Return to the City (IV)

"Berry?"

I froze like a deer. It couldn't be, could it? It is. I bolted for my dear life out of the tent and into the crowded street.

"Berry!" Phil called out in anger, storming towards me, relentless out for vengeance.

I couldn't help it. I ran without stopping once, weaving in between the crowds like a snake. This was one time when I was happy that I had a small body.

Out of nowhere from above, I was slammed down onto the ground with large familiar hands.

"Gah!" I squirmed underneath the pressure.

"Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!" I screamed out in despair. Some of the people stopped to stare at the odd predicament we were in. Phil slapped his face and let out a deep sigh.

"Calm down pipsqueak. You're screaming as if I'm going to eat you alive."

"You are." I hiccuped. This was the most embarrassing and worst position to ever be in. Phil was sitting on my back, not letting me run away, his heavy body made it impossible to squirm out. I could already see my life flashing before my eyes. It was something that I dearly wished never happened in my life.

"Why did you run away?"

"I don't know."

"You do know that you did something wrong."

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"Stop acting like a child and trying to run away. Your screams sound like I'm some kind of monster."

I gulped. It was true. Phil was a monster called a Demon Lord that will get me killed one way or another.

"So explain to me why you left when I told you to stay seated."

I got up slowly as he got off of me. I twiddled my fingers. "I got bored."

"Okay, fine, you got bored. I get that part, but why were you at the Slave Market."

"Because I saw a cute golden retriever, and I was feeding it."

"Golden retriever?"

"A dog."

"A dog? There are no dogs-" Phil stopped and thought it over. "You were talking about the beast kin, weren't you."

I nodded. "I bought everyone's freedom."

"What!?" Phil's voice rose an octave in complete disbelief. "Did I hear you correctly? All?"

"Yes, porky was trying to sell them for 1390 gold coins."

"1390 gold coins?! Are you out of your mind?"

"No. No. No. I didn't buy them with 1390 gold coins." I couldn't help grinning from ear-to-ear. "One Draconis gold coin did the trick."

"How?"

"Handshake." My answer was simple and concise. "Though do people normally die from breaking their contract?"

Phil looked at me, speechless. He straightened his face and spoke. "Possibly."

"Possibly? You don't know? That means it can happen for real?" I couldn't help contain my worry from bursting out. If this was true, then that means if I don't follow one more favor, I could die. I had begun to sweat from worry. My mind was in complete turmoil from what Phil had stated.

"Pft. Hahaha." Phil chuckled out loud, throwing back his hair. His smile sparkled, dazzling everyone who looked at him: even me.

I stare at Phil strangely. Did he trick me, or was I just a fool? I couldn't tell the difference from this demon lord that was sitting on top of me like a cushion.

"Berry, you never cease to amaze me."

"I do?"

"Yes."

"Oh." I silently spoke. "Then I'm bringing all fifty-five Beastkin back with me to the town."

"Wait, what?"

"Weren't you listening. I said that I made the offer for one Draconis Gold coin. I'm not going to give up 1390 precious gold coins to that fat pig. He doesn't deserve to be called a human." I angrily retorted. There was no way that I would allow the other Beast-kin to become a slave again. Not when I was alive and breathing.

Phil sighed. "Berry."

"Yes?"

"I would like to use my last favor today."

I gulped. I could already feel my hands sweating and becoming hot. "That would be?"

"You are forbidden from buying slaves without me being with you from now on."

"Why?" I threw up my hands in exaggeration to show my outrage. Was he trying to control my life?!

"What do you mean, why? Didn't you know you could've almost got sold as well?"

I quietly stared at him, confused. I didn't really get him at all.

"You look like a kid. I can guess how you tricked the slave merchant, but if you met the wrong kind, you would have been captured today. This world is not a kind place."

What he said bothered me. Wasn't I really lucky to meet porky that was too infatuated by gold? What would happen if I met someone different? The thought made me shiver.

"Okay. Deal."

"Good."

I smiled. I was finally free. No more deals.

I was FREE!

My heart leaped out in joy. The words free did not hit me until now on how precious it was. Throughout the whole time, I was overthinking and worrying about what he would ask for. There were times when I worried that he would ask something outrageous that I could not uphold, but luckily he did not.

"Now, let's go and sort out this ridiculous mess that you have created."

Phil got off of me and picked me up easily. I couldn't help but follow quietly behind the Slave Tent.

We arrived next to the wagon with all fifty-five Beastkin in tow. They quietly followed without causing any trouble. Their tattered clothes made them cold as they shivered. I had wondered why all of them did not run away, but later I found out the collar restricted them from running away.

