Chapter 20

I bought a fire solo mage for five gold coins.

"May I explain a few things about purchasing a slave?"

"Yes."

"Then, slaves are essentially objects, so you won't be blamed for any treatment you give them. Additionally, if you want to resell them or terminate the contract, you can do so at the slave merchant's office for one silver coin."

There were other detailed explanations, and finally, we moved on to the contract.

"Then, how would you like to proceed with the master's part of the contract?"

"Please use this Lord Rain."

"Understood. Then, Lord Rain, to formalize the master's contract, please place your hand here."

He pointed to something, and when I looked at it with my divine eye, it read:

{Slave Contract Magic Stone}

A magic stone that can be obtained from a quest, where a red stone is used for the master's contract and a blue stone for the slave's contract.

A red stone was placed in front of me, and a blue stone in front of the girl.

"Then, I will proceed with the contract."

As I held the magic stone, it began to glow and then settled.

"The contract is complete."

(This is it... the contract is complete... it was so easy.)

"Then, we look forward to your next visit."

With that, I left the store.

---

From the Slave Merchant's Perspective

"Phew..."

A sigh escaped me the moment the three left the store.

(Hmm... From their attire, they are likely close to the Orion family, or possibly Lord Lond's son... Lord Lond's son... The second lady did give birth to a boy, I believe. His name was Prous, wasn't it? I only have information that the first lady's child was born, but I don't know if it was a boy or a girl... Lord Rain, Lord Rain... I should make a note of this. Whether this turns out well or badly, it seems he will likely visit again, so I must not forget.)

The next Duke, Lord Rain, has some issues with his skills, which is why he is not widely known.

Even this slave merchant didn't know.

---

From the Slave Merchant's Perspective (End)

I walked back home with the newly purchased slave, feeling quite elated.

(Yes! Yes! I successfully secured a slave! I was incredibly nervous, but it somehow worked out. When I tried to haggle over the price, my heart almost jumped out of my mouth...)

I was mentally exhausted, so I had a maid carry me and I kept looking at the slave.

Four knights were around her, and she was walking very nervously.

I was very worried that she might run away immediately after being bought. If that happened, I don't think I could recover.

(No, no, that's not going to happen. There's no way she would run away right after being bought.)

I was encouraging myself when we reached the gate of the castle.

The slave was quite cute, flinching at the sound of the gate opening.

She kept glancing at me every two seconds, so I decided to speak to her.

"Welcome to my home."

She flinched again.

(She's so cute. If I had met her ten years later, I would have asked her out. Of course, that's a lie.)

I don't have the courage for that.

When we entered, a maid I recognized from the castle was standing there.

"Welcome back, Lord Rain. Your father is calling for you."

"Really? I understand."

(What could it be? Did I do something? Maybe he just wants to hear about today's outing?)

I had the maid take the slave and give her proper clothes.

Then, I went to my father's office. The maid knocked on the door, and a voice called out.

"Father, I'm back."

"Welcome back, Rain. Did everything go well? Did you have fun?"

"Yes, nothing significant happened. I had a lot of fun."

"Hmm. That's good to hear. By the way, I heard a rumor that you were walking around the city. Is that true?"

"Yes! It's true!"

(I was holding hands and walking a bit faster than usual, but it shouldn't be a big problem, right?)

"Why? I heard the reason you didn't use a carriage. But why did you walk?"

"Yes! I thought there was meaning in walking around the city."

"Hmm... Your reasoning is sound, Rain. But as the next Duke, you should avoid such conspicuous actions."

"Yes, I'm sorry."

(Ah, so holding hands is not allowed either.)

"That's fine. As long as you understand. Be more careful in the future."

"Yes, Father. By the way, where is Mother?"

"Sophie? She will be back from the ball soon."

"Understood. Excuse me."

Later, I found out that a well-dressed boy walking with four knights in the town was quite a topic of conversation. My existence, which is not public, didn't become a rumor, but it was one of my black histories.

When I returned to my room, a maid and the slave were there. The slave was cleaned up and dressed like a maid-in-training.

"Hello, I'm Rain. I will be your master from today. Please take care of me."

"Ah!! I, I'm Skuna. P, please take care of me."

She stuttered.

One of the characteristics of a former bullied child is that they can speak normally when they realize the other person is clearly of lower status. If the other person was also a noble, the way of speaking would be different.

"Yes, I heard you can use fire magic. What level are you?"

"Still, my magic level is... 1."

Her voice was almost inaudible at the end.

I knew that, but I asked just to avoid looking unnatural with the maid present.

This is her status:

{Skuna / Lv. 5}

{Female / AB / 6528 / 10 / 6}

{Wolfkin / Slave}

{HP 38}

{MP 30}

{STR 25}

{VIT 21}

{AGI 28}

{Magic}

Fire Magic LV. 1

{Skills}

Did you notice? Wolfkin! That means she has... wolf ears!

Did you think I bought her because I didn't have money? No way. In the worst case, I could have asked my father for a loan. It was a bit risky, but I couldn't change the ears to dog ears. The earth mage was a human. Her face is not important to me right now. Personally, I prefer Skuna.

"Ah, can I touch the things on your head?"

I couldn't resist the urge to ask.

"Ah...!"

She froze, and so did I.

(Oh no, oh no! This is bad, I messed up the approach! No, physical contact is still too early, oh no, what should I do...)

I was panicking inside. When I needed someone to cover for me, the maid just stood there staring at me.

After a moment of silence, Skuna said,

"Ah, please go ahead."

And she knelt in front of me.

"N, no, it's fine, you don't have to..."

"N, no, I'm not forcing myself."

"S, sure? Then, I won't hesitate to touch them. Let's, um, sit on the bed while I do it."

As I guided her to the bed, the maid stopped me.

"Please wait."

"What? What's wrong?"

I have no intention of doing anything inappropriate.

"I'm sorry, but we cannot allow a slave to sit on the bed."

"Why not?"

"Because she is a slave."

...I was a bit irritated, but if that's the rule, I can't argue.

"Understood. Then, please sit on this chair."

"Y, yes!"

(What was that? So cute!)

The effect is doubled with wolf ears. I brought a chair, took off my shoes, and sat on it.

"Then, I will touch them."

"Y, yes!"

She said, and I gathered my courage to touch her ears.

"Ah, ah!"

She suddenly shouted, and I was startled and pulled my hand away.

"What's wrong? Did it hurt?"

"A, ah... S, sorry. I just wanted to ask a question."

"A, ah, a question. Go ahead."

She continued to touch her ears.

"Um, is Lord Rain a noble?"

She asked.

I like to tease people with meaningless lies, but that's one of my failures from my past life. A small lie can slightly reduce someone's trust, and before I knew it, it became something I couldn't fix.

So, I answered seriously and honestly.

"Yes."

"S, so you are..."

Silence fell again.

(Ah, I should have said something like, 'I'm the heir to the Duke, and it's quite challenging...')

My conversation skills are severely lacking, and I couldn't connect the conversation properly.