Following the guard's back, Apolo walked until he reached the back part of the store, which wasn't covered. The cages housing the slaves in this area were completely rusted from the rain. It showed that the owner of this store didn't care much about the slaves' health, emphasizing the fact that they were the cheapest in his store. Each cage in this part of the store had two rusted metal buckets, one of them filled with a gelatinous substance that seemed to be food, while the other was filled with green liquid, which was actually just plain water. However, so many algae had grown in these buckets that the water inside had turned greenish, and it seemed that none of the store's employees cared enough about these slaves to clean the algae out of the water buckets.
Even more importantly, none of the store's employees bothered to clean the cage floors, so they were covered in the excrement of the unfortunate slaves. This made the area smell so unpleasant that the young noble felt like vomiting. Despite this, Apolo restrained himself and continued his march in pursuit of his long-cherished dream.
But the nobleman was finding it really difficult to continue, and it was no wonder. Unfortunately, Apolo spotted and smelled, as in one corner of the backyard of this store, a mountain of decomposing corpses could be found. These corpses appeared to belong to the slaves who had died before being sold. Apparently, the employees didn't want to get rid of these corpses, as they would be used to feed the store's animals. However, they seemed to have been left out in the open for too many days, as they emitted a not-so-pleasant fragrance.
Despite all the filth and desolation he had to traverse, Apolo found himself looking at one of the rusted cages in the corner of the yard with tears in his eyes. In that cage, a creature with eyes soaked in green liquid was looking at Apolo. The creature in question was as ugly as a walking fetus. It had two arms and two legs like any human being but was as small as a human child. However, its skin was mucus green and covered in tumors that looked malignant. A yellowish pus was constantly oozing from some of these tumors, and its ears, nose, and lips were practically nonexistent. The creature was naked, showing that unlike humans, it seemed to lack private parts, and its stomach was somewhat transparent, so Apolo could easily see how the gelatin it had eaten a while ago was being digested in its stomach. This creature was the famous Gururi, and it was the embodiment of bad taste.
Despite this, Apolo had stopped and was staring fixedly at the hideous creature in the distance, as if it were his own child. In the cages, there were several Gururis, but only one of them was staring at Apolo, and in turn, the young man was only looking at one of them: this one was special, he had recognized its attire!
Apolo looked closely and noticed that the rest of the Gururis were ignoring him. He then remembered how the vendor had ignored him, and lastly, he remembered the unusual entry into the store that seemed to be an indication from his ancestors. This didn't seem like an elaborate scam; this could really be his long-awaited Gururi!
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With alarm bells ringing in his head, Apolo forced his performance as best as he could and approached the creature whose eyes were soaked and shining, looking at him as if he had finally reunited with an old companion.
— I'll buy this one; it seems to be the healthiest — Apolo indicated, pointing to the Gururi he was seeking.
— Really? I think it's the oldest of the bunch... — commented the guard, somewhat surprised by Apolo's choice. This Gururi was the one that stank the most and had an odor similar to sulfur, which was extremely unpleasant. Based on his experience with these creatures, that crappy smell meant it was really old.
— Here, take the crystals — Apolo replied, handing over fifty crystals to the guard as if he feared his offer would change. He had to be careful; the young man still didn't know if this was the right one or a scam, but for fifty measly crystals, he preferred to be scammed than to ruin the verification process.
— Thanks for coming to our store — the guard said, counting the crystals with happiness. These were the kinds of customers he liked to see: those who didn't waste time negotiating with a long conversation and paid the specified amount right away.
After verifying the number of crystals, the guard took the key from his waist and opened the cell, indicating to the Gururi:
— You don't belong to us anymore; this young man is your new master.
— Don't speak, and follow me to my carriage — Apolo ordered, seeing with absolute happiness how the Gururi was opening its mouth to try to speak. That meant the creature wasn't depressed, which was a great sign.
The Gururi obeyed and exited the cell to stand right behind Apolo. The young man, remembering the way, walked slowly while the Gururi followed him a few steps behind. Upon exiting the store, Apolo saw Mateo looking at him with joy. Although it wasn't the first time the young man had brought a Gururi to be inspected more thoroughly, Apolo had only done it a few times. So, maybe this could be the last time he had to do it. Therefore, the servant's torment would finally end, and he would be closer to returning to the comfort of the mansion.
— You, get in the driver's seat. Mateo, take us to a less crowded place — Apolo ordered as he entered the carriage. It was better to move away from the store to avoid any interruptions.
Upon receiving the order, the Gururi looked at the driver's seat and immediately disappeared, only to reappear sitting in the driver's seat. He had indeed teleported. This was because Gururis and all their variations were naturally magical creatures of high magic. Unlike humans, who were naturally magical but of low magic, these definitions emphasized that human magic was very limited and had few practical uses, whereas a Gururi and any other high magic animal could use abilities that would be impossible for a human to achieve naturally.
However, Gururis were created by mages, so they were naturally docile toward them and needed a master to live. That's why their cages in the store were more decorative than useful: these creatures could leave whenever they wanted if they had their own will, but lacking the same, they couldn't leave without their master's command.
Trying to endure the unpleasant smell of the Gururi beside him, Mateo gave the order to the horses to start moving, and the servant began looking for a quieter place as instructed by his master.