138: Christina

East of Aetheria City, the clamor of hawkers echoed continuously in the Slave Market, a stark contrast to the numb expressions of the Slaves in their cages.

Lister and Daisna walked side by side, slowly along the narrow streets of the Slave Market, with Red and the others following closely behind.

Although she was accustomed to the existence of the Slave Market, Daisna couldn't help but feel pity in her heart upon arriving here.

Unfortunately, this situation was not only common in the Pedan Kingdom but also extremely common among all known races.

Pity could not prevent this situation from occurring; it had evolved over thousands of years. To fundamentally change it, one could only rely on institutional reform or absolute power.

Seeing the pity in Daisna's eyes, Lister comforted her, saying, "Don't think too much. Although we can't change this situation now, we definitely can in the future. You have to believe in yourself."

"Mm, I understand." A look of determination emerged in Daisna's eyes.

Following the narrow street, the group arrived before a Slave merchant named Jerry.

Seeing the richly dressed Lister and Daisna, and Red and the others following behind, Jerry, who exuded the aura of a merchant, immediately stepped forward to greet them.

After returning his greeting, Lister began to observe the Slaves in the cages.

Unlike most Slave merchants, Jerry's Slaves did not come from within the kingdom but entirely from other kingdoms.

Therefore, although they were all humans, there were some subtle differences in their appearance compared to the humans of the Pedan Kingdom.

"May I ask, esteemed noble, what kind of Slave do you need?" Jerry rubbed his hands, smiling obsequiously.

"Help me with an introduction," Lister said calmly.

Nodding in agreement, Jerry led Lister around the cages, walking unhurriedly.

From his words, Lister quickly learned about these Slaves' information.

It wasn't until a little girl appeared before him that his eyes suddenly lit up.

Christina!

[Divination 3: This afternoon, Christina, who was born with top-tier natural elemental affinity (not yet manifested), was brought by the Slave merchant Jerry to the Aetheria City East Slave Market for sale. Ultimately, a pot-bellied merchant bought her.]

It was based on this morning's divination that Lister came to the Slave Market.

Top-tier natural elemental affinity!

This ability not only represented an affinity for all plants, creatures, etc., in nature but also indicated the possessor's extremely high Spiritual Power.

These two were intertwined; otherwise, it would be impossible to achieve affinity with nature.

Moreover, according to the divination, Christina's ability had not yet manifested, so naturally, no one had discovered it.

Based on this situation, Christina would be sold as an ordinary person, meaning her price would be determined by her physical health and beauty.

Looking at the petite loli in the cage with delicate features and water-blue eyes that constantly showed fear.

Even Lister, accustomed to the existence of Slaves, couldn't help but feel a tremor in his heart.

From her appearance, Christina was not old, probably only eleven or twelve years old.

Perhaps due to prolonged malnutrition, her figure was very thin and small, and she was curled up alone in a corner, clearly having no family left.

Seeing Lister staring at her, Jerry, who was bowing beside him, chuckled, "Young Master, you have excellent taste. This little beauty Slave was brought by me from a perished tribe in the Western Frontier."

"Although she has no special skills, her appearance is top-notch, and she is still a virgin. After development and training, you can... hehe!"

Although Lister didn't consider himself a gentleman, he still had his bottom line and principles.

Lister felt an urge to punch the lewd-looking Jerry in front of him, but he ultimately held back.

"How much?"

Hearing Lister's question, Jerry's face lit up with joy, and he then quoted a reasonable price: 2 gold coins.

"Alright," Lister said calmly.

Seeing Lister agree so readily without even bargaining, Jerry incessantly praised his generosity.

Opening the cage, Jerry was about to pull Christina out, but Lister waved his hand to stop him.

Christina was now his person, and a Slave merchant's dirty hands naturally shouldn't touch her casually.

"Don't be afraid, come with me." Lister looked at Christina, smiled slightly, and extended his hand, speaking softly.

Looking at his smile, Christina, whose heart was already filled with fear, felt a sense of security and trust for some reason.

As if by a ghost's prompting, Christina reached out and placed her hand in Lister's palm.

"Come out," Lister said with a gentle smile, carefully pulling Christina out of the cage that had imprisoned her.

At this moment, Daisna stepped forward, looked at Christina, and gently asked, "What's your name?"

"—I, I'm Christina."

After a moment of hesitation, Christina, with timid eyes, softly replied.

"That's a very beautiful name." Daisna praised her sincerely, then turned to Lister and suggested, "Lister, why don't you take her as your sister?"

Sister?

Lister was stunned, then quickly understood Daisna's intention: she felt he had no family and wanted him to experience the feeling of having family again through Christina.

"Of course, no problem."

Lister smiled slightly, then looked at Christina and asked, "Christina, would you like to be my sister?"

Looking at Lister and Daisna's amiable faces, Christina's fear dissipated considerably for a moment.

Although she didn't know why they would say such a thing, with her extraordinary Spiritual Power perception, she could sense that they were not intentionally lowering her guard but genuinely wanted to act on their words.

From losing her family to becoming a Slave, Christina had endured unspeakable pain every day.

Now, with someone genuinely willing to acknowledge her as a sister and even asking for her consent, she naturally agreed a hundred times over.

"I do."

Upon hearing her agreement, Lister and Daisna's smiles widened.

"Let's go."

Holding Christina's hand, Lister said softly.

But as soon as he took a step, he noticed Christina was still standing there, her face pleading, "Bro, big brother, can you help them?"

Looking at her finger pointing into the cage, Lister's heart trembled slightly.

Perhaps Christina's action seemed a bit presumptuous, but in Lister's heart, he felt she was a kind girl.

