Chapter 123
－POV: A Beastfolk Child Who Was a Slave－
Scary adults always told me things.
They told me to be useful to the country and to thank the king for allowing me to live.
They said it was the king's mercy.
I didn't understand what they were saying.
Gratitude?
For some reason, I was beaten and kicked. It hurt, but I couldn't make a sound.
Because no sound came out even when I tried to speak.
They said I was creepy because my expression didn't change when they beat me.
Then they beat me again. What was an expression?
A terrible sound came from my body, but they said beastfolk were sturdy.
They stepped on a place that hurt terribly.
Even when excruciating pain ran through my whole body, I couldn't make a sound.
I made myself as small as possible and endured it.
What was gratitude, anyway?
I gradually began to understand a little more about my surroundings.
I was a slave, and the children around me were slaves too.
My voice was sealed away, and apparently slaves didn't need expressions either.
But I noticed that their eyes alone showed a little expression.
For some reason, that made me happy.
But the children with expressive eyes gradually became fewer and disappeared from around me.
I was sad.
A noble came several times.
Whenever they came, slaves were dragged out of the room.
Those people didn't beat us.
They did kick us, but mostly they killed slaves with something that gleamed silver.
They called it a test cut.
For some reason, the slaves the nobles killed were brought back to the room.
They said it was because the cleaning days were set in advance.
Little by little, I began to lose my sense of self.
But for some reason, I was beaten less often.
I saw the unpleasant person who used to beat us looking frightened.
I saw sounds pour down from the sky, and light race across it.
I was startled when a sound fell from the sky.
But I was even more surprised that a voice had come out.
It was a small startled scream, though.
It was the first sound I had ever made. When I looked around, there seemed to be several others as well.
Somehow, it was only children like that who had gathered together.
What was happening?
I didn't know, so I was afraid.
Someone who didn't look frightening came.
That person looked us over and left.
The next day, two adult slaves came.
Those adults could speak, and they taught us all sorts of things.
About this country, the forest, monsters and magical beasts, and slaves.
It was all new and difficult, but I was told to remember as much as I could, so I tried hard.
While I was trying my best, the person from before—the one who hadn't looked frightening—came.
This time, they came straight over to us and said, "Run when the opportunity comes."
They left the room without waiting for an answer.
Was something going to happen? I was afraid.
……
I was suddenly taken out of the room, put into a narrow cage, and taken away.
I was separated from the children who had been with me.
I was so scared of what might happen.
I shivered and curled up as small as I could.
Someone clasped my hand.
A child I had never seen before was in front of me.
But when I looked into their eyes, I could tell that they had feelings.
I mustn't make a sound or show any emotion.
I simply held their hand and curled up small.
The cage was opened, and I was suddenly pulled up.
I was startled and almost made a sound, but somehow managed to hold it in.
I couldn't let them find out!
I was dragged into the forest.
The forest!!
I was shocked; I'd only heard about it.
From then on, it was an even worse hell than before.
My whole body was screaming.
There were several terrifying monsters in front of me.
They raked me with their claws and rolled me around, as if they were trying to eat me.
I squeezed my eyes shut, thinking that I was going to die there.
When a monster tried to sink its fangs into me, the people watching from afar killed it.
The same thing happened over and over.
My consciousness suddenly began to drift away.
For some reason, my body seemed to be trembling violently... I didn't know why.
As I let my gaze wander, I saw the child who had held my hand.
Was it that child's turn next?
Run...
I thought I saw some kind of light.
I didn't know what it was.
I was simply enveloped in something warm.
It felt really good.
My back was warm too.
There was a large pattern on my back, and it hurt terribly.
The adults called it a slave mark.
The pain in my back gradually faded.
……
Water splashed onto my face.
When I opened my eyes, that child was there.
To my surprise, I looked around and saw that lots of frightening adults had collapsed.
They held out a hand, so I gripped it tightly and stood up.
What should I do?
"Let's run."
Was this the opportunity they'd told me about?
They told me to run. Then I had to.
I headed for the cages, thinking that maybe there were other children who could escape too.
The cage was open.
I called out to the children inside, but there was no response.
There was another cage, but none of the children inside showed any response.
The adults had said they were alive, but their hearts had died.
I was sad.
I took food and water from the supplies around us and ran deeper into the forest.
If those frightening adults woke up, they would kill me this time for sure.