The Rising of the Shield Hero Volume 01 by Aneko Yusagi

all I can offer you in your range. If we lower the bar even more then… Well…”
    The slave trader glanced quickly to the back wall. I followed his gaze.
    You could tell, even from far away, the smell of death. That smell in the air at a funeral, it was strong, and it was coming from that direction. It also smelled like rot. I felt like I’d get sick just looking in the direction.
    “How much are we talking?”
    “From the right, 25, 30, and 40 pieces of silver.”
    “Hmm. What are their levels?”
    “5, 1, and 8.”
    If I wanted a strong fighter, the lizard man was the best option. If I was worried about the price, then the rabbit with the genetic disease was the best option. All of them looked very skinny.
    The rabbit man had a useless arm, but the rest of him looked just fine. And they all looked miserable… but so did all the other slaves in the tent.



“Why are they all so quiet?”
    “Because they are punished when they make noise.”
    “Makes sense.”
    So he was he showing me slaves that were well trained, or slaves that couldn’t be trained? The lizard man looked like he might be good in a fight, but the other ones probably wouldn’t be.
    “Why’s the middle one so cheap?”
    She was skinny and scared, but she looked like a relatively normal little girl. Her face wasn’t good or bad, just normal.
    “Raccoon-types aren’t popular with humans. Now, if she were a fox-type, I’d be able to get a good price for her.”
    “Huh…”
    Raccoons were, if you translated it, like tanuki. Even at that, she looked so human you’d think they could get a good price for her. But if raccoons weren’t popular, then she probably wouldn’t be worth much as a slave.
    “She has panic attacks in the night. It’s a lot of work to look after her. “
    “And this is the best you have in stock?”
    “You really hit where it hurts.”
    She wouldn’t be good for hard work, and she had the lowest level.
    Was this a good thing? I wasn’t sure.
    I caught the eye of the raccoon-girl. And I realized, looking into her eyes, how I felt.
    Yes. This thing was a woman, the same gender as that one that betrayed me. I looked into her scared eyes and immediately thought that I wanted to control her. I thought I could just pretend that I’d turned Myne into a slave… If she died, it might make me feel better.
    “All right then, I’ll take the middle one.”
    “An excellent choice, and it makes my life easier too.”
    The slave trader produced a key and opened her cage. She stepped out, and he put a collar around her neck. She let out a yelp.
    I looked at her, quivering in fear, and felt a wave of satisfaction wash over me. I imagined that other woman quivering in fear, just like this, and it made me feel great.
    The slave trader took the girl, her collar attached to a chain, and pulled her behind us as we returned to the street we came from. We exited the circus tent and were in the alley again. He called for some people who appeared immediately. They were carrying a jar that appeared to be full of ink. They transferred a little ink to small dish and pushed it in my direction.
    “Hero, please give us a little blood. Then the slave registration will be complete, and she will be yours.”
    “I see.”
    I pressed a pen-knife into the end of my finger. As I did so, I felt my shield react, but I wasn’t being attacked, so it didn’t stop me from drawing blood. Apparently it behaved differently outside of battle.
    I waited for the blood to well up, and then let a few drops drip into the small dish. One of the men dipped his brush into the liquid and then pulled back the girl’s cloak to paint the magic onto her chest.
    “Gahhhh! AAHHHH!”
    The pattern on her chest began to glow, and I suddenly noticed a flashing status icon in my field of vision.

    Slave acquired: conditions of use as follows:

    A window opened, and it was filled with conditions.
    I quickly skimmed through them. Attacking me in my sleep, or any other