LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 24: - Fighting Idiot
On the 12th day, in the early morning, I left the inn, timing it with Gorteo’s shop opening. There were no signs of thieves around the inn. It was located somewhat away from the Explorers’ Guild, not the kind of place explorers usually stayed, making it off the thieves’ radar. In fact, I had never seen anyone resembling an explorer at this inn.
Mornings in this world came early. Many people woke up before sunrise. I wasn’t that early of a riser, though.
Street vendors seemed to open their shops at sunrise, and Gorteo’s shop was no exception.
Today, Gorteo was there.
“Good morning, Lord Troy.”
“Long time no see, Gorteo.”
“Yes, it’s been a while.”
Then Gorteo glanced at Anneliese, furrowing his brows. It seemed like he was questioning where I found such a cute girl. I didn’t appreciate him looking at her like a suspicious wife blaming her unfaithful husband.
“This girl… Could it be…?” he started, apparently realizing something surprising.
“Excuse me, is this girl…?”
Even if he asked “Is this…?” what was the correct answer?
“Um, yes.”
“Extraordinary things happened,” I replied. It seemed like saying “that” was the right answer. But could one really have a conversation using just “that”?
So far, I had appraised various people, but I hadn’t encountered anyone with the Skill Appraisal. Gorteo didn’t possess it either. There were some who had Item Appraisal and Character Appraisal, although the latter was quite rare. Gorteo had Item Appraisal. Thus, his merchant’s intuition might have sensed something about Anneliese.
“What kind of items are you looking for today?” he asked.
“Please show me the slaves.”
Gorteo looked slightly surprised, but he kindly led us to the section.
“What kind of slave are you looking for?” he inquired. “A combatant… someone who will fight monsters and exterminate thieves. Someone who has never entered a dungeon before. Also, a slave with no buyers, if possible.”
“A combatant slave and one without buyers. May I ask about the race, gender, age, and budget?”
I hadn’t expected to be asked about race and such.
“My budget is 400,000. And as long as they’re not rebellious, the specifics don’t matter.”
The 400,000 didn’t reach the amount Gorteo had given me, but I planned to add the cost of equipment, making it a total of 500,000. The inn costs were covered, but I would accept that bit of help.
“Understood. I’ll prepare slaves for you to view. Please wait in this room for a moment.”
We were led into a small room, and I sat down on the sofa. Anneliese started to stand, but I gestured for her to sit beside me. I could have let her sit on my lap, but considering the location, I refrained.
Gorteo and his former assistant entered the room. The assistant was here because he dealt with the slaves.
“Now, I will bring the slaves into the room. All of them have agreed to combat,” the assistant said.
“Please,” I replied.
The assistant opened the door, and five slaves entered the room. I had expected only one person, so it was a surprise.
“From the left…”
The assistant introduced them one by one.
From left to right: Beastman (male), Human (male), Elf (male), Dwarf (male), Dragonewt (male).
All of them were male. It seemed that slaves agreeing to combat were mostly male.
They were all young and had the job title of villagers. Among them, the Dragonewt caught my attention. He had a lizard-like face, a large body, and a rather intimidating appearance. It seemed like he could win fights by just intimidating his opponents with his appearance.
In reality, the Dragonewt had surprisingly high stats for a villager. Not only his Strength and Vitality but also his Intelligence were quite decent. Despite his brute-like appearance, his stats were impressive.
“Shall we bring in the next set of slaves?” suggested the assistant when I was lost in thought. It appeared that it wasn’t just these five. I wished they had mentioned I needed to choose from five earlier.
“Please proceed with the next set.”
“Understood.”
The first five left the room, and a new group of five entered. This time, there were three men and two women.
Hmm, there’s no one particularly outstanding among them. The previous Dragonewt had left quite an impression, so anyone after him seemed lacking in comparison.
“This will be the last group,” the assistant informed us.
Gorteo’s shop apparently had around 40 slaves at all times, but I was surprised that there were 15 slaves who met my criteria.
“Huh?”
Upon seeing the last slave among the new group of five, I felt something was off.
“This slave belongs to the Goblin race,” the assistant said.
What!? Goblin? The same Goblins from fantasy settings, the monster category? In this world, they’re part of the human race?
“You didn’t mind the Demonic Tribe?”
“Oh, no. It’s just that this is my first time seeing a Goblin.”
I replied that I wasn’t bothered, and the assistant continued introducing the slaves.
For the Goblin, he explained that they had brought him as part of the unsold lot.
He had pale blue skin, a small horn on his forehead, and tiny fangs visible. Despite being 15 years old, he looked like an elderly person. Deep wrinkles adorned his face, and he was short, barely 140 centimeters tall. There was a slight swell on his chest, and his peculiar chestnut-colored hair reached his shoulders, making him look somewhat like a girl. But with short hair, he might pass as a boy.
“This slave wishes to become the world’s greatest martial artist. He seemed to have been training daily, but since he’s a Goblin, we can’t expect much in terms of strength.”
A girl, right? People who are so focused on their goals that they don’t pay attention to anything else can be found anywhere, but why does she want to be the world’s greatest martial artist?
“At 15, he neither worked nor got married, so his parents brought him to us.”
Hey, isn’t that a bit extreme? Even if he didn’t work and did what he liked, turning him into a slave?
Come to think of it, many child slaves were brought here by their parents. Anneliese mentioned it before. Becoming a slave meant they could eat and wouldn’t starve to death, even if they didn’t work.
In that sense, if this Goblin wasn’t going to starve, that was one thing, but if he remained unsold, he’d be sent to the mines. That meant not just starving, but living a harsh life on the edge of death.
