Profession, Merchant Volume 6 Chapter 5

Chapter 5 – Venussa, V

“By the way, give me a list of all your slaves.”

Realizing his hopelessness, the man with the silver-rimmed glasses finally gave up and handed over the list.

There are 70 human males, 30 human females, 20 blue onis, 10 demons, 3 dark elves, and 2 lecher beasts (juvenile)――

That’s a lot of people.

“I don’t really care about your fate, but do you really have the ability to own and sell so many slaves all by yourself? At the very least, I know that we are in different trades. And I want you to know that if you fail, the debt collectors will be a lot worse on you than this pretty lady.”

Asks the slave trader with the silver-rimmed glasses. He’s implying that he has the connections in the slave market and that we should leave it to him, but I know he’s only saying that because he wants to increase his influence over me and eventually regain his position. After all, no merchant acts out of the goodness of his heart.

“You have misunderstood me. I won’t sell them. I will hire them all.”

“What?”

“First of all, I’m going to use those ships you used to transport slaves to transport weapons, magic ore, and magic equipment, which is what I specialize in.”

I continued, drawing a line through the list.

“That means, first of all, I’ll need people to load and unload them, and trustworthy ones at that. After all, this is unlike your goods, which can stand up and walk on their own and can be chained to stay in place.”

“So, what are you going to do?”

First, I will rehire you all as part of the ship’s crew. I’ve just been commissioned to transport magic ore, so I guess that’s all you’ll be doing for a while.”

“But hiring so many people… I know loading and unloading cargo is a daunting task, but what are they going to do when this cargo shipment is over? All these people can’t be sailors forever, can they?”

“Of course not. Once this is over, some of them will be transferred to the factory I have invested in and to the magic ore mine where I own some of the rights. This is where the rest of you will be relocated.”

When I handed the list of names back to the man with the silver-rimmed glasses, he looked at me suspiciously.

“Wait. There are slaves on this list too. You want to hire slaves not as slaves but as regular employees?”

“In the long run, it’s more efficient than treating them as disposables, but you don’t have to worry about that. What you and your men need to worry about is how to take full advantage of your expertise in operating your huge ships and sell those services to me. And as I said before, I will pay you at your own asking price.”

“You are a strange merchant.”

“I know.”

And so, despite all my efforts to get quotes all afternoon in vain, I had secured a more stable and submissive subcontractor.

And I think it was going well until one of the slaves shouted.

“I’ve had enough of having my life tied up by others! As the female warrior said, release us and set us free.”

Judging by the tone of his voice, he must have become a slave recently. For he reeks of half-trained obedience. But all it takes is one agitator for the others to get caught in it and set the flames ablaze.

Of course, I acted immediately and quietened the man with “Shut up!” after talking about the consequences if they disobeyed. The others followed suit, but I could sense that they were just going with the flow and couldn’t help but be curious as to what I, their new owner, would have to say to them.

“That one who was shouting earlier, that was you, wasn’t it? May I ask what you intend to do once I set you free?”

I ask the agitator.

“W-well, first, I’m going to find a job that suits me.”

“Do you think I have time for jokes? Talk to me seriously.”

“I am very serious. Aren’t we human beings? And as a dignified species, it is our right to decide for ourselves how to live, and that includes choosing our own livelihood.”

He really seems to believe this. Wow.

“Let’s say you’re an excellent person who has the ability to quickly get a job you want on your own. What about the others? Like I said, even if I set you all free, most of you won’t make it and will die in the canals at this rate.”

“That is just a matter of self-reliance. It has nothing to do with our freedom here!”

“You know, let me teach you something. True freedom can only be enjoyed when it’s accompanied by restrictions. As for your dignity as human beings? That’s bullshit. When did humans become a dignified species? And if you think humans are so dignified, why did you end up as a slave in the first place, I wonder? Didn’t think of that first, huh?”

“T-that’s just your own reckless opinion!”

“That’s enough, mate. Hey, listen up, everybody! If you stay with me, I won’t give you freedom, but I will guarantee you food, shelter, and a minimum of medical care as long as you do a normal job for me! But if you still don’t want that and want to enjoy your so-called freedom in the hostile outside world, you are free to leave now!”

In the end, no one left, including the firebrand idiot.

Once I had the situation under control, I instructed the guy with the silver-rimmed glasses – now my subcontractor – on the finer points of how the slaves should behave. Basically, it’s about the men doing the heavy lifting and the women supporting them by providing food, drink, and personal care. Incidentally, I don’t have the know-how to give instructions on the spot, so I’ve simply handed over the management of the slaves to the silver-rimmed glasses guy, with me having the final say on what they do and how they’re treated.

Seeing how quick he was at it, I have indeed found a suitable sub-contractor.

However, the man with the silver-rimmed glasses still needs a bodyguard, so I plan to hire the bouncer duo again. But that will be for later, once rumors have spread throughout the city that they failed to protect their client and ran away, ruining their reputation completely. That way, I can hire them cheaply, as they will have no other people to help them at that point.

I can see they’re reasonable people and good at their job. But they have touched my stuff. So I’m not going to let them get away with it easily.

○●○●

“Hey, I’m hungry.”

The female warrior suddenly blurted out. By the time I realized it, it was already dark.

“I still have a few things to do, so if you can’t stand it, you can go ahead and eat first.”

The female warrior held out for a few minutes, but after complaining two or three times, she couldn’t hold it any longer and left.

After watching her go, I asked the slave trader.

“Hey, silver-rimmed. You have those dark elves, right?”

“Hm? Yes. There are three of them. Why?”

“I want to take them back to my hotel. I have a little something I’d like to try.”

“You… well, I should have expected that from a person with the title of ‘The Pervert’ in the business world. You sure don’t waste your chances. No, maybe the reason you claimed ownership of the slaves right away…”

“Huh? Wait, no, you’re wrong… I’m not taking them to perform such acts, I swear!”

“Okay, okay. It’s not like I have a choice here since my debts are at stake. I’ll leave it at that.”

The guy with the silver-rimmed glasses leaves, only to return with the dark elves.

They have exotic brown skin, green eyes, beautifully sculpted figures, and faces devoid of expression. However, one look and you can see the different personalities of the three.

I kept insisting that I had no ill intentions in bringing the dark elves back to the hotel. But it was all in vain because they didn’t believe me, no matter how hard I tried.

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