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 gotten into alchemy, was a little down after hearing that the holy land of alchemy had fallen.

… It's not like going to see ruins would mean anything anyway.

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

It wouldn't have fallen if Alchemia's king 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 were so many people out… most of them apparently slave "products." Too many to fit inside, and most still looked like ordinary townsfolk since they were wearing the same clothes they had on when they were sold. Being refugees, they were a bit grimy.

Here, after a long hiatus, is an explanation from Basic Common Knowledge:

A slaver is the last safety net, willing to 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 connected to the authorities as well.

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

So, having bought up refugees from Alchemia as they were sold off, 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 train them, so few are actually in condition to sell. However! If you intend to handle the training yourself, we can offer a discount!"

"By the way, about how much?"

"Trained slaves normally range from one to a dozen gold coins. For newly arrived, untrained slaves, we knock five large silver coins off that price. Highly recommended. Honestly, we're desperate."

Oh, so the minimum would be fifty silver coins. Within reach even for Karina the Merchant's cash on hand. Well, I'd still need to borrow from Dea since it would 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… In other words, they're 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 legendarily rare. Usually they'd be disposed of as bad stock. Or they were in cahoots with the slaver."

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

So my seniors were just trying to spook me, huh? Well, putting it that strongly does help 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 skills. Around one gold coin?"

"… That's quite a difficult order."

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