“Welcome, sundak.”

Sam glanced up at the stone archway. He was standing behind Wendy, and behind him, there was the grayling deliverer from the pet shop, still holding the items Wendy had purchased. In front of the group, standing below the arch, there was a grayling staring up at them. Sam wasn’t quite sure what this place was supposed to be seeing how it was wide open rather than enclosed like other buildings.

The grayling under the arch tapped its fingers together while looking at Wendy. “Are you purchasing or selling today?”

“Selling,” Wendy said, pointed behind herself with her thumb. “I have a human for sale.”

“I understand, sundak,” the grayling said and reached towards one of the pillars holding up the arch. A slot opened within, and a stone token was ejected, the grayling catching it before handing it to Wendy. “Have you sold anything here before? Would you like a guide?”

“No guide,” Wendy said, taking the token. She glanced at the inscription before placing the token inside of her pocket. She glanced at Sam. “We’re entering a flea market, so keep your hands to yourself.”

Flea market, great. Weren’t those markets supposed to be used for selling secondhand goods? Sam followed after Wendy, and Raindu poked its furry head out of Sam’s collar, taking a look around. There were squares drawn into the ground, and reptilians were sitting down with items laid out in front of them, waiting for potential buyers. There were crystals with all sorts of shapes and sizes. Seeing as reptilians used crystals for everything from cameras to wallets to identity tokens, Sam had no idea what the items on display did.

However, there were some things he could recognize: humans with defeated expressions on their faces. Sam’s brow furrowed as he looked at them, but it wasn’t like there was anything he could do to help them; after all, he was here to be sold as well. Sam blinked and looked down at his shirt collar. Raindu wasn’t there anymore, and he couldn’t identify the ferret’s location on his body. Cold sweat beaded on the back of Sam’s neck, and he couldn’t help but raise his head. Wendy turned back, glaring at him with an expression that threatened murder.

A smile that resembled a crying person’s frown appeared on Sam’s face as he looked around for his lost ferret, doing his best to avoid making eye contact with the reptilians sitting in front of their wares. Unfortunately, Sam couldn’t spot the ferret anywhere. He wanted to shout for the ferret but didn’t want to attract any attention, so he came up with the brilliant idea of shouting for Raindu in his mind since the ferret could read Sam’s thoughts. Sam wasn’t sure if mind readers could hear him more clearly if he thought louder, but it was worth a shot.

The shot didn’t work. Raindu remained nowhere to be found, and Sam trudged ahead with dread welling in his stomach. Every time the damned ferret did something on its own, terrible things happened: the ferret touched a grayling and removed the controller from its brain, causing a train derailment; the ferret touched the insides of a moving car and stole the keys out of its ignition, causing a traffic accident; the ferret touched reptilian guards and murdered them, almost ruining the whole plan to steal the GMC. What was it going to do this time? No, he shouldn’t assume the worst, that would make it happen.

“Hey! I saw you!”

Wendy paused and turned her head to the side. Two reptilians, one blue and one red, were sitting close to each other, their venues side by side.

“What?” the accused red reptilian asked. “Saw me do what?”

The blue reptilian bared its teeth as its tongue flickered. “You swiped my credit rod!”

“I swiped your credit rod?” the red reptilian asked. “How did I do that? I’ve been sitting here this whole time.”

The blue reptilian patted the bag by on its waist, and its eyes widened. “You took my identity token too!”

Sam shivered and subconsciously angled his body away from the arguing reptilians. If his hunch was correct, Raindu had graduated from merely stealing people’s belongings; the ferret was stealing people’s identities now too. Identity token and credit rod? Sam wouldn’t be surprised if Raindu opened a bank account in the blue reptilian’s name. Did reptilians even have bank accounts? Sam wasn’t sure, but it seemed likely considering they had monetary transactions. The collar on Sam’s neck tingled as if Wendy were warning him, but what could Sam do? If anyone should’ve had the shock collar placed on them, it should’ve been Raindu.

