Isekai Walking - Vol. 8 Ch. 69 - Special Slave

[Dennis-aka-Denji]

You black or something?

Bookmark this comment, and in five or so years when you finish high-school, look it up again. I guarantee you will feel some form of "boy was I a cringy edgelord brat" shame.

 

[Wyrm]

Last quick note before I jump out of this sinking ship of a manga.

My hopes were up because Sora actually showed disdain for slavery. He was willing to compromise with it only so far as he could find his friends' friends and possibly reunite them. Buying them if needed, as much as he dislikes the thought of participating in slavery.

Here, he jumps on the idea without showing much reticence. He gets thoughtful for a while, and we don't get any of his thoughts on the matter, then he concludes with "let's go to the slave trader". This seems like he already did a 180 on the idea of slavery and has no more moral quandary on the subject and we get none of the reasoning for it. Not that there is a reasonable way to get there, so I'm not surprised the author just skipped it.

Add to this the fact that the target here is someone who was just freed from a particularly abusive form of slavery that turned her into an assassin puppet with literally no free will...

All of this because... there is no form of legal guardianship for children outside of "special slavery"? This is pure stupidity.

But I assume it all works out because this time it's "special". Right? No problem with slavery as long as it's "special"? This is going back to the disgusting "It's slavery, but it's good slavery" trope that is so common in most mangas using this concept.

Farewell, Sora. I enjoyed your story so far.

 

[Tatsuya-Kai]

Why do people keep bringing up history here? Its magical isekai. Its not like someones holding a gun to the authors head and saying “if you dont bring real life concepts into your fictional universe your brain splatters on the wall”. Be real. What does slavery, used among the main cast as a way to create relationships, bring to the story? Fantasy for guys that would like a cute slave, and? Especially in this case, where she was a slave already, why put her in this circumstance?

First off your projecting a hell of alot by saying guys fantasize about slavery, fyi most guys abhor slavery alot more than you seem to think, if slavery was so commonly liked among men it would still be commonly practiced in the west.

Second your saying this after the king literally put a death warrant on the mc just for existing, while it might come off as a nice series at first, this series is not as nice about things as it seems.

Third like it or not, slavery existed and still does exist in this world, and whether we like it or not, it's likely never going to go away completely outside of divine intervention, the problem is western media has a very skewed view of slavery taught to people, slavery is not as cruel and brutal to Asiatic cultures as it is to american and to a extent european cultures, hence why it's a common trope in japanese media, to put it in a more simple term, the japanese culturally view slavery differently than we in the west do on average.

And finally, if you want the simplest reason it's because it's a isekai, isekai by it's nature, though called trapped in another world, is in fact "trapped in a alternate historical period with some liberties" most of the time, that means you need alot of historical tropes for the story to work and one of the most common tropes of human society was slavery, the other common tropes are alot more adult and brutal so most stories avoid them for legitimate reasons, some examples being plagues, bizarre medical practices, forced prostitution, forced conscription, a lord sacking his own villages to prevent enemies from getting resources, robber barons, brutal tortures for minor crimes (this was only in some areas, but it did exist) etc, point is of the realistic things we talk about today, the past was far, far more brutal, slavery is the easiest of the vices to introduce in a story without it going full R rating.

To be blunt, slavery in isekai is one of the most common tropes exactly because it's one of the most realistic to historical depictions of reality, and like i said, though we try to hide it, it's even in existence in western countries today, though at least we try to stamp it out now (at least officially).

Spoiler

Oh and just to make something clear, this girl is never treated as a love interest in the novel, she's more or less his little sister, that said if slavery bothers you so much i'd highly suggest stopping reading now because at least 2 more instances of slavery exist in this story off the top of my head and while the story does not glorify it (if anything it seems to break with the trope a bit), you seem to be bothered by the idea of slavery in stories, so i'd walk away now if that bothers you.

 

[ChrisFromMrBeast]

Bookmark this comment, and in five or so years when you finish high-school, look it up again. I guarantee you will feel some form of "boy was I a cringy edgelord brat" shame.

I already work and own a home though?
Oh you're american aren't you?

 

[Dennis-aka-Denji]

I already work and own a home though?

