Ugly Merchant

A few chapters ago… (Back to Chapter 25)

"Oh, I nearly forgot. It's about Tertius—the gladiator you bought." Breeze said, putting his elbows on the table.

Jasper's fork paused halfway to his mouth, a piece of tough meat dangling from its tines. "What about him?"

"That guy is ruthless and cunning. We have known each other for years now—shared the same blood-soaked sand, breathed the same death-heavy air." Breeze's eyes grew distant, as if seeing ghosts from the arena. "I can't imagine him being an obedient and loyal slave. Any moment of carelessness, he will pounce on you like a starved wolf."

"Wh—" Jasper began, but Breeze interrupted him, "I forgot to tell you. Just tell him that I'm dead for the moment or he will do his best to kill me before I heal up. He will try to assess your capability before striking. It's better to squeeze him dry while you can. A farming ox doesn't retire—it just drops dead."

"How ruthless!" Nearly everyone cried in unison.

The gladiator's voice cut through like a whetstone on steel: "You lot have no idea what the arena truly is. Hone your instincts to the edge—or die screaming in the dirt. But…" His grip tightened, then eased. "No one knows a man's heart but his creator. Maybe Tertius will change, and maybe not. If I were in his shoes, I'd have repaid your kindness for getting me out of the colosseum, then slit your throats if you'd tried to chain me. Don't mistake my words for scorn. This is how gladiators think—with death hanging from our necks like a noose. Freedom once tasted? We'd rather bite our own wrists than live the life of slavery again. I'm not giving him an excuse; it's just so you can be careful."

"Hmm, do you think you can handle him if he shows his true colors?" Jasper questioned, his tone expressing anxiety.

"The good news is he never won against me in the arena—every time we faced each other, I left him bleeding in the sand. The bad news is that I'm not in any condition to fight." Breeze gestured to his bandaged ribs, wincing as he moved.

"Hmm…" Jasper's fingers drummed against the table, "Breeze is dead, as for you Mina and Lysandra, don't ever raise your voices or get out until Breeze heals up. Everyone in the slums thinks of me as a monster, so Tertius will not make his move until he measures the consequences. That is, in case he does it to begin with. Let's not get ahead of ourselves."

Back to Chapter 30:

Breeze couldn't afford to threaten Tertius—not with his sister's delicate neck trapped in those massive, calloused hands. The gladiator's grip could snap her spine like a twig. So he started speaking, his voice carefully controlled despite the rage burning in his chest, hoping he'd find an opportunity to free her from those murderous fingers.

Meanwhile, Mina's bare feet slapped against the cold floor as she followed, her heart hammering against her ribs. She found Ivar unconscious on the ground, his massive frame crumpled like a fallen tree. Her scream of fury echoed through the guild as she bounded up the creaking wooden stairs toward Lysandra's room, taking them three at a time.

"Yo, Tertius, it's been quite some time, hasn't it?" Breeze's voice carried across the courtyard, casual as if they were meeting for drinks instead of a life-or-death confrontation.

Tertius started gulping audibly, his massive frame trembling like a leaf. Sweat beaded on his forehead and ran down his pale face in rivulets. It was the first time anyone had seen the feared gladiator so scared—his usual confidence replaced by pure terror.

"W… W-w-w-warin't yu s-s-sippozed t-ta bee dad?" Tertius muttered, his voice breaking like a child's, not a single word pronounced correctly through his chattering teeth.

Pfft! (Jasper)

"I'm not a dad yet, and I'm not a bee dad either. However, the girl in your hand happens to be my sister." Breeze said pointing a finger.

Jasper couldn't hold himself and escaped inside the guild. The situation was serious, and he couldn't afford to show such a side of him.

"Your real sister?" Tertius's face twisted into an expression of fear and confusion, his eyes darting between Breeze and the trembling girl in his grasp.

"I just found out myself."

