Be that as it may, she got the memo. “Yes, Lord! This lowly one apologizes for her careless actions.” She decreed while bowing deeply.
It was time to begin our date day, and what a day it would end up becoming…
– PoV: Quinlan –
Some of you might be wondering just what the hell is going on right now, and rightfully so. I’m pretending to be a scumbag noble with sex slaves? Why are we in the capital city?
To be brief, the capital was the biggest city and the living heart of the kingdom. Not only in a political but also a financial sense. It was the main trade hub of the human lands. Nearly 10 million people lived in Valorian, it was a giant mega-city.
But why come here?
Multiple reasons.
I thought I could get the best deals here. I’d sent all my Vesper Phenom ranked subordinates to collect funds from their sponsors, which I pocketed afterward so that I could spend on the big auction taking place today. On a side note, Iris was not counted among my subordinates even though she was my slave, I just didn’t feel good about telling her what to do, and especially not about taking her money.
I got 100 gold from Kaelira’s victory in the Trials, and each of my subordinates got 50 gold as an initial grant from their sponsors, and I also asked Vex for some money from Black Fang, and got 250 gold, letting me play around with 600 gold, a truly staggering amount. The fact that I got as much from Black Fang as my 5 subordinates got from their sponsors combined was a rather funny thing to consider, at least until I also consider the fact that this is not free money, I’ll have to earn my keep.
A shudder traveled alongside my spine.
… Anyhow.
There were four distinct goals I wanted to achieve on this day.
First, have a good date with not only Jasmine but my two elves as well. They were also members of my ‘to-do’ list, after all. While parading them around in flimsy clothes was not a romantic move on my part, I planned to make the most of it. I was an ambitious man.
Second, have Kaelira stock up on the essentials needed for her smithy so that she could begin crafting me and my allies some OP gear.
Third, take part in the aforementioned auction. Once a year, there’s a giant auction taking place where numerous businesses join arms together to hold a truly mesmerizing event. With my high amount of funds, I was hoping that I could buy some goodies.
Fourth…
“Hey, blue, can I get your opinion on this one?” I spoke up, using Jasmine’s alias.
Her ears perked up and I received her undivided attention.
I reached into the storage ring and took out the gear and ornate sword of the man I killed in the labyrinth, Luke Winterwood. He was the second son of the Winterwood count, and his gear reflected the fact that he was rumored to be the favorite son. It was glittering with gold and ornate gemstones.
“So I found these in the trash. What do you think their worth is, using your trained merchant senses?”
I watched with amusement as Jasmine’s face contorted into utter disbelief the second I pulled the stuff out. Her eyes widened as though I’ve just dumped a bucket of ice water over her head. For a moment, she just stared at it with her lips parting but no sound came out. Then, like a storm breaking over calm waters, she exploded.
“T-That- Oh no…” Her hands flew to her mouth to muffle her gasp, but I could still hear the panic clear as day. She stumbled back a step and with trembling arms, she pointed a shaky finger at the gear. “That’s… That’s Luke Winterwood’s! The Winterwood Count’s son! H-He mysteriously disappeared months ago!”
Yeah, I kinda murdered him in cold blood.
Her breathing quickened, and I could practically see the gears turning in her head. “Oh gods… There are posters! And… and bounty notices! And they’ve been searching everywhere! Every labyrinth, every city!” She grabbed at her hair now with her fingers tangling as though trying to physically halt the cascade of frantic thoughts spilling from her mouth. “And you just… have these items? What do you mean you found them in the trash?!”
“If they find out you have this – if they connect it to you-” She gulped while visibly trembling. “Oh Goddess, you’d be executed! Publicly! After getting tortured for weeks!”
I let her ramble on for a little while longer as I watched her unravel in real-time. There was a certain fascination in seeing someone work themselves up so thoroughly. Finally, I placed a hand on her head, forcing her to stop her incoherent torrent of words. She froze while her shaky eyes snapped to mine as I spoke up.
“Relax, Blue. Why do you think I waited with the sale of these items until I became a Phenom? Of course, in the ideal scenario, no one will know that I had something to do with his disappearance, but even if they connect it to me, they’ll have to deal with the Vesper Consortium as a whole, not just me. Whether the Consortium would have my back if King Alexios or the Greenvale duke started pressuring them is another question, but if the situation devolves to that point, I can just escape.”
Hearing my reasoning, she slowly began to calm down until she slapped my hand which was stroking her hair. “Stop it, do you know how much that diligent maid of yours worked on my hair?! You’ll ruin it.”
Jasmine was taken out of her element ever since Blossom kidnapped her, but it was good to see her usual self return bit by bit. I raised my hand in surrender, eliciting a satisfied smile from the woman who nodded to herself as if she’d just proved that she could still stand up to the big bad date of hers.
“I see that you’d thought it out, Black.” Jasmine spoke up after considering my words. “I assume this was also why you came to the capital? To sell it to someone who wouldn’t recognize the sword and armor, or just wouldn’t care about its origins.”
“Correct.”
She nodded while deep in thought. It lasted for a few seconds, after which she spoke up; “Alright. You’d come to the right woman, I know a place. That’s where I sell when I come to the capital, though I don’t know if they’re willing to accept such a large sale because that’s what it is, Black. A ginormous sale. I would say that the sword is worth around 200 gold while the armor is another 100.”
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Hoh. I didn’t expect such high numbers. I found the fact that she estimated the sword to be worth twice as much as the armor to be reasonable. The armor was ‘only’ made of gold while the sword was full of gemstones.
“Alright. Let’s start with Sex Slave Number 1’s smithy.” I decreed, eliciting a happy squeal from Kaelira, who quickly corrected her attitude; “No, I mean… my master is so cruel… He uses me for sexual relief… and stuff…”
Well, at least she tried.
