I Was Connected to Earth’s Black Market From Another World With The Skill [Market]! (WN)

Here’s the chapter. Enjoy~

Chapter 239 – The Demon King’s Sin

As soon as we entered the hideout, we realized. This was our fault.

We walked through the fur that hung inside the entrance to block the outside air and found ourselves in the same room we had entered before. It was dark and cold as if the fire had died long ago, and the impression was completely different. The smell of rotting food and drink filled my nostrils.

We made our way to the hideout, and in front of us was a boy who seemed to be the leader of the group. The two girls followed behind him, about two meters away from us. They probably intend to kill us without hesitation if they deem us dangerous. I knew what their intentions were, but I deliberately left it at that. I could sense that they were not willing to consider whether they could defeat us or not.

“There it is.”

The “friends” the three young teenage boys and girls were desperately trying to protect consisted of about ten boys and girls even younger than themselves. They were skinny and covered in dirt and grime, and it was painful to see only their eyes glowing with a cold light. None of them had the strength to run away, and they were all huddled together behind a rock, staring at us.

“The corpses you had been… burning outside.”

“The bodies of the adults that had begun to rot and turn over.”

“The children of our friends who did not survive.”

We stifle a groan from the weight of what we hear the two girls say as if to vomit.

“We knew that if we burned them, the smoke would rise. I think it was a mistake. But we didn’t expect the adults to come back.”

“That’s true. I didn’t think there would be any more of them here.”

I didn’t understand the purpose of those who kidnapped and abused them, but I know who they were and how they ended up. But.

“You… you’ve been here since then, haven’t you?”

“Since then?”

“About half a month ago, when those pirates were killed.”

“How did you know that?”

We can’t answer that question.

“Because we did it.”

“I’m sorry.”

“”What?””

The two girls look at Myrril as if they don’t understand why she’s apologizing.

“If only we had known you were here.”

“We wouldn’t have been found out.”

“We heard the sounds of battle and immediately hid our companions behind a rock. I know there were adults looking for us, but I would not do anything to make them find us. So it’s the same thing. It was the right thing to do at the time.

In summary, here’s the thing. They don’t believe in other people’s good intentions. That is why they survived, and they are convinced that their decision to avoid contact was not wrong.

So, there is no need for us to apologize. Even if it killed one of their own.

“…Are there any injured or sick people here now?”

“No.”

The two girls answered without any emotion, without a moment of relief.

“”All the weak are dead.””

“…..”

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t shocked, but I put the survivors before my own feelings. Guilt and remorse are our comfort, our problem. We deny the choices they made, the view of life and death they came to. I give the children as many blankets as I have and quickly prepare a meal. I get out of the white gasoline stove, hang a large pot of water on it, and fire it up high to get some heat. I cut up a small piece of horned rabbit to make soup stock.

I don’t think they’ve had a decent meal since the adults disappeared, and they were isolated, let alone until we killed all the pirates. Thinking of something nutritious and easy to digest, I make a barley porridge with herbs and wyvern meatballs floating in it.

While waiting for the porridge to be ready, I asked Myrril to hand out sugar-coated chocolates, a sea rescue food block, and herbal tea.

“If we’re going to pass them out, I’d like to have a little bit of this. That way, they’ll know it’s not poison.”

“I understand.”

It seemed an unnecessary concern. The role of distributing the candy and tea to the children was taken by the three oldest members of the group. Before passing it out, they always put a little in their own mouths to make sure it was safe.

Although they did not interfere with Myrril, they seemed to be trying to keep their friends, especially the little ones, as far away from us as possible. Just because they treated us as “not dangerous enough to deal with immediately” did not mean that they trusted us unconditionally.

“It’s done. Put it in the bowl over there. It’s hot, so be careful.”

“””Aaaaah…”””

When the lid is removed, the children gasp at the aroma of rising steam and the smell of meat.

“We eat the same thing.”

The children, however, were not so interested and began to devour the meat with single-minded devotion. This was not the kind of feeding we had seen before, where hungry adventurers wolfed down food. They brought the food to their mouths quickly and carefully, not wasting a single grain of barley or a drop of soup. Meanwhile, they protect their bowls and look around to make sure they’re not robbed. There is no smile. No voice. I can tell from that what kind of life they have led.

Maybe she is trying to hold back tears. Myrril’s eyes are teary, and her mouth is set in a grimace as if she is about to cry.

“There is more. If it’s not enough, we’ll give you more…”

“No, now, take it in moderation. When you have been starving for so long, your body will be surprised if you take too much too fast.”

I see. Maybe that’s the way it is. Despite the recession, I come from a country where people are well-fed. I have not experienced hunger, nor have I had contact with people in that situation.

“What? Don’t worry. I’ll feed you much, much better food later.

Suddenly, a small child dropped his spoon and collapsed to the floor. For a moment, I felt a rush of blood, but soon, the twin girls, seemingly unfazed, picked him up and wrapped him in a blanket.

“H-hey… the kid.”

“”Just fell asleep.””

The older boy explained to me in a somewhat childish manner that sleeping in the cold requires warmth, strength, and calories. I guess the desire to sleep finally won out after the warmth of the fire warmed their stomachs. It was a relief but also a reminder of the harsh conditions under which these children had survived.

