Chapter 45: Bargaining is Important
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 45: Bargaining is Important
“Her mental state is far too unstable. I’ll give you 20 gold.”
“What? You want a virgin slave for 20 gold? Are you out of your mind?”
“Come on, give me a break on the price. If you give me a good deal, I’ll come back next time.”
“So you can try to buy cheap next time too?! Don’t play games with me! I don’t care if this is the bottom of the barrel, there’s still a standard price range!”
“Here’s the 20 gold.”
“Why are you talking like we already agreed on 20?! Hey! You! What’s wrong with your boyfriend? Don’t just stand there, stop him!”
“Hehe.”
“Don’t just laugh, say something! What is wrong with these people?! 20 gold, my foot. Do you think this is some common street market? Don’t you dare try to lowball me by 15 gold!”
“Oh, honestly. You’re trying to charge 35 gold for a girl who’s lost her mind? Boss, you’re really starting to hurt my feelings.”
“Gaaaah!!!”
The slave trader clutched his head, looking like he was about to go insane.
But I couldn't help it.
I couldn't pay full price for someone mentally unstable.
Even if Olivia was a Possessor who knew the Labyrinth Walkthrough, facts were facts. Besides, the slave trader had no idea just how valuable an asset Olivia could be.
If you don't know, you get played.
Since the trader saw Olivia as a lunatic rather than a 'Labyrinth Walkthrough,' I just had to pay the price for a lunatic.
That’s how the Labyrinth City works.
If you’re ignorant, you get stabbed in the back; it’s a place where it’s only natural for those who know more to fleece the fools. You have to keep your wits about you if you don't want to be robbed blind.
“Sigh. Fine. She’s a girl whose mind comes and goes. Fine. Let’s settle on 25 gold.”
“Let’s drop it to 22. Looking at her condition, it doesn't even look like she’s been washed properly. Her nutrition looks terrible, too. Let’s make it 22. Deal?”
“I’m going crazy. You look like an Easterner. How long has it been since you came to the Labyrinth City?”
“Six months.”
“Your adaptability is impressive, just like an Easterner. Well, I suppose your ability to adapt is why Lady Yuria is by your side. Haaaaa. Fine. Let’s do 22 gold.”
So he knew about Yuria.
Well, a red-haired female swordsman is famous in the Labyrinth City.
“Great. It was a pleasure doing business with you.”
“Yeah, yeah. Come back again.”
“Will do!”
Considering that virgin slaves usually trade for an average of over 30 gold, this could be considered an incredibly cheap price.
If Olivia’s mind had been intact, I never could have bought her for 22 gold. Then again, if her mind were intact, Olivia—with her knowledge of the Labyrinth—would never have ended up in a shop like this in the first place.
“Well, at least it’s a relief she’s being bought by someone from the same homeland. She’s still young, but she’s so far gone that I felt a bit sorry for her deep down.”
The slave trader said as he signed the certificate.
It seemed he actually did feel some pity for Olivia. He hadn't been able to manage her properly because her self-defense mechanisms were so extreme, but he must have been concerned.
“Here, this is the Slave Certificate. Be careful not to lose it.”
“What happens if I lose it?”
“You lose the way to prove she’s your slave.”
“Aha.”
As soon as I received the Slave Certificate, I tucked it into my Inventory. It was a vital item that would cause huge problems if lost.
“Well then, Olivia, make sure you eat well over there and stay healthy~”
Once the paperwork was finished, the dwarf slave trader bid her farewell in a refreshed voice, as if he’d just had a rotten tooth pulled.
Olivia clung tightly to my side and didn't answer.
“It seems she refuses everyone but you.”
“Looks like it.”
“Tch... that right side is my spot.”
Yuria slunk over to my left side. She looked jealous, but she couldn't bring herself to tell Olivia to move. Seeing Olivia in such a bad state, she probably didn't have the heart to force her away.
Yuria really has a good heart. Any other woman would have treated her like a slave immediately and ordered her to get lost.
“We bought her, but... hmm. Can we really use her as a housekeeper?”
Once we stepped out of the slave shop, Yuria asked tentatively. She hadn't opposed my decision, but she seemed to have internal doubts. Olivia was blind and her mental state seemed extremely fragile. Yuria was likely afraid that if we left the housework to her, she’d ruin the whole place.
“I didn't buy her to be a housekeeper.”
“Huh? Really? Then did you just buy her because she’s from your homeland?”
“No. That’s not it either.”
Olivia hung onto me silently. I glanced down at her and continued.
“She knows secrets of the Labyrinth that we don't.”
“What?! Secrets of the Lab—”
“Shh!! Yuria. Someone might hear.”
“Ah. Sorry. But is that true?”
“Probably. From the little we talked... it’s clear she knows something.”
“So you didn't just buy her because you felt sorry for her.”
“You know I’m not the type to spend 22 gold just out of pity.”
“True. Sion, you’re a bit of a... miser? A cheapskate? You have that streak in you.”
“A m-miser? A cheapskate...?!”
Am I really that bad? I’ve definitely poured all the money I’ve earned into Labyrinth strategies and such.
“Ah, I don't mean you don't spend money at all. It’s more like... how do I put it? You’re good at finding cheap things? Or should I say you’re obsessed with cost-effectiveness? You know what I mean, right? There’s that specific vibe Easterners have.”
In the Labyrinth City, there’s a perception that Easterners are money-grubbing and stingy. I suppose my personality combined with that stereotype made me look like a miser.
Still, 'miser' and 'cheapskate' are a bit much. I think 'efficiency freak' would be a better modern term.
Well, nothing I can do about it. I am interested in money. Back when I first transferred, I literally starved because I didn't have 5 coppers. If it weren't for my Subspace Pocket, I probably would have starved to death long ago.
