Chapter 5: Mukohda Buys Some Slaves

The next day, I bought all the soaps and shampoos I’d be delivering to Lambert’s store during the morning. Then, I immersed myself wholeheartedly in repackaging work. If I didn’t, my mind would end up wandering.

I had sort of just gone with the flow when I’d bought this place, but I had already hit a stumbling block. Now that I was thinking about it calmly, this place was way too huge. I didn’t know what to even do with all the space.

Like, how do I even clean this huge mansion? And the grounds are huge too, not to mention there are so many trees, so it probably needs a lot of maintenance. I totally get why there’s three whole houses for servants. With a mansion this big, it’d be impossible to maintain it without hiring people.

I had seen the houses for servants too. They were just single-story houses and seemed perfectly fine for ordinary living. To be honest, I’d much rather live there.

Still, this entire area is my possession now, so...... I don’t like the thought of letting it all fall into disrepair. More than anything, I’d feel like, “why did I even buy this house then?”

Now that I’d bought a house, in order to maintain it as well as assisting me with repackaging the soaps and shampoos I was supposed to hand over to Lambert, I considered hiring one or two people. But no matter how I think about it, that wouldn’t be anywhere near enough for this place, huh?

Ahh~, no matter what I do my mind ends up wandering... Geez, and those guys...

“Even though I’ve got so many worries, they’re all so carefree......” Not far from where I was fretting, Fel and the others were energetically running around the wide grounds. Thanks to immersing myself in my busy work, I had ended up finishing faster than I expected even though I was preoccupied about everything.

“No matter what, I’m gonna have to hire people, huh...... and not just a handful. I’m going to have to be prepared for way more than that.”

Luckily, I had money, so I was fine with hiring several people, but what was really important was......

“If I’m going to hire someone, they have to be able to keep a secret, above all else...”

Especially since there was a significant chance of them finding out about my Online Supermarket skill due to the fact that I would be asking them to repackage soaps and shampoos as well. Even if they didn’t know exactly what the Online Supermarket skill did, they would definitely find out that I was supplying the soaps and shampoos that were all the rage in town. And if that happened, they really would need to be able to keep a secret.

Also, I still want to travel around and see the world, too...... With that in mind, I’d really like someone I can trust to maintain and protect the place while I’m gone.

“A trustworthy person with tight lips, huh......? How would I even hire a person like that? Would I ask the Merchant’s guild? Or is there a different place that offers such services......? I’m not really sure how the hiring process works in this world. Nothing will happen if I just worry about it by myself, so I really should go ask Lambert about this, huh?”

Lambert’s a merchant, so he should know something about this. All right. Let’s go ask him tomorrow after I drop off these soaps and shampoos.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

The next day, I delivered the same amount of product as I had in Berléand to Lambert, and after accepting payment I broached the topic of hired help.

“Lambert, there was something I actually wanted to talk to you about......”

I asked him how I would go about hiring trustworthy, tight-lipped people to manage my house and help with the soap and shampoo trade.

When I did, Lambert replied immediately: “In that case, buying a slave would be best.”

“S-Slave?”

I started to get cold feet at the mention of slaves. I did know of the existence of slaves, and I’d seen some on the way to this country, but to think I’d end up buying them......

“Oh, right, your country didn’t have any, did they Mukohda? The slave system in this country is really solid, and it’s very beneficial to both those buying and those being bought.”

From what Lambert said, this country’s slave system also functioned as a sort of safety net for the weak.

The first reason it worked well was that everybody was registered. When you bought a slave, both the slave and their owner would always be registered. And each prospective slave owner was required to guarantee a certain standard of living to their slaves, reinforced by the registration.

Next was the contract system. A contract was bound between the prospective owner and their would-be slave. The contract stated the required amount for a slave to buy their freedom, as well as a slave’s wages, among other stipulations, all of which were freely negotiated between the two parties involved. Apparently, there was normally a clause that required the prospective slave to protect any information they may have gained while still under contract. Thanks to that, the owner’s information was secure. Said information protection clause extended to any time after the slave bought their freedom as well, so it was really reassuring.

