Help, I'm in Another World and All the Men Are So Hot! [BL]-Chapter 252: Yor’s New Beginning

"There is someone I considered approaching if you declined," the merchant replied. "However, in my opinion, you, Mr. Crowell, stand head and shoulders above the rest."

Yor, listening closely, looked up at Damien with a worried expression.

To reassure him, Damien offered a gentle smile.

Don’t worry, Damien thought. If the merchant is this certain, then I must be the best choice for you. I’ll buy you.

"It seems like the price has been reduced significantly," Damien commented. "Are you sure you’ll be okay with that as a merchant?"

"Oh, such compassion! To worry about even my well-being—how truly benevolent you are!" the merchant exclaimed, gesturing dramatically.

Normally, Damien might have found such words sarcastic, but for some reason, the merchant’s sincerity was unmistakable.

"I’m honored by your concern," the merchant continued, "but rest assured, this transaction will not result in a loss for me."

Hearing that eased Damien’s worries slightly.

He had been a little bit concerned about the mysterious "Mr. Crowell discount."

Still, the word ’this time’ hinted that the purchases of Sitta and Tis’a might have been losses.

After all, they had each cost only a single gold coin.

"Understood," Damien said. "I’ll purchase Yor for 50 gold coins."

"Thank you for your business," the merchant replied, bowing his head deeplybefore standing.

He clapped his hands twice, signaling an assistant to come with the necessary paperwork.

"Did... Did you just buy me, big brother?" Yor asked in Damien’s lap, his tone uncertain as though still processing the situation.

"Yes, that’s right," Damien replied with a reassuring nod. "But don’t worry—I won’t let anything bad happen to you, okay? And soon, we’ll get in touch with your father and mother too."

Even if Yor couldn’t return home, Damien thought it should at least be possible to contact his family.

That was his reasoning when he brought it up, but Yor only looked back at him with a puzzled expression.

Huh? What’s with that reaction?

"Master," Lysander chimed in, "I’ve heard that the Rabbit Men tends to become independent at a very young age, leading to rather weak parent-child bonds."

Really? Damien thought, surprised.

The slave merchant nodded in agreement with Lysander’s explanation.

"Indeed. Both males and females of the Rabbit Men are known for their high libido, so even if a child is born, the parents often move on to their next partners quickly. It’s quite rare for parents and children to live together. As for this particular product, I was informed that he has already been living alone for several years."

"What? So when he mentioned wanting to go home, he didn’t mean a literal ’home’?" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Most likely not," the merchant replied.

Is that what he meant? Damien wondered, perplexed.

"Yor, were you living alone?" Damien asked gently.

Yor nodded silently in response.

"Oh... Well, do you have any friends or people you’d like to contact?"

If it were the noble’s son mentioned earlier, that might be impossible, but if it were anyone else, Damien thought he could make it work.

However, Yor shook his head firmly.

"I don’t have any friends," Yor said softly.

His words carried a quiet sadness that tugged at Damien’s heart.

"Yor, do you want to return to the place you used to live?"

Earlier, Yor had said he wanted to go home, but from how he was acting now, Damien wasn’t so sure that was truly his desire.

"...I don’t want to stay here," Yor finally replied.

Ah, so it wasn’t that he wanted to go home—it was that he didn’t want to stay in this place.

Well, Damien thought, considering the strange outfits they’d made him wear here, that made sense.

"I want to stay with you, big brother," Yor said, pressing his head against Damien’s neck.

The soft fur of Yor’s ears brushed against Damien’s face, and it felt pleasant.

Yor seemed to have completely warmed up to Damien, and he was undeniably adorable.

Adorable, Damien thought, but dangerously so.

He glanced around at the others, only to find them—including the slave merchant—wearing awkward smiles.

In the midst of the subtle tension, Yor continued to rub his head happily against Damien, completely oblivious to the atmosphere.

Damien had not yet been introduced to the household staff, but first, he received the sales contract for Yor.

He wanted to remove the heavy shackles from Yor’s hands and feet as soon as possible.

...That was all he intended to do.

But now, he couldn’t hide his confusion over Yor’s behavior after gaining his freedom from the shackles.

It wasn’t that Yor’s attitude suddenly became rude—far from it.

Though, depending on how one looked at it, his "behavior" might be seen as problematic.

With his hands and feet now free, Yor clung to Damien with his entire body, using both arms and legs.

It was less like a Rabbit Men and more like a koala.

Rubbing his cheek against Damien’s with an expression of pure happiness, Yor seemed so content that Damien hesitated to peel him away.

Still, considering that Damien was about to be introduced to other slaves who were going to join the household staff, he wondered if this was appropriate behavior.

Would they refuse to work under him after seeing this?

"If that happens, it happens," Lysander said calmly. "I believe it’s better for them to see you as you are."

Ithnan nodded his head earnestly in agreement.

"Honestly, Ithnan, you’re starting to understand human speech better," Damien thought.

But Lysander did have a point—better to be authentic now than to put on a facade and disappoint them later.

"...Hmm? Wait, this isn’t how I usually act, though!"

Damien wasn’t always like this—constantly fawned over and engaging in such over-the-top affection.

He protested desperately against Lysander and Ithnan’s comments, but the two of them just exchanged knowing smiles and avoided meeting his gaze.

"Wait... this isn’t how things usually are, right?" Damien thought, growing increasingly uncertain.

Still feeling unsatisfied with the situation, Damien set aside his protests when he heard that the other slaves were ready to meet him.