The Villain Changed the Ending

092 The Cursed

***[Artist Investigator]***

As I entered the slave house, the damp air rushed in.

It smells like blood and pus mixed together.

It felt like the dampness was sticking to all over my skin.

The building was tidy, but the process of showing the slaves to the guests was repeated for a long time, and the smell was gone.

You can wipe the dirt inside a building, but you can’t hide the air.

As an investigator, he was particularly sensitive to that.

It would have been a no-brainer if it had been with aristocrats, but there were very few guests with that status.

Most of the customers were merchants, shopkeepers, or farm workers, and this was a place where they stopped by to buy workers at a low price.

No, rather, such people would be customers.

Rumor has it that people of lower quality also visit this place.

Ordinary people can’t imagine, but there are people in this world who seek slaves for strange things.

If there is no visible dirt, the level of smell will not be a big problem for such a guest.

An unpleasant feeling thickened in his throat.

‘Damn it, I think I’m going to vomit.’

Besides, this place smells worse than other places.

Should I be embarrassed?

An unpleasant sweetness mingled with the smell of blood.

From long experience, investigators knew that this smell was common in sick people.

It must be proof that the condition of the slaves here is very bad.

The investigator took shallow breaths to reduce the odor entering the body as much as possible.

Thanks to the long-learned habit, the nausea quickly subsided.

A fat man approached with a smile on his face.

“Welcome, sir.”

It seems to be the owner or manager.

Several men inside the building were watching as he entered.

He probably judged the investigator to be a man with quite a bit of money.

The fat man was the most well-dressed of the slave house officials.

“What kind of slave do you want, my guest? We have a variety of slaves in our pavilion. Male, female, old, young, healthy, sick, dying slave, just tell us which one you want. The Coffin prides itself on being able to instantly colonel any slave.”

Why do you need a sick or dying slave?

In this slave house, there are people who are looking for slaves simply for the first murder, and there are people who live there for the purpose of harassing them, but it seems to be just as rumored.

‘The market price of this place is rough…’

Quickly in his mind, the investigator set up a high and low level of money to spend here, and figured out an appropriate amount.

Then, try to combine the conditions on how to bring out the slave you want.

If you tell me who you want from the beginning, you will definitely be charged an outrageous price.

In fact, I heard that an inspector who was about his distant relative’s relative’s uncle was extorted from his money because he made a mistake in his words here.

If you think of them as slaves of high importance, these guys throw away their morals and attack.

‘Ah, maybe he thought of that investigator when he saw me.’

After all, a job cannot be faked, so somehow an inspector exudes an investigator-like atmosphere.

‘I’ll have to stay alert.’

I guess it will cost more money than I thought.

The investigator adjusted the amount he had set in mind slightly upwards.

The selection of slaves took longer than expected.

‘Ha, this man is amazing. I can see his head spinning tight.’

The person in charge of the slave house dealing with him seems to have been the owner.

Every time the investigator said something, the boss quickly narrowed the scope.

Then, the slave trader asked to what extent he was aware of this side’s intentions.

“Do you want to buy or rent…”

The slave trader narrowed his eyes and laughed softly.

Usually slaves are purchased, but sometimes they are rented for short or long term.

In that case, the price will be cheaper than purchasing.

Instead, if a slave dies during rental, a separately agreed upon amount must be paid.

For this reason, slaves were rarely rented in these low-level slave houses.

Because most of the slaves will die sooner or later.

But investigators are different.

When inspectors came to the slave house, most of them were rentals, not purchases.

“Anyway, the price varies depending on that.”

The slave trader’s laugh deepened.

Alas, they are all exposed.

Realizing that fact from the slave trader’s words, the investigator sighed lightly.

“Let’s rent it first.”

“Okay, then the price starts here.”

The slave trader writes numbers with charcoal on a large stone slab.

Then negotiations began again.

“Sir, slaves from that side are priced a little higher. Women over there are cheaper… but I don’t think you want a woman, and the men’s are about twice as expensive.”

While the slave trader was paying attention and talking, of course, the price went up little by little, no, a lot.

Twice the slave’s place of origin, three times the age, and five times the condition of being able to read and write.

‘No, damn it, wasn’t it cheaper to just say this openly from the beginning?’

Noticing that fact belatedly, the investigator became a little discouraged.

‘No. If I had shot one person from the beginning, the price would have been more than twice as high as this.’

