From some distance, I already heard the slave drivers bringing in another unfortunate person.

The one that was brought in had to be restrained by four of them.

He was tall and must have been very well built because they were struggling to hold him down, just from a glance it was clear that he was a beast-man.

They opened the cell door and threw him into the one I was rotting in for a few weeks now.

He didn’t stay down for long, he rushed at the now locked cell door and rattled it with all his might.

For a split second, I had the hope that he would actually break it down but then he stopped.

He looked at the corner of the cell where I was sitting and watching him.

He wanted to say something but it was clear that we did not speak the same language then he wanted to use a skill, most likely to translate but the slave collar he wore suppressed all skills that he had.

Every slave here wore one.

He put his hands on the collar to rip it off.

I wanted to stop him, he would only hurt himself and the effort would be useless, even his strength would not be enough.

Or that's what I thought.

He ripped it off with such force as it was made of paper.

I didn’t know what he cast but in the blink of an eye, his whole demeanor changed.

From a strong, noble, beast-man that could not be kept down to… this.

“Don’t need skills when you got a high STR level.

Hello there pretty lady, you’re not from the beasts too, are you?

Sure don’t look like it.

Maybe you’re an albino? You’re very white, very much so.

You need to be in the sun for a bit.

Though thinking about it, sure doesn’t look like you would turn brown but gray instead, wouldn’t want to ruin your perfect skin.

You look like a geisha in preparing, having already applied the skin makeup.”

I was lost for speech.

“Hey, how do you think I look? Do you think I’m handsome?”

He opened his mouth and showed me his teeth, “are my teeth long? They sure feel a lot longer than I’m used to.

I’m a horse guy? Feels like it. Are we called Beast-folk or Demi-Human, I wonder. Would you know of any beast race that kind of looks like a horse? I could be a donkey guy. Sure am not a zebra, got no stripes, see?”

He lifted his shirt to show, with clear effect, that he was stripe-less.

“So, here I am, Homo Equus Ferus Sapien. Thought I would sprout a second pair of legs if I was a horse-man, would have loved to be a centaur but am more of a minotaur. Generally, this beast-man thing is disappointing, I look more like a character from Uma Musume than a so-called beast. Oh well, Kemonomimi instead of furry is good enough. I’m sure there is a spectrum to it though, like the Khajiit from the elder scrolls.

He laughed nervously, “not that I’m disappointed to not be a furry, … haha.”

He finally stopped speaking, “and who’re you, little lady?”

“… I am Wo Aini, who’re you?”

“Oh, you’re about to get your world rocked Aini. Not just yours but everyone else's too.

I’m just your average isekai protagonist, Asher Burell.”