"There seem to be even more people staring at us than usual today," Esdeath said quietly.
She deliberately lowered her voice and leaned closer as she spoke, bringing them near enough that their shoulders almost touched.
A pleasant scent drifted toward Noah.
His eyes shifted slightly.
This woman had slaughtered tens of thousands, perhaps even millions of people, yet she carried no trace of blood on her.
Watching her seriously search the crowd for the man she liked, Noah thought she almost resembled a normal woman.
Following behind Esdeath, he idly began observing the pedestrians.
Of course he was bored.
He had already surveyed the entire area from above.
Tatsumi was nowhere nearby, just as expected, and Noah had not noticed anyone else worth paying attention to either.
Then a group of four caught his eye.
There was one man and three young women.
The man was dressed in expensive clothes, making him look completely out of place beside the three plainly dressed girls.
More importantly, his eyes were cold despite the friendly expression he wore.
One look was enough to tell Noah that he was an experienced fraud.
His soul was so dark that it could almost be described as pitch-black.
The three girls were entirely different. Their eyes were clear and still carried a trace of innocence, showing that they knew little about the uglier side of the world.
This was probably their first visit to the Imperial Capital.
They had no idea what kind of place they had entered.
"I should introduce myself properly," the man said. "My name is Buck, and from today onward, I'll be your master."
He looked no older than twenty and was reasonably handsome, with a clean and friendly smile.
The three girls exchanged glances, unable to hide their excitement.
At first glance, their reaction might have seemed strange.
In reality, however, selling one's children had become common throughout the Empire.
Heavy taxation had driven ordinary families into extreme poverty.
Many parents were forced to sell their sons or daughters before they lost their fields, tools, or other means of supporting themselves.
Children also meant more mouths to feed, creating an additional burden for families that were already struggling.
There were several different ways these sales usually happened.
The first was to sell the children directly as laborers or slaves. In those cases, the parents were already struggling to survive and no longer cared what happened to their children afterward.
They only wanted to be rid of another burden as quickly as possible.
The second was to sell them through merchants.
Merchants wanted to maximize their profits, so they would usually search for suitable employers and try to secure better placements for the children they purchased.
However, those children needed either valuable skills or attractive appearances.
Since both sides benefited, there was usually less direct coercion.
In theory, what was being purchased was their labor contract rather than their bodies, though voluntary arrangements were naturally a different matter.
The third option was to sell them directly to nobles.
Even becoming a servant in a noble household was a life many people could only dream of.
Becoming a noble's lover could raise someone's status almost overnight.
Attractive girls sold into aristocratic households sometimes even tried to seduce their masters, hoping to earn their favor and secure a comfortable future.
The three girls beside Buck belonged to the second category.
All of them were naturally attractive. Even in unfashionable country clothing, without cosmetics or any experience dressing themselves, their looks were obvious.
They had come to the capital with hopeful expectations for both the Empire and their futures.
In a sense, they were among the small number of girls who appeared to have succeeded after being sold.
"I-I'm El Shemirog."
"My name is Luna Pine."
"Hmph. I'm Fal!"
Their personalities seemed quite different.
El was shy and clearly introverted.
Luna wore a cool expression and seemed more cautious than the others.
Fal was outgoing and repeatedly slipped into martial stances without realizing it, suggesting that she had learned at least some basic combat skills.
Throughout the journey, she had repeatedly declared that if their new master turned out to be some lecherous old man who tried to take advantage of them, she would beat him up and escape with the other two.
Buck watched the girls gaze around the capital with undisguised admiration and curiosity.
A faint mocking smile briefly appeared on his face.
The moment they looked back at him, it was replaced by the same pleasant expression as before.
"Everything here must seem unusual to you. Why don't we walk around for a while? I can also buy you some new clothes."
"Clothes?"
Fal's eyes lit up.
Luna frowned slightly.
The more timid El looked uneasy. "You're going to buy clothes for us? Wouldn't that be too much?"
Buck was perceptive enough to notice that his generosity had made them suspicious.
He had encountered this situation too many times to count and already knew exactly how to respond.
He put on an embarrassed expression.
"I'm sorry. The truth is that if the servants in my household dress too plainly, it may reflect poorly on the family. It's a matter of appearances, so I hope you understand."
Hearing that, the three girls became embarrassed instead.
Ever since entering the capital, they had felt out of place, largely because of how they were dressed.
Compared with country villagers like them, people in the Imperial Capital all seemed fashionable and refined.
Once Buck provided a reasonable explanation, their caution quickly disappeared.
"Think of it as preparation before you begin working. I'll give each of you a budget, and you can choose whatever clothes you like."
His apparent generosity and honesty immediately made the girls' hearts beat a little faster.
Being wealthy already made him seem impressive.
When that wealth was paired with such kindness, ordinary girls from the countryside had little ability to resist.
Noah stopped walking as he watched the three of them happily follow Buck.
Esdeath noticed and looked in the same direction.
"Noah, is there something wrong with those people?"
"Wrong?" Noah shook his head. "They aren't members of Night Raid, but..."
The man named Buck clearly intended to do something to those girls.
Still, he had paid money for them. It seemed unlikely that he had bought them purely to abuse them.
If he merely wanted slaves for that purpose, there were easier and cheaper ways to obtain them.
Unless he had a very particular preference.
Perhaps he specifically enjoyed forcing himself on innocent girls.
Noah decided to use Appraisal.
"Wait here for a moment."
He walked after the group and deliberately increased his pace until he "accidentally" bumped shoulders with Buck.
Buck stiffened.
His first instinct was clearly to lash out, but he quickly controlled himself and pretended not to care.
Noah gave him a smile almost identical to his own.
"I'm sorry. I was distracted and wasn't watching where I was going. Are you all right?"
When the three girls saw Noah, their attention was immediately drawn toward him.
The same thought appeared in all three of their minds.
'He's even more handsome than Mr. Buck...'
Noah smiled and greeted them briefly before walking away.
The smile disappeared the moment he turned his back, and his eyes grew cold.
That bastard was far worse than Noah had expected.
Those three girls were nothing more than living sacrifices.
If nothing changed, what awaited them would be far worse than hell.
Their bodies would be destroyed, and their minds would be broken until nothing remained!
"Scum."
Noah flexed his fingers, making the joints crack softly.
Through physical contact, Truthseeker had extracted much more information from Buck.
The man specialized in buying innocent girls from impoverished villages and delivering them to people in the Imperial Capital who possessed even greater wealth and influence than he did.
Those people used the girls for their own amusement.
What they called entertainment was nothing less than a disaster for the victims, though even that word failed to describe everything they endured.
The powerful people Buck served had deeply twisted desires. The girls they abused suffered not only physical torment but the complete destruction of their dignity.
The abuse continued until their spirits died and they became empty shells, after which they were casually discarded.
Buck's role was to select suitable "toys" for them.
He understood exactly what those powerful people wanted.
They especially enjoyed corrupting inexperienced young women, finding pleasure in destroying something innocent and beautiful.
Buck himself enjoyed the process as well.
From his perspective, the arrangement earned him money, valuable connections, and personal pleasure at the same time.