Heavenly Castle

Behind the store were children and Leticia who were washing dirty clothes.

The children were hanging washed clothes for drying while laughing and Leticia was reprimanding kids playing with laundry.

Grey looked around, taken aback by a peaceful scene that you wouldn’t see in the back of a slave store.

Then, he noticed two of Taiki’s robots standing to his left and right.

「Golems...! Don’t tell me, those are Heavenly Country’s......」

As Grey muttered so, revealing his wariness, the girl that acted as a clerk earlier, shouted for Leticia. f𝙧𝒆𝚎𝑤e𝚋𝓷o𝘷𝗲l.c𝐨m

「Leticia-san! Do you have a minute?」

Turning around to that voice, Leticia noticed Grey and slightly tilted her head.

「Oh my? A customer?」

Muttering so, she walked up to Grey while wiping her wet hands on the apron, to which a subtle change happened in his expression.

「Leticia-san. This person wants to hear about the treatment of the slaves. And also about the people working here.」

「About the slaves? But shopkeepers would be able to explain better than me...」

「Then, please! I’ll be going!」

Rapidly saying this to the bewildered Grey and Leticia the girl promptly went back to the store. Breathing out a sigh with a slightly troubled face, Leticia looked at Grey.

「Even though she was told she shouldn’t work in the front...... Sorry about this, dear customer. My name is Leticia, I’m helping with the work behind-the-scenes.」

Grey gulped looking at Leticia’s face as she bowed, giving a greeting.

「......Grey...ah...I-I am Grey. You are...... Why are you working here like some maidservant... N-no, I phrased it badly......」

Looking at the flustered Grey Leticia first made a quizzical expression after which followed a wry smile.

「I became a slave once. There is no mistake in calling me a maidservant. However, I’m enjoying generous treatment...」

Saying that, she smiled and pressed her hands together in front of her.

「Now, you want to know about slaves and us, right? I will answer to the best of my ability as long as it’s within my knowledge.」

Suggesting so, Leticia spoke of the events that lead to this and about the contents of the new slave contracts. And also how this store came to be.

Hearing all that Grey started brooding, as if putting those words to scrutiny, and after pondering for a while, voiced his doubts.

「......Where is a guarantee that those that the contract for high-grade slaves are really treating them as they should by the contract?」

After he said that, a small wrinkle appeared between Leticia’s brows.

Seeing that reaction, Grey continued.

「Indeed, those working at this store are leading a blessed life, regardless of whether they are slaves or not. But, that isn’t necessarily so for those that left the store...?」

The moment Grey said that, a high-pitched electronic sound came from somewhere.

「Wha-what?! It’s from those golems?!」

Reflexively turning around Grey glared at the golems, to which Leticia put her hands together at chest level and spoke.

「That is a signal that a call for help came from a person sold as a slave. I don’t understand how it works, but as I heard, such a sound occurs when there is a person that breached a contract.」

Grey blinked blankly after hearing that.

「Ca-call for help......?」

Grey groaned, reacting to the words that caught his attention, but hearing the words that followed he shifted his gaze to the same point where Leticia was looking.

「Ah, look. Over there.」

「No-no way, they are really flying......!」

The two currently were witnessing a scene of a robot taking off.

In confusion, Grey was looking up at the robot flying away, but soon frowned and clicked his tongue.

「Crap! It’s not the time to be gawking......!」

He shouted. Seeing that Grey ran off from her sight, Leticia blinked a couple of times.

「...He doesn’t seem like a bad person, but he seems to be prone to misunderstandings.」

Muttering so, she then looked where the children should’ve been and began panicking.

「Ah! Where did everyone go......?!」

Noticing that the children that should’ve been hanging the laundry weren’t there, she looked over her surroundings.

And finally noticing kids running around in clothes that were just washed, wearing them like a mantle, she glared angrily.