42. Purchase
“Are there no others? Is this all?” “Yes, I’m very sorry, but these are all we have at the moment.” “What about more expensive slaves?” “Yes… unfortunately, we don’t have any right now…”
While bowing his head, Kolobo’s eyes looked at me with a meaningful glint.
His tone suggested that if I truly desired it, he could prepare something right away.
Unfortunately, with my current funds, some of the slaves in front of me were still out of reach.
The reason I asked about higher-priced slaves was to test how Kolobo viewed me.
From the result, it seemed Kolobo saw me as a proper customer. His previous tone was proof of that.
To him, I was a young man who, despite my age, was looking for expensive slaves. In short, he probably thought I was the son of some wealthy family.
He wouldn’t dare try anything shady with someone like that. Which meant the prices he had just presented were likely fair market value.
Having finished our little exchange, I moved on to the main topic.
“Is the difference in price equal to the difference in combat ability?” “Yes, you can think of it that way.” “Then please tell me how strong the most expensive slave is.” “This slave is strong enough to conquer a dungeon by himself. If given good equipment, there are almost no average adventurers who could defeat him.” “So he would lose to stronger adventurers?” “Yes, that is what I believe.” “On the other hand, how strong is the cheapest one, that girl?” “She has been hunting since childhood, so she is stronger than an average human. However, I cannot say for certain whether that strength will be useful in dungeons or monster subjugation.”
In summary, the most expensive lizard-skinned demi-human was capable of full dungeon conquering, while the cheapest cat-eared girl was only strong enough to serve as a basic bodyguard.
“I have one more question.” “Yes, what is it?” “The cheapest girl. Isn’t she a sex slave?”
At my words, the cat-eared girl’s body trembled slightly.
From her perspective, it sounded like I was looking at her with those kinds of eyes. Moreover, she clearly looked underage. Even if the age of adulthood in this world was eighteen, the girl in front of me was definitely younger than that.
Calling such a girl a sex slave made me sound like a complete scumbag without question.
But of course, there were people with that kind of taste. My question came from wondering whether this girl was being undervalued too much.
Naturally, that intention didn’t reach the girl who was currently glaring at me.
“She was originally sold as a sex slave, but she didn’t sell at all, so we are now selling her as a combat slave.” “So it was out of necessity?” “Yes, exactly.”
The fact that she was first sold as a sex slave meant she had more value in that category. Conversely, failing at that and being switched to combat slave meant her value as a fighter was low.
I would have liked to see her actual ability right now, but I obviously couldn’t have her fight the other slaves here. I decided to stay quiet and make my choice.
“Understood. I’ll take the girl for 3 gold coins.” “Are you sure…?” “Yeah. I was looking for someone to handle patrol and guarding duties. And… well, you can probably guess the rest.” “…Understood. Please wait a moment.”
Kolobo took the other slaves and left the room again. A few minutes later, he returned with the cat-eared girl, who had changed clothes, and some documents.
“Please sign here and pay the amount.” “Got it.”
I skimmed through the documents, signed them, and took out three gold coins from my storage bag.
“Confirmed.”
Since it was only three coins, Kolobo simply checked them visually, then exposed the lower abdomen of the cat-eared girl standing beside him.
Below her navel was some kind of mark or crest—I wasn’t sure what to call it—but a strange pattern was engraved there.
“Please place your right hand here.”
At the sudden instruction, I almost let out a sound, but I pretended to be calm and touched the girl’s soft skin.
The moment I did, I felt something being drawn in, and the pattern on the girl’s body changed slightly.
“With this, this slave now belongs to Master Takuma. She will basically obey your commands. If she refuses, please say the word ‘Bari.’ Through the contract we just formed, she will receive a shock similar to being struck by lightning. You may use that to discipline her if needed.” “Understood.” “If she still doesn’t meet your expectations, please bring her back. We will retrain her personally. Though I doubt that will be necessary for you, Master Takuma…”
Even though I caused this misunderstanding myself, don’t look at me like that. I’m not a lolicon.
“Well then, that’s it for today.”
I stood up and left the room.
Right behind me was the cat-eared girl, and beside me walked Kolobo.
“If you’d like, we can also prepare a young female sex slave for you?” “No, that’s fine. It’s just one of my hobbies, that’s all.” “I see. So Master Takuma has varied tastes…”
Ah, it’s my fault, but please stop saying things the girl behind me can hear.
I slightly quickened my pace and left the store as quickly as possible.
“We look forward to your next visit.”
Kolobo politely followed me all the way outside the store, bowed, and saw me off.
The rich young master act wasn’t bad, but it created some annoying side effects…