Chapter 93

This is a work of fiction.

The characters, organizations, and names are all fictitious and have no relation to any real entities.

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088 - Slave Merchant

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I purchased a mansion in the capital. It was the second property chosen by Yamato.

I decided against buying the former Baron Valand's residence. If I, a baron, were to buy it, I could only use up to the maximum land area allowed for a baron. I wasn't interested in buying the former Baron Valand's residence anyway, and I wouldn't buy a property with such conditions.

Incidentally, the third mansion recommended by Yamato was located in the noble district and was apparently the smallest plot of land in the noble district.

I didn't want to set up a mansion in the noble district just to make a status symbol, so I chose the second mansion in the commoner district. After all, being relaxed is the best.

Additionally, the children continue to pick up trash. I put Lirith in charge, and Voss, Colan, and Karan are helping her. This volunteer work gives experience points to the Job: Saint. Moreover, it gives a considerable amount of experience points.

If we continue this volunteer work, Lirith will eventually reach a level where she can fully heal Laura.

Now that I've bought the mansion, the next step is personnel.

I told Voss to bring any promising children he finds. Of course, I will confirm them with a detailed appraisal before officially hiring them.

At the same time, I asked Gandarban to approach explorers. I will make the final decision on hiring them.

I entered the Golteo Trading Company's capital branch.

"Welcome, Baron Footsickle."

Mr. Sharneeni, the son of Mr. Golteo and the head of the trading company, greeted me.

Since I had informed them in advance that I would be purchasing slaves, they were waiting for me.

"Thank you for your hospitality."

"Don't mention it, we are the ones who are grateful. The women's undergarments you designed are very popular in the capital. Thank you very much."

They are already selling undergarments in the capital. It seems that undergarments are quite popular in Kelniff as well. Since undergarments enhance women's charm, they might even help with the low birth rate. I'm not sure if a low birth rate is an issue, though.

Maybe I should ask Itsukushima for new designs. I don't have many ideas for women's undergarments.

Just imagining Annelise in new undergarments makes me happy. I have confidence in my imagination, even if it's limited to Annelise.

"I'm glad to hear that you're doing well. Now, can I see the slaves?"

"Yes, I understand that you want to see all the slaves, both the dominion slaves and the voluntary slaves. Is that correct?"

Dominion slaves are commonly known as criminal slaves. The reason I want to see dominion slaves is that there might be cases like Annelise's.

If there are any dominion slaves who were wrongly accused or involved in accidents and are willing to work for me, I am prepared to accept them.

"Normally, we show slaves to nobles in private rooms, but since there are many this time, I thought it would be better for you, Baron, to see them directly. Is that acceptable?"

"That's fine. How many slaves are there in total?"

"There are 13 dominion slaves and 62 voluntary slaves, making a total of 75 slaves."

I wonder if there are many slaves in the capital, or if the Golteo Trading Company has an especially large number.

We went to the basement and entered an area with cages on both sides of a long corridor. Each room, about six tatami mats in size, contained 4 to 6 slaves.

"This is the area for voluntary slaves. The number of slaves for sale varies, whether they are sold individually or as a family."

"Are families sold as a package?"

"Yes, that can happen. For example, if both parents sell themselves, the remaining children cannot survive. In such cases, it is possible to set a condition to buy the entire family."

In such cases, the parents become slaves, but the children do not.

"Children can be made slaves, but stores that sell very young children are generally considered to be of low quality."

Slaves are primarily expected to be a labor force, so making very young children slaves is meaningless. Therefore, conscientious stores do not handle very young children.

"In the case of children, some parents sell them to slave traders when they are around 10 years old, as if sending them out to work."

It's a nasty topic. Hearing such stories makes me wonder if the ethical standards of my previous world were more advanced.

I also listened to the precautions when purchasing slaves. Since I had already heard them at the Golteo Trading Company in Kelniff, I received a brief explanation.

Now, I will carefully appraise them.

I quickly went through them, just listening to their names.

"What I need are soldiers and people to manage the household. Basically, I need about 30 soldiers and about 5 people to manage the household."

"Understood."

"From now on, the people I mention by name are not for purchase. Can you take notes?"

"Yes, that's fine. Please go ahead."

