After many harsh days had passed, she was transported quite a distance to Fhuren, and was then put in a dim, prison-like place. Inside the place, there were a lot of children of the human race. After she spent who knows how many days inside, several children who were with her were taken out on a daily basis but never returned. A slightly older boy said they were going to be displayed to guests and priced.
When it was finally Myuu's turn, there was by chance a drainage maintenance that day, so the hole leading to the underground waterway was open. Myuu, who heard the nostalgic sound of the water, immediately jumped inside. Usually, there was nothing a 3 or 4 year old could do because the hurdle was too high, but fortunately, she wasn't handcuffed. Myuu swam with all her might while enduring the unpleasantness of the filthy sewage. Though she was young, she was a child of the Sea-dweller's tribe. The men could do nothing but run on the passageway to try and catch her, but failed to do so while she rode the current.
However, because she wasn't accustomed to long travels, coupled by the stress of getting kidnapped, the unpalatable food, and the bad environment where she was soaked inside the drainage for a long time, Myuu finally lost her consciousness when she reached both her physical and mental limits. Her consciousness faintly returned thanks to being wrapped in a warm back, and she noticed she was being held by Hajime.
"The guests set the... price. An auction, huh. For children ranging from the human race and Sea-dweller's tribe to be there, it should be an underground auction."
"... Hajime-san, what should we do?"
Shia, who looked distressed, embraced Myuu closely. Her eyes were clearing expressing she wanted to do something about it. It was normal for the demi-human race to be captured and turned into slaves. Shia who was deprived of her family because of it, understood the fear and pain.
However, Hajime shook his head.
"It should be better to entrust her to the security office."
"That's... you're going to abandon this child and the other children..."
When Shia heard Hajime's words, she gritted her teeth. She closely embraced Myuu as she received the shock and looked at Hajime. What Hajime meant as security office was an organization similar to the police force on Earth. By entrusting her to the government-like facility, Myuu could be separated from them. Although it wasn't an abandonment but a regular procedure of finding lost children, Shia didn't think so.
Hajime tried to explain it to Shia in an easy-to-understand manner.
"You know, Shia. It is the natural thing to send the lost children you find to the security office. Even more so when Myuu is a child of the Sea-dweller tribe. She will surely be protected by them. In addition, to auction someone from Sea-dweller tribe is a great problem. They will investigate it and the other children will be saved. Isn't that enough? Though I'm just guessing, this is probably the dark side of this big city. When Myuu was caught, she would surely placed in a location where the public officials couldn't get their hands there. In other words, this is Fhuren's problem. That's why, isn't it necessary to report it?... Considering your circumstance, I understand your feelings of wanting to do something, but..."
"Th-That... that is true... But, at the very least can we be the one who take this child? After all, we are going to the sea in the west..."
"Haa~, listen. We are going to the Great Volcano first. Don't tell me, are you going to take her along to the dungeon? Or, are you going to tell her to wait in the desert alone? In the first place, we will be considered as the kidnapper's comrade if we take the kidnapped child of Sea-dweller tribe without permission. So, don't say anything unreasonable like this."