In the medical room, the slave doctor was treating Shu.
Lester had ordered him to do everything possible.
The fact that Lester didn't say "You must save him" suggested even he thought Shu's chances were slim.
They poured extremely strong liquor — the kind that felt like fire in the mouth — directly onto the wound as a substitute for disinfectant.
Because of the heavy blood loss, Shu's fading consciousness was forcibly dragged back by the intense pain.
There was no such thing as anesthesia.
The technique existed in the world, but not on this island.
Several adult men held Shu's body down.
A towel-like cloth was stuffed into his mouth to keep him from screaming.
About two hours after being brought to the medical room, the stitching of the wound was finally completed. The immediate treatment was over.
Whether he would recover or weaken from here depended entirely on his own physical strength and willpower.
Several days later, Shu's condition was progressing well.
He had been staying in the medical room, but he was eventually sent back to his own quarters.
Even so, he was still in serious condition.
He was given one full month of rest.
"When you recover, the treatment and medicine costs will be deducted from your earnings. Work hard."
Lester left those words after checking on him and departed.
Shu had no idea how much it would cost.
He figured it was probably cheaper than buying a new slave, but he also knew it wasn't an amount a slave could realistically pay. That was as far as his thoughts went.
He had recovered enough to stand, but every step sent pain shooting through his abdomen.
Since he had no choice but to walk when going to the toilet or for meals, he had to endure the pain for a while longer.
Shu stopped by the shop and bought a pen, a notebook, and several of the books he had ordered previously.
He wanted to write down the reasons for his difficult fight, his own mistakes, how he had behaved, and exactly how he had lost — while the memory was still fresh.
Separately, he also decided to record his daily training, its effects, meal contents, and sleep hours.
[Calamity Calendar: Year 1010, Month 7]
One month later, his body had recovered and he returned to regular work.
Since his main duty had become fighting as a slave warrior, he was removed from corpse disposal duty.
He was now assigned to outdoor field work, tilling the soil.
Work began at dawn.
The vegetables they were harvesting that morning were scheduled to be used for breakfast, so there was no time to waste.
Freshly picked morning vegetables were especially delicious.
Vegetables used their energy to grow during the day and rested at night.
As soon as the sun rose, they began using energy to grow again, so harvesting just before dawn made perfect sense.
Surviving his last defeat had been nothing more than luck.
If the final sword thrust had targeted his throat instead of his abdomen, he would have died for sure.
He keenly felt that what he lacked most was physical strength.
After finishing the day's work, Shu took a shower and returned to his room, only to receive a summons from Lester.
He passed through several checkpoints and headed to Lester's quarters.
Lester: "Your spirit isn't broken, is it?"
Lester peered into Shu's eyes.
Lester: "Looks like you're fine. About your next match—"
Shu: "Wait! There's something I want to say first."
Lester: "Getting cold feet?"
Shu: "I'll work. I'll fight in the matches. That's why I want permission to go outside. Not off the island — I want free access in and out of the facility grounds."
Lester: "What do you plan to do?"
Shu: "Training. There's a limit to what I can do inside the facility."
Lester: "Denied. Anything else?"
Shu: "We are products. We put on better shows, please the audience, and the admission fees keep this facility running."
Lester: "…And?"
Shu: "The only reason I'm still alive after losing to Liam is pure luck. If I had more strength, that wouldn't have happened, and I could put on even more exciting shows."
Lester: "What the audience wants is—"
Shu: "I know! Cruel shows, right? I can do that! And I'll make them even more exciting! If I do, the facility will make even more money!"
Lester: "Very well. But I'll assign a watcher. And you'd better produce results. I'll give you two months."
From the next day onward, Shu spent more of his free time training outdoors.
Agricultural work was extremely heavy labor.
Just doing that job built considerable stamina, but he felt it still wasn't enough to survive.
Two months later, despite his hard training, his body hadn't grown that much larger.
He stepped back into the ring for the first time in a while.
His opponent was a boy around the same age.
The way he held his sword looked reasonably competent.
At the very least, it didn't seem to be his debut fight.
The gong sounded.
