Ch.187Exchange Conditions

After finishing our late breakfast, we went to the auction headquarters only to learn that the dark elf Calliope had already been sold.

The municipal theater that had been used as a temporary auction house refused to extend their contract, making the dark elf’s auction status uncertain. Apparently, a man named Gerald Pork had purchased her for even more than the expected winning bid.

According to Jessica, this Gerald Pork was a fairly well-known young businessman in Moon Lake. While on the surface he focused on tobacco and whiskey businesses, in reality he was closer to a loan shark. Rumors said he was very fond of female slaves, and after his father’s death, he fired all employees except young female slaves and turned his mansion into a slave harem.

When we visited Gerald Pork’s mansion, we could see that these rumors weren’t entirely baseless. After all, the woman in a suit guarding the front gate had a leather collar around her neck that looked like an S&M accessory.

“A collar of subjugation… She must be Gerald Pork’s slave too.”

“But don’t rich people like him require appointments before meeting? Is it okay to just show up like this?”

“I don’t expect to meet him right away either. Today I just came to locate the mansion and convey our business.”

“We might get turned away with him saying adventurers like us aren’t worth meeting.”

“Haha… that’s possible.”

If we could at least schedule a future meeting, I’d consider it a success. With that thought, we approached the employee guarding the mansion, and then—

“Well, welcome! I’m Gerald Pork, the owner of this mansion and president of Pork Corporation.”

Just ten minutes after smoothly passing through the mansion gates and being guided to the reception room, we found ourselves face to face with Gerald Pork.

“This actually worked…?”

“What’s wrong? Didn’t you come here because you had business with me?”

“Well, yes, but… I never thought we’d be able to meet you on the same day we visited.”

“Hahaha! That’s true. Someone of my stature typically requires an appointment and at least a week’s wait before you might get to meet me. Hmm.”

Gerald Pork accepted a cookie from the slave maid sitting right next to him, then continued with a smirk.

“You were lucky. I just happened to have finished all my business talks yesterday and returned, and I was also quite eager to meet that elf lady of yours.”

“Phillis? Why?”

“Phillis, is it… A name as beautiful as her face. Well, it’s simple. Thanks to Miss Phillis causing a commotion at the auction house, the dark elf remained unsold, and I, who returned to Moon Lake later, was able to purchase her. In other words…”

Gerald Pork’s smirking expression suddenly changed to that of a scheming courtier plotting something sinister.

“I was able to get my hands on a dark elf woman all thanks to Miss Phillis. Don’t you think it’s only natural that I’d want to see the face of the woman who brought me such good fortune?”

Gerald Pork licked his lips, took a sip of the coffee in front of him, and then leaned back comfortably against the sofa.

“So, what’s your business? If you’re here to tell me to hand over that dark elf immediately because you need to kill her, that would be problematic.”

“You needn’t worry about that. Now that Calliope’s ownership has been formally transferred to Sir Gerald, I intend to set aside my personal grudges and respect the laws of the colony.”

“Sir Gerald… Mmm, I like that title. Anyway, so?”

“Um, well. Actually—”

Despite being flustered by Gerald’s excessive reaction, Phillis calmly explained why we had come to this mansion.

The dark elf Calliope that he purchased was the criminal who attacked Phillis’s hometown five years ago and kidnapped her older sister.

She became an adventurer and has been traveling to rescue her kidnapped sister.

She thought that by using the effects of the collar of subjugation, we might be able to find out the whereabouts of her kidnapped sister.

“So in short, you want me to order the dark elf to answer your questions honestly so you can extract information about your family member’s whereabouts?”

“That’s right.”

“Hmm~”

After listening to Phillis’s story, Gerald put his hand on his chin, thought for a moment, and then—

“Why should I do that?”

He asked back in an indifferent voice.

“What…?”

“I mean, I understand you have a touching situation. But there’s nothing in it for me if I grant this favor, is there?”

“Of course, I’m not asking for a free favor. Since I’d essentially be borrowing your slave, I’m willing to pay an appropriate fee.”

“An appropriate fee~? Ha! That’s ridiculous.”

Gerald dismissed our proposal with a snort and said with an arrogant expression:

“Listen, for a deal to work, the value of the conditions offered by both sides should be somewhat similar.”

“And?”

“Think about it. For you, the ‘information about the separated family’ that the dark elf has would be tremendously valuable. Especially for that elf lady… Miss Phillis, it’s information so desperately wanted that she’d be willing to give up her entire fortune for it. Isn’t that right?”

“Well… that’s true.”

“And what is this ‘appropriate fee’ you’re offering in return? A few hundred gold? A few thousand gold? Would I really consider that money as desperately as you consider your separated family? Me, Gerald Pork, president of Pork Corporation and one of the wealthiest men in Moon Lake?”

Having said that much, Gerald Pork picked up a cookie from the tray held by the maid beside him.

“Any ‘appropriate amount’ that adventurers like you could offer is worth less to me than this limited-edition cookie from a famous brand. Don’t you think it’s too brazen to demand something you desperately want while offering something of no value to the other party in return? Hmm?”

