บท 94: New Companion?
Hey, Shun here!
Are you someone who dedicate themselves into something to the point that your life is already revolving around it? Or, heck, it might be even controlling the way you do things on a daily basis.
If not, have you met someone like that?
Well, you see, people who tend to love things to the extreme are quite unique in their own ways. Some, might sacrifice their life for that thing they love most while some make the thing they love most as the center of their world.
Is people inlove also included in this group of this minor group of individuals? In some cases, yes.
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(Shun's POV)
"Thank you, I guess? Oh, right. I want to buy a slave. Do you perhaps know where I could get one?" I tried asking Ms. Receptionist since she's a native of this world and, most importantly, she works at the Adventurer's Guild.
I could probably rely on the Adventurer's Guild introducing me to a good place to buy slaves. It was apparently fairly common for adventurers to use slaves. Ms. Receptionist would definitely know of a place or two where I could buy some good quality slaves.
"…It depends on what you wish to use the slave for. Do you have any plans for them?"
"Plans? Well, yeah, I have quite a lot of things planned for them. I want one with a lot of life experience. Preferably a smart one, too. And… Right. They have to be a girl." Hey, don't look at me. While I definitely wouldn't mind having a male slave, that big sister of Rokuko would make a huge fuss if I were to buy a male slave.
As obvious as it already is, she hates men. She apparently 'allows' me to stay with Rokuko since she is assured that I could be a great help to her.
Aside from her being the important big sister of Rokuko, I also kind of feel some gratitude towards her for supplying us with some much needed DP. I could tell that she'll going back here frequently so I have a lot of chance to take… I mean receive some much needed DP for my quest.
She's also rich so getting gold coins from her is a possibility as well. It's all for the sake of the quest, alright?
Trust me. I'm not trying to make a harem here. I swear.
Look at my face. Do I look like someone who'd exploit this situation to get my hands on a girl slave who's prefferrably from a different race like animal eared races?
I mean, I would absolutely love that… Oops! Did I accidentally spill out the truth? Nay, must be your imagination running wild. Yep.
Whilst I was thinking of those stupid things, my thoughts was interrupted by Ms. Receptionist who, surprisingly, let out a sigh of exasperation. Oh, I thought you don't know how to show any other emotion, Ms. Receptionist…
What? Why are you looking at me again? I didn't say anything bad about you inside my head Ms. Receptionist, I pro… Nah, let's just change the subject.
"So? Do you have any information you could give us regarding any slave market we could go to?"
The lady receptionist gave me one last cold stare before giving me the information I was asking for. I gotta avoid talking bad about people inside my mind right in front them.
"If you have enough funds, a slave market within the city is preferable, but if not, you could also try finding a black market slave trader in the slums. Though the Guild will not be able to introduce you to such a trader."
"Pass. I don't like the slums. Also, I'm not really short on money."
"In that case, I recommend Docosp's Slave Market within the city. And by the way… If you are looking for an experienced slave, you could try checking the local brothel to see if they are selling any of their slaves today." I don't think I said I needed such an 'experienced' slave though? You must be misunderstanding something here, Ms. Receptionist.
"Haha, nope, I didn't mean it in that sort of way." I wanted to clear the misunderstanding but I couldn't really think of a way to explain it without touching on the topic regarding our dungeon so I decided to leave it be. Instead, I asked her to point where this Doscop's Slave Market is on the map before leaving immediately.
Right after leaving the Guild, we immediately went to Doscop's Slave Market without taking any detour. Although I say that, Rokuko dragged Ikumei, Zenko, and Tsuka along with her to look at several stands on the way.
We left the guild in a hurry but we still ended up arriving late. Should I map out the street stalls around this city and avoid them while navigating through it when I'm with Rokuko? That's only if we're in a hurry though.
Never mind. Too much work.
After an hour or so of buying stuffs on the way, we finally reached the slave market. I say that but, isn't this just a normal-looking, run-of-the-mill brick building? This doesn't scream, 'This is a Slave Market!' in any way to me.
"It's different from where we used to be…"
"…Un. This place is a lot cleaner than where we were. It was a really dirty place outside the gates." Oh, Ikumei's starting to say more words.
Anyway, that was the first reaction of Zenko and Ikumei upon seeing this building. Now that I think about it, what Ikumei said is true. The place they were before was like a sewer or something. It's smelly and it's full of dirt everywhere.
Since nothing's gonna happen if we just stood in front of the entrance of a slave market, other than looking like idiots of course, we promptly went inside.
The moment we entered the building, we saw a counter with a slave standing behind it. How can I tell that she's slave? Well, she have the same collar as Ikumei and Zenko used to have.
"Welcome to our establishment. What business do you have with us today?"
"I would like to buy a slave. This should be the place where I could buy one, right?"
