Slave Merchant

The tutorial in that book was not very difficult; after all, it covered only the most basic material. Claire grasped the general idea in just an hour or two. There were so many magical beasts in this world. She might not need it now, but it would certainly prove useful in the future.

For instance, the royal guard of a neighboring country used griffins as mounts. That was one of their national secrets, and few kingdoms besides theirs had mastered the method of controlling magical beasts like griffins.

Claire considered getting a few dragons for her Knight Squad to ride someday. Pure-blooded dragons were out of the question. Once they reached adulthood, dragons of that level were legendary creatures on the level of a Magic Saint. A single breath could blow Claire, currently only an Intermediate Mage, away without leaving even ashes behind. But getting a few Dragonkin should be possible—such as Two-headed Dragons.

Claire rose early that morning. Generally speaking, mages did not need much sleep; meditation could replace it.

After breakfast, Claire followed Regan to the construction sites. When the workers saw her arrive, they all stopped what they were doing and bowed to her.

"Good day, Viscount!"

Claire gave them a friendly smile. "Carry on. I'm just here to take a look."

There were professional architects in the city, so Claire did not need to worry about that aspect. She had only come to see how the work was progressing.

The foundations had all been laid, and the next step was to build the houses. Claire did not need buildings as extravagant as those from her previous life; they only needed to serve their purpose. At this pace, the construction should be finished within a week.

The speed was not outrageously fast. The main reason was simply that there were too many people. As soon as the people of the territory heard that Claire was building a hospital and a school, everyone with spare time came over to help. Every building had more than a hundred people working on it. If not for the lack of sufficient light at night, they would probably have arranged shifts around the clock.

Compared with the construction of the hospital and school, the underground sewage project was progressing much more slowly. After all, nobody had any experience in that area. Usually, they simply threw wastewater, garbage, and the like outside their doors. Who had ever heard of a piping system for sewage?

However, after Claire issued that notice, the residents of Nafu City began cleaning up the garbage and filth in the streets on their own. At the very least, Claire could no longer smell that choking stench as she walked through the city.

Moreover, under Claire's explanations and guidance, she did not know whether the architects truly understood the principles, but they seemed to have realized something. These past few days, they had constantly been digging sewage pipes beneath Nafu City, and the result looked quite convincing—almost identical to what Claire remembered.

Watching the city gradually improve in her hands, a sense of pride rose within Claire's heart.

But before she had walked very far, Regan at her side reported something.

"Young Master! A slave merchant has arrived outside the city!"

This world was not merely feudal. To the west, the Orc Empire contained many tribal regions inhabited by orcs, while at the junction of the three central human kingdoms stood the Empire of Light, a nation founded on religion. Therefore, although slavery was banned in some kingdoms, it was not prohibited in Claire's kingdom. It was even practiced openly, and many nobles kept numerous slaves in their homes for entertainment.

"Let's take a look," Claire said, though she was puzzled.

Most slaves were seized from defeated nations. However, Claire's kingdom was located at the easternmost edge and did not border many nonhuman kingdoms, where warfare was more intense. Slave Merchants were therefore rare. Even when they did appear, they usually went to prosperous places such as the royal capital. It was even rarer for one to come to an isolated place like her viscounty.

As soon as she passed through the city gates, Claire saw a long convoy of horse-drawn carriages, each carrying rows of iron cages.

The cages were much larger than Claire had imagined, and the slaves imprisoned inside were not humans. They were giants over two meters tall, with horns on their heads. Their faces were not exactly ugly, but they were unlike human faces—more like... cow faces.

"Minotaurs?" Claire asked in confusion.

When the slave merchant saw Claire emerge with a group of people following behind her, he knew this young woman was the lord of the territory.

He immediately put on a broad smile and stepped forward. "Such an elegant young lady must be the Viscount, I presume!"

"Mm." Claire answered casually, her gaze still fixed on the Minotaurs in the cages. She had only ever seen creatures like them in anime.

As if he had not noticed Claire's indifference, the slave merchant led her over to the cages and introduced them enthusiastically. "Is the Viscount interested in these Minotaurs? You can take one for six Gold Coins! I have twenty-three of them here. You can have them all for one hundred and twenty Gold Coins!"

Claire frowned. The price was not expensive, but what would she do with a group of Minotaurs? Buy them to plow fields? Or to increase the biodiversity of Nafu City?

As she hesitated, a child among the citizens who had followed Claire out suddenly raised a hand. "Mister! Do you have any beast-eared girls for sale?"

Claire sharply turned her head. There was actually a furry enthusiast among her subjects?

But she soon turned her gaze back to the slave merchant. Compared with spending over a hundred Gold Coins on a group of Minotaurs, buying some beast-eared girl maids would be far better.

"Uh..." The slave merchant scratched his head awkwardly and explained, "Those half-beastmen were all sold back in the royal capital. Only these Minotaurs are left."

His meaning was obvious. If these Minotaurs had been easy to sell, he would not have dragged them all the way to such a remote place.

That was indeed the case. Even nobles buying slaves as guards would choose wolfkin or catkin warriors. Taking a squad of Minotaurs out with them would only invite ridicule from other nobles.

Seeing hesitation return to Claire's face, the slave merchant hurriedly said, "Don't be in such a hurry. I may not have any half-beastmen... the beast-eared girls you call them, but I do have a Half-elf. Would you be interested?"

Claire became interested when she heard that. "Take me to see."

The slave merchant led Claire to an iron cage covered with burlap. Compared with the cages holding the Minotaurs, this one was much smaller.

The slave merchant lifted the covering, revealing the Half-elf inside. Her fair skin, long pointed ears, and exquisite appearance made her look exactly like the elves Claire remembered.

When the burlap was pulled away, sunlight streamed in. The Half-elf raised a hand to shield her eyes from the glare. She looked frail and delicate as she glanced at the slave merchant who had uncovered the cage, then at Claire standing nearby. After that, she curled up in the corner of the cage, displaying not the slightest interest in the outside world.

"See? I told you. She's a Half-elf, and she looks almost exactly like the elves from the Elven Forest. Are you interested?"

"Logically speaking, a slave like a Half-elf should have been sold in the royal capital long ago. Why did you bring her all the way here?" Claire asked, staring directly into his eyes.

The slave merchant wiped the sweat from his forehead and said with a placating smile, "Nothing can be hidden from the Viscount. Don't let her frail appearance fool you—she has quite the temper. And she doesn't speak the Common Tongue, so none of the nobles in the royal capital wanted to buy her. But if you want her, I'll give you half off. You can buy her for fifty Gold Coins!"

Claire gave him a puzzled look. "If no one else wants her, why do you think I would?"

"Please! I'll give you seventy percent off! Thirty Gold Coins! Any lower and I won't even break even!" the slave merchant pleaded. "Besides, she knows many things. She can use Elven Magic, and she knows medicine..."

Claire's eyes flickered when she heard that. She knows medicine? My viscounty happens to be lacking a doctor...