146. The Value of Five Platinum Coins

“Nice to meet you. I’m the buyer who purchased you all.”

The iron bars were enchanted with soundproofing magic to prevent those inside from properly hearing outside conversations, so I stepped inside and greeted my newly purchased slaves with a smile.

Even if they were slaves, they were still my property, bought for over 30 gold each, so I needed to take good care of them to get the most out of my investment. That’s why I went out of my way to greet them with excessive kindness-maintaining a good relationship was necessary.

“I don’t know what you talked about outside the bars, but I have no intention of obeying you.”

“Ugh… I want to go home…”

“Radio abduction… pirate broadcast… restore the transmission tower…”

“This is insane.”

Despite my friendly greeting, the lizardwoman was extremely rebellious, the Alraune was crying like she’d been kidnapped, and the Dreamer was outright spouting nonsense about radio abductions-something that didn’t fit this world at all.

All three of them seemed out of their minds. Did I haggle too little?

‘I remember buying Olivia and Marin cheaply, so I didn’t haggle as hard this time. But the product condition is messed up.’

I immediately glared at the slave trader. A murderous glare.

“N-No! They’ll still work if you order them to!”

“Are you sure they’re worth the price?”

“Y-Yes, of course! Slaves are supposed to be rebellious-that’s part of the appeal, right?”

“Hmm.”

Well, I’d heard beforehand that the Dreamer was like that, so I’d let it slide. But the Alraune and the lizardwoman were the problem.

“Hey, Tellen. You shouldn’t be this unpleasant from the first meeting.”

“Hmph. Why should I act nice? I’m a slave. No matter what I do, I’ll never be free. It’s over for me!”

“You bitch. Hey. Didn’t you come here voluntarily?”

The slave shops in the black market were mostly filled with people who had gone bankrupt, those with criminal records who couldn’t find work, or those cursed to the point of being unable to live independently.

Because of that, the proportion of people who became slaves voluntarily was higher here than elsewhere.

“Voluntarily? Do you even understand how it feels to lose your home overnight and end up on the streets? This damn city. I never should’ve come to a place like this…”

Tellen began lamenting as if she’d been waiting for this moment.

“In this state, I can’t even leave the city. If I do, I’ll be hunted as a monster. And who would hire me? No one hires lizardfolk! It’s species discrimination! So my choices were either starve to death or become a test subject in the Magic Tower. In the end, I only had two rotten options… Voluntary? I was practically dragged here.”

She didn’t have the money to lift her curse. And no one would properly hire someone afflicted with the Curse of Transformation. If she left the city, she’d be hunted down.

Especially for those who transformed into reptilian or insectoid forms-apparently, it was much harder for them to find work.

In that situation, her home, which at least shielded her from the elements, was forcibly demolished. Barely scraping by day to day, the only paths left to her were starving to death, becoming a test subject in the Magic Tower, or becoming a slave.

“So in the end, you chose slavery because it was the least terrible option, right?”

“I became a slave to survive. But I didn’t know there was no way out once you became one. ‘A slave remains a slave until death’-if I’d known the system was designed to keep me trapped forever, I would’ve just died instead.”

It was true-once you became a slave, there was no way out. So that’s why she was so despairing.

“What do you want?”

“Freedom. Liberation.”

“But in your current state, you can’t get either. You didn’t have the money to undo the Curse of Transformation, right?”

“It’s as expensive as resurrection costs. I wasn’t as rich as you.”

“Suppose I gave you freedom. What would you do then?”

“I’d return to my hometown. Leave this city. Never enter the labyrinth again.”

“So going home is your dream.”

A simple dream.

It wasn’t easy to read her expression since she was a lizardwoman, but somehow, her eyes looked incredibly sorrowful.

After being transformed into a lizardwoman by the Curse of Transformation, she must have dreamed of returning to her hometown all this time.

“I can’t give you freedom and liberation outright. But since your situation is rough, I’ll do what I can to make things easier. I’ll at least let you write letters to your family back home.”

“Letters? Hah. Yeah. Letters sound great.”

“Don’t be sarcastic. You have to obey orders anyway. You know that.”

“Tch.”

“Let’s keep this civil. The harder you work, the more I’ll accommodate you. Maybe I’ll even let you visit your hometown someday.”

“As a slave? Looking like this?”

“What else can I do? If you work hard enough to afford lifting the Curse of Transformation, then maybe. But if you keep acting rebellious like this, I’ll have no choice but to treat you as just a tool.”

“…What kind of work do you want me to do? You’re just another pervert, aren’t you? Planning to spend a night with a lizardwoman, huh? You’re all the same. Just curious and wanting to play with me.”

“What the fuck?! What kind of nonsense is that, you crazy bitch?!”

This girl had some serious misconceptions from the start.

Sleeping with a lizardwoman? Is she insane? She’s not even human… What kind of disgusting shit is she spouting?

