As Long as You Have the [Shop] Skill, the Dungeonized World Is a Breeze ~The Bullied Youth’s Payback Lifestyle~

that would normally never reach the village.
As a result, all of the villagers’ eyes lit up with interest when they saw what he had to offer.

And it wasn’t just a one time thing, either.
The merchant came by the village often.
Each time, he would sell food, clothing, medicine, and other items at low prices, building a relationship of trust with the villagers.

“And then one day, the village’s lifeline, the well that everyone drew water from, became unusable.” (D’esta)
“What do you mean?” (Bouchi)
“Something contaminated the water in the well and made it undrinkable.
Before we realized it, many had already fallen ill—my family and I as well.
Only one or two people were fine.” (D’esta)
Well, water was something that people had to drink every day, so that was no surprise.

“Do you know what caused it?” (Bouchi)
“….Yeah.
But the cause was only ascertained long after the fact.
While many of us were confined to our beds, that merchant showed up, somehow at just the right time.” (D’esta)
Just the right time? No way…

“The merchant was offering the medicine that could cure the disease.
Naturally, everyone rejoiced, because we thought we were saved.
In fact, I had been treated on the spot.” (D’esta)
Apparently, D’esta had been the one with the most severe symptoms at the time.
Because of that, the merchant cured her first to show that such a wonder drug really existed.

“But… that was when he revealed his true nature.” (D’esta)
An expression that was completely unlike that of the merchant, who had been so kind to the villagers to that point, descended upon his face at that moment.

“If left untreated, this disease will kill you in the near future.
If you want to keep your precious lives, sign this.”
The merchant presented the villagers with a slave contract.
Once signed, they would never be allowed to defy their master’s command.

In other words, all of the villagers would become the slaves of the merchant.
Naturally, all of the adults, including the village chief, strongly refused.

But the merchant said cold-bloodedly, ‘then I suppose you’ll all just have to die here’.

Parents wanted to save their children, and children wanted to save their parents.

To protect their families, all of the adults signed the contract.
But adults didn’t realize at the time that this was just the beginning of the end.

Having enslaved the adults, it turned out that the merchant was actually a despicable slave trader, a scoundrel who didn’t find it below himself to engage in human trafficking.

The merchant ordered them to give up their children and young women.

The men were put to work in the merchant’s mines as physical labor.
After they were enslaved, the adults could no longer disobey the merchant, and they had no choice but to do as the merchant said.

“Of course, I and all the other children were against it.
Who would want to leave their parents? We didn’t want to leave the village that we lived in.
But every time we resisted, the merchant would resort to violence.
We were told that our parents would be killed if we defied him.
Eventually, none of the children dared to disobey anymore.
Including me.” (D’esta)
It couldn’t be helped.
To a child, their parents were everything.
If they knew that their parents would be killed because of them, it was only natural that they wouldn’t dare to disobey.

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