Chapter 4

I decided to buy the witch for 10 minutes with one large gold coin (100,000 goats) to negotiate the purchase of a slave.

The witch opened her cloudy eyes wide and stared at me, her mouth agape.

Suddenly, she crinkled her already wrinkled face and burst into laughter, clutching her stomach.

"Hehehe! What a fellow! You want to hire me to negotiate! And at an hourly rate, it’s about the going rate! I thought you were a dud, but you’ve got a sharp mind! I like you!"

"Will you take the job?"

"Sure thing! I haven’t laughed like this in ages! Hehehe!"

The slave trader started to panic.

"Hey, Cordelia! This is a problem!"

"What’s the problem? The slave is agreeing to these terms, so you have no right to complain. Or do you want to deny me my profit? That would be illegal!"

"Ugh... Fine, I get it!"

The slave trader reluctantly agreed.

The witch, with her cloudy eyes gleaming, leaned in and said to him,

"Then, Simon the slave trader! Let’s get this over with. Be prepared!"

"But... Cordelia, this slave is very valuable, and I’ve taken on her debt. I can’t lower the price that much."

"There’s no way this woman is worth 10 million! At best, she’s worth 500!"

The witch declared loudly.

The slave trader leaned forward, trying to argue.

"That’s outrageous!!"

"Hmm? Didn’t you lie to Alex and recommend her?"

"Lie? I didn’t lie."

"Then tell me, did you say that as an adventurer, a healer is essential for any adventure?"

"Yes, that’s true. A healer is essential."

The slave trader replied assertively but with a guilty look on his face.

—Why? That’s the truth, isn’t it...

The witch smiled wickedly.

"Then, is this woman registered as an adventurer?"

"Umm... That’s..."

—Ah! I see! I didn’t notice!

I couldn’t help but exclaim.

"I see! She’s essential for an adventurer party, but she’s never been an adventurer!"

"That’s right! She ran an orphanage, so she had no time to be an adventurer! This man misled you into thinking she could be taken on an adventure right away!"

The slave trader tried to defend himself.

"But a healer is still essential! She’ll be useful in time!"

"Only in a normal party! What did Alex say? He asked for a slave with common sense, someone who has been a hero and can only make a living as an adventurer. Yet you recommended this woman, who lacks the common sense of an adventurer! This is nothing but profiteering! She would need to pay extra for adventurer registration fees and equipment!"

"Ugh... Fine. 850. 50 for equipment, and 100 to hire the elf Cheryl."

"Too lenient! How do you judge if this woman is suitable for adventuring? She might scream at the sight of a spider or a frog! If she could make a fortune as an adventurer, she would have gone to the dungeon herself to help run the orphanage! A healer is in high demand in any party! Consider what would happen if she can’t become an adventurer—no, the likelihood is very high! 850 is too high!"

"Ugh... Then 700..."

"One more push. If you don’t want rumors to spread that this shop sells useless slaves..."

"Is this not blackmail..."

"Hmm, are you going to resist? Then I’ll spread the word that you stripped a homeless man of his living expenses and left him and the slave to die on the streets—remember, it’s the truth! This could violate the slave trade laws!"

The witch, with a smug smile, dropped the final bomb of legal violations.

The slave trader could only grimace with a pale face.

"Ugh... Fine... 600! No more..."

"Well, from your reaction when I said 500, I can guess the amount of debt. This is about the limit—how does this sound, Alex?"

The witch, slightly proud, puffed out her chest and looked at me.

—I was honestly impressed.

She took his word, pointed out contradictions and deceptions, and used assumptions and conclusions to lower the price. She even used a final threat.

It was a formidable negotiation technique to watch.

I shrugged and handed over the large gold coin.

"Thanks. You’re worth every laugh."

"Hehe. I don’t live longer than an elf for nothing."

The witch, smugly, took the large gold coin and put it in her pocket.

The beautiful elf woman exclaimed in admiration.

"I didn’t expect you to hire a capable witch on the spot... Truly, you are a hero."