The problem is that I still haven’t been able to specify the slave I want.

‘Haa…. As expected, dealing with slave traders like this is the most difficult.’

Perhaps because they are in the business of people, they are very sensitive to the appearance of their customers.

How much the customer wants the slave, whether he has made up his mind or is still undecided, a competent slave trader knows exactly as if he were looking into the customer’s head.

“…”

I felt a little sorry for my relative’s relative’s uncle.

I used to laugh and laugh at his work in the past, but this time I think I will be like that.

Also, people are supposed to be humble.

At the end of twists and turns, the conditions were set to some extent, and the slave trader called his subordinate.

“The slave in room 5. The oldest and the one with the scars.”

two people?

The investigator only knew one person.

But unexpectedly, there seemed to be two people from a small, ruined country who could read and write and worked as officials.

My heart raced a little, wondering if I could get more information.

“I’m sorry, but the slaves are also prepared, so you have to wait a little.”

The slave trader said so and prepared tea.

It was a slender-looking female slave who brought the tea.

I must have been around twenty

He is old and a bit thin for a slave, but he seems to be a high-ranking slave here.

He was wearing proper clothes and his skin was clean.

The woman put the car down and sat next to the inspector.

It seems to wait until the slave arrives.

The woman appealed to herself by deliberately stroking the investigator’s hand or putting her body on it, as if she was receiving such an education.

Maybe you want to sell yourself?

Well, it’s a woman’s heart, I understand.

Slaves that are not sold lose their value over time, and the price goes down. At the same time, the situation in the slave house would be worse.

The desire to sell yourself is understandable.

But investigators don’t need slaves.

All investigators need are strong feet and a reliable network of contacts.

‘But there’s no need to deliberately refuse.’

The inspector passed the time sipping his tea, enjoying the slight tenderness each time the woman bumped into him.

After quite a long time, the waiting slave came in.

‘I see… this will take some time.’

The condition of the two was really nonsensical.

People with scars on their faces smelled like they were rotting because they had wounds somewhere, and the old ones really only had bones left.

The old slave seems to be unable to walk on his own.

It was supported by the servants of the slave house.

Both of their heads were wet.

It seems that as soon as he was nominated, he simply washed and changed his clothes.

It must have been a look that couldn’t go out in front of customers.

It’s the same now, of course, but it must have been worse.

However, now that autumn is getting deeper, it is quite cold even during the day.

There was no way warm water was used on the slave, and it was probably cold water.

Both faces and lips were pale blue.

The bodies of the two people tremble without rest.

‘I see a lot of things while working as an investigator.’

Still, these situations are always difficult.

The inspector managed to pull back a contorted expression before looking at the slave dealer.

“I want to talk to you two without anyone else.”

“Yes, of course it is possible, but then you have to pay the rental fee…”

The owner of the business gave a mean laugh.

Are you asking for a day’s worth?

While thinking about that, the slave trader opened his mouth again.

“These two slaves are originally bureaucrats, and the prices are quite high. Even if they can read and write, the price goes up, but these two slaves are very knowledgeable people who originally managed it. I’m sorry, but the minimum rental fee is one month’s worth It will work.”

“What? We’ll just talk for a few minutes.”

“I’m sorry, sir. But these two are very special guys, as I just said. If I were in the place, I wouldn’t know that they were selecting slaves, but if I reserved the place alone, I would be charged the equivalent of a rental.”

This day robber!

In an instant, his face turned grim.

Then wouldn’t it be better to rent it for a month?

But slave traders are those who crawl on the bottom of the world and feed on rotten water.

There is no point in poisoning.

At the words heard again, the investigator was at a loss for words.

“Of course you can take it if you pay for a month, but if you die or your condition deteriorates rapidly, you will have to pay the agreed amount.”

“…”

These two might die right now.

It looked so bad.

You won’t be able to take her out for a day, no, not even for an hour, let alone a month.

Even if he didn’t die, it was obvious that his condition would deteriorate over time.

can’t take it out

Reluctantly, the inspector nodded to pay the rental fee, and the slave trader rubbed his hands together and laughed.

“I’m sorry, sir. It’s prepaid.”

“…”

die, man be cursed and die a miserable death.

The inspector cursed in his heart and handed over the money.

Instead of escorting them to another room, the slave trader ordered them to leave.

But the woman doesn’t move.

It remained.

‘ah!’

The investigator then had the idea that this woman might be from a ruined country.