Wendy continued walking, ignoring the commotion that seemed like it’d devolve into a fight. After walking for a bit, she stopped in front of a venue, one that had an identical marking to the inscription on the token she had been given upon entering the flea market. “You can place the items down here,” she said, turning towards the grayling deliverer.

“Yes, sundak,” the grayling said, placing the items within the designated square. Once it was done, the bracelet on its wrist stopped glowing, and it turned to look at Wendy. “Is there anything else I can assist you with today?”

“Yeah,” Wendy said. “Wait here. When someone buys my goods, you’ll deliver these things for me.”

“Understood, sundak,” the grayling said, touching the tip of its fingers together before retreating to a corner of the square.

“Human,” Wendy said, pointing at the center of the square. “Make yourself appealing.”

Sam stood in the center of the venue and furrowed his brow. Make himself appealing? How was he supposed to do that? He glanced at his arms, skinny ones despite the steroids Monarch had given him. Then, he touched his face, the one Raindu had pitied him for. After contemplating for a few seconds, he turned towards Wendy for help, and the blonde woman avoided his gaze. “On second thought,” she said, “just stand there. Someone will want you.”

It didn’t take long for a blue reptilian, not Tamara, to appear and inspect Sam. The reptilian walked up to Sam, and its scaly hands touched his body all over, massaging his muscles more intimately than he would’ve liked. After an uncomfortable minute, the reptilian backed away and looked at Wendy. “I’ll take it,” the reptilian said. “How much?”

Wendy scanned the reptilian from head to toe. “Are you part of the HKC?”

The blue reptilian blinked before shaking its head. “No. Is that a problem?”

“Yes,” Wendy said. “Maybe it’s because I’m half-human myself, but I prefer for the humans I capture to wind up in good homes, not some backyard breeder’s.”

The blue reptilian snorted. “Snob,” it said and walked away without saying anything else, causing Sam to relax his tensed muscles. What if a reptilian insisted on buying him and Wendy couldn’t find an excuse to say no? He’d be sold to someone other than Tamara. …Tamara would show up, right? It was all part of the plan, but from what Sam could tell, plans fell apart quite often when Wendy was around.

Wendy glared at Sam. Was it her fault his ferret was a wild animal? Raindu was the one wrecking plans; she was the one fixing the mess the furry creature left behind. A frown appeared on the blonde woman’s face as she turned her head to the side. Not long after, shouts and the sounds accompanying a commotion came from that direction.

Sam turned his head as well, but since he couldn’t see the reptilians, he could only hear the sounds of hissing without understanding the meaning behind them. Whether they were angry hisses, concerned hisses, or happy hisses, Sam couldn’t tell, but he had a feeling he knew who was behind the hubbub. Raindu was still missing, and this place was practically a treasure trove of random, shiny things the ferret might like. All Sam could do was pray no one had spotted the creature; it could move swiftly, but that didn’t mean it was invisible or a master of stealth. Although they wouldn’t be able to see it stealing from people, if it was spotted here and then spotted later while stealing the GMC, smarter individuals might put two and two together.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Sam glanced at Wendy. He wasn’t quite sure how reptilians treated ferrets. Did Raindu have to remain hidden at all times? From what little he had seen of Et Serpentium, it didn’t seem like the reptilians kept any other creatures as pets other than humans. What would they do to Raindu if they caught the furry creature?

“Looks like there’s a fight,” Wendy said, still staring off into the distance. She turned her head towards Sam before looking down at his crotch. “I’m giving you permission to run and preserve your life if the brawl gets close.”

Sam blinked. Why was Wendy staring at him down there while talking to him? A chilling pulsation ran up his spine from his crotch, and he suddenly recalled how he planned on keeping the pulsation a secret from Wendy when he first experienced it on the surdock’s back, as if keeping a secret from a mind reader could be possible. She probably knew from the very moment he experienced it but chose not to comment; at least, that was the feeling he was getting from her vibe. Clearly, she was telling him his life would be in danger if reptilians fought close to him even with an unlocked root chakra.

“Aren’t you going to thank her?” the grayling standing by the pet supplies in the corner of the venue asked.

Before Sam could reply, Wendy snorted. “Who told you to train my human?” she asked, glaring at the grayling.

