I have time.
I'm going to need a break.
...and I've got a fortune to spend.
Well, I guess I just have to try the "Slave market."
I won't get cold feet now. Four gold pieces will easily buy me a cheap slave.
Well, there's the problem of what to do with one as soon as I purchase them.
Even if you can buy a slave, it will be hard to keep it if the cost of living is simply doubled.
So for now, I just do some window shopping to relax.
However, there is a big difference between "looking at something I can't even buy" and "looking at it because I might be able to buy it" in my mind.
It sounds fun. Let's go.
I walked through the slave market at sunset, casting my eyes more enthusiastically than usual on both sides.
In a little while, the shops will start to fold up, but some of them are still there.
Our target is a young woman, for now, and of course a cute girl.
The slaves returned frightened glances at the hot gaze, but there was no girl to freak out about this.
Hmm...
I suddenly see a corner with a number of young aged women lined up to my left.
It's a place I've seen before, a place that looks like it specializes in young women.
I noticed a presence behind me.
When I turned around, an elderly man was looking straight at me with a smile on his face.
''Sir...what kind of girl are you looking for today?''
Amazing.
I've seen this shop many times since the first day, but I've never been approached to see if they knew I was chilling.
But how did I know that today was different? He quickly came around.
'Well I haven't decided to buy it today, but I've got money. I'm looking for a cheap slave."
"Is that so? Since you're already here, would you like to come to the store?"
"Can I take a look at the slaves here for a moment first?"
"I don't mind, but it's time to head back to the shop. If there's a girl you're interested in, you can take a closer look at her later in the store."
"Okay. Well, I'm going to the store."
"Yes, sir."
I was taken along for the ride.
It was a large store located in the center of the city in a prime location near an upscale residential area, and the entire building was used as a store.
The sign in front of the store read "Cheff Slag" which means "Cheff Slag Branch".
When the elderly man called out to me, the gatekeeper opened the door and waited for me.
I hurriedly entered and found a spacious room, just like a hotel lobby.
I am led upstairs to a room on the second floor and seated in a chair in the corner of the room.
The desk in front of it had paper and writing utensils, which I was told I could use at my leisure.
Is it to make a note about the slave you are interested in?
I had imagined a system where you could look at a cage with slaves in it from the outside and choose the one you like, so I wasn't expecting that for a minute.
"Our system is to listen to the client's requirements first, and then bring the girls who meet them to the room. It will be like that. May I have your permission?"
"Young and cute would be nice, but cheap and cute would be a tall order, right? It doesn't have to be that high. Instead, have a girl who can read and write, has common sense and is not averse to camping and fighting."
"The camp and the battle?"
"Yeah, I'm a private mercenary living in an inn. I'm mainly a solo demon hunter. I don't live in a house where I can keep slaves. I'd like to be one someday. It's going to be tough unless she is willing to come along for the job."
"I see..."
"Even if it's called a battle, at the very least she'll be able to defend herself, as long as you don't mind that. She might be asked to help dismantle them. I don't give you the luxury of having combat experience or jobs, so pick someone who's willing to do that."
"Three gold pieces and a young female combat slave is a bit of a limited candidate. But that doesn't mean there aren't any. We'll look for them."
He looked difficult, but the first man seemed somewhat reliable as a slave trader.
Maybe he was a fiery workhorse, the more detailed his orders were, the fierier he became.
Then, after ten or twenty minutes of waiting, there was a knock at the door.
"It's here."
I'm strangely nervous...!
"Come in."
"Excuse me."
...It wasn't the man who brought me here.
A middle-aged, sweltering-looking man came in, accompanied by a number of girls behind him.
On the opposite side of the wall, there were several long sofas lined up next to each other, and they seemed to be sitting in line there.
Somehow, when it came to slaves, was it crude and simple, or was it called a pierced headdress? I had an image of them wearing that kind of thing, but when I looked at them, I saw that they weren't.
They were dressed in fluffy, ornate, colorful clothes.
They are wearing light clothing, so the lines of their legs, chest, and body are vaguely recognizable.
When the man confirmed something, he walked out again, mumbling.
What, you're going to leave me here?
I have no choice but to spend my time gazing at the slaves. As I look at them again, checking to see if they're goofy, I see that the inhabitants of this world have a varied number of different faces...
European, Central Asian, East Asian, African, and non-human species.
There is no unity in the assortment.
The hair color is brown, black, gold, white, silver, and so on, but there are also some strange colors like pink and blue mixed in.
