When Illustrious heard Aircraft Carrier shout this, she immediately said excitedly, "Belfast is actually here? Really? Which cage is she in?"
"Sister, she's in that cage. Let's hurry and rescue her," Aircraft Carrier said, pointing a finger at a cage inside the Slave Shop.
Illustrious and the others immediately rushed into the Slave Shop and looked together at the cage Aircraft Carrier was pointing at, wanting to see if it was truly Belfast.
The Silver-Haired Girl, who had been sitting in the cage wearing sackcloth with her head bowed, immediately lifted her head upon hearing a familiar voice. It was the voice of her Young Miss. She quickly ran to the iron bars, wanting to see if the person who arrived was indeed her Young Miss.
"Belfast, it really is you! This is wonderful! I never expected to see you here," Illustrious said happily after clearly seeing the person inside the cage.
"Young Miss, is that really you? I must not be dreaming! This is great! I never thought I'd see Young Miss here again. I thought I'd never see you again in this lifetime," Belfast said joyfully.
"Why are you alone? Isn't Sirius with you?" Illustrious asked suspiciously, looking around the Slave Shop, having only spotted Belfast.
When Illustrious was still the Baron's daughter, her father arranged a personal maid for each of his two precious daughters. Belfast was Illustrious's personal maid, and Sirius was Aircraft Carrier's personal maid.
"Sirius isn't with me. We were sold separately to different slave merchants. I don't know where Sirius is now," Belfast said sadly upon hearing the name Sirius.
From Belfast's subsequent words, Illustrious learned that when their kingdom fell, Belfast and Sirius saw that Illustrious and Aircraft Carrier were about to be captured by the pursuing soldiers. To ensure Illustrious and Aircraft Carrier could escape safely, Belfast and Sirius decided to act as decoys to lure the pursuing soldiers away, and were eventually captured themselves.
"It's alright. I believe we will definitely meet Sirius again in the future," Illustrious said, comforting Belfast.
"Can we really meet again?" Belfast was slightly unconvinced. She was terrified that Sirius might have been bought by some perverted man to do terrible things, or worse, be abused and die.
Illustrious did not answer Belfast, because she wasn't sure if Sirius was alive or dead, but they couldn't lose hope! Otherwise, it would be even more impossible to see Sirius later.
Just as Illustrious was talking to Belfast, the Shopkeeper who had been dozing in the Slave Shop immediately woke up when he heard noise. He stood up, thinking it was a customer, and was slightly happy, his face filled with smiles. Finally, he had some business today.
But when he saw Illustrious and the others wearing the cheap clothes of villagers, the smile on the Shopkeeper's face immediately vanished, replaced by a look of annoyance. "Where did these poor brats come from? This isn't a place you can enter. Get lost!"
Hearing this, Illustrious frowned slightly in displeasure, observing the middle-aged man who had walked out from the shop, assessing him mentally.
He was adorned with gold and silver jewelry, and his facial features were so plump they were squeezed together, making him look very unattractive. His stomach was likely large from years of inactivity and drinking, resulting in a huge beer belly.
Although this fat man was heavy, he wasn't short, standing at 1.8 meters tall. He looked quite intimidating, appearing like a mountain in the eyes of Nagato and Aircraft Carrier, scaring them into trembling silence.
This fat man must be the Shopkeeper of this slave store. Illustrious then said with a serious expression, "Shopkeeper, I want to buy a slave from you."
The Shopkeeper was slightly surprised by Illustrious's courage. After all, compared to Nagato and Aircraft Carrier who were trembling and dared not speak, Illustrious showed no fear on her face and even engaged him in conversation. To have such fortitude at such a young age was truly admirable.
Admiration aside, she was just a poor little brat, dressed so shabbily that anyone could tell she was a child from the village out playing.
A child from such a rural family probably didn't even earn one Silver Coin a year. Yet, this poor brat ran up to him saying she wanted to buy a slave. Hahaha, this ignorant poor brat was hilarious.
"What did you say? Can you repeat that?" the Fat Shopkeeper said mockingly.
"I said I want to buy a slave from you," Illustrious repeated her previous statement.
"Hahaha..." The Fat Shopkeeper clutched his stomach, laughing until tears streamed down his face.
"What are you laughing at!" Illustrious said angrily.
"Apologies, I just remembered something happy," the Fat Shopkeeper said seriously, stopping his laughter.
"What happy thing?" Illustrious pressed.
"Cough, cough, cough! Back to the point, what did you just say you wanted to buy?" the Fat Shopkeeper said again.
"I said I want to buy a slave," Illustrious said helplessly.
"Hahaha..." The Fat Shopkeeper clutched his stomach again, laughing until tears streamed down his face.
"Hey! I'm serious! Stop laughing," Illustrious said angrily, pointing a finger at the Fat Shopkeeper.
"Cough, cough, cough! As a Professional slave merchant, I have received Professional training; no matter how funny something is, I won't laugh," the Fat Shopkeeper stopped laughing and became serious, then suddenly changed his tone and added, "Unless I can't help it, hahaha..."
Watching the Fat Shopkeeper clutching his stomach and laughing loudly, Illustrious said angrily, "Are you so rich that you don't want to do business anymore?"
"Of course, I want to do business! But you're just a poor brat, and I don't believe you have the money to buy a slave. Alright! Since you amused me so much, I won't hold it against you. Get lost! Hurry up and get as far away from me as possible, otherwise, you'll die miserably," the Fat Shopkeeper stopped laughing and said coldly.
"I'm not leaving. I want to buy this slave. Give me a price!" Illustrious said stubbornly.
To drive Illustrious away, the Fat Shopkeeper quoted a price. "You truly won't give up until you hit the wall! Fine! This slave costs two Gold Coins. How about that, scared speechless? I've seen plenty of poor village brats like you!"
"Your family probably doesn't even earn 10 Silver Coins a year, yet you shamelessly claim you want to buy a slave. Go back to your mother and drink milk! Don't disturb my business. If you keep disturbing my business, don't blame me for being impolite, hmph!"
"Only two Gold Coins? I thought it would cost a lot more," Illustrious said disdainfully.
Hearing Illustrious's scornful voice, the Fat Shopkeeper was just about to start cursing her out when he noticed Illustrious pulling out a purse full of Gold Coins from her body.
She took out two Gold Coins from it, tossed them to the Fat Shopkeeper, and then said domineeringly, "Here! Two Gold Coins. I'm taking this slave!"
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