“I… I am Hisei… Mistress…” The girl bowed, her wolfish tail tucked in between her legs.
Her hair was in a mess and it hung forward to cover most of her face, hiding most of it from view though her eyes still managed to peek through the gaps between.
I looked at Lisette.
She smiled, “She’s a debt slave that was sold to us by her family from the Nekinumi Kingdom, we were planning to sell her here so that she would be brought up to Modgnik Republic via the sea route to be trained but if Lady Aster likes her, you can have her as your own. If she’s not enough, we are happy to compensate more as well.”
I turned back to the wolf girl who shivered slightly when she saw my gaze.
A regular Off-Worlder might start protesting about this slavery thing and demand Hisei be set free, but I’m not a regular Off-Worlder.
Let’s look at it this way… Even if she was set free, where would she go? Her family had already sold her off, she’s in a place she is unfamiliar with and she has no power of her own. It wouldn’t be surprising for her to die in a ditch somewhere within the week.
Even if I were to reject this offer, she would still be shipped off to become a slave anyway and her fate might be worst off with whoever buys her later too.
But with me, I can at least guarantee that she would live a better life than she has. The only problem is… Should I take her?
“How much was she sold for?” I asked.
“Despite being only eleven years old, she is already at orange tier for her Pyromancy. What’s more, she is able to read and write as well, so she was sold for one large gold coin.”
Orange tier? Ah, that’s Pyromancy’s tier two I believe. I’ve just been referring them as numbers all this while but there’s specific names for each magic and skill since my [Screen] also uses numbers.
Also… That’s one hundred thousand Creas. Funny how you can put a price tag on people in this World.
I did a quick check on them.
<strong>[Name: Linette Tiara</strong>
<strong>Title: Heir of Tiara Merchant Company</strong>
<strong>Race: Mahun</strong>
<strong>Stats:</strong>
<strong>18 Strength</strong>
<strong>15 Dexterity</strong>
<strong>15 Endurance</strong>
<strong>10 Magic</strong>
<strong>Skills:</strong>
<strong>Business Management (Tier 3), Leadership (Tier 1), Negotiations (Tier 2), Noble Etiquette (Tier 2)]</strong>
I’m not too surprised by Linette’s stats but seeing those business related skills did give me pause.
How big of a difference would a tier four in those skills make? If your negotiation skill was at tier four, could you convince anyone to do anything? Actually… How do you even get such a skill anyway? Just constantly negotiate with people?
On the other hand…
<strong>[Name: Hisei</strong>
<strong>Title: None</strong>
<strong>Race: Inugami</strong>
<strong>Stats:</strong>
<strong>12 Strength</strong>
<strong>28 Dexterity</strong>
<strong>15 Endurance</strong>
<strong>30 Magic</strong>
<strong>Skills:</strong>
<strong>Assassination (Tier 1), Martial Skill-(Dagger Proficiency (Tier 1), Throwing Proficiency (Tier 1))</strong>
<strong>Magic Skills:</strong>
<strong>Umbramancy (Tier 1), Pyromancy (Tier 2), Mana Management (Tier 1)]</strong>
She did say that she was at tier two for Pyromancy… But that Assassination skill though… Who did she kill? Unless she got that skill through training which would make me question about her family’s upbringing in that case. And isn’t it more common for the cat eared beastkins to be the assassins instead of the dog ears?
Oh what do I know?
Also… Wow, Umbramancy. I’m guessing she learnt it to aid her in her assassinations? It would make sense I suppose.
That kind of contradicts her name though, even though her pyromancy sure does make up for it.
I have a feeling the others don’t know about her assassination and Umbramancy skills though, otherwise I’m pretty sure her value would definitely be higher than this.
“What are your thoughts on this arrangement?” I asked Hisei.
She bowed her head again, “I… I have no opinion… Mistress…”
Hmm… I can’t tell if her spirit is actually broken or she’s just pretending. For all I know, she might be thinking about putting herself in my care and then killing me so that she could run away later.
I weighed the pros and cons a little more. I do want someone to accompany me to school and to also help me with my daily stuff so having an assistant would help. She’s only a year older than I am despite my body currently looking older but that doesn’t matter.
Eventually, I turned towards Linette, “I accept. I can escort all of you to Dragon View Trade City. Are you able to move right now?”
She nodded, “We will only bring the smaller and more valuable items alongside some camping tools with us. We will leave the carts here to be retrieved later on after hiring more people.”