Not only that, the contract was a really strong one bound by magic. Once it was formed, a black circle appeared on the base of the slave’s right thumb, and if they ever breached the contract, it would quickly expand to color the slave’s entire right hand, marking them clearly. That measure might make it seem like the slave was at a disadvantage, but the slaves could also report breaches of contract to any nearby knight brigade station, after which the brigade would conduct a thorough investigation.

With the two important pillars of registration and the contract, both the owner and the slave could be arrested for a contract breach, and, depending on the circumstances, forced to pay incredibly large fines. For example, if a slave were to buy their freedom, or the owner was to give the slave their freedom out of goodwill, the contract would end. However, if the slave were to run away, the contract wouldn’t end, and they would be arrested and punished accordingly. As for the owner, if they forced the slave to do something not in the contract or failed to pay the amount stipulated by the contract, they naturally would be found guilty. Punishments in this world were severe, and pretty much only resulted in either execution or becoming a criminal slave — the latter, in this case.

It seemed like all the countries here were the same, and if one became a criminal slave, they would be stripped of all rights as humans and fated to be constantly abused.

“In other words, slavery is just a kind of contract. Also, this country treats its slaves better than others. There basically aren’t any people who would bother putting themselves at risk of becoming criminal slaves by violating their contract, anyway.”

I see. That makes sense. If the system is built like this, then it would be foolhardy to try and break it with all the risks involved.

“I would recommend buying an entire family.”

“An entire... family?” Unable to comprehend what he meant, I repeated Lambert’s words back at him.

“It’s exactly as I said,” he replied.

Apparently, it was fairly common for entire families to become slaves thanks to debts or a poor harvest. Those slaves would normally wish to be sold as a family in order to avoid being separated and scattered to the four winds. However, the slave merchants were also running a business, so it wasn’t as if they’d absolutely honor that wish forever. Normally the merchants would try to sell them as a family for a standard three months; if they still hadn’t sold by then, then they would start to sell them separately.

“If you were to buy them before they get sold separately, I imagine the family would feel a debt of gratitude towards you. Everyone I’ve bought works hard — enough to impress even me. And they would never do anything to cause a loss to my store, either.”

Oh? Is that what would happen?

“Families of slaves tend to think about the stability of their lifestyle first and foremost. Almost all of them continue to work at the same job even after buying their freedom.”

Since that was the case, it seemed that Lambert basically always made sure to buy families of slaves whenever he was in the market for them. According to him, buying an entire family would be a little expensive at first, but considering their productivity and higher morale, they were actually well worth the cost.

An entire family, huh? I guess I should consider it. But if I were to buy a slave anyway, I’d like some cute girls... N-No, it’s not like I’m thinking of anything weird. Not at all.

I-It’s just... I’m a guy, too, and if I was going to live together with someone, I’d like it to be a cute girl. That’s just natural for a man, right?

“Ahh, also, if you’re going to buy a slave, it might be a good idea to buy one who can fight, too.”

“Huh? A slave who can fight?”

“Yes, to tell you the truth......”

Lambert started talking with a serious expression.

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“So, I think it’s best if you prepare yourself for any eventuality. If you’re there, Mukohda, you shouldn’t have any problems, but you’re an adventurer. You’ll probably be leaving your house a lot......”

What I heard from Lambert was a little troublesome. Thanks to the fame of our soaps and shampoos, there’d been people sniffing around Lambert’s store. Lambert had an idea of who the culprit was, but it wasn’t like they’d done anything obviously illegal, so Lambert, unable to send the knights after them, was troubled as to how to deal with the situation.

It seemed that the culprit was another merchant company that didn’t have the best reputation, even though they were based in a different territory. Said company was one that had found success in a single generation thanks to their willingness to do ruthless and vicious things without batting an eye, and although they even frequently caused trouble for the Merchant’s guild, they were sly and never left a trail. The Merchant’s guild honestly wanted to crush them if they could, but they were unable to get their hands on any decisive proof. That, and the fact that they seemed to have backing from some mysterious nobles, meant that the guild’s hands were tied.

