Paradigm Parasite

Heidi Pov

I strike the adventurer nearest to me with the kukri still in its sheath.

The adventurer falls to the ground. The blow to the back of his head seems to have knocked him unconscious.

I wonder if this method can be used to block their movement. Some of the other adventurers in the group switch their aim to me.

"Help me..."

"Stop..."

I dodge through the attacks of these adventurers, who are all begging for help, and break their knees and punch them in the jaw.

It is difficult to aim at a moving opponent, after all.

"Hey...that monster isn't coming this way."

"All right, we're in. We'll do it too."

The adventurers who were safe seemed to be able to move now that the monster had entered into combat with him and was no longer coming this way.

They began their offensive, using blows and less powerful magic to block their movements.

While this was happening, I ran up to the unconscious adventurer and examined his body.

I'm pretty sure it was doing something to the back of his neck, so if there's a cause, it's here.

When I looked at the back of the neck...around the nape of the neck, I saw something like fangs stuck in it.

Is this it? I tried to pull it out, but it wouldn't come out.

I had no choice but to use my dagger to cut it out.

"It's the neck! Pull out the fang stuck in the back of the neck!"

Adventurers nearby saw what I had done and sent instructions to the others.

"Damn it! I can't get it out!"

"Then hit him and knock him out!"

"Hey! Cut it out! I'm in pain!"

"Fuck you! Break his limbs!"

"Give me a break!"

I'm sure they'll be fine by the looks of them.

"----. --! ------!"

Something like a monster's scream echoed from behind me.

When I turned around, I saw that the monster had lost its limbs and had wounds all over its body.

In contrast, they were unscathed.

...What? You've already cornered it?

I was surprised, but I had a feeling he would be able to handle it.

I waved my hand and said, " I managed to do something about them."

I heard explosions behind me, so I knew there was a fierce battle going on, but I didn't expect it to be so one-sided.

After a short pause, a few manipulated people appeared.

Reinforcements? Did it call in the others?

But there are only a few of them, and they are not many. While I watched, other adventurers were being seized one after another.

When I looked back at him, I saw that he was putting the finishing blow to the monster with his sword.

When the monster stops moving, the corpse crumbles and there is no trace of it.

I open my eyes. The corpse has disappeared?

Even though they are called monsters, they are still living creatures. When they die, it is only natural that their corpses remain.

What was it?

Since it disappeared, it is questionable whether it was killed, but can we assume that at least the threat is over?

I decided to be honestly happy that things had managed to work out for the time being.

"Good work. General."

I responded at random to Peggy, who called out to me, and sat down in a chair.

This is a bar in Bayser.

After that, I report to the guild.

Heidi arranged a place to stay. I told Peggy to take a seat here.

By the way, I left Savage at the guild.I gave money to the staff, so they will take care of him.

Sensing that we were about to go to the bar, he said, "What? What about me?" I ignored the look on his face.

You were just picking up and eating whatever was lying around.

About half a day had passed since we had killed the spider monster.

The city was almost back to normal. It seems that they are currently disposing of the dead bodies and repairing buildings and facilities.

It took a long time because the guild was persistently asking me about the story.Since there was no trace of the dead spider monster, they even doubted that I had killed it, and I even regretted that I had gone to report it myself. I should have just pushed Heidi or Peggy to do it.

Eventually, with the testimony of several surviving adventurers, it was admitted but held for a long time.

"Well, then, I guess we'll do what we have to do before the missus gets here."

"Guess so."

I'd better finish my shopping while I'm here.

"You, come along."

"Sure."

I get up and walk out of the store.

"Do you think any of the stores will be open?"

"I don't know. But I don't think they're all operating, so I don't think I'll be able to pick and choose."

I don't care about that area. As long as we have the right number.

"No problem. Let's go."

We enter a relatively large store for the time being.Inside, there is a counter like a normal arms store, with chairs lined up in front of it, and several large men standing around it, showing off their weapons.

It is a very obvious security guard.

We sit down in the chairs in front of the counter.

A few moments later, the owner? ....... A fat old man came out from the back.

"Welcome. What kind of slaves are you looking for today?"

"We are looking for people who are willing to work and who can take care of themselves. Preferably in large numbers."

The owner narrowed his eyes.

"Then you need a man who is able-bodied and a woman who can take care of others, and preferably in large numbers...."

The owner takes out a stack of papers and starts flipping through them.

"Well... are you in a hurry?"

"I need it right away. If you can't, I'll find someone who can."

The shopkeeper's eyebrows moved slightly.

I was not interested in being ripped off, so I said to him as if to shun him.

"I can prepare for 13 men and up to 25 women. Here is the detailed inventory."

He pulls out a few sheets of paper from the bundle and hands them to me.

I look over the bundle of papers I have received.

It contains brief profiles of the slaves, including their ages, builds, personalities, skills, backgrounds, and finally, their prices.

