The tavern master stepped aside so that we could join him behind the counter and then signaled us to follow him. He led us to a door in the back, and we continued through the doorway and down a stairway leading to the basement. Was that some kind of secret password back there? Before long, we ended up in a large hall and were shown to our seats in what appeared to be a special section.

“This is the venue for tonight. Yes sir.”

“Ah . . . I see.”

So this was the underground arena where they showcased illegal fights? It looked more like a place where you might see the opera or something. Or maybe a concert by some Japanese idol was more likely.

“First, the Shield Hero should familiarize himself with the hand signals used to make a purchase during the auction.”

Ugh, what a hassle. The slave trader began to lecture me on the hand signals used to indicate different amounts of money. He started with the cues given to the auctioneer for increasing the current bid by one copper, silver, or gold, and then moved on to the cues for increasing the bid by two, five, and even ten times. The auction began before I could finish learning them all.

The races of the slaves that appeared on the stage varied from human to demi-human to therianthrope. The slaves were divided up into a range of categories—children, adults, the elderly, men, women, etc.—and even minute details, such as lineage, seemed to be treated as part of the product package. On top of that, a detailed introduction included things like place of birth, level, and aptitude for magic.

“Our next slave here has won seven out of ten fights in the coliseum.”

A rather well-built slave was standing in the spotlight.

“A coliseum record? So he’s a mercenary?”

That wasn’t a very impressive fight record. Just a bit above average, maybe.

“Yes sir. He amassed a sizable amount of debt and is participating in the coliseum as a slave in order to repay that debt.”

“Ah . . .”

I looked over at Raphtalia. She seemed to be looking over the slaves that were up on the stage.

“Next up is the showpiece of tonight’s auction! A demi-human slave from Lurolona!”

The spotlight suddenly moved to the next slave. That was the showpiece? The slave looked like a demi-human child and seemed to be trembling ever so slightly.

“No.”

Raphtalia shook her head.

“There was no such child in my village. One of the children did look similar, but that’s not her.”

“So it’s a fake . . .”

No one could tell the difference, anyway. Lurolona slaves were the hot item, so you could just dress it up as that. If you managed to fetch a hefty sum for it, that would be the end of it, even if they did find out otherwise afterward.

“We’ll start the bidding at 20 gold pieces!”

Twenty gold?! That high?!