Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!-Chapter 660: The Tragedy of Every Slave

Just as he had promised himself, Monty sat in the room with the girl and did nothing else. And yet anxiety lingered in their hearts, and their minds raced through what was implied or, rather, expected of them. The deflowering of a virgin, a delicate matter indeed and having seen how women changed after their first time many times at the Maze, the youngster preferred not to do anything to the girl after all.

Looking at her while sitting at the edge of the bed, his mind wandered back to the Maze some more and as he reminded himself of the only two personalities such women had left once they were deflowered in that den of decadence. A victim or a sex craving whore, surprisingly there was no in-between. Either they fell in love with their first man and were on fast track to a heartbreak or they were shattered from the inside and out and would hole up in a corner until the Mistress decided to kick their butts into action.

"Uumm…" With a quiver to her vowels, the girl glanced at Monty sideways. And as their eyes met each other, she quickly turned them away but kept her attention on the youngster as she didn't need vision to see him anyway. "Aren't you going to do anything?"

Gulping heavily, she turned her head in the opposite direction and slowly laid her body down on the bed. Facing away with her legs hanging off the bedframe, she laid as a doll ready to accept whatever came her way.

"My master won't let me leave if I don't do what I'm supposed to," she whispered, her voice quivering still.

Gazing down at her, Monty could finally see through the glamour. The magic had run out, and what used to be a seductive skirt and pompous top turned into a cream gown. Her amber hair, too, lost its exorbitant shine, but even then the slave's charm was enough to draw any man. Or so should've been the case; however, with his mind finally coherent, Monty placed a hand on top of hers and asked with a gentle squeeze that made her turn.

"What's your name?"

"My name?" Looking up into the man's eyes, the girl hesitated for a moment, but somehow something deep within told her to trust him. "It's…Maryline, Maryline Naria."

"Naria?" Squinting his eyes, Monty further focused on the name for just a moment until it came to him. "As in Elenaria? The city?"

The girl nodded with a bitter look in her eyes. The mere mention of the city that had sold her in the chaos that ensued after the king's death had branded her like a curse.

"I thought slave trade was made illegal there."

"Not if you're wealthy enough." Forcing a weak smile, Maryline got up and sat beside Monty. "A nobleman sold me. He was some sort of a beastman that looked like a crab. Me being human didn't help as beastmen love being with humans for some reason."

'The old evolution theory, then? By mating with a human, they can enhance their own genes and their children will turn out much smarter than themselves.' Monty knew exactly why, but he didn't wanna say that to Maryline as it would only dishearten her for no reason.

Realizing that she was still holding his hand, he shook his head and brought himself back to the present. Leaning his head forward while squinting, he decided to probe just a little more, even though he knew that he probably shouldn't.

"They, why didn't they choose you? For…you know what I mean, right?"

Upon hearing those words, Maryline's grip loosened. Her head turned away from Monty, but the answer to his question still came.

"My mother and sisters…" Choking up on her words, she squeezed her chest with her other hand. Struggling to breathe, she breathed through her mouth and tried to calm her heart. A minute passed, and although her lips parted many times, they were quickly flooded with too many emotions for her to let pour out–forcing her to cover her mouth.

Drawing himself to a conclusion since she couldn't paint a picture, Monty assumed that her sisters and mother were used as sex slaves, and she was the only one sold for a profit. It wasn't an unlikely situation, and being aware of how things worked in the underworld, Monty knew exactly the kind of horror she must've gone through.

With no spell nor any experience with comforting another person, however, the only thing he could do was let her cry her heart out. As hissed and mourned what could only be presumed to be death wails for her family, the spy moved his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer. Lying her head on top of him, Maryline cried and cried some more until eventually she fell asleep as a slave and woke up as a free woman.

Through blurred vision, she saw the owner talking to Monty near the door. She couldn't hear a word, but the smile on Oldah's lips was often a sure sign of concern. But today, perhaps it was meant to be different, as she simply walked away, leaving her with Monty alone in that room.

Gaining more awareness of her surroundings, she felt the blanket's cotton brushing against her bare skin. Looking down, she noticed that she was naked and yet with firm fingers as she touched just down her belly, she could still feel the same tightness of a virgin's cervix. It was how the owner had checked her and now it served her well to clear a grave misunderstanding.

"What happened?" She asked.

"I managed to fool the fat tub of lard that owns this place, that's what happened," Monty responded, his wording confusing the girl for a moment. But as she realized what he'd just said, she had to force back a smile.

"Thank you."

"No need…" Sitting beside her on the bed, Monty offered her a helping hand. "Thank Regalia, the demi-girl I was with. But let's save that for later and figure out what you wanna do next now that you're a free woman."

"Free…?" The very thought of being free felt so distant until last night that the word bore no meaning to the girl. It felt hollow as if her chains still weighed her every step, or at least they would, but even so, looking up at Monty's face with a brief smile, she whispered. "I wanna leave this city and maybe eat something nice?"

And with a nod, the youngster helped Maryline take the first few steps towards her freedom.