The heavy door clanged shut. Dazed, I settled into the cage, my eyes slowly adjusting to the dim, oppressive light. Then, I began to survey my surroundings.
The space was vast, yet it was not empty. Several other massive iron cages lined the perimeter, identical to mine, totaling about eight. Three of them appeared to hold occupants.
After a prolonged silence, a voice emerged from one of the adjacent cages. “Are you of the Fox Tribe?” It was a pleasant feminine voice, though tinged with an unmistakable frailty.
I strained my eyes, painstakingly discerning her features in the abysmal light. After a long moment, the speaker’s form finally became clear.
Before me was a Fox Tribe maiden, slightly taller than myself, adorned with the same white fox ears and a luxuriant, bushy tail. I tentatively spoke, “Yes, I am. May I ask who you are?”
“A failure, nothing more than a prisoner,” the maiden replied. Her gaze was vacant, fixed blankly upon the ceiling.
I found myself at a loss for words. Anything I might say felt utterly inappropriate for the grim circumstances. Thus, I simply watched her, maintaining a respectful silence.
After another lengthy silence, the maiden broke the quiet once more. “How did you come to be here?”
“I was abducted during a war when I was a child,” I recounted. “After being sold, my current master, in need of money, sold me to this place.”
This carefully crafted story was something Si had taught me. It served a dual purpose: explaining my ignorance of the Fox Tribe’s current plight while simultaneously establishing a plausible identity for myself.
“Is that so? War again?” The Fox Tribe maiden clenched her hand, then fell silent once more.
The stalemate resumed. After a moment of contemplation, I broke the silence. “Where exactly are we right now? What will happen to us next?” I desperately wanted to know if we were truly destined for the King’s Domain.
“This is the largest auction house in the Dark Realm,” the fox-eared maiden stated, her tone flat and indifferent, still leaning against the iron bars. “Next, we will simply be bought by a bidder.”
“Oh… when does the auction begin?” I pressed, genuinely concerned.
“So eager to be sold? Tomorrow night is when the auction commences,” she replied, her voice still cold.
“No, I’m just curious…” While I said this, I was indeed quite eager to be sold. This wasn’t some strange predilection, merely a desire to complete my mission sooner.
“What a troublesome fellow has arrived,” a cold feminine voice suddenly interjected from another cage. It belonged to a purple-haired maiden with pale skin.
“Uh…” Confronted by such direct disdain, I could only offer an awkward smile, unsure how to respond.
“Since you are here, I expect you to behave yourself and do nothing at all,” the purple-haired maiden stated, her red eyes intently fixed on me. I could only nod in compliance.
After yet another period of silence, the main door opened with a resounding clang. Several spherical, black objects, which looked practically identical to my eyes, rolled in.
“The one who just entered, step out for a routine inspection,” one of the spherical objects commanded. Its voice startled me; I hadn’t expected these dark ‘dumplings’ to speak.
I rose from the ground and stepped out of the opened iron cage.
After following them through numerous winding corridors, we arrived at a vast, empty hall. Within it, many girls like myself were gathered.
At the forefront, a black crystal ball rested upon a soft cushion, arranged much like a witch’s scrying orb. The maidens, destined for sale, queued up, each placing their hand upon the crystal ball in turn.
However, one detail struck me as peculiar: roughly every ten people, one would be handcuffed. Had they been caught doing something? For some inexplicable reason, a hint of schadenfreude flickered within me.
“Move!” A tentacle abruptly protruded from the spherical object, poking my back and directing me towards the crystal ball.
“Hiss—” The chilling sensation of the tentacle made me gasp. Damn Si, the outfit she gave me was backless!
After the spherical object engaged in an exchange of unintelligible gibberish with the two female guards beside the crystal ball, it gestured for me to place my hand upon the orb.
I gently laid my hand on it. ‘Hm, this crystal ball isn’t so special after all,’ I thought. ‘It feels just like a glass sphere.’
“Om~” A soft hum resonated.
My eyes, filled with curiosity, fixed on the source of the sound—the crystal ball.
Then, a dense purple light flashed.
Immediately after, the two guards, their faces grim, forcefully pinned me to the ground, leaving me utterly bewildered.
“Hey—hey! What’s going on? Let’s talk this out, no need for physical force! Ow, ow, ow—that hurts!” I shrieked, my hands twisted behind my back.
“Clink, clink, clink.” After three crisp sounds, I, who had just moments ago felt a touch of schadenfreude, was brutally restrained. My hands were cuffed, my feet shackled, and a collar was fastened around my neck.
The spherical object lifted me, carrying me back to the iron cage. A thick iron chain was then attached to my collar and secured to the cage.