A Degenerate's Tale

It was night time when the mother and son pair left the restaurant. Ari held Earl's little hand as they hailed a carriage. The carriage was entirely out of wood with small magic circles inscribed here and there. The driver appeared to be middle-aged but his face could not be seen clearly as he had a cone-shaped hat on.

"Where to, ma'am?"

Ari tucked Earl into his seat before answering.

"The slave markets."

"Very well."

Earl's first carriage experience was not bad. Because of the magic circles on the carriage, the entire ride felt smooth and comfortable.

"How come we didn't use teleportation magic, mom?" Earl asked his mother curiously inside the dimly lit carriage.

Ari thought about Earl's answer for a little before returning her gaze to him. "When you become as proficient as mom in magic, you'll find things to be too easy if you use magic for everything."

"It doesn't sound too bad when I say it like that right? But life becomes a little boring when you skip experiences like these. I want to love my life so I stick to the ways of the common people whenever I can. Understand?" Ari then gave Earl a little peck on the lips.

Earl was stunned by Ari's surprisingly well-thought-out answer. He didn't know what to say in return for a long time.

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It didn't take long to arrive at the slave markets. The carriage came to a stop and then the door was opened by the driver. "We've arrived."

This only earned a nod from Ari as she tossed a few silver coins over to the man.

The slave markets appeared to be in the shady part of the city. They were in a place that someone resembled a town square with many tents and carriages pitched. Compared to the place they had just come from, this place was very dimly lit with the only source of light being torches outside the tents.

Outside of every tent was a man that held onto a leash that held at minimum 5 slaves. It appeared as though each tent had a speciality of their own. Some carried strongmen, while others carried young, beautiful girls.

"What do you think?" Ari asked her child.

The existence of slaves within the Kingdom was something that was considered normal. Ari, herself did not care much about it but she knew that it might be different for a growing child.

"How did they end up like this?" Earl returned her question with a question. He was obviously very interested in the slaves, especially the pretty young girls.

"It's simple. They either lost their right to live or were sold into slavery by their guardian."

"Lost... their right to live?"

"Yes. Something like their country was destroyed or even as stupid as betting their lives on the line just to end up as a slave." Ari answered. "That's why you shouldn't care about them too much, alright?"

Ari guided Earl to one of the tents that carried strongmen. The owner of the tent, seeing the two approaching, immediately gave his pitch, "These are former soldiers from a recently collapsed country. They are very well trained and strong, so they are a good fit for heavy labour jobs!"

The owner tugged his leash closer, causing the slaves to walk closer to him. Each of the slaves wore a metal collar around their neck and a small piece of cloth around their waist. They were essentially naked so it was easy to see their body composition. Most of the men in leash were tanned with large muscles. However, many of them also had permanent injuries that made them crippled for life. Their facial expressions were lifeless, without a hint of resistance.

"Let's look at the next one," Earl told his mother. He was not interested in looking at men.

They went over to look at more, but none of them caught Earl's eye before arriving at a particular one. It was a slave tent that sold demihumans. The shop owner held a leash with various demihumans attached.

Some of them were well built, muscular male beastkins, while others were half-naked, voluptuous demonkins. Earl's eyes lit up when he saw the demonkins.

They looked like regular humans but two black, curved horns curling out from the side of their head on top of their pointed elf-like ears as well as a thin, black whiplike tail that came from their tailbone. Some of them even had small, bat-like wings on their backs.

The demons presented in the front did not match Earl's standards but he knew that with a well-sculpted face, and body, it would be a totally killer combo with the horns and tail!

"Interested?" Ari smirked at Earl's excited expression. "Let's go check it out."

She approached the owner directly and said, "I would like to see more of your stock."

The owner was a tall and thin man. It was difficult to discern his age from looking at his face that appeared to be as sly as a snake. He had a head full of black hair and a moustache to finish the look.

"Certainly." He nodded and brought them into the large tent.

The space inside was much large than one would imagine from looking outside. There were many cages that lined the sides of the tent and some were stacked on top of one another like boxes.

The scene was like paradise to Earl. Slavery was something he had never looked into back on earth, mostly because it was very illegal and unethical. However, he was a man with an open mind.

The owner walked them through the tent, letting them have a full glimpse of his entire stock. The demon women were dressed so thinly to the point where one could see their full breasts and buttocks while the men all wore the same thin cloth around their waist.

Ari continued to be amused by Earl's reactions when the owner showed something different. When they were done with the tour, she suggested, "How about this? If you can get to the Advanced Mage level, I'll get you one, no matter the price."