“My apologies, sundak,” the grayling said.

Sam scratched his head. Was a reptilian giving their human pet permission to escape from life-threatening danger something a human had to be thankful for? Did most reptilians expect their human to stand there and die?

A crashing sound drew Sam’s attention, and he flinched while turning towards the sound. A blue reptilian tumbled along the ground, objects scattering about as it rolled. It came to a halt, a heap of dust shooting past its body as it did so. The reptilian climbed to its feet and hissed. Its yellow eyes seemed to flash as it flexed its muscles, the seven-foot-tall reptilian growing even larger in size. “You shouldn’t have done that!”

Sam swallowed as the ground shook with every step the enlarged reptilian took, rushing in the direction it had been launched from. A charging red reptilian met it, and the two beasts clashed against one another, their sharp teeth snapping at each other’s necks while their claws ripped long wounds into their opponent’s flesh. A shiver ran down Sam’s spine. It was no wonder why Wendy wanted him to flee if the reptilians came close enough; he’d be beaten into a pulp and torn into bloody shreds.

Sam took a look around to see how everyone else was reacting. The captive humans were keeping their heads down while the reptilians were staring at the two fighters. No one had any intention of breaking up the scuffle—if that’s what it could be called. Yellowish-green liquid that looked more like snot that blood flowed freely from the reptilians’ wounds, creating small puddles on the ground where they fought. Sam wasn’t sure how much blood a reptilian body contained, but he was sure both of them had lost unhealthy amounts. For a species supposedly more advanced than humans, they certainly behaved in a not-so-advanced manner.

Something tickled Sam’s leg, and he looked down in time to see a lump travel up his pants. The lump traveled past his crotch and waist, pausing at Sam’s stomach and settling there. Sam tugged at the collar of his shirt and peeked inside his clothes. As expected, Raindu had returned, the ferret waving upon seeing Sam spying on it from above. It grinned at Sam, the creature obviously feeling quite chuffed after its short excursion.

A dark expression appeared on Sam’s face. What exactly did Raindu steal this time?

Raindu gave Sam a thumbs-up with its toe as it mentally told him not to worry about it. Sam tried to read the creature’s mind for more details, but he couldn’t find what he was looking for; rather than discovering the items Raindu stole, Sam learned the type of candy the ferret wanted to eat for dinner. Evidently, the ferret was better at reading Sam’s mind than he was at reading the ferret’s; either that, or the ferret was better at keeping things a secret from a mind reader.

Sam raised his head, turning his attention back onto the fighting reptilians. The red one seemed to be winning; it was straddling the blue reptilian’s waist while clawing at its face repeatedly. The only thing the blue reptilian could do was hold its arms up to defend itself while kicking its feet in an attempt to scratch the red reptilian’s back and tail.

“Had enough yet?” the red reptilian asked, grunting every time it swiped its arms at its opponent. A vicious expression appeared on the red reptilian’s face, and the claws on its right hand swiped across the blue reptilian’s left eye, leaving four long marks. The blue reptilian screamed as yellowish-green liquid spurted out of the wounds.

“Uncle!” the blue reptilian shouted. “Uncle!”

The red reptilian stopped its assault. It stood up and looked down at the blue reptilian for a few seconds, the red reptilian’s tongue flickering in and out of its mouth. The red reptilian snorted and stepped away, the claws on its feet dragging along the blue reptilian’s body. “That’s what you get for accusing me of being a thief.”

The blue reptilian didn’t reply. It rolled over and pushed itself off the ground. It glared at the spectators as it stood up, clutching at its wounded body. Its gaze swept past Sam’s; although eye contact was only maintained for a brief moment, Sam stiffened like a mouse that had encountered a snake. The blue reptilian hung its head and hurried out of the flea market, leaving a trail of its snot-colored blood on the ground. Sam exhaled as the reptilian disappeared from view, and he turned his head to examine Wendy’s expression.

The blonde woman met Sam’s gaze. “Welcome to Et Serpentium. Behave yourself.”

