What? I Actually Reincarnated As Stepping Stone In Another World?

*Knock Knock*

"Young master, it's morning," Runa's voice came from outside Arthur's bedroom, causing him to wake up from his sleep.

The sky looked quite bright, but the sunlight wasn't too strong yet.

"It's just dawn; why bother waking me up now?" Arthur shook his head and quickly walked towards the door, which he opened.

Immediately, a petite girl in a maid costume looked at Arthur excitedly.

"Little Runa, it's just dawn; can't you wake me up a little later?" Arthur scrubbed his eyes and looked at Runa helplessly.

"No, young master! It is my duty as your personal maid to always wake you up in the morning!" Runa said this excitedly, and she clenched her small fists.

Hearing this, Arthur just shook his head and smiled gently.

"Alright, alright,"

"Thank you, my little maid," Arthur rubbed her head and spoke softly.

"Hehehe!" Runa smiled happily, and her eyes were like crescents.

"By the way, breakfast is ready, young master! Would you like me to bring it to your room?" Runa said it as if she just remembered it.

"Alright, please bring my breakfast to my room, and you haven't had breakfast either, have you?" Arthur held his chin up and spoke lightly.

"Umm, yes, I haven't had breakfast at all," Runa looked embarrassed after saying this.

She didn't have time to have breakfast first because after waking up, she immediately got ready and woke up her young master.

Hearing this, Arthur, who had been expecting it, said gently, "Well, you also bring your breakfast, and we will eat together in my room."

"No, young master, this can't be!" Runa immediately shook her head quickly. How could a maid eat with her master?

However, Arthur did not compromise with her and spoke dominantly. "This is my order; you must obey it."

Hearing this, Runa immediately lowered her head and could only obey her young master's orders.

"Alright, as you requested, young master," Runa said with some distress; after all, she felt that although she could get close to her young master, there were some things that should be kept between her and her young master.

Arthur smiled gently after seeing the obedient Runa.

After all, he could only do this so that Runa could get used to him and get along easily with him.

Maybe this sounded selfish, but somehow he saw the figure of Mira in Runa, which made him not want Runa to be too polite and keep her distance from him because of the difference in status.

'Hey, did I use Runa as a replacement for Mira?' Arthur thought to himself and felt a little guilty.

However, he quickly pushed away his thoughts and remembered something.

"By the way, I'll go to Rozen after breakfast."

Hearing this, Runa immediately raised her head and asked curiously, "Is there anything you need there, young master?"

Arthur nodded and said lightly, "There is something I have to do there, and please convey my message to the butler that I want to go and don't need too many strong bodyguards to accompany me."

"Guards with Elemental Core levels three to five are enough; don't be too strong," Arthur thought of something and immediately relayed the order to Runa.

With his status as the heir to Duke Asvold's mansion, he could have asked for a high-level guard, but that was not needed at all. Although his status had not been officially announced, he was not worried that he would be in danger at all because he was sure that his cheap father would not let him die, at least not now.

Also, Rozen was his territory, and the capital's guards patrolled frequently.

So, no one dared look for trouble at all.

"Alright, young master."

"I'll pass it on to the butler."

Runa nodded and did not ask further about what her young master wanted to do.

"Alright, you stay in the mansion while I'm gone, and thank you, Runa." Arthur smiled gently and rubbed Runa's hair again gently.

"Hehehe, you're welcome, young master!" Runa smiled and enjoyed Arthur's pampering.

...

Capital of Duke Asvold's territory, Rozen

Rozen had a lively atmosphere in the morning and early afternoon, with streets and commercial buildings bustling with people either buying and selling or doing something else.

Arthur, who wore a cloak to cover his face and body, walked through the center of Rozen with three disguised bodyguards following closely behind.

The butler had sent them to protect Arthur, and each had a fairly strong aura—three and four core Elementals.

With this lineup, Arthur felt safe and confident that nothing would happen to him.

As he walked, Arthur turned his gaze to his surroundings, curious about the city.

It was the first time he had been out and seen a city with so many people in this fantasy world.

He wanted to explore and look for the location where Elena was sold.

