The Noble's Nekocore pt. 1

"We shouldn’t be here, my Lord. Its too dangerous.”

I scoffed, looking towards my bodyguard with the confidence only a noble lord could have as we rode our horses down the muddy street, parting through crowd of cloaked and hooded men that meandered about us.

“Bernard, I could hardly call myself a man if I didn’t live a life with some semblance of danger, now could I?”

Bernard, my long time bodyguard, confidant, and aide of many years mused at the question, his eyes scanning the crowd for any potential dangers that could have been out there. Nothing could ruin your day more than an upstart brigand with an appetite of noble’s purses; much less a pack of them.

The Bordertowns were always like that. Far from the reaches of the Kingdom, they were a loose conglomeration of villages, trading posts, and the occasional city; much like the one we were in now. The area was rife with bandits, mercenaries, adventurers and anyone else that detested the control and authority of the Kingdom. Of course, with the apparent lawlessness, it also meant that a man was able to indulge in a variety of things that they would normally find to be illegal elsewhere.

“If that were the case, my Lord,” he began, “I’d imagine you’d be fighting in the war against the Demon Lord, sir.”

“Nonsense!” I replied, “I said some semblance of danger, not consigning myself to war and death. That’s why the good Gods have blessed with the Chosen Heroes, while we lesser mortal fools can still enjoy the simplicities of life. ”

“Ah, were here.” I said with a satisfied grin as we turned the corner, finally arriving at our destination.

The muddy road had turned to a cobbled street, most likely the remnants of an ancient road, repurposed to be the hub of the market here. The gloomy weather did nothing to dampen my mood as I dismounted, with Bernard following suit, as he took the reigns of both horses and followed me. Though we had passed a variety of stalls selling everything from fruit to weapons while passing through the city, this particular street was actually quiet famous.

I could tell from the raised scaffold surrounded by a small crowd of men that I had finally come to the right place. For upon that scaffold were several monster girls, some naked and some dressed in rags, wore wooden signs around their necks that displayed their buying prices.

The slave auction.

I didn’t have to wait long before I was approached by a dark-skinned man wearing strange brightly colored robes, perhaps a vestige of his home country, as he greeted us with wide open arms, his contoured mustache and greased beard angling with his merchant smile.

“Hello my friends! Welcome to the auction blocks! I am Bosseba, Master of Auctions. And I can tell you now, no matter what anyone says, you will not find a better man to find you a better deal than Bosseba!” he spoke with a heavy accent.

We shook hands briefly. No doubt that some of his men must have spotted us riding into the city, making our way here. I knew I wasn’t the only noble that visited this city, but I didn’t expect to be singled out so quickly, even when I was wearing my less ornate traveling clothes.

“Bosseba, I heard a many a good thing about you,” I lied, “I also heard that you were a man that’d have anything a man could want.”

Immediately his eyes brightened at those words.

“Of course, of course! Here, follow me! These ones on the block right now are garbage, nothing fit for a man like you, I assure you!” He said waving his hand towards the scaffold as a canine monster girl was sold off to bidder. “Come, I show you to my finer wares.”

We followed him down a smaller street, with Bernard in tow. Eventually, we were lead to a large tent, set up between two wooden buildings, with ropes spider-webbing between the two to support the red and purple canvas of the tent. I motioned for Bernard to wait outside as I followed the merchant in, pushing the entrance flap aside. The interior was surprisingly well lit, thanks to a multitude of candles that were scattered about. Impressively, a wooden chandelier hung from above from rope, fixed with even more candles that further illuminated the area. On the floor, a rainbow of carpets were spread out, with pillows lined along the edge of the room. Sitting on some of these pillows, gossiping or simply lounging about, were already a few monster girls.

Kitsunes, a kikimora, some lamias curled up and wearing veils to hide their giddy laughter as I cordially smiled to them. I noted that roughly half were un-collard.
“May I offer you some wine, perhaps?” Bosseba asked as he clapped his hands, signaling two of the girls, who promptly rose and left the tent from the back.

A kitsune, wearing nothing but some gold bangles on her wrists and a thin sheer piece of pink fabric that hung around her waist, approached me with a jar and cup in hand. Her golden yellow head bowed as she offered it to me, her four tails splayed out like a fan behind her.

“No thank you, I’m merely here for business.” I said, avoiding the obvious merchant’s trap.

Besseba turned around with a flourished spin.

“Well, in that case. How about some lovely kitsune? Highly trained in the art of seduction and pleasure. I guarantee that your wife or lover would never compare. And the tails! Nothing softer, I assure you.”

The kitsune before batted her eyes and gave a slight twist at her waist, making her ample breasts jiggle just enough to catch my attention. Alas, I had to decline.

“I’d have to pass unfortunately. I’m looking for something a bit more…exotic.”

The kitsune bowed her head again and backed away, but the merchant was undeterred.

“In that case, would a lamia suit your tastes? Or perhaps a wyvern? I do have an elf. The purest in the city. Only used twice.”

I shook my head at these.

“Well, then this is nothing to fret about. I have many wares to offer. I am sure, that we can find something to suite your tastes.

But over the next hour, as various other monster girls were paraded before me, I was left with the bitter taste of disappointment. Not on the merchant’s part, for he did have an impressive assortment of wares, but nothing that quite caught my eye. I wasn’t looking for pleasure, or a lover or anything of that sort.

By now, we had strolled behind the tent into small courtyard, with various other tents and cages were put up. Some of the newer slav- er - ‘wares’ were still in cages, all chained and looking quite dour in expression. I was offered all manner of things, but with nothing quite catching my eye.

Until I spied a wooden crate separated from the others, with only one side having iron bars; from it, a black paw lay visible.

“Whats that one there?”

“That one?” Bosseba asked, his smile fading as he started to shake his head. “Is nothing, is…how you say …garbage? I try to get rid of her.”

“Her?” I replied intrigued, making my way over to it. “What kind of her?”

I made my way over to the crate, crouching down to see what was inside. Immediately the foot pulled away, leaving me to stare back into the darkness of the crate. But what peered back at me, was hate; red eyes filled with hate and disdain that glowed in the darkness of the crate.

Bosseba folded his arms as he stood beside me.

“She is manticore.”

“Manticore?” There was an obvious hint of excitement in my voice as I looked up at him.

“You caught one? You actually caught one?”

“No. Some men captured her. They sell her to me, expecting me to pay large sum of money for her. I only did because she is pure, but nobody buys manticore. Is too troublesome. More trouble than they are worth.”

He shrugged as he placed his hands on his hips.

That’s when it hit me. This was perfect. This was everything I was looking for.

“Bosseba.” I said standing up again, with a hint of awe in my voice. “You have a deal.”

I could see Bosseba’s beard shake as he tried to understand what I had just said. Reaching into my coat, I pulled out a bag of silver coin and tossed it at him. It thumped into his chest as he was brought back to reality and fumbled to catch the bag.

“B-But why? She is trouble! She will try and kill you first chance she gets! She is more like an animal!”

“Exactly.”

I crouched back down and stared deeply into those red eyes filled with hate. If she had a scowl or a grimace or even a murderous expression, I could not see it. But I knew she could see the elated grin I wore.

“And she’ll be my new pet.”