The women brought in are generally a bit rugged and feisty looking girls.
Hmmm, this is what it's all about...
If I were on Earth, I might want them to get down on their knees to deal with me, but if I'm told I'm free to pick and choose, I'm afraid this is different.
The first man (the one who brought me here) appeared in the room late.
He has about ten additional girls with him.
These ones are slightly less rugged.
"How do you like it, sir? I brought them in first, and I collected some girls who were highly motivated to be a combat slave. I thought it would be a good idea to make sure they wouldn't be a liability out there as well."
"That's great, but for me, I want someone who can handle a wide range of things at first, not just combat."
"Well, I have kept that in mind sir…"
The first man's eyes seemed to light up.
Sheesh, how many of them have realized that I am going to buy them?
The first man might be thinking, "I've seen a duck. We can't be too careful. I'll make him purchase someone today at any cost."
Well, well, I don't care about the future, but as far as I'm concerned, I'd be more concerned about someone who can't even keep herself alive.
"This is a group of girls, mostly low-cost girls, who have indicated that they are willing to be taken into battle. It is you, sir. I know you won't be comfortable putting them on the front lines, but…"
"That's fine. I'll put my body on the front line. They'll just be the follow-up.
"Really?"
With a smile, the first man answers and gives a sales pitch about one of the girls I've been eyeing.
"I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this girl," he says, "she doesn't have any special skills, but she has a willingness to fight. I recommend her."
She has short hair, silver in color, and slightly dark skin.
Her face is a bit African, I guess.
Her style and posture are excellent, but her face doesn't strike a chord with me.
Hmm.
I went to another girl. This girl is from a tribe called the Beast Ears. They are common in the far west, and as you can see, they have cat's ear-like secondary ears. She is very popular with her charm.
A tall, cat-eared, chemo-mimi girl.
Her face is of European descent, or should I say dense Germanic descent.
She is not ugly, and I'd be happy to purchase her off, but I'll look at other girls too.
Hmm.
This girl is a little older, but she's good at math and can handle the accounting and other tasks. The price is a bit high, but...
The next girl had green wavy back hair that she wore in a ponytail.
She was a fluffy beauty, and she looked at me and huffed and smiled.
"If you don't give me at least five gold and fifty silver coins it will be a little over our budget, but they are well educated and very affordable."
"So you're also bringing in a line that's over budget, in case I am not sure."
Maybe it's a strategy to show them a good product at the line that they can just barely afford and get them to buy it.
But that's a shame! I don't physically have five gold coins.
''Hmmm, I think it's too expensive for a golden stone...''
"Is that so...."
"I might be happier for them to be able to be mediocre in everything rather than excel at one skill,"
Hmm...
"Can I ask you once to give me a price for the slaves? I'd like to use it as a reference for the future."
"Is that so? Then..."
I was given the prices from left to right.
I see.
In this world, it seems that the darker the face, the more beautiful it is.
The girls I think are cute, without exception, but those who have a darker face, have a higher value, in fact much higher than those with a clearer face.
Then I'm going for the so-called "flat face", which is a thin face.
I don't care if she is thin-faced. As you can see, I have a thin face too. I was there in my own way back home, so I'll miss that kind of face.
��A thin face, you mean."
The man began to inspect the slaves again, looking at the slaves and making an inventory.
I also look at the slaves' faces again starting from scratch.
I'll leave out those who won't make eye contact with me for a bit.
I don't want to take them into battle later and have them cry.
Then I noticed the brown-haired, inconspicuous-looking girl who was second from the right.
''I'm sorry, what's your name?''
I stare into the girl's eyes as she stares straight back at me. The other side doesn't look away.
Good.
The first impression is that she looks rather unhappy, her eyes and nose are reasonably well-defined, but her chiseled features are not deep, and compared to the other girls, she only gives a somber impression.
She has a salty face...vor is it more like a fox face?
It's not a round face, but a sculpted one.
''I'm Sasha.''
"Sasha…"
"The price is 3 gold and 20 silver coins plus 60 copper coins. I can read, write, and calculate at a minimum, so I'll be able to stock up on work. I have no experience in combat. But I am more than willing to learn"
"That's good. I'm buying."
It's nice to be able to do housework.
Why is it then that she is so much cheaper than the other girls? Is it because she has a salty face?
Is it because she looks older than most of them?
"Can I bring her home today?"
"Thank you. Of course, it's possible. It will take some time to process."
"Yeah, no problem. I'll pick her up today. Do you want to come with me, Sasha?"
