The Story of Hanna/Slave Market/Day One/Ask some slave to guide you
You walk around, turning your head as you go. Nobody seems to be paying much attention to you despite the fact that you're a new face. Then again, faces probably change in this environment in a frantic pace, so maybe people don't really get a chance to make a lot of friends?
You catch a charming young lady in the corner of your eyes, who seems to be looking at you from the safety of her bunk. The way she stares at you makes you want to go and talk to her. She does not even flinch at the sight of you walking towards her. She's got brown hair and eyes, and a white skin just a little bit darker than yours. On the first glance, her body is exactly like yours, but her face… She's got scary looking eyes.
"Aren't you scared?" she suddenly asks, without even greeting you, or waiting for you to greet her for that matter. The question managed to somehow catch you off guard, even though the answer to her question is an obvious yes. You're scared that you're going to be sold, scared that you're not going to meet any of the kind faces of your past ever again.
"A little", you admit.
"I don't see new girls walking around like you do on their first days here…" she says, standing up, still remaining behind the bars. "Could you not be aware of what you've gotten yourself into?"
"Of course Hanna knows that…"
"What's your story?"
"Well, Hanna was with Daring Angels, but…" You stop your explanation halfway through as you see the expression on her face change. It's almost as if she's telling "how nice", or "how lucky of you" through her mere facial expressions. It's not probably because she would like to be in that kind of situation, but rather because it would be highly preferable to the hell she's currently in. "It's a long story… Basically, Hanna got unlawfully detained…"
"Oh, I've heard that story before", she says, getting out from her unlocked cage, walking beside you. "But knowing your master, you will surely be saved in no time."
"Yeah…" you say, in a very pessimistic manner.
"What is that tone supposed to mean", she asks. "Could it be that you weren't in his good books…?"
"L-like Hanna said, it's a long story", you say. You don't want to start bragging about being in his good books, not at least yet. She seems like a nice girl to talk to, and surprisingly mature too. She's somewhere in the seven to nine range, but talks like a girl who's lived past her years. Then again, her eyes look like she's seen some things that no normal child should see as well. Those are not eyes of a mere victim of a slave market and child exploitation; she's probably seen war and death as well. It also sounds like she's been here for a while, so she's an excellent guide. "Hanna can tell you that story if you show her around."
She simply nods. "I'm Lauren. I hope we get along."
…
Well, with a guide, you don't really have to guess about which direction to go towards. You just have to walk besides Lauren and listen. You have three topics floating around, which you discuss depending on where you are. While you walk, you talk about yourselves; otherwise, she tells you about what you see, answering your questions on the side. You've got many, and so does she. You explain what has been going on outside lately, and about how Daring Angels could very well be no more. You regret to inform that you don't know much of a details, which is also an excellent copout to not telling about your past. You do admit to being from Albion though, to which she simply replies by offering her condolences, and explains that she, herself, is from a rural community to the eastern mountains, which she was forced to abandon when goblins and orcs raided the village. It also explains the look on her eyes; orcs and their relatives are known for their obscene brutality.
So, the first thing you observe with her is the long corridor which has four different housing facilities alongside it. There's one for children and teens, one exclusively for children, one for teens and young adults, and one for adults only. She explains that at the moment most of the girls are somewhere in the nine to thirteen range, because they sell the best. You inquire her about why she has been here for such a long time then? She's been here for two months, which is very unusual. All she can do is shrug and say that maybe she's ugly, scary or something, a sentiment that you disagree with. She's piping hot. You haven't been into girls ever since you resurrected into this new world, but this girl is one that you would definitely go gay for. Or, maybe that's just drugs messing with your brains at the moment.
To paraphrase her words, this corridor and everything along it is considered to be a safe haven for slaves where they can sleep peacefully. There's also a public bath for all the women in the back, which is, according to her exact word, "paradise". She takes you to see, and you kind of see where she's coming from. It's a nice bathhouse, but definitely a normal one based on the little you've seen. It's also at its busiest at the moment, which is why she suggests that you come back to wash later. She certainly does look like she wants to take a bath, but she also seems to hate crowds.
