Chapter 98
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 98
Chapter Title: Impulse Purchase
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After finishing their business, Ian and his crew returned from the Monster Market.
Late afternoon.
It was normally the time when everyone would be off doing their own thing, but right now, they were all gathered in the lounge.
And it was all because of something Ian had bought at the market.
Most of the materials had been too large to carry, so they'd been shipped to the warehouse. But there was one item he'd brought back himself.
"……."
"……."
Everyone gathered in the lounge, silently staring at what Ian had bought from the market.
He was the type to boldly purchase utterly random things, after all.
But what Ian had bought this time… was a person.
All eyes darted back and forth between Ian and the mercenary slave standing beside him.
The captain… had bought a slave.
In this awkward situation where no one knew what to say, they kept stealing glances at each other.
The uncomfortable silence dragged on for a moment.
Then Lia stepped forward cautiously as the representative.
"…To the underground dungeon?"
"Nothing like that."
At Ian's firm reply, Lia retreated with a slightly disappointed look.
But for the new mercenary here—especially one who was a slave—it must have sounded a bit chilling.
The mercenary standing next to Ian flinched.
U-Underground dungeon?
Hearing such a sinister term, the slave mercenary recoiled in horror, shrinking back even more.
The mercenary quickly took a step sideways, eyeing Ian warily.
Suspicion and caution.
Ian nodded quietly to himself as he met that gaze.
Of course.This is the normal reaction.Blindly following someone who just bought you as a slave would be the weird part.
…And it wasn't just the new mercenary. Even his own crew was looking at Ian with slightly suspicious eyes.
It seemed like it would take some time to ease their wariness and fully accept her as one of the team.
Ian pursed his lips, watching the mercenary who was anxiously scanning her surroundings.
She was a mercenary named Airi, purchased from a slave shop near the Monster Market.
Airi. C-rank mercenary.
No affiliation, naturally.
Her offense: failure to repay debt.
She'd borrowed money and failed to pay it back within the term.
Purchase price: equal to Airi's debt amount.
In other words, Ian had covered Airi's debt, and in exchange, he gained the right to use her as a slave for two years.
This was the structure of slave labor here: working under the person who paid off your debt for a set period.
Of course, she wasn't a true slave. Since it was labor servitude, you couldn't treat her like actual property. You had to provide minimum wages—even if meager—along with food and shelter.
Because of this setup, capable slaves sold quickly due to high demand.
Conversely, those with massive debts or low utility didn't.
You had to earn more than the debt amount through that slave during the usage period to profit.
If you couldn't exceed that within the term, it was a loss—so no one bought incompetents.
If they didn't sell by the end, they got shipped off to places like quarries.
Ian had learned that from the sales staff when buying her.
"So, Captain. Why the sudden slave?"
The murmurs among the crew had finally settled a bit.
Hearing the question, Ian first introduced Airi to the gathered members.
"This is Airi. Our new member."
"A prisoner…?"
Lia asked with a worried expression.
The others wore similar faces, even if they didn't voice it.
They'd expected new recruits soonish.
But no one had anticipated a slave mercenary.
"If it was robbery or something, I wouldn't have bought her… but it was just debt."
He'd gotten her basic background at the market during purchase.
She'd been freelancing as a mercenary, ran short on funds, borrowed operating costs, then botched missions back-to-back.
Interest piled up, funds dried out. Eventually, she couldn't repay.
No gambling involved, so among the slaves there, hers was the mildest reason.
"Plenty of people want to join, so why a slave…?"
Lia muttered.
She was right; applications were flooding in even now.
The corps' name was getting known, and their facilities and wealth were impressive.
Open recruitment would draw hordes.
He did plan to hire staff soon and hold public recruitment eventually.
But he couldn't pass up Airi's stats.
[Agility Boost D] [MP Boost D] [Archery C] [Stealth A]
[Weapon Magic Imbuement B] [Dark Affinity C] [Misfortune] [Scouting B]
[Dependent] [Poor Conversationalist] [Weak to Pleasure] [Masturbation Addiction]
When Ian checked Airi's stats at the market, one thought hit him immediately.
This is a 'coconut opener' type…
It was intuition born from countless hours playing this game.
"Coconut opener" was slang for characters with niche, specialized performance.
To put it simply, like a coconut opener tucked away in a kitchen drawer.
A tool you rarely need, gathering dust in the drawer. Useless most of the time.
But very occasionally.
The game threw a coconut at you.
In that moment of panic with a coconut staring you down.
That's when the coconut opener shines, effortlessly solving the tough spot.
Low overall efficiency, but extreme specialization for rare, hyper-specific scenarios.
That's what it meant.
Looking at Airi's vague, hard-to-pin-down trait combo, Ian felt that instinct.
I want to keep her around.
The collector's urge hit hard the moment he realized it.
He needed a ranged specialist anyway.
Rationalizing it that way, Ian bought her on the spot.
Honestly, her archery didn't look great, but with good gear, she'd handle basic ranged support fine.
For those reasons, Airi was hired as the Ian Mercenary Corps' ranged attacker.
"You'll be working with our mercenary corps from now on. Nice to have you."
Ian said to Airi.
Since the captain had decided, no one pushed further.
Airi glanced at Ian, the man who'd bought her.
Haa.
How the hell did I end up a slave?
Airi let out a small internal sigh.
This could've been avoided.
It was pure, relentless misfortune.
Then again, she'd never had good luck. Who could she blame?
Airi peeked up at Ian's face, then their eyes met.
Feeling a twinge of pressure, she quickly looked away.
Panicking, Airi stared at the floor, trembling.
She'd lost sleep worrying who might buy her, imagining all sorts of fates.
And it was a man, no less.
Their eyes had met a few times before, and that scrutinizing gaze had creeped her out.
She'd even suspected his motives.
Well, honestly, he didn't seem like the worst-case nightmare employer she'd feared.
A serious sleazebag—that was a relief. But the anxiety lingered.
Talks from men, eye contact—it wasn't something she was used to.
All the members being women felt suspicious too…
And she wasn't good at mingling. Joining a mercenary corps suddenly? That worried her most.
Two whole years here. How could she not fret?
She knew better than anyone: with her personality, she'd never fit in properly.
Eventually, they'd see her as creepy and off-putting.
She could barely converse.
Airi steadied her shaking chest with a tiny breath.
I need to fix this personality somehow.
That's why she'd never joined a corps, wandered forests solo, racked up debt, and ended up enslaved.
Two years ahead. Worry about the future already gnawed at her.
Can I even manage?
"…?"
Suddenly, Airi realized—belatedly—that everyone, Ian included, was watching her.
Feeling the multiple gazes, she shrank further.
Come to think of it… did the captain say something?
What was it? Nice to have you or something?
Her head heated up as she scrambled for a response.
What do normal people say to that?
She'd only traded rote phrases with innkeepers, shop owners, guild clerks for so long.
Anything off-script left her blank.
Ignore him, and he'll get offended.
Desperately, she hunted for words.
But Airi had always been tongue-tied. Conversations weren't her forte.
Unable to voice her tangled thoughts, she finally managed one word toward Ian—the one brewing in her mind all along.
"P-Pervert…."
It was Airi's first utterance.