"Yes. It is. However, may I ask who introduced this humble shop of ours to you?"
"It's the Adventurer's Guild." The slave left the counter, asking us to wait a moment. Soon enough, she came back with a buff-looking middle-aged guy.
"Welcome. I am the owner of this establishment, Docosp. Valued customer, I heard that you would like to buy a slave on this fine day." The shop owner gave us a smooth business smile. He looked like a reputable salesman, which made sense given that he ran a shop right in the middle of town.
Since they're being courteous, I also responded in kind. What? You think I'm a barbarian?
"That is indeed the case Mr. Doscosp. A receptionist of the Adventurer's Guild introduced me to this place, telling me that this is a good place to buy slaves." I showed him my own version of a business smile. This, in turn, made him look at me with a gaze filled with shock for a brief moment.
By the way, I'm currently in my [NWO] avatar. Rokuko is also in her Princess Knight form. Well, that is her appearance when she registered in the guild so it would be suspicious if she goes inside of this city with the appearance of her DP saving form.
"T-That is indeed correct. There is not a slave I own that isn't the best of the best." No need to stutter, good sir. What are you being nervous about, anyway?
"S-So, ku-hum, what kind of slave are you looking for?"
"Well… Let's see here… I want someone who could do some basic chores. There's a whole lot of things I want her to do so being smart, alert, and steadfast is a must. It would also be a huge plus if they're pretty." She'll be manning the counter so having a pretty face is a must have, especially when dealing with adventurers. She doesn't necessarily need to know how to fight since there are a lot of fighters within our dungeon already.
Hey, what are you punching me for, Rokuko? Being pretty is naturally a plus side in any world. Some adventurers who think using their lower half might cause some trouble because of this, but there should be nothing that a good slicing and dicing can't solve, right?
Besides, I plan on creating a prison for such people. Well, I say that but it's just an excuse to earn an extra amount of DP. I could also punish them there for messing around with my dungeon.
"Hold on a moment, Shun. Why did you mention pretty as a criteria?"
"Shh… Stay quiet for now, Rokuko. Also, didn't I already tell you this beforehand? It's a criteria that we must include for us to find the slave that we need."
"H-Huh? Oh, yeah, you did say something like that…" Rokuko nodded after remembering our previous conversation.
With Rokuko now out of the conversation, since she is now busy playing with Tsuka who seems to have understood my intentions and decided to keep Rokuko busy, I continued my conversation with the slave trader.
"Anyway, my budget is around two to three gold coins. What do you think?" Since we had the Guild backing us here, I doubted the slaver would try to rip us off.
If he ever try to rip us off, one word from Rokuko telling Haku that a slaver ripped her off of her money is enough to send his business downhill.
"Since you are here from the Guild, I would like to know more about the specifics of your requirements. I would like to find the absolute perfect slave for you if possible."
"Hm. Aside from what I already mentioned? Let's see here… Well, she doesn't need to have any skills. Oh, and, it'll be good if she's of adult age. And of course, it would be prefferrable if the price is within or lower than my budget." There's hidden meaning behind my latter words. Let's see if he can understand it.
"And even better if she's beautiful, yes?" The slaver paused for a moment to think.
"Hm. So you are looking for a slave to do chores. And if you're fine with a cheap slave, that must mean you'd be fine with a non-human slave. I will bring several candidates for you to look over." Oh? This slaver is good. I'll put you in my 'good guy' list that I totally didn't make just now.
The slaver stood up, left, and came back after a brief while with seven women in tow. Judging from their collars, they were all slaves. Hmm hmm… They are all pretty while a majority of them are from different races. Great.
"Are these slaves to your liking? They respectively cost eighty silvers, one hundred ten silvers, ninety silvers, sixty silvers, two hundred silvers, three hundred silvers, and three hundred and twenty silvers." He's really an experienced salesman. The fact that he brought out a slave more than the budget I specified is enough proof.
Him being a good salesman aside, let's see the slaves that he brought out. Starting from the left, the slaves were a bear-eared beastkin, a fox-eared beastkin with a fluffy tail, an elf who seems to be brimming with happiness, a normal human, a dignified looking knigh-like woman, another elf who's mood seems to be down in the dumps, and another human who looks like a professional maid.
Yep. His selection is good.
However, I'm just wondering. Why are they all looking at me as if they were the ones buying me, instead of the other way around? Am I supposed to present myself better in this situation?
This is the total opposite of what happened in the slum's Slave Market.
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※~To be continued~※
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Author's Remarks:
※ FINALLY. Took me long enough to finish this one. We're about to meet one of the OG characters of LDM, alongside Ikumei, Rokuko, Haku, Chloe, and etc. To be honest with you guys, there's really a whole lot of people that could be added in the group chat from this world alone.
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