Chapter 25

Steph's POV

“Haha! Is it all done?”

A hefty man, his belly protruding, emerged from the 'staff-only' room.

He had blood stains on his hand, and each finger had rings on them. His fat-ridden body moved slowly as he cleaned his bloodied hands with a rag and flung it to the side once he was done.

“Oh, Leader? Did you kill that woman already?” One of the men who had secured both Alicia and Billy said with a somewhat disappointed face.

“What do you think?” The fat man replied, a twisted grin on his face

Though he had cleaned his hands, stains of red still appeared in some areas.

“I-I see… I shouldn’t have asked in the first place."

In all honesty, this man—as well as the rest of his six comrades—wanted to have his way with her.

He had been looking forward to enjoying the waitress for some time now.

‘When we killed her Boss and took over this shop, I expected my time to come soon…’

He felt frustrated that his Leader had done away with her already.

“She intentionally tripped, that woman. I was watching everything that happened with my Skill,” the robust man bragged with a smirk.

"I had to... teach her a lesson."

The sadistic glint in his eyes told the men who watched him that it wasn’t a quick experience for the poor lady.

She must have suffered immensely.

"Her body's still there if any of you fancy a turn. I did my best to keep her looking decent."

With a sly smile, the hefty man produced a coin from his sleeve, tossing it into the air before quickly catching it and stashing it in his pouch.

"At least I got a little something for my efforts," he chuckled softly to himself.

The men who watched him didn’t move. They remained in their positions despite already having the green light to fulfill their carnal desires.

“What’s the matter? Is it because she’s a corpse now? It's not like you lot haven't done it that way before." He said, chuckling.

He wasn’t wrong.

This man, Gus, knew how sick and demented his men were.

They would shove their meat into anything female that had a hole—dead or alive.

So what was stopping them this time?

“Hahahaha! It’s fine.”

“I’m good, thank you.”

“Me too!”

The reason for these reactions was simple.

The men understood that the woman they lusted after wasn't the one waiting behind the 'staff-only' door.

Her body would have been smashed to a pulp by Gus’ massive arms, her teeth knocked out by his bronze rings.

Her body would have been thoroughly mutilated—torn apart in its entirety.

That was how messed up Leader Gus was.

“Hahahaha! Is that so? Then I suppose we better forget all about this and focus on the task at hand.”

All the men nodded.

Their two prisoners—potentially slaves—were right in their grasp.

Based on their expensive-looking attires—despite how casual they seemed—they were quite rich.

The fact that the woman had even given a stranger a Gold Coin was a testament to this.

These men could have simply kidnapped them and waited for ransom from their families.

However, that wasn’t their intention at all.

"As the Boss ordered, we'll transport them to the warehouse."

Their Boss—Evals Redart—was a Slave Trader and a prominent one at that.

He ran the largest Slave Trade business in the Southern Parts of the United Human Alliance, and men like Gus and his minions were only a fraction of the people he had under his command.

The 'warehouse' they mentioned was one of many locations where slaves were held under Redart's control.

Only one of its kind existed in a city, so the Capital’s warehouse was especially important—as well as large.

“The ‘Special’ place, right? We remember.”

Slaves were valued differently based on various factors.

Some slaves—like random beggars who were kidnapped in the streets—were common commodities that weren’t worth much.

Women were priced higher than men when it came to regular folks, since the pleasure that was associated with a female slave seemed to outweigh the labor that a male could provide.

Those who had special abilities—Skills or a useful Class—were valued even higher.

They were taken to the ‘Special’ area of the Warehouse, where only the best of commodities were kept.

“Seems you already know what to do. I’m off to take a shit. When I come back, we’ll get going.”

Everyone in the room knew what Gus was truly going to do in the restroom, but no one said anything.

They just watched him leave.

While Gus' back was turned, one of the men noticed a gleaming white ring on the floor.

It was the same man who had desired the waitress the most

He recognized the ring as the one that the lady called Alicia had worn when she entered the shop.

The same one that Billy had flung away in rage.

‘Hehehehehe…!’

It seemed luck hadn’t fully abandoned this man yet, considering how valuable the ring seemed to be.

While no one was looking, he yanked it from the ground and licked his lips in greed.

“I won’t be long, don’t worry!” Gus's voice echoed, making him tremble as he hastily pocketed the ring.

No one could know what he had just done, or else they’d eye him for a prize he had rightfully earned.

‘I’m sure it’s worth at least a couple of Gold Coins. Maybe… just maybe… a Platinum Coin?!’

Men like this common criminal had never been privileged to hold a Platinum Coin in his hand before.

He could only daydream about it.

But now… now he had a chance to earn it!

‘If I sell this, I could buy my freedom from Sir Redart and return home!’ His mind raced with plans.

Once he brought tons of money to his people, they were bound to welcome him as a hero and not the rogue that everyone knew him to be.

Eventually, he could settle down and have his own family.

That sort of life didn’t sound so bad.

… Even to a common criminal.

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