He had sold the ore a day earlier than the simulation had suggested, and planned to reclaim the lost land the next day...
Tonight, this cat-eared girl, worth 50 gold coins, was an unexpected complication.
Should he follow the path laid out by the simulation to avoid such surprises?
But if he waited a few more days, reclaiming the lost land would become exponentially more difficult.
Romon opened the simulator in his mind.
Now that Talia had joined, the territory's statistics had changed.
[Population: 82]
[Food: 220]
[Production: 3]
[Economy: 81]
[Culture: 1]
[Strength: 44]
[Territory Belongs to: Sionnas Empire]
[Remaining Simulation Turns: 0, cooldown in 10 days]
"Forget it. First, let's reclaim the large forest. That's a hard requirement."
Romon made up his mind. The mine beneath the forest was the key to their fortune; he couldn't afford to hesitate.
...
The Next Morning.
The lord and his servant quickly ate some of the food they had bought the day before, when suddenly, they heard wailing from outside the castle gates.
"I curse you, despicable and shameless mage! If you have the guts, release me! Let's fight here, in the castle!"
"If you keep yelling, I'll poke you with my staff."
Talia said, yawning.
Due to the thief's escape skills, regular ropes couldn't hold her, so Talia had stayed up all night guarding her. The cat-eared girl, however, had fainted until dawn and was now fully awake, full of energy.
Romon walked over.
He looked at the cat-eared girl hanging in the air and, with some regret, said, "Talia, haven't you ever hung someone before?"
"My lord?"
"What I mean is, when you hang someone, they should be upside down. That way, they won't have as much energy."
Talia suddenly understood. She had learned something new from this lord.
The moment the cat-eared girl heard she was going to be hung upside down, she became frantic. She bared her teeth and turned to Romon, hissing at him.
"You filthy, perverted noble! I despise you! Why don't you just cut off my head already?!"
"Heh, I heard you're an apprentice of a prostitute. Shouldn't you be good at pleasing wealthy men? Why the ugly attitude now?" Romon taunted.
"I—I!" The cat-eared girl thought for a moment but decided not to explain herself.
"My ore's not that easy to steal, is it?"
"Hmph."
"Talia, flip her upside down... no, forget it, just kill her. We don't have time to babysit her."
Romon waved his hand dismissively and walked straight toward the mountain.
The cat-eared girl stared at the cold, heartless lord, her mind in turmoil. She was only speaking out of frustration. If she truly wanted to die, she would have killed herself long ago.
Seeing Talia raise her staff, with magical energy gathering at its tip, the cat-eared girl burst into tears.
"Wait! Please, wait! My lord, I admit my fault! I'm a damn thief, but please, don't kill me! Give me a chance, and I'll do everything to make up for it!"
The punishment for theft varied depending on the territory.
In the capital of the Empire, the standard punishment was to sever the thief's dominant hand.
However, some lords did things differently. They would slice open the thief's abdomen and then bind them to a post.
Romon paused.
If she was truly worth 50 gold coins, killing her would be a waste. It was more practical to make full use of the resource.
"Then I'll just cut off your right hand and sell it to the slave traders in the city."
Upon hearing this, the cat-eared girl's face turned pale.
Becoming disabled was always a terrifying outcome, but becoming a slave while carrying such a disability was even more brutal.
When people picked out slaves, who would choose one with a disability? A disabled slave was naturally considered inferior.
If someone did want her for her combat ability, it was likely they would be making her do the dirtiest jobs—tasks where one life would be traded for another.
"No, no, please, don't! Don't hurt me! Please, don't hurt me!" The cat-eared girl regretted her actions deeply. She never imagined that a rapid-fire mage would be guarding the magic crystal mines. Even just sensing the air around the magic crystal would elevate the combat power of a rapid-fire mage by a considerable amount.
Tears of regret flowed freely from her eyes. Theft was a high-risk occupation; if successful, the rewards were high enough to give her financial freedom for life.
She regretted her impulsive decision, but it was too late for regret. Most criminals condemned to death also regretted their actions just before they died.
