RE: Player again

288

[Chapter 094] [What Could Not Be Found (2)]

A few days ago, Lee Kang-hyuk said.

was scheduled to be put up for sale as a slave in the Cheonggyecheon underground market.

At that time, he watched Eun-ha's reaction. He wondered if might be an acquaintance of Eun-ha's that he had requested to find.

But Eun-ha didn't seem particularly shocked to hear this.

Because he had guessed that if was in the underground market, he was surely being sold as a slave.

Though he couldn't locate Son Ga-yeon or the twin sisters, he knew would appear someday if he kept an eye on the underground market.

Choksae was originally a slave.

He was born as a slave from birth, and had been passed around the underground market purely as a commodity.

But the only one who knew his past in the Mist Flower Party was Eun-ha.

Because had been active as a Player even before joining the Mist Flower Party.

Nevertheless, the reason he knew was because he had watched 's deathbed.

'...Lea...der...'

When the Mist Flower Party was attacking one of the black dungeons called .

There, the Mist Flower Party was annihilated.

When the allied forces faced the boss monster, only he and Yoo Jeong had survived from the Mist Flower Party.

Son Ga-yeon who couldn't speak died after being ambushed by hostile forces.

Seon Gi-joon died while sacrificing himself to draw the aggro of monster legions.

Jin Parang fell after being pierced by dozens of spells to create a path for the allied forces at the final gate.

And Choksae lost his life while failing to disarm traps flooding the party, changing the target of the traps to himself.

At that time, Choksae confessed his secret to him who ended up watching his deathbed up close.

'...There's one thing... I've been lying about... all this time...'

'......'

'My fingers... getting cut off... while disarming traps... that's a lie?'

grinned as usual even while facing death.

As if he wasn't afraid of death.

As if he was finally liberated from life.

Still, he was grinning. For him who had lived forcing a smile for decades, no other expression existed.

'...I was a slave.'

grabbed Eun-ha's hand and said while coughing up blood.

The reason his fingers were cut off wasn't actually from disarming traps, but because someone who was once his master cut off his fingers like engraving a name on an object.

Then why hadn't he told people this fact until now?

answered his own question.

'Because... it's embarrassing...!'

It was truly a excuse.

So he never stopped talking to hide his shame, and always went around telling lies.

Until the moment he died.

'...That's a lie. Do you... believe that...?'

smiled with a grin while shedding tears of blood.

who had lived telling lies until death couldn't stop lying even as death loomed.

So the people gathered around him eventually turned their backs on his consistent behavior.

He wasn't the only one who died there.

But Eun-ha stayed by his side and said to him as he slowly fell into a deep sleep.

'─I believe you.'

's eyes widened.

He burst out laughing weakly.

Still, Eun-ha answered again.

That he believed him.

always lived with lies, but there was always one truth hidden inside.

He inefficiently spewed nine lies in order to tell one truth.

That's why he was called Choksae.

'...I'll only tell... the leader...'

Suddenly, called Eun-ha as if recalling something.

Then he whispered his final sincerity and departed from the world.

After that, the allied forces' words noticeably decreased.

☆

Before the world was destroyed once, the reason slaves didn't exist was because people were protected by the law.

In fact, even before the world was destroyed, people who weren't protected by the law were treated like slaves under the nominal title of employees or wards.

The reason the word slave came to be openly used after the world was destroyed was because it became easier to procure people not protected by the law.

Eins born not knowing who their parents are and abandoned in slums.

Wanderers roaming the streets for various reasons.

People like them who weren't recognized by the state weren't protected by the law.

And people killed by monsters and those who died in dungeons were also beings not recognized by the state.

Because it was impossible to know if they were really killed by monsters or if they were attacked and kidn*pped, or if they faked their own deaths.

Because there are Eins and Wanderers.

Because there are dungeons and monsters.

People treated like slaves don't disappear from the world.

But unlike them, there were also people who became slaves forcibly or voluntarily.

"What do you think you would do if you were in desperate need of money?" "I've never been in desperate need of money though?"

"This is why they call you a gold spoon..."

"I admit I'm a gold spoon, but aren't you the same?"

"I used to be a silver spoon." "What does that mean?"

The slaves sold here were nominally "employees" or "wards".

