CHAPTER 41: A NEW CITY

Due to how popular and in-demand Ash predicted elves were to slave traders, he had Aisha cover her head and ears with a cape, allowing both of them to freely roam the city without getting into trouble.

At first, they managed to get through the gates without any issues from the guards after paying a small bribe to be let through.

But later on, after they entered the city, their eyes grew with disgust with every scene that they saw.

Other than the fact that many demi-humans were walking around the streets, from beast people to monster kin, things were far different from the norms Ash was used to.

For starters, it seemed like every demi-human had a collar around their neck, meaning they belonged to someone already.

Even on the path they walked, they could see some people getting beaten up and killed at the side of the road for reasons unknown to them.

The fact that people so freely ignored it, despite the fact it felt like it was happening at every single turning, made it even clearer that this was something that must be happening frequently here.

"I am guessing this is where slave traders do their business, seeing as every demi-human here already has a collar on," Ash uttered out loud, walking right beside Aisha.

Every corner looked more dangerous than the last, so he was making sure he stuck as close to her as possible, in case anything were to happen.

Aisha suddenly pulled his shirt more, her mood tame as she uttered with a hushed voice, but loud enough for Ash to hear,

"If we stay here for too long, those thugs will know we are not from around here, and we could end up having issues with them. Let’s go to an inn."

Aisha once spent the terrible part of her life here, so her words were not to be taken lightly, and Ash knew this too.

"Okay then. Do you know any inn around here?" he asked back, his eyes focused to the side, next to a dark alley. From there, he could see beast people already eying him from afar.

"Yes, it’s just around the corner."

"Let’s go then."

As promised, Aisha took her master toward an inn she knew very well.

Unlike the entrance of the city, which was loud, rowdy, and filled with dangerous and terrifying people, this part of the city was calm and nice.

Even though it looked mostly abandoned, with buildings barely standing on their two feet, the only building that looked even remotely presentable was the inn, where Aisha had taken him.

And it was the only inn building in the entire district.

Ash contemplated for a while, but then he walked into the building, allowing Aisha to lead the way since she knew what she was doing.

As they entered the inn, the first thing Ash took notice of was the empty setting and lack of people around.

While the place was clean, it looked deserted, no different from a graveyard.

Soon, Aisha stopped in front of the counter, her hand reaching for the small bell that she soundly tapped. The bell rang out loud, its sound echoing through the entire place.

Then came a voice right after.

"Who the hell is ringing in my place this soon? I’ll be there in a sec—"

Bash!

The sound of things falling and breaking resounded, along with painful grunts and cries.

Aisha chuckled nervously, a stark contrast to the serious look Ash had on.

Before he knew it, a short woman with short blue hair, wearing trousers and a top, walked out of the room to his left. She was cleaning a dirty liquid that had stained her body with a red napkin.

She suddenly stopped, taking note of Aisha almost intently.

"Little girl?!" she uttered out loud, halting her movement, her eyes etched with shock.

Aisha slowly turned to look at the short woman, a smile quickly playing on her face.

"Lady Terra."

’Oh, someone she knows then,’ Ash whispered in his mind, standing still as Aisha made her way forward, giving the human a tight hug.

"Little girl? Where did you go? I thought something happened to you," Terra uttered, almost at the verge of tears as she kept the hug going.

Then, she spotted the handsome yet cold-looking man standing not too far away.

"Huh? Who is that?"

Aisha pulled away from the hug, then stretched her arm to the side to start the introduction.

"Lady Terra, this is my master, Master Ash. Master Ash, this is Lady Terra. She used to take care of me when I was still staying here."

Ash still wore his frown, since he already knew the type of response he was going to get from her.

"What? Master? Your master was supposed to be some dude with blonde hair, right? This guy doesn’t have blonde hair! Hold on, don’t tell me that your former master sold you to this one?"

Aisha giggled nervously. "No, it’s not like that. Master Ash was actually the one who saved me from them. He is different from them."

"So you say. Look at him. Sure, he is better-looking than most, but that look on his face is not friendly in the least. Are you sure you’re okay? I know I wasn’t able to do much for you, but I feel I can buy you now so you can finally be free from these humans."

’Humans?’ Ash thought to himself. There was no way another human would refer to their own kind like that.

Curious, Ash began searching her body to see if he would see anything a bit out of the ordinary for a human.

And he was right.

He could see a cat tail dancing at the upper part of Terra’s waist.

’A cat person. Her ears must be hidden under the hat she has.’

"HEY! You there, are you listening? I am willing to buy her freedom whatever the cost. You name your price!" Terra yelled, despite Aisha trying to stop her from speaking.