"How could it be like this...", Otohime opened her mouth, too shocked to speak.
This was her first time knowing that the other allied demi-human nations also had to tribute their people to the World Government.
And she could be sure that what Rosse said was true.
She would rather Rosse was lying to her.
But the feedback from her special ability made her unable to find any signs of Rosse lying.
Rosse's words were equivalent to shattering all the fantasies she had previously held.
She had always thought that only the Fish-Men and Merfolk races had not integrated into the human family, and the other demi-human races and humans all had an interdependent relationship.
In the end, Rosse told her— Equality among races had never existed.
"Do you know the price of Fish-Men slaves and Merfolk slaves?", Rosse looked at Otohime's crumbling expression, ready to continue sprinkling salt on the wound.
This was far from enough.
To reform a saint, that little bit wasn't enough.
He had to let Otohime realize that everything she had done so far had no meaning.
At the same time, he had to let Otohime realize that if she followed his path, there would eventually be a day when racial equality was achieved.
After all, he was an egalitarian. Under him, all beings were equal.
"I don't know...", Tears slid down Otohime's cheeks. She lightly bit her teeth and shook her head.
She truly didn't know these things.
Usually, she had always stayed on Fish-Man Island.
From birth until now, she had only left Fish-Man Island once, and that was last time to attend the World Conference.
Aside from that, the only other time was this accidental capture, which forcibly took her off Fish-Man Island.
She only knew that some of her people had been captured and enslaved, but she truly didn't know the price.
In her heart, this was always a matter she was unwilling to bring up.
"I don't know either," What Rosse suddenly said made Otohime look up in surprise.
She had thought Rosse knew a lot about this and was about to reveal more facts she didn't want to face but ought to confront.
Although Rosse's words were a bit harsh, Otohime still believed Rosse was a good person.
Rosse had said earlier— He wasn't denying her ideas, but was helping her recognize herself.
And she herself also agreed with that.
If even the current reality couldn't be acknowledged, and the direction of her efforts was wrong, then that wasn't the life she wanted to live.
"I don't know, but that doesn't mean I can't ask," Rosse glanced at Otohime and pulled out a Den Den Mushi, decisively dialing out.
["Fufufufu, what matter do you seek me for?"]
Very quickly, the Den Den Mushi turned into Doflamingo's appearance, and a baboon-like laugh came from the other side.
"Doflamingo, how many slave shops do you currently have?"
["On Sabaody Archipelago? Thanks to your raid on the largest slave auction house last time, I now have three shops,"] Doflamingo said while laughing heartily.
Backed by a real Celestial Dragon, his guts had grown significantly.
If the relationship wasn't inconvenient to make public, he would've already used Rosse's name to expand.
But in secret, Rosse had still helped him out a bit.
If he had a big shot to rely on but didn't use it, wouldn't all his bowing be for nothing?
On Otohime's side, hearing from the call that Rosse had shut down the largest slave auction house on Sabaody Archipelago, she couldn't help but show a surprised look.
The gaze she used to look at Rosse even carried some reverence.
'Saint Rosse truly is a good person.'
"What's the current price of slaves? Fish-Men and Merfolk, list them separately," Rosse inquired.
["Fufufufu, now you're asking the right person."]
Doflamingo laughed maniacally and, without any pause, reported, ["Ordinary humans wholesale at 500,000 each, other demi-human races wholesale at 700,000. Fishmen, regardless of gender, go for 1 million Berries. Merfolks, females start at 70 million, males 1 million, and females who have grown legs go for 10 million."]
"Grown legs?", Rosse raised his eyebrows slightly.
["After age 30, Merfolks' tails transform into human-like legs. You know, not everyone is into that kind of thing. A lot of people buy Merfolks mainly for their ornamental value, that tail is worth a lot,"] Doflamingo replied with a laugh.
He didn't believe Rosse didn't understand this, there must be someone standing beside him.
Since it was the boss's request, then surely it meant the boss needed something, so he just answered accordingly.
"I see..."
Rosse hung up the phone and instinctively looked at Otohime. That brightly colored fishtail was unconsciously swaying, and it seemed like because of his gaze, the swaying speed became even faster.
"Saint Rosse, I still have two more years before my tail turns into legs...", Otohime blushed, her voice so low it was almost inaudible.
Although she thought Rosse's gaze was a little rude, since Rosse was a good person, she felt she should satisfy his curiosity.
"I was just curious," Rosse responded faintly, 'Two years, huh, I can wait.' [T/N: Tch, got no taste.]
Besides, for some things, whether there were legs or not didn't make much of a difference.
"I understand, Saint Rosse having such curiosity is very normal. If there are other questions, I will also answer them for you," Otohime said with a red face.
'If I were to ask whether Merfolks are like fish and reproduce through external fertilization, how would you answer?', Rosse raised his eyebrow, and this thought suddenly emerged in his mind.
But just as quickly, he suppressed it.
It wasn't time yet, and some things, once put into practice, would be obvious instantly.
"Come out of the box first. It's too stuffy in there. The topics we'll discuss next may be a bit heavy. Changing to a better environment will also help you accept them more easily."
Rosse glanced at Otohime, who was still inside the wooden box.
Because they were engrossed in their conversation just now, neither of them had paid attention to this.
Compared to the insights she was gaining from Rosse, Otohime didn't actually mind her current environment much.
But since Rosse had said so, she nodded in agreement, "Saint Rosse, I rarely move on land, so I may be a bit slow..."
As she spoke, she tried to climb out of the wooden box.
Her body was extremely fragile, not just compared to normal Fishmen and Merfolks, even compared to ordinary humans, she was much weaker.
If she tried to punch someone, she could end up breaking her own bones.
"Let me," Rosse waved his hand lightly, and a sudden current appeared, crashing into the wooden box where Otohime was.
"Ah!", With Otohime's startled cry, the wooden box she was in shattered piece by piece.
At the same time, the area he stood in transformed into a huge square swimming pool, 10 meters in length, width, and depth.
To Otohime, it was a pretty large space to move around in.
But to the giant ship, it was merely a drop in the ocean, not worth mentioning.
Even if Moria knew what Rosse was doing, he wouldn't dare utter a word of objection.
"Amazing!", Looking at the suddenly appearing pool, and the seawater that filled it, Otohime revealed a look of surprise.
Her figure moved swiftly from side to side, able to dart several meters in a flash.
This was the natural talent of Merfolks in water. Just like breathing, it had little to do with physical fitness.
But with better physical fitness, one could swim faster and last longer.
With Otohime's level of physical ability, after playing for less than half a minute, she was already panting a little.
[T/N: NEW NOVEL ALERT— "Fate: Emiya the Host". A friendly neighbourhood man reincarnates as Emiya, gets a funny system and builds a harem of Illya, Miyu, Ritsuka, Mash, Rin, Saber and all. But, there are many twists and turns, take a look, add to collection and give some PS.
— Also, if you all help it reach TOP 5 in Collection and Powerstone Ranking, I will give 2 Bonus Chapter of every single novel Tommorow.]
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