About that slave-trader...

I read the first chapter of Leliel's sporking of Rise of the Shield Hero, and I have so much to say about the slave trader's set-up. Everyone else in the comments is too busy being horrified by how reprehensible it is to comment on how nothing about it works. (This may have some inaccuracies, it's based on five pictures and a bare-bones explanation of what's going on.)



In the first screenshot, we see the inside of slave-trader's tent (I'm not going to bother learning his name).

That thing is larger than Nottingham's Slab Square. That thing is the size of a hamlet, possibly a small village.

How has it not fallen down? Also, why is it so fucking tall? And while I'm asking these questions, how much does the slave-trader have to pay in rent to take up that much space in the middle of a city?
(I am genuinely headcanoning this is some kind of pocket dimension deal, because otherwise WTF?)

Moving on from the tent, we get to the cages. And whoever drew this was working from people selling small animals, because I promise you, no one is selling large livestock in stacked cages. These cages (which are different heights) look to be roughly five-to-seven feet tall. I'm pretty sure I'm seeing some of them stacked three high (as in, three cages in a column). How are potential customers supposed to see slaves that are ten feet off the ground? How did the trader get them up there in the first place? And how are they supposed to get down if someone does go, "Yeah, I want that set of red eyes that's growling at me."

Also, I am confident in saying that hygiene has not been considered. At all. I doubt the slaves have so much as a chamberpot in their cage, and even if they did, the stench would probably put off a lot of potential customers. (I am, however, willing to chalk this aspect up to general genre conventions and not count it as a failing in this specific series.) (Still gonna point it out, though.)

Quote from Naofumi: "I see ones that aren't human, too."
Which means that some of these slaves are human. Which means the slavery embedded in this culture is not based solely on racism, a fact which I am fairly sure is never acknowledged at any point. (Although I guess it doesn't matter, since no one's doing anything about it.)

The next picture shows Raphtalia. Ten years old. In a cage. Chained and shackled.

Personally, if I saw that the slave trader felt he needed to cage and chain a ten-year-old*, I would feel doubts about how effective the curse seals that supposedly force slaves to obey are. If they're all that the slave trader claims, he could have his slaves free-roaming with orders not to leave the tent. (Which would help with the hygiene issues I mentioned above, too - just have a designated area.) This is excessive, and the only reason for Naofumi believing the slave trader when he promises that any slaves bought will be unable to betray him - is if Naofumi is willing to trust the slave trader. Let me remind everyone that Naofumi's reason for buying a slave is because he doesn't trust anyone without some form of control over them.

So he's just that eager to own a slave.** Our hero, everyone.


*I have since found out that she is a sickly ten-year-old, just to drive the point even further.
**Turns out he really does trust the slave-trader!