Despair’s Price

At that time, Katie had not betrayed Daisy, the little dragon who trusted her.

Even after being framed by the guild master’s scheme and pressured with both threats and temptation, she hesitated again and again, yet ultimately refused to reveal the truth, instead running out of the Mountain Hawk Guild in a daze.

“Don’t cry… don’t cry… I can’t cry…”

On the third day after Daisy and Katie arrived in Gran City,

Katie, overwhelmed with anxiety and despair, ran out of the guild hall with tears in her eyes, leaving the furious shouting of the pot-bellied guild master far behind.

She sprinted through the bustling streets filled with indifferent passersby, forcing back the tears that threatened to spill, refusing to let herself cry.

Though she usually put on a tough, arrogant front and kept her distance from shady colleagues, her heart was soft.

Whenever hardship struck, she wanted to cry—but in moments like this, when being wronged by others, she refused.

Because crying felt like losing.

Because crying too easily made her weak.

Because once the tears started, they wouldn’t stop.

So she ran.

And ran.

Through the noisy, crowded streets, with nowhere to go, unable to stop—

Because stopping meant being swallowed whole by reality.

While Daisy was still obediently waiting in the inn,

Katie spent the entire day wandering, running aimlessly across the city.

Run, stop, catch her breath—then run again.

Until the sun dipped low.

Until dusk approached.

Only when she was completely exhausted did she realize where she had ended up.

The post office.

The stone building she visited almost every week.

As an adventurer, she always sent letters home—to reassure her family.

And received short replies from her sick father, delivered through her younger brother.

This time, driven by desperation, she had come here without thinking—seeking a trace of warmth from home.

Even though it wasn’t yet the usual day for a letter, she still checked.

Because those letters were her last source of strength.

Recently, her father’s illness had worsened.

Though he always wrote that everything was fine, she could see the truth in the increasingly shaky handwriting.

There was no letter from her family.

Strangely, she felt relieved.

No news meant no sudden disaster—yet.

Which meant… there was still time.

Still a chance.

Even if small.

Just as she gathered herself to leave—

The clerk called out to her.

There was a letter addressed to her.

But not from her family.

Katie opened it cautiously, like it might explode.

She read it once.

Then again.

Her eyes widened.

And then—

Her heart went cold.

There was no hope left.

That night,

Katie wandered the city in a daze, with no destination.

The letter had been written by her neighbor—a former doctor and acquaintance of her father.

It revealed the truth her father had hidden.

Without immediate, expensive treatment… he would die within days.

He had even asked the neighbor to look after the younger siblings if anything happened.

And the neighbor, unwilling to take on that burden, secretly informed Katie instead.

What could she do?

Even if she sold herself, it wouldn’t be enough.

There was no way out.

Everything was over.

“Good evening, beautiful young lady.”

A sinister voice interrupted her thoughts.

A man in a green suit and hat stood before her, smiling eerily.

“I am Peter, the most renowned s*ave trader in Gran City.”

His voice was smooth, like a devil offering a contract.

“You seem troubled… in need of help… and perhaps… in possession of something valuable?”

Katie paused.

For a moment, a flicker of desperate hope crossed her eyes.

Then she walked past him.

“I only approached you because of that expression,” the man said behind her.

“It’s the face of someone in absolute despair… someone willing to do anything.”

Katie stopped.

Her face empty, lifeless.

Like a corpse speaking, she said slowly:

“…A dragon… child… how much…?”

On the fourth day,

Daisy was already trapped in a cage in a hidden s*ave warehouse near the slums.

She curled up in a corner, waiting quietly.

‘Katie is my friend… she won’t betray me…’

She believed it.

Purely.

Without doubt.

“Ahhh… ahhh… kill me… just kill me…!”

A crying voice came from a nearby cage.

Daisy turned.

Inside was a broken elf woman, her body covered in marks, her dignity shattered.

Elsewhere, a beastman screamed in terror, begging not to be beaten.

A dwarf clawed at the cage floor, his fingers torn bloody.

Clang! Clang!

“Shut up!”

The scarred man struck the cages with a spiked rod, silencing them.

Daisy watched, feeling disgust.

“So? Still think your friend will save you?”

He sneered, pointing toward the center of the warehouse.

A man in green stepped forward.

The chatter of nobles fell silent.

“The s*ave auction… is about to begin.”