Novel Bin Chapter 58 19: A Cute Raccoon Girl
[???? POV]
\'Today that nasty old man said I would be sold... It made my stomach turn thinking I would become someone\'s belonging...\'
A small girl with light brown hair sat huddled up in a cage as the carriage moved slowly with each bump, causing her weak body to bounce around, creating a new bruise.
She was told that before, her new owner was the one who paid for her current high-level meals, something she couldn\'t thank him more for.
But still, becoming his slave caused her fear. Would he want to use her body for pleasure or some sick games...
There were many horror stories about rich owners that liked to make their slaves fight to the death; if they were family, it was even better...
The girl in the cage was from a tribe of beastmen, but due to a bad harvest for the past two years, she was forced to sell herself into slavery to help her parents and youngest siblings survive.
She chose to go due to her sickness and weak body.
\'I didn\'t want to leave... Why couldn\'t they be the ones to be sold... eating mouldy bread... drinking water that breaks my stomach...\'
"That man will come soon..."
"Will he be my saviour or a devil that takes my heart and soul and tosses them away?"
[???? POV End]
****
"Mister Argentus, the girl is as good as ready. As you said that boy was interested in her, I have turned him away and asked him to come back tomorrow."
"Good work, Landel. It\'s a pleasure to deal with you."
Lucifer was sitting in the Slave merchant\'s carriage, the luxury was even better than the one he shared with Gwen, but he didn\'t mind too much. \'Damn, the church didn\'t tell the merchants he was the hero, huh... lucky me.\'
He wondered why nobody was making a big song and dancing, but they didn\'t announce his existence to anyone after leaving Fallon Town.
Lucifer thought it might be an anti-assassination plan or a plot to take the capital by surprise, and there might be a power struggle inside the church that he didn\'t know about.
"When can I see her?" Lucifer asked with a curious expression—he never knew what changes would happen visually—as, with Gwen and Irina, all that remained the same was their situation and appearance time.
The slightly chubby Merchant wasn\'t the worst of the slave masters, but that didn\'t mean much, as they were slave masters at the end of the day.
His blading hair and moustache with crumbs caused Lucifer to feel a little awkward looking at such a sight. "Well... Mister Argentus, she is ready now, but the girl hasn\'t bathed and is still dirty..."
"No worries, guide me to her."
He didn\'t want to spend so much time on this set-up and was still deciding whether to take her with him or let her mess with the Hero.
\'I am leaning closer to bringing her with me and Gwen, though...\'
They walked along the caravan towards the back, where the carriages got worse and worse until a poor carriage with uneven wheels and a slightly bent axis came into view as the plump slave master opened the door to the carriage.
"Once again, sorry for the smell—she refuses to let anyone bathe her or even touch her body, and her illness worsens with her sores..."
Inside, the scent was rather intense and made the chubby man almost wretch while Lucifer just looked in the darkness, his eyes able to see as well as daylight. His eyes were fixated on the box at the end of the carriage compartment.
The plump man looked at Lucifer, who shook his head as if it didn\'t matter and moved closer to the cage before kneeling. "Hello there, my name is Lucifer."
Inside the cage, a girl with a fluffy tail looked at him—her eyes were almond-coloured as she peeked at him through the gap in her blanket.
"I have come to take you under my wing."
***
[???? POV]
\'The man that came was beyond my imagination—if I could ever picture a perfect prince to rescue me from this hell, it would be this man.\'
She looked at him with hazy eyes, observing his every movement and trying to make sure of his character from his movements and see if he would wince at the sight of her body or feel revolted by her smell.
His steps were steady, and he ignored the slave master\'s warning about her scent or illness...
Like a shining prince with his white hair and beautiful red eyes, the male stepped forward, even with his expensive clothes, that she couldn\'t imagine the cost.
He knelt in the filth, and water collected at the bottom of the sunken carriage floor.
Then he smiled at her... and she felt the sun\'s warmth.
"Hello there, my name is Lucifer."
The moment he greeted her, she suddenly felt her heart throbbing. He was too perfect, and even if she became more doubtful, the charming words from his lips and how his eyes never left hers for even a second.
"Open the door for her, please." His voice was commanding, and the Merchant acted humble to him, causing the girl\'s heart to feel glee, but she hadn\'t washed for so long and knew her illness made it worse...
\'I don\'t want him to feel I am disgusting...\'
Clack.
The door opened as the Merchant backed off rapidly, holding his nose and scowling at the girl, which momentarily hurt her heart.
Nobody likes to be dirty or looked at like they are filth.
Yet the male she cared most about right now, the one who would become her master, didn\'t even distort his face.
That alone made her feelings of sorrow and self-hatred fade.
\'What\'s wrong with him? Why is he just smiling... eh!? His arms spread... does he want me to come to him... please my prince... I am so dirty and smelly... how could I be your princess like this... I...\'
"Come." His gentle but commanding voice, like an irrefutable order, caused the girl to slowly leave her cage, step by step, before she fell into his arms, her eyes tightly closed, knowing that he would hate her for sure after knowing how sick she was.
\'What if he thinks it\'s contagious and beats me to death?\'
"There, there... it was really hard work, right? To help your family, but feeling forced because of your illness. Knowing they are happily living and you are trapped in darkness."
"Do not worry—I can make you better."
His arms wrapped around her body, his lips kissing her forehead, treating her like a treasured object... She couldn\'t withstand such kindness after facing her parent\'s cold and hateful stares.
With tears in her eyes, she hugged his body tightly, no longer caring about dirtying his suit; his words circled her head as she felt comforted, supported and safe in his muscular arms.
It didn\'t matter if she was to be his slave... if he could heal her, why did he hug her like this first?
Surely he could have forced her to be healed, then found her when she was clean and no longer sick...
"W-why... why did you choose me?"
Lucifer\'s eyes closed as he smiled; the illness on her body was nothing more nostalgic than anything, something far more tame than when he first met Gwen, so why would he get squeamish or abandon this cute girl?
"It had to be you."
"ugh....."
The female racoon began to cry in his arms, time slowly moving as Lucifer hugged her tightly, stroking her back and listening to her groans and sobbing.
When she finally finished, she began to look apologetic.
"Forgive me... I have dirtied your expensive clothes... with my filth..."
"Silly clothes can be replaced anytime, but a cute racoon girl is for life."
"Hueh!?"
Lucifer\'s hands stroked along her cheeks, honestly meeting the heroines from the game still made him feel giddy and excited... No true gamer could claim they wouldn\'t feel this about meeting the heroines or Heroes they enjoyed playing for so long.
It was why Toshiro wasn\'t dead.
Because his existence helped fill the loneliness in Lucifer\'s heart, but that was wasted when he called Gwen\'s scar ugly.
Now he didn\'t care.
But for the cute heroines, he wanted to meet them and know their true intentions at least once before he chose to discard them or take them as his own.
She looked into his eyes, with a warmth she lacked for so many years now budding in her chest as he asked a single question with a wry smile.
"Can you tell me your name?"
"Lephalia."