I arrived at the slaver's.

Thanks to the influx of refugees, word has finally spread to the general public that Alchemia has fallen.

"Ugh. I wanted to visit Alchemia… I can't believe it was destroyed."

Dea-kun, who'd recently got into alchemy, was a little down after hearing that the holy land of alchemy had fallen.

… Going now to look at a ruined city wouldn't mean anything anyway.

And, uh, sorry — our Goddess was the one who destroyed it.

It wouldn't have fallen if the king of Alchemia hadn't claimed to be the Chaos God!

Well, I wouldn't be here either if the Goddess hadn't decided to destroy it, so let's call it even?

 

So, the next day after parting with the seniors, I headed to the slaver.

I mean, you can't mention isekai without also mentioning slaves…!

There are so many people out… most of them are apparently slave "products." There were too many to fit inside and most still looked like ordinary townsfolk since they were still wearing the clothes they had on when they were sold. Since they're refugees, they're a bit grimy.

Here, a long time since our last segment, is Basic Common Knowledge's explanation:

A slaver is the last safety net that will even buy criminals. By purchasing those who would otherwise be thrown away to reduce mouths to feed, they contribute to public order; they generally won't refuse to buy. They're apparently tied to the authorities as well.

… Come to think of it, the slaver in Véraldo was the lord's pet, too. Yeah.

So, having bought refugees from Alchemia as they were sold, the result is this overflowing crowd. These people will no doubt be shipped off to other towns from here.

Alright, time for the long-awaited shopping at the slaver's.

"Excuse me—"

"Yes, yes. Selling? Trade-in? Or purchasing?"

"I'm thinking about purchasing."

When I said that, the slaver's face lit up.

"Welcome! We're delighted to have you. As you can see, our stock is overflowing, so we'd truly appreciate a purchase… Ah, but we haven't had time to educate them, so few are actually in condition to sell. However! If you intend to handle education yourself, we can discount!"

"By the way, about how much?"

"Trained slaves normally range from one to a dozen gold coins. For newly arrived, untrained slaves, we subtract five large silver coins from that. Highly recommended. Honestly, desperately."

Oh, so the minimum would be fifty silver coins. Within reach even for Karina the Merchant's on-hand cash. Well, I'd still need to borrow from Dea since it'd eat into my business capital.

"Sounds cheaper than I braced for."

"It costs money just to care for slaves, and that gets added to their price. It's only natural that newly arrived, untrained slaves are cheaper… They are, in other words, a limited-time bargain."

More like they want untrained slaves taken off their hands before they become a liability. If they make even a little profit, that's a win.

"That said, the owner is responsible if an untrained slave causes trouble, right? I heard some even use that to frame their owner and wait to be bought again."

"Hahaha, that's a legendary rarity. Usually they'd be disposed of as bad stock. Or they were in cahoots with the slaver."

Unlike the previous slaver, that's not the case now, so rest assured, he said with a smile.

So my seniors were trying to spook me, huh? Well, saying it strongly helps me stay cautious, so thanks.

Worst case, I can just not take the slave out of storage space. No problem. Probably. Yeah.

"So, what kind of slave are you looking for?"

"Hmm. Not too expensive, a cute girl, and if possible a hidden gem with some skill. Around one gold coin?"

"… That's quite a difficult order."

Right, but maybe with this many it's not impossible?