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024 Martial
Arts Fanatic
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Translator : PolterGlast
It was early morning
on the 12th day. I left the inn, timing it for when Golteo-san's shop would
open.
There was no sign of
bandits around the inn. This inn is a bit far from the Explorer's Guild and not
the kind of place explorers usually stay, so it's probably unmarked. In fact,
I've never seen anyone who looked like an explorer at this inn.
Mornings in this world
start early. Many people get up before the sun rises. I don't get up that
early, though.
Stalls apparently open
with the sunrise, but shops also open early.
Golteo-san was there
today.
"Good morning,
Toi-sama."
"It's been a
while, Golteo-san."
"Indeed. It has
been."
Then Golteo-san
frowned at Anneliese. It was as if he was asking, Where did you buy this child?
Please don't look at
me like a wife scolding her cheating husband.
"This child...
could it be...?"
Did he realize that
old woman had turned into such a cute girl?
"Excuse me, but
is this child that one?"
That one? What's the
correct way to answer when asked "that one"?
"She's that
one."
"What a
mysterious thing to have happened."
"Indeed it
is..."
It seems saying
"that one" was the correct answer. But how is it that we can
communicate with "that one"?
I've used Detailed
Appraisal on various people so far, but not a single person had the Appraisal
skill. Golteo-san doesn't have Appraisal either. However, some people had Item
Appraisal and Person Appraisal, but few had Person Appraisal.
Golteo-san has Item
Appraisal. So, when it came to Anneliese, it must have been what you'd call a
merchant's intuition at work.
"What kind of
goods are you looking for today?"
"Please show me
your slaves."
He looked a little
surprised, but Golteo-san guided me with a smile.
"What kind of
slave are you hoping for?"
"Someone who
agrees to fight monsters and eliminate bandits, and has never been inside a
dungeon before. And also, unsold slaves."
"So, combat
slaves and unsold slaves. May I ask about the desired race, gender, age, and
budget?"
I had a budget, but I
didn't expect to be asked about race and so on.
"My budget is
400,000, please. Otherwise, nothing specific as long as they're not
rebellious."
400,000 is less than
the amount Golteo-san gave me, but I'm planning to buy equipment, so that would
bring it up to 500,000. He also paid for the inn, but I'll indulge him on that.
"Understood. I
will prepare the slaves for your viewing. Please wait a moment in this
room."
I was led to a small
room and sat on a sofa to wait. Anneliese tried to stand and wait, so I made
her sit next to me. Actually, her lap would be fine too, but considering the
location, I refrained.
Golteo-san and the
sub-manager from before entered the room. The sub-manager was probably with him
because he handles slaves.
"Very well, we
will now bring the slaves into the room. All of them are slaves who have
consented to combat."
"Please."
The sub-manager opened
the door and let the slaves in. I thought it would be one person, but five came
in.
"From the left—"
The sub-manager
introduced them one by one.
From the left: a Dog
Beastman (male), a Human (male), an Elf (male), a Dwarf (male), a Dragonewt
(male).
All males. It seems
slaves who consent to combat are mostly male.
All were young and had
the Villager job. Among them, the Dragonewt caught my eye. He had a lizard-like
face and a large, very rugged body. He looked like the kind of person who could
intimidate opponents with his appearance and win without fighting.
In reality, the
Dragonewt's stats were quite high for a Villager. Not only STR and VIT, but
also a decent amount of INT. He looked like a muscle-brain, but his stats were
good.
"Shall we bring
in the next slaves?"
As I was thinking, the
sub-manager suggested this. It seemed there were more than just these five. I
wish he had told me earlier. I thought I had to choose from these five!
"Next,
please."
"Yes."
The five were led out
of the room, and five new ones came in. This time, there were three males and
two females.
Hmm, no one really
stood out. The Dragonewt from earlier was so striking that everyone else seemed
inferior in comparison.
"This will be the
last group."
When I asked for
another exchange, he said this would be the last.
Golteo-san's shop
apparently has about 40 slaves at any given time, but I was surprised that 15
of them fit my criteria.
"Hm?"
I felt a strange
sensation when I saw the last slave among the five who just entered.
"This slave is a
Goblin."
What!? A Goblin? The
kind of Goblin that's usually a monster in fantasy stories? Is it a human in
this world?
"Were you
displeased with the Oni-race?"
"Oh, no, it's
just my first time seeing a Goblin."
When I said I didn't
mind, the sub-manager continued introducing the slaves.
And when it was the
Goblin's turn, he said she was brought in because she was unsold.
She had pale skin and
a small horn poking out from her forehead. Small fangs were also visible. Her
age was 15, but her appearance was clearly that of an old person. She had deep
wrinkles on her face and was short. Maybe about 140 centimeters. She had a slight
curve to her chest and unruly brown hair down to her shoulders, making her look
like a girl, but if her hair were short, she could pass for a boy.
"This slave says
she wants to become the world's greatest martial artist. She seems to have
trained daily, but since she's a Goblin, you can't expect much strength."
She's a girl, right?
People who single-mindedly pursue their goals are everywhere, but why does she
want to be the world's greatest martial artist?
"Because she was
15 and didn't work or get married, her parents brought her to us."
Hey, come on, that's
too much. Even if she just did what she liked without working, would they
really make her a slave?
Come to think of it,
many child slaves are here because their parents sold them. Anneliese mentioned
it before, saying it's so they can eat and not starve to death.
If you think about it
that way, it was done so this Goblin wouldn't starve, but it's meaningless if
she remains unsold.
Unsold slaves are sent
to the mines. There, far from not starving, they'll live a harsher life,
constantly facing death.
"Since she's a
Goblin, her appearance is as you see. It's been hard to find a buyer, and
soon..."
No, don't look at me
like that. I know, you're going to say she'll be sent to the mines.
