I was supposed to have died of overwork after working as a corporate slave in modern Japan but I found myself reborn in another world.
It was not a dystopian sci-fi world or a world ruled by a slime but a fantasy world with magic, different races, and slaves.
At first, I thought I was lucky since I'll be able to spread Norfolk four-course farming, make soap, and spend a slow life using my knowledge cheat.
However, necessity is the mother of success and what everyone wants is the same everywhere or something like that.
My ambitions were put to an end at the age of five when I found that ancient mages made a kind of wheat that who's yield won't diminish which means my farming knowledge is nothing but crap and the and the ancient mages also made a crop that replaced soap which basically made my plans nothing but a dream.
Fortunately, I am the 3rd son of a merchant family that had a store inside the fortress of a provincial city.
I was raised without having to work and when I managed to do four mathematical operations as a child, my parents were so excited that they treated me as a child prodigy.
They asked me if I wanted to become a government official or a mage and I was accepted into a rather good mage school.
It's free and having an educational background is great.
By the way, in this world, mages are intellectuals and most of the upper classes can use magic.
Therefore, all young men and women of good families, regardless of whether they are talented or not, will enter a magic school that teaches magic and continue to go for higher education.
Adventurer mages are either dropouts or members of fallen families.
So, that's how I ended up attending a magic school in the city.
And I already knew about it.
That my magical talent…..is average.
I'm not good at offensive magic to the extent that I'm being made fun of by the children of some super important nobles.
I'm good at support magic to the extent that I'm considered a rival by a high-ranking noble lady with drill hair.
I'm basically good at magic but at the same time, bad at it so the result is zero.
Also, due to social norms, male mages are not recognized by this country unless they can use offensive magic which means there's no way I can enter the army as a professional soldier.
I have no intention of joining the army though.
My teacher told me, "If you were a woman, you would have been top class." but even if I had been top class, my family is just a small merchant family.
I'm just a man with money….though we make more money than most nobles, it's not that much.
In short, I'm a student with moderate hate and moderate expectations…..
I was ten years old when I came up with a new kind of business.
-0-
In my previous life, I was a corporate slave.
I used to work day and night without minding the line of "death from overwork". I used to gaze at the executives who would leisurely get into their executive cars and leave two or three hours before the end of the workday with envy.
In this life, I'll be a big business tycoon.
I might be able to work under my aniki as an executive and live an easy life but depending on his mood, I might work as a corporate slave again.
TN: An honorable term for an older brother or even to a male superior.
I don't want that.
And above all, I, whose life has changed from a tense corporate slave to a tycoon wannabe, am already sick of working by myself.
If I could use my healing magic talent, I might be able to run a clinic and live comfortably but I don't even want to use healing magic.
If I could, I would build a huge theater and continuously watch plays while lying down in the best seat.
I want to live a life where I don't have to do anything but eat food and sleep in a cool place.
I want to have a cat or something and spend the whole day just basking in the sun with it.
Then, I thought to myself.
『I would live by taking in cheap slaves, turning them into adventurers, and living off by taking commission on their income. 』
Fortunately, this city is surrounded by land rich in flora and fauna and there is even an autonomous region with a mysterious dungeon just across the river in the south.
To put it bluntly, there is no better location for earning money as an adventurer here.
I was determined to use my position as the son of a prominent local figure and I knew that the secret to a business success lay in "location".
「Young master, are you really sure about this? Are you sure you're not just being impulsive?」
「I'm sure. You don't have to tell me over and over again.」
I, Sawadi Schenker(10) had come to my family friend's slave dealer with our butler.
Of course, I'm not being impulsive. I already spoke with my father, the current president, about my plan and withdrew my pocket money which is too big for a 10-year-old boy.
To be exact, I withdrew my allowance for the next ten years. If I failed in this venture, I would spend my teenage years in gray.
If I fail, I might just start running with a stolen horse because of despair….
As I was thinking this, a slaver came into the reception room.
「Sorry to have kept you waiting, Sawadi-sama. This Perseus has been waiting for this day where I can finally trade with you.」
This old slaver was apparently taken care of by my grandfather when he was young and for some reason, he is a regular attendee at my birthday parties….is he a stalker?
「Yeah, I was looking forward to buying a slave from you too, gramps. Please take care of me today.」
「Of course, but…..are you sure you want a disabled slave?」
「Yeah, a young female slave with disability.」
「Young master, you have some weird taste for someone so young….」
I don't care what our butler is saying behind my back but I'm very good at support magic. In other words, ability boosting magic(buffs) and healing magic.
