Culture and Propaganda

My name is Dania Kaplin. I was born into a knight's household in the Western Territory, and from as far back as I can remember, I followed my father on adventures across the west.

Calling them adventures was really just a way to say we were searching for my mother and older sister.

I had never met my mother or older sister.

I had no idea what they were like.

Dad was only a D-rank Adventurer, but he was also a merchant.

During our travels through the west, my father always kept an eye on Prices, buying up supplies and then selling them where they were more expensive.

I learned the merchant's trade from him as well.

When I was nine years old, my father was gravely wounded on an adventure. He only managed to give me his final instructions before he died.

Dad told me to live well. He said that if my sister and mother were still alive in this world, they would surely love me very much, so I had to survive.

Since I had been wandering the west with my father, I had no fixed home. I could only stay in inns.

At first, I tried to trade, but someone reported me.

Setting up a stall required a permit.

And you had to pay a stall tax.

When Dad was short on money, he'd work as an Adventurer; when he had money, he'd be a merchant.

When I had no money, I couldn't become an Adventurer.

I was just a child and had no idea how to survive, so I started picking through trash.

But even that wasn't allowed, because trash had owners.

Still, I was starving.

To keep people from noticing I was good-looking, I cut off my hair, made myself filthy and stinking, and wore a disguise. I always grabbed food and left quickly. Everyone thought I was a boy.

A child's voice, if you deliberately pitch it neutrally, is hard to tell apart as male or female.

Though occasionally, some priests would look at me strangely—turns out even a good-looking boy wasn't safe.

But in places with order, as long as you were careful, no one dared to act openly.

Plus, I changed locations often. Staying in the city at night wasn't safe, but if I slept in the wild, as long as I made sure no one was following me, I could keep myself safe.

Unfortunately, that kind of life didn't last long.

Food was just too hard to come by.

I had to kill my friend.

I used to love cats. But one time, when I was starving beyond endurance, I killed that cat.

I really did love it. Sometimes I'd even feed it. It was like my friend.

But I still killed it. I killed my friend.

Then the Orcs came, and I ran. In the chaos, I stole a lot of things, thinking that way I could live well.

But later, when I went to the pawnshop, I was unlucky enough to be recognized by the original owner.

Stealing was a crime. I was banished.

Once again, I had Nothing at all.

It's fine. I will survive.

But I failed.

I tried everything I could think of.

Being a merchant.

Stealing.

I thought about killing someone, but I didn't have the strength, so I gave up on that idea.

I thought I was going to die, but luckily, a Dog Demi-human older sister named Anna saved me.

She took me in, and I finally settled down for a while, letting my illnesses and injuries heal.

But then the Orcs invaded again.

I was once more a wanderer.

This time, it wasn't just me—even the adults I had thought were all-powerful were helpless.

I had learned some simple healing methods and how to gather Herbs from my father, so a few people listened to me and helped with small tasks.

But how to get food? We truly had no idea. Everywhere in the west was short of supplies. Even Tree Bark in the wild was stripped bare.

That was when some people chose to sell their children. They said selling their sons and daughters could at least give them a chance to live.

Older sister Anna volunteered to sell herself.

I had already tried surviving on my own before, but I simply couldn't do it.

I will live. By any means necessary.

Then I might as well sell myself too, just to repay Older Sister Anna's kindness.

Luckily, that uncle had been treated, so he listened to me.

The suggestion I put forward was to let me choose my own master. Older Sister Anna thought I knew a lot, so she went along with me.

Over the next few days, everyone who wanted to buy me was just looking for a plaything.

Since I still held onto a sliver of hope and had time, I wanted to delay being bought, to stay a little longer with Older Sister Anna.

As for the others, no one wanted to buy them.

Because we were all too skinny—buying us held no value at all.

Dad said that this world runs on exchange of interests. If we wanted someone to buy us, we could only offer the benefits they desired.

So I suggested lowering the price.

Luckily, this time someone bought.

A very handsome person walked in.

He was a Noble.

He showed no reaction when he saw the Elf, but when he saw the sturdy Dwarf and those fierce, heavily muscled uncles, he would pause to think for a moment.

It was only when he saw the price that he wore a regretful expression.

He came to my stall, and when he saw the price, he didn't even bother looking at what we were like—he just opened his mouth and said he'd take everything.