"You actually dare to whip me?" I ask. "Brave…"
"You're the one that got in the wa…" The cowboy was interrupted by me pulling at the whip, dragging him to me and landing a devastating blow straight at his teeth, sending him flying back. Lets see you smiling ever again without teeth.
"Who are you? What do you want?" The other shouted.
"You guys are the ones that hit me, remember? I want compensation."
"What compensation?! You got in the way!" The man protested.
"Death it is…" I smiled beneath my mask and started approaching, sword drawn.
"No, wait!" The man stammered back. "Okay, you sicko, just tell me what you want."
"I want those two." I gestured to the redhead cat girls that were sitting on the ground, just staring at me in awe. "Any objections?"
"What?! That's unreasonable, he only hit you and you want two slaves in return?" My sword became engulfed in fire. "OK, OK, I'll give you one! You can take the small one." The man said. The fire surrounding my sword became more intense, I kept approaching. "Fine, fine, just take them!" The man shouted.
The flames ceased, the man sighed a sigh of relief. "Thanks, but… Too late."
"What? But you got them, didn't you?" I picked up the whip. "What… What are you doing?! No! Wait! Stop right there, don't approach! Please, stop!"
"Those two were pleading too, weren't they? Did you guys stop?"
"NO!!!" The beating was severe, flesh separated with every strike, screams filled the air. I glanced at the mortified cat girls, the older one was obstructing the younger one's view with her hand. Finally, I was done.
I turned to my new assets. "Follow."
"Wait, what about our slave contracts?" The big sister asked. "We still can't disobey him. We have to wait for him to transfer ownership to you." She pointed at the bloody, but breathing man on the ground.
"Oh, right, that exists… No need, I'll just break the contract myself." I said.
"What? You must know that only the one that has control over the contract can break it."
"That would be like using a key, I prefer just breaking down the door…" I placed my hand on the younger one's head, making her flinch and close her eyes, and began channeling mana into her slave contract. As soon as I started, a purple color appeared around her neck. I poured more mana, the color started vibrating, then cracking, until finally shattering and disappearing.
I retracted my hand and addressed the big sister. "Your turn." After placing my hand on her head, I repeated the procedure, leaving her speechless.
"Just… Just who are you, sir?" The older one asked.
"Your new master. Got any problem with that?" I answered.
She shook her head. "No, I… We're okay with it. We'll do our best, just please treat her with understanding." She pointed to her sister. "She's still small, but, if you allow her, she'll soon grow up and become a proper worker and until then, please allow me to take on her burden."
"You talk a lot, I'll treat you however I wish." I looked at their faces, dread evident on them. "Let me clarify something, I'll treat you however you deserve to be treated." This seemed to put them at ease. "We're going." I turned to leave. The two followed behind, but soon began lagging behind.
I turned to see why, the older one, exhausted and drained from the beating, enduring the pain, was supporting the younger one, whose ankle was twisted. They were certainly trying to keep up, but failing miserably. I stopped and turned to them. The older one flinched in fear and began to urge her sister to walk faster, apologizing for the delay.
I sighed, activated my dimensional ring and two healing potions appeared in my hand. I extended them to those two. "Drink." They hesitated a bit, but obeyed. Soon their injuries, while not completely, healed to a reasonable extent.
The older one, realizing what those were, looked mortified. Wide eyed, she shouted. "I'm sorry, we didn't know what it was, if we had known…"
"Why the hell do you think I gave those to you? The journey will drag on forever if you can't even walk properly." I interrupted. "Besides, I have plenty, so don't worry."
She seemed to calm down. "Where are we going, master?"
"To the north-east, to the kingdom of 'Zagria'." I answered nonchalantly.
She widened her eyes. "That's… That's the kingdom of beast men…"
"Yeah, I was going there anyway, so I might as well drop you off there, while I'm at it."
