“Pardon?”
“Did I not just explain it? They are beings born after adapting to a particular thing over a long period. I only know what kinds of Rare Spirits exist. If you intend to form a contract with one yourself, you will have to search carefully for it.”
“······.”
Aiman was so dumbfounded that he had nothing to say.
Rare Spirits had to be found before one could form a contract with them.
But how was he supposed to contract with one when Keiras did not even know where they were?
In the end, if they did not know the location of a Mana Spirit, they could not contract with it. That made the entire idea meaningless.
Aiman asked Keiras about the final remaining method.
“Then what is the last method?”
“It should be possible if you obtain a Fairy capable of using magic and supporting the person it contracts with.”
“A Fairy?”
Once again, it was a being Aiman had never heard of.
When Aiman showed his curiosity, Keiras nodded and explained what Fairies were.
“To borrow the old hag’s words, they are gem-loving Fairy wenches.”
“W······ wenches?”
Aiman was bewildered by the unexpectedly harsh language that had come from Keiras’s mouth.
Keiras, however, continued without the slightest hesitation.
“Apparently, they go absolutely mad for gemstones. Their abilities are exceptional, so they are useful to have around, but she said they can be rather irritating because they go on strike and refuse to work if you do not give them gemstones.”
As Aiman listened to the explanation, he sensed something strange.
Keiras did not appear to have encountered the creatures himself. His explanation sounded as though he had heard it from someone else.
Aiman asked him about it.
“You have never seen one either, have you?”
“No. I only heard about them from the old hag who taught me.”
The words old hag continued echoing in Aiman’s ears, but he could tell whom Keiras was referring to.
Keiras had said that the woman was his master.
Aiman asked about that first.
“Your own master?”
“Yeah.”
The person who had told him about Fairies was indeed Keiras’s master.
Aiman asked another question.
“Then why do you call her an old hag?”
“That is…… something you can ask her yourself if we ever meet her together.”
“Hmm, understood.”
Keiras had started to explain, only to stop himself.
Whenever Keiras taught Aiman something, he always did so with complete enthusiasm.
Yet he was unwilling to speak about this matter.
There had to be a reason.
There was no benefit in trying to force an answer from him. When someone was reluctant to discuss something, there was generally a reason for it.
In any case, if Keiras could not discuss his master, it was only natural for Aiman to ask about Fairies instead.
“If they are obsessed with gemstones…… I suppose gemstones are required to employ a Fairy?”
“Yes.”
“How many would we need?”
It was a fundamental principle.
The relationship between an employer and an employee.
The employer paid compensation to the person he employed, while the employee performed the work the employer assigned.
For Fairies, that compensation came in the form of gemstones.
Aiman wondered how many gemstones he would need to employ a Fairy capable of allowing him to use higher-class magic.
At Aiman’s question, Keiras scratched his cheek with his index finger.
“Actually, let us give up on the Fairy.”
“Pardon?”
“They require quite a lot of gemstones.”
“Exactly how many do they need?”
“Even if I liquidated every asset I own, it probably would not be enough.”
“What?!”
For a moment, Aiman wondered whether he had misheard Keiras.
Although Keiras had received the unusual title of Count because of his position as an Imperial Mage, his wealth exceeded that of most Viscounts.
It might be less than the fortune of a typical Count’s Family, but he was by no means poor.
Yet even his entire fortune would not be enough.
Aiman wondered just how extraordinary Fairies could be to command such an enormous price.
“Are Fairies truly worth that much?”
“I have only heard about them myself, but if what I heard is true, they are.”
“Even so, requiring more than your entire fortune is…….”
“I may have suggested it, but it is a ridiculous method, is it not?”
“It certainly is.”
After hearing that, Aiman clicked his tongue.
“Then forming a contract with a Fairy will also be difficult.”
“It appears so.”
“Then, of the methods you mentioned, the first is the only one with any immediate possibility. We do not know where a Mana Spirit is, and obtaining a Fairy would require far too much money.”
“The first method will not be easy either, but it will still be simpler than the other two.”
The first method.
It involved finding a Mage who would assist Aiman or obtaining a slave with a talent for magic.
Of the three methods Keiras had conceived on the spot, he also believed that the first was the only remotely realistic option.
However, the idea still did not sit well with Aiman.
‘Mages will be difficult to recruit because they are too strong-willed. Then does that leave slaves……?’
The thought of commanding a slave made him uncomfortable.
He had never lived a life in which he owned slaves.
That was true both when he had been a citizen of South Korea and now, as the Serf Aiman.
Aiman decided that he should first learn how slaves were treated in this world.
“Master.”
“Hmm?”
“If I purchased slaves, how would I be expected to treat them?”
“How would you treat them?”
“Yes.”
“I am not entirely sure what you are asking.”
Keiras did not understand.
It was a natural reaction.
Keiras was a person born and raised in this world.
He naturally knew how slaves were treated.
In fact, anyone living in this world would have considered it common knowledge.
However, after hearing Aiman’s next words, Keiras realized why the boy might not know.
“I am asking how slaves should be treated after they are purchased. Serfs earn their livelihood by performing work for their Lord, do they not?”
