My steps began to echo on the stone floor. I walked past the guard who was near me earlier. Now his head followed my steps that continued to move. Until I arrived at the row of slaves who were lining up, I took the position at the very end. Because I was indeed the last one called.
"Hah…"
I looked at the long line on my left. They were all lined up neatly. Some were as big as me and some were even bigger. And there were also those who were thinner than me, but the contents of their heads seemed higher.
After I counted them, their number probably reached ten people including me.
Wow… it's so long.
My gaze shifted back to the neatly dressed person.
Now, he seemed to nod, once, then closed his book loudly—so loudly—that it caused an echo that filled the room, as if to indicate that the selection of candidates was enough up to here.
After his book was completely closed, his eyes immediately sharpened, directed at the guards as before.
The guards who received his gaze immediately responded.
Their hands simultaneously gripped the iron door, then pushed it without warning.
The door slid open forcefully, making a long scraping sound that tortured my ears.
A moment later…
BAMM!
The door closed again.
From here, I could only see the people inside, behind the iron bars, being locked again from the outside.
They seemed to be curled up, like before, with the same expressions of fear.
Not long after the door closed, the neatly dressed person came to us who were not far from him.
The guards followed his steps from behind.
Until the distance was a few steps from us, he stopped. His position was right in the middle. His gaze sharpened, followed by his head being raised, as if showing who was the most powerful in that room.
"ALRIGHT, YOU LOWLY SLAVES!"
My eyes widened. A small smile appeared on my face. 'Wow… yes, honorable sir.'
He looked at his left side. "YOU WHO ARE HERE ARE THE CHOSEN ONES!" Then looked at the opposite side. "BECAUSE YOU… WILL GET A MASTER WHO MUST BE SERVED WITH ALL YOUR HEART!"
After conveying the message from the neatly dressed person, his hand immediately took out a round pin from his shirt pocket, containing sequential numbers from the number one.
He went to each person one by one, giving the pins according to the order. Until it was my turn to get the pin, he seemed stunned for a moment, looking at my face several times, as if afraid, before finally giving me the pin with the number "010".
"H-here."
I took it, and that person immediately returned to his original position in a hurry.
I tilted my head slightly. What's wrong with him?
It's just confusing, the person who could belittle others earlier, suddenly when he met me directly could be like that.
I held my head. I don't know. The more I think about it, the more it makes my head spin.
I looked at the round pin that I was holding.
And as I guessed. Because I was the furthest from here, I would definitely get the number with the last order.
"…"
Speaking of this last number… somehow it reminds me of something.
If I remember correctly, there was one chapter that explained the continuation of the previous slavery system. At that time, there was one NPC who asked the professor in front of him, "Should we waste all our money at the beginning of the trade?"
And the professor only responded with a thin smile, then answered, "No, my student. If possible, you should save that money until near the end of the trade, to get an extraordinary jackpot!"
That was one of the things I remembered from the novel I had read in my previous life.
I sighed. I don't know why I could get the last order like this.
Even though I had never shown my advantages to other guards, besides him.
Wait… 'him'?
My fingers began to sink into my chin.
I tried to remember my old memories with him.
My eyes widened. "His murmur at that time…"
And it was already clear.
Uncle.
"…"
Ah… damn. I should have realized from the beginning that he wasn't an ordinary 'Slave Guard'.
Because, where is there a 'Slave Guard' who has always guarded the prison alone. Most of them, when guarding, are always in pairs.
I covered my face with both hands that were cornering each other.
Ah… my mistake.
However…
I lowered my hand. My body returned upright.
"Hah…"
Never mind. Things that have passed, don't need to be thought about anymore.
My eyes narrowed. Because if I think about it, it will only make me overthink…
"Ugh…"
***
"…"
'WAS I BEING NICE TO HIM JUST NOW?!' A voice like someone who had just hit puberty came out of him.
The face of this neatly dressed man was pouring cold sweat, as if he was half-dead afraid of the person he had given the pin to earlier.
"Ugh… if only Boss El didn't tell me to act like that with him…"
The corner of his eye shed tears. This is like destroying my pride…
It turned out that he wasn't being nice for no reason, but someone had told him to be like that.
His eyes sharpened. But why, does Boss tell me to be polite to a lowly slave like him? Even though there's nothing special about him besides his good body…
Before he knew it, he examined the child with the number "010" for a long time. Until that gaze was realized by the child, and made him change his gaze to another direction, so quickly.
