Yeesh. Oh, but her legs and feet were comparatively intact, barring a few bruises and scrapes here and there.
“She’s a half dwarf by birth, so she’s pretty sturdy. Perfect for a punching bag.”
“A half dwarf? You don’t say. So those exist too, huh?”
“What, she doesn’t freak you out? You got some balls, girl.” He looked slightly impressed. Well, compared to all the carnage and gore the Goddess had shown me back during the tutorial, this was nothing. By now I’d built up a resistance to things like this.
“By the way, why is she in this state?”
“Oh, apparently she was in the Kingdom of Alchemy, singing some song outside that one of the businesses there wasn’t too keen on, so they taught her a lesson. She was apparently a minstrel, but they ruined her voice too.”
I see. Arms to hold her instrument, beauty to draw the people’s attention, a voice to sing with—they completely destroyed everything she’d need to continue her minstrel work.
“If they did all that to teach her a lesson, then why’d they sell her here?”
“Who knows? If someone comes to me with a good offer, I buy, no questions asked. That’s the slave trade. Maybe they just got bored of her.”
Hmm... Well, I guess it doesn’t really matter. If it was one of the businesses in the Kingdom of Alchemy, it’s probably defunct now anyway—along with the rest of the kingdom.
“Also, I doubt this will matter to you since you’re also a girl, but she’s a virgin.”
“Huh? You mean they went that far to teach her a lesson, but they kept that part of her intact?”
“The blood of a virgin can be used as alchemy material. Her blood offsets the cost of keeping her alive, so I ain’t complaining.”
“So virgins make more convenient slaves because their blood pays for their own maintenance costs. I see. From a business perspective, that makes sense.” Come to think of it, Blade did mention that potions were a thing here. Scavenger slimes also sounded like they were probably a product of alchemy.
“So, how much is she?”
“One gold... No, two. Two gold for the girl. Can you afford that? Or would you like to look at some others first?”
“Hey, you clearly just jacked up the price.”
“That’s because you don’t seem as repulsed as I thought you would. It costs money just to keep these slaves alive. Traders have to take what they can get, whenever they can. Plus, she’s the cheapest out of all my females.”
Well, I understand that maintaining each of these slaves is pricey, but didn’t you just say selling her virgin blood offsets her own costs? He thinks I’m an idiot, doesn’t he?
“But who in the world would buy someone like her for two gold?”
“Figured you’d say that. No one would be able to heal injuries like those, after all, and she isn’t worth healing in the first place. All right, let’s move on, then.”
“I didn’t say I wasn’t interested. I’ll buy her if you drop it back down to one gold.”
“No kidding? Then it’s a deal. One gold it is.”
No way! That was the price he’d wanted all along?!
“In that case, I might as well buy. But I can’t pay in full right now.”
“Hmph. Is that so? All right, fine.”
I decided I was going to purchase this girl. I knew I could heal wounds of that degree in no time with spatial magic, considering how many times the Goddess had revived that old geezer over and over again from such a miserable state.
Oh, you’re wondering if I should check and see if her personality’s manageable first? It doesn’t really matter—people can become anything if they’re desperate enough! Like how that slave girl of Shildon’s pulled the wool over his eyes and made off with his assets even after he bought expensive potions to treat her severe wounds! I must not forget the lessons of my predecessors—I won’t let a slave girl deceive me! So the correct answer is to turn a blind eye to her personality entirely!
Well, even if she does turn out to be trouble, I can just shut her up in the space of holding until I need her. The ability to manipulate space sure is handy.
“If I pay you ten silvers, will you put her on hold for me?”
“I suppose. I’ll draw up a contract. Come on.”
Good grief. It took a while, but it looks like we’re finally making some headway.
We headed back upstairs to the negotiation room from before.
“Now, then, we’ve got some formalities to take care of first.”
“Hm, really?” Well, if this business was affiliated with the government, there were probably various procedures I had to go through.
“First, answer my questions. Careful, now—you can even look at the flowers if you need to calm down first. Here, this one’s my favorite.” He brought a potted plant over to the table. To think an old man like this guy would have a cute hobby like flowers!
“First, your background. Something tells me you’re not a noble.”
“No, I’m not. I’m a commoner, and I work as an adventurer.”
“What about your family?”
“Don’t have one.”
“Oh, so you live alone, eh?” The slave trader’s lips curled up into a grin. What, is there some problem with a bachelorette buying a slave girl?
“Any lovers?”
“Not at the moment. Why, trying to hit on me?”
“Not at all. I just have to ask. I ought to know what kind of place I’m selling one of my slaves out to, see? Relax.” He pushed the potted flowers a little closer to me. Come on, you seriously think just looking at flowers will make someone calm down? What fairy tale world do you live in?
“They sure smell nice, don’t they?”
“Mm... Well, I suppose.” They seemed to give off a sweet, peachy smell.
“Now, let’s move on. We’ve got a bunch of questions left.”
“Get on with it, then.”
“Where do you live?”
“Hm? Not anywhere in particular at the moment...”
“No address? Then you’re a tourist?”
“Tourist... Yeah, that’s right. I travel...”
“Any diseases?”
“Diseases...? No, no, I’m the very picture of health.”
Huh? How many questions have we gone through now? I’m starting to get sleepy. How many more are left? Damn, what a pain...!