I confirm Sasha's intentions. Sasha looked at me and nodded at me.
''I look forward to working with you thereafter, Master."
Gooooooood...
Master. That's pretty stinging to hear in real life. I want to take her home right away.
"How would you like to pay for it?"
"Cash. Give me a minute."
I showed a gesture of pulling out of the leather bag that holds the coins and produced three gold coins and twenty-one silver coins from different spaces.
"I don't need the change, can you put on some simple clothes that would allow her to go outside?"
"Of course, as a service to the shop, some of the ladies' clothing will be included. May I take the other girls back?"
"Yeah, that's good."
Feeling fluffy, she signed the contract and waited to watch as what she said was her personal belongings were brought in.
Halfway through, a fishy-looking figure in robes changed the "servant contract" and registered me as Lord Yohei.
I guess it's in the development of a wizard job. Or maybe it's not a wizard-type job, but one that can be used in jobs like 'Slavers'?
When I looked at the status of the girl, it showed "Slave: Sasha".
So this puts her in a state of servitude.
According to the slave trader's explanation, when you are in a state of servitude, you can't attack your master, and if you don't obey orders, it's unpleasant.
However, he told me to be careful because it's not something that has an absolute effect.
Well, I don't want to handle her that roughly, so it's fine.
"So, now Sasha is Master Yohei's slave. Today was a good deal for both of us. Thank you very much."
"Yeah. Yes, this is a little late for this, but…"
"Yes?"
"'Does Sasha ... well, does she agree with you about the purchase?"
The older man laughed softly and whispered, "Of course, sir." and he continued...
''Besides, sir, Sasha is a virgin, but I have made her learn a few tricks.''
"Yeah?"
"I hope you enjoy it."
"Oh, yeah."
I don't know what the technique is, but I'm curious.
"Let's go, Sasha."
From behind me, Sasha, dressed like a standard citizen of this world, quietly followed me. She is really well educated. It is a gesture like the late Yamato Nadeshiko.
So I did ended up purchasing a slave today, after all.
I've been window-shopping slaves, on a regular basis for some time now. I wasn't going to buy it.
It's just that I've already been put into that kind of flow.
I hurriedly counted the rest of my money.
One gold coin and a bit more. With this, I can get my equipment and Sasha's, and we can stay at a hotel...
Will they be okay? Wouldn't that be bankrupt?
Sigh. This is life.
I just remembered that we were trying to go to our usual cheap lodging and the number of people in the room has increased.
The walls of that place looked thin… maybe I'll stay somewhere a bit bigger today.
I go into an inn on the main street that I've passed a few times before and ask if there's room.
"How many people are here?"
"Two. Me and my slave, is that alright?"
"Well, it's all the same."
"Now, get me a room with a bed that can fit two people on it."
"Do you want a double bed?"
"Yeah."
When I was shown to my room, there was one large bed.
"Master, do you have any luggage in the other room? It's late, and it's better to bring it in early."
I turn to Sasha and bring our hands together, wrapping them around my hands and making eye contact.
"My lord? I'll get to that in a bit…"
"Sasha, I want you to listen to me. What I'm about to tell you is for you to tell no one but me. That's your first order of business. Okay?"
"Yes, sir."
"I have a funny little ability. Just a little bit. If I'm doing something crazy, don't make a fuss, just assume that's how it is."
"Yes, sir."
"And while we're at it, I'm a long way from home. I'm pretty out of touch with common sense. If there's anything that's bothering you, follow up well and let me know when we're alone. I'll fix it as best I can."
"Yes, sir."
"Now, let's not be surprised if I do something a little weird, shall we?"
I take my hand away and take out a change of clothes from the virtual space. In addition, I take the money out once and put it back in.
''Is that… spatial magic! Oh my God.."
"Spatial magic? Probably not."
"Isn't it?"
"Yeah, I can't go into detail, but I think not. But I'm curious, can you do something similar with spatial magic?"
"I don't think it's anything other than spatial magic to get things out of the middle of nowhere. It should be pretty rare, however."
I see. So it's hard to disguise it as spatial magic when someone finds out about it? Well, worst-case scenario, we'll have to push it through.
"...What is this new job?"
"That's about it. I don't want you to pry. Just think of it as my special ability."
"A unique skill?"
"Unique skills?"
"It's a skill that arises in the individual, not in the job. I think there are very few of these either…"
"It's more deceptive than spatial magic. Okay, let's call my crazy ability a unique skill. Just don't ever talk about it out there. It's the last resort, claiming it's a unique skill is the last resort."
