Two hours passed in the cage. John spent them alternating between staring at nothing and trying not to think about the family that had saved him.
It didn't work. His brain kept replaying the screams. The blood. The casual way Loki had murdered children for being too loud.
Then movement caught his attention. Lots of it.
A group of beast folk were moving through the ruined city, carrying or dragging more cages. These ones were occupied. Fresh catches, probably. John counted maybe fifteen new slaves, and they were almost all women. Young, old, various states of terror and resignation.
The cages were being pulled deeper into the city, toward a section John hadn't seen yet. Some kind of market area, maybe. Or processing center. Nothing good, regardless.
The fox boy from earlier, the one who'd participated in roasting John's appearance, was leaning against a crumbling wall nearby. He had an apple and a small knife, peeling it with casual expertise while completely ignoring the work happening around him.
John watched him for a moment, then made a decision. Information was survival. And this femboy seemed chatty.
"Hey," John called out. "Fox boy. What's going on?"
The fox's ears twitched. He glanced over, looking annoyed at being addressed. "What's it look like, ape? Delivery. New product."
"Product?"
"Slaves. Humans. The thing you are." He took a bite of his apple. "These ones been bought already. Pre orders. Mostly women because apparently the ugly bastards who buy slaves would rather fuck property than learn how to be attractive."
There was bitterness in his voice. Resentment, maybe. John filed that away.
"So they're being sold. For..." John's stomach turned. "For that."
"Among other things. Labor, entertainment, breeding stock. Whatever the buyer wants." The fox shrugged. "Not my concern. I just help catch them."
John's mind churned. This was bad. Worse than he'd thought. But also... something didn't add up.
"Are there no female beast folk?" he asked. "Like, at all? I've only seen males since I woke up."
The fox boy stared at him. Then laughed. High pitched, mocking. "Are you touched in the head? Seriously. Were you born two hours ago and nobody told me?"
"I'm just asking—"
"Of course there are female beast folk, you absolute idiot." The fox pushed off the wall and walked closer to John's cage, still holding his apple. "Beast folk are split into four gender types. How do you not know this? Even human children know this."
John kept his mouth shut. Waited.
The fox sighed, like he was explaining basic arithmetic to a particularly stupid student. "Effective male. Lesser male. Effective female. Lesser female. Four types. Different biological and social functions."
"Explain," John said.
"Effective males are the strong ones. Bigger, more powerful, higher social status, more physical abilities. They're warriors, leaders, the ones with actual authority. Think your big bad predators. Wolves, bears, lions. They run things."
The fox took another bite of his apple, chewed, continued.
"Lesser males are lower class. Smaller, weaker, less social power. We're basically grunts. Labor, scouting, support work. We don't get the same respect as effective males. We're..." He paused, his face twisting slightly. "We're decorative. Useful for certain tasks but not valued the same way."
John noticed the 'we're.' So the fox was a lesser male. That explained some of the bitterness.
"And the females?" John prompted.
"Same split. Effective females are the powerful ones. Matriarchs, leaders, warriors in their own right. Respected, feared, in control of their domains. They're the ones who actually run the slave trade, by the way. We're just their employees."
"And lesser females?"
"Lower status. More numerous. Handle domestic work, child rearing, support roles. Similar to lesser males but different biological functions." The fox finished his apple and tossed the core aside. "The whole system is about power and biology. Effective types have it. Lesser types serve."
John absorbed this. Four genders. Two biological sexes split by power dynamics. It was actually sophisticated worldbuilding. More complex than the usual binary fantasy species. The author had clearly thought this through.
"So you're a lesser male," John said, testing.
The fox's ears flattened. "Tsk. Yes. Obviously. Look at me. Do I look like an effective male to you?"
"Just confirming. What's your name?"
The question seemed to surprise him. The fox tilted his head, studying John with those predator eyes that were somehow both cute and unsettling.
"Lui," he said finally. "My name is Lui."
"I'm John."
"I didn't ask." Lui's voice was sharp. "And don't think this makes us friends, ape. I answered your stupid questions because I was bored. You're still property. I'm still your captor. We're not equals."
"Understood," John said carefully. "But I want to know more. You said four gender types. Are there other divisions? Other classifications?"
Lui's eyes narrowed. "Why do you care?"
"Because I'm stuck in a cage in a world I don't understand. Information helps me survive. And you clearly know things."
That seemed to appeal to Lui's ego. He straightened slightly, his tail swishing.
"Fine. Yes. There's another classification. Cuts across all four gender types." He held up two fingers. "Beast folk are divided into two intellectual types. Ferals and Advanced."
"Ferals?"
"Can't speak. Strictly instinctual. No language, no complex thought. They operate on base drives. Hunt, eat, mate, sleep. They're basically animals with beast folk bodies. Dangerous but predictable."
"And Advanced?"
"Can speak, understand language, reason, plan. Build societies. Make tools. Everything that separates people from animals." Lui gestured to himself. "I'm Advanced, obviously. So are most of the beast folk you'll see in cities. Ferals usually stay in the wilderness. Though some get captured and sold as guard beasts."
John's mind raced, cataloguing the information. Four gender types, two intellectual classifications. That meant eight possible combinations of beast folk. Effective Male Advanced, Effective Male Feral, Lesser Male Advanced, Lesser Male Feral, and the same for females.
The social dynamics would be incredibly complex. Effective Advanced would be the ruling class. Lesser Advanced would be the working class. Ferals would be... what? Outcasts? Slaves themselves?
"That's actually impressive," John said, meaning it. "The worldbuilding is really detailed. Most fantasy settings don't bother with this level of social structure."
Lui stared at him. "What are you babbling about? Worldbuilding? This is just how things are. It's not building anything, it's reality."
"Right. Sorry. I just meant it's complex."
"It's normal," Lui corrected. "You're just ignorant."
He turned to walk away, then paused. Looked back over his shoulder. "You're weird, ape. Most slaves just cry or beg or sit there dead eyed. You ask questions like you're studying for a test. Like any of this matters."
"Knowledge is survival," John said quietly.
"Knowledge is a luxury slaves can't afford." Lui's voice was flat. "But whatever. Enjoy your cage. Try not to die before market day. Would hate to waste a perfectly good cage on a corpse."
He walked away, his hips swaying in that exaggerated way, his tail flicking dismissively.
John sat in his cage, processing everything he'd learned.
Four genders. Two intellectual types. A complex social hierarchy based on power and biology. Female beast folk existed but were apparently elsewhere. The slave trade was run by effective females. Lesser males like Lui were low status and resentful about it.
And John was property. Again. At the bottom of a hierarchy. Again. Waiting to be sold to someone who'd use him for labor or worse.
The isekai dream just kept getting better and better.
But at least now he understood the rules a little better. The framework he was trapped in. The society that had caged him.
It wasn't much. But it was something.
And in a world that had taken everything else from him, something was enough to hold onto.
For now.