Slave Merchant

The tutorial in the book wasn't too difficult, as it covered the most basic things. Claire only spent an hour or two to grasp the general idea. There were so many Magic Beasts in this world; even if she couldn't use them now, they would surely be very useful in the future.

For example, the mounts used by the royal guard of the neighboring Kingdom were Griffons. That was one of the neighboring Kingdom's state secrets. Besides their Kingdom, very few other Kingdoms knew how to control Magic Beasts like Griffons.

Claire pondered how she should get a few Dragons for her Knight Squad to ride in the future. Pure-blooded Dragons were impossible. Once Dragons of that caliber matured, they would be legendary creatures at the Archmage level. A single breath from them could turn Claire, who was only an Intermediate Mage now, into nothing but ash. However, getting a few Dragonkin, like Two-headed Dragons, was still feasible.

Claire woke up very early in the morning. Generally, Mages didn't need much sleep; meditation could replace it.

After breakfast, under Regan's guidance, Claire walked to the construction sites. The construction workers there stopped their work upon seeing Claire arrive and saluted her.

"Greetings, Viscount!"

Claire flashed a friendly smile. "You all carry on with your work. I'm just here to take a look."

The city had specialized architects, so Claire didn't need to worry about those aspects. She was just here to check on the progress.

The foundations were already laid, and the next step was to build the houses on top. Claire wasn't looking for the ornate architecture of her previous life; she only needed structures that met functional requirements. At this pace, it was estimated that these buildings would be completed within a week.

The progress wasn't outrageously fast, mainly because there were so many people. When the citizens of the territory heard that Claire was building a Hospital and a School, anyone who was free rushed over to help. Hundreds of people were working on each building. If it weren't for the lack of sufficient light at night, they probably would have implemented a two-shift work schedule.

Compared to the construction of the Hospital and School, the underground sewage system was progressing much more slowly. After all, everyone lacked experience in this area. Usually, they would just dump sewage and garbage outside; there was no such thing as a sewage pipe system.

However, after Claire issued that announcement, the residents of Nafu City also spontaneously began cleaning the garbage and filth from the streets. At least, Claire could no longer smell the pungent odor when walking on the streets.

Moreover, under Claire's explanation and guidance, it was unclear if the architects had understood, but they seemed to have grasped something. They had been digging sewage pipes under Nafu City non-stop these past few days, and it was shaping up to be quite similar to what Claire had in mind.

Seeing the city gradually improve under her hands, a sense of pride welled up within Claire.

However, before she could explore much further, Regan reported something to Claire.

"Young Master! There are Slave Merchants outside the city."

This world was more than just feudalism. Below the Orc Empire in the west were many tribal Orc gathering areas. Located at the junction of the three central human Kingdoms was the Empire of Light, which was founded on religion. Therefore, although slaves were prohibited in some Kingdoms, they were not prohibited in the Kingdom where Claire was located. In fact, it was quite open, and some nobles even kept many slaves for entertainment.

"Let's go take a look," Claire said, feeling quite puzzled.

Slaves were mostly captured from defeated nations. However, the Kingdom where Claire was located was the easternmost one, and it didn't border many foreign Kingdoms where intense battles were fought. Thus, Slave Merchants were rarely seen. Even when they appeared, it was usually in prosperous places like the Royal Capital. It was even rarer for them to come to a remote place like her Barony.

As soon as they exited the city gate, Claire saw a long convoy of carriages, laden with rows of iron cages.

The iron cages were much larger than Claire remembered. The slaves confined within were not humans as she had imagined. They were giants over two meters tall with horns on their heads. Their faces weren't particularly ugly, but they were different from humans, more like... bull faces.

"Minotaurs?" Claire murmured in confusion.

The Slave Merchant, seeing Claire and her entourage emerge, knew that this young man was the lord of this territory.

He quickly put on a smiling face and approached. "This Young Master, with such distinguished bearing, must be the Viscount!"

"Mm!" Claire replied casually, her gaze still fixed on the Minotaurs in the iron cages. She had only seen such creatures in anime before.

The Slave Merchant, seemingly unfazed by Claire's perfunctory response, pulled Claire closer to the cages and introduced them. "Is Viscount interested in these Minotaurs? You can take one for six Gold Coins. I have twenty-three here, so you can have them all for one hundred and twenty Gold Coins!"

Claire frowned. The price wasn't exactly expensive, but she didn't know what she would do with these Minotaurs if she bought them. Perhaps buy them for farming? Or to increase the biodiversity in Nafu City?

While she was hesitating, a child from the crowd following Claire suddenly raised their hand and asked, "Uncle! Do you have any Beast-eared girls for sale?"

Claire's head snapped back. Did she have furries among her own citizens?

However, she then turned her attention back to the Slave Merchant's face. Compared to spending over a hundred Gold Coins on a bunch of Minotaurs, it would be better to buy some Beast-eared girl maids.

"Uh..." The Slave Merchant awkwardly scratched his head and explained, "Those Half-beastmen were already sold when we were in the Royal Capital. Only these Minotaurs are left."

His meaning was clear: if these Minotaurs hadn't been difficult to sell, he wouldn't have brought them to such a remote place.

That was indeed the case. Even when nobles bought slaves as guards, they would purchase Wolf or Cat tribe warriors. Bringing a group of Minotaurs out would invite ridicule from other nobles.

Seeing Claire hesitate again, the Slave Merchant quickly added, "Don't rush. Although there are no Half-beastmen... that is, what you call Beast-eared girls, I do have a Half-elf. Would you be interested in taking a look?"

Hearing this, Claire became interested. "Take me to see her."

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

The Slave Merchant pulled back the burlap, revealing the Half-elf confined within. She had fair skin, long, pointed ears, and a delicate appearance, exactly like the Elves Claire remembered.

As the burlap was pulled away, sunlight streamed in. The Half-elf raised a hand to shield her eyes from the glare, looking frail. She glanced at the Slave Merchant who had uncovered the cage, then at Claire standing beside him, before curling up in a corner of the iron cage, showing no interest in the outside world.

"I was right, wasn't I? She looks just like the Elves from the Half-elf and Elf forests. Are you interested?"

"Logically, Half-elf slaves like her should have been sold long ago in the Royal Capital. Why did you bring her here?" Claire asked, looking directly into his eyes.

The Slave Merchant wiped the sweat from his forehead and said with a fawning smile, "It seems nothing can be hidden from you, Viscount. Don't let her frail appearance fool you; she has a very strong will and doesn't speak Common Tongue. That's why none of the nobles in the Royal Capital chose to buy her. However, if you want to buy her, I'll give you a fifty percent discount. You can have her for fifty Gold Coins!"

Claire looked at him doubtfully. "Why would I buy something that no one else wanted?"

"Don't say that! I'll give you a seventy percent discount! Thirty Gold Coins. Any lower and I won't even break even!" the Slave Merchant pleaded. "Besides, she knows many things, she knows Elven Magic, and she knows medicine..."

Hearing this, Claire's eyes flickered. She thought to herself, She knows medicine? My Barony is in need of a doctor...