In short, I can heal anyone regardless of their disability.
Slavers can clear their inventory, I can buy at a discounted price, and I can make the slaves indebted to me as they contribute to society.
It's a three-way street: good for the seller, good for the buyer, and good for the world.
Hnn? Why female only?
Because I don't want a man by my side.
The old man clapped his hands and the slave trader's apprentice brought in three women.
The women were made to stand naked against the wall and they took turns giving their names and biographies.
「Berg desu, 26 years old, former prostitute, poisoned, no nose. My right eye is also blind.」
She's an ethnic woman with long chestnut-colored hair and as she says, she has no nose and her right eye is cloudy white.
「Banz desu, 13 years old, former adventurer, has no right hand and my left ear is deaf.」
A catkin with short, unkempt, and indigo hair. Her right hand and left ear are cut off.
「Pickles desu, 10 years old, former farmer, can't move my hind legs and also almost blind.」
She's a centaur and her horse part is chestnut color. Her human part has a chestnut wavy hair and she's squinting her eyes with all her might.
「What do you think? Would you like to look at our regular slave too?」
As I crossed my arms and pondered, the old slaver asked me that.
He probably thinks that if I see the real thing, I will change my mind but my answer is no.
「I will pick Pickles. Dress her up.」
「Ehhh!?」
The young butler apprentice behind me made some surprised noises.
「Young master…..how can you buy a centaur that can't even walk? How do you plan to bring her home? You're not going to ask me to carry her for you, are you?」
「Don't worry.」
I signed the contract prepared by the slavers, had them use slave contract magic, and finished up paying much less than I had imagined.
I thought it was a first business price but apparently, no one wants to buy disabled slaves and they're almost never for sale in the first place.
I sat Pickles down and poked her hind leg with the tip of my pen while asking "Does it hurt?".
She said she felt nothing so I took a guess that she probably has a spinal level disorder.
I started by using healing magic on Pickles' tail and traced it toward the base of her human part neck.
My hand stops when I feel a discomfort in a part of the spine on her horse part.
As I put both my hands on it and pour healing magic power into it, Pickles begins to fuss about the pain so I'm sure that's the one.
The spinal cord, which had been narrowed, is returning to its normal shape.
When the discomfort was gone, I stopped pouring magic power and instructed Pickles to stand up.
「Ahhhh! They're moving! My hind legs are moving!!」
Pickles cries and wiggles her left hind leg.
She had been immobile for a long time so her joints were stiff, her muscles were weak, and she needed to be rehabilitated first in order to be able to walk normally.
However, she was able to bend and stretch them a little and so she could walk from the slaver's to my house although it took time.
-0-
It has been two weeks since then, and since I'm a student, I only have two days off a week and can get really involved in my business.
I fed Pickles every day, cast healing magic on her legs at night, and made her walk around the house yard during the day for her rehabilitation.
During the day, even if her legs hurt, I told her to walk anyway because the nighttime treatment would cure her overworked legs.
As a result, after only two weeks, her left hind leg became as thick as the other leg. The hair on her horse part improved, and she even grew taller for some reason.
I washed her at night in the employee's bathroom and brushed her horse part so I guess we're getting along pretty well, maybe, or maybe not.
-0-
I took Pickles out with me today and came to a workshop near our company.
「Sawadi-sama, where are we?」
「This is a workshop run by a middle-aged guy I know and we're here to get you some glasses. 」
「Ah! Are you talking about the magic tool that makes your eye better! 」
Pickles' poor eyesight was not a disease.
It was an effect of a divine blessing.
I called a high-class craftsman to make weapons, armor, and everyday clothes for Pickles but only a mage that could use status magic, which is rare among non-temple priests, can see it.
According to him, Pickles had the divine blessing of the mole god.
『Mole God's Divine Blessing』
Effects
– Digging holes much faster
– Better at swimming
– Sense of smell improvement
– Eyesight will get worse
It's a blessing that is commonly referred to as a useless blessing.
If it had been attached to a human, he would have been famous as a hole digger but centaurs can dig holes and beastkins have a good sense of smell to begin with so the disadvantages are greater.
So, in order to eliminate the disadvantage, I decided to equip Pickles with a pair of glasses.
Pickles was very cute wearing the eyeglasses that the middle-aged man at the workshop made her wear.
「Okay, this is it.」
A thin man came from the back of the store with goggle-type glasses.