Under Baek Seo-jin's jurisdiction, users carefully traded slaves through several procedures.

This was because if slaves were traded without going through those procedures, both the light and dark sides would impose sanctions on the slave trader at the same time.

No matter how turbulent the world was, if the administrator judged it to be unfair or potentially controversial, they would sometimes free the slaves.

Slave trading was that sensitive.

So in the wide open floor, the only place trading slaves was the building Eun-ha had just entered.

"Anyway, what would you do if you were in desperate need of money?"

"Then of course I'd have to work."

"You have a family to support. But with your abilities, even if you earn money you don't have the power to support your family. What about in that case?"

There was time left until the slave trading began.

Eun-ha who sat in a position where he could exit anytime from the building shaped like a small theater asked Do-joon who was looking around.

Eun-ha could clearly imagine Do-joon frowning beyond his mask.

"Can't you get help from the government?"

"Do you think the government would give any help to someone with all limbs intact who can earn money?"

"Hmm..."

Probably several options were coming to Yoo Do-joon's mind right now.

But among the options he was thinking of, there was only one that was easiest and could obtain a lot of money at once.

Sure enough, Yoo Do-joon gave the answer he had been waiting for.

"Then I'd have to sell myself, what else could I do?"

"There are cases that became like that voluntarily too. In this case, it's somewhat fortunate since they can back out anytime."

"Then what about cases that became like that forcibly?"

Sometimes there were those who decided to become slaves themselves to make a living or repay debts.

They could assert some rights over themselves.

But there were also cases where people became slaves unwillingly, inevitably.

For example, cases where their noses were pierced.

─It's starting.

Before they knew it, the seats in the small theater were almost full.

A spotlight turned on on the stage, and a man wearing a suit walked out wearing a mask.

"See the rest with your own eyes."

Eun-ha leaned back against the backrest.

After the host's introduction ended, the slaves put up for sale walked out onto the stage.

The reason the slaves walked out in a line was because their uses and prices were similar.

"As for this product..."

The host pointed to the woman on the far left.

When the spotlight shone only on her, the woman's body trembled.

The woman who received countless gazes appraising her value collapsed with her legs giving out.

The host grabbed her arm and pulled her up, listing off details about her profile.

It seems she was fooled by a con artist's story that he would make her a capable Player.

"The con artist said. If you drink this elixir, your internal mana will increase."

"Oh my, really?"

"Then one day the con artist said. You'll be able to appear in the media as a Player, so you should improve your appearance in advance for that time. Go get procedures done at a place I know."

"Wow~, amazing!"

""""Hahaha!!!!""""

The host freely modulating between male and female voices.

The woman thought all that support was free.

But the con artist changed his face and then blackmailed her saying she needed to repay the money invested in her.

The host conveyed her story in a tone like reading a fairy tale.

The masked people whistled and clapped excitedly.

"That's a case where the nose was pierced."

"...It's disgusting. But in cases like this, can't they receive protection from the law?"

"It's one of two things. Either they were too scared to even think of that, or that person themselves did something not upright."

The woman was sold for 63 million won.

A person's life was converted into money.

This was that kind of place.

Bruno just watched quietly, and Yoo Do-joon closed his mouth partway through.

And Eun-ha was listlessly counting time.

...Not yet?

Whether someone's life was converted to money or not.

He felt nothing.

The pathos of life and compassion for humans were emotions far from him.

If it was related to himself, the story would be completely different.

In that sense, Eun-ha cursed after hearing the story of the old man who was pointed to next.

"...Trash bastard."

The old man was of an age where he could no longer work.

Nevertheless, the old man was unwillingly, inevitably put up for sale in the market.

They say his family sold him.

At that time, when the country briefly became anarchic, there were cases of people abandoning their parents or young children to survive.

It's probably still happening occasionally.

But humans with connections to the underground market not only committed the sin of abandoning their parents, but also the sin of selling their parents.

Eun-ha unknowingly recalled his own family from the old man calmly receiving the spotlight.

In his previous life, he would have said the same things anyone would say without any emotion.

But Eun-ha who had spent time in his family's embrace in this life cursed the person who sold the old man with sincerity.

To the point he revealed killing intent, momentarily unable to control his emotions.

