3 bar menu

Volume 7 Chapter 4 Part 4

However, it would seem that the Slave Merchants in this world are so close with one another that they are discussing the transactions that they have made between themselves. I am glad that I came to thank Alan-san for that letter of introduction, because if I didn’t do that, then I probably would have never learned about it.

 

「So, did you also come here today in order to buy another slave for yourself?」

 

「No, I am fine for the time being. However, I do intend to add another member to my Party in the near future.」

 

「Is that so? Well, I guess that means that the exploration of the Labyrinths must be going exceptionally well for you. I am glad to hear it.」

 

「It is going pretty well indeed, but that is mainly thanks to the contribution that both Roxanne and Sherry are putting in.」

 

When I bought Roxanne from here, it was out of necessity and my desire to not be alone in the new, strange and unfamiliar world, but since I didn’t have enough money to make the purchase right away, I had no choice but to do anything that I could do to scramble enough money in a few short days that Alan-san was gracious enough to give me.

 

But look at me now. At the beginning, I could barely scrape by enough funds to buy myself one slave, and here I am, making preparations for the purchase of a fourth one already, so it shouldn’t be all that surprising that from the point of view of this Slave Merchant I must be doing quite well for myself.

 

「But as long as I intend on continuing the exploration of the Labyrinths, buying new slaves for myself is going to be a necessity.」

 

「Yes, that is very well said.」

 

「I know, right? And that is why I decided that what I should be aiming for in not the quantity of the slaves, but their quality. Therefore, rather than increasing the number of my Party Members in a rush without really looking at their abilities, I should be looking for powerful combat-oriented slaves who’re actually going to aid me in my explorations.」

 

「That is indeed a correct way of thinking about it.」

 

Actually, since the size of a single Party is limited to six people at max, there is no other way for me but to limit that number of the slaves that I want to add to my Party.

 

That, and there is also the matter of my Vigor, but that particular problem can be remedied if I continue to use the Sex Maniac Job for our nightly activities. As long as I am going to have that equipped as my main Job, I will never have to worry about not being able to go another round with the girls anymore. 

 

「Just like you said yourself, if you want to challenge the higher floors of the Labyrinths, then you’re going to need strong Party Members. And if you want to obtain said strong Party Members, then your best bet would be to try your luck at slave auctions.」

 

「Slave auctions, huh?」

 

Fortunately, the conversation moved towards the topic of the slave auctions naturally, without me having to steer it in that direction myself.

 

「The slave auctions are usually held four times a year, typically during the holiday of each season, and they are held at the Quratar Merchants Guild. On the days when the slave auctions are held, all the other, normal auctions are called off, and the entire Guild building is reserved for slave auctions only for the entire day. During those auctions, many types of different slaves are being put on display, including the combat-oriented slaves who are well-suited to being Adventurers or Explorers, since those seem to be the ones that you are interested in the most.」 

 

「And you’re sure that I’ll be able to find some really strong ones among all of them?」

 

「Yes, most certainly. As for the fees associated with the auctions, the entrance fee for a single person is thousand Nars, and the price is so high because it is a kind of a precaution meant to filter out all of the people who would only attend the slave auctions out of sheer curiosity, without actually aiming to buy slaves for themselves as well as those who would try to manipulate the prices to turn the tide of the auctions for their own benefits. However, if the bid that you made is going to turn out to be a successful and winning one, the entrance fee that you paid can be appropriated towards the bid itself.」

 

Well, I have to admit that a fee of one thousand Nars would indeed be quite high if you wanted to be nothing more but a spectator. Then again, I guess that thousand Nars is not really all that much for the people who are willing to pay hundreds of thousands of Nars in order to obtain the slaves that they desire.

 

Furthermore, if it turns out that my bid is going to be a successful one, then my entrance fee that I had to pay is basically going to be refunded to me. And if all of the participants attending the current auction are going to place a bid in hopes of having their entrance refunded, the amount of the final price is going to go up significantly, so I would consider that very good. Ingenious, even.

 

「So that’s how bidding at the slave auctions work? But wouldn’t doing that drive up the price to such a degree that no one would be able to afford the slaves anymore?」

 

「It certainly might do that, but that way, at least we can all be sure that the prices cannot be manipulated by anyone, so I believe that this is a risk well worth taking.」

 

The slave merchant grinned after saying that.

 

「Are you also exhibiting your slaves in these auctions, Alan-san?」

 

I asked him, but I think I already know the answer to that question.

 

「Of course I am doing that. After all, the slave auctions are the stage where we the Slave Merchants can shine the brightest, so it would be foolish of me not to take such an opportunity and allow it to pass me by. Unfortunately though, it would seem that due to certain circumstances I will have to resign myself to lesser earnings than usual, seeing as I had to let go of the centerpiece of my merchandise that was supposed to be my main attraction.」

 

The way he phrased that sentence just now… he must be talking about Roxanne. I do not know what those circumstances that he’s talking about are, and to be completely honest, I do not care about them all that much, at least not right now. If there ever comes the time where I will feel the need to know about them, I will ask Roxanne to tell me about them in greater details.

 

If Roxanne had been sold at a slave auction, then I am pretty sure that she wouldn’t have been sold by a measly four hundred and twenty thousand Nars, because an auction is a place where my thirty percent discount would not be effective.

 

Yes, that’s right. This is an obvious drawback to using slave auctions that I haven’t really considered before: a drawback of not being able to utilize one of my most useful Bonus Skills. But if that is how it is, then should I just limit my search of the strong combat-oriented slaves to just Slave Shops and forget about buying them at an auction altogether?

Normally that would be the most reasonable thing to do, but if I remember correctly, then the next holiday of this world should be just a month or so away from now, which means that the owners of the Slave Shops might be preparing themselves for the auctions, and thus they would keep their best slaves for the auctions, preventing them from being bought by the ordinary clientele.

 

Yeah, from the business standpoint, that is the perfectly logical thing to do. After all, why would you be selling your slaves at a lowered prices to regular people, when there is a possibility that you might be able to sell them for much, much more money if you just wait around for a little while longer?

 

I feel like if I went to the Slave Shops now, the only products that I would find there would be the leftovers that no one really wanted to buy, and buying such slaves is an absolute no-go for me…

 

Does that mean that my only option of obtaining good combat-oriented slaves now is to wait and try my luck at an auction, even if it ends up costing me more money than I actually would have liked?