Shu deftly targeted and sliced off the base of the opponent's right thumb.
The boy could no longer grip the sword with his right hand and switched to his left.
Shu then cut off the left thumb as well.
Now the boy could hold no weapon. Even if he survived and left the arena, he would never grip a sword again in his life.
Next, Shu targeted the left Achilles tendon and severed it cleanly.
Although Shu's physique hadn't changed noticeably, his power had clearly increased.
Without mercy, he slashed the crying boy's wrists as well.
When the heavy bleeding began, the referee stopped the match.
It was a successful return fight.
Shu wanted to meet Lester again to negotiate further, but a slave could not simply go see the boss on his own.
The only way was to put on flashy, eye-catching shows so that Lester would notice him.
After several more shows, the chance finally came.
Lester appeared before Shu once again.
He called Shu to the director's office and warned him.
Lester: "If you make it too flashy, you'll draw unwanted attention. You'll run out of suitable opponents and end up fighting adult warriors. You'll die, you know?"
Shu: "Without strength, I'll die anyway. More importantly, I have another request. I want the meal menu improved. Specifically, give me more meat."
Lester: "There's a budget for meals. We have children and elderly here too. Sudden improvements are difficult."
Shu: "I don't care about the others. My body is going to grow from now on. This is the only time. I need meat to get bigger and stronger!"
Lester: "This is less a consultation and more a demand. Still… you are in your growth period. Feeding you more meat might be a good investment. I'll invest in you. Work even harder."
Starting the following week, meat was added to Shu's meal menu.
Since receiving a special meal in the cafeteria would stand out, he began receiving a bento box from the checkpoint guard and eating it in a place out of sight.
The doctors, cooks, and shop staff were almost all slaves.
Normally, when someone became a slave, they fell into despair and the light disappeared from their faces.
There were such slaves on Bangan Island too, but most of them had expressions no different from ordinary people.
This was largely due to Lester's policies.
Even as slaves, those who contributed seriously were given rewards and their requests were heard.
The work was certainly hard and often something ordinary people would avoid, but they were given regular days off to refresh themselves.
If injured or sick, they could see a doctor — though only minimal treatment was provided.
In fact, their living conditions were better than those of the lowest class of free people.
While similar slave farms existed across the world, Bangan Island under Lester's rule was exceptionally well-treated.
Daily Life at the Brothel
Today, as usual, various customers arrived.
Occasionally, underage customers came as well.
An orc father and son had boarded the ferry to Bangan Island.
The father served as a lord in a conflict zone.
The son was scheduled to graduate from middle school this year.
After graduation, he would travel across battlefields for a while before eventually succeeding his father as lord.
Despite being the heir, the son was neither arrogant nor overbearing. He studied diligently and honed his martial skills.
There had once been an incident where he nearly laid hands on a maid in the mansion.
When his orc father found out, he beat the boy black and blue.
"How dare you lay hands on someone who supports you!! Have some shame!!"
Orcs were generally strong in both body and sexual desire.
If he weren't a lord, he could mate wherever he wanted.
But what if the woman became pregnant?
As a man, he would have to take responsibility.
Of course, he could pretend he knew nothing, but he would receive cold looks from the other servants and even the territory's people.
If he was going to touch women, he should consider such consequences.
This was also part of the education the father gave his son.
After that, the orc son stopped touching the servants, but his sexual desire continued to build up.
"If you finish this semester in the top 10, I'll give you a reward."
The orc son studied hard afterward and achieved excellent grades.
As promised, the father brought his son to Bangan Island to teach him about women.
There were legal brothels in nearby territories, but they deliberately chose this place.
"The orc lord and his son went to the brothel."
It wasn't exactly a bad thing, but it wasn't good for their reputation either.
On Bangan Island, such rumors almost never spread.
Father Orc: "Women are great. They make you feel really happy."
Son Orc: "I'm looking forward to it. What kind of girls are there?"
Father Orc: "I think it's better if they're not orcs."
Son Orc: "Why?"
Father Orc: "In the not-too-distant future, you'll take a wife. When thinking about leaving descendants, you'll marry an orc woman. After that, you won't be able to embrace women of other races."