"─Endure it."

Just then, Bruno placed his hand on his shoulder.

The palm that could easily grasp his head was pressing down hard on his shoulder.

Only then did Eun-ha realize the users' gazes had gathered on him.

And that the exclusive Players they brought were taking combat stances at the killing intent he revealed.

"Hahaha! This is part of the charm too."

The atmosphere that had become tense eased back into a lull.

The host who soothed the mood nonchalantly continued the old man's story.

The users cursed at the son who sold the old man and enjoyed themselves.

Everything that happened here was entertainment for them with their faces hidden by masks.

Only an extremely small minority truly felt compassion for the old man.

"Hey, those people keep staring at us?"

"Let them stare."

Meanwhile, the exclusive Players kept watching Eun-ha.

There was nothing good about standing out in the underground market.

He belatedly regretted his actions, but didn't want to lower his head.

If they picked a fight, he would beat them down then.

Eun-ha remembered the masks of the people watching him and observed the transaction that wasn't over yet.

In the end, the old man was sold for 92 million won, higher than the woman sold earlier, due to his gloomy circumstances.

An old man abandoned by his son was very appealing to connoisseurs.

An old man with such a background would be a hard to obtain "collectible" after all.

"Ah, do you perhaps have anything you'd like to say?"

The old man stood on stage for a while even after being sold.

He had been calmly looking up at somewhere since coming on stage.

The host who keenly grasped that brought the microphone to the old man's mouth.

"─I don't resent them. It's okay."

A dry voice.

The old man said those words and then turned around.

After the old man disappeared, the host talked about a new slave again.

"...Is it possible not to resent them?" "I don't know."

Do-joon and Eun-ha didn't show much interest even as the transaction continued.

They just looked for someone in the place the old man had been staring at earlier, and blankly looked down at the stage.

"If it were me, I would resent them. I want to kill all the people who made my mother suffer, and kill my father who just quietly watched that too..."

Yoo Do-joon added.

Why do parents devote themselves to their children without any compensation?

Why do they devote themselves even while being sold off for something that doesn't make any money?

"...Human relationships are give and take. But children always just receive, and parents always just give...

Where in the world is there such an absurd relationship? I really don't understand."

Yoo Do-joon muttering as if perplexed.

Eun-ha who knew his family circumstances quietly nodded.

Surely in his previous life, Eun-ha would have just given perfunctory responses.

But Eun-ha felt like he knew why parents devote themselves to their children without compensation.

Because I'm similar.

Just seeing them is good.

Just them being there is good.

This was the emotion he always felt towards his family.

Eun-ha thought he could devote himself to his family if it was to obtain this emotion.

Of course, the reason parents want to devote themselves to their children is probably a bit different from what he feels.

"─It's not that they don't want compensation. They've already received sufficient compensation."

""What?""

That's when it happened.

Bruno who had been keeping silent until then opened his tightly closed mouth.

"Just the son being born safely was sufficient compensation. At least that's what I think."

""......""

"Above all, on the day my son was born, I gained one more reason to live. That alone is enough."

You two don't understand yet.

Bruno muttered quietly to the two looking at him with their mouths open.

Then he stroked their heads with his large palm.

The two entrusted their bodies to his touch even as their hair got messed up.

"What's the new reason for living you gained, mister?"

Then Eun-ha asked curiously.

Wondering if his father and mother might have the same feelings.

"─Seeing Near live happily until I die."

How modest.

Eun-ha thought.

But he also found it cool.

So he burst out laughing awkwardly.

"─Then I will introduce the next product up for sale."

Before they knew it, all the slaves on stage had been sold.

The host brought out new slaves who had been behind the curtain.

...He's here.

A handsome man standing out among the slaves.

A man with long hair flowing to the floor and wearing shabby clothes was walking out receiving exclamations from the masked people.

"Is that him?" "Yeah." "...Hey, it looks like quite a lot of people will want to buy that person?"

Not just women but men too.

Even the fat person who bought the old man earlier.

Eun-ha sighed watching the people interested in .

It didn't seem like it would be easy.

But he had no intention of backing down.

"Did you bring enough money?"

"Did you really leave money with me?"

The walking wallet grumbled.