"You..."

Tuk-tuk-tuk.

"Is Miss Ella here?"

"Your Majesty, Princess?"

"Little Ella, don't sleep!"

There was a rapid knock on the door, accompanied by the voices of Lotte and the other two.

Huh? Wait, why are you knocking on the door so early? Did they know Shen Gan was staying the night with me? No, that's impossible. Such a rapid knock, it must be something urgent, right?

Putting down the wooden comb, Ella walked carefully to the door and looked through the peephole at the three people outside - all of them had anxious expressions.

Realizing the problem, Ella quickly opened the door without tidying up her appearance.

"What's wrong? Ugh—Angelina, don't pinch me!"

As if to confirm something, Angelini pinched Ella's face hard. Ella, feeling a little pain, responded with a knife to Angelini, but Angelini seemed relieved as if she didn't feel it.

"Phew... That's great. I'm glad Ella-chan is okay."

"So, what exactly happened?"

Not only Angelica, but also Lotte and Camisia showed signs of relief. Seeing this, Ella couldn't help but feel a little puzzled.

It was Ruthie who answered as a representative.

"Good morning, Miss Ella. Actually, Miss Angelica, Miss Camisia, and I met as we were leaving our rooms. Last night, we all seemed to have had a dream about you being in danger. At first, I just thought it was a coincidence, but after checking the keywords we could recall, we realized we all had the same dream, so I wondered if you were in danger..."

"Eh? Did you guys dream too? I seem to have some recollection of it, maybe it has something to do with vampires?"

Hearing what was concerning, Ella subconsciously opened the door, ready to let Lotte and Camisia in, and then.

"Princess...why is there a naked girl on your bed?"

Walking around Ella, Camisia pointed at Shen Gan who was hugging the quilt in the room, her eyes narrowed slightly.

Chapter 48: Scenes in the Slums

*Inner circle of the Holy Academy on the morning of October 25, 6186 Genesis

Although the Holy Academy is divided into three layers, the inner and outer circles are actually the only ones that outsiders can enter and exit freely. In the innermost teaching area, no one except students, instructors and licensed merchants can enter and exit freely.

It's worth noting that, in addition to the normal teaching buildings, the teaching area also houses dormitories and a small shopping street, including the Wadong Dim Sum Shop. Because it's a strictly managed first-floor area, casinos, brothels, and slave markets are prohibited in the teaching area. These structures are only found in the inner circle, where the economy is booming. The plaza where Shen Gan often sings and where Ella met Shen Gan last night are also in the inner circle.

The inner circle in the morning is when the busiest traffic comes and goes. After walking through the streets that seemed messy due to the excessive number of vendors, we came to an alley we had never seen before. Ella, dressed as a white healer, spoke to Fukagan, who was carrying a xylophone on his back.

"He said he had something... or something. What is Fukagan going to do in a place like this?"

Ella looked around on both sides. It was completely different from the inner circle she usually saw. The place was filled with a miserable atmosphere. Slaves in tattered clothes sat sickly on the ground. The stench from not being washed for a long time mixed with the stench of garbage floating in the canals on the roadside. There were broken wine bottles and oil stains all over the ground. From time to time, a few rats ran past the wall. If it weren't for the noisy sounds coming from behind her, Ella might have mistaken this place for the slums of some towns she had seen when she passed by the Kingdom of Paris.

Although an unexpected situation in the morning triggered something that looked like a Shura scene, after Ella explained to Camisia and the other two why Shen Gan was in the room and asked Shen Gan to put on his clothes properly, no one paid any attention to it. Then, because Shen Gan said he wanted to go home, and it was too early and breakfast had not been prepared yet, Ella suggested that they have dinner outside after sending Shen Gan home.

On the way, Shen Gan said that he had something to do, so I followed Shen Gan here.

"This isn't a place the Dragon King's niece should be."

Looking at the women dressed extremely revealingly on the windowsills on both sides, Camisia frowned.

"There are a lot of slaves here..."

"How did Lotte know they were slaves? Even if they weren't dressed well, you couldn't just say that, right?"

Although she felt very sympathetic towards those sitting on the roadside, Angelini did not seem to have any intention of going up to them to give them alms. In Angelini's words, "There are so many slaves on the mainland. Wouldn't it be tiring to help every one of them? Besides, I'm not that kind of pushover."

Because it was a daily outing, Lotte didn't wear the "Praise of the Spirits" that she wore during battle, but instead wore a maid uniform for service.

Pointing to her smooth neck, Luty responded to Angelini with a smile.

"Slaves can feel each other, that's why I said that."

"Eh... there's such a thing. This is the first time I've heard of it."

"Is it because Miss Angeline rarely comes into contact with this?"

Lotte did not feel inferior because of her slave status and showed a dazzling smile.

"Well, that's true. But having said that, it's strange that Fuka-chan would have anything to do with a place like this."

"There are a lot of thieves around here. Be careful not to let them steal your wallet."

As if feeling troubled, Shen Gan glanced at Ella and the other three who were standing two by two behind him, and sighed helplessly.

"Besides, I'm only here for a small matter. You seniors don't have to follow me."

"I don't have anything to do today. I'm just hanging out with Fukagan to kill time."

Trying not to look at the slaves on the side of the road, Ella avoided the fetid puddles on the ground.

"Just follow the senior."

Shrugging as if giving up, Shen Gan continued walking forward with the xylophone on his back.

boom.

In order to avoid the puddles on the ground, Ella bumped into someone walking towards her. But before Ella apologized, the person whose hair had not been combed for a long time and covered most of his face apologized first.

The sound sounds like something is stuck in the throat, making people feel itchy in the throat.

