The hooded man's bid of "One thousand!" sent a ripple of shock, fear, and confusion through the alley. Every head snapped towards him.
"A thousand?!" one person gasped, disbelief plain on his face.
"Just for that little elf?"
Another scoffed, shaking his head.
"Imagine how much alcohol and booze I could buy with that!"
"And he'd spend it just for that tiny thing?"
A third muttered, "Is he a noble? I mean, how can he even have that much money just to waste on something like this?"
The fat, rich man who had just bid 500 gold coins let out a frustrated sigh, clearly surprised by the bid that had doubled his own.
"What an idiot," he grumbled, though a hint of respect for the sheer amount of money might have flickered in his eyes.
"Even though I do have that kind of money, I wouldn't waste it on something like this small thing."
"I can just buy cheaper ones from other sellers anyway. Let's go, you idiots!"
He motioned to his two slave bodyguards, who wordlessly turned to leave.
As the fat man passed by the hooded figure, he looked back, shaking his head slowly, as if genuinely disappointed that someone would waste so much money on what he considered a useless thing.
---
The hooded man slowly approached the slave trader, who narrowed his eyes, a hand instinctively resting on the knife at his waist.
"Sir, are you sure you have the money?" the trader asked, a hint of menace in his voice.
"I don't offer installments, bargains, or loans."
Without a word, the hooded man immediately pulled out two small bags of coins and placed them on the ground.
"Here," he said, his voice calm.
"Each are five hundred. Take it and leave the girl to me."
The slave trader's eyes widened, and a wide, greedy smile spread across his face at the sight of the upfront payment.
"Do you still have more money there, sir?" he asked, his hand slowly, subtly reaching for his knife.
Just as his fingers brushed the hilt, the hooded figure suddenly let out an intense aura.
The slave trader flinched, visibly recoiling a step back, his smile vanishing.
"You don't want to mess with me," the hooded figure said, his voice now colder, sharper.
"Just take the money while I'm still letting you."
Sweat beaded on the trader's forehead, and he began to shake.
He quickly stumbled forward, scooped up the coin bags, and nervously handed a magic scroll to the hooded man.
"Th-that's the slave mark of that girl," he stuttered, his eyes darting.
"As long as it's in your possession and it's not destroyed, she can't betray you, deny you, lie to you, or even plan anything against you."
He quickly unlatched the cage door.
"Thank you and goodbye, sir!" he stammered, before turning and scrambling away from the alley as fast as his legs could carry him.
---
After the frantic slave trader scrambled away, the hooded man slowly let his hood fall back, revealing Kaito's face.
He sighed deeply, running a hand through his hair.
"What the hell did you just do, Kaito?" he muttered to himself, shaking his head.
"Stupid, stupid. You're not like this, you know that, right?"
"What the hell was I thinking when I shouted that number of gold?"
He sighed again, a mix of frustration and resignation in his voice.
"Well, I can't back out now."
He then walked up to the cage where the young elf girl still huddled, trembling.
Kaito pulled another hood from his subspace and crouched down in front of the bars.
"Here," he said softly, extending the hood towards her.
"Wear this."
The girl's eyes, wide and terrified, darted from the hood in his outstretched hand to his other hand, which still held the scroll that controlled her slave mark.
She remembered the sharp, stinging pain she'd felt whenever she tried to disobey the slave trader.
Too scared of getting hurt again, she slowly reached out, took the hood from Kaito, and pulled it over her head, hiding her white hair and pointed ears.
Kaito carefully tucked the magic scroll, the girl's slave mark, into his system inventory.
He then gently took the elf girl's small, trembling hand.
She was still terrified, her grip weak, but she couldn't defy him.
She remained utterly quiet as Kaito began to walk, her tiny fingers held loosely in his.
Kaito sighed, glancing at his coins as shown by his system.
Coins: 110
He'd used about 500 coins preparing for the exam, and a staggering 1000 more to pay for the girl now holding his hand.
Kaito sighed, the reality of his depleted coin purse settling over him.
He walked purposefully towards a clothing store, its windows displaying colorful fabrics.
At the counter, he asked, "Do you have clothes for young children?"
The woman behind the counter looked him up and down, her gaze lingering on the hooded figure of the girl clutching his hand.
She clearly saw the stark contrast, a clean, well-dressed man holding a small, dirty child in tattered clothes.
She let out a small sigh, a hint of unspoken judgment in her eyes, but simply pointed towards a corner of the store.
"Over there, sir," she said.
Kaito walked to the indicated section, still holding the girl's hand.
He scanned the racks, noting the prices.
"Good thing these don't cost a gold coin too," he thought, relieved.
The tags showed just a couple of bronze and silver coins.
He quickly gathered a selection of tunics, trousers, and inner garments, everything he thought the girl would need, plus a few extra necessary things.
He paid the woman, whose expression remained unreadable, and quickly ushered the girl out of the store, feeling the uncomfortable prickle of other shoppers' stares on his back.
He then walked to another establishment, this one looking like a grooming and hairstyling salon, its entrance smelling faintly of fragrant soaps and oils.
He stepped inside with the girl.
At the counter, he asked the woman there, "Do you offer full body bath too?"
The woman behind the counter walked closer, her eyes widening slightly as she took in the sight of him and the small, dirty girl.
Her brow furrowed with concern.
"Is it... for the girl?" she asked, her voice softer, almost hesitant.
She then crouched down, her gaze fixed on the hooded child.
"Are you okay, little girl? Do I need to call someone to help you?"
Kaito immediately stepped forward, his new Charisma skill subtly humming.
"Please don't assume anything, ma'am," he said, his voice calm but firm, holding out one of the clean, new outfits he had just bought.
"Can you help her clean herself? Please?"
He then added, "And... can you make her hair and eyes colored black, like mine?"
The woman, still holding the quiet girl's hand, tilted her head in confusion.
"Yes, I can do that," she replied slowly.
"Good, please do it," Kaito said, a touch of urgency in his tone.
The woman seemed to hesitate for a moment, her eyes searching his face.
But then, as if an invisible weight had lifted, she nodded.
She took the clothes from him and gently took the girl's other hand.
"Alright," she said, a new kindness in her tone.
"I will help this girl clean and change."
Kaito watched them walk away, disappearing behind a beaded curtain, and let out a deep, quiet sigh of relief.
"Good thing this Aura skill I got is helpful even in these moments," he thought, a sense of quiet triumph swelling within him.
"If it didn't work, I should have been attacked or reported by someone by now."
While Kaito waited, the soft sounds of the salon, the distant murmur of voices, and the quiet snip of scissors filled the air.
He found a comfortable seat and let his thoughts drift.
"Hmm, good thing salons and clothes aren't so different from the game," he mused, a small, knowing smile touching his lips.
It was reassuring to find some common ground in this surprisingly altered world.
I can still make customizations like clothes, eye or hair color, and even haircuts.
He chuckled softly to himself.
"Honestly, I wouldn't even be surprised if there's a hair-growing spell or magic available in these salons."
---
Kaito figured it might take a while for the woman and the girl to finish.
He wasn't about to just sit there, so he decided to step out and grab some food.
He wandered over to the nearest stalls and carts, the tempting smells of cooking meat and spices filling the air.
"Excuse me," he said to a vendor grilling skewers, "I'll take five meat skewers, please."
He then moved to another cart.
"And a couple of bowls of that soup," he told the next seller, pointing.
He also bought a few loaves of fresh bread from a bakery stall and a small bag of ripe fruits.
With his arms full of takeout, he headed back towards the salon, the delicious aroma of his purchases wafting around him.