| Author: Himezaki Shiu | Original Source: Syosetu |
| Translator: Jiro | English Source: Re:Library |
The name of the girl who was sold to the slaver and seemed to have lost her will to live was Tsunoe Mika. To be honest, there were quite a few classmates whose names I had forgotten, but I remembered hers.
After all, she was the one who revealed my status1 to all my classmates during the status evaluation in front of the king. If she hadn’t been there, the hatred directed at me might not have been as severe.
I remember her saying something along the lines of, “Small fry shouldn’t decide the class’ future.”
That being said, I didn’t remember if she’d actually said that. My memory of that time was already gone. I’d been told countless other things, so I couldn’t be bothered to remember that specific one.
That aside, I also believed that it had been Tsunoe who’d spread the bad rumors about me to our classmates.
Apart from the Hero skill, all of us got skills that fit our characteristics. It was well known in class that Tsunoe loved her gossip, so one would have expected her to have an appropriate skill for it.
‘Come to think of it, why don’t I just appraise her? Huh? It seems to be somewhat hidden. I guess it would cause trouble if someone found out she was a hero. Let me see… Here they are! Incitement and Vanish.’
Incitement was just along the lines of what I’d expected. And Vanish seemed to be a lower-ranked version of the Spy skill.
Given that the Fraus Kingdom took full advantage of her, I can see how she’d end up in this situation. In spite of that, I didn’t feel any pity for her, nor did I feel like forgiving her. Tsunoe’s situation was, for me, a joyous one.
After all, it confirmed that my classmates had been successfully turned into slaves.
Her bruises and the condition of her legs told me that Tsunoe must have had a rough time before being sent here. It had gone just as I’d expected.
I really wanted to yell, “See! I told you so!” I wanted to tell it to her face. But that was it. I had no intention of doing anything else afterward. Nevertheless, I couldn’t let her be disposed of. I couldn’t have her die before I was satisfied with my revenge.
This only left me with one choice. To buy her.
“You let me see something interesting. How about we go back to the first area?”
“The first area? Are you talking about the other store?”
“Don’t tease me.”
“Okay, okay. Please, this way.”
After a brief exchange, we returned to the room where he first showed me the ring.
‘Come to think of it, Tsunoe wasn’t wearing a ring. Did they forget to put one on her? Well, I guess it doesn’t really matter.’
As we sat down, I couldn’t help but admire the sofa once more. I was even tempted to ask if it was for sale.
“Well then, we’re back. So, are you interested in buying?”
“I actually want this sofa.”
“No can do. Truth be told, it’s more expensive than the slaves. Besides, it’s meant for the customers; I’d be in a pinch without it.”
“Where did you buy it?”
“In one of the stores in the noble sector. It’s a place that only sells goods to high-ranked nobles, but they made an exception for me.”
“How about you introduce me? I’ll pay you.”
“I’m afraid I’ll have to refuse. It’ll impact my credibility.”
I couldn’t help but feel like that store was picking a fight with people. But given that it was a high-end store, it probably had the right to choose its customers.
At the end of the day, the hooded man knew very little about me, and I also knew little about him. Given these circumstances, he couldn’t just introduce me.
Then again, it could also be as simple as that store not wanting to serve children. Given that this wasn’t the main reason I was here, I could let it slide, but it still left a bad taste in my mouth.
“Leaving the farce aside, how much is that last slave?”
“What? You want to buy it?”
“You told me she’s expensive. How much?”
“Five large gold coins.”
“Phew. That’s a surprise.”
It wasn’t like I couldn’t buy her, but five large gold coins were equal to $325,000. It seemed expensive, but I couldn’t really tell since I didn’t actually know how people were priced. That’s when it struck me.
“Can I ask what’s the average price?”
“You’d normally ask that first, no? If it’s a slave from a village family, then they’d probably go for about several large silver coins. If the slave is the daughter of some noble class family, it’d fetch about a single large gold coin.”
“Then five large gold coins really are quite expensive. Do you feel like selling her?”
“You’ll probably have to ask the ones on top for that.”
“I’d love to. Could you accompany me?”
I had no intention of going to the royal castle as Finis, so I didn’t really want him to agree.
“Hahaha. No can do.”
“I figured as much. In that case, I’d like to ask a favor. Can you keep my existence a secret?”
“Of course. There isn’t a slaver that would give out information about their clients.”
“Can you promise that?”
“Only if you’ll be my client.”
He was basically telling me to buy something. I couldn’t blame him; he was running a business after all. ‘Guess I don’t have a choice.’
“You said five large gold coins, right? I’ll add in a small gold coin if you also do me a favor.”
“So, you’re really buying that slave. She’s quiet, but not being able to move her legs would be a fatal flaw for a companion when you’re traveling incognito, wouldn’t it? Also, she can’t even talk2.”
“I’ve grown quite interested in her. Besides, given that you were about to dispose of her, you shouldn’t care that much about how I’m going to treat her.”
“Hahaha. Well, I guess you’re right. I don’t know what intrigued you so, but I have no intention of asking what you’re planning to do with her.”
For now, I would likely just try to heal her legs, but it was actually beneficial that he misunderstood me completely. After all, if she couldn’t even walk, anything we wanted to do in the future would pose an issue.
“So, what’s that favor you mentioned?” the slaver asked.
“It’s nothing much. I want you to keep her for a bit and not let her die. There are some things I have to prepare, and I wouldn’t want her walking around the capital with me.”
“Understood.”
I was planning on visiting the castle later, so I couldn’t just take Tsunoe with me. That’s why I asked the hooded man to keep her, and it was lucky that he easily agreed.
If he hadn’t, I’d probably just run away and then infiltrate the place later to kidnap her. But I guess it wasn’t all that bad to buy her.
It would probably make me look like a hero. Falling in love with the girl who saved her did seem like a cliché, but there were still people who were down for that kind of thing.
“I know that I’ve already bought her, but can you tell me more about that slave? As much as you’re allowed to discuss, that is.”
“Hmph. She’s a slave that came from the castle.”
“I already know that.”
“Oh yeah, I already told you about it.”
Even so, I couldn’t simply tell him that I knew because she was an acquaintance of mine. I was glad that he’d brought up the topic first. If he hadn’t, I wouldn’t have the confidence to be able to deceive him.
“To be honest, I don’t know much either. The ones at the top gave her to me. I honestly thought she was being sent to be disposed of, so if you hadn’t come, I likely would’ve gotten rid of her.”
“But you did ask a bit about her, no?”
“That’s right. They told me they’d crushed her throat so that she couldn’t use her skill.
Otherwise, I would’ve been able to sell her much more easily…”
“Would you have been able to sell her for five gold coins if she could talk?”
“Hmph, I doubt it. It is a ridiculous sum. Truth be told, she probably wouldn’t fetch this high of a price even if she had the Appraisal skill.”
“Are you implying you don’t know your slaves’ skills?”
“I don’t. You aren’t normally able to see other people’s statuses, and that slave can’t even talk. And making an Appraisal Magic Tool is not an easy task. The materials are quite expensive.”
Well, come to think of it, her status was somewhat hidden, so I probably shouldn’t have worried as much. In any event, it would be bothersome if my status somehow got leaked, so I had no intentions of leaving it as it was.
“Got it. At any rate, I’ll go have a look at the noble sector before going home. I’ll leave her to you.”
“Are you going to come through that store next time?”
“I guess. I don’t have anywhere to stay in the noble sector, after all.”
“You have a point. Take care on your way back,” the hooded man said, sending me off.
‘Now then, let’s go infiltrate the castle3.’
