The slave merchant saw Claire stop walking and pressed his case. "Thirty Gold Coins is a very good price. Just look at how beautiful she is."
"No matter how beautiful she is, she's still a rose with thorns. I'd rather spend thirty Gold Coins on five Minotaurs. At least they've got strength. What does this Half-elf have? She can't even speak the Common Tongue. If I bought her, we wouldn't even be able to communicate."
The slave merchant smacked his lips. That was true. Otherwise, he would not have dragged the Half-elf and Minotaurs all the way here.
"Fine, if you don't want the Half-elf, you can take a look at these Minotaurs! Each of them can do the work of several men. They're absolutely first-rate workers."
Claire walked over to the Minotaurs and looked them over for a while before shaking her head. "I could buy them, but there's no need."
The slave merchant's face crumpled. Claire's viscountcy was already the most remote place around. Farther south, there was no land left—only the sea. He could not possibly haul these slaves all the way back.
With a pained expression, he pleaded, "Please think it over. I can give you a discount."
Claire sighed. "You've come a long way, and that must have been difficult. How about this? I'll give you one hundred Gold Coins, and you sell them all to me."
Although Claire now possessed more than five hundred thousand Gold Coins, she still had to save wherever she could. After all, it only cost her a few words.
Just as Claire expected, the slave merchant struggled for a moment before gritting his teeth, stomping his foot, and making up his mind.
"Deal!"
"The Half-elf is included in the ones I mentioned," Claire reminded him.
"Of course! She wouldn't sell anyway, so consider her a gift."
Claire did not bother Regan. She directly took a small pouch of Gold Coins from her Spatial Ring and tossed it to him. She still had one hundred Gold Coins on her.
"Let me ask you something. Is the Orc Empire still at war with us humans?" Claire asked casually.
The slave merchant opened the pouch and carefully counted the Gold Coins inside without looking up. "Of course. These slaves came from there. But there's no need for you to worry. The battlefield is separated from here by several human kingdoms. No matter how they fight, it won't spread this far."
Claire smiled. She was not worried; she had only asked in passing.
After counting the coins in the pouch, the slave merchant beamed. "Then these slaves are yours. When I get new stock in the future, I'll bring it over for you to see."
"Take care," Claire replied.
After the slave merchant had his men unload all the iron cages holding the slaves, he left with his convoy, kicking up a trail of dust behind him.
Claire waved a hand before her nose to disperse the dust and thought, I forgot about this before. Road construction needs to be put on the agenda too. Not to mention travel between Nafu City and the villages within the viscountcy—even outside merchant caravans would have a hard time getting in. If I want to develop the entire viscountcy, internal circulation alone won't be enough. I need to draw outside wealth in as well.
The iron cages rested on the ground. The Minotaurs inside watched the curious townspeople gathering outside, then lowered their heads.
"Can you speak?" Claire walked up to the Minotaur who looked the most like a leader.
He raised his enormous head and looked at her with round eyes. His innocent gaze, paired with that huge head, made him seem especially guileless.
Seeing that he did not answer, Claire tested, "Moo moo?"
"..."
"I can speak the Common Tongue. Since you bought us, are you our master now?" the Minotaur asked.
"It's good that you can speak." Claire simply sat cross-legged across from him. "How were you captured?"
"On the battlefield. We couldn't beat you, so we were captured," he answered honestly.
"How did you end up on the battlefield? Don't Minotaurs live in tribes? I rarely hear of any of you liking war."
"There was a famine in the village. We were starving with no way out. Then we heard that joining the Orc Empire's army meant we could eat our fill, so we went to war."
"That's it?"
He answered honestly, "That's it."
Click! Claire used the key to open the iron cage.
The townspeople standing nearby were startled by the sudden move and hurriedly retreated several steps. These were Minotaurs over two meters tall. One charge could turn a person into pulp.
Yet the Minotaur inside did not come out after seeing the cage open. Instead, he advised, "Maybe you should lock it again. They seem very afraid of me."
Claire almost burst out laughing at that. Sure enough, Minotaurs were just as the books described them—honest, simple, friendly, and unlikely to cause trouble.
"What's your name?"
"Iron Hammer."
Claire smiled. "Iron Hammer, right? Let's sign a contract."
"A master-servant contract? We already signed one before." Iron Hammer glanced at the parchment scroll in Claire's hand. It was the master-servant contract they had already signed.
Those master-servant contracts were not simple written agreements, but Magic Contracts. Claire could use that contract to decide whether they lived or died. That was why nobles could buy slaves without worry.
"Not a master-servant contract. It's an employment contract. You help me move bricks and build the city, and I'll make sure you eat your fill. How about that?" Claire smiled. These Minotaurs truly were strong. If they were used to build the city, construction would proceed much faster.
"Eat our fill... really?!" Light filled Iron Hammer's eyes. They had been willing to go to war just to eat enough, let alone move bricks.
"Not only that. If you earn enough money in the future, you can buy back your own master-servant contract from me and become free again. What do you think?"
"Great!" Iron Hammer said excitedly. It was hard to tell whether he was more excited about becoming free again or being able to eat his fill.
Claire then used the key to open the remaining twenty-two iron cages. The townspeople nearby felt the light dim before them as Minotaurs like towering walls filled their sight.
Seeing the curiosity and astonishment in the townspeople's eyes, the Minotaurs became uneasy and could only stand there, scratching their heads.
"Is it true that we can eat our fill if we work for you?" Iron Hammer asked again.
"Of course," Claire answered with a smile.
"Grrr~"
At that moment, one Minotaur's stomach happened to rumble. Everyone turned to look, and that Minotaur awkwardly wished she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
"It's fine! We can eat after we finish working!" Iron Hammer hurriedly said, afraid Claire would think they were trying to cheat their way into free food.
"Eat first. How can you work on an empty stomach?"
There were currently several hundred workers in Nafu City every day, so food supplies were plentiful. Before long, someone pushed out a huge basket of bread and chunks of meat from the city.
The moment they saw the bread, stomachs began rumbling one after another, like drums beating in succession.
But without Claire's permission, they merely stood where they were, wiping drool from their mouths without making a move. Claire nodded in satisfaction. This group of Minotaurs was quite obedient.
Then she said, "Eat."
The Minotaurs did not scramble for the food. Instead, they remained orderly. Iron Hammer handed out bread at the front while the other Minotaurs queued behind him. Once they received their portions, they ran aside to eat.
That put Claire even more at ease. Such order meant they could be managed. Coupled with the Minotaurs' naturally honest temperament, they should not cause much trouble in Nafu City.
However, she soon saw that the huge basket of bread had been more than half consumed. Claire had people bring several more baskets of bread and other food.
Yet the food they brought over quickly vanished at a visible rate. Even the nearby townspeople could not help exclaiming, "They can eat that much? Even after starving for three days, I couldn't eat so much."
"Won't they eat Lord Viscount into bankruptcy?" Someone had already begun worrying for Claire.
More and more people gathered to watch, though they were no longer particularly afraid of the Minotaurs.
Claire had people make five or six trips before the Minotaurs finally began eating more slowly. They ate even more than she had imagined.
Thank you to "The Sow in Your Backyard" for the five hundred Qidian Coins reward, and to "MRWHAT" for the one hundred Qidian Coins reward!!!!!
Also, whoever said they'd give me monthly votes if I updated twice a day, hurry up and vote! I update twice every day!
Before you continue