The girls helped guide me out onto a stage. This was actually only one of a dozen such stages. People left or came depending on which events they wanted to see. This one, in particular, seemed busy. A lot of people were excitedly anticipating this match, huh?
Actually, now that I paid attention to the crowds, I felt like I was getting a lot of cold looks. The other team, Dragonmight, was a team of three boys and two girls. The guys were handsome men if I was in a position to be a judge of that. As for the women, they were also quite beautiful. As they went on, there was a lot of cheering and applause. When Team Deek was called onto the stage, I stumbled on still holding Celeste’s arm, and there was a lot of whispering and doubtful looks.
I even checked to make sure my pants were definitely on at this point. However, it was pretty clear that I was not the favored team here. I knew nothing of the Capitol city. For all I knew, Dragonmight was some popular or famous group of people. However, I had a feeling there was something else going wrong when disgusted looks were also leveled by the members of Dragonmight.
That wasn’t entirely true. When they looked at the girls, they were filled with smiles and polite nods. However, I seemed to get the feeling that whenever someone’s eyes fell on me, they looked slightly revolted.
“You, you’re their slaveholder, yes?” the blonde ikemen and leader of the group stepped forward and asked.
“Uh, yeah?” I said, my voice croaking a bit as I squinted at him; the day is way too bright.
“So, they will fight your battles for you?” As he said this, there seemed to be a silence, as if even some of the crowd were listening to his words.
“That’s right!” Lydia announced proudly. “Master always puts us in the front lines!”
She had meant it proudly, but accusatory whispering started to fill the spectators watching this stage.
“A guy who buys slaves to fight for him.” The brunette ikemen next to the blonde made a disgusted face.
“I’ll have you know… Master didn’t pay for any of us. In fact, he took me in a dungeon.” Celeste announced proudly, but when the whispering grew louder, she added. “He did it for my own good!”
“Look how red his eyes are…” One of the girls on the other team whispered to the other. “And he hasn’t shaved his face. He probably beats them.”
“I can smell the alcohol from here…” The blond ikemen said disdainfully. “You sir, are a repulsive human being!”
You know… words hurt. Plus, I had a throbbing headache, so I was in no mood for it. Apparently, the glower on my face along with my hungover look made me look even more menacing. Suddenly, some of the crowd started to boo me.
“You don’t understand!” Terra said defensively. “Master doesn’t beat us at all. I mean, he can be rough sometimes, but he always heals us after. I even lost an arm once and he made sure to put it back on and told me to never do it again!”
“W-wait…” I held up my hands.
“He ripped off your arm?” The girls cried out, holding each other.
“N-no! It was really my fault! I just wanted his attention!” She cried out.
“Dragonmight! Kill this bastard!” Someone in the crowd screamed out.
The crowd burst into cheers. Most of them started calling out for my death. There wasn’t a single person on my side. How did it keep coming to this?
“It’s not like that! Master just grabbed something of mine he wasn’t supposed to touch and then took control of my body, so I wanted-“
“Terra! Please stop helping me!” I cried tearfully.
I always hate misunderstandings like these. There's just so many situations like this in this genre, and I hate it.
"Master always puts us in the front lines" - why the hell would it be phrased like that!?
And how did they get him ripping her arm off from effectively 'she lost an arm, he healed it, and told her not to lose it again'?
Now, let's go back to asking him if he's their owner... "nah, I'm just some random guy who decided to walk down from the audience to get a closer look at the stage"... what the hell did they think the answer was going to be? Why the questions? He makes them fight for him? How about actually fighting them first, and then judging whether or not he treats them like cannon fodder? Wouldn't that be the easiest way to find out?
"Killer Queen has already touched this situation... and judged it to be explosive!"
You'd think by this point he'd be leading with the misunderstanding breakers... "you're their owner?"
"Not by choice"
"What do you mean?"
"I wanted to give them freedom many times, but they always tear up and act like I'm trying to throw them away, so I could never go through with it :x "(assuming, of course, he doesn't want to tell them about the True Dungeon curse/blessing thingy)
Mind you, it's not only this story. SOOO many have stuff like this, and it just gets tiring... random side characters only hearing just the right words to misunderstand, and the MC's party members saying the perfect things to help them misunderstand all the while they have a smile on their face, thinking they're spreading the good word, usually not even picking up on the mood or the base misunderstanding even when they've thoroughly screwed up everyone's opinion of the MC...
Sorry, at this point I feel like I'm shitting on this story, with so many negative comments, but this one is mainly towards the genre as a whole. I just don't like the trope. In fact this scene is better written than some of the BS misunderstandings in "official" liscenced LNs I've read. I'll try to leave some positive feedback next time, but I think I'm going to let some chapters build up first.
I liked this story at the beginning, but the character development is very slow, or worse, it is degrading the development, the MC went from a fat man who suffered bulling to a slave owner with low self esteem who is carried by the nose by his slaves while lowering your head to everyone. We have already seen characters who abuse their slaves and nobody says anything, but when it is the MC everyone judges and asks him to release them, if that is the case, shouldn't they have abolished slavery then?
We have already seen characters who abuse their slaves and nobody says anything, but when it is the MC everyone judges and asks him to release them, if that is the case, shouldn't they have abolished slavery then?
Exactly! This does not come off as natural. Was the MC actually cursed by a god or something? There shouldn't even be very many people in this society who respects the rights and well-being of slaves, let alone ones brave enough to speak out about it, fight on their behalf or try to buy them off the owner no matter the price. But the MC keeps bumping into these types. It's like the whole world is conspiring to give the MC problems.
Sorry, but I just don't find this kind of situation funny anymore. By this point, I think it just seems rather sad. I'd prefer it if it was the MC was the one trying to speak up on behalf of slaves, or even fight on their behalf or try to buy them from their owner.
Yup... It was really good but now? Meh. I'll still read it just that it's probably 3-4 stars now.
You sir, are a repulsive human being!"
Well he is because he scared his girls as he didn't key them in to his plan with the bet. Would imagine Miki could have warned him about poison immunity.
Turning up drunk to a tournament is reckless but the girls are healthy and well equipped so why would the whole crowd assume the worst...
Plus is a slave society to a degrre
Oh well it was amusing and classic misleading banter from the girls, and it probably means they underestimate him which will affect the fight.
And we may have the classic from zero to hero...
Slave order: be quiet
I am enjoying this novel.
Usually I don't like misunderstandings but I am ok with this, I find it funny. I guess it is because the misunderstanding is not between him and his girls so who cares what everyone else thinks.
Thank you for the chapter!
It feels like someone else is writing the book now. In the first chapters there wasn't that comical tone of shit... Totally unnecessary situation...
I'm kinda tired now. I went in 257 chps not for character dev, but for better writing as it goes on. Instead the mc is degrading and he is making the slaves into s*x machines with their own gimmicks. It's sad. Remember when he was a guys trying to save a slave girl from a nobleman? Well we have come a long way from then. Now he just kinda seems like common pond scum. Not evil. Not the best. And kind of stupid. The only difference between him and everyone else is that he has uuh...
I think it was a system? Anyways yeah he has that. Because of his reincarnation he has been powering through his problems.
Other than that this story just seems tiring. I might try to push through some more chapters in the hopes it gets better but... Maybe I'm stupider than the mc for hoping for that.
So much phrasing going on here, Archer might be proud but yeah, they haven't helped his public image. He might even be so much of a 'scumbag' publicly after this people might try avoiding him like the plague.