"Well, to be precise, that man just now was taking that little girl somewhere," Yuki understood quickly upon hearing this.

"You mean, that place requires that little girl?" Yuki asked.

"Yes, and that little girl was bought by that middle-aged man, so if you think about it, it's easy to figure out that the place he's rushing to must be a place where slaves are bought and sold," Ryuto replied, revealing his astonishment.

"So, is that middle-aged man rushing to sell the little girl then?" Yuki asked.

"Yeah, that's probably it," Ryuto replied coldly.

...

After a moment of silence, Ryuto shifted his gaze back to the little girl.

"Oh, by the way, after all this time, I still don't know your name," Ryuto said, as if confirming.

"My...name?" the little girl asked.

"Yeah," Ryuto replied.

Understanding what Ryuto meant, the little girl suddenly said, out of the blue, "Worthless."

"Huh?" Ryuto was puzzled by this answer.

But as if to make Ryuto believe her, the little girl reiterated, "That...is my name."

Oh, I see.

"...Did that middle-aged man give you that name?" Ryuto asked.

The little girl just shook her head, a bit puzzled.

"No, because that's what he often called me, so I thought...that might be...my name," the little girl casually answered.

"Is that so?" Ryuto replied coldly, then asked further, "And before that? Before that man bought you, how did others call you?"

After a moment of thought, the little girl answered, "Number 177."

"Wow..." Ryuto was surprised once again by this answer.

Finally regaining his composure, Ryuto asked, "Why...do you say that? It seems like a number."

"Yeah, in that very large space, there was someone who managed a lot of slaves like me, and at that time, that person called me by that name," the little girl explained.

...

After a brief silence, Ryuto asked, "So, if I were to give you a new name now, what kind of name do you think would be good?"

"A new name...given by the master...?" the little girl asked.

"I already told you not to call me that," Ryuto said, but it seemed like the little girl didn't hear it.

"A name..." the little girl whispered for a while, then suddenly raised her head, looked directly at Ryuto, and said, slowly and deliberately, "Ryuto...help me choose."

"Huh? Me?" Ryuto pointed at himself in surprise.

The little girl simply nodded.

"Yeah...as long as it's...chosen by Ryuto...I'll...like it, no matter what," she said, her eyes pleading for something.

Hmm...

To think I've been burdened with this again. I've always used the pseudonym "ACG God" because I'm not good at coming up with names. Even this nickname took Ryuto several days and nights to think of.

"Um..."

As Ryuto struggled to come up with a name, the little girl just kept her eyes wide open, not even blinking.

Hey, hey, this is so stressful. The declaration that anything is fine is basically saying that almost nothing is fine.

Perhaps to avoid the pressure of direct eye contact, Ryuto turned his head slightly to the side, trying to find someone to help.

But...

In the face of Ryuto's pleading eyes, Miyuki deliberately looked away, while Hiyori looked confused.

I can't believe it...

Looks like they aren't able to help either.

"Um..."

As Ryuto pondered, his gaze started to wander again.