I excluded those who were lazy or had bad personalities from the voluntary slaves. I listed 8 names.

"Please recruit those who want to be soldiers or manage the household. Soldiers will fight monsters and humans. I want people who are prepared for that. Those who manage the household will do cleaning, laundry, cooking, driving carriages, taking care of horses, and managing the garden, essentially servants."

I had already explained the detailed conditions. The number of slaves willing to work in the capital and Kelniff would be confirmed after their intentions were checked.

"Understood. I will confirm their intentions. In the meantime, please look at the dominion slaves."

Following Mr. Sharneeni, we entered another area.

The atmosphere here was worse compared to the voluntary slave area. I could feel a sense of hostility.

Dominion slaves are not only subjected to heavy labor but are also sent to dangerous battlefields regardless of their will.

In the case of war, those who achieve significant military merit can be released from dominion slavery, but it is a very dangerous place.

"There are 13 dominion slaves."

After appraising the 13 dominion slaves, I found one person who was wrongly accused. This person was made responsible for an accident they were not involved in.

Their superiors colluded to make them the scapegoat for the accident.

In the case of accidents, such substitutes can be used. While crimes often reflect on the record card and are less likely to result in wrongful accusations, accidents are different. Of course, nobles can use their power to create wrongful accusations.

"I want this Enrique. I don't need the others."

"Understood. Please follow me to the waiting room. You can wait there."

After waiting for a while, Mr. Sharneeni entered the waiting room.

"Thank you for waiting. Regarding the voluntary slaves, 38 want to be soldiers, and 16 want to be servants."

That's... everyone except the 8 I excluded.

"Additionally, two families want to be purchased as a package. Both families want to be servants. They have 2 and 1 children, respectively."

Family purchases are not a problem. Taking care of the children is, of course, fine. I don't dislike children.

"Regarding Enrique, the dominion slave, he says he is fine with being bought, but he seems somewhat despondent."

Well, being wrongfully accused and made a criminal would make anyone despondent.

"I will buy everyone, including Enrique. How much will it cost?"

"Thank you very much. 54 voluntary slaves and 1 dominion slave. The total is 70 million grils."

Mr. Sharneeni stated the amount without looking at any documents. He must have known I would buy everyone. He is truly Mr. Golteo's son.

"The terms of the voluntary slaves vary. The shortest is 5 years, and the longest is 16 years. Enrique, the dominion slave, has an 8-year term. Here are the detailed documents."

55 documents were placed on the table. With 55 thick pieces of parchment, it looked quite thick.

Compared to the amount of paperwork on a duke's or princess's desk, this was much better.

Basically, soldiers who do dangerous jobs are more expensive and have shorter terms.

If they explore deeper than the fifth floor of a dungeon, they can earn enough money to buy themselves back, so I hope they work hard enough to stay alive.

Since I was contracting 55 slaves, it took some time. I also had a clause added to the contract that they would not speak about me.

Additionally, since they wouldn't all fit in the purchased house, I rented a nearby inn for a while.

During this time, I would have houses built for the servants and soldiers on the property. It would take a few months, but there was no other way.

"I will have the soldiers trained from now on."

I purchased a large number of weapons and armor for the soldiers. I also bought clothes and other items from the Golteo Trading Company. It's convenient to have a large trading company that has everything, but it can lead to excessive spending.

However, I also have benefits. By purchasing a large number of slaves, I obtained the Job: Slave Merchant. The conditions for obtaining the Job: Slave Merchant are two: one is to buy and sell a total of 500 slaves, and the other is to buy and sell more than 30 slaves at once.

I met the second condition and obtained the Job: Slave Merchant. Now I can release slaves without relying on anyone else.

By the way, handling more than 5 illegal slaves can result in becoming a thief, so slave merchants are very careful.

Illegal slaves are people who have been deceived or kidnapped and forced to become slaves.

Additionally, the Job: Slave Merchant is flashing red, indicating it can be combined with other jobs.

Upon checking, I found that it can be combined with the Job: Base Merchant. Since I don't know what the combined job would be, using the Job: Base Merchant for combination seems wasteful. The ability to teleport alone makes the Job: Base Merchant incredibly powerful. If I combine it and lose the ability to teleport, it would be a disaster.

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