As we made the trek back, we had bought a large amount of food when coming back towards the wagon. Phil stated that we did not have enough to feed all fifty-five without replenishing our supplies. Not only that, I made sure to buy some extra soap and cheap clothes.

I spent over 123 gold coins in total. I felt the color drain from my face when the sum of gold coins all added up to such a large amount, though at the same time, I was glad that my haggling skills cut off a good 50 gold coins overall. The thought of sweetness of the gold coins being spent made my stomach tighten. All that wasted material for food for myself made me want to cry.

People stared when a large group of Beast-kin followed a small kid. They all could not help but wonder where such a large group of slaves of Beast-kin, in particular, came from. They moved away in disgust when they saw the Beast-kin come closer to them.

With the most fit and well-nourished Beast-kin, I asked them to carry the heavier luggage of food, while the weaker body ones I made sure to feed something very light in their stomach. I honestly wasn't sure if they were even strong enough to follow.

"Uh, Phil."

"Yes?" Phil spoke. He was busily packing the things we bought away. With the fifty-five Beast-kin helping out, everything was complete in minutes. We had to move outside the gates because of the large number of slaves.

I could tell that the spirits of the Beast-kin were a lot more upbeat than before. Siva and the female Beast-kin were cooking up a meal, while the males were helping out in setting up the tents.

"Are there any lakes or rivers nearby?"

"Why?"

"They all smell so bad, my nose is hurting." I scrunch my nose, the smell of their stink was painful, and I was starting to have a migraine.

"No. Plus, this is winter. Are you trying to freeze everyone to death?"

The heavy stench of body odor clung to the beast-kin furs making me want to puke. I completely forgot that it was the winter days and cold was settling quickly. "This is not good." I thought over the predicament we were in. I didn't want to track the rest of the way back home with a stinky ragtag bunch of slaves with me.

My mind was formulating a plan. Quickly taking out my pen and five-level E common stones, I began to inscribe codes onto the stone. Like a mad scientist, I promptly finished coding what I needed. Walking a good while forward, I place the Brown magic stone onto the ground.

"Activate, Burrow!"

A large gaping hole appeared on the ground the size of a large pool. A couple of the beast-kin came over to see what I was doing. They stumbled back in surprise when the ground temporarily shook. I jumped in the hole and grabbed the stone.

Climbing out, I walked not too far away and did it once more.

"Activate Burrow!"

Two large gaping holes were present next to the camp. The Magic Stone cracked and broke. I noticed that when using the Magic Stone in one large burst caused the Magic Stones to break, especially of the lower levels, it happened more often.

With the two blue magic stones in hand, I threw one of each into the hole.

"Activate Water!"

A slush of running water erupted out from the magic stones, quickly filling up the hole. The stones broke before completely filling the hole all the way. Clean, pristine water that glimmered underneath the moonlight gaze. The water was slowly starting to crystallize from the cold.

"What sorcery is this?" The beast-kin stared at the strange display that happened before them. Even the guards that came with us were shocked.

"You did it again." Phil came up from behind. He stared at my satisfied face of accomplishing a difficult task.

The magic consumption of activating the stones did not take as much magic as I thought. In actuality, it felt like it only took a trickle of my power.

"Clean bathwater. Now I just need to throw in a firestone to heat it up." I proudly stated, puffing up my chest at the accomplishment I had made: an outdoor sauna. "It's time for all the beast-kin to take a bath. I can't stand the awful smell." It reminds me of the smell of wet dogs.

Phil crossed his arms, looking at me for a good moment. He didn't know what to say as he just continually watched me.

With the last two red magic stones, I threw each one into the water.

"Activate Heating!" The stones plopped into the water and glowed red. Bubbles began to form, and it started to heat the water. Heat began to rise from the water, creating it into a nice hot bath.

"You do know that there is no privacy for any of these pools, right?"

"You're right...." I was deeply thinking about what to do when Phil walked over and placed his hand to the ground. The ground rumbled, and the ground formed a wall around each bath covering most of the sides.

"You can do that?" I gaped, realizing how powerful he was at times. The magic control that he had was superb.

"It's not too difficult, but fighting and using magic is a lot harder than you think. So I don't always use magic."

"But still, you would've looked so cool!" I couldn't help but voice my opinion. I was having difficulties controlling magic, but Phil, on the other hand, was doing it just fine. There was a difference in night and day between Phil and me.

"Looking cool and using it for practical use are two different things. Remember that."

I couldn't help but stare in jealousy. Still, Phil did have a point, magic in this world was a lot more challenging to control. Satisfied, I walked back towards the tent where the large group of Beast-kin was present. They were all huddled together, wondering what was going to happen next. They looked at me with curiosity and some with fear.