…Chirp chirp… chirp chirp…
”…I don’t know this ceiling…”
In the morning, when I woke up, a white ceiling was in my eyes.
Well, last night I didn’t have the spare time to even look at this room’s ceiling.
When I looked to the side, Natalie was sleeping soundly, breathing peacefully.
Her sleeping face was so cute, I could have watched it forever.
Experiencing both the morning birds and an unfamiliar ceiling at the same time-I’ve had some pretty good experiences lately!
While I was thinking about such unimportant things, Natalie woke up.
”Morning.”
”////M-morning…////”
She said that shyly, then hid under the blanket.
…S-so cute…
I wanted to pounce on her right then and there, but I held back since it might mess with Natalie’s work today.
”…Ah!? Huh? Kyaa… ahh… noo… ahhhn…”
…I ended up pouncing on her after all…
When I told Natalie that I was planning to visit the slave trader today, she wrote me a letter of introduction using the Commercial Guild’s name.
She also told me that there would be a slave auction tonight.
Since there were also local procedures for that, Natalie agreed to come along with me.
”Where did you go last night?”
When I got back to the inn, Elenora rushed right over.
”…Hm? Oh, just… around…”
”…Um, I came to your room last night to offer my service, but you weren’t there…”
Elenora was fidgeting, and she looked really cute.
”…Elenora. Come to my room tonight. I’ll need your service.”
”~~~!? Y-yes!!”
When I whispered that in her ear, her face lit up like a flower blooming.
I have a feeling, but Elenora might be a total masochist.
Once everyone at the inn was together, I talked about buying slaves. Nobody objected-they all agreed.
But Zeno suggested I should avoid criminal slaves if possible.
In this world, there are three types of slaves: criminal slaves, debt slaves, and war slaves. Among them, criminal slaves often have bad quality and bad attitudes, apparently.
Well, they did commit crimes, so that makes sense… but from my light novel knowledge, there were quite a few people who became criminal slaves because they were falsely accused…
With Zeno, who seemed to know a lot about this stuff, and Elenora as my guard, we headed straight to the slave trader.
”Welcome. What kind of slave are you looking for today? Perhaps a carpenter, or Earth Magic users, or someone for construction work? Lord Alfred.”
”~~~!?”
The moment we entered the shop, a man who seemed to be the owner said this, even though I hadn’t even greeted him yet.
Alfred tensed up, and Elenora put her hand on her sword hilt…
But Zeno waved them off like it was too much trouble, let out a huff, and then explained.
”Slave traders have ways to get info fast so they can move quickly no matter when or where something happens. War means war slaves. Feuds between houses means debt slaves. Robberies mean criminal slaves. They need that network to get to the scene faster than their rivals and grab the good stuff. And with that info network, finding out about Al-boy is easy as pie.”
The shop owner shrugged like Zeno had just revealed his magic trick, gave an “oh well” kind of look, and then properly introduced himself.
”Welcome. Allow me to properly greet you-welcome to our establishment. I am Gordon, the owner of this slave shop. A pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
Because of how it started, my suspicions didn’t really go away. Are all slave shop owners like this…?
We were taken inside to see the slaves right away, but the shop was cleaner than I expected.
When I asked Zeno, he said that an unclean environment makes slaves sick, which causes big losses, so everywhere keeps things in decent condition as a rule.
…We looked around the whole place, but sadly, I didn’t find anyone who looked like they could really help develop the village.
Still, since we were here, I thought maybe there’d be a special slave like in those light novels. So I handed the shop owner the letter of introduction from the Commercial Guild that Natalie had written for me.
”W-we apologize for the grave offense!!”
The shop owner went pale as he read the letter, and big drops of sweat started forming.
”We had no idea you were a Special Member of the Commercial Guild! Please forgive us!!”
I was confused by the owner suddenly bowing and scraping, but more than that, I was surprised by the unfamiliar term “Special Member.”
But I figured panicking here wouldn’t help, so I decided to keep a straight face and say nothing.
”…I-in that case, allow me to introduce you to our slaves reserved for Special Members. Please, come this way.”
…See? There it is…
Alfred and the others were led through a hallway in the back, past two heavy doors, into a room.
It was much nicer than the previous area, and the slave cells were bigger too.
”These are the slaves reserved for Special Members.”
Inside, there was a beautiful woman who looked like she’d been some noble’s daughter, a young girl, a strong warrior, and a magic user. Their eyes didn’t have much life in them, but they all looked healthy.