Perhaps the slave trader wanted to know what he was talking about.

Maybe you thought it was a story that made money.

Seriously, slavers can’t be caught off guard.

“Get everyone out. Keep nobody out of here until I call.”

“I understand, sir.”

At the words of the investigator, the slave trader smiled and bowed his head.

“Oh, sir, I’m sorry, but please don’t let these two slaves sit in the guest chairs.”

It’s not because of his status, it’s probably because he’s in trouble if he smells rotten.

When the investigator replied that he knew, the servant who was supporting the old slave with the woman also left.

The old slave, barely standing, collapsed on the floor.

A slash slave supported him, but both seemed to have little strength.

Eventually, the two fell to the floor together.

The investigator took a small breath.

Every time the two of them moved, the rotten smell vibrated.

It seems that the condition of the invisible place is worse than I thought.

As the inspector drew closer, the two slaves’ bodies trembled even more.

How serious was the violence he received?

You can tell just by the reaction of the two.

Since both of them were civil servants, this kind of life must have been even more painful.

“I don’t mean to hurt you. I just have a few questions to ask.”

The eyes of the two people widened.

They seem surprised because the investigators are speaking the language of their country.

Tears quickly filled the old investigator’s eyes.

“… uh… do you… know our country…”

“I’m not familiar with it. Just a little bit.”

The investigator crouched down and peered into the old man’s face.

People with scars are too young.

The person he was looking for was the old one.

“I’m investigating what happened in your country. The sudden increase in rats and pests. The cause of that is the temple…”

It was the moment to say so.

Fear filled the old slave’s eyes.

he shakes his head.

“… that… uh… kid… no…”

Meaningless words leaked from the mouth of the old slave.

oh, this is no good

The investigator had a hunch.

I don’t know what it is, but the fear that creeps into these eyes is nothing out of the ordinary.

The investigator was conflicted for a moment, but immediately opened his mouth.

“If you tell me the truth about it, I’ll get you out of this slave house. I’ll give you a comfortable place to stay.”

Perhaps this is what these two slaves want most at this moment.

But the old slave covered his mouth with his hand and trembled.

At that moment, the knife-scarred slave next to him leaned out.

As the inspector turned his gaze to him, Knives reached out and grabbed the inspector’s shoulder.

“… faith….”

It was the moment when the knife marks said so.

The slashed slave’s lips trembled and lifted upwards.

The lips seem to twitch.

“That’s it!”

Knives made a strange sound and fell down, hitting his head on the floor.

The knives slave’s fingers began to twitch.

It makes a crunching sound.

The bones seemed to be broken, but the fingers were still twisted and twisted in a spiral.

“What, what. Hey!”

The investigator grabbed the body of the knife and removed his hand in surprise.

The body is rigid.

The twist that started in the fingers quickly moved to the arms and legs.

The limbs cracked and snapped, but they were still twisted.

“Is there a problem!”

The door burst open and the slave trader rushed in.

He promised not to get close, but he’s a fool to believe the promise of a slave trader.

The slave dealer might have been listening to the door just outside the room.

“What have you done to my slave!”

The slave trader came running in anger and shoved him.

The inspector looked at the knife-scarred slave without answering.

I could see her tongue twisting through her slightly open mouth.

The twisted tongue moves a little and tries to say something.

“… Long… Zea… Crab…”

I can’t hear what you’re saying

But the first word he said was the word ‘God’.

‘Maybe what I’m saying right now is a sacrifice.’

It must mean something was being sacrificed to God.

Even as the scars kept trying to say something, his body continued to twist.

In the end, the slave of the knife marks went around his neck and died.

An old slave by his side watched his comrade die while covering his mouth with both hands.

And after a while, he fell to the floor helplessly.

When the hand that was covering his mouth came down from his face, blood poured out of his mouth all at once.

He must have bit his tongue.

“Get out! Get out now!”

The slave trader kicked the inspector out as if frightened, and even threw the money he had received out the door.

Maybe they thought it caused an epidemic, maybe they thought it was cursed.

As much as a curse in this world.

‘uh!’

Divine sacrifices, strange deaths, curses.

Something seems to be connected.

The investigator picked up the money that fell on the floor and then got up.

The fear and pity I had felt a moment ago vanished in an instant.

His mind was filled with new clues and new destinations.

‘When it comes to gods and curses, that person is the best.’

let’s hurry

Hurry up and investigate and inform the duke.