"My lord! I'm [Rose Alley's Little Curved Blade], Spidevs's apprentice! I-I'm actually very strong! That guy below is just occupying the advantageous position. If you give me a chance, I'll serve you for free, I promise I'll be your most loyal executioner!"
"Slap!"
Talia, not pleased by her words, smacked her with her silver staff.
Romon was still not satisfied after hearing her plea. He looked at the cat-eared girl's face, which had already broken down in fear, and said, "I can't help it. This place is rich in magic crystals, and a thief's severed hand and a slave thief can bring in enough money to satisfy me. I could even hire another mage afterward. I should thank you, the apprentice thief who came to deliver money with your inadequate skills."
The cat-eared girl was now so frightened that her ears drooped. Her right hand had already been injured by magic the night before, and just the thought of it being cut off made her tremble. Thinking of becoming a slave, locked in a dark, stinking sewer, eating scraps—she felt despair.
Rather than become a disabled slave, perhaps it would be better to just be a fully functional slave.
She looked down at Talia, pleading, "I have a slave contract I stole in my backpack. Please present it to the lord. I'm willing to sign a slave contract and become the lord's slave. If the lord still wishes to punish his slave, I won't oppose my master's decision."
Talia flicked her staff, and the cat-eared girl's backpack dropped from her waist. Inside, there were some tools, a bit of money, and a scroll.
She unrolled the scroll, which had a similar format to the employment contract she had signed, but the content was entirely different.
In this slave contract, the master had no obligation to pay anything, but the slave had to give up everything.
To sign, the master only needed a drop of blood, while the slave had to pledge their soul.
Once the contract was formed, the slave could not resist their master, could not harbor hostility toward them, and could not harm them in any way.
These were the harsh terms written in the slave contract.
"My lord, if this person is truly willing to sign the slave contract, you've made a profit. She's worth 50 gold coins on the market. Not only has she delivered herself to us, but she's also signed a contract that ensures full utilization." Talia handed the scroll to Romon and spoke.
"Let her down."
Romon drew the dagger he kept at his waist, lightly pricking his fingertip to draw a drop of blood, which he let fall onto the contract scroll.
Then, Talia aimed the tip of her silver staff at the cat-eared girl. Either she'd be blasted to pieces or she would obediently offer her soul.
The cat-eared girl, clearly understanding the situation, no longer dared to resist. She obediently became a slave, and the scroll released a blood-red ritual of the contract, deeply searing itself into her soul.
At that moment.
The scroll burned up into ashes mid-air. This was an unbreakable slave contract; once signed, it automatically destroyed any means of undoing it.
"Ahhh! Aghhh!"
Suddenly.
The cat-eared girl, who had just signed the slave contract, let out a low, painful growl from her throat, writhing on the ground in agony.
Romon understood what was happening.
This was the binding effect of the slave contract. If she harbored any disrespect or even murderous intent toward her master, her soul would be scorched by searing flames.
He simply watched, coldly.
Today, either she would burn herself to death, or she would meekly submit, understanding her place as a slave.
In less than ten breaths, the cat-eared girl's sweat drenched her clothes. Her body twitched, and after a moment, she weakly crawled to her feet, trembling as she knelt before Romon, utterly submissive.
"What was your name before?"
"Nini Spidevs."
"Then from now on, you no longer belong to Spidevs."
"Yes, master."
Watching her employer tame a new slave, Talia proudly leaned her staff against the earth.
After all, this was all her accomplishment. According to their employment contract, she was entitled to a reward.
Romon, having made a significant profit, naturally wouldn't forget Talia.
"Twenty pounds of magic crystal ore. Pick it yourself."
The purity of magic crystal ore wasn't fixed—it always fluctuated within a certain range. How much pure magic crystal could be refined from it depended entirely on Talia's eye for quality.
"Hehe!"
Talia felt that the long night of watching over things hadn't been in vain. However, she did think she should have hung Nini upside down from the start. That might have saved a lot of trouble, resolved the issue sooner, and allowed her to sleep earlier.
And most importantly, to get those twenty pounds of magic crystal ore!