Chapter 44 – Interrogation – 5
Tanned smooth skin.
A practical body that protrudes from where it should come out.
Fluttering hair.
Subtle eyes.
This shiny. Giddy smile.
The smell of flesh tickling the tip of the nose.
Shouted the bald middle-aged merchant, smiling confidently with his arms wide open.
“How are you, Franz-sama! They are the best slaves of our upper ranks!”
“Wow…”
Is it serine or chlorine? A voice of admiration was heard from behind. What does that mean? I didn’t want to understand. My brain was still rejecting it.
What am I doing now?
“How is it? All the slaves I have are healthy slaves without disease!”
“Yeah, yes.”
As if to prove it, there were figures of men posing in various poses behind the merchant’s back.
The bronze skin was gleaming.
I felt like I was going to vomit at the sight of her glistening skin exposed, as if she had applied some kind of oil, wearing tight-fitting panties, smiling and showing off her rugged body with a glistening smile.
Suck!
“Sigh.”
“The best sea man that Gryutus is proud of! Muscles trained in practice! Indefatigable stamina! Tanned, smooth skin tanned in the sun! How is it! Do you like Franz-sama!”
“Big, big… That, it is.”
Hearing the merchant’s words, he turned his gaze back to the slave behind him.
The bronzed male slave, whose eyes met, smiled brightly and blinked his eyes. Is that winking right now? Fuck?
Aaaaagh! Snow! Snow! Live the eyes you haven’t seen! Ugh!
I’m holding back the desire to run away right away because of face.
What should I do with the anger that fills my heart?
As I stood still with clenched fists shaking, Chloe spoke from behind as if she had just remembered.
“Come to think of it, the male slaves of Gryutus are also famous, right?”
“What?”
Such nonsense. Are those guys famous? Those suffocating hot guys?
When I looked at her with blank eyes, Chloe looked at me as if she really didn’t know.
No, why should I know that?
“It is famous with pearls… I thought you knew Jinju because you knew it… Their people must be so strong.”
“I, only male slaves are famous?”
No, it can’t be. Only male slaves can’t be famous… If you’re going to be famous, women should be famous too!
I looked at the men again. Her skin is a coppery color, but at first I thought she had been burned in the sun, but is her skin color like that?
Was it a different race?
… No! Eye color and hair color are so colorful, but was there a separate race? How do you tell them apart? Do you differentiate by skin color? What the hell happened to the genes of this world? I didn’t know that. I don’t think there was anything specific about race in the book.
Well, it’s a world where magic power discrimination is more severe than that.
But why is it famous? I didn’t understand. What about female slaves?
“Because the people of Baheun Kingdom are innately good at controlling magical powers using water.”
“Did you have that characteristic?”
What is that new setting?
I had no idea.
Serene continued her speech with her wry smile.
“It’s a very subtle level, but it’s said that if it’s noble-level magic, it’s said to show one level higher power when it comes to water. It’s just a rumor.”
“Mmm.”
As expected, as I was active on the surface, I gained new knowledge that I had not encountered through studying. Mana, which jumps through attributes, is a common setting in fantasy. Of course, I don’t have to categorize it that way, but Franz specializes in physics? Specialized in Destruction? It feels like that. Specialize not even a game
“It is said to be quite popular with wealthy people because it is helpful to some extent. They say they are slaves, but they are almost like exclusive servants. So, even in those cities, being a slave is not that bad.”
“That’s… Hmm.”
Is it like a bodyguard? Swiss mercenary? It’s not that grand, though. Are they slaves for wealthy commoners rather than nobles? The amount of mana itself that I can definitely feel is smaller than that of an adventurer. … Well, if you have that much magical power, you’ll become an adventurer.
“That’s right! The male slaves of Gryutus, the pride of our Baheun kingdom! How about Franz-sama!”
“No, I don’t like it.”
“Is that so?”
When I flatly refused, the merchant with a terrified expression looked at me for a moment, hesitated, then noticed Serene and Chloe.
What, do you think this bothered me?
“Are there any other slaves?”