Even Lambert, in a streak of uncharacteristic martial attitude, said, “I’d happily sic the knights on them if they were to show their hand... They’re simply sniffing around right now, but if they realize you and I are close, then they’ll be able to put two and two together. There’s no guarantee that you won’t be found out as my supplier, Mukohda.”

What Lambert said made sense. I regularly came to this store, and if they were to follow up on that even a little, it would be pretty easy to find out that I was the one supplying them with soaps and shampoos.

“Luckily, my store is heavily favored by Earl Langridge, who presides over this area, so they can’t make any direct moves, but I don’t know if they’ll try anything against you, Mukohda. And even if they won’t touch you, an S-ranked adventurer, they might aim for an opening while you’re gone and infiltrate your house. I wouldn’t put it past them.”

If I was found out as the supplier of Lambert’s soaps and shampoos, then of course they would think that there’d be something in my house. In fact, I had already considered leaving some there, too. I’d leave a huge amount of soaps and shampoos stored in some unused room, and just have that be repackaged and regularly shipped to Lambert.

Hmmm... this means I’ll have to think seriously about security, won’t I? Since ensuring safety should be a top priority now that I’ve decided to hire people. For now, I’ll follow Lambert’s advice and hire some slaves that can fight.

“You’re right, Lambert. I’ll buy some slaves that can fight.”

“That’s probably for the best. I’ll introduce you to the merchant I always use. I’ll write the introduction letter right now, so please wait a while.”

Letter in hand, I left Lambert’s store. With Lambert’s recommendation and introduction, I was feeling pretty secure about the whole thing.

Let’s hurry up and get to the slave trader.

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《Hey, are you going somewhere again? I want to go hunting.》

“Indeed. I would also like to go hunting.”

Both Dora-chan and Fel declared their desire to hunt. By the way, Sui was quietly sleeping in my bag, as usual.

“No, not today. I’m going to go to a slave merchant right now.”

《Whaaat~?》

“What, we are not going? How boring.”

Boring, huh......?

“What? You know this is important. Do you not want to keep traveling? I’m trying to find someone to manage the house while we’re gone, you know? If you’re okay with staying here forever instead of traveling, then we can go hunting if you’d like.”

“Mm, we will travel. We have just heard of an interesting sounding dungeon, have we not? We will definitely be going there.”

《Yeah. I definitely want to go to that dungeon.》

Damn, so Fel and Dora-chan haven’t forgotten about the dungeon. Personally, I’d like to travel anywhere but a dungeon city. It’d be nice if they were to somehow forget about this while we’re here.

“Anyway, I just bought the house so I’m scrambling to get everything in order. Once everything’s calmed down, we can go hunting, so just bear with it for a while,” I said, and both of them reluctantly agreed.

After following Lambert’s directions, we reached a building that I couldn’t tell was a store.

“Is this really it? ......Oh, there’s a sign.”

There was a small sign. So small, that I almost missed it. It said, “Radoslav Trading Company” on it.

“Looks like this is it.” It was the name of the place Lambert had told me about.

I used the knocker on the tightly closed door. When the door opened, a rough-looking skinhead peeked through the gap.

“Excuse me, I was introduced to this place by Lambert......”

When I showed him my letter of introduction, the skinhead took it and silently closed the door. After a little while, the door opened up once again. This time, what appeared was a skinny man with sharp eyes who looked to be around fifty.

“I am the owner here, Radoslav. Sorry for keeping you waiting.”

“My name is Mukohda. Pleased to meet you.”

“I have seen your letter of introduction from Lambert. Now then, please, come inside.”

We followed Radoslav into the store. Inside, I saw the skinhead who had opened the door last time standing next to the entrance.

So he’s security, huh?

The entrance opened into a hallway, lined with several doors. It seemed that negotiations were always done in private rooms. We headed for a room in the back; I listened to him talk on the way and learned that this store was closed to those without an introduction. Since they dealt in slaves, and the prices were always necessarily high, they refused casual buyers for safety reasons. I guess when it comes to the sale of people, the amount of money that moves around really would be a lot.