"So you are my brother—in—" Tertius, who was about to say something even a psycho would find insane, earned himself a kick coming from the sky right on his head, making his grip on Lysandra's neck loosen. "Brother—in—your fu!ing a** you piece of sh!t!" who had leapt from Lysandra's room and landed on Tertius' head, clawed and bit at him like a feral animal. The usually calm and gentle Mina had completely lost her mind, seeing her husband unconscious, a fist mark glaring on his face.

Breeze didn't waste even a fraction of a second. He dashed like the wind, his feet barely touching the ground as he launched himself forward. His powerful leg whipped through the air in a devastating arc, connecting with Tertius's jaw with a sickening crunch, sending the huge man flying. At the same moment, Breeze's arms closed protectively around his sister, pulling her against his chest.

Lysandra's tears flowed like a broken dam, her small body shaking as she cried "Brother! Brother!" over and over again, her voice muffled against his tunic. For Breeze, time seemed to stop—it was the first time Lysandra had ever called him brother, and the word was sweeter than any victory in the arena.

Meanwhile, Mina clung to the flying Tertius's back, her teeth sinking into his shoulder as she continued her assault. Her tears mixed with his blood as she bit, scratched, and cursed him with every foul word she knew. Only when her fury was spent did she leap off, her feet hitting the ground running as she raced to the unconscious Ivar.

"Ivar! Please wake up, Ivar!" she sobbed, her hands shaking as she cradled his head

Jasper ran to her side, calming her, "Calm down, Mina! He only passed out. Unless you want him to pass away, keep shaking him."

Mina stopped instantly. "Go, fetch some water," Jasper commanded.

Jasper stood up, approaching the siblings, but he couldn't bring himself to interrupt Breeze, who was holding his sister gently calming her.

Mina returned with water sloshing from a wooden bucket. Without hesitation, she threw the entire contents across Ivar's face.

SPLASH!

Jasper glanced at the pitiful Falcon, who lay sprawled nearby like a forgotten rag doll. "Sorry, Falcon, that's the life of us singles. Don't worry, I'll fetch you water myself—consider it support from a fellow bachelor." He had no idea that Falcon once had a wife and daughter, or he might have left him to rot

After Lysandra calmed down and both Ivar and Falcon woke up, Jasper asked, "Are you okay, Lysandra?"

"Mm," she nodded, humming.

While chaos erupted around her, Lina slept soundly, dreaming of what to eat tomorrow—completely oblivious to the madness outside.

After Ivar fully regained consciousness, he struggled to his feet, his massive frame moving with the careful precision of someone testing for broken bones. Each step toward Jasper seemed to shrink his presence, guilt weighing on his shoulders like iron chains. Mina watched with growing dread, knowing what was coming.

"M… Master," Ivar's voice was barely above a whisper, his eyes fixed on the ground. "I'm really sorry for leaking such delicate information."

Jasper kept silent; he didn't answer, though he kept staring, not moving his eyes from Ivar.

"Do you think your 'sorry' would have brought back Lysandra if that lunatic killed her? Didn't Breeze tell us to be wary of him? What was going to happen if Falcon hadn't heroically shown up?" Falcon felt his chest puff up without him realizing it.

"I'm really confused about what to do with you!" Jasper's expression was threatening. "Usually, I enjoy our comedic exchanges, but I can't be lenient when lives hang in the balance."

"I'm ready to accept anything, Master. If you want to sell me or do whatever you want, I'll accept any punishment." Ivar's voice carried the weight of absolute resignation.

Mina's eyes widened in horror, her face draining of all color. "No!! Please, Master, don't accept his foolish decision. I beg you." Mina cried like never before, hugging Ivar.

While Jasper's eerie silence made the atmosphere frightening, he then said, "Yeah, you're right, Ivar. I can't keep a slave like you who can't control his mouth." Mina felt her muscles grow weak. She couldn't even stand on her feet, and a few seconds later, she passed out. Ivar caught her before she fell to the ground. They took her inside, with Lysandra taking care of her.