“You are asking what a master must provide to slaves in exchange for carrying out his orders.”
“That is correct.”
“I suppose you had no reason to know about slaves when you were a Serf. As for what must be provided to them…….”
Keiras explained how slaves were treated in this world.
The treatment varied depending on the person who purchased them, but Aiman frowned when he heard how nobles generally treated their slaves.
Many cruel owners kept their slaves alive by tossing them cheap food or the scraps left over from their own meals, all while forcing them to perform merciless labor.
It was because Serfs possessed property rights, while slaves were granted no such thing.
From Aiman’s perspective, it sounded far more inhumane than he had expected.
After hearing the explanation, he became even more reluctant to purchase slaves.
However, purchasing a slave remained the most reasonable and accessible option currently available to him.
After learning how slaves were treated in this world, Aiman organized his thoughts.
‘Right. Even if I purchase them as slaves, would it not be acceptable as long as I treat them properly? Their status may remain unchanged, but they could still live decent lives.’
He rationalized the idea until he could accept the concept of purchasing and employing slaves.
It was not an entirely unreasonable rationalization.
After finishing his thoughts, Aiman asked Keiras a question.
“Then how much would it cost to purchase slaves?”
“Slaves?”
Keiras looked at him in confusion.
The method Keiras had proposed involved obtaining a single slave with a talent for magic.
Why, then, was Aiman speaking in the plural?
Aiman explained his ambition.
“I want to purchase as many slaves as possible and allow them to live at least somewhat like human beings.”
“What?”
Keiras was visibly startled by Aiman’s words.
He had never imagined that such a statement would come from a ten-year-old boy.
Aiman also found himself with nothing to say in response to Keiras’s reaction.
“…….”
Silence followed.
It was Keiras’s laughter that finally broke the stillness.
“Ha ha! It seems I have taken in an even more remarkable disciple than I thought.”
“What is so remarkable about it?”
“What ten-year-old in the world thinks that way?”
He was right.
It was not the sort of thought a mere ten-year-old would normally have.
Aiman intended to purchase slaves and treat them at least as well as Serfs.
Keiras had not lived for an especially long time, but none of the nobles he had ever met had entertained such a notion.
Not even the Emperor who ruled the Empire.
Yet those words had come from his ten-year-old disciple.
It was absurd.
Keiras had already known that his disciple possessed abilities any Mage would envy and was considerably more intelligent than other children his age.
‘But to think he could even conceive of something like this.’
It was utterly astonishing.
No one acquired slaves and regarded them as human beings.
In this world, it was considered only natural for slaves to be treated as privately owned property.
Yet Aiman wanted to allow them to live like people.
It was an idea Keiras himself had never considered.
There had never been any reason for him to consider it.
Mages were beings who cared only about their own magic.
Of course, once a Mage accepted a disciple, that disciple was also included within the scope of his concern.
In any case, Mages rarely showed interest in other people.
The only exception was when they encountered another exceptional Mage.
Yet his ten-year-old disciple was looking at people.
At slaves whom everyone else treated as objects.
Because of that, Keiras also began to view the matter differently.
‘Proper treatment for slaves…….’
After considering it, Keiras nodded.
“Very well. I understand your intentions. Then you asked about the price of slaves because you intend to purchase them?”
“That is correct.”
“However, their prices vary so greatly that it is difficult to give you a specific amount.”
“They vary that much?”
“Every slave has a different appearance and different abilities.”
“Ah…….”
Aiman understood what he meant.
Not all slaves were the same simply because they shared the same status.
Some could be assigned simple errands, while others could perform all manner of specialized work.
Naturally, their value would be determined by how useful they were.
After listening to Keiras, Aiman accepted the explanation.
“That is true. Every slave would possess a different value, so their prices would naturally differ.”
“That is why I cannot give you a precise figure.”
“Then there is only one solution.”
“Hmm?”
“I simply need to become rich enough to purchase them, no matter how much they cost.”
“You intend to become rich? Ah, through paper?”
At first, Keiras did not understand what Aiman meant by becoming rich.
Then he remembered another source of value the boy possessed.
Paper.
More precisely, Hanji.
If Aiman conducted the business properly, he could certainly earn a considerable amount of money from it.
However, Keiras spoke as though the idea would be impossible.
“Your paper is of higher quality than the paper produced by the Paper Farm Trading Company, so you may be able to command a good price. Even so, I doubt it will be enough.”
“Why?”
“First of all, Paper Farm holds a monopoly on paper sales across the entire continent. I do not know whether there will be any opening for you to enter the market and sell your paper.”
“The person who can create that opening is standing right in front of me.”
“Hmm?”
Keiras, who had been explaining that even high-quality paper would be difficult to sell because of Paper Farm’s monopoly, looked bewildered.
Aiman claimed that someone capable of creating an opening for his paper business stood directly before him.
Keiras looked behind himself.
No one was there.
No one.
Naturally, there was no one else present.
Only Aiman and Keiras were in the training ground.
After looking behind himself, Keiras turned back toward Aiman.
He pointed at his own face with his index finger.
“Me?”