So now that we've thrown the idea of Roxanne being a midwife out the window, what are the other thing she could be doing in order to earn money in a peaceful way? Hmm, maybe we could form a band and have her play an instrument, or be the lead singer?
If there is one thing that you can be sure of, it is the fact that no matter where you go, music will always be popular, so with mu knowledge of music from my old world, we could definitely try giving it a shot. Of course, not every song I am familiar with is an international masterpiece, but we wouldn't have to worry about it here. If I were to count them off the top of my head, then I guess you could say that I am familiar with, give or take, two hundred or three hundred musical pieces from various genres, like popular songs, oldies, children's song or even some kuchi showa (TL Note: method of learning and teaching songs played on the Japanese drums, taiko. Wikipedia is your friend here if you want to know more) and classical music pieces. And the best part if we decided to this way? It's that we wouldn't have to worry about those pesky patents and copyright deals if we wanted to play songs that are not originals written by us, so we could just go to town with the songs of all the popular musicians of my world without worrying about giving away some of the earnings, and if we really included all three hundred or so songs that I know into our repertoire, we would probably have a lineup of songs that could last us for 10 years at worst, or if we decided to take the slower approach, then maybe they would even be enough to last us a lifetime! Then again, the biggest obstacle here is, once again, my sorry little ass, because truth to be told, I can't read musical sheets, I am unable to play even the simplest of instrument and I wouldn't be able to carry a tune even if my life depended on it, so Roxanne would have to carry us with it once again, and relying on her to do literally all of the heavy lifting would be straight up pathetic of me.
So, in the end, I guess going into the Labyrinth is the most solid option of earning a living, considering the abilities of the both of us (especially mine).
Of course, going into the Labyrinth is not all bad, 'cause it definitely has its merits. If there was ever a case of emergency where we would have to fight for our lives, additional levels and new Jobs gained from such excursions would be of invaluable help, especially since the Labyrinth itself turned out to be not as dangerous of a place as everybody painted it to be. Then again, I might be thinking like that just because I got myself a cheat-like weapon that makes fighting monsters a total cakewalk, therefore I should fix that slack mindset of mine if I don't want to be sorry one day. There's nothing worse in life than getting used to things being too easy only to be slapped in the face by reality at the worst possible moment. Then again, everything should be fine as long as I won't suddenly decide to do anything stupid, like challenging powerful enemies without preparation 「just for the thrill of the challenge」. Basically, all I need to do is to take things slowly at a steady pace, get more levels and grow stronger while doing so.
Also, instead of going to the upper floors, we can always stay in the lower ones some more. Now that Roxanne has joined me in my Party the hunting of monsters became more efficient than ever, up to the point where we could earn more that a thousand Nars per day, so we should have no trouble earning enough money for a decent living this way.
「By the way, the contract mentioned that the owner is responsible for providing his slave with food, clothes and a place to live, but are you really okay with living in an inn for the time being?」
「Yes, of course. I find nothing wrong with it.」
「And sleeping in the same bed as me?」
I asked her in hushed voice while giving her a hug.
「Y-Yes, I am thankful for that opportunity as well.」
She replied with her voice tinged with embarrassment. What kind of monster would I have to be to allow her to sleep on the cold hard floor after seeing that?! That was such a cute reaction, maybe I should tease her more often? Also, when I hugged her, the soft elasticity of her breasts enveloped my arm. Looks like she's going braless under her clothes.
This is bad.
I want to push her down again, but I just promised her that I won't be doing it literally every chance I get. But… on the other hand, she said that she didn't mind it… so if she said so herself, then maybe it would be okay for me to actually do it?
「It's the least I can do for you to repay you for going along with my selfish whims. Now that I can bring you to the Labyrinth with me, I feel like my life won't be as hard as it used to be anymore thanks to your exceptional abilities.」
「Not at all, master. You're able to defeat monsters with but a single blow, so that in itself is pretty amazing.」
Oh, come to think of it, while we are on the subject of daily life… I completely forgot about taxes.
「By the way, can you tell me more about taxes and how do I pay them?」
「Oh, ahh, um…. About taxes… 」
Roxanne had difficulties assembling her words. Did I say something I shouldn't have said?
「I'm sorry, is something wrong? Did I say something bad?」
「I'm sorry, there was nothing wrong with your question. But, you see… taxes are a bit of an… unpleasant memory for me. You see, master, after my parents died I have been living with my aunt's family for a while, but my presence soon became a burden on them to the point that they were unable to pay their taxes, so…」
「… I see.」
So she was sold because her family could not pay her taxes. I always thought that stuff like parents selling their children to get out of debt was something made purely for those cheesy historical TV dramas, but apparently it is a practice that is all too real.
I placed my hand on Roxanne's head and patted her gently to reassure her.
「As for how the taxing system works, the tax itself is counted individually for every citizen of the kingdom, and in the winter it is being collected and delivered to the local lord. Usually taxes are one hundred thousand Nars for a Free Citizen, and ten thousand Nars for a slave. But you don't have to worry about paying the taxes this year, because I think someone has already paid master's tax.」
「I see. That's good to hear.」
To whoever it was that paid the taxes for me this year: thank you. Dear sir or madam, you are a true MVP.
So for the both of us, the total tax we would have to pay would be one hundred ten thousand Nars, huh? I have to take that into account for my future plans so that I could always have that much money safely stored away.
As I continued stroking Roxanne's head, I brought her closer to my chest.
「Uhm, I… if I may, I am very happy to be able to be of service to you, master. And, well… I am happy to have you, and that you're so kind to me.」
She spoke those last words quietly, and then she leaned her head against my shoulder.