Chapter 3
Chapter 3
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Ideal Type (1)
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Lian pondered deeply where things had gone wrong from the start.
It seemed his biggest mistake was expecting any sense of business ethics from a criminal right from the beginning.
It was the third day of crossing the sea on a fishing boat, following the one-legged smuggler.
He'd only catnapped the whole time, but once he finally fell into a deep sleep, he woke to find his entire body bound tight.
Naturally, all his belongings had been taken.
"Mmph! Mmmph!"
Lian wanted to curse, but with a gag stuffed in his mouth, even that was impossible.
If only that damn hallucination had warned him a little sooner.
As it was, the whisper came right before he succumbed to sleep, making it a pointless warning.
"Heh heh. Don't look at me with those resentful eyes, kid. I'll get you to the destination proper."
Though that's what he said, the boat was heading toward some remote island.
It looked like an uninhabited rock with not a single building in sight.
As they drew closer to the island, the smuggler steered not toward the shoreline, but toward the coastal cliffs.
From afar, it was impossible to tell, but behind the reef walls jutting up like folding screens lay a hidden sea cave.
"I wonder if everyone's still doing alright."
The coastal cave connected to a massive cavern deeper inside the island.
The cavern's ceiling had a vertical shaft punched through it, allowing sunlight to pour in.
And beneath that light, a small settlement had formed.
"Hey, friends! Been good?"
The smuggler cheerfully waved to the rough-looking men at the dock.
But they just gave him cold stares, not bothering to return the greeting.
They looked the type—pirates or something similar.
"Kid, see those nasty bastards? Better behave and come along quietly."
"Mmmph!"
The boat docked.
Lian was dragged by the smuggler to a building at the center of the settlement.
"Hey there, Boss! Long time no see!"
Inside sat a burly man whittling wood with a knife to pass the time.
"Well, if it isn't you. Thought you were done for when they said you got caught, but you're still kicking?"
"Kekeke. Cost me this, though."
The smuggler grinned cheekily, lifting his wooden leg.
Lian wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but the boss's gaze toward the man seemed unusually fierce.
"What about your brother? He buy it?"
"Bro lost a hand, but kept his head. He's back home now, slinging sour ale."
"I see."
The boss's harsh gaze finally shifted to Lian.
"So, that's the only merchandise you brought this time?"
"Times are tough these days. And it's been a while since the last run."
"Fine. Let's take a look."
Tap, tap.
At the boss's beckoning finger, the smuggler dragged Lian forward.
But the boss scowled at the bandages on Lian and the scabs beneath.
"What is this, a leper? Why bring a worthless cripple that won't sell?"
"Come on, don't judge a book by its cover."
The smuggler chuckled and unwrapped Lian's bandages.
Only then did the boss's eyes light up like he'd found treasure.
"Ho. This is quite..."
Lian's delicate features had returned to normal.
The swelling from the full dose of poison had subsided on the first day anyway.
And with the bandages off, his skin didn't look all that bad.
"What do you think? Top-shelf goods, right?"
"Ragged clothes, but underneath? Some noble young master? You really scored this one."
"Luck of the draw. Bro told me not to bother, but letting a catch like this go would be the real waste."
His brother must have had some conscience after all.
That must be why the hallucination's warning came a step too late.
The younger one, though—losing a leg and still not learning? Should've just taken his head.
"Heh heh. So, what's the payout this time?"
"Hold on."
The air grew heavy in an instant.
The smuggler's constant grin slowly hardened.
"Not long after your brothers got nabbed, those Bordian barbarian scum warships tore through our island."
The boss spoke as if he weren't Bordian himself.
The one-legged smuggler had said he'd deliver to the destination proper, and he hadn't lied.
"Th-that so?"
"They didn't find this spot, luckily. But we were pinned down for a couple months."
"Heh, heh heh. That's rough... Gahk!"
A sound like a hog's throat being slit.
Lian turned his head to look.
The knife the boss had been holding was buried deep in the smuggler's gut.
"So how the hell did those bastards sniff out this island? Hm?"
The boss yanked the knife free and slit the smuggler's throat.
The man staggered a moment before collapsing like a puppet with cut strings.
To betray them and then waltz right back on his own.
What an absurd idiot.
"Ho, look at this kid. Watches a man die without batting an eye."
Lian stared at the scene impassively, and the boss leaned down chuckling, matching his eye level.
"You've got some real guts. I like that."
Tap, tap.
The bloody flat of the knife prodded Lian's cheek.
"But here's the thing. Selling you off is more profitable. Why'd you have to be born with such a pretty face?"
Of course, his approval didn't change a thing.
Here he was, trying to escape serfdom, only to end up a slave instead.
He was clearly hated by fate itself.
The island where Lian was taken had quite a few kids his age.
Of course, they were all in the same boat.
Well, strictly speaking, not exactly the same as Lian.
"Hey! Chow time!"
Clang, clang, clang!
With the rattle of iron bars, watery grain slop was poured into a long trough.