Son Orc: "I see. Father, you've only ever been with Mother!"
Father Orc: "...…"
Son Orc: "Wait… are you having affairs?"
Father Orc: "Anyway, we've arrived at the pier! Let me teach you the rules here. Don't ask tactless questions!"
In reality, a man who was both a lord and a warrior could hardly avoid affairs.
The women understood this.
As long as it didn't destroy the household or lower the loyalty of the people, turning a blind eye was simply adult etiquette.
A carriage was waiting at the pier.
The orc father and son had reserved it entirely.
Father Orc: "Listen, I'll tell you something serious.
One day you will take a wife.
A virgin is preferable, but not necessarily.
You must not be manipulated by women. As a lord who leads his people, you need to become skilled at handling women."
In truth, pairings between sheltered sons and sheltered daughters — carefully raised virgins — rarely went well.
For nobles, "We're married, but we don't know how to handle our night life" was fatal.
Therefore, many parents regularly sent their sons to such places to learn how to handle women.
Son Orc: "Are you buying too, Father?"
Father Orc: "Of course I am! (laugh)"
The carriage arrived in front of the brothel.
When the door opened, the manager came out to greet them.
Manager: "Welcome. Is this your first time using our establishment?"
The manager was no fool.
They were actually quite regular customers, but with the son present, it would leave a bad impression if it seemed the father frequented such places often.
That was why he deliberately asked, "Is this your first time?"
Father Orc: "I brought my son to teach him about women! Go on, son — pick as many girls as you like!"
Manager: "Would you like a multiple-partner session?"
Father Orc: "Yes. It's his first time, after all. I'll teach him hands-on!"
Manager: "I'm terribly sorry, but one prostitute cannot be shared by multiple men."
Father Orc: "Then multiple men with multiple women should be fine, right?"
Manager: "You wish to instruct your son, correct?"
Father Orc: "Exactly!"
Manager: "A first experience with group play is quite a high hurdle. It may affect his future preferences. How about leaving it to me?"
Father Orc: "Is that so? Then I'll leave it to you."
The manager led the orc father and son to the waiting room and had staff bring fruits and cold drinks.
A short while later, the manager returned with six girls.
Manager: "Thank you for waiting. We have prepared girls suitable for your son's first experience. May I introduce them?"
Father Orc: "Please do!"
One girl from each race was selected — human, elf, dark elf, dwarf, orc, and beastkin — and introduced in turn.
Manager: "Whichever girl you choose, you can leave it to us with confidence."
Son Orc: "Then… the dwarf girl!"
Manager: "Understood."
Father Orc: "Then I'll take all the remaining five! One man with multiple women is fine, right?"
Manager: "Thank you for your consideration."
The manager had brought six girls. Only one would be chosen.
What were the feelings of the remaining five?
"If I hadn't been brought here, if I had stayed waiting in the other room, I might have been chosen!"
This orc father and son were not the only customers.
Other guests were browsing the girls in the large hall.
Simply telling the unselected girls "You weren't chosen, you may return to your rooms" would be boring.
That was why the father orc had declared he would buy all the remaining girls.
The experienced manager understood this thoughtful gesture and expressed gratitude.
The son orc, still lacking experience, simply thought, "Father's sex drive is amazing!"
Because he could show such consideration, the father was treated as a valued customer at the brothel.
Back at the mansion, the servants respected him, and the people adored him.
With refreshed expressions, the orc father and son left the brothel.
Father Orc: "Well? It was a good experience today, wasn't it?"
Son Orc: "Yeah, thank you, Father. Starting tomorrow, I'll work hard on my studies and training again!"
Father Orc: "Wahaha! I'll bring you again! Keep it a secret from your mother!"
Son Orc: "Okay, got it. By the way, what did you tell Mother when we left today?"
Father Orc: "That we're going to Bangan Island."
Son Orc: "She knows what that means, right?"
Father Orc: "Ah…"
The son orc had climbed one step up the ladder of adulthood and become slightly sharper.
However, orcs were still weak when it came to intellect.