They are the type of glasses that adventurers often wear and they are a hit product because they are hard to fog up, hard to crack, and hard to slide off because they are fastened with a band behind the head.
I had Pickles sit on the floor. I climb up on a chair and put the glasses on her. After that, she began to scurry around the store at a furious pace.
「If you ever need another adjustment, come back anytime.」
We said our goodbye to the middle-aged man, whose blunt attitude did not suit how he appeared, and headed home.
「How is it going? Can you see the world now?」
She did not reply.
Pickles sniffled and cried all the way home.
-0-
Another two weeks passed.
After that, I took Pickles around to get her a heavy armor for her horse part and leather armor for her human part. I've also prepared spears, saddles, and so on.
After that, I had a former adventurer guard who worked for our family to teach her how to use a spear and how to fight in battles.
Today, the first step of my money-making plan finally started.
-0-
The adventurer's guild in the city was not the typical fantasy building where "ruffian drinks and sleep in the inn upstairs" but a city hall-like building with counters and waiting couches.
Of course, there's no beautiful receptionist.
Manning the counters are middle-aged men with arm guards and there's also a middle-aged man handing out numbered tickets just in front of the reception desk.
『Number 27, please come to window 2』
The announcement was voiced by a middle-aged lady.
I've lost interest in the adventurers' guild.
「Ano, Sawadi-sama. What number is this?」
Pickles shows me a piece of paper she's holding. Come to think of it, she can't read.
「Number 27」
「27…..ah! I'm being called!」
Pickles rushed to the window.
The registration itself shouldn't be a problem as the forms were already filled out at home.
Anyway, I wanted to get the heck out of this building.
As I waited outside, drinking juice from a stall, Pickles, looking exhausted, came out of the doorway.
「Sawadi-sama, ca-can I ask the people of your house to read this for me….」
She hands out a crumpled piece of paper. I read it and found that it was a summary of prohibited behaviors and precautions.
In a nutshell, it is saying, "Don't do anything wrong, get along with others, and ask the staff if you don't understand something(in their spare time only).
I'll ask our ex-adventurer guard for more details.
-0-
Three days later, I was looking over the list of permanent requests that Pickles had received from the guild yesterday.
This is something that the staff will write for you if you pay.
「Hmmm, I guess the first thing she'll do is gather herbs. What do you think, Oberon?」
「She should also take on a knife tanuki while she's at it. If you spend a day gathering medicinal herbs, you'll usually encounter at least two of them.」
Oberon is our guard, a middle-aged man who retired as an adventurer after losing one eye. He started working for our family with his childhood friend when they started a family of their own.
When I asked him to help me with my business and I'll heal his eyes, he agreed. Now, he serves as an instructor for Pickles and a consultant for me.
「By the way, now that I've thought about it, can centaurs even gather medicinal herbs? They can't reach the ground, can't they?」
「What are you talking about, young master? Even a normal horse lives as a herbivore and eats on the ground. Centaurs can do it too. And of course, they can't dig deep holes though.」
「I see. So that's how it is. Pickles! It's settled!」
Pickles, who had been circling around restlessly at the courtyard of our house with her armor and saddle on, rushed toward us.
「You'll take the herb gathering and knife tanuki subjugation quests. I've put a circle on it so you can ask the guild staff about the shape of the herb and the place where it grows and the characteristics of the knife tanuki too. If you need money, take it out of this bag.」
I order Pickles to do so and head off to the academy.
For the time being, my adventuring business will be run in the same cycle as today with me deciding which requests to accept, Oberon giving his opinion, and Pickles working hard.
My main job now is not to manage slaves but schoolwork.
When I started a business, I made a promise with my father and mother that I would be diligent in school.
I didn't take care of my parents in my previous life so they didn't help me when I became a corporate slave and I'm determined to be good with them in this life.
-0-
Three months have passed since then.
After three months of hard work, with a break every three days, Pickles was able to consistently hunt vermin called knife tanuki and assault cock every day.
By the way, a knife tanuki is a very belligerent tanuki whose tail is hard and sharp like a knife.
An assault cock is a big, belligerent, cock that can only attack using its body.
Both of them have a strong fertility rate and increase like crazy every year. They seem to be tough opponents for newcomers who are not well equipped.
It is said that about one out of 50 adventurers is killed by these belligerent little beasts.
The city has asked the guilds to reduce the number of these beasts since an increase in their population would affect logistics.
