear an enchanted collar to prevent escapes and actions against the owner, and bear a tatoo on their cheek to indicate what kind of slave they are.

I'm not a saint or a paragon of justice and equality. I intend to have slaves in the future, it's a system that never truly disapeared from my previous ''modern'' world, and I can't deny the benefits of having a subordinate who doesn't need a salary and can't go against your orders. And it's not like I plan to be douchebag or a sadist with them. They will be useful, so when I can I will have a few of them. And I can make my female slaves wear sexy clothes inspired from my former world.

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The day really did wonders to Muriem's mood, and the night in the room she didn't look too anxious about the stop at Carduc the next day. We left Lazaris at dawn and reached Carduc after noon. Muriem had tears in her eyes, but she still moved forward.

She met a few of the people she used to know, and they took her to the graves of her parents. We stayed there for a while as she was thanking them, telling them she would be alright, saying her farewells. She was crying the entire time, but managed to smile at the end. She had one last look at the house she used to live in, the field she used to spend days in, and the places where she would gossip with her friends.

Then we went to the inn for the night and left early the following day. I had to leave Komodo outside of the village in a makeshift den made with magic for the night. Muriem didn't cry, and didn't look back once. She truly closed the page of her history in Carduc, and Kerrina and I were happy for her.

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AN: The chapter is shorter than it should have been. Why? I could have written more about Muriem's state of mind as she came back there... But these times when you don't feel like writing at all... :(