“Of course there is. In fact, while coming here, I looked at the situation in the industry and bought or sold various products. Actually, it was my first time coming here, so it was a worthwhile time. However, there are very few actual transactions…”
“Hmm. There are definitely few slaves around here.”
It’s not that there aren’t commoners who can’t pay taxes, but it’s not a big deal because it’s an affluent land.
I wonder if there are people who really need slaves.
“But why did you come all the way here?”
“Um, uh, is that such a big deal?”
A merchant with a puzzled expression bowed his head with an embarrassing grin.
“A tax is a tax. Aren’t the tariffs pretty high for slaves?”
“That is true. However, the price comes at a premium. Actually, aren’t Gryuthus slaves rare around here?”
“… That’s right.”
Certainly very few I honestly saw it for the first time too. … But maybe that’s because I’m not the type to do outside activities.
I looked at Chloe and Celine, but they also shook their heads.
“To the capital… No, even if you go all the way to Bohrang Manor, you will get a huge premium. It is not a bad condition to be traded at a high price even for slaves.”
“Still, you’re trying to do business beyond the country. You’re pretty patient.”
Haha! Because you are a merchant As long as you have money, you can go anywhere.”
If it were me, I wouldn’t do such a thing because it’s annoying. Anyway, I’ll get it roughly.
“First of all, do you know what the atmosphere is like these days?”
“Ah yes. I don’t know the details, but to some extent…”
Although there are no uneasy elements on this side due to the war with Müller. Still, you have to be prepared for an emergency, and that’s why inspections have been strengthened. I’m also curious, so I’ll have to check it out.
“Documents?”
“Ah, yes! Here’s your trade permit. Both Barhn and Brahms are there. And here are the seals of the territories we have visited so far.”
After Chloe received the documents the merchant had handed over, she looked over them slowly and nodded.
There seems to be nothing special about it. He roughly nodded.
I don’t have to see it, and if it’s a forgery that Chloe can’t check and recognize, there’s no way for me to notice it.
And that’s not what’s important.
“Where are the other slaves?”
“The Gryutthus male slaves here are the best I have, and I’m not good enough to show you other slaves…”
“What do you mean by seeing a male slave?”
Sincerely incomprehensible
The merchant is making a slightly confused expression, but anyway, in line with my request, I started heading towards the carriage a little further back.
Will it really come out now? Female slaves!
“There must be female slaves of Gryutthus, too, right?”
“Yes Yes… There is, but I wonder if it suits Franz-sama’s eyes…”
“Okay, where are you?”
“This way. I will guide you.”
* * *
“… Are you gone?”
“Shut up.”
What is this bastard talking about now?
The bald merchant immediately turned around and told the bullshit slave to shut up.
Her terrified face made her frown as she watched the slave bow her head. You can overhear the current conversation.
“Don’t do anything that offends the nobles. Do you want your neck to fly too? Or do you want to die together?”
“Yes Yes. Sorry.”
After the bald merchant gave the slave a shout, she broke into a cold sweat.
Although he had already disappeared from sight, the bald merchant was well aware of what a monster a first-class adventurer could be. He still remembered the image of the knight who slaughtered countless adventurers in the past war. Even then, he was so terrified that he couldn’t do anything. However, he could not believe that he would come face to face with a noble, a living, large-scale monster, even more monstrous than that knight. It was the first time for a bald merchant. He can’t be careless against nobles anyway.
How did you get here in the first place? You can’t come now and get caught and ruin it.
“Clean up your belongings and check the condition of the slaves. Unfortunately, it is a major fact of our corps that we have not prepared slaves that suit Franz-sama’s eyes. Next time, let’s prepare even better products and make up for it by coming back someday. Now, hurry up and sort it out!”
“Yeah.”
While speaking carefully, convey your intentions with a pre-determined sign. No matter how noble you are, there’s no way to know this. Originally, I hadn’t acted cautiously until this point, but perhaps because of the war, this was the first time I’d encountered a noble.
One action, one. Act like a normal slave trader to avoid any awkwardness.
Watching the male slaves of Gryutthus move swiftly, the bald merchant held back a sigh of relief and slowly relaxed.