We entered a room, and I was shown to a seat. The room was painted calm colors which matched the furniture, and all the furniture gave off a high class feeling without being gaudy. When I sat down in the leather upholstered seat, a maid came from somewhere and offered tea. I took a sip of it.

Yep. It’s good.

“According to Lambert’s letter of introduction, you’re looking for ones that can manage your house as well as some that can fight, yes?”

“That’s right. Also......”

I told him that I’d prefer a cute, real-life, bona fide maid for maintaining the house. “Also, uhhh... if possible, a girl that would be okay with that as part of their contract......”

When I said that, Radoslav gave me a look of pity.

Huh, what? It was really embarrassing to say that, but I mustered up my courage because I figured it would be nice to have if I’m buying someone anyway.

“Mr. Mukohda, could you be from a foreign country?”

“Yes.”

Yes, a foreign country. Or rather, a foreign world.

“Mr. Mukohda, you’re probably referring to a sex slave, but in the first place that kind of slave does not exist in this country. It’s possible to force a physical relationship through this contract, but there probably wouldn’t be any slave who would agree to that in the first place. There isn’t any demand, after all.”

“Huh? No demand?”

As if that’s possible! All men would want a woman in their lives! There’s no way there’s no demand!

“If you’re going to pay a huge amount of money anyway, you’d be better off picking someone from the red-light district for a night than buying a slave for that.”

...............Good point.

“Since that’s the case, there are no slaves who will agree to that. Any woman who would probably ends up in the red-light district instead of here anyway.”

Makes sense. Any woman who’s fine with that would make more money there anyway, and they wouldn’t have to become a slave.

The red-light district, huh......? I knew that existed, but I’ve never gone, huh? Maybe I’ll try going next time.

Now that that was settled, I looked over at Fel and Dora-chan, who were sleeping in a corner. If I moved, Fel and the others would definitely follow. If I could trick them or get them to stay somehow......

...Nope, that won’t work. If I took too long, Fel and the others would track me down by smell, probably. And if I were to take Fel and the others with me to the red-light district............ Nope, never.

Sad times. Every single one of my dreams is crumbling to dust. I’m getting depressed again.

◇　◇　◇　◇　◇

There were two families lined up in front of me, for a total of nine people.

Why do I have such bad luck with women......? *Sigh~*

As for how it turned out like this: I still asked Radoslav for some cute maids at least, saying, “Then some cute women to serve as actual maids. I won’t compromise on that......” But according to Radoslav, the ones I wanted weren’t available.

It wasn’t as if there weren’t any cute girls being sold as slaves, but their desires didn’t match mine. Apparently in this country, for the first three months of being for sale, merchants prioritized the slaves’ wishes, so that’s how things ended up like this. Good-looking slaves were always in demand, so regardless of gender, almost all of them got sold within their first three months. Naturally, it was the same for the cute girls I wanted too — Radoslav would prioritize what those girls wanted......

Apparently, every single one of them wanted to be sold to a noble or a merchant. Slaves weren’t paid much, but nobles and merchants always paid more. For slaves, having even a little higher pay was better for the purposes of buying their freedom. I understood where they were coming from.

I’m an adventurer, so that’s probably why they avoided me. Like, I can’t really nitpick a decision like that......

Radoslav knew I was an S-ranked adventurer, and had explained to them that, as an S-ranked adventurer, I wasn’t any worse than a noble or a merchant. Unfortunately, it seemed that adventurers carried the impression of being boorish and violent, so none of them agreed.

But Lambert did introduce me to this store, so there’s no way I can go home empty-handed, right? So for now, I’ll ask to see entire families, as Lambert recommended......

...And that was how this moment came to be.

“This is the Tony family, and the Alban family.” Radoslav was showing me two families.