Just as she said that, some of the women who I had freed came up to me and placed the goblin ears and Mana Crystals in front of me. It seemed like while I was talking to Linette, they had already helped me extract these.
I thanked them and brought out my Pack of Folding, “No need to worry about that, I have a special backpack here that should be able to store all of your things easily.”
She eyed the bag but quickly bowed, “Then we are even more in your debt, Lady Aster. I may still only just be the heir and not hold a lot of power, but I will ensure the best service is rendered to you should you use us in the future for your business transactions.”
Ah, quite a shrewd one isn’t she? Already trying to secure a possible route of business despite the disaster she just went through.
Oh well, it’s also good for me to have a group of merchants I can trust… Somewhat.
I quickly stored everything into the backpack, everyone watching in wonder as the carts were easily sucked into the backpack.
Hefting the pack on my back, I turned back to the women, “Alright, let’s go. Hisei, stay close to me.”
“Ye… Yes, Mistress…”
I let Linette and her group lead the way while I watched over them from behind, allowing her to set the pace for the journey back to the city.
The journey was relatively peaceful and there wasn’t any danger as I had my summons out and accompanied us while hidden in the darkness. So even if any monsters were to attack, I would be informed of them beforehand.
That gave me the chance to talk to the Inugami girl to get to know her a little better.
“Why were you sold?”
“… Parents’ debt…” She finally said after a while.
“Do you want to go back to them?”
“… No.”
“Do you wish to be free?”
“… That is not a question you ask slaves, Mistress…”
“Heeeh~ Aren’t you mature?”
“Mistress is not much older than me… Aren’t you?”
I tilted my head at her, “You can tell?”
“I’ve read that Meslatars grow quickly… So I guessed that you are probably around my age as well…”
“Fufu~ Aren’t you a smart one? Here, have a sweet!” I offered her.
She looked at the offered candy and hesitated for a moment before deciding that it would be wiser to take it.
“Thank you… Mistress…”
She kept the sweet in her hands but made no move to eat it.
I smiled wryly at her, “You haven’t answered my question yet. Do you wish to be free?”
She looked up at me and realised I was serious before looking back at her feet.
“I… I do not know… I have nowhere to go… Even if Mistress were to set me free, I do not know what I could do…”
“Then are you planning to kill me with that assassination skill of yours after I take you in?”
Her head whipped towards me, her eyes wide.
I grinned, “Can’t hide those skills from me~ So, are you?”
“I… Once I have been registered as Mistress Aster’s slave… My life is in your hands. Unless Mistress releases me, I won’t be able to harm you as long as this collar is on me…”
I narrowed my eyes at the collar.
[Minor Slave collar: Magically enchanted collar that prevents the wearer from harming the one recognised as the owner of the slave. Current owner: Linette Tiara]
Hmm… Interesting. I suppose Linette will switch the ownership after we get to the town. If she doesn’t, then I’ll deal with her.
Also… ‘Minor’ slave collar? Are you telling me there are different kinds of slave collars out there? Damn…
“Then do you have a dream, Hisei?”
She hesitated for a moment, “No… I was not allowed to have dreams.”
Huh… Complicated family I guess? I don’t think she’s willing to tell me anything about it though.
We travelled the rest of the journey in comfortable silence, eventually stopping by the roadside to set up camp after exhaustion finally kicked in.
I was offered a tent for myself but I declined, telling them that I will keep watch but I let Hisei sleep in it instead.
The women then crashed into their own sleeping bags, too exhausted to eat anything tonight.
That gave me the chance to fly back to the town, leaving my shadow summons to guard the camp in my stead. Landing outside the gates, I showed my Guild card and the guards allowed me through, letting me make my way towards The Guild.
Surprisingly, Mother was there waiting for me.
“Ara, ara? My dearest child has already returned so soon? As expected of my little one!”
“Unnn… Hello Mommy… Unfortunately I’m not done yet. A group of merchants were attacked and they hired me to escort them. Umm… They offered me an Inugami slave girl as payment…”
“Ara ara? How wonderful~ My little one is already picking up girls so soon~ Is my little one going back now?”
I decided to ignore the picking up girls comment, “As soon as I turn in the goblin quest.”
“Ufufufu~ Then Mama shall see you tomorrow~”
With that, Mother gave me another kiss on the cheek before skipping away again.
Right… Let’s just submit the quest and go back to camp, maybe I can find another quest that can be completed on the way back as well.
Hey, efficient farming is the way to go!