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Translator: penny
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: The Man Who Almost Became a Slave
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I prayed that someone would come to save me.
I couldn't escape on my own, so I wanted to borrow someone else's hand.
Even when the handcuffs and shackles turned into a Slave Brand that squeezed my heart, all I could do was pray pathetically.
It was a stupid, foolish thing to do.
But I had no choice.
With my own strength, survival was impossible.
For some reason I couldn't fathom, Ashy appeared at that moment.
Tears welled up in my eyes as I watched her boldly smash through the auction house door and stride inside.
It was like light was bursting from behind her.
'Now I get it.'
In the novel, those kinds of scenes played out repeatedly.
Scenes where they faced the Hero Luke and sobbed uncontrollably, tears streaming down their faces.
After seeing it over and over, the situation started to feel mundane.
I often wondered if it was really that intense.
But experiencing it firsthand was completely different.
It wasn't just tears.
Tears alone weren't enough.
Even if I pissed myself from top to bottom in gratitude, it wouldn't be weird at all.
Those bastards demanding payment from their savior?
Those fuckers were just missing their moms.
I could see the pig from bid number 16, unable to hide his shock.
My legs went weak at the thought of nearly being sold to that creep.
I turned my head to look at Ashy.
She flashed me a bright smile.
Should I bow right now?
How do you even express thanks properly?
My mind was a chaotic mess.
"Th-thank you, thank you so much. Hero, for saving me..."
The female auctioneer whose throat had been slit collapsed.
Her wretched body hit the floor, drained of strength.
My dick regained its freedom too.
There was a corpse right next to me, but I forced my head to stay fixed in place with all my might.
If I looked now, the shock might paralyze me, so I averted my eyes.
This had nothing to do with me.
"Hey, Puppy."
"Thank you, Hero, really..."
Ashy smiled.
Beautiful and pretty, just like a heroine should be.
My eyes drifted down without me realizing.
Her blouse looked ready to burst.
It was barely containing her massive breasts.
I finally tore my gaze away from Ashy's chest.
I pulled my eyes back up.
It was leering. Harassment.
Like a thief feeling guilty, my body twitched uncontrollably.
Ashy's Holy Sword might slice my throat.
In the novel, a truckload of male characters died after hitting on her.
I didn't want to die.
I locked my wandering head forward and sneaked a glance at Ashy.
"Heh."
Ashy was still smiling.
She curled the corners of her mouth up even more mischievously than before.
She'd probably caught my wandering eyes.
My face burned red.
I had to break this awkward atmosphere.
"H-Hero. Thank you so much for saving me..."
I expressed my gratitude in a crawling voice.
No matter how much I said it, it didn't feel like enough.
Thanks bubbling up straight from the heart.
I'd nearly been sold to that number 16 pig bastard, and she'd saved me from that.
I could do a gratitude dance or a joyful strip show right here.
If it was payment for my life and survival, it'd be more than enough.
Ashy stared at me intently.
Her cute lips twitched as she gathered her words and spat them out.
"Thank you for saving me?"
"...Y-yes."
At her awkward question, I nodded eagerly.
Ashy's head slowly tilted downward.
Her gaze brushed over my lower body and came back up.
Our eyes met.
Her sky-blue eyes trembled fiercely.
There was a strange emotion in her gaze.
Embarrassment?
Anticipation?
Arousal?
For now, I knew my own feeling was shame.
I stretched my arms down to cover my crotch.
I did my best to hide it from Ashy.
The pose was a bit awkward and embarrassing.
Am I even a man?
Could you call hiding my junk like some pubescent girl manly?
That doubt faded quickly.
After two sexual assaults, my balls had already shriveled up.
Ashy muttered.
"...Don't cover it."
"Huh?"
"No, you should cover it. Too many bitches watching."
Ashy took the jacket I'd been wearing.
A strange, seductive scent wafted from the gray Academy jacket, which didn't fit my size at all—not the shoulders, length, or sleeves.
Blood rushed to my dick.
It refused to go down.
Even in this situation.
"Arms up."
Ashy made me raise my arms.
But I couldn't obey while covering my dick.
Ashy tilted her head up slightly to look at me.
Her eyes narrowed as if asking if I planned to keep this up.
I resisted with difficulty.
I reached out with my right arm to grab the jacket from Ashy.
With my left, I hid my inadequately covered dick.
"I'll do it myself."
"...Arms up. Now."
Her voice dropped low, a growl rumbling out.
Do as you're told, she pressed me.
Jack's underlings or Greg's men.
No different from them.
My body reacted.
It corrected my brief lapse in judgment and reset my mindset.
Ashy wasn't a normal Hero.
Among Hero characters, she had the most selfish and violent tendencies.
The way she'd decisively killed the female auctioneer proved she was on a different level from ordinary Heroes.
'...I let my guard down for a moment in relief at being alive.'
There was room for leniency since I'd nearly been sold to that pig who liked boys.
It was a mistake I could forgive myself for.
I slowly raised my arms.
Knowing what Ashy was about to do, I lifted them just enough to give her an opening.
Ashy grinned wickedly and stabbed her Holy Sword into the stage floor.
She left it stuck there for a moment.
She bent down toward me.
Then reached out as if to hug me, wrapping the jacket sleeves around my waist.
She grabbed the ends and tied them tightly behind my back.
The Academy jacket now covered my dick like Tarzan undies.
"There."
"..."