First was the Tony family. There was Tony, the father (33); Aija, the mother (30); the first son, Kosti (13); and the first daughter, Selja (9). The Tony family had become slaves due to debt. Aija had apparently fallen ill, and the cost of potions, as well as alms for a priest to cast healing magic had put them deep into debt. Aija, the ill person in question, had significantly recovered due to these measures that then put them in debt, so although she wasn’t completely healthy, she was at least up and moving. If I looked closely, I could tell the color on Aija’s face wasn’t great.

According to Radoslav, Tony was a skilled gardener, and was recommended for residences with a lot of greenery. And it seems that the son, Kosti was taught a bit by his father too, so he would be plenty useful. As for Aija, along with being able to handle any sort of household chore flawlessly due to being a housewife, she had also worked in an eatery before she had become ill, so she could cook too. And Selja had started taking care of chores after Aija had taken sick too, so even though she was only nine, she could handle that sort of thing to an extent.

Next was the Alban family. There was Alban, the father (30); Theresa, the mother (28); Oliver, the first son (10); Erik, the second son (8); and Lotte, their only daughter (5). The Alban family had originally been farmers, but had to become slaves due to a bad harvest.

From what Radoslav said, Alban had a fruit orchard, so he could maintain the grounds just like Tony.

Oh yeah, didn’t my grounds have fruit trees too?

The sons Oliver and Erik helped Alban with work, so they could help in that area too, I was told. Theresa, as the housewife of a farmer, could also take care of household chores, and she could even butcher small monsters. Lotte was only five years old, so they wanted to excuse her from work.

I started to understand why Lambert recommended buying entire families. I mean, they were all desperate. Of course they’d feel grateful if they were bought as a family.

I understand why you’re desperate, but please, stop looking like you’re begging me like that......

All nine of them were looking at me, somehow communicating their pleas with just a look.

“We’ll work our hardest! So please, buy us! Please!!” The one who said that was Kosti, the oldest son of the Tony family.

Then, his little sister Selja followed up, bowing as she said, “Please, mister.”

The father, Tony even bowed deeply and shouted, “Please, buy our entire family!”

The mother, Aija, did the same.

“We’ll work hard too, mister! So don’t split up our family! Please!” Oliver, the first son of the Alban family, also started shouting as he bowed. His parents, Alban and Theresa, also bowed deeply. Seeing both his parents and his older brother do that, Erik also bowed even as he looked ready to cry. The tiny Lotte didn’t seem to know what was going on, but even so she pulled off a small bow as she said, “Pwease!”

...............

Ack! ............ You guys, you hit my weak points so accurately... I have no resistance to this sort of thing!

I’m not a fan of the way they’re calling me, “mister,” but if children are begging so earnestly, who am I to complain? ...I’m not heartless enough to ignore these people......

“......I’ll take both families, Radoslav.”

“Thank you very much.” Radoslav was all smiles.

Both families, realizing they wouldn’t be split up, collapsed with relief as they started crying.

After all of that, both families went to whatever was on the other side of the door for registration. The Tony family was 500 gold, while the Alban family was 510 gold. As a price for people, I felt it was really cheap, but according to Radoslav......

“This is actually really expensive for commoner families like the Tony and Alban families. On top of that, buying back one’s freedom usually costs twice what they were sold for, so if they were to try to buy back their own freedom, it’d take several tens of years.”

I have lots of money thanks to Fel and the others, but for an average family, it’s true that would be really expensive, huh...... Well, as long as they do their jobs, I’ll have nothing to complain about, and I’d like it if they keep living as they have been. Since I’ve gone and bought them, I’ll at least make sure of that.

I hadn’t gotten the cute maid girl I’d wanted, but that was probably some sort of fate. According to Lambert, families that were bought together showed their gratitude in hard work, so I would just look forward to that.

............... If I don’t think of it this way, I won’t be able to stand it. Sob.

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“So, will we be looking at battle-capable slaves, as we had discussed before?”

“Yes, please.”

Getting back on track, next up were the combat-capable slaves. After a while, a bunch of ripped men who looked distinctly battle-hardened came out in succession (along with a couple of women in the mix as well). According to Radoslav, all of them had become slaves due to debt.