“Yes, sundak,” Sam said. His gaze drifted onto the victorious red reptilian. It was setting up its venue once more, acting as if nothing had happened despite the multiple open wounds on its body. The crowd of reptilians made up of sellers who had dispersed gradually returned to their original places, blocking the red reptilian from view. From what Sam could tell, brawls where reptilians clawed out each other’s eyes were a commonplace event; he was a bit surprised he hadn’t encountered more scarred reptilians. Maybe they were advanced enough to recover from injuries like a gouged-out eye without leaving marks behind.

A high-pitched hiss drew Sam’s attention, and he turned his head to the side. A small, yellow reptilian was pointing at him.

“Mommy, look!” the small reptilian said, looking up at the reptilian standing beside it. It was also yellow. “This one looks so derpy! It’s cute!”

Sam blinked. He was supposed to keep his head down to avoid meeting reptilians’ gazes, but this reptilian was shorter than him, only as tall as his waist; looking down caused him to make direct eye contact with it. The small reptilian walked up to Sam and placed its hand on his thigh before turning to look at the reptilian Sam presumed to be its mother. “Can I have this one, please, please, please?” the reptilian child asked.

The mother reptilian looked at Wendy. “Do you happen to have this human’s genealogy information by any chance?”

“No,” Wendy said, her face stone-cold.

The mother was undeterred. “How much are selling it for?”

“Thirty thousand.”

The mother reptilian blinked its green eyes. “That’s a bit….”

“Pleaseeeeeeeeeeee,” the child reptilian said, dragging out the word while staring at its mother with watery eyes.

A sigh escaped from the mother reptilian’s mouth. “Okay,” it said, nodding at Wendy while taking out a crystal rod.

“Wait,” Wendy said. “Are you part of the HKC?”

“I am,” the yellow reptilian said, taking out a human-shaped stone from its bag. “See?”

Wendy nodded. “Do you own any other humans? This one doesn’t get along well with others; it hasn’t been properly socialized.”

“No,” the yellow reptilian said. “Our last human passed away recently, and Ellie has been heartbroken ever since. We’ve been coming here every week to find a replacement, but this is the first human she’s taken an interest in.”

The child reptilian nodded at Wendy. The small reptilian’s hand clenched, crumpling Sam’s pants. “I promise I’ll take good care of it!”

For some reason, Sam had a bad feeling, and it didn’t have anything to do with being called derpy by a reptilian child. Wendy’s eyes flickered, and she glanced at Sam before looking at the mother reptilian. “This human has great combat potential. It’d—”

Before Wendy could finish her sentence, the yellow reptilian’s face split into a wide smile. “Really?” it asked. “That’s perfect! Our previous human was a seven-time fighting champion; I raised it myself.” The reptilian’s green eyes seemed to shine as it looked at Sam as if it had spotted a treasure. “We’ll take it.”

“Woohoo!” The reptilian child, Ellie, raised its arms into the air and cheered. It reached into a pouch by its waist and took out a small chunk of something brown, offering it up to Sam. Instead of hissing, the child spoke in crude English at Sam while staring at him with bright, green eyes, “I give treat you! Popcorn chicken, very taste good!”

Sam glanced at Wendy, and the blonde woman said, “Don’t forget to thank her.”

Sam accepted the piece of popcorn chicken. “Thank you, sundak,” he said before examining the so-called treat. It was hot as if it had been freshly made. He put it in his mouth and chewed, his eyes lighting up as a savory and salty flavor exploded all over his tongue. It was delicious and admittedly better than anything he had eaten even before his family had abandoned him.

“So, it’s a deal?” the mother reptilian asked, raising its crystal rod once more.

Sam loved the popcorn chicken. It was almost a shame the treat-giving child couldn’t be his owner. He needed to work with Tamara to steal the GMC, so even if Ellie’s heart was broken—

“It’s a deal.”

—Wendy wouldn’t sell…. Wait, what? Question marks appeared over Sam’s head as Wendy handed the blue crystal linked to his shock collar to the reptilian mother. The blonde-haired, red-eyed woman gave Sam a half-hearted smile before shrugging as if she were helpless to change the outcome.