He cared enough to wish for Leander's happiness.
"You promised, didn't you? You said to tell you when I wanted freedom. That means until that time comes, we will always be together."
"…Yeah, it's a promise."
Leander wrapped his arms around Qiong Xing's back as he hugged tightly and Qiong Xing gently stroked him down.
He thought to himself how much of a handful this boy was, when suddenly...
"Don't touch that person!"
Through the clanging and rattling of the bars, Elias's angry shout echoed.
The calm and composed Elias now glared at him with a furious expression.
To be precise, it was Leander, who was hugging Qiong Xing, that he glared at.
"What's happening? Wah!?"
Qiong Xing stepped closer to the cage, wondering what had occurred, when he was suddenly pulled fiercely against the bars by Elias.
Elias hugged him tightly as if refusing to let him go, leaving Qiong Xing struggling to breathe.
"W-What is going on!? That sound just now!? You, what are you doing!?"
The shopkeeper who is rushing over immediately pulled Elias away.
"You brat! What did you just do to a customer!?"
"Geh… geh… p-please, please wait. Don't hurt him!"
He quickly stopped the hand that had swung a whip, then reassured Leander who was watching worriedly that everything was fine and approached the cage once more.
"It's okay, it's okay. I'm not hurt anywhere. I'm just a little bit surprised, that's all."
After Elias realizing what he had done, he trembled and crouched down.
Qiong Xing reached in and gently patted him.
"I'm a man, so I don't break so easily. But we're going to be family, so let's get used to each other little by little from now on."
"…Family?"
"Customer... I...!?"
The shopkeeper who is about to apologize for the mistake with his slave was interrupted by Qiong Xing's declaration.
"I will buy this one."
Normally, if the goods like this tried to lay a hand on a customer, it would be disposed of immediately and for a slave, disposal meant death.
"This child is the one I want."
When he firmly explained to the shopkeeper, who desperately tried to stop him, that it was fine, the man said he would give a discount instead of offering an apology.
"But are you truly, truly sure? This one has ability, but he's outdated."
"Outdated?"
It sounded as if he were talking about an appliance or some kind of machine. It was not a word that should ever be used for a person.
Apparently, slaves sold best in their teens and twenties. After their looks began to fade, they were considered "outdated."
By that logic, Leander himself was not just outdated, he would be considered completely obsolete, something that should be thrown away.
"That's fine. Could you please take him out already?"
"R-right away!"
The shopkeeper did not delay any longer, he quickly unlocked the cage.
"Then I will immediately prepare the documents, hey! Let go!"
As Elias came out, his ankle chains rattling loudly and making it hard for him to walk, Qiao Xing noticed something white clinging to his leg.
???
A furball?
"What is that?"
"Don't take Brother Elias away!"
When he looked closer, what he had thought was a white furball was actually a human child around two or three years old.
The way the child clung tightly to Elias's leg and refuse to let go showed just how attached he was to him.
Elias looked flustered and unable to move even though he clearly wanted to go to Qiao Xing.
When Qiao Xing saw that, he smiled softly.
"Hehe. Then would you like to come with us too?"
"Qiao Xing!"
"C-Customer!"
"…Is that okay?"
Qiao Xing raised a hand to stop the shocked Leander and the shopkeeper and then he crouched down to meet the boy at eye level.
"I don't know if this will make you happy, but it's better to have more family, don't you think? There may be hard times. Still, if you're willing, would you become family with me?"
When he said he wanted him as family, not as a slave, the boy looked surprised.
But as he looked at Qiao Xing, perhaps sensing that he was different from the humans he had known before, the boy hesitated, then smiled and nodded.
That sweet smile soothed Qiao Xing's heart, and he gently lifted the child into his arms.
When he gently patted the boy while saying how cute he was, the child smiled happily in return.
He felt like a grandfather doting on his grandchild.
"Then please proceed with the paperwork for these two."
"…Understood."
Perhaps realizing that nothing he said would change the outcome, the shopkeeper quietly went to handle the purchase.
What Qiao Xing did not realize at the time was that the young boy had been kept in the same cage as Elias, who had been labeled "outdated," which meant the child also had reasons that were far from ordinary.
"Then, the procedures are complete. We look forward to your next visit."
The shopkeeper seemed happy that something had sold, yet his expression remained complicated until the very end, likely because what had been sold were beastmen considered outdated and, no matter how he thought about it, it's not very profitable.
"From today on, we are all family. I just arrived in this world, so I may cause some trouble, but please take care of me."
"…Yeah."
"Thank you very much."
"Pwease take care of me!"
Each of them responded differently, but the loneliness Qiao Xing had felt when he first arrived in this world was gone.
For the first time, he felt grateful that he had come here.
"I'm sorry, but please keep the slaves outside."
"The slaves can only stay in the shed."
"You can't let the slaves stay in the same room."
After preparing enough clothes and necessities for everyone, Qiao Xing tried to find an inn for the night.
However, every inn they visited told him to leave the slaves outside.