The first one was a former C-ranked adventurer. He looked to be in his early-30’s; he was on the slender side, and not much taller than me. But unlike me, he was more of a “thin macho man,” and he was still totally ripped by comparison. His eyes were also sharp, and it seemed that he had been a scout back in his adventurer days. However, the reason for his debt was gambling...

They say it’s easy to get addicted to gambling, so I think I’ll pass on this guy.

The next person was a former mercenary who had drifted in from the alliance of small countries. That area was constantly fraught with small skirmishes, so a lot of mercenaries plied their trade there. He was an old man in his 40’s with a stern look, and he had a lot of scars on his arms, as well as a black eyepatch. He looked crazy strong, and exactly like a certain soldier from a famous action game. However, he was in debt because he had gotten drunk and gone on a rampage, destroying a store to create his debt.

I’m not sure about hiring a bad drunk...... I guess I’ll pass on him too.

The third one, a previously D-ranked adventurer, was also in debt due to gambling, and the fourth one was a macho ex-C-ranked female adventurer that once again, was in debt for gambling.

I really can’t accept ones that fall into debt because of gambling or booze...

Just as I started to assume the next one would also be the same, a decent candidate finally appeared. The fifth person used to be a D-ranked adventurer, and was still in his early-20’s. It seemed that one of his ancestors was a giant; those genes must have been dominant in him, because he was a huge, buff, tough-looking dude who could have been over 2 meters tall. He kind of resembled a gorilla. Even though he was so huge, his eyes were tiny, giving him kind of a simple and honest vibe.

The reason for his debt was his mother’s illness. Apparently, he had gotten pretty deep in debt to pay for potions and healing magic to treat his mother’s illness. In the end, his mother died anyways, but his debt still remained, and he had to become a slave. From what Radoslav said, he was just on the cusp of promoting to C-rank, so he should be pretty helpful.

Isn’t that great? He’s a keeper.

The sixth one was...... Oh, wow that’s a really nice six-pack.

It was on a tiger beastman macho lady who was in her late-20’s though. She looked a little taller than me, probably over 180cm in height. She seemed like she’d have a lot in common with the heroic guildmaster of Aveling, Nadiya.

This tiger beastman macho lady was a former B-ranked adventurer, and Radoslav told me that the reason for her debt was because something unexpected had happened during her last request, causing her to fail it. Thanks to that, she had been shackled with a hefty fine as a penalty, and with her paltry savings, she had been unable to pay it — hence her present circumstances.

Surprisingly, the seventh and eighth slaves were the tiger beastman macho lady’s younger twin brothers, a pair of formerly C-ranked adventurers who were also in her party. Of course, their reason for being in debt was the same, and thus they had all become slaves together. Just like their macho older sister, the younger brothers were both over 190cm tall and absolutely ripped.

Radoslav really seemed to be pushing the three of them. I also thought they were hirable. They were right at the top of my list.

The ninth slave used to be an F-ranked adventurer, and he was saying that the reason for his debt was because he was tricked, but I didn’t believe it. And more importantly, an F-ranked adventurer was kind of too low in rank for me to leave the house to him. After seeing the macho lady, I could only see him as inadequate.

The tenth person was a dog beastman who used to be a C-ranked adventurer. He was in his mid-30’s and looked pretty strong, but he was also in debt due to gambling.

“There’s quite a lot of people here who have gambling debts, aren’t there, Radoslav?”

“Yes. Especially since the mid-ranked adventurers have some extra money to spend. There’s a fair share of people who get sucked in.”

I kinda get it. Back when I was working at my old job, there were some colleagues who were the same way. When they started getting paid, it looked like they quickly got addicted to pachinko. I never talked to them because we were in different departments, but it seemed like they were partying hard, going to all sorts of different pachinko places. I heard they’d even taken out loans, and I remember feeling relieved that I never had any interest in gambling.

I guess gambling just exists in every world, huh? Even in this one, it seems. Gambling doesn’t interest me, but let’s make a note to be extra careful not to be sucked in.

“Now then, the next one is the last slave. He used to be a B-ranked adventurer, so his strength is assured, but he’s definitely got his quirks... Or should I say, he’s really stubborn......”

