12 – Episode 12: Slaves
＜Episode 12: Slaves＞
When we arrived at the carriage,
people crowded around.
“Princess Soyoung, are you alright?”
“Didn’t Kalas Jajak cause any trouble?”
I said I was fine.
I also told them that we were exempt from tolls for this trip.
“Are you serious!?”
“How is that possible… Is it true that the person you met was Kalas Jajak?”
Everyone seemed skeptical.
“Enough, everyone. Let’s depart quickly.”
We headed towards a nearby metropolis.
***
After arriving at the metropolis, we sold the monster goods.
The monster goods from Monster Island sold like hotcakes, despite their high prices.
“I made more money than planned.”
More specifically, I saved the 30% of the cost that should have been paid as a toll.
With a purse full of money, I went to find the slave master.
Justice Sangdan.
He is making a lot of money through slave trading.
I heard that he has the most slaves in the vicinity.
As I entered the Sangdan building,
It looked like a luxurious interior.
And the merchant, in accordance with noble etiquette, also greeted me.
“Welcome. Thank you for visiting Justice Sangdan.”
It wasn’t just the corridor that was splendid.
The guest reception room was also decorated to rival a noble mansion.
“Do you have something you are looking for?”
“100 households of people with farming experience.”
“When you say households, do you mean you want to purchase them as a family unit?”
“That’s correct.”
The merchant stood up from his seat.
Then, with one hand on his waist and the other pointing forward, he gestured.
“Will you come this way?”
Walking through the splendid corridor,
I arrived at the door at the end.
What was peculiar was that it was a door made of iron, not wood.
It didn’t match the atmosphere of this place.
As the guards opened the iron door,
a damp smell, different from the corridor, pierced my nose.
Just passing through one door, a completely different world unfolded.
In the spacious area, iron bars were densely placed.
Iron bars where people were trapped.
“There are two main types of slaves. One is war slaves. The other is debt slaves. Typically, families are debt slaves.”
The merchant guided me and explained the basic knowledge.
Creak. Creak.
Creak. Cr…eak.
The merchant’s footsteps stopped.
Around me, adults and children were trapped together behind the iron bars.
“Would you like to personally inspect the goods, sir? Ah! If by any chance you have any unnecessary items, you can exclude them. It’s not mandatory to purchase as a family unit.”
I observed the people trapped behind the iron bars.
The act of purchasing slaves itself was awkward,
but I couldn’t bring someone who was sick.
And then,
Bang. Bang.
The merchant struck a few iron bars with a stick.
“They have no experience in farming. So, consider them exceptions.”
“No experience in farming? Have they worked in a different profession then?”
“Curious, are you? Shall I explain?”
“No, it’s fine.”
The selection of healthy slaves was completed.
A total of 100 households. The number of people exceeded 400.
“Will you take them today? Then I’ll immediately transfer the slave marks.”
Slave marks.
Magical stamps that ensure a slave can never escape unless the owner releases them.
“Oh, before that, is it possible to remove the slave marks?”
“If you’re asking about possibility, then yes, it is.”
“In that case, release the children from the slave marks. Transfer the adults to me.”
The smiling face of the merchant stiffened for the first time.
“Understood. This way…”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
“My daughter too! Please release my daughter’s slave mark!”
A male slave shouted, pounding on the iron bars.
“There’s no need to listen to their demands. Come this way…”
“I will remain loyal to you until death. I will serve you with all my abilities! So please, save only my daughter!”
His footsteps halted at the desperate voice.
“Who is the author?”
“He does not meet the guest’s standards. Not only does he lack farming experience, but the price is high because he knows how to read and write.”
“He knows how to read and write?”
The illiteracy rate here is high.
Most commoners do not know how to read and write.
That’s why I was more interested.
“He was once the owner of a medium-sized upper-class residence. But…”
As I showed interest, the merchant explained the details.
The fallen merchant was born as the son of a low-ranking knight.
He trained from a young age, but had no talent for swordsmanship.
Then, he discovered his talent as a merchant and expanded his business to a medium-sized upper-class residence.
“The upper-class continued to grow, and eventually friction arose with the large upper-class. The result is as you see.”
He didn’t come from a merchant family, but rather built the upper-class with his own hands, coming from a knight family.
He wasn’t bad in terms of ability.
“What is the price?”
“It’s more expensive than a regular family.”
As he said that, the merchant spread his fingers.
It was an amount that was ten times more expensive than a family of five.
Those two are worth as much as fifty ordinary people.
“Expensive.”