A few minutes later, she woke up, looking at Ivar with uncontrollable tears.

"Master, please don't do that. I'm fine; nothing happened to me. Can't you change your decision, please?" Lysandra said with a sad expression.

Jasper ignored her. "Ivar, prepare yourself tomorrow." He took a step, then turned to Breeze. "I'm sorry, Breeze, but can you do me a favor and chain Tertius? I'm afraid if any of us tried to chain him and he woke up at the same time, we'd be doomed."

"Sigh! Leave it to me." Breeze said with sadness, witnessing this tragedy. But he couldn't say anything—Ivar's mistake was that critical.

Jasper went to his room and slept, while all the others couldn't get their eyelids to close.

Falcon walked to Lina's room to check on her. After finding her sleeping peacefully, he gave her a kiss and left.

"Ivar, let's escape!" Mina took a lot of courage to say such words. Ivar, who looked at her with sadness, said, "Where to?"

"Anywhere we can stay peacefully together."

"No, Mina, we can't survive in this world by ourselves. I'd gladly be sold than let you get caught by bandits or any random dog. Today, I really felt how weak I am." Ivar directed his head up to the ceiling, closing his eyes, with humiliation and powerlessness shadowing him.

"But, sniff! I don't want that."

…

The next morning, Jasper woke up, wearing his cloak. He descended to the lower floor only to see all of them sitting on the benches in the hall with dark eyes. It seemed none of them could sleep.

He saw Lina eating her breakfast on a small table beside them, so he brought a stool and sat next to her. "Mina, please prepare my breakfast."

"...Yes, Master."

Mina brought him the breakfast, but she didn't put it on the table. She kept holding it, hoping that Jasper would look at her face and take pity on her. But Jasper kept quiet until she put it down on her own, only hearing her sniff.

After finishing eating, he stood up. "Let's go, Ivar."

"Noo! Ivaaaahaaar," Mina cried and fell to her knees.

Lysandra begged him, crying, but it was futile. He ignored them coldly and took Ivar to the slave market.

Standing there silently for about two hours, and no one approached them yet, Jasper broke the silence, saying, "I hope you don't hate me for this, Ivar."

"No, Master. I'm really grateful for all you did for me. I'm just sad to leave Mina alone." Tears were about to slip out of his eyes, but he held himself. "Please take care of Mina, Master."

"Don't worry about her." Then silence spread again.

At noon, Jasper, fed up, said, "Ivar, let's go home. I can't wait the whole day here." Ivar smiled happily, thinking that Jasper had retracted his decision, but then Jasper continued speaking, "We'll check if someone will buy you tomorrow."

Going back home, Mina cried in joy that Ivar came back, but her happiness didn't last when he told her why he got back. Still, she was happy that he came back.

Jasper closed himself in his room, continuing his character training, leaving the others in an ambiguous situation—happy that Ivar was back but sad that he was still going to the slave market tomorrow.

The next day, Jasper took him again, but no one approached. "I'm not sure, but I think I'm the only fool who fell into the trap of buying you, Ivar."

"True, I think my trouble-making aura is leaking."

Pfft!

"Hahahaha!" They both laughed, forgetting the situation they were in. Both master and slave laughing together was one of the reasons no one approached. Ivar kept joking, hoping Jasper's anger would ease.

On the sixth day in the slave market, Jasper sighed—not a single person had approached even to ask for the price. "If no one buys you tomorrow, I'll forgive your mistake."

Ivar's eyes glowed with happiness, as did Mina's when Ivar told her what Jasper said.

Then, the next day, Mina messed up Ivar's hair and threw dirt on him, making him as miserable as possible.

Mina, Lysandra, Breeze, and little Lina were watching from afar, hoping no one would approach. But the opposite happened. Someone did approach this time, making Mina's heart race faster.

"Good day, sir. How much for this slave?" A fat man said, approaching.