I am so sorry for you. Maybe you can still grow into a good person?

Oh you're american aren't you?

Nope, just a normal human with empathy.

 

[thycondrius]

Why not say your documents got stolen or that she was recued form orcs and has no memory?

so many fucking ways to solve this without slavery...

fucking japanese mangakas and their hardon for slavery.

 

[Dennis-aka-Denji]

To be blunt, slavery in isekai is one of the most common tropes exactly because it's one of the most realistic to historical depictions of reality

Yeah that's why, historical accuracy is the driving force behing the massive amounts of slavery in isekai. What a clown take.

You genuinely don't seem very bright, so I'll try to condense this into a short chunk of text you can probably understand:
People don't mind slavery being depicted as a part of medieval european fantasy, comment sections don't fly off the rails if a random slave is shown as a part of the worldbuilding. You can continue writing walls of text about the historicity of slavery if you want, but by doing so you're either willfully creating a strawman or genuinely missing the entire point. Which is that people recognize and reject the massive use of the slave trope as a way to justify sexual fantasy fulfilment in isekai. In this shit-tier manga for instance, we're given a completely unhinged explanation (bureaucracy, amirite) for why enslaving a child is actually a good and kind thing. Even in the convoluted, ham-fisted situation the MC is in, there's more logical ways to proceed, but we all know the author is still gonna go down the loli slave route (to be historically accurate, of course). In a genre known for its hardon for slavery, that just doesn't sit right with anyone who isn't emotionally on the level of a 13 year old who can't resist the ego boosts they get from constant contrarianism.

Ended up not being all that short, sorry. Maybe your mom can read it for you.

 

[tekkenshu7]

Thanks for the new chapter!

Hmmm...can't he just put her in the orphanage, then adopt her (paying the necessary fees) right on the same day? Sora is already considered an adult in that world, and the process of adoption will give her the social security they were concerned of, by making Sora her legal guardian (unless of course there rules about how long a child can be adopting after one is put into an orphanage).
But yeah, I guess the author wants Hikari to be a potential waifu in the future.

 

[Tatsuya-Kai]

Yeah that's why, historical accuracy is the driving force behing the massive amounts of slavery in isekai. What a clown take.

You genuinely don't seem very bright, so I'll try to condense this into a short chunk of text you can probably understand:
People don't mind slavery being depicted as a part of medieval european fantasy, comment sections don't fly off the rails if a random slave is shown as a part of the worldbuilding. You can continue writing walls of text about the historicity of slavery if you want, but by doing so you're either willfully creating a strawman or genuinely missing the entire point. Which is that people recognize and reject the massive use of the slave trope as a way to justify sexual fantasy fulfilment in isekai. In this shit-tier manga for instance, we're given a completely unhinged explanation (bureaucracy, amirite) for why enslaving a child is actually a good and kind thing. Even in the convoluted, ham-fisted situation the MC is in, there's more logical ways to proceed, but we all know the author is still gonna go down the loli slave route (to be historically accurate, of course). In a genre known for its hardon for slavery, that just doesn't sit right with anyone who isn't emotionally on the level of a 13 year old who can't resist the ego boosts they get from constant contrarianism.

Ended up not being all that short, sorry. Maybe your mom can read it for you.

Reduced to insults now?
Lol ok not even gonna bother talking to you.

 

[GadgetSteelmare]

Thanks for the TL!

 

[kaylani]

First off your projecting a hell of alot by saying guys fantasize about slavery, fyi most guys abhor slavery alot more than you seem to think, if slavery was so commonly liked among men it would still be commonly practiced in the west.

Second your saying this after the king literally put a death warrant on the mc just for existing, while it might come off as a nice series at first, this series is not as nice about things as it seems.

Third like it or not, slavery existed and still does exist in this world, and whether we like it or not, it's likely never going to go away completely outside of divine intervention, the problem is western media has a very skewed view of slavery taught to people, slavery is not as cruel and brutal to Asiatic cultures as it is to american and to a extent european cultures, hence why it's a common trope in japanese media, to put it in a more simple term, the japanese culturally view slavery differently than we in the west do on average.