The starving kids rushed it, shoving their faces in like animals.
Livestock, plain and simple.
"Here, yours. Eat up."
A tray of proper food was set before Lian, alone in his separate cage.
Hardened bread, pickled fish.
And turnip soup with sausage bits.
Simple, but better than what he'd eaten back home.
"Great. Should I be happy about special treatment like this...?"
"Ugh... grrr."
The kids' jealous glares stung amid it all.
But was it his fault for being top-grade merchandise?
Lian ignored the prickly stares and shoveled food into his mouth.
As the awkward mealtime wound down,
The boss arrived at the warehouse holding Lian and the kids.
"Hey, you feeding our precious goods properly?"
The kids, who had been licking the trough clean, froze and sat in neat rows.
Well-trained behavior.
Their trembling eyes told the story of how they'd been broken in.
"Top-shelf kid. Food to your liking?"
"Eh, a bit salty."
"Cheeky brat. You sure cleaned your plate for someone complaining."
"I like it salty."
The boss snorted at Lian's brazenness.
The kids across the bars looked bitterly envious of the reaction.
"Eat up good. Better plump than skin and bones for top dollar."
Sure enough, rolling around the cage eating all day was putting some meat on him.
Was starving them to delay shipping really smart?
No matter how he thought about it, no.
Sticking around this island offered zero upsides.
Even if escaping, better to wait until sold to the mainland—far more practical.
"So, where am I getting shipped?"
Still, fixating on his looks for value made him uneasy.
"You really wanna know?"
"It's my life. Of course."
The conversation looked set to drag.
The boss crossed his arms and leaned against Lian's cage.
"Madella Island market. One of the few ports that doesn't ask about origins."
"For real? Actual Madella?"
Lian’s eyes sparkled at the rare familiar name.
Madella Island lay off Castel’s mainland.
An island, but vast—once an independent kingdom.
And his original destination, too.
Though too far for a smuggler's little boat.
"How much am I fetching?"
"Hm. Dwarf gold coins, say a hundred? Good haggling, maybe twenty more."
A skilled dwarf craftsman’s two-week wage: one gold coin.
A hundred times that.
Knowing his face’s worth felt strange.
"How much for a slave who reads and does sums?"
"Why ask?"
"I can!"
But to Lian, his value went beyond looks.
"Depends on age and such, but usually thirty gold. Obviously, a hundred for you is better."
The boss answered with a yawn, tiring of the talk.
"Man, you suck at business."
"What?"
"Sure, the shell’s pricey, but the filling? You’re taking a loss."
"Hmph. True enough."
People were petty like that.
They’d profit no matter the price.
But like regretting selling stock too soon, awareness of more profit trapped them.
"And you’ll just dump premium goods like me on the market floor? Like dried fish?"
He had no interest in becoming some pervert’s plaything.
More importantly, he still had a dream unfulfilled.
On that Madella Island!
"Trust me once. I’ll get you at least two hundred gold easy."
Turning crisis to opportunity was the path to success.
Lian smiled confidently and declared it.
Castel lay directly south of Lian’s homeland Bordia, but felt culturally worlds apart.
Bordia evoked northern Europe; Castel, the Mediterranean like Greece.
The weather felt noticeably warmer, too.
"You really sure about this?"
Before a mansion on Madella Island.
Lian stood at the entrance with the boss, head draped in white cloth.
"Nothing to lose if it flops, right?"
Under the cloth, Lian’s face was resolute.
If it failed, the boss lost nothing—it’d be Lian paying the price.
In his view, the ideal spot for a slave sale.
Everything else? Busts.
"The master permits entry."
"Good. Let’s go in."
"Yes."
After minutes at the entrance,
Lian and the boss followed a spear-wielding guard into the mansion.
It felt like arriving at a resort.
The garden held plants Lian had never seen from forests or fields.
Fountains, marble statues, vibrant tapestries, porcelain.
Everything screamed luxury.
"The master awaits inside."
After the long corridor,
They reached the parlor where the mansion’s glamorous owner waited.
"I’ll negotiate alone as promised. Just watch."
"Just make sure you hit that price."
"Trust me."
Lian took a small breath and followed the boss inside.
A long sofa dominated the parlor’s center.
There sat a woman in sultry attire, buried in scrolls, awaiting them.
Her plunging neckline left nowhere safe to look.
"You two? The merchants with goods to sell me."
She eyed Lian and the boss alternately with bored disinterest.
Especially the boss’s grubby look seemed to disappoint her.
"So, where’s the merchandise?"
"Right here."
As if in answer, Lian removed the white cloth from his head.
"Oh my!"
The woman blushed faintly at his bare face.
First impressions: a pass.
The poison scars had vanished, skin flawless.
Even better, a few days of good food and rest made his beauty shine brighter.
"I’ve come to sell myself to the world’s richest woman."
Lian channeled an idol’s smile from his past life, exuding fresh, tangy allure.
Today, he’d pitch himself to the wealthy widow of his dreams.