He let out a long sigh. Never mind. I'll be informed in due time anyway. What's important now is that I've done what Boss El told me to do.
***
"…"
What's wrong with that person?!
Cold sweat poured quickly from my body. He's been looking at me like he wants to eat me.
I swallowed my own saliva, hoping to reduce my panic.
I looked at the neatly dressed person in front. His gaze seemed to comb back to us who were on his left and right sides. His gaze sharpened, before finally speaking again,
"ALRIGHT, YOU LOWLY SLAVES…!"
Everyone immediately glanced at him.
"THE PIN THAT I DISTRIBUTED IS YOUR NAME FROM NOW ON…! SO, YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER IT! DO YOU UNDERSTAND…?!"
I looked at my pin in my hand. Paying attention to the number "010" for so long.
The atmosphere was quiet. No one answered him at all.
His face slowly turned red. The molars could be heard clashing from the inside.
"DID YOU HEAR?! WHY ARE YOU ALL SILENT?! IF I ASK, YOU HAVE TO ANSWER!"
Everyone was silent. Everyone immediately straightened their bodies including me. No one dared to breathe when he spoke. Including the big-bodied guards behind him.
He sighed long. "ALRIGHT. I'LL REPEAT AGAIN! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!"
Everyone answered simultaneously, "WE UNDERSTAND!"
He smirked thinly. "GOOD!"
***
The day passed quickly. Now I was inside a special cage, rectangular in shape, reserved for the slaves chosen yesterday.
The cage itself wasn't special. It was no different from the others, except for one thing—we were given food I liked. Roasted meat. The shackles around our necks were also connected by chains at the back, linking us together.
I tugged at the round shackle. Tight. "Ugh…"
I stopped thinking about it. The roasted meat mattered more. It was similar to what Uncle El had given me before, with only minor differences. This one was still warm. Steam rose faintly from its surface, proof that it had just been cooked.
I sniffed the "Grilled Meat" that was already in my hand. My eyes were closed so I could enjoy it.
For the smell. No need to ask again.
"Hm… Somehow here I get more delicious food."
Without further ado, I immediately ate it.
In the middle of eating the "Grilled Meat", I opened my eyes again—looking around.
There, my eyes captured many new things. A place that looks like a stage, chairs, or I could say a warm sofa like in an auditorium, to the spotlight above that stage.
If my hypothesis is correct.
This must be a slave auction place.
My mind immediately went there. Especially because of my position now—standing right under the stairs, in the area that wasn't touched by the only light.
Glup!
"Speaking of which, has the auction event started?"
Because, I heard the voice of the MC who was just opening the event on the stage there.
"The ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the opening of the One a Year slave auction!"
"Here…"
"Speaking of One a Year, it reminds me of one of the pieces of information from that novel."
Where this slave auction is only held once a year in all places. And that's only on the first of January.
I kept listening to the chatter from the fox-masked MC who was on the stage. His communication was good, to the audience in front who apparently looked like nobles.
Their luxurious attire made their status obvious.
All guests attending the auction were required to wear star-shaped masks, meant to conceal their identities.
"If I remember correctly, that's how it was described in the novel," I muttered indistinctly while chewing on the meat in my hand.
I knew the MC's delivery was good from the way his small talk stayed sharp and to the point. He kept the audience engaged without ever straying off course.
He could make an event that should have been quite boring fun, with the audience's laughter roaring.
'Well... that's a basic skill that people like him have to understand,' I thought, while chewing the remaining half of the meat.
I kept eating the meat I was holding, while listening to the MC's words in front.
Until before I knew it, several minutes had passed. The MC in front seemed to have started to get to the core of the event, which was the slave auction.
The meat I was holding only had bones left. So I threw it away by setting it aside the cage.
"Alright."
I got up from my cross-legged position. Around me, people also stood up, almost simultaneously.
The reason I stood up was because yesterday, the neatly dressed person left a message. He told everyone who was chosen to stand when they wanted to enter the event and wait for the person who was sent to open the door.
So here we were just following the instructions he gave, not for any other reason.
My fingers touched my chin, my mind sank with it.
But who is the person who was sent, I wonder?
In the midst of my confusion, the sound of shoes clashing with the stone floor was heard.
The footsteps approached, making me turn my gaze.
The face of the owner of the shoes was not yet clear, still submerged in the shadows—until finally he stepped out of the black silhouette on the side.
My eyes widened.
"Uncle?!"