Free The Rising of the Shield Hero Volume 01 by Aneko Yusagi Page B

with a deep smile.
    “You know that I can’t afford that, so you started with the most expensive one, right?”
    “Yes, well, I can tell you are going to be a great customer regardless. I would be a poor business man if I didn’t start with our best wares.”
    This guy was slimy.
    “For your own information, please take a look at this slave’s information”
    He held out a small crystal to me. I noticed a flashing icon, and soon enough words appeared before my eyes.

    Battle Slave: LV 75
    Race: Wolfman

    It went on at some length about the slave’s various skills.
    Level 75… That was nearly 20 times my own level.
    If this guy were on my team, my life would be so much easier.
    I might end up stronger than the other heroes.
    I had no way to know if that justified the price though.
    He didn’t really look very healthy anyway, and he might end up getting in my way. I wonder if that was why the price was so low?
    “He used to fight in the Coliseum. He hurt his leg though, so they were going to dispose of him. That’s when I stepped in and bought him.”
    “You don’t say…”
    So it was damaged goods. His level didn’t really matter then.
    “Now then, I’ve shown you my best. Tell me, sir, what kind of slave you are interested in?”
    “A cheap one, that isn’t broken”
    “We have slaves specialized for battle or for physical labor. Or, if my intuition proves correct…”
    “I didn’t do it!”
    “Heh, heh, heh, yes, well… I’m not concerned one way or the other. But which type is your preference?”
    “This is crazy. Anything but a sex slave, please.”
    “Heh… I guess the rumors were false?”
    “… I didn’t do it.”
    Yeah, I could say whatever I want. I didn’t do it.
    What I needed was someone that could attack monsters for me. That’s it. If they were good for something else, that didn’t matter. If I could survive the night, and the next day… that was enough.
    “Do you have a preferred gender?”
    “I think a man would be better, but I don’t really care.”
    The slave trader scratched at his chin. “I know of one, but they wouldn’t be so good for your… personal pleasures.”
    “I don’t care about that.”
    “The level isn’t very high.”
    “If they can fight, we’ll level up together.”
    “Good answer… even though you don’t trust people.”
    “Slaves aren’t people, are they? If I’m leveling up an object, it’s just like leveling up my shield. I’ll raise something that won’t betray me.”
    “You got me there,” he said, suppressing a giggle. “Right this way then.”
    We walked through the shop, which was lined on both sides with long rows of cages. Eventually the shouts and smells died down, and we entered a quieter area of the shop.
    … Or so I thought. Soon the room was filled with the sound of crying children.
    I looked around and saw cages filled with children and older demi-humans. They looked miserable. The slave trader continued to lead me along until he suddenly came to a stop.
    “This is the cheapest slave I can offer you today, sir.”
    He was pointing to a group of three cages.
    The first had a man inside, though he also had the ears of a rabbit, and one of his arms was twisted in an odd direction. He looked to be somewhere around twenty years old. He looked like the dictionary definition of a slave.
    The next held a girl of around ten. She was unbelievably skinny, and her eyes looked terrified. She was coughing. She also had dog-like ears that were tied up around her head. She appeared to have a large, round tail as well.
    The third cage held a lizard man whose eyes darted about the room violently as if he was just looking for someone to kill. He did seem more like a man than a lizard though.
    “From the right they are: a rabbit-type with a genetic disorder, a raccoon-type suffering from panic attacks, and a mixed breed, the lizard man.”
    So the last one was a mixed breed.
    “They all seem to have severe issues.”
    “These are