"Oh, sorry."

"Eh? I should be the one to apologize—"

But before Ella could raise her head and finish her words, the man whose face could not be seen quickly walked up behind Ella.

Snapped.

"Eh! W-What are you doing!?"

The sound that was physically unpleasant suddenly turned into a terrifying one. When Ella came to her senses, she found that the man in simple clothes had been pinned to the ground by Fukagan and Camisia who had taken action at some point.

Snatching a rather exquisite-looking purse from the man's clenched hand, Shen Gan curled his lips, turned around and walked in front of Ella.

"Senior should have been more careful."

"Uh, thank you."

Ella took the purse handed to her by Fukagan with mixed feelings and nodded. It seemed that this person had stolen her wallet without her noticing. To be on the safe side, Ella used the identification skill on the man who was being clamped by Camisia in a backhand position.

The level is very low, and the word "slave" is engraved on the status bar.

Slaves again... What a violent world...

"You, you stole my money and you're trying to hit me?! I need to call the guards! Guards!"

Even though he was restrained by Camisia, the man continued to resist. His face, which had been hidden under his messy hair, was now exposed when he raised his head. It was a face engraved with hunger and violence. The sunken eye sockets, protruding cheekbones and a few faintly visible scars all showed what this slave had experienced.

When Ella first met Ruthie, Ruthie was in the same condition, but her condition was much worse than this man's in every way. At least, this man still had the strength to resist.

Frowning in disgust at the man's loud noise, Shen Gan walked up to the man and lightly kicked him after returning the purse.

"You, are you new here?"

After hearing Shen Gan's words, the man who had been struggling suddenly became quiet.

"Sagizuki Fukagan, I've been warned about this name—"

Before Shen Gan could finish his words, the quiet man opened his eyes wide, as if he had seen something incredible, and kept making incoherent "ah, ah" sounds from his mouth.

"Looks like I've been told. Forget it this time. Leave now."

"Thank you, thank you, Ruzuki-sama! Thank you, Ruzuki-sama!"

The man suddenly changed his attitude and kept nodding and thanking her. Ella even suspected that if he hadn't been caught by Camisia, the man would most likely kneel down and kiss Shen Gan's shoes.

He nodded to Camisia, signaling her to let the man go. The man, who had regained his freedom, fled as if he had seen something terrifying.

Chapter 49: Slave Market

Looking at the man running away, Ella couldn't help but be speechless. Could it be that Shen Gan was actually a leader here?

Subconsciously, I thought of the expressionless Shen Gan, sitting on the luxurious soft chair and stepping on the man just now... I always felt that the picture was too incongruous, and he was not the same Shen Gan who looked like a small animal last night.

"What's wrong, Senior?"

"Uh, nothing much. Could it be that Fukagan is actually a very powerful person here?"

"I can't say I'm impressive or anything like that, but I just have some connections with the boss here."

"Yeah, I also don't think Fuka-chan is that kind of person."

Angelini patted her chest and said, it seems that Angelini had imagined something bad just like Ella.

Not paying much attention, Fukagami turned around and continued walking while explaining.

"To some extent, this man is probably one of the good ones."

"Yeah, that's right..."

"It can't be helped."

Rudy and Camisia agreed with Fukagan's overly obscure words, leaving Angeline and Ella looking confused.

"Why do you say it's okay?"

"Miss Ella, people like this who just yell at the guards are only trying to intimidate those with weak minds. Children are actually the hardest to deal with."

"Child?"

"Well, they use their appearance to deceive passersby, and then attack them with sharp weapons when they are most relaxed. I often saw such slaves in the Kingdom of Paris."

Lotte's orange-red eyes dimmed slightly.

After exchanging places with Angeline who was walking behind, Ella walked over to Lotte.

"Isn't it okay if Lotte didn't do it?"

"Well, if I hadn't gone through all that, I wouldn't have met Miss Ella."

Sweeping away the previous gloom, Lotte put on a gentle smile again.

It didn't take long before everyone, led by Shen Gan, arrived at their destination.

"here."

Pointing to a one-story stone building in front of him, Shen Gan stopped.

Unlike the buildings we had seen along the way, the building in front of us, although also showing signs of age, was more solemn in overall decoration. The gate that could accommodate several people entering and exiting side by side was always open, and there were several very strong guards at the door. The people entering and exiting were all ordinary people dressed relatively neatly. From time to time, we could even see people dressed as butlers or maids walking out with one or several slaves.

Ella looked at the terrain search and saw the name "Slave Market" written on the light spot that represented this building.

"Wow, this is a slave market? Fukagan, are you interested in buying slaves?"

As if she recognized the place this represented, Angelini opened her mouth in surprise and said.

"I'm just taking care of the animals that are boarded here."

"Animals?! So you're just treating slaves like animals?! Slaves certainly don't have rights, but this is still too much!"

"Haha—they're just normal animals, Angelina-senpai, you think too much."

"Is that so... That's good then."

Turning to face Ella, Fukagami paused.

"Wait here for me, Senior. I'll be right out."

"Eh? Don't we need to go in together?"

Ella's question made Angeline think for a moment.

"Well, if it's just for sightseeing, then there's no problem."

When she heard the word "visit", Angelica's eyes lit up.

"Then I'll go too."

However, when Angeline, holding a giant scythe, was about to step into the gate of the slave market, she was stopped by the guard at the gate on the grounds that "weapons cannot be brought in". Although putting it in the dimensional backpack was a good option, Angeline did not have such expensive props, so she had to give up. As for the dimensional backpack that Lotte usually used, she did not carry it with her because she did not plan to be out for too long this time.

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