"It’s nothing special. I’m a former hero."

The slave trader, preparing tools and documents, grumbled.

"You can’t win against Cordelia... Really..."

"This quick thinking is worthy of a former hero. You got the maximum effect in just 10 minutes! It was fun."

The witch cackled evilly.

Then we proceeded with the slave contract. It felt like I was being bled.

Just before the subjugation mark was placed, the healer in a nun’s habit looked up at me with apologetic eyes. She was a head shorter than me.

"Are you sure I’m suitable? As Cordelia said, I’ve never been an adventurer. I’m not sure if I can be of any help..."

"Probably, other jobs can be found in the guild. It’s hardest to recruit a healer."

"Yes, thank you... I am Liricia. I will do my best to serve you, Master."

"Thank you, Liricia."

Then the subjugation mark, composed of circles and triangles, was etched onto the back of Liricia’s hand. It felt a bit wasteful to see the delicate white skin marked, but it was good that it could be hidden with gloves.

The beautiful elf woman asked.

"Will you hire me?"

"For now, let’s see how things go. If we run into trouble on adventures, I’ll hire you again."

"Understood... Then, what will you do after becoming an adventurer, Hero?"

"What do you mean?"

"Will you defeat the Demon King or the Evil Dragon?"

"Let Marius do that. I plan to live as I please."

"That’s a shame..." The beautiful elf woman looked down sadly.

The witch, Cordelia, smiled.

"Let’s have fun again. I’ll be waiting."

"It’s too expensive to use often."

"That’s why you’ll be motivated to earn money, right? Hehehe."

The slave trader added.

"By the way, Cordelia can also make youth-restoring and immortality potions."

"Really? Even those?"

"I can’t make immortality, but I can resurrect the dead if the conditions are met. Rich people sometimes hire me for short periods."

The slave trader added.

"But it still takes at least a week or a month."

"I’ve never been hired for just 10 minutes before! 10 minutes! Hehehe!"

The witch laughed, her eyes narrowing in enjoyment.

It seemed my actions hit her funny bone perfectly.

—Well, she doesn’t seem to be a bad witch.

But youth-restoring... Maybe I’ll use it someday.

I want to be young again.

Most of my life has been wasted, and I want to start over.

I’ve been fighting monsters, believing it would help everyone.

But the world never became peaceful, and no Demon King or Evil God appeared for me to defeat.

...What was the point of my 30 years?

Thinking about it, I couldn’t help but ask the witch.

"Hey, how much does it cost to get a youth-restoring potion?"

The witch looked me up and down and smiled.

"How old are you now?"

"39."

"Right. A potion to make you 15 years younger costs 225 million goats. That’s just the material cost. Including my fee, it’s about 250 million in total."

"Too... too expensive..."

"Of course! It’s a highly advanced forbidden spell that combines holy magic, dark magic, and curses. If I have the materials, it takes 1-2 weeks to make."

"..."

I fell silent.

250 million.

250 million goats to be 24 again.

It’s an astronomical amount that I can’t even grasp.

I don’t even know if I can survive, let alone earn millions to reclaim my life.

Can I do it?

—But.

As I was thinking, Liricia took my hand. Her smooth, gentle palm.

Her violet eyes looked up at me with concern.

"What’s wrong, Master?"

Her long lashes framed her eyes, and her beautiful face was a sight that lifted my spirits.

—Right.

I have Liricia now.

So, first, I need to focus on living.

The priority is to create a stable living environment.

I’ll think about the rest once things settle down.

And the witch said, "Adventurers can earn a lot of money."

Maybe it will work out.

I felt hope fill my heart and smiled.

"No, it’s nothing. Let’s go to the weapon shop."

"Okay!"

We walked to the exit, holding hands.

I didn’t want to let go of her hand.

"Thank you for your business."

We left the shop, the slave trader bowing politely behind us.

Remaining funds: 39 large gold coins. 3,900,000 goats.

Thank you for the bookmarks and reviews! I’m so happy!

Maybe I’ll update the second chapter tomorrow.