The Butcher Shop in the Demon Realm - Chapter 11

“This is our management facility.”

Yesterday, I finished delivering the ingredients of the elf and beastman as requested by Retsu, and took them to the old man’s diner.

Everything was fine up until then, but the drunk old man, insisted that I come visit, so I ended up coming here to this place in the suburbs without an appointment, starting from the morning.

The place the old man introduced me to was a management facility for human-like tribes created for the Jikininki​, who are man-eating demons.

The facility was a small, single-story building, about the size of a gymnasium, located in the suburbs. Inside, humans and beastmen were kept in individual cages, naked, spending their days eating and defecating like animals in a pigsty.

There weren’t many of them, probably around 20 to 30 people.

“I’m honored that the famous Sosuke-sama is here to visit.”

Walking through the narrow corridor, I glance at the cages lining both sides. There were stunningly beautiful women, and some who were the complete opposite. From muscular men to those who were a bit on the heavier side, the variety was quite wide.

The person who kept praising me excessively as he guided me was an old man named Liu-san from the demon cat tribe.

To put it in simple terms, beastmen with human bodies and animal ears are considered food, whereas the demon cat tribe is made up of upright cats that are the residents of this country.

In other words, beastmen are based on humans with animal ears and some body hair, while elves with long ears, birdpeople with wings, and angels are considered food in this country.

However, many of the demon tribes, ogres, and devil tribes look human-like, and both the old man and Retsu fall into this category, which makes the idea that ‘human-like appearance = food’ a frightening assumption.

The Kemono level?

The rule to survive in this country is not to sweat the small details. It’s best not to think too much about where the line is drawn for what is considered food.

I walked through the dimly lit room, once again thinking about such things.

The reason I was thinking such things is that I had clearly seen a few people who looked like Liu-san, the demon cat tribe member who was guiding me. Even though I tried not to pay attention, I couldn’t help but notice.

“What’s that lane over there?”

As I looked in the direction of the rattling sound, I saw a person, suspended by the neck, being moved along the lane.

“That’s the slaughter line. By doing it like that, the person dies in about 5 minutes, then they excrete waste around that area. After that, we clean them, break them down, and finally, they can be placed directly into the fridge.”

“I see, that’s quite efficient!”

“No, no, compared to Sosuke-sama’s processing method, this is like night and day. I’m truly embarrassed.”

“It’s not like that at all.”

The important thing is what demand you’re supplying. This is a processing facility where the focus is on preparing and supplying ingredients quickly, cheaply, and reliably.

It’s wrong to seek a time-consuming, labor-intensive method like ours here, and the opposite is also true.

What’s important is creating an environment and relationship where both methods are acknowledged and can elevate each other.

“Next time, please come visit our workshop too.”

“I-Is that okay!? That would make me so happy, I’ll definitely come!”

“By the way, what about that cage over there?”

“That’s a breeding cage, used for pregnant females.”

“How do you perform the insemination?”

“Well, we just throw in a member of the same species and order them to mate. Fortunately, they understand the language.”

When I peered into the cage, I saw humans and beastmen with large bellies, roughly thrown in, still wearing neck and wrist shackles.

There was no sense of cleanliness, and they probably hadn’t been allowed to exercise. All of them had vacant eyes, looking like they were just ‘existing.’

(As expected, if you’re going to farm them, free-range is the way to go.)

As I looked at the women with swollen bellies, I couldn’t help but imagine a high-end egg farm, like the ones often seen in Japan.

(But if that’s the case, the stress from the gap between expectations and reality about being shipped out would be too much… What should I do?)

No matter how good the aquaculture environment is, the inevitable fate of being killed and eaten in the future cannot be hidden.

And in a situation where they know this, could humans or beastmen truly grow freely?

“Sosuke-sama, this is the final special cage. Here, we store disoriented individuals, drugged into a dreamlike state.”

“I see… I see… Ah, that’s it! That’s the way!”

“Oh, has your problem been solved?”

“E-eh, was it that obvious?”

Liu-san smirked, saying ‘I’m glad I could help,’ and reached out for a handshake, which I firmly accepted.

Apparently, this processing facility regularly goes hunting in the forest located at the border between the demon realm and human territory.

However, the humans and beastmen you can catch in such a place are mostly adventurers, and even if caught, they often commit suicide before restraints can be put on them.

For that reason, they occasionally hire the guild to directly abduct ordinary people from human cities, though the cost is quite high.

As a result, they began having them bear and raise children. But considering the time needed for growth and the environment, the balance isn’t perfect, which seems to be causing Liu-san some concern.

“Liu-san, would you like to partner up with me?”

In short, Liu-san wants a stable supply of food ingredients, even if the quality isn’t that great.

My goal is to provide quality ingredients, even if stability is not guaranteed.

To put it simply, I would rank the food candidates I raise, giving Liu-san the middle to low-ranking ones for cheap. In return, Liu-san would regularly provide me with high-quality breeding candidates, which I would purchase.

I thought that if we could build such a mutually beneficial relationship, we could create a sourcing environment with minimal losses for both sides.

“I see. In that case, we wouldn’t need to hunt in the forest, and it would be fine if we could source from you, Sosuke-sama.”

“That’s right. At first, it will be difficult to gather a large number, but I hope to stabilize things gradually.”

“I’d love to cooperate! If securing land is necessary, I can take action at any time.”

After a solid handshake with Liu-san, I started to mentally list everything I needed to do: securing the land, setting up the breeding environment, submitting applications to the government, and getting the necessary permits.

“…Getting permission from my master will be the first and toughest hurdle.”

I anticipated that getting permission from my master would be the first and hardest obstacle, so it was the first thing on my mental checklist. Holding my aching head, I made my way to the main store in the eastern noble district.

Chapter length 2576 characters.