One by one, with their bellies full, the children began to fall asleep. The three older children were sleepy as well. They were probably trying not to show their defenselessness in front of us, whose identity they still did not know.

Remembering this, I gave them the folding bed and sleeping bag I had used before. It is not enough for the number of people, but we will let them use the rest of the blankets we have. I also gave them the emergency thermal foil that they didn’t end up using.

“This film is noisy, but when you wrap it around your body, it keeps the heat in. Use it if someone gets sick or in an emergency.”

“A magic tool?”

“It’s something like that. It is flammable and should not be used near a fire. In the box over there, there are the same emergency rations and nutritious chocolates I gave you earlier.”

“Thank you.”

Although he thanked me reflexively as I handed him one after the other, he did not trust me. It seemed to me that he was just shifting his suspicion to why we were doing this, but I didn’t care.

I had a feeling that they would probably not evacuate from here.

“You girls. Come inside the hovercraft if you want. It’s windproof, bright and warm. The chair is soft. Although it might be a little noisy.”

“”No need.””

The answer was immediate. The question is what to do about their future. I can’t imagine how they can survive in this place, although it might be what they want to do.

“I know you’re wary, but you can’t live here forever. If you have a home to go back to, I’ll send you home.”

“”There is no such thing.””

“We will live here.”

“We will die here.”

The two girls completely rejected the idea. The boy didn’t seem to have any intention of following us either. They did not seem to accept our offer to take them to a safe place.

“We have no home to go back to. We have no family, and we have been sold like livestock.”

“Sold… to pirates?”

“Variously. The first person who ordered me to board the ship was a man in dark clothes. When I arrived here, I was handed over to a pirate.”

I don’t know which one, but the fact that it was a deal at sea caught my attention. The black clothes were probably from the Imperial Army. If it was off the coast of the northern territory, it is not impossible. But if it was in the southern territorial waters, it could have been the kingdom’s nobility, which I don’t like to think about.

“You’re too young to be working in a pirate stronghold, aren’t you?”

Even if the purpose is sexual exploitation, which Myrril-san seems not to have told anyone. When we questioned him, the boy pointed to the depths of darkness.

“Maybe it’s for the sacrifices.”

“Oh. Those pirates performed some strange, evil rituals. Is that it?”

The boy and the girl nodded with dark eyes. 

There was no light now, but I remembered that there was a stone altar-like platform at the top of a gentle slope straight ahead of the entrance.

In what appeared to be a throne room, an unusual ritual was being performed. I never found out what it was because we had killed all the pirates and enemies disguised as civilians without knowing the details.

In the center of a stone platform was a luxurious chair on which sat the white corpse of what appeared to be a pirate chief wearing a captain’s hat. I remember that a hostage had been pulled out in front of him and was about to be killed with a strange barbarian sword that seemed to be a magic tool. The blade was engraved with a strange pattern, and a magic stone set in the handle emitted a pale red light. I don’t know what country it was made in, but they gathered boys and girls for the sacrifice. This is insane.

“Who was responsible for this?”

When I first saw it, I thought it was some pirate’s weird hobby, but when you gather a large number of sacrifices, the cost doesn’t add up. Is it the Northern Territory or the Eastern Territory, or is it the Empire? I didn’t even know what they were going to do with the sacrifices or the food. I heard that when they summoned heroes in the kingdom, a large number of subhumans were sacrificed in the same way…

Was there an attempt to summon heroes here as well?

“I don’t understand. Where did you come from?”

At Myrril-san’s question, the three boys and girls shut their mouths and stretched out.

“No, we don’t want to pry into your past or your origins, but we do want to know the purpose and the mastermind behind this unusual plot. Of course, if you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to.”

“But… even if you don’t have a family, don’t you want to go back home?”

“The kingdom is no longer there.”

When Myrril and I hear the two girls’ answers, we look at each other.

The mastermind behind all this is the kingdom? I didn’t know there were still idiots in the kingdom plotting against us. If that’s true, it’s going to be very troublesome. And that we, too―including the self-inflicted ones―would be covered with the dregs of depressing thoughts and desires left behind by the foolish King Saliant…

“…Hmm? Wait a minute. You were transported by boat, right?”

“Yes.”

Only a few areas in the southern nobles’ territories in the kingdom face the sea. So is that it? Did you mean to say that the kidnappers of the boys and girls were among those who did not… support the rebellion of Marquis Erkel and the others or fight as their comrades? On the other hand, were they involved behind the scenes in the internal disturbances of the Republic and not part of the uprisings in the Kingdom?

No, it doesn’t quite fit. It doesn’t make sense to me, or it just doesn’t fit in my head.

“I saw a warship in Meteora, but that was for King Saliant’s escape, wasn’t it?”

I don’t think the people in the kingdom could afford to kidnap and sacrifice children.

“If this isn’t the Kingdom of Saliant, then what is?”

Myrril pointed at the boys and girls.

“They are born with that light brown skin, as far as I can tell by its sheen. It is not common in the kingdom. The eyes, the dark brown hair, and the curly hair.”

Myrril also has curly hair, which is common among dwarves, but it is different. The boy exhales and gestures to the twin girls, who are about to step forward to restrain him.

“I’ll tell you a story. If you keep your promise.”

I nod, and Myrlil raises her hand as if promising and swears.

“My name is Haidar Solbesia. I am the fourth prince of Solbesia, the ruined kingdom of the sands.”