"Drop us off? What do you…"
I sighed. "I have no need for slaves, in fact, I have no need for anyone, I took you because you are someone that deserves a better life than that." She looked lost for words. "It's your grit, your will to protect the things that you care about - your family. I admire that."
"That's… Well, anyone would have done the same in my situation." The girl protested, lowering her head.
"Taking a 1000 whip slashes for someone else? I've seen people promise to do things like that, and I've seen those very people break that promise as soon as the first hit comes. You aren't someone like the rest, you're special, so keep your head up, That's a direct order."
"Y-yes!" She smiled.
"Good, now follow." I turned and started walking. This was a small town, it had no inns or hotels and a journey from here to the kingdom of 'Zagria' would be too much for my new companions, I needed a wagon. There was a problem. I turned to the big sister and asked. "Can you operate a wagon?"
"Yes, if needed."
"Well, what do you know, you might actually be a bit better than dead weight…" I jested.
The girl panicked. "I can also cook, clean, do laundry, carry things and, what else…"
"Relax, I was joking. I have a pretty shitty personality, get used to it and grow a thicker skin." She stayed silent until we came to a building that looked big and simple enough to be a storage house. On closer inspection, I saw some chumps were loading cargo onto the wagons - the wagons that I wanted.
I approached, getting their attention. "How much for that wagon?" I pointed at a fairly decently looking covered wagon. A man, the boss of these people it seemed, a burly man in his forties with short hair and a beard, answered that it wasn't for sale and to get lost. His demeanor changed completely when gold began to rain from my palm onto the ground.
"Certainly, sir, I'll sell it to you, is there anything else that you need? Horses? Rations? Oh, I know, why don't you marry my daughter!" He laughed nervously, then added. "A man of your wealth must already have a wife, so how about taking her as a concubine?" This guy sure likes gold, huh? Let's play with him a bit.
"No need, the wagon, two horses, harnesses and oats, that's all. I'm not interested in marriage, but if she's hot, I might fuck her…"
"Pardon?"
"What you heard, weren't you pimping her out just now? Your own daughter? Tell me how much do you want for a night with her? 100 gold? 200? I'm rich beyond belief, so I might as well go for it, but, after taking the money, will you be able to live with yourself?" I asked.
"That's…" The man lowered his head.
"Look at me!" I shouted. "I'm not teaching you morals, believe me, I'm as rotten as they come, I just want to see the guilt and pain on your face, so look at me, while selling off your own flesh and blood to a complete stranger! Hell, I might even let you watch, if the price is right." The man kept his head low. I sighed. "Bring me what I asked for, your daughter excluded and I'll get going."
After the man left, the big sister approached and asked. "I might be overstepping, but was that really necessary? Wasn't there a more gentle approach to teach him?"
"Necessary - no, fun - yes. Besides, as a former slave, someone whose life and death was in the hands of others, would you wish the same fate upon someone else?" I challenged.
"Well, no, but…"
"This is just how I operate, I despise those that do evil and I punish them accordingly. Does that make me inherently good? Hell no, I'm the worst of them all, I don't do this for some lofty ideals, nor out of a sense of justice, it's all for revenge."
"Just what exactly happened to you, to become like this?" The girl pried.
"Now you're overstepping…"
"...Sorry."
The wagon and the rest of the equipment was prepared at lightning speed, I offered money for it all, but the owner refused. "Just… Please, just take it and leave." His head still hung low, his eyes sunken in. I smiled. The art of the deal - emotionally break the person that you're buying from for a 100% discount. This should be in every economics textbook.
We packed up and started heading out of town, our destination - the kingdom of 'Zagria'.
Join me on patreon at patreon.com/BonsaiCat for early access to new chapters or buy my book 'How to rule a fantasy world' on Amazon. It's the same stuff that you read here, but I fucked up with the naming and the book is already out, so fuck it, let's go with this name for the book. I appreciate all of your support and your forgiveness for my utter incompetence. Best regards, BonsaiCat.