“If you exclude the girl, the price becomes much more reasonable.”
The reason was evident without explanation.
Because the child was remarkably beautiful.
Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
“No! Please, remove the slave mark from my child. I’ll pay the value of a hundred, no, a thousand people!”
The price was too high.
Of course, they had the money to buy them.
The problem was that the money was meant for buying livestock…
If they couldn’t buy livestock this time, they wouldn’t be able to do so until half a year later.
They needed to harvest wheat to earn enough money.
“But if I miss this opportunity, even a merchant like me won’t be able to buy them.”
The price was steep, but the years the merchant had lived through were pressing.
Starting from scratch and building up to a medium-sized enterprise, that was his experience.
“Livestock can be bought later, but talent… can’t be found anytime.”
“Purchase them.”
“Both of them?”
“Yeah, I’ll buy both.”
The merchant’s eyes formed a crescent shape.
“It’s a wise choice. A slave who knows how to write holds great value depending on how you use them. Moreover, that young girl…”
“Enough. Erase the slave mark of the girl and transfer the mark of the man to me.”
When everything was coming to an end,
The girl who was behind the father stepped forward.
“P-please save my… my mother.”
“Be quiet!”
The man silenced the child.
However, the child stubbornly clung to the bars like a shadow.
“Where is your mother?”
“She was sold just before the guest arrived.”
It incurred additional costs.
But it was also an opportunity.
Unlike plantation slaves, merchant slaves travel long distances.
In other words, they are difficult to monitor.
‘The more family members, the easier to control.’
But how to rescue her?
Will the merchant provide customer information?
The probability is low. Moreover, this is not an ordinary slave market.
Should I investigate directly?
Time available is limited.
One cannot postpone the schedule just to find one woman.
Then… what to do?
“The answer… was right in front of me.”
“What do you mean?”
“I will give you three times the selling price of the woman. Can you make it happen?”
The merchant’s eyes swiftly traveled between the gold coin pouch and my face.
“The money you save from buying cheap is yours. However, bring her to me by the end of today. Can you manage that?”
Contrary to expectations, the merchant didn’t answer immediately.
It seemed like there was something else he wanted to say.
“If you bring her before the slave tag transfer is complete, you can also make your next slave purchase here.”
The merchant extended one hand to his belly and spread the other hand behind him.
Then, he deeply bowed.
“I will certainly comply, sir. Our esteemed customer.”
The merchant kept his word.
He brought the woman before the completion of the slave tag transfer.
The slave, the child, and the returned wife embraced each other and wept.
It was a touching scene.
But… on the other hand, there was also worry.
‘I must have spent all the money on this. I won’t be able to buy many livestock.’
Returning to the inn,
I sat at the desk, pondering.
My plans had changed when I bought the merchant slave.
“It’s a big loss. I can only hope the merchant does well.”
Knock. Knock.
“Come in.”
The door opened, and the merchant slave greeted me.
“Thank you for today, Master.”
“Enough with the pleasantries. Just do as you said. Be worth the value of a hundred.”
The merchant slave didn’t leave, continuing to bow with his head down.
“Do you have something to say?”
“I heard that you originally planned to buy livestock with the money you used to purchase us.”
I guess it’s because he’s a merchant.
He must have assessed the situation from the start.
“So?”
“I heard that you were exempted from the toll for the Kallas trade route for this trip.”
He even found that out?
At least his ability to observe the surroundings wasn’t bad.
“That’s right. So what?”
“I have a way to purchase a lot of livestock.”
“I don’t have any money left. You’ll have to wait until the next harvest to get any.”
The merchant raised his head.
“Yes, it’s true. The master has no money.”
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Although it was true… there was no need to say it so bluntly.
The merchant didn’t even listen to the response and continued speaking.
“Instead, the master has credit.”
“Credit?”
“Yes. If you give me a chance, I will borrow money using the master’s credit. And with that money…”
The merchant’s words were as follows.
Those who were knowledgeable about the economy already knew my name.
Especially in the northern coastal areas close to Monster Island.
I would borrow money using my credit,
Buy grain here.
Buy monster products from Monster Island with that grain.
Come back to the continent and convert the monster products into cash to repay the debt and use the remaining money to buy livestock.
“The master has a chance to be exempt from toll fees. If you take advantage of this, you can earn enough money.”
“So, is there someone who will lend me money?”
“Of course. Trust me.”
The next day.
I went to the Justice Upper with the merchant slave.
The same Justice Upper that I had bought the slave from yesterday.