"Yeah, looks good."
Ashy clapped her hands in satisfaction.
Shame hit me late.
Ashy pulled the Holy Sword from the floor.
The blade gleamed with deadly sharpness.
"Get the fuck out, you bastards!"
Ashy bellowed.
Her roar, almost a lion's, melted the frozen bidders' bodies into motion.
"R-run away!"
"Get the carriage now! I'm heading back to my estate!"
"Sh-she's crazy! The Hero's gone mad!"
The nobles and bourgeois who'd come for slaves dragged their loosened legs and fled like rabbits.
Their scrambling backsides looked pathetic.
Blood dripped from the Holy Sword.
Ashy gripped it and headed backstage.
"Follow me, Puppy."
She grabbed my wrist and dragged me along.
'...Puppy, huh.'
I racked my meager brain furiously.
Trying to figure out why Ashy was doing this.
To boost my survival odds, I needed to prepare for what came next.
'It's my nickname.'
My name was Kang Ajin.
So my nickname was Puppy.
Simple and crude naming sense.
'Does Ashy know my nickname...?'
It'd been less than a week since I fell into the novel's world.
First time meeting Ashy in the flesh.
Not even five minutes had passed.
Plus, the Holy Sword she carried was overall gray.
That meant first-stage Holy Sword.
First-stage Holy Sword.
Upon meeting certain conditions—martial prowess—
when graduating from the Academy, the Holy Sword bestowed from the heavens was stage one.
The protagonist Luke awakened to stage two just days after getting stage one.
Ashy, far stronger than Luke, should've grabbed stage two right away.
Every day counted.
Yet Ashy's Holy Sword was stage one.
Meaning she hadn't had it long.
'She's wearing an Academy uniform, so she must've graduated just days ago...'
My brain short-circuited for a moment.
My head spun.
This was a situation that defied the original plot.
Why was Ashy even here in the first place?
Was this the imperial capital?
'What the hell?'
My thoughts kept piling up.
Questions spawning more questions.
What snapped me out of it was the Slave Brand etched into my heart.
"Are you 'currently' Puppy's owner?"
"...H-Hero. Why are you ruining the auction...?"
"Answer the question. I can see the Slave Brand on Puppy's body linked to you right now. Are you his owner?"
Ashy pointed her Holy Sword at Greg's throat.
"Kyaaaaak!"
"Hero! Hero!"
"P-please spare me!"
The beastkin slaves behind screamed.
The blood dripping from the Holy Sword made it that much more terrifying.
"Huh...!"
"Mr. Greg!"
"Merchant Leader!"
The moment the Holy Sword touched Greg's throat, my body reacted.
In the blink of an eye, I was standing in front of him.
Protecting Greg.
Greg's underlings finally looked this way, too late.
Ridiculous that they reacted slower than a mere slave.
Or maybe they lacked loyalty.
"Hiiik...!"
Holy Sword.
The Holy Sword was at my throat.
One wrong move, and it'd be gone in an instant.
My head might say goodbye to my body.
"Aha, so you are the owner."
Ashy's eyes, which had looked at me warmly, turned ice-cold.
Terror made my body tremble.
Thankfully, that narrowed glare was aimed behind me.
Realizing that stopped the shaking.
I was okay.
"Hero...! Why are you doing this to me...!"
"..."
Her sky-blue eyes filled with killing intent, mana gathering on the Holy Sword.
Aura surged forth.
"Hero! Hero! Why are you doing this! I-I haven't done anything!"
"You haven't done anything?"
"Yes!"
Greg squeezed out his response.
His body, having tasted a Hero's terror, shook against his will.
With the corpse sprawled on the stage, keeping sanity was hard.
I was the same.
I felt like I might piss myself any second.
Fuck, this is too scary.
It's Ashy's jacket.
Not mine.
If I piss myself...
"You haven't done anything, huh...? Hmm..."
"It's true. Sure, we trade slaves, but we don't harm anyone. We don't use black magic or support black mages. Nothing that would trouble you, Hero, ever..."
"No. You pissed me off."
Ashy raised her arm.
The Holy Sword pointed at the ceiling.
A brilliant white aura traced a clear path toward us.
Schwick-!
"Why do you have my Puppy? And with a Slave Brand carved into him?"
What the hell did you─.
Greg let out a groan of agony.
"...Kuhk!"
"Just die."
She swung the Holy Sword down.
The aura sliced through both me and Greg.
"...!"
My life flashing before my eyes.
I waited for the montage to speed by.
I didn't know why Ashy was killing me.
But I closed my eyes, bracing for the pain─.
"Kyaaaaaaaak!"
Thud.
Greg, who had been behind me, collapsed.
Screams erupted from all directions.
More desperate wails than before.
Like they'd seen a ghost.
'What?'
Did I die?
As that thought crossed my mind, I noticed the change in my body.
I could feel it.
The intangible force squeezing my heart was gone.
As the Holy Sword passed through me, I'd felt a refreshing liberation.
She'd severed the Slave Brand.
Ashy had made me a free man.
Pshh-! Pshh-!
That liberation...
was sweet enough to make me cum even without an erection.
Splurt, splurt-.
Before my mind could register, my dick was spewing semen.
"...Feeling good, Puppy? Enough to cum all over my jacket?"
Ashy sneered as she stared at me.
I couldn't respond.
Lost in the afterglow of orgasm, all I could do was breathe─.