Chapter 44.1

i quickly got out of bed and rubbed my sleepy eyes. i couldn’t help myself but kiss adrian because he was so cute in the midst of it, and pushed him into the closet.

“rian, hide here for a moment.”

the small closet attached to the inn room was too cramped for him. despite being thin, he was actually of basic size. i put my index finger on my lips as i looked at rian who was groaning due to discomfort as his body bumped here and there inside the closet.

“shh… be a good boy, okay?”

“hiiing…”

adrian noticed i was trying to appease him and answered faintly. his insinuation rate was now around 3%.

‘it should be resolved by the end of the day…’

glancing at the insinuation gauge, i stroked adrian’s head and firmly said, “you must never come out of here until i tell you to come out.”

“closet, inside?”

“yes. don’t come out no matter what you hear outside. got it?”

adrian, who understood me, nodded his head. i locked the bar tightly and then kicked at the door. the slave trader approached.

“what are you doing?”

when i asked with only my face exposed, the slave trader smiled as he stroked his dark beard.

“oh, there you are. i thought you ran away again.”

“i just woke up, why would i be running away?” i frowned at him.

it wasn’t me who ran away, it was that slave…

i glanced at the window where the man must’ve got out of and glanced back at the slave trader.

“i asked you what you’re doing so early in the morning,” i repeated.

“today is the agreed return day of the slave you borrowed. i came to take him back myself.”

“oh, you’re so impatient. you’ll soon lose all your hair.”

i looked down at my nails, pretending to be relaxed. he raised his crooked eyebrows as he noticed me looking at my bare nails as if they were decorated with nail art.

“uh-huh, lady. where’s my slave?”

“come again in the afternoon. i just sent him on an errand.”

the corners of the man’s mouth raised as i flicked my fingers. for a moment, the sun shining from the window reflected on his golden teeth, and it was dizzyingly bright.

“why are you doing this like an amateur? shouldn’t you respect the return time?”

thud

the slave trader, who ripped open the locked door, entered my room.

“oh, why are you coming in?!”

despite my protest, he glanced around the empty room and scratched his bearded chin and bent down.

“did the guy you sent on an errand steal my location tracker?”

in his hand, he held an iron anklet that the slave had left behind.

* * *

an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

the slave trader dragged me to the store and threw me down, saying that i will replace the slave i lost.

“arkh!”

how dare he grab the player’s hair and throw it away like that?! curse the system, you bastards!

i wanted to shout out loud, but the damn system was silent even in my time of crisis.

“get out of my way, i’ll have to educate the new slave today!”

the slave trader who dragged me through startled employees to the basement, cornered me and pushed me to the wall.

“you are a very funny bitch. do you dare to free my slave knowing that his life is a waste?”

i didn’t really release him. i was only thinking of freeing him, but he ran away without a word.

i gritted my teeth as i recalled the man whose face was half covered.

‘bad guy, if he was going to run away, he should’ve said something!’

tears trickled at the feeling of betrayal.

“how dare you touch our brother and think you’d still be safe?”

the person holding my chin firmly against the wall wasn’t the slave trader that dragged me there. my eyes narrowed at the familiar face.

“…who?”

“did you beat me like a dog in the middle of the street and think you’d be safe?”

slap!

having been slapped suddenly, i looked back at the man holding onto my tingling cheek. the pig-like guy who made eye contact with me huffed and i noted the gold necklace on his neck.

“brother! it’s her! i remember her hair color was unique, and she had me beat up!”

at his words, the slave trader rolled his sleeves.

“how dare you beat my brother with my own slave?” he yelled.

i looked at him and the fat man alternately and clapped my hands at his words. now i see that the owner of the slave shop had the same gold necklace worn.

‘oh, was the slave trader this fat guy’s brother?’

no wonder their faces looked alike. i thought they only looked similar since they did the same thing as a business.