The last slave, the eleventh, was a dwarf. His 150cm tall frame was packed with muscle, and he looked like an old man with a huge beard. When I heard the reason for his debt, I was shocked and exasperated.

Radoslav told me that just like the macho lady and her younger brothers, he was indebted from a failed request, but unlike them, he could have paid his fine if he had really wanted to. Apparently, he had been in a party of five, and they all had to pay when they failed. Of course, the fine was steep, but if they had each sold their equipment and used their savings, they could have paid.

However, this old dwarf stubbornly refused to sell his main weapon, a hammer. In the end, he was the only one who could not pay his fine, and he ended up a slave.

“Even though he’d even have some money left over if he just sold his hammer...” Radoslav muttered.

“Hm?! I will never sell it!! That hammer is mine! I had to go see the master craftsman Dusan so many times before he finally agreed to make it for me, for a huge sum! That’s my treasure! I’d rather be a slave than hand it over to someone else!” The old dwarf shouted, with an indignant look. It was obvious to see that he had an abnormal degree of attachment to it.

But you know, if you paid so much money to have him make a hammer, you should have some savings too, right?

When I asked that question, he replied, “I saved up in order to convince Dusan to make it for me. As if I would keep saving after I got what I wanted. It all went into booze!”

All into booze? I guess I should have expected that from a dwarf. For some reason, the macho tiger lady and her twin younger brothers are nodding in agreement though. Hmm... what should I do?

Right now, I was considering the macho tiger lady, her twin younger brothers, the D-ranked-but-promising gorilla-like giant, and the stubborn dwarf, since I really did want to avoid people who fell into debt thanks to gambling or alcohol problems. But just in case, I quickly used Appraisal on all eleven of them.

All five of the people I was considering seemed good. Other than that, the first one, the ex-C-ranked adventurer who was a scout had several good skills like ‘concealment’ and ‘throw.’ And the ex-mercenary guy who looked exactly like a certain soldier from a famous action game also seemed powerful, with his sword skill and his leadership skill.

But the reasons for their debt...... I wonder if just five people will be fine as guards?

If it turns out not to be, I can just think about buying more then. For now, I think I’ll just stick with those five.

I told Radoslav that I’d be buying the five of them.

The tiger beastman macho lady was named Tabatha (28), and her two younger brothers were Luke and Irvine (they were both 24), the gorilla-man with the giant blood was named Peter (20), and the stubborn old dwarf was named Barthel (92). Tabatha, Luke, and Irvine were 1,400 gold for the three of them, Peter was 380 gold, and Barthel was 680 gold.

As I thought, combat-capable slaves are more expensive.

After registering the five of them, I paid the total sum of 3470 gold to Radoslav for all the slaves I bought. Then, the agreement of terms for the contract went smoothly. For my end, I paid particular attention to the confidentiality clause of the contract.

Still, all I wanted was to make sure they would never reveal anything about my origin or my skills and other personal details. Both the soaps and the shampoos had to do with my skill, so those should be covered as well. In the contract itself, it forbid revealing any of my personal information, so I figured it should be okay. I made sure to confirm that part several times.

With the contracts bound, all fourteen of them were handed over to me, and I introduced them to Fel and the others.

“Hello. I’m Mukohda, the one who bought all of you. And these are my familiars.” I introduced them to Fel, who slowly got up, and Dora-chan. I also opened up my bag and showed them Sui, who was sleeping.

When I introduced Fel, they all reacted with alarm, especially the five former adventurers, who reflexively took up fighting stances. I quickly covered with, “They’re my familiars, so it’s fine. I’ll explain in more detail once we get back to the house.” Somehow, that managed to calm them down.

Then, with the fourteen of them in tow, we left Radoslav’s store.

“If you ever need more slaves, please pay us a visit,” Radoslav said with a full-faced smile.

I guess I would be treated as a VIP customer since I just bought over a dozen slaves at once. Well, I didn’t have any plans to buy any more, though.

For now, I decided to return to my home, taking along all of my new slaves.