Volume 2 - CH 19

Chapter 2-19. Satella-older sister (Onee-chan)

Alena and I talked late into the night.

When I asked a question, I felt like I was speaking in riddles, but Alena found it very interesting.

Well, she asked what I can do, and I can't help but find it hard to answer.

However, I was able to understand Alena’s background.

What I know is that Alena is from a race called "Hyuuman".

Well, it's not that different from an ordinary human in my eyes.

It seems that the "Hyuuman" race is abundant in this world.

Though Alena is from that race, there is a wealth difference in their society.

She said that in her village, they managed to keep their lives by working in the fields, but the feudal lord refused the slave trader's request. Because of that, the slave trader hired someone to kidnap the people of the village.

Of course, Alena couldn't tell such a detailed story, so I managed to guess by relying only on the information Alena gave me.

She had a hard time.

From Alena's words, I could only get some information such as "feudal lord", "good people", and "slave trader came but returned".

From Alena's story, I know the Lord is a good person.

Perhaps the slave trader came to take slaves from her village.

The lord refused, so the slave trader went home and returned to use force.

Probably like that.

Maybe I’m right.

My intuition tells me so.

Did they really go that far?

Well, slaves do make for a cheap labor force.

Because of that, many people would want slaves.

Another thing I heard from Alena is that she lost her parents.

Her family has fallen apart.

Also, it seems Alena has an older sister named Satella.

She lost her parents and was separated from her sister, who was the only source of light in her heart. It seems they’ve been separated for a while.

However, Alena's sister, Satella, does not seem to be riding in this carriage.

Alena had previously been in a carriage with other slaves squeezed in, but she was moved here because the number of slaves in that carriage exceeded capacity.

That means she remembers the faces of the people from her village where she was caught.

However, she said her sister was not among them.

Where is Satella?

There are several possibilities of Satella's whereabouts.

The first one is that she was able to escape by herself.

She wouldn’t just get caught without putting up any resistance, and of course, some villagers would have escaped too.

Satella might be among them.

That’s what I thought ...

"My sister was caught along with me"

Is what she said ...

Unfortunately, my guess was wrong.

Another guess is based on the previous case.

That's when someone else helps her.

Villagers won't be silent when they see their children about to be taken away.

There’s a high chance she received help from them.

It seems that Alena and Satella were caught and separated immediately.

So she may have survived because she received help from the villagers.

So, my third guess is ... the worst-case scenario.

It’s that ... she had been taken away by another slave trader.

The slave traders and adventurers who attacked are probably not the only ones who did these kinds of things.

The slave traders who attacked could be more than two groups.

If there was a plan to kidnap the people of the village and enslave them, wouldn't the slave traders always be the ones behind the curtain?

I don't know how many slave traders there are in this world, but if there are slaves all over the world, then there must be a lot of them.

In that case, not only is the safety of Satella unknown, but her whereabouts are too.

Hmm, I want to help her.

What these slave traders are doing is probably illegal, right?

Then I have to do something.

"Hey, Mr. White Snake"

Yes, what is it, young lady?

"Can you help my sister?"

...... I want to, but I can't do anything now ...

I shook my head to express that I couldn’t.

"Is it really difficult after all?"

I also shake my head.

I couldn’t do it now, but if I evolve soon, I may be able to help her.

Unfortunately, Alena doesn't seem to understand what I'm thinking.

I’ll have to explain by drawing a picture with water.

I imagine myself locked in a prison.

After that, draw a batten mark that says, "I can't get out of this prison now."

After that, I drew a picture of me eating a meal.

Then I drew something resembling me evolving and growing stronger, breaking the prison, and going to look for her sister.

I drew it with simple pictures so a young child could understand what I wanted to say, but ... did she get it?

"... You can't get out of the cage? But when you eat a meal, you’ll get bigger ... then you can get out. Is this doodle my sister?"

Almost right!

Although it didn't get through perfectly, she at least gets the gist of it.

I nodded to express she was right.

"Oh, can you find my sister?"

I nod to that too.

I can't just leave her alone.

However, the problem is that I can't go out to look for her until I get stronger.

"Mr. White Snake, you are a good person to help me find my sister."

Well, that's ... I'd like to help Alena if possible ...

D-don't tell me the next line is something that shouldn’t be said leisurely by a young girl!??

I don't want to accept self-sacrifice, okay!??

However, Alena continues to speak to me.

"I think ... I think I'm being taken to a country called Salettana. I heard the villager say it was a two-week journey by carriage. If I knew where she was- ... no, I want you to help my sister, but I don't know where we’re going."

Eh, isn't this child's intelligence too good?

Usually, people would want to save themselves first.

But Alena is more worried about her sister than she is about herself ... she's amazing.

On the one hand, if we know where we’re going, I can immediately go to the carriage's destination to help her.

On the other hand, we don't know where Satella is or where she went.

Finding Satella won't be easy.

Perhaps Alena understands she can't find Satella even if she's saved now.

And even if I help Alena now, I wouldn't be able to take care of her ... it would be difficult for Alena to live alone.

Then ... I don’t like it, but if she stays with the slave traders for a while, I can guarantee the safety of her life.

It’ll be a terrible life, but they won't kill her.

After thinking for a while, I concluded that I have no choice but to go now.

Alena looked happy, but ... it's very painful for me.

But that's what Alena wants me to do. I understand that.

"Thank you, Mr. White Snake"

………… I'll try a little test.

Let's try something.

I'll write something in hiragana.

"...? What is this? A character?"

Negative, huh ... well, it can't be helped.

It seems this world doesn't understand the Japanese language.

"Maybe ... this is the name of Mr. White Snake?"

That's right!!! That's right!!!

She understood it!

"But I can't read……"