However, he didn't know the specific location of Elena, as the novel didn't mention it in detail.

All that was mentioned was that the slave trading place where Elena was located was quite famous and called "The Drunken World"

Arthur soon walked around and admired the prosperous city of Rozen, with its magnificent buildings adorned with various expensive-looking decorations.

Whether it was a commercial building or something else, there was no lack of prosperity.

"David's leadership in developing the territory is indeed remarkable; no wonder Duke Asvold's mansion is so prosperous, whether in the novel or in reality."

"However, unfortunately, he was too greedy for power, which caused him to bring havoc to the entire territory of Duke Asvold."

Arthur thought to himself and muttered.

He admitted that David was great, but still, his behavior in the future that caused hundreds of thousands of innocent people to die could not be tolerated.

"Young Master, is there somewhere you want to go?" One of the bodyguards accompanying him asked respectfully.

Arthur immediately stopped walking after hearing the voice of the guard behind him, and then he looked at the guard curiously.

The guard's stature was quite young and not too old; perhaps he could be said to be quite a genius for being able to step up to this level at his age.

However, Arthur didn't want to get too close to the guard because he knew that besides being sent to guard him, they were also sent to watch him.

"Well, my purpose is to buy a slave because I'm quite curious about them."

"And Rozen is famous for the quality of its slaves, who are very good and capable."

Although he didn't want to get too close to the bodyguard sent by the butler, Arthur explained his purpose to the guard without delay.

Because he was uncertain if Elena had already been sold, Arthur wanted to act quickly and not waste any time.

Since the timeline of the world was quite different from that in the novel, he could not predict any changes in the future.

This was also what he was worried about.

Hearing this, the guard frowned slightly and gave Arthur a strange look.

How could a five-year-old boy consider purchasing a slave when he was the heir to Duke Asvold's mansion and had a large number of people to command?

That being said, the guard's thoughts were quite reasonable, as the status of slaves in this world was very low.

Usually, nobles purchased them to be used either as bodyguards or just for their own lustful desires.

Furthermore, with the status and power of Duke Asvold's influential mansion, there was no need to use slaves for such purposes.

However, the guard did not show any signs of his perplexity and asked respectfully.

"I know the name of a famous slave-selling location, young master."

"Do you know the name of the place you're going to?"

Arthur noticed the strange look the guard tried to hide in front of him, but he didn't really care.

He knew it was quite unusual for someone of his status to purchase a slave, and he was still just a child, so it was understandable that the guard might be surprised.

However, did he let it bother him? Of course not!

Arthur was determined to save Elena at all costs, whether it was to help him achieve his future plans or to help her heal from the trauma that even Abel had been unable to cure by the end of the story.

"The name of the place is "The Drunken World," did you know?"

Arthur pretended to think and said it immediately.

Hearing this, the guard fell silent and immediately spoke hesitantly.

"Young master, I know that place."

"However, it is a slave trading place found in the black market."

"All the slaves contained within are famous for their illegality."

Upon hearing this, Arthur immediately raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"No wonder Elena was traumatized in her childhood! I must save her quickly; otherwise, it could be fatal!" Arthur muttered to himself.

He then turned to the guard in front of him with a sharp gaze, causing his body's aura to become extremely heavy.

Despite not having a core at the moment, Arthur's innate sense of compulsion from his past life remained, and the three guards could feel it.

"Alright, lead the way," Arthur said in a hurry.

Upon seeing Arthur's gaze, the guard felt goosebumps all over his body, as if he were being stared at by a beast!

"How could a boy who doesn't even have a core issue such a strong compulsion? Even I, with a level three Elemental core, feel oppressed," the guard thought to himself as his legs began to tremble.

He had only felt this kind of aura when dealing with Lord Duke Asvold himself!

"Alright, young master, please follow me!" The guard quickly regained his senses and led the way forward.

Arthur nodded and followed the guard.

The rest of the guards behind Arthur stared at each other in surprise.

Soon, they also followed the direction Arthur walked.

------

Humm this chapter is quite long...

Stay tuned!

Don't forget to cheer me on! :)