“No matter how broad my tastes are, how the hell could I sleep with something that isn’t human?! Are you out of your mind? Talk about an inflated ego!”

“That’s so mean! I was actually a popular item, you know?”

A popular item? Where the hell was she popular?

Are there really perverts out there who want to fuck lizardwomen? Like, do they actually want to get it on with lizardmen?

This is insane. I could maybe understand furries, but imagining sex with a bipedal reptile made me want to vomit.

“What the hell are you talking about? And don’t lizards have cloacas? Ugh, fuck. The thought of anal with a lizard is just… disgusting. Blegh…”

“Wha-?! You bastard, that’s so rude! I-I was… popular… I had… Ah…”

She’s pretending she was in demand when she wasn’t, isn’t she?

Now that I think about it, she’s probably a virgin. The idea that there’s even a market for this is bizarre. And if there was demand, she could’ve made money off it and wouldn’t have needed to become a slave.

“Ugh. Whatever. From now on, you’ll work as a maid in my mansion. Your job will be pest control and dealing with harmful creatures. So stop talking nonsense and do your damn job.”

“…Tch.”

I firmly crushed the rebellious slave’s pride and made her obedient.

The other two seemed relatively docile.

‘The Alraune just seems timid by nature. And that girl keeps spouting nonsense, but aside from that, she’s fine, right?’

Since I didn’t have a place to take them to right away, I decided to leave them at the slave shop for about two days.

I’d need to do some repairs on the mansion first. Taking them now would be pointless since I don’t even have a place for them to sleep.

“I’ll come pick them up in two days.”

“Got it. Sounds good.”

After leaving a deposit, I stepped out of the shop.

I’d bought my slaves. And I’d taken care of everything else I needed to do.

I could stop by the Magic Tower briefly before heading home.

‘Tomorrow, I’ll be dragged into a council meeting…’

It’d be better to sleep early today.

Every day is so busy. Soon, I’ll have to enter the labyrinth. I promised to go with the young lady’s party, but will my schedule allow it?

I’m not sure.

Right now, there are about three major things left to do.

First, moving into the mansion.

Second, securing labyrinth pioneering rights and Rafnel’s freedom at the city council.

Lastly, delivering the Spirit Beast’s Heart to the Druid Society.

‘I still have one more Spirit Beast’s Heart left.’

I used one to place Helena into the hatchling’s body.

Now there’s one left, and if I keep putting it off, I’ll probably forget about it. Since I remembered, I should quickly turn this into a summon.

‘I should go to the Druid Society first.’

Before starting serious labyrinth exploration, I should stop by and get whatever they’re offering.

I heard the society’s president was a Druid capable of handling this, but was that really true?

‘I’ll skip the Magic Tower today and just go to the Druid Society.’

I wasn’t sure if Olivia would still be there at this hour, but if she was still in class, I could take her home with me.

“Oooh? Shion?”

“Mr. Horaru. It’s been a while.”

“Here to see Olivia?”

“Yes. And I was also hoping to meet the Druid Society’s president.”

“Ahhh. She should still be here today. Want to come with me?”

“Yes. I’d appreciate the escort.”

“Oooh. Follow me.”

Following Horaru, I went up to the top floor of the society’s building.

Entering a room filled with a strangely soothing herbal scent, I saw an elderly gnome dozing off at a desk.

“President! President!”

“Wha-… Ah. Horaru. Who’s that human with you?”

“The one with the Spirit Beast’s Heart.”

“The young man you mentioned before?”

“Yep. That’s him.”

The Druid Society’s president scrambled up and grabbed my hand.

“Where did you get that?”

“Trade secret.”

“Fine. Are you willing to sell it? I have an urgent need for it.”

“Huh? How much?”

“Five platinum coins.”

“……”

I hadn’t planned to sell it for anything under 100 gold.

But five platinum coins? 500 gold?

“……”

For a moment, I was consumed by indecision.

Should I sell the Spirit Beast’s Heart and secure a lump sum?

Or just use it to summon another familiar?

This is insane. 500 gold is an absurd amount.

It’s the kind of money an adventurer could never hope to touch in their lifetime.

The Spirit Beast’s Heart, which I’d obtained through bartering monster corpses, had returned to me with a value of 500 gold.

I wonder how the Saintess would react if she heard this news.

The Saintess, who gave me two Spirit Beast’s Hearts in exchange for three bottles of Exir and Killer Bee’s Royal Jelly.

I never expected it to fetch such a high price.

“What do you say? Won’t you sell it to me?”

500 gold. It was too much money to refuse.

But when would I ever get another Spirit Beast’s Heart?

‘I’ll be receiving payment for hunting giants from the Frogman. And if I manage to recruit him…’

I might be able to get Spirit Beast’s Hearts periodically.

It’s not like they’re impossible to obtain. If I can descend to the 7th floor, I can even farm them.

But once they start circulating in the market, I’ll never be able to sell them at this price again.

I agonized over the decision.