I asked them to bring
everyone back down once and then continued the discussion.
"How much is the
first Dragonewt?"
"He's 450,000
Grill."
I said my budget was
400,000 Grill, but he probably knows roughly how much money I have, so he put a
slightly higher price.
"Hmm, that's a
bit high. How much is the Elf from the same group?"
"That Elf slave
is 350,000 Grill."
"Then... the
redhead woman from the second group?"
"That slave is
200,000 Grill."
"Just to ask,
what about the last Goblin child?"
"That slave is
100,000 Grill, but we'll let you have her for 80,000 Grill now."
The Goblin child is
80,000 Grill, a 20% discount from 100,000 Grill. Like fresh produce at a
supermarket in the evening. Considering she's unsold, perhaps it's better to
sell her at a slight discount, but Goblins are also people (more accurately,
lesser demon kin). Sigh... I'm about to buy that person, though.
I confirmed with
Anneliese if there were any slaves she was interested in.
"Please do as you
wish, Master."
I expected her to say
that, but she actually said it. I didn't have high hopes. But, a little bit...
Oh well.
"Alright then,
I'll take the Goblin child."
They seemed to expect
me to say that, as Golteo-san and the sub-manager readily accepted.
"Thank you."
The sub-manager
processed the slave contract, and the Goblin child—Rosalina—became my slave.
"My name is
Rosalina. I want to become the world's greatest martial artist. Nice to meet
you."
She emphasized
"world's greatest martial artist." She really wants to become one.
Fine, if you can become one, then do it. That would help me too.
Rosalina seems to have
an optimistic personality. She's not overly pessimistic. Some slaves have dead
eyes, so that's a plus.
Rosalina's slave
period is 10 years. The price and duration of release for a voluntary slave are
determined by the amount of their debt and their value. In Rosalina's case, as
a Goblin, she is considered weak and unattractive. For these reasons, she is
valued quite low.
In truth, it would
probably be better to buy a strong race like a Dragonewt. But I just can't
leave her alone. In her current state, Rosalina would easily be killed by
bandits. But I think I can make it work. I bought her with that thought.
"Golteo-san. Do
you handle rental houses?"
"Oh, rental
houses? Of course, we do."
I asked because they
seemed to handle everything, and indeed they did. He said it with pride.
"What kind of
rental house are you looking for?"
"It doesn't have
to be too spacious, but I'm hoping for a property that allows
renovations."
I thought renting a
house would be much later, but since Rosalina was surprisingly cheap, I decided
to ask. I couldn't face Golteo-san otherwise.
"Anneliese, can
you pick out necessary things like clothes and sundries for Rosalina, and also
equipment? Don't hold back on buying."
"Understood.
Rosalina-san, let's go."
I can leave the
shopping to Anneliese. They're both women, and she'll understand Rosalina
better than I do.
"What's your
budget for the rental house?"
"I hadn't thought
about the rent... Right, it would be great if it had a bath. Otherwise, I'll
leave it to you, Golteo-san."
"A bath, you
say... Understood."
Since Rosalina was
cheap and I need to make up for it, I'll work hard to pay the rent, even if it's
a bit expensive.
Also, because of the
bandits, I don't want to inconvenience the inn.
"In that case,
how about this property? It's about 100 years old, but it was renovated 5 years
ago. It was originally a Baron's mansion, so it has a magic item that dispenses
water in the kitchen, a magic stove, a flush toilet, and a bath is
installed."
Eh, a former noble's
mansion? No, no, no, I don't need a mansion-level place...
"Properties with
baths are limited to noble mansions or wealthy merchant mansions. Your only
condition was a bath, so I recommended this property."
So, baths only exist
in mansion-level properties, huh...?
"How much man-en1 is that?"
"Man-en1?"
"Hahaha. It's
nothing. How much is it to rent?"
"30,000 Grill per
month. If you buy it, it's 3,000,000 Grill."
So it's 300,000 yen a
month to rent. I was a bit intimidated because it was a noble's mansion, but it
was surprisingly reasonable. But purchasing it costs 30,000,000 yen, so that's
100 months' worth. About 8 years.
1 万円 (man-en) literally
means "ten thousand yen." It's a common unit used when talking about
larger sums of money in Japan.
"I can't purchase
it with installments, can I?"
"Unfortunately,
we ask for a lump sum payment for purchases."
What a shame. I wasn't
going to buy it anyway.
I gazed at the floor
plan Golteo-san showed me. As expected of a noble's mansion, it was three
stories tall with a basement. Wouldn't the maintenance fees be tough, not just
the rent?
"It's
large..."
"Hiring five
servants should be no problem. There's also a separate building for servants,
so yes."
I just bought a slave,
and now servants too...?
"Five
people?"
"A butler and
maids to manage the house, and people to take care of the garden and
such."
"It seems a bit
excessive..."
"It's not that
excessive."
He keeps recommending
it with a smile. Alright, I'll take this one.
"I'd like to rent
this property."
"Would you like
to view it?"
"No, it's not
necessary. I trust Golteo-san."
I might get scammed if
I say things like that, but if so, then so be it.
"I can make
modifications, right?"
"Yes, as long as
it's not a major renovation, there's no problem."
I tend to get lost in
indecision, so I decided to make a decision with the first property. This is
good.
"Can you arrange
for servants?"
"Leave it to
me."
With this, I no longer
owed Golteo-san anything. Maybe I didn't owe him anything to begin with, but
that's what I thought.
I've rented a house,
but I can't move in immediately. Golteo-san will finalize the checks on the
mansion before handing it over. And there are also servant arrangements.
Since there are now
three of us, I changed the inn room. The room was definitely too small for
three people.
Also, I told them that
I'd rented a house and would be moving there in two or three days.
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