‘The Subspace Pocket really is the greatest blessing of my life.’
If I didn't have it, I would have been broken and struggling just like Olivia. The Subspace Pocket is god-tier and invincible.
“First, we need to take her back and get her washed. Right?”
“She is in pretty bad shape.”
“Shall we head home?”
“Let’s. Sorry, Yuria. This was supposed to be a date, but I couldn't enjoy it properly.”
“It’s fine. Looking around the Black Market was fun. There were a lot of fascinating things.”
There certainly were. I’m glad Yuria has such an easygoing personality.
*
First, we went to Yuria’s place. I brought Olivia there to wash her and to hear the information she had about the Labyrinth.
“Alright, into the tub you go.”
“...”
“Olivia. Come on.”
“H-hot water... you’re going to boil me alive...”
Looking at the steaming bathtub, Olivia shook her head in terror.
Good grief, what on earth did she go through in the Labyrinth? Why does she see a bathtub and think of a boiling cauldron?
“No, it’s not like that. We’re outside the Labyrinth. No one is going to kill you.”
“No... I’m scared...”
Olivia refused to let go of me. It seemed she wanted to stay attached like this out of the sheer joy of finding a fellow person from Earth.
But this wouldn't do. Perhaps because her mind was half-broken, Olivia wasn't judging the situation properly. I didn't pay 22 gold for a toddler to look after. I paid 22 gold for a walkthrough that would actively provide me with information about the Labyrinth.
It would be a problem if she kept acting like this. Compassion and sympathy are things that grow for people I’ve built a relationship with. I’m not kind-hearted enough to unconditionally look after a complete stranger.
“Yuria. Pull her off me, please. I don't think we can leave her like this.”
“Got it! Come here, you!”
“Kyaaaa!!!”
Yuria roughly pried Olivia away. For a moment, Olivia wailed like a baby bird that had lost its mother.
“Olivia. If you want to be treated like a person, you have to act like one. If you’re going to stay in this state of mental regression, we have no reason to support you. If you want to eat warm meals, then move.”
“Hic...”
“Sion, she’s crying.”
“Don't, Yuria. Don't comfort her. I’m going to raise her tough.”
“Ooh. Sion, you’re a parenting genius. You have the same mindset as my mom. My mom used to scold me whenever I cried as a kid, too.”
“That’s because Olivia isn't our daughter. A slave and a biological daughter are different.”
“Is that so? Hehe. A daughter, huh? Hehe. I’ll go get the brush and soap.”
When I said I was treating her coldly because she wasn't our daughter, Yuria grinned and went to fetch the brush and soap. Mentioning children seemed to have her excited about the idea of marriage.
“Now, Olivia. I’m going to undress you, so stay still. If you keep clinging to me, I’m sending you back to the slave shop. You don't want to be separated from the first person from Earth you’ve met, do you?”
“Hic... No... I don't want to leave... please don't throw me away... waaaah...”
“Now, now, stop crying. We have to take your clothes off.”
I comforted the sobbing, hiccuping Olivia as I undressed her.
Her body was skeletal. Compared to Yuria or Moira, she was completely frail. Whether it was due to stunted growth or something else, her chest and everything else were severely lacking.
If someone had a thing for the slender type, maybe it would be different, but I’m not into bodies so thin you can see every rib. I’d have to feed her a lot to put some weight on her.
According to the slave trader, she ended up like this because she refused to eat even when given food. Whenever she regained her senses, she would struggle, saying she had to go into the Labyrinth. And when her mind was half-gone, she would regress into this childlike state.
If it weren't for the information about the Labyrinth, I wouldn't have bothered buying her. I started to feel a bit uneasy, wondering if I’d just brought home a burden. But I’d already bought her, and I couldn't exactly abandon her.
“Alright, Olivia. Get into the tub.”
“Okay...”
Olivia awkwardly stepped into the bathtub. As the warm water rose to her collarbones, she seemed to gradually relax.
“See? It’s nice and warm, right? I told you it wasn't boiling water.”
“Yeah... it’s warm. It’s really warm...”
Olivia’s expression softened. Soon, Yuria returned to the bathroom with the brush and soap.
“Wow, look at her body. She’s nothing but skin and bones.”
“I know. She looks like she’s about to collapse from malnutrition.”
“Should I go buy some food? All I have at home is alcohol...”
“I have ingredients in my Subspace Pocket, so you don't have to go out.”
“That’s a relief. I didn't feel like going out anyway.”
Yuria was also shocked when she saw Olivia’s body.
“By the way, Olivia, how old are you?”
“I... twenty? Twenty-one...? I’m not sure...”
“I see. Then from now on, call me Big Sister Yuria. Okay?”
“Yes... Big Sister...”
Yuria continued the conversation while washing Olivia’s hair. Seeing Yuria step up to take care of the slave I’d unilaterally decided to buy made me feel guilty.
“Sorry, Yuria.”
“Hmm? For what?”
“Sorry for making you babysit.”
“What? It’s fine. You said she knows secrets about the Labyrinth. I’m not just being kind for no reason, so don't feel burdened.”
“Thanks.”
Hearing Yuria say that eased the weight on my heart a little. Still, we couldn't keep looking after her like this forever. Olivia had to earn her keep.
“Olivia. Let’s finish the conversation we were having earlier.”
“Conversation...?”
“Yeah. About the Labyrinth. Secrets of the Upper Levels, hidden Mini Dungeons in the Underground City... things like that. And about the updates, too.”
“I’ll... tell you what I remember...”
Olivia cautiously began to share the information she recalled. They were things an ordinary adventurer could never know—hidden locations, secret elements, and even easter eggs.