“Given that he’s a Goblin, his appearance is as you see. It’s been difficult to find a buyer, and so…”
No, don’t look at me like that. I get it. You’re going to send him to the mines, right?
I had them all leave the room for a moment to discuss further.
“How much is the first Dragonewt?” I asked.
“It’s 450,000 gril.”
I had said my budget was 400,000 gril, but my available funds were known to some extent, so they probably included a bit more.
“Hmm, that’s a bit high. How much is the Elf from the same group?”
“The Elf slave from the second group is 350,000 gril.”
“Then… how about the redhead woman from the second group?”
“That slave would be 200,000 gril.”
“Just to confirm, what about the last Goblin child?”
“That slave is 100,000 gril, but right now, I can offer him to you for 80,000 gril.”
So, the Goblin child was discounted from 100,000 gril to 80,000 gril. That’s like a discounted fresh produce at the supermarket in the evening. I mean, I’m trying to buy a person here, not groceries.
I glanced at Anneliese to see if any of the slaves caught her interest.
“Please do as you wish, Master.”
She said what I expected her to say. I didn’t really expect anything else, but maybe… oh well.
“Then, I’ll take the Goblin child.”
As I said that, it seemed like Gorteo and his assistant had anticipated my decision.
“Thank you.”
The assistant handled the slave contract, and I officially became the owner of the Goblin child—Rosarina.
“My name is Rosarina. I want to become the world’s greatest martial artist. Please take care of me.”
She emphasized becoming the world’s greatest martial artist. It seemed like that was her dream. Well, if she can do it, then great. It might even be helpful for me.
Rosarina had an optimistic personality. Considering that some slaves here had dead eyes, her attitude was a plus.
Rosarina’s slave period was ten years. The price and the duration of slavery were determined by the amount of debt and the individual’s value. In Rosarina’s case, being a Goblin meant she was weak and not very attractive, so she was estimated quite low.
In reality, it would probably be better to buy a strong race like the Dragonewt. But for some reason, I couldn’t leave her behind. At this rate, she would be easily killed by the thieves. But I’ll figure something out. That’s why I bought her.
“Gorteo-san, do you handle rental houses?”
“Oh, rental houses, is it? Of course, we do.”
They seemed to handle everything, so I just asked out of curiosity, but they indeed did.
“What kind of rental house are you looking for?”
“It doesn’t need to be very large, but I’m considering renovating it, so if there’s something suitable…”
I didn’t expect to be renting a house so soon, but Rosarina turned out to be cheaper than I anticipated, so I inquired. I didn’t want to feel indebted to Gorteo-san, after all.
“Anneliese, could you please help Rosarina choose her clothes, necessities, and equipment? Don’t hesitate to buy what you think she needs.”
“Understood. Rosarina-san, let’s go.”
I left the shopping to Anneliese. They were both women, so Anneliese would probably understand Rosarina better than me.
“What’s your budget for the rental house?”
“I didn’t really think about the rent… Right, having a bath would be nice. The rest, I’ll leave it to Gorteo-san.”
“A bath, is it… Understood.”
Rosarina was my way of filling in the gap in my budget, so I was willing to work hard to pay the rent even if it was a bit high.
And so, Gorteo-san showed me a rental property.
“How about this property? It’s about a hundred years old, but it was renovated five years ago. Originally owned by a baron, it has magical items for water supply in the kitchen and a magic stove. The toilet is flushable, and it even has a bath installed.”
“A noble’s former residence? No, no, no, I don’t need anything of that scale…”
“When it comes to having a bath, there are only noble-related residences or estates of wealthy merchants available. Since your only condition was having a bath, I recommended this property.”
“A bath demands a noble’s residence or something similar…”
“And how much would that be in thousands?”
“In thousands?”
“Hahaha. Please don’t mind that. How much would it cost monthly?”
“It’s 30,000 gril per month. If you want to buy it outright, it would be 3 million gril.”
I could rent it for 300,000 gril. Considering it was a noble’s estate, I was a bit scared, but surprisingly, it seemed reasonable. But for a buyout, it would be 30 million gril, which was a hundred times more. About eight years’ worth.
“Is it possible to pay in installments for purchasing?”
“Unfortunately, for buyouts, we require a lump sum payment.”
That was disappointing. Either way, I had no intention of buying it.
I looked at the floor plan Gorteo showed me. It was a three-story building with a basement. With the nobility tag, not only the rent but also the maintenance would be quite a burden, wouldn’t it?
“It’s quite large…”
“If you hire five staff members, it should be manageable. There’s also a separate building for staff.”
Even though I had just bought a slave, now they were suggesting hiring staff…
“Five people?”
“A butler to manage the house, maids, and people to take care of the garden and such.”
“It seems a bit extravagant…”
“It’s not as extravagant as it sounds.”
He recommended it with a smile. Alright, I’ll go with this.
“I’d like to rent this property.”
“Would you like to visit it first?”
“No, it’s not necessary. I trust Gorteo-san.”
Saying that might get me deceived, but I’ll deal with that when it comes.
“Is it okay to renovate?”
“Yes, as long as it’s not a major renovation, it’s fine.”
I didn’t want to get caught up in endless doubts, so I decided on the first option. This should be good.
“Could you arrange for the staff?”
“Leave it to us.”
So, now I didn’t owe Gorteo-san anything. Well, maybe I never did, but I felt that way.
Although I rented a house, I couldn’t move in immediately. I needed to have a final inspection of the estate by Gorteo-san before he handed it over. There was also the arrangement of the staff to consider.
Since we were now three people, I asked for a change of rooms at the inn. Three people in one room was a bit too cramped. Also, I told them that we would be moving to the rental house in two or three days.