「Hmm, I earn about 3 gold coins a month. That's two gold coins after deducting expenses, and five silver coins after deducting savings.」
By the way, in terms of prices here, the exchange rate is roughly a copper coin is about 1000 yen, a silver coin is about 10000 yen, and a gold coin is about 100000 yen.
Fifty thousand a month is a lot of money for a kid but that's not enough for me.
I want to go to the theater with the girls in my class on weekend afternoons and I also want to increase the standard of food compared to the shop where I buy food after school.
I could go around the neighborhood and earn coins with healing magic but I want a simpler one.
If one slave can earn five silver coins, two slaves can earn ten.
-0-
I had come to the slaver for the first time in a long time after buying Pickles.
Pickles didn't want to go to the slaver and kept asking me if I'm going to sell her but there's no way I would do that.
I brought her along and patted her on the back while saying "I'm going to find you a partner.".
「Today, I present you these three.」
When Perseus, the slaver, said that, the clerks brought three women into the room.
「Calvo desu, 18 years old, former adventurer, I don't have one leg.」
She's a black-eyed, dog beastkin with straight black hair down to her waist. Her right leg is missing from the base and she's standing using a cane.
「Bongo desu, 16 years old, former hunter, I don't have wings so I can't fly, I have no right arm.」
TN: Bongo is a type of onigiri.
A blonde birdkin sitting on a chair and she doesn't have wings, which should be the pride and joy of their race. Her right arm is also cut off from elbow down and her eyes are dead.
「Golgo desu, 14 years old, farmer, deaf」
She is a big-eyed, petite, frightened human. She only said she's deaf but she also has many minor injuries on her body.
「I can find you as many disabled slaves as you want but right now, I only have these three….」
I wasn't sure who to choose but when Perseus said that, I waved my hand and said no.
「Not now. I'll take Bongo.」
Bongo was far cheaper than Pickles.
It might be because she's already dying.
I've heard that if birdkins don't flap their wings, their blood will rot and they'll die.
I'm sure that her price is, like always, a bargain.
「Can this girl really be cured?」
Pickles, the centaur, is carrying Bongo on her back. She asked me that anxiously but well, she'll probably be fine.
Her price was not high so I wouldn't mind if I couldn't.
-0-
I fed Bongo a liquid diet every day and used healing magic to regrow her wings from the base of her back, little by little.
After a week or so, Bongo's dead eyes became much clearer and she's now responding to simple questions.
After a month, Bongo's wings and right arm grew back as she was completely healed.
Nothing can stop my disabled slave business.
However, the hardest part is rehabilitation.
For the time being, I decided to do to her what I did with Pickles before but with a spartan approach, relying more on magic for her recovery.
I had her fly even though she barely can and she'll naturally crash. Of course, I'll treat her and it will be easier compared to regrowing her wings.
Bongo wandered around our courtyard every day from morning till night, flapping her wings as if she was possessed by something, giving our servants the creeps.
I would cast healing magic on her when I got home from school in the evening but it seems like even though birdkins can fly, they are kind of fragile.
Perhaps it was because birdkins are supposed to live in the sky so if they were forced to crawl on the ground, their small bones would crack and it's quite painful.
Even so, she did not stop her rehabilitation while mumbling "I want to fly….", which suggests that flying is part of their identity as a birdkin.
Pickles, who had returned for her adventure, was anxiously accompanying her rehabilitation, which will last until late at night.
-0-
Two months later.
With the arrival of spring, the time for her full recovery came.
Looking up at the sky, Bongo was flying around energetically, chasing after phantom swallows.
Apparently, she comes from a clan of birdkins who are very fast flyers. She can fly around twice as fast as the postman birdkins.
That's right, she would definitely lose her wings and limbs if she crashed at that speed.
I guess I know what happened now.
「Hey! Let's go to the adventurers' guild!」
Beside me, Pickles, her adventurer slave senpai, is eating a meat skewer from a street vendor.
She is 30 centimeters taller compared to when I bought her last year. Her legs are fat and thick and her spiked horseshoes are unnecessarily cool.
She's become quite soldier-like but her guild grade is still below average.
After all, she only hunted small vermin for a year.
Oberon, my business advisor, told me that I shouldn't push her too hard until I had the right people and I stick to that.
I'm fine with a slow but steady return of investment.
Still, it's up to Bongo but she'll be able to go on a little more adventure from now on.
Good luck, my little slave warriors.
Make me a lot of money.
My dream is to own a theater and live every day by lying down in the best seat while watching a play.
My name is Sawadi Schenker.
Remember me as the refreshing Sawadi-san.