A day in the routine

 Lying on his back with his arms sprawled out, Alex stared fixedly at the ceiling, having been awakened by a sharp bell sound.

 Almost three months had passed since he arrived in this world, a world that hadn't shown him much hospitality.

 His face was smooth and silky. His exposed arms revealed healthy muscles, covered by pale skin with no apparent scratches.

 It was unimaginable to think that less than 24 hours ago, his face and body were a complete mess. Indeed, his injuries had disappeared as if by magic, or rather, through alchemy.

 Shortly after Brody checked Alex's condition and confirmed that his work was done, he took a potion bottle from an adorned wooden box. He poured the black, viscous liquid with a horrible taste and nauseating smell down Alex's throat, who fainted shortly after.

 Alex only remembered faint flashes of memory of him writhing in pain in bed, until he woke up, seemingly in perfect condition.

 Raising his right arm towards the ceiling, Alex moved his fingers and observed all angles of his hand, which was previously bloody and twisted, but now was in perfect condition.

 "It's as if I woke up from a fucked-up nightmare. My body really returned to its appearance before being tortured." Alex murmured, his voice no longer sounding harsh and dry.

 Coming out of his stupor, Alex, who had already noticed that the ceiling of his current room was different from the room he previously occupied, sat up in bed and observed his surroundings.

 The current room he was in was much smaller, with no other furniture besides the bed he was in and a simple wooden chair in the corner of the room, where a change of clothes rested.

 Feeling a cold breeze, which came from the slightly open window of his room, pass over his body, Alex looked down and saw that his body was completely naked, without any dirt. Looking around, as if to confirm that there was no one watching, he lifted one of his arms and sniffed his armpit, stating: "It seems like I've been cleaned..".

 He then remembered a flash of memory, where a beautiful middle-aged maid, who had accompanied him since he arrived at this slave-like place, was cleaning his body, which was lying on the floor of what seemed to be a bathroom with white tiles, with a cloth, while saying in a melancholic voice: "Their methods are so cruel..".

 Feeling his face slightly warm and reddened, Alex quickly came to his senses and smiled depreciatively: "And who would have thought that the first time a woman would see and touch my body, would be after being brutally tortured and harassed...".

 Amused by the idea of feeling embarrassed over something so ridiculous after everything he had been through, Alex realized that his thought process, shames, and fears had been greatly changed by the recent experience.

 Sitting on the bed while digesting everything that had happened to him, Alex was surprised by Adam, who entered without ceremony and observed Alex, who was naked and sitting upright on his bed.

 Alex, despite being surprised, did not show his emotions and stared fixedly at the familiar face of the man who had just entered the room, naturally and effortlessly emitting a vacant look. Adam, looking at Alex's emotionless face and vacant gaze, murmured: "Very well, very well. The lack of emotions suits you."

 "Alex, get dressed and wait standing outside your current room." Adam finished, pointing with one hand to the clothes on the simple chair, previously seen by Alex.

 Like a robot, Alex got up from the bed, unashamed of being naked, and headed to the chair in the corner of the room. Adam, observing Alex's reaction, nodded in approval as he left the room.

 Hearing the door close, Alex, who already had the shirt in his hand, clenched it tightly while cursing in his mind: "Motherfucker..."

~~~

 Standing in front of his door, now appropriately dressed, Alex observed as much as he could of his surroundings, careful not to look suspicious. This was because, to his left, standing still, were the other 3 high-quality slaves he had seen before, each of them in front of a door.

 Alex noticed that to his right was the end of the corridor, where a large rectangular window was decorated with voluminous and detailed curtains, which were now tied back on both sides, thus revealing the view outside. This made Alex realize that, unlike his previous room which was on the ground floor, he was now on the second floor of the building.

 Unfortunately, apart from that and some decorations along the corridor, Alex couldn't observe much due to his field of vision being limited by the presence of the slaves.

 It wasn't long until the sound of a group of footsteps could be heard. Adam and four other maids following him could be seen walking quickly down the corridor.

 As if it were something routine, three of the maids stopped in front of the other three slaves and escorted them somewhere.

 Next, Adam and the familiar beautiful middle-aged maid stopped in front of Alex, who watched them with a vacant expression.

 "Alex, from today, after hearing the bell, get ready and wait in front of your room for the maid in charge to come and get you and obey her orders." Adam said, in an indifferent tone. Receiving no response from the apathetic Alex, Adam confirmed: "Alex, did you understand my orders?".

 Like a robot programmed to do only what it was told, Alex now nodded his head, confirming that he heard the orders.

With a look of approval, Adam quickly withdrew from the place.

 "Hello, Alex, please follow me." Said the beautiful maid. A hint of sadness could be captured from her speech when referring to Alex, but it wasn't obvious enough for him to notice.Turning smoothly, the maid escorted Alex through the mansion.

~~~

 "Ok, personal hygiene in this world isn't so horrible after all. She even escorted me to the bathroom to relieve myself and brush my teeth." Alex reflected, now sitting in a chair and surrounded by a glass cage. "It seems my days of study and training are over.." He added, after spending more than 9 hours sitting motionless there.

 Alex saw Henry, the boss of this cruel market. Henry didn't bother to converse with Alex, he just observed him, as if analyzing and looking for any flaws in a newly purchased good.

 Standing in that cage, Alex had already "met" three, who seem to be guests of high importance to Henry.

 In addition to the insults and mockery of Henry towards the guests whose boots he had been licking moments before they left, Alex understood a few things: he was there to be displayed as a product in a showcase for some important people and, most importantly, he would be auctioned off in just 2 days!

 "That bastard seems to be working quite hard." Alex mocked internally, observing Henry sitting on a vintage red suede sofa, massaging his temples while sighing.

 Indeed, within the 9 hours of being caged, Alex observed Henry making small talk and trying to be the best possible host for the guests present. Among them, Alex also watched as Henry rushed to what seemed to be another room, at Adam's request, hearing him say that a guest was about to arrive.

 "The other slaves must be in other rooms, equally caged... But how strange, why does Henry seem to run back and forth when it would be much easier to just switch the slaves in the glass cages before the next guest arrives?" Alex wondered, not believing in the management stupidity that was happening.

 Interrupting Alex's thoughts, which were running wild, a door knock sound was heard. After being given permission, Adam entered and said respectfully: "Sir Henry, Miss Madeleine will not be able to attend today, a servant came to inform a little while ago, saying that there was an unforeseen event and said that Miss will come tomorrow. This being the last guest of today, can we keep the slave back?".

 "That disgusting fat woman is not coming? Great! I'm not in a good mood at the moment, after putting up with the arrogant gay bastard a moment ago." Henry said, sighing with relief. "You can take him, it seems I'll have to show him to her tomorrow." He finished.

 "As you command." Adam replied, before clapping twice and a beautiful middle-aged maid entered the room and escorted Alex to his small room.

 "That's it for today, Alex. You behaved well, I expect you tomorrow at the same time." The maid said to Alex, before closing the door and leaving.

 Finally alone, Alex sprawled on the bed with his arms open. "She is really sweet, she was polite to me and even said goodbye." He thought, remembering the cold and even arrogant way the other maids treated the other slaves.

 "It seems that now she is able to wear a badge... Luane, I promise I won't kill you." Alex finished, before entering the mysterious black sea in his consciousness.