Worth a Fortune. Whether You Can Sell It Is Another Matter.

I'd been working the shop while my slaves were away, but the moment those two got back, I was summoned to the Adventurer's Guild along with them.

What now, what did you do this time? I thought as I listened to the details. Turns out, a lot had happened.

I wasn't an adventurer myself, so the full significance was somewhat lost on me.

Same for Azu, probably.

Elza was a different story. It came out that she'd actually had prior adventuring experience from earning money on the side.

When I pressed her on it, she said I never asked.

She'd be getting a little lesson in discipline when we got home…

In any case, something significant had apparently gone down in adventurer circles, but the only thing that mattered to me was that my slaves had come back in one piece.

On top of that, Ruined Heim Catacombs had vanished as a labyrinth, and the castle entrance was now guarded by monsters called the Ash Knights.

None of which concerned me.

I'd only picked the catacombs as a trial run for Elza. The place had never been profitable.

There were plenty of other outlets for holy water.

The catacombs had always been a cleric magnet, so holy water barely sold there. The warrior participation this time had been a one-off stroke of luck.

They kept us over half a day, but in the end, neither the Ash King's attack nor the mysterious monster could be explained, and we were released. Having something as big as the Ash King dropped on me out of nowhere was more than I could process.

Since the labyrinth had disappeared, the mystery monster was probably its master, but without so much as a body part left behind, there wasn't much to go on.

By the time we got home, the shop was already closed and the employees had finished their work and gone.

I skipped going inside and walked straight to the backyard. I pointed at the well and addressed my two slaves.

"I'll bring you a change of clothes, so rinse off with the well water and get all that grime off you. You stink."

Azu and Elza looked at each other, then sighed in unison.

Not the words any young woman wants to hear, I'm sure.

The backyard was walled off so no one could see in.

It had a small vegetable garden and an open area. Plenty of space to rinse off and change without worry.

By the time I'd thrown together some clothes and brought them out, both of them had already finished rinsing.

Elza's habit clung to her skin, outlining every curve.

Azu's clothes had gone faintly see-through as well.

A quick rinse hadn't been enough to get everything off, apparently.

I left them waiting again and went to draw a bath.

The water magic stone and fire magic stone still had plenty of charge, but they'd need a mana refill eventually.

Could Elza do that? If so, it'd be a nice cost savings.

Too much hassle to bother, so I tossed them both into the bath together.

My bath was spacious, a personal indulgence. Room enough for two, easily.

I hadn't built it that large because I wanted to bathe surrounded by women, for the record.

Women take long baths, or so they say.

A slave making her master wait was obviously out of the question, so I'd hurried them along to some degree. But I could get work done in the meantime, so I gave them a reasonable window before calling them to my room.

Both wore the loungewear I'd provided.

I had them sit down while I worked. This setup was becoming familiar again after a few days' absence.

When I went to hear their report, Azu preempted me by presenting a brooch.

At the Adventurer's Guild, she'd reported having no acquired items, and yet… well, well. The girl was learning to navigate the world a little. Good.

Just doing whatever people told you wouldn't cut it. My orders, however, she'd better follow.

The brooch was apparently from the mystery monster, and Azu was the only one who'd gotten it.

The details of how were somewhat lost on me even after hearing them, but…

I appraised the brooch.

Swords and armor were outside my expertise, but accessories? Those I could evaluate.

It was a superb piece.

The gemstone was a fire elemental crystal.

Simply possessing it boosted the effectiveness of fire-attribute abilities. The kind of thing a mage would kill for.

At this size, six hundred gold coins. No, more than that.

The setting was equally impressive.

Gold, worked into an exquisite sun motif. And on the back, the Church of the Sun God's symbol was proudly engraved.

… Yes, unmistakably and magnificently, the Church of the Sun God's symbol. Plain as day no matter who looked at it.

The brooch was worth at least a thousand gold coins.

But I couldn't sell it. Questions about its provenance would be a problem.

If the Church of the Sun God decided to make trouble, it absolutely would become trouble.

All they'd have to do was claim it was stolen from their treasury. Wouldn't even need to be true. We'd lose.

That was how much influence the Church of the Sun God wielded. And lately, those people were somewhat… even more obsessed with money than I was.

I considered melting the setting back into raw gold and selling the gem separately, but the pieces enhanced each other as a set.

Shame.

In the worst case, I could move it through the black market.

If only I had a fire mage, I could just hand it over as equipment…

Azu was looking at me with a face that said: I was useful!

I patted her head and praised her.

It could serve as collateral for the debt, at least. And I couldn't afford to tank Azu's motivation.

Elza, apparently reading every last bit of my internal struggle, watched me with an amused smile.

I placed my left middle finger against Elza's forehead, pulled it back with my right hand, and let it snap.

A satisfying snap echoed through the room. Elza pressed her forehead.

Her expression said: What was that for?

Served her right.

This time, between the holy water profits and the subjugation bounty, we'd turned a modest but real profit.

I'd give them a few days off to rest. After that… what next?

"Um…"

Azu asked permission to speak.

I waved my hand for her to continue.

"I'd like to practice with my sword. Would it be all right if I used the backyard?"

"Do as you please. Oh, right. If you're going out there, water the vegetable garden while you're at it."

"Of course. Thank you!"

Enthusiasm was a good thing.

The stronger she got, the better the quests I could send her on.

Elza was already stronger than Azu, so no worries there.

I topped off both their spending pouches with silver coins and handed them over.

Having them ask permission for every little thing got tedious…

I'd already made it crystal clear that anything required for quests would be provided by me.

I dismissed the two and sat there studying the brooch.

A mage… a mage, huh.

Honestly speaking, mages were useful for far more than just adventuring.

Tremendously useful.

The first slaves to sell were said to be either men built for manual labor or mages.

Being able to produce fire and water alone made a mage valuable. The development of lifestyle magic had only driven their price higher.

Good for guard duty, too. And mages were educated.

Teach one earth magic and you could breeze through construction work.

A burning stone mine reportedly saw a forty percent increase in output just by adding one mage to the staff.

My funds had taken a hit from buying Azu and Elza, but I still had reserves.

Problem was, those reserves served as both operating capital and money borrowed against this shop.

The shop's income could cover the repayments.

I'd been considering whether to just repay the loan if the funds turned out to be unnecessary, but… this might be a good opportunity.

I sent a letter to the slave merchant.

Now then, where to send my slaves next?