Looking at it, I have a very subtle feeling.

This number is the price of these people's lives, right? Well...as I thought, the prices varied.

The man...is a former knight, confident in his fighting skills. Others have experience running a store, thieves, and various others.

As expected, those who are skilled in combat are more expensive.

From what I've heard, it seems to be simple physical labor, so if all they need is physical strength...well, even if they don't have it, I don't care because I'll remodel them.

As for the women...oh, I see, there are more of them because of the larger scope.

Like the men, there are warriors... and here there are caretakers and housewives... and then there are a lot of ex-hookers.

As for the price... the older ones are cheaper.

"By the way, what else do you have?"

"These are slaves that don't meet your requirements, but..."

"No problem."

The shopkeeper tilted his head and gave me the rest of the paper bundle.

Let me see...Wow, it's expensive. What is this?

The prices were literally in different orders of magnitude.

Why are they so expensive? Most of them are women. What is it? Elf and virgin...ah, I see...that's what it is.

Elves are so expensive. Even a non-virgin price makes me dizzy.

Men...there are lizardmen. I heard that this kind of guy is rare, and that's why they are expensive.

The rest...oh?

When I looked through the rest of the list, I found a number that was different in another sense of the word.

Cheap. A dozen of them would be worth the price of an elf.It's a complete bargain. The details are...chest problems, pneumonia, something like that?

Other details: self-inflicted wounds, periodic suicide attempts, advanced age, body defects, etc.

Ah... I hear these stories all the time.I'm sure there's the usual mix of beautiful girls with a hidden story who become heroines when I buy them, but looking at ......... this list, it doesn't seem like there's anyone that easy to find.

I skim through it and look at the last one.

"What's this?"

I let out an unintentional voice.

There is no price. ...Or, rather, it even says that payment will be given for it.

I look at the owner and ask him to explain.

Sweat pours from his forehead.

"Let's see... We are having trouble disposing of these products.... To tell the truth, we have them tied up in cages, waiting for them to die."

The owner added, "We'll pay you if we get rid of them." I looked over the details.

Lamia the snake woman.

She is extremely rabid and will devour anyone who gets close to her.

She is of low intelligence and cannot communicate.

"I captured her several years ago at the request of a rich man for a large sum of money... but when I handed her over, the client wanted to 'taste' her..."

"......"

"In the end, it ended up unsold and we were unable to dispose of it..."

Even to dispose of it, they can't manage without hiring a high ranking adventurer, and they would rather literally keep it than spit out such a high reward, but they also don't want it to take up space, so they want to get rid of it if possible... They are having all kinds of trouble. They have spent a lot of money to purchase the product, but in the end, they can't sell it, and they keep making a loss.

It must be very disturbing.According to the story, she's weak, but it's doubtful she'll die anytime soon.

"I see. Then give me all these dying people for free in exchange for taking this one in."

I'm going to keep them under my control and fix them up anyway.If there are enough of them, I won't complain even if the quality is a little poor.

The owner looks bitter.

"...... Um, did you hear what I said......? That monster..."

"Can you show it to me anyway?"

"Let's be clear. There are a lot of people out there who have said similar things and died in the same way. Just take my advice."

"I said show me."

The owner almost raises his fist...then lowers it.

"...I understand. This way please."

He led me to the back of the room as if to say, "Do as you please."

The back room we were led to...I hate to say it, but it resembled a pet store.

There were many cages lined up in a row, and slaves were shoved inside.

Well, what can I say?

They all have dead eyes, eyes that are despairing of life.

I walk behind the shopkeeper and look at the cages.

I pass by a large number of cages and go down the stairs.

The smell of stale air comes from the bottom of the stairs. The owner covers his nose with a cloth.

"What a terrible smell."

Peggy said and shrugged her shoulders.

The sanitary conditions in the basement are much worse than those upstairs, as it seems that they have thrown in discarded or low-value slaves.

Many of the people in there are dying, and it's not a place I'd like to be.

"It's in here."

We stopped in front of a large door at the back of the room.

There are five large magic stones attached to the door, which is probably a device to keep anyone inside from getting out.

I exhale lightly.

"Just to make sure, I need to get the snake woman inside to calm down, right?"

"Yes. Kill her or take her with you..."

"I understand. Open the door."

"General, what about me?"

"Stay here. I'll go alone."

--Do you think the snake woman will ride in the carriage?

Switching conversation to comms.

--Uh... I don't think so.

--How about money?

--Elves and Lizardmen will be tough, but we can buy all the recommended slaves.

--That won't be a problem.

I don't need a high class slave for a lapdog.

--I'll call Patrick... Oh, by the way, you guys can't communicate with anyone but me...

--Yes, let's do that. But it would have to be someone of your own kind that you've met.

--Then arrange for additional wagons and transportation.

--Yes, Excellency.

"It's open. Come in..."

As we speak, the owner seems to have finished his preparations.

Well, let's do it.