" I'll keep that in mind."
Well, it's an incidental gift that the white-haired girl gave me for contacting me, so it's not that big of a deal.
Spatial magic, I'm a bit interested in it.
The only thing that I can think of to say is that I'm not going to be able to get a job with spatial magic for now.
"Sasha would you like to come to bath with me later?"
"Bath? You don't mind if I come in?"
"I think you need to take a bath, don't you?"
"Yes…"
She seemed to understand my intentions as well.
We went out and ate a lot of dinner at a familiar restaurant.
The owner asked me if I had a girlfriend. I laughed vaguely when he asked me if I wanted directions for the public bathhouse.
The public baths were much larger than those in Japan, and they looked more like the baths of an inn, or rather a swimming pool.
Also, the water was tepid. There is a small space for washing up.
Since everyone goes in without washing, it may be a minority of people who wash their bodies. It is dirty. What a mess!
I washed my body thoroughly with the soap I brought with me, and put a towel on my head and soaked in the hot water.
I have many complaints, but the bath is still a paradise. I can relax.
My rod (between my legs) inadvertently gets hard when I think about what'll happen next.
Oh no, here in this place it's as if I'm getting off on seeing a man's haddock.
No, no, no. I'm innocent.
I immediately picture my face in the mirror and try to calm myself down.
What do you think I would normally picture my grandma's hadaka or something?
My own face was the most effective in Japan. It makes me cry.
Well, I don't think anyone would get excited about their own face, so maybe I'm just a great fool. I don't know if I'd use it or not as I am not very confident about that.
I calm down and soften my long rod for a while, then get out of the tub.
There is a space for a mixed-gender meeting, so I wait there while I cool off.
Coffee milk is not sold after the bath. Water is only sold for a fee.
You don't understand.
It is better that there is a bath in another world, but I saw that the bath culture is still immature.
If I can afford it, I'll probably start a chain of bathhouses. But it looks like it will be imitated soon.
After waiting for a good 20 minutes or more, Sasha comes out of the entrance of the women's bathhouse.
"Excuse me, I hope I haven't kept you waiting,"
"No, I just got here."
I am lying. I waited so long for her.
But Sasha, she is wearing a plain shirt and a long, ankle-length skirt. There is a certain sexiness that comes out. After all, it is erotic after the bath.
I feel so because I will actually do erotic things with her after this. Oops, my rod is hard again...
When I return to my room, Sasha has started to organize her clothes in some kind of rummage, so I look at it on my bed.
"How long has Sasha been in that slavery post?"
"Yes, I was enslaved about three years ago and have spent time in that slave trading post."
"You've been in the trading house for quite a while, haven't you?"
''It can't be helped if you're an unsuccessful girl. I wasn't popular, so…"
"Really?"
"I am dimly aware that faces are not what the lords like. Sometimes I'm called in for a face-to-face meeting, but there's no interest in me."
I guess a face-to-face meeting is when they take you into a room with a long row of couches on that side.
"So I've given up a bit on selling it on good terms. Lately, I've been helping the other slaves so they've let me be put it in that trading room for some more time."
"If you aren't able to sell yourself at that slave trading post, will you have to go somewhere else?"
"That's the case. Because that trading house deals in young, well, slaves for those kinds of purposes. They sell them cheaply to a trading house that deals in cheap, older slaves so that they can sell the young ones in exchange for flexibility."
"Well..."
"If I hadn't been sold this month, I would have been moved elsewhere."
"Yeah,"
"I consider myself lucky that my master bought me despite my unattractiveness. Well, you don't seem to be the kind of person who treats people roughly…"
"Yes. Well, you're a slave, so you'll do what I say, but I swear I won't put you down or hurt you any more than necessary. You can rest easy."
"Yes, sir."
"Oh, by the way, it was on the condition that I could go into battle, have you heard about that?"
"Yes, sir. As I have told you in the slave trading post itself, I'm no combat veteran, but I'll do my best. So, you see…"
"Yes."
"Would you normally like me to take care of you? There doesn't seem to be any mansions, so what can I do…"
"For now…"
I beckon Sasha to come near me and then I hold her body. She falls down and manages to get along with me into bed.
"Let's get you to start taking care of this thing first, shall we?"
Sasha seemed nervous. She nodded awkwardly with her body stiffening.
''It's ... nice to meet you. Master.''
My rod was irresistibly tense.