And finally, if you want the simplest reason it's because it's a isekai, isekai by it's nature, though called trapped in another world, is in fact "trapped in a alternate historical period with some liberties" most of the time, that means you need alot of historical tropes for the story to work and one of the most common tropes of human society was slavery, the other common tropes are alot more adult and brutal so most stories avoid them for legitimate reasons, some examples being plagues, bizarre medical practices, forced prostitution, forced conscription, a lord sacking his own villages to prevent enemies from getting resources, robber barons, brutal tortures for minor crimes (this was only in some areas, but it did exist) etc, point is of the realistic things we talk about today, the past was far, far more brutal, slavery is the easiest of the vices to introduce in a story without it going full R rating.

To be blunt, slavery in isekai is one of the most common tropes exactly because it's one of the most realistic to historical depictions of reality, and like i said, though we try to hide it, it's even in existence in western countries today, though at least we try to stamp it out now (at least officially).

Spoiler

Oh and just to make something clear, this girl is never treated as a love interest in the novel, she's more or less his little sister, that said if slavery bothers you so much i'd highly suggest stopping reading now because at least 2 more instances of slavery exist in this story off the top of my head and while the story does not glorify it (if anything it seems to break with the trope a bit), you seem to be bothered by the idea of slavery in stories, so i'd walk away now if that bothers you.

Projecting? Why else is this such a prolific trope and ONLY with girls, often love interests?
You’re bringing up all these terrible things fiction often has, but very rarely is it portrayed like slavery continues to be, where its bad unless the mc needs it, and obviously even though people can abuse it the mc is just such a good guy that he’s different, so its fine. In fact things like exploitation of the people and sacrificing innocent citizens in war efforts are often punished, by the mc or someone we see as “good.”
And you cant say “oh the asian viewpoint is that slavery just isnt as bad” when half the villains in fantasy are slavers, slavery is a worst case consequence, and even in slave plot point series you see truly disgusting portrayals of people in the worst circumstances under subhuman abusive masters and slavers. objectively slavery is “bad” outside of when the mc uses it for a “good” reason (literally this series does this).
It seems i will have to drop this, which is a shame. I was enjoying it until this.

 

[zeinzki]

adoption found in year xxx
people before year xxx :

 

[Maiorem]

they treat it like having your freewill robbed (usually they can force slaves to obey with whatever magic slave mark)

Perhaps you've been reading too many stories using slavery as a hentai plot device. As this chapter itself states, the special category of slavery is specifically for underaged children to be under contract with an adult until they come of age so that they can be employed by owners of big shops as helpers. This does not involve some sort of magic slave mark or robbing of free will.

And fun fact since the inception of slavery people have been denouncing it as an abhorrent practice

Nonsense. Slavery has been around for more than several thousand years, literally existing before anyone could even write, but it was only abolished less than a thousand years ago. If people had been denouncing it as abhorrent it would have been abolished a lot sooner.

and let's not act it's ok because and i cite you without any intention to insult you "It was a fact of life", rape and pillage when capturing a city was also a fact of life (and still is) until not even 100 years ago (Japan in China, the Soviets going towards German and even the Allies while liberating Western Europe for some less recent and less controversial ones) but it still doesn't make it okay

No one is saying it's ok, just as no one is saying that goblins raping women are ok. Just because a manga depicts something doesn't mean that it is saying this is ok.

it's fucking weird how Japan is fixated on it, if Western comics were this fixated on portraying slavery as a good thing people would have started huge controversies over it even long before the whole "Political Correctness and Woke" movement was an idea, once again this is a fantasy world and magical contracts are also a thing in some mangas no need to jump to slavery directly.

Once again, this is a fantasy world, and no one is saying that this is a good thing. It is simply understood as a common system existing within a medieval world.

It's not because they're not Western and that the West used to exploit them (barely in the case of Japan) that it makes it okay to ignore the horrific shit they support, we need to stop with this "Thing in the West = but Same thing not in the West = "

In fact, chattel slavery in America specifically was a lot worse and a lot more abusive, which is why reactions towards slavery in the West was (and still is) very different from the rest of the world, since much of the world actually took care of their slaves as actual humans, and even allowed them to have their own property and family. It's not as simple as "slavery bad"

 

[CalamityCallout]

I love loli slaves as much as the next person, but what the fuck author? This isnt the story for that.