To be able to maintain a kind and compassionate heart after enduring the painful life of losing family and becoming a Slave was an exceptionally rare and valuable quality.

Moreover, Christina was his newly recognized sister; wasn't it natural for a brother to do something for his sister?

At this moment, Jerry, who was beside them, was overjoyed upon hearing Christina's words. He hadn't expected the little Slave he had coincidentally rescued from a pile of dead bodies.

Not only had she brought him a high income of 2 gold coins, but she might also bring him more.

Under Jerry's expectant gaze, Lister said calmly, "I'll take all your Slaves."

"All, all of them?!"

Jerry's exclamation broke into a high pitch. He had thought Lister would only symbolically buy a few Slaves to appease Christina, but who would have thought he wanted them all.

If it weren't for the crowd around them, he would have directly bowed to Christina to express his highest regards.

Soon, with a look of ecstasy on Jerry's face, Lister promptly handed him the money.

Although this was primarily due to Christina's plea, Lister also felt that these Slaves were worth it.

Most of these Slaves were young and possessed many skills, so buying them was definitely not a loss.

Lister had no intention of buying them before because he was about to return to Ironthorn Territory, and it wouldn't be convenient to bring so many people on the journey.

After the group of Slaves emerged from their cages, they all spontaneously knelt and thanked Lister and Christina.

Lister was quite satisfied with their behavior; people who knew gratitude would surely not have bad character.

Turning his head, Lister looked at Red and instructed, "Red, Sejin, you two will take them first and arrange their accommodation. Once settled, Sejin, you can return directly to the Earls Manor, and I will send someone to you for further arrangements."

"Yes, Lord Lister."

With that, Red and Sejin took all the newly purchased Slaves and walked towards the inn in the east of the city.

Originally, Daisna wanted Lister to arrange for them to stay in the Slave quarters of the Earls Manor, but Lister thought it over and refused.

After all, they were his Slaves, not guests of the Earls Manor, and he should arrange for them himself; the proper boundaries could not be overlooked.

On the way back to the Earls Manor, Lister met Sabrina, who was busy looking for teachers.

By this time, she had resigned from the Carter Merchant Guild Academy, and most of the teachers she sought were recruited from various small and medium-sized academies in Aetheria.

Although Aetheria was large and had many academies, most academies had average benefits due to their size, and job hopping was common.

Therefore, Sabrina's headhunting methods were highly efficient and swift, and she had almost found all the teachers needed for the new school.

However, she did not recruit from the Carter Merchant Guild Academy; after all, it was a place where she had worked for a while, and out of old sentiment, she showed mercy.

Of course, even if she had tried to recruit, she would likely not have found many people. After all, one was a mid-to-upper-tier academy in prosperous Aetheria, and the other was an unknown, barren small territory; anyone would choose the better option.

After confirming the personnel arrangements before departure with Sabrina, Lister and his group returned to the Earls Manor.

Two days later, outside Aetheria City.

Since Sabrina's task of recruiting teachers was completed, Lister did not stay any longer and immediately set off to return.

Although staying in Aetheria, the divination information was excellent, and just yesterday alone, he had obtained some very good resources.

If he stayed long enough, Lister estimated that the benefits he could gain would definitely be even greater.

However, there was no alternative; the development of the territory currently needed him as its backbone, and he could not afford to continue freeloading in Aetheria.

Compared to the previous journey of transporting wine, daily necessities, and other goods, this return trip, though with more people than when they came, was generally much easier.

—

And this time, besides bringing the newly purchased Slaves and the recruited teachers, he also bought a lot of grain and vegetable seeds, for the purpose of the upcoming trip to the Western Frontier Territory.

Looking at Daisna, who had come to see them off with reluctance in her eyes, Lister smiled and said, "After I return, I will quickly raise the Magic Cloud Eagle, and soon we will have unobstructed communication."

"Okay." Daisna nodded and took out the necklace she had worn for a long time, extending it towards Lister.

"This has my magic imprint on it, which can help the Magic Cloud Eagle find my location. Be careful on your journey.

Taking the necklace, Lister placed it in his storage ring, nodded, then tightened the reins, turned his horse around, and loudly declared, "Everyone, depart!"

Soon, Lister's convoy disappeared from Daisna's gaze.

Lister wondered if it was his imagination, but he always felt that the return journey was shorter than the journey there.

Although he knew it was an illusion, he couldn't help but think that way.

Since they weren't transporting ironthorn whiskey, the convoy's return speed was much faster than before.

Although they were slightly delayed due to divination information, they still returned to Ironthorn Territory in just five days.

Looking at the familiar scenery and familiar faces, Lister felt an inexplicable sense of peace in his heart.

As the convoy slowly drove into Ironthorn Town, Lister could clearly feel that although only a few days had passed since he left, Ironthorn Town had changed a great deal.

The houses that were still in the early stages of renovation had now completed quite a bit, and the efficiency of Cement road paving was also very high.

Seeing the heartfelt smiles of the Serfs, Lister also felt very happy and relieved.

Compared to Lister, the new Slaves and teachers were incredibly amazed by the fervent admiration the Serfs showed for Lister. It was simply unbelievable.

This was the first time they had seen Serfs of a territory so revered their lord; it was simply incredible.

Amidst the enthusiasm of the Serfs, Lister and his group passed through Ironthorn Town and slowly arrived outside the castle.

Thomas, who had already received the news, was waiting outside the castle gate with Flora and other maids, while Brutus stood quietly beside them.

Seeing those incredibly familiar and longed-for figures, tears immediately streamed down Sabrina's eyes, while Odinton, beside her, showed an excited expression like meeting an old friend in a foreign land.

Brutus, who also saw the two of them, instantly had complex emotions such as excitement, guilt, and surprise surge across his face.