“So you’re saying we should offer compensation that has as much value to you as family information has to Phillis.”

“Exactly! Now we’re starting to understand each other.”

Though his tone and attitude were somewhat irritating, his argument had its own logic.

The point was not the absolute value of the exchanged conditions but the relative value—a trade where both parties could be equally satisfied.

“So, what kind of conditions would satisfy you? We’ve collected valuable materials, magical tools, and artifacts through our adventures. If there’s something you want, we’ll try our best to accommodate.”

“Magical tools and artifacts aren’t bad, but since I’m dealing with adventurers, there’s one request I’d like to make.”

“A request? What kind?”

“Do you know anything about the Silver Wolf Tribe’s treasure?”

At Gerald’s question, I glanced at Jessica, but she shook her head, indicating it was news to her as well.

Seeing our reaction, Gerald continued as if he had expected it.

“It’s natural you don’t know. It’s basically a story that only circulates among the Silver Wolf Tribe, and I only heard about it once by chance.”

“What kind of treasure is it? No, more importantly, if this is a request to plunder the natives’ treasure, that’s something we can’t accept no matter what.”

“I’m not making such an illegal request. The Silver Wolf Tribe’s treasure is a kind of prize awarded to anyone who passes a certain ‘test.'”

“If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be more honorable for Sir Gerald to challenge the test himself and obtain it?”

“I’d like to do that if I could. But how could someone like me, who’s not even an adventurer, pass a test designed for beastfolk, who have superior physical abilities even among the natives? Besides, I’m not in a position to take such risks carelessly.”

“So if we pass the test and obtain the Silver Wolf Tribe’s treasure, you’ll exchange it for cooperation in interrogating Calliope?”

“That’s exactly it. You’ll be satisfied because you can find your comrade’s family, and I’ll be satisfied because I’ll get my hands on the Silver Wolf Tribe’s treasure that I can’t obtain with my own power or money. Isn’t this a fair trade where both parties are satisfied?”

The Silver Wolf Tribe’s treasure…

I’m concerned that we might incur the displeasure of the Silver Wolf Tribe if we hand over a prize meant only for those who pass the test to a third party, but it seems we have no choice but to accept this condition to extract information from Calliope.

“Alright, we’ll accept the request. However, we’re currently under a stay request from the Pioneer Project branch, so we can’t leave Moon Lake right away. It shouldn’t be a problem if we start moving after that issue is resolved, right?”

“Of course. You’re the ones in a hurry, not me. If you find the treasure and I happen to be away on business, talk to the slaves who remain and make a separate appointment.”

“Got it. We’ll do that.”

Having concluded our negotiation with Gerald Pork, we immediately left the mansion and decided to start gathering information about the Silver Wolf Tribe’s treasure.

All to get information about Phillis’s sister from Calliope as soon as possible.

~ ~ ~ Shortly after Will’s party left, at Gerald Pork’s mansion ~ ~ ~

“Phew~ They were all such beautiful women, what a shame.”

Watching Will’s party leave from the mansion window, Gerald Pork licked his lips.

Even while doing so, he was fondling the breast of the maid he had his arm around, his own way of expressing regret.

“Why didn’t you set a condition for a night with that elf woman, Master?”

“I did consider it at first… but I was wrong. That elf Phillis already seems to be that gunslinger’s woman.”

“Not the red-haired human woman?”

“Her too, of course. If my guess is correct, all four women who visited today are William the gunslinger’s women. Damn, a mere adventurer with a harem of different races, not knowing his place…”

There was one particular talent that Gerald Pork possessed, though it wasn’t widely known.

He had a keen eye for determining whether a woman before him was a virgin or not, and whether she harbored feelings for another man.

And this talent was the decisive reason why only young female slaves around the age of 20 remained in this mansion.

“Ah, the more I think about it, the more regrettable it is. If only she had been a virgin, I would have taken her by any means necessary. Tsk…”

After his father Andrea Pork died, Gerald fired most of the employees working in this mansion.

Among them were veteran butlers, maids who had assisted his father, and debt slaves owned by his father.

He kept only young female slaves around the age of 20 whom he had personally acquired.

More precisely, ‘virgin slaves who had never mixed bodies with or harbored feelings for other men.’

Indeed.

Moon Lake’s wealthy magnate Gerald Pork was not only a female slave enthusiast but also an extreme virgin fetishist.

That’s why his interest in Phillis quickly cooled, and after observing Jessica and Seti, he became confused.

His virgin-detection ability, which boasted over 95% accuracy, failed to discern that Mina had no experience with men.

‘Damn, how does that William guy manage to keep such beauties, one from each race, by his side?’

For the first time in his life, he felt inferiority as a male human toward a peer.

Gerald Pork was a cunning man, so he was somewhat aware of what made him superior and what made him lacking compared to other men.

But that would soon be a thing of the past.

If those adventurers return with the Silver Wolf Tribe’s treasure, that would be the moment when Gerald Pork would be reborn as the most superior man in the world.

‘I will… become the Harem King!’

The important thing is not giving up.

Dreams do come true.

Gerald Pork sincerely believed that day was not far off.