After hearing the explanation, it turned out just as I thought-the beautiful woman and the girl were sisters from a count’s family from a neighboring country, captured during a conflict.
The strong warrior and the magic user had also become slaves through war.
But these two had unusual backstories.
The warrior, who looked super tough, was recruited with a reputation as an unbeatable battle-axe wielder against monsters. But when he got to the front lines, he ran away first thing because he couldn’t kill humans. He was caught and made a slave for desertion.
The magic user used to be a researcher. When he was sent to the front, he said he could use defensive magic but not offensive magic. A commander from a rival faction called him a fraud and had him enslaved.
For the warrior, we could hire him to hunt the monsters around the village. And since he looks strong, he could help with village development work too.
For the magic user, if the village is ever attacked, his defensive magic would be a lifesaver. The question is how wide an area his magic can cover, but he’s someone I’d want if possible.
Both are technically criminal slaves, but their situations are different from the usual cases. Since Zeno didn’t say anything, these two were probably safe to buy.
I talked to both of them right away.
The tough warrior’s name is Galeus. He’s about two meters tall, and his muscular build looked as big as-or maybe even bigger than-Margrave Rommel, who took down that Red-Haired Quanine Fang Bear so easily.
Personality-wise, he’s the kind of gentle giant who’s strong and kind-hearted. When I told him we wanted him for monster hunting, construction work, logging, and other jobs, he was thrilled and said it was the best place for him. He begged to be allowed to work, so I decided to buy him.
The magic user’s name is Melvin. He’s a scrawny guy with big glasses as his main feature.
His defensive magic uses magic stones as a medium. The bigger the magic stone, the wider the area his barrier can cover. Apparently, the power, duration, and strength of the barrier also depend on the stone.
…Maybe I shouldn’t have given that Red-Haired Quanine Fang Bear’s magic stone to Margrave Rommel…
When I told Melvin about the village, he said he’d help with what he could, so I decided to buy him too.
These two cost 250 gold coins each, which is apparently pretty expensive for normal slaves. Even Zeno’s eyes went wide.
We signed the contracts and left the shop.
By the way, those noble sisters were 2,000 gold coins for both of them.
They were gorgeous, but when I think about the village’s needs, I just can’t afford them.
I hope they find good masters.
We brought the two back to the inn.
I called Kirsten, one of our Earth Magic users who used to live in this town, and asked her to take care of the new slaves. They needed clothes, shoes, and other daily necessities, so Kirsten, who knows the town well, was the right person for the job.
Alfred then headed to the Commercial Guild and asked them to call Natalie when she had a free moment.
I was shown to the usual private room. After a while, Natalie appeared. She looked completely different from yesterday-dripping with a seductive beauty that captured anyone’s attention.
I was so shocked I asked her what happened.
”If there’s one reason I could change so much in one day, it’s you.”
She wrapped her arms around my neck and gave me a deep, slow kiss.
Is this what women become after they know a man?
Who is this incredibly amazing woman? My heart won’t stop pounding…
I squeezed her chest over her clothes and stroked her butt. She let out a sweet moan that seemed to escape from her nose.
…Uh-oh, I’m getting worked up. I want to take her home right now…
I told her about the slave shop and that I’d bought two slaves.
”I’m so glad I could be of help to you, Lord Alfred,” she said with a bewitching smile.
…If she makes a face like that, any guy would fall for her instantly… She’s totally a little devil now…
By the way, when I asked about the Special Member status, it’s apparently for people who have deposited over 10,000 gold coins with the Commercial Guild and have a recommendation from the Guildmaster.
I argued that I’d never deposited 10,000 gold coins and didn’t remember getting any recommendation from the Guildmaster. But she said it was fine because gold coins pile up fast. I don’t really get what “fine” means…
As for the recommendation, it’s apparently a proxy recommendation from Natalie herself. Anyway, I’m definitely a Special Member, no doubt.
I feel like Natalie is just completely running wild here… is that really okay…?
And then night came. The Slave Auction began.
Trivia:
- Alfred’s internal reference to light novel tropes (falsely accused criminal slaves, special hidden slaves) shows he actively uses genre expectations to navigate this world, blending his past life’s pop culture with his current reality.
- The defensive magic system is explicitly tied to magic stones as consumable or limited resources—Melvin’s usefulness depends entirely on the quality and quantity of stones Alfred can provide, making it a recurring resource management concern.
- Natalie’s transformation from professional guild worker to seductive partner mirrors a common isekai trope where romantic intimacy unlocks new dimensions of a character, but the narrative frames it as a genuine personal change rather than a mechanical reward.