Narrator's point of view
Merlin was slightly taken aback by the words of the merchant and Adrianne, which pulled him out of his reverie.
"I apologize for my lack of attention. My name is Merlin Blight, and I'd like to obtain all the items on this list."
Merlin handed the white-haired woman with slightly dark skin a shopping list containing various objects in their most primitive form. There were also some items that the merchant easily recognized.
"I can easily get all of this for you, but... are you sure a young boy really needs these things?"
The woman tucked a strand of white hair behind her ear and asked in a doubtful tone.
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It should be understood that Merlin had given a list containing elements to make modern tools himself.
The merchant simply couldn't understand why Merlin was interested in various things that had nothing to do with each other.
"Excuse me, miss, but I think the customer has the right to keep their information confidential, don't you?" Merlin frowned as he said this.
"Please forgive my rudeness, dear customer."
The woman apologized immediately. She knew that Merlin was the son of a noble because of his last name.
She was also aware that the baroness had a child, but she didn't know it was a boy. Involuntarily, she had tried to obtain information about him.
"It's alright. Can you tell me how much all of this will cost?"
Merlin currently had temporary access to his mother's resources thanks to Susan, who had convinced Chloe to let Merlin buy things.
Chloé had of course hesitated to entrust her money to her child, but she had ended up giving in after remembering that she had upset him.
She probably wanted to try to quickly make amends between them.
"You've only bought raw materials and a few objects, so the price is just 2 gold pieces." She smiled professionally as she stated the total amount.
Merlin slightly frowned at the price. It seemed that she might be trying to scam him, but he remembered that he had asked for these products in large quantities.
"Okay. Adrianne, please." Merlin signaled Adrianne to pay and continued to observe the resources to buy in the "warehouse".
*Grrr* A growl was heard.
"What creature is that?" It was a two-tailed fox that seemed injured and was observing Merlin with clear hostility.
He had read about the magical creatures populating the Black Forest, also called the Dark Forest, but he was sure that this thing shouldn't come from there.
"It's an exotic creature brought from the South. It's a magical beast." The merchant quickly approached Merlin with an extremely professional smile.
When Merlin heard that it was a magical beast, he simply gave up on buying it.
It should be understood that, like magus among humanoids, beasts also have powerful beings among them.
They are called magical beasts.
They are rare in nature and formidable. The one in the cage was still extremely young, so its value was enormous.
Merlin preferred to avoid buying it. He didn't have magical crystals, which were the currency used for all magical transactions, and he doubted that his mother would easily give him any.
There's also the fact that this creature would require enormous resources for it to reach its full potential.
"Don't you have ordinary animals?" Merlin turned to her for more information.
"Yes, yes, we do have interesting animals." She guided Merlin and Adrianne to another area of the warehouse.
"See for yourself the creatures and animals that are housed here."
Merlin walked, observing the cages containing various creatures, some of which emanated weak magical energy.
He instinctively stopped in front of two people at the back of a cage.
It was a green-skinned woman. She had messy hair and two small teeth that slightly protruded from her lips.
She held in her arms a child who seemed to be the same age as Merlin or younger. Malnutrition made it difficult to guess her age.
"You have slaves?" asked Adrienne, frowning.
She had brought Merlin to this merchant on Susan's suggestion, so Adrianne didn't know her personally.
She and Chloé had always monitored the things that Merlin should or shouldn't know. The subject of slaves was classified in the category to be avoided for now.
They knew that Merlin was certainly aware of their existence because of the library, but they tactically avoided the subject.
"These are Orcs. They are classified as monsters. It's similar to beasts and magical beasts according to the laws of the empire."
It was a more pitiful situation than being a slave. It meant that Orcs had absolutely no rights, unlike regular slaves.
If a regular slave pleased their master enough, they could be freed. But a beast or a monster were different cases.
You could free them, but if a person saw them free in nature, they had the right to capture them again or eliminate them.
It was a situation similar to an ecologist releasing an animal and a hunter killing it a few hours later.
It was simply stupid to release a monster or even a magical beast in the empire.
Of course, there were countries that provided laws similar to humans and other intelligent creatures, but the empire was slightly different.
The intelligence level of a creature didn't prevent them from being judged based on their aesthetic criteria.
"I'll buy them." Merlin turned to face the surprised merchant and Adrianne, who seemed against the idea.
"I don't think Miss Chloé will appreciate the young master obtaining slaves, and female ones at that." She glanced at the cage, frowning.
"You heard, didn't you? They're not considered similar to slaves, and I'm a bit bored at the manor anyway."
Merlin answered Adrianne honestly. He had no friends or real company. He just wanted to adopt these creatures as pets to pass the time.
There was also the fact that he could sense a sensation similar to Olivia emanating from the little girl currently embraced by her mother.
"As you wish." Adrienne sighed in frustration. She knew she would be reprimanded because of Merlin's whim.
'I just hope Susan and Chloé won't hold it against me. Merlin has never had a real whim apart from those related to knowledge.' Adrienne discussed for a few minutes with the merchant for a reasonable price and ended up obtaining the two Orcs for the price of 5 gold pieces.
It should be understood that ordinary commoners can't easily see a gold piece, and obtaining a slave for them is a pipe dream. That's why the market for slaves, monsters, and magical beasts is reserved for nobles or rich merchants.
...
Merlin's point of view
"Stop looking at me with that hatred in your eyes. You know well that I'm the best possible outcome." I expressed myself, smiling kindly at the Orc woman.
Now that I saw her up close, she was damn impressive. She must easily be 1.98m tall and she had an athletic kind of musculature.
I found that sexy. Did I possibly have a hidden fetish for muscular women?
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"I don't trust you." She expressed herself with a slightly intimidating voice. I just nodded.
"That's unfortunate, but it's not so important since I only want her." I turned to the little girl who was clinging to her mother.
She gave me a feeling similar to Olivia. I wanted to buy her to check whether or not she had magus talent.
It should be known that the awakening process or the awakening ceremony is not free if you're not a noble.
It's one of the main means of obtaining finances for the magus association outside of their missions.
Nobles are exempt from this since the empire pays, but the case of commoners and slaves is different.
They have to provide a large sum of money to have an awakening ceremony, and they can be disappointed.
That's why commoners prefer not to try this lottery, unless they've had a son in their family.
So, no intelligent commoner or merchant would pay for the ceremony for a female slave, and it's almost impossible to obtain a male slave.
Only an apprentice magus or a real magus would do this, thanks to their wealth.
"Don't come near her *grr*" She made her child back away, growling slightly.
"I'm telling you, better me than a crazy woman or a cruel person."
I turned to the merchant to signal her to approach.
"You'll deliver them to me at home and clean, please. And I almost forgot, but I don't want any drugs in their bodies."
I didn't yet possess the sufficient capacity to impose a magical slave seal, and I didn't think I would need it anyway.
The little girl was still young. If I managed to control her mother, then I would control her, and the mother only thinks about her daughter's survival.
"We can go home, Adrianne. I just hope their delivery won't take long."
I really needed my merchandise. I had so much to do and so little time. I needed to clarify things with Olivia, and I had to get a map of the edge of the Dark Forest.
I needed to gain real combat experience after obtaining my Aura, and I had to start practicing to become a rank 1 apprentice magus.