This is the stupidest, most ridiculous, nonsensical, obviously forced, and just plain unnecessary slavery plot i've ever seen. Why?

 

[Maiorem]

Are people so incapable of nuanced thinking these days that slavery is just immediately associated with sex or abuse?

 

[Trash_Connoisseur]

Wild title for this chapter's number

 

[Tatsuya-Kai]

Projecting? Why else is this such a prolific trope and ONLY with girls, often love interests?
You’re bringing up all these terrible things fiction often has, but very rarely is it portrayed like slavery continues to be, where its bad unless the mc needs it, and obviously even though people can abuse it the mc is just such a good guy that he’s different, so its fine. In fact things like exploitation of the people and sacrificing innocent citizens in war efforts are often punished, by the mc or someone we see as “good.”
And you cant say “oh the asian viewpoint is that slavery just isnt as bad” when half the villains in fantasy are slavers, slavery is a worst case consequence, and even in slave plot point series you see truly disgusting portrayals of people in the worst circumstances under subhuman abusive masters and slavers. objectively slavery is “bad” outside of when the mc uses it for a “good” reason (literally this series does this).
It seems i will have to drop this, which is a shame. I was enjoying it until this.

Well first off it's not just girls, might be the manga your reading but i've seen multiple isekai manga and even a few steampunk series that has male slaves, it might be readers bias for you there but yeah it's more common than you might think, as for my projecting comment i stand by it as i've yet to meet a man who likes slavery (well, outside of some wierdos, but i've seen that of both genders).

Before i continue let me be clear on something, i despise slavery, probably more than you can imagine because i can actually trace back a ancestor of mine to this very exact form of slavery and having to have their freedom bought out by the person who'd become their spouse, my point was that of the common darker aspects of the past, slavery is probably one of the easiest palatable and sanitized for a teen audience, while i'd personally prefer no slavery either, i'm not so foolish as to claim this wasn't extremely common in multiple societies in the past, to the point it is less of a pattern and more of a dark mark on our history.

It also has to be said that many stories of debt slaves are actually just a bad translation of "indentured servant", which isn't technically slavery but is similar enough to get the wording mixed up (and no i'm not defending this practice either, though it's not as strange as it was a temporary form of it), specifically indentured servitude was a common act where someone would sell their services for a job beforehand and be paid a lump sum up front for a job but essentially be bound to that job until it finishes, provided basic amenities like food, water and housing but still basically be in a bound contract until their agreed upon time was finished.

That said i'd feel really bad if i didn't mention that we arguably practice a worse form of slavery today than we did in the past with how debts and interest work, but i'd be here all day if i mentioned that (fyi usury aka debt interest as the true name of it is called, is a extreme sin in abrahamic religions and especially christianity, but for some reason societies claiming to be religious have practiced it for over a millennia).

Yeah i'd suggest walking away from this if the mention of slavery bothers you, while the story does not promote slavery it does have multiple mentions of it throughout.

 

[Yohantus]

Well, call it contract if is just a name issue. Indeed is a trope, like the hero that save the heroine 3 seconds before die (Mushoku Tensei today episode). As much as i hate tropes, is a thing of the japanese narrative, move on.

In the novels it's narrated how Roxy had been living for that 1 month alone in the laberynth just before that so it didn't feel so in the nose like in the anime.

 

[BladeGrip]

But he can officially enslave someone, no documents needed there? Not to mention that he doesn't really need to go to the city that bad, he can just keep to the forests/villages. Does he need spices more that that girl needs her freedom?
Don't make excuses for this shit-tier forced plot device.

I don't make excuses. I just see how the author built the fictional world and accept it. Yeah, that world is fucked up enough that slave contract is much easier to make than adoption form, so what? It's still just fiction. Nobody can please everyone, so those who find the fiction unpleasant to read can simply leave.

 

[Yohantus]

Are people so incapable of nuanced thinking these days that slavery is just immediately associated with sex or abuse?

It feels like we are in twitter with everybody and their mother virtue signalling to feel good about themselves.