Next up, you exit "the haven", and enter the public area. The slave market is still closed and will open its doors at two o'clock, so the place is very quiet. Still a couple of hours until the place really lights up. Girls can walk around freely here as well, perhaps even prepare for the day, but there aren't many employees to prepare with. She explains that every girl must work here when time comes to it, but working is a very loose term, since you pretty much only have to be present. She goes into detail about what your "work" truly is, and how things work extensively, but she's not very good at explaining it, so most of it falls on deaf ears. ((Hanna will get a proper explanation later from Gilles; this is merely an excuse that allows me to explain it properly once it's more relevant.))
You're in the main hall, which also has a direct access to the frontside of the building. It's the largest of all the areas, and the main hub from where you can access every other place, not including the faculty areas. This place also works as a bar, and a naughty one at that. It's stylized like a cabaret, with a stage and all. There are poles too, but you probably don't need to worry about using them. Not only are you bad at dancing, but dancing is usually reserved for older girls.
You'd think that people would escape easily with the door outside right under your noses, but not only it is constantly guarded, but it's also sealed with magic and rigged with spell circles set to activate upon the detection of the tracking seal on your pubic region. It will apparently overload it with magic, rendering you unable to escape, but that's nothing compared to the punishment that will follow. It gives you a chance to ask Lauren a question: "What does the brand even do?"
"Do you really want to know…?" she asks, looking at you with a bright blush on top of her cheeks. "It will make you so horny it's painful…"
"H-how horny, exactly…?" you ask. "Hanna knows some magic, so…"
"Don't even think about it", she strictly says, "unless you're crazy. You won't be able to walk, or talk, or think anything else except sex. It's dangerous."
"Thanks for the warning…" Well, her warning aside, it also worries you that some could use it on you. "What if customers use it against Hanna…?"
"They'll probably get their faces beaten black and blue by guards", Lauren says, with as serious an expression as she can make. "So, don't worry."
Back to your tour.
There are other more specialized areas as well. In fact, there are five of these cabarets - or halls - in total. In addition to the main hall, there are three halls based on body types - not ages - as well as a VIP hall for the wealthiest customers and girls Gilles deems to be worthy. Basically, you have to go there if Gilles tells you to. Since it's not the work hours yet, you get to see all the halls for yourself, all of which are a little bit different. You focus mostly on the so-called "loli hall", which is going to be - according to Lauren anyway - the place where you will spend most of your idle time. It actually has pink lights instead of bright red ones, and there are even toys for kids to play with. You haven't played with toys in ages. You didn't get chances to do so often in Peonia, and you aren't really interested anymore anyway. Lauren seems a little playful though, and even starts an unrelated story about a cute porcelain doll she once had, which is one of the only memories she has from her home. Forget about going gay for her; you'd totally dress up dolls and play with other toys as well with this cutie just to return to your playful childhood. It all makes your heart flutter, but you may be too afraid to ask her to play with you, especially since this isn't really a place where you have time to play.
All of this is just the first floor, and there's more to see. In fact, that's not even the end of places where slaves can coexist with customers. There's another bathhouse as well, for starters. Surprisingly enough, despite it being much more gorgeous than the one in the slave's quarters, Lauren is not interested in calling it a paradise. It must be because of the interactions that happen in that place. She recommends not spending time there, but hey, that's your decision to make for yourself. She also talks about the underground floor but is not interested in taking you there. In fact, she doesn't even want to talk about that place. Lastly, she talks about the front of the building, which is used twice a month to set up a public auction to sell off girls who don't sell otherwise. Lauren says that she has pretty much accepted that she's probably going out of this place in that way, perhaps as soon as tomorrow, when the next auction is being held at noon. They already tried to auction her off once, but no trade agreement was ever reached between the merchants and the customer. She doesn't know the details beyond that.
All that's basically left are the faculty areas - which you're not allowed to go to - and the hotel, which is according to her words a boring place. That's basically the place where most of the private things happen. It's not unusual to go there every day - multiple times a day - to service a customer, if you can even call that service. According to Lauren, there's pretty much only raw sex involved, or at least according to her experiences.
"Expect the same treatment", she says, referring to sex. "That's it. We're done."
"That took a surprisingly long time…"
She nods. "This is a large place. So, what do you want to do next?"
She's putting the ball in your court, so what will it be?