"Relax! I will be fine!"

Myria says "Famous last words!"

"You really don't need to worry. Mages are the ones I have to worry about the least. I have learned how to counter their spells before they are even cast!"

Myria says "Do you remember what you told me about overconfidence?"

"Um, not really, but I get your point. I am just trying to get you to stop worrying!"

Myria says "Well, you made things worse! Anyway, do you have any orders for me?"

"Not at the moment. Find out what's been going on and I will summon you again tomorrow night to report."

Myria says "Alright!"

Myria acts with some restraint and only kisses me on the cheek before she leaves the soulscape. It is probably a good thing that I didn't tell her about the change in how the goddesses have been acting with me. She would probably try doing something stupid, either to me or the goddesses.

Probably to me since the goddesses are fairly unreachable, but I don't want to find out. The last thing I need is for her to convince herself that she needs to stay ahead of the goddesses. Not that I need to worry too much, at least not before I return to the peninsula.

Anyway, it is a relief to know that she survived and passed the captain's test. I still want to try the commander's test, but I am not sure if I will be able to find time to do so. It will depend on how things go with the clans once I get back and how quickly the demons move.

For now, I end the soulscape and then sleep until the sun comes up. After having some breakfast I fly until the next human city is in sight and then I land. After shapeshifting into human form I make a few changes to my appearance.

Considering the amount of gold I got from the bandits I have decided that I want to look wealthy. Otherwise the amount of money I have to spend will make me look suspicious. I still look like an adventurer, just one that is well off, I even use the angelic armor.

Once everything is set I walk to the human city and pay the fee to get inside. The first thing I do once I am inside the city is find the best inn in town and request their best room. Since it is still early, after booking my room I head out to take a look around the city.

The elves should have more than enough supplies, so this time I am just wandering for the fun of it. As I am wandering through the market district I eat from a number of food stalls. That reminds me that I still need to ask the goddesses about adding things to the pouch.

However, there are churches in this town so I am not sure that talking with them here is a good idea. The local gods might be able to sense me contacting the goddesses, which would cause problems. I currently don't know enough about how things work among the gods to risk it.

Once I leave the city I will chance it and ask about it, if I can remember to. Even if I forget it temporarily, I will eventually remember to ask them. Besides, I still want to avoid seeing them in the soulscape for the time being.

By the time I have eaten my fill I have wandered through the entire market district. The only place I haven't been yet is the slave market, so I head that way. Before I enter the slave market area I take a firm hold on my anger and force it down.

There are a few dozen slave traders in the slave market, all showing their wares. When I first enter the market all I can see is human slaves for sale, but that changes when I go deeper. The slave market seems to be split into different sections, the first is human, the second is beasts.

There are dozens of beasts locked in cages and even some beastmen in slave collars. I have to fight strongly against the temptation to break all the cages and watch the fun. However, that would blow my cover and attract way too much attention.

Beyond the beast section is a third section, but it is almost completely empty. There is only a single slave trader in this section, and this is where I finally see some elves. He has twenty-five elven slaves for sale, eighteen males and seven females.

He also has one other slave for sale, a beastman that immediately catches my attention. That is because his race seems to be the same as mine when I was first summoned. I knew that the Black Lion beastmen were from the main continent, I just never expected to see one.

Both the elves and the lionman look to be in good condition, which helps me control my anger. There is no one else around and the slave trader looks fairly upset about it. Since I have plenty of gold, maybe I can just buy the elves and save myself some effort.

"How much are they?"

Slaver says "Ah, welcome customer! Which one has caught your eyes?"

"No, I am asking how much for all of them?"

The slaver's eyes light up and he immediately quotes a high price, so I turn to walk away. Seeing me leaving the slaver instantly changes his tune and quotes a much lower price. I turn back and start haggling with him, but to be honest I am not very good at haggling.

However, I do manage to bring the price down a little before I agree to purchase them. The only reason I bothered to try and haggle is because it would be suspicious if I didn't. After counting out the gold and handing it to the slaver he writes me a bill of sale and then leaves.

It seems we were not on the same page, I was looking to just buy the elves. However, it seems that I also bought the lionman without realizing it. That is fine, it wasn't my money anyway, it is what I took from the bandits.

Taking up the chains I lead the slaves to the nearest city gate, but the guards at the gate stop us. However, once I show the bill of sale and prove that I own the slaves we are allowed to pass. I lead the slaves away from the city until I can find a sheltered spot that is out of sight.

When I remove their collars and shackles, the elves just stare at me in disbelief. On the other hand, when I free the lionman he punches me, but he just hurts his hand. I change my shapeshift to my elven form and tell the elves that Stillwater sent me.

Even using Stillwater's name it takes me a bit of time to convince the elves to trust me. In the end I give up, open a gate, and message Stillwater to send someone through. Of course, Brightfire is the one that comes rushing through the gate.