The bidding quickly rose to 600.000 UC.

“Once… Twice… Hmm? Oh we have a bidder for… 800.000!”

It was that demon-looking Raalid again… Well, if he would pay this much for me, he would surely handle me with care… Right?

Wait a minute… What happens when he finds out I don’t actually have the strength of a C-rank… Fuck… I was so focused on increasing my value that I didn’t think enough about what will happen after I'm bought… The higher my price, the more they’ll be disappointed…

*GULP* He doesn’t look like the understanding type either…

“Once!”

Oh god, please someone else bid…

“Twice!”

I hope he doesn’t expect me to fight alongside that Ox-based Zoan he bought earlier…

“Thrice!”

Maybe I should’ve disrobed after all, I’m not bragging, but my little friend here is definitely above average…

“And sol- Wait a minute, we got another bid! From that red-haired Sapien in the back, for 900.000 UC! Mister Raalid, do you want to bid any higher?... No?... Alright, Sold! To that red-haired Sapien in the back.”

Thank god… A Sapien should be more understanding of my situation right?  Wait… Isn’t he the same guy that bought Ares… *SIGH* Looks like I’m still stuck with that bastard…

I get escorted off stage and put in the same cage as my Lunarian ‘friend’… Again.

Ares turns to me:

*SIGH* “I can’t get rid of you, can I?”

“Should you really be talking to your big brother like that?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Do I really have to spell it out for you?”

I point to myself:

“Me, 900.000 UC.”

Then I point to Ares:

“You, 400.000 UC… Little bro.”

“Aaaah goddam! That stupid bet! How did you even get such a ridiculously high number! I can’t believe you fooled them all… Or… Don’t tell me… You actually disrobed on stage?”

I semi-seriously hit him with a fist to the shoulder.

“Of course not! T-That strategy didn’t even occur to me…. Anyways, shouldn’t you address me as big brother now? Or can you, a proud Lunarian, not even keep a simple promise.”

“Tch fine… B-Big bro…”

“Yeah no thanks, I don’t need a little brother like you. I appreciate the thought though.”

“Ghaaaa, fuck off!”

I actually quite enjoy bullying Ares like this, it helps me cope with my current situation… A slave… My mission got pretty derailed didn’t it? I’m not planning on giving up though, I’ll either escape or earn back my freedom, this is just a slight detour, not the end… Plus, it’ll make for a good story once I finally become a war officer!

As for Ares, he doesn’t seem to mind our current predicament, if anything, he seems more comfortable than back on the shuttle, less arrogant too… He might be good little brother material after all… Well, I guess I do still owe him for letting me pretend to be his servant, even though it didn’t help much in the end.

Ares and me continued to bicker for another hour or so while more and more Zoans were put into the cages next to us.

…

The auction finally ended and the first slaves are currently being escorted towards the exit.

As one of the Chogids lets me out of the energy-field cage I was put in, he smirks:

“Heh, these are the special heavy-duty cuffs our queen specifically bought for slaves like you. Unless your strength-level is around that of A,  don’t even think about getting out of these ones.”

“I-I wouldn’t dare.”

I hope that bitch spend a lot on these overpriced cuffs. I don’t even have any plasma cutter cartridges left anymore, these are totally unnecessary…

At the exit of the arena, the Chogid hands me and Ares off to a female cat-based Zoan. She looks quite beautiful, her black ears and tail contrast nicely to her white skin while her orange cat-like eyes look feisty. If I were to complain about anything, it would be that her chest is a bit… Lacking… However, her shaped behind makes more than up for that. 

The way she’s handling the rope binding me and Ares togheter though, can’t exactly be called delicate. She’s just aggressively tugging us along, until Ares speaks up.

“Hey cat lady, can’t you guide us a little gentler? It’s hard to walk while being attached to this mud-crawler here.”

“Shut up! Don’t be such a pussy, we’re almost there.”

Wow, she’s definitely a kitten with claws… But Ares doesn’t like to give up either:

“Oh come on, just walk a bit slower.”

The Cat-lady turns around and angrily points her finger at Ares’ face.

Suddenly her fingernail expands, forming a sharp dagger inches away from Ares’ eyeball…

*GULP*

“Looks like you don’t quite understand your situation here. Well, that’s to be expected from an arrogant Lunarian... You’re a slave we bought, we own you. Don’t cause any trouble and do what we tell you. Got it?”

Ares Sheepishly replies:

“Y-Yes ma’am”

With a cutesy smile the cat-Lady retracts her claw-like fingernail and continues pulling us towards a big spaceship parked in front of a sand-dune.

Finally, in front of that spaceship, we are greeted by the red-haired man that bought us.

The man inspects me from toes to scalp before speaking:

“Hmmm ya don’t look as strong from up close… I’m Bruce, the captain of the pirate-crew: 'Space Devils', what’s yer name?”