Jasper glanced at the man in front of him, then bluntly said, "50g."

"What? Is he your life savior for you to sell him for this astronomical price?"

"Wow, so people here sell their life saviors? The corruption here has no limit." Ivar said.

"What?" The man got confused. "Did this slave just now insult us—people of the capital—or am I dreaming?"

"As you can see, dear customer, this slave is not a life savior. He is, by the meaning the word holds, a life destroyer. That's why I'm selling him." Jasper's voice remained calm.

"So why is he so expensive if you want to get rid of him? You know that slave prices start with silver now, right? A few would be in gold. The market price is still chaotic. I can understand you, but 50g? No can do."

"Sigh, sir, I bought him at this price, and I can accept that the market price for slaves started being in silver, but my life is really expensive. Even 50g is not enough, and this slave nearly got me killed, so I have to sell him as expensively as possible to feel satisfied."

"Tsk, what a twisted logic you have here. I'm the stupid one to ask. Just say that you don't want to sell him." The fat man walked away, annoyed.

Another man approached as the other left. "Good morning, sir. I saw this slave for a few days, and he was too clean for anyone to come close. I thought he was a deserted knight—that's why I was afraid to buy him, knowing that any slave who is good at fighting can be a threat to his owner. A lot of cases here can testify."

"That's because you all here are living trash. I can understand why slaves wish to kill you." Ivar shamelessly said.

"What? Good sir, did this slave just now insult us—people of the capital—or am I dreaming?"

Jasper and Ivar's eyes widened in surprise. "Is this what they call copy-paste?" Ivar said in surprise.

Jasper nodded in agreement.

"How much for this slave?! I'll buy him today and torture him to death!" the man said gritting his teeth.

"Oh, come on, you look too poor to buy me, hahaha." Ivar laughed with his tongue out.

"It's 50g," Jasper said.

The man grabbed a bag that contained 55g and gave it to Jasper. "Take it all and give me a whip. I'll start whipping him till we reach my home."

Ivar showered in sweat as he turned to Jasper. "You won't do it, my dear master, right?"

Jasper smiled quietly as he stared at Ivar.

"Right?" Sweat dropped!

Jasper turned his face to see the shaking Mina, who got even more frightened at the sight of the man handing the bag to Jasper.

Sigh!

"I'm sorry, good customer, but I changed my mind. He is worth 100g."

The man handed another bag full of gold. Jasper started rubbing his imaginary beard, seriously thinking about selling Ivar.

"Hey, Master, stop joking around." Ivar's voice carried a note of real panic now.

"Thinking carefully, I don't want to sell him, dear customer, but I can let you whip him. Each strike costs you one gold."

The man, as if hypnotized, didn't argue. He agreed. Jasper handed him a whip, smiling. But once the man was about to hit, he stopped mid-air.

"What the F! am I doing? I nearly fell for your trap, you swindlers—master and slave."

"Tsk, he found out." Jasper whispered in an inaudible voice.

The man took his gold and left, cursing, while Ivar sighed in relief.

"Get up, Ivar. I hope this is a good lesson for you not to mess around next time."

Ivar couldn't feel any happier. He raised Jasper, holding him tightly. "Put me down, you stupid. You're embarrassing us here."

When the four watchers saw that Ivar and Jasper were leaving the market, they ran toward them. Mina was surprisingly faster than the others. She jumped on Ivar, hugging him and crying, thanking Jasper for not selling him.

"I hope this is a lesson for him. Control your husband from now on."

"Don't worry, Master. I'll personally cut all his limbs if he tries anything stupid."

Jasper was shocked by her response and regretted his words. "I pray for your well-being, Ivar."

"You know, my dear wife, your idea of making me look dirty made people approach us today. When I was clean, no one did."

"Who cares now? At least you're safe now."

Jasper and the others went back to the guild to decide how to deal with Tertius after finishing Ivar's punishment.