Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Outing Passes
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Entrusting the etiquette training to 'Dana,' who possessed a blessing, had been the right call.
"Lately, the overseers seem puzzled, saying it's easier to manage the slaves than before."
"Yeah?"
"Yes. It's presumed to be the result of the etiquette training. The slaves are stepping up first to maintain order among themselves and respect each other's boundaries, so minor quarrels and disturbances have dropped sharply."
"So they've developed a sense of personal space."
"Yes."
"Right. That's the importance of dignity."
The atmosphere in the slave dormitories had undergone a major shift.
Until now, the slaves had carried themselves like soulless objects or wild beasts.
But the ones who received etiquette training had gained dignity.
Before meals, they offered pre-meal prayers.
When greeting, they bowed at a modest angle, not overly exaggerated.
Their voices conveyed calm composure rather than lethargy.
And overall, they had developed an intuition for maintaining distance from 'other people' while showing consideration.
After all, doesn't everyone have their own sense of personal space?
Slaves often treated each other casually to a certain degree,
which sometimes led to petty squabbles when they invaded each other's territory.
In those cases, etiquette served as a fine guidepost for keeping appropriate distance.
These small changes alone drastically reduced the resources needed for oversight.
"The nobles who rented slaves also gave much more positive reviews than before."
"Really? That's surprising. I figured some would find it awkward."
"While slaves maintaining dignity feels a bit off, they say it feels like having a high-class slave or servant from noble stock, and they like it."
"Ah."
The evaluations for the 'slave dispatch business' had improved as well.
People naturally prefer using items that exude dignity and refinement.
Slaves were expensive commodities,
and a slave with manners was a rare and precious one.
Even if it wasn't their own possession,
just parading around with such a slave brought considerable satisfaction.
Even back on Earth in his previous life,
there were plenty of people who showed off by renting luxury cars or designer goods.
"Manners maketh man. Know what that means?"
"What does it mean?"
"Oh. You don't? Then let me tell you."
"......"
"There. I told you."
"......Pardon?"
Anyway, things were progressing smoothly on all fronts.
By gradually shifting perceptions of 'slaves' one step at a time,
and remodeling the slaves' own mindsets and values bit by bit,
an opportunity to emancipate them would come eventually.
So, it was time to implement another policy for that purpose.
"From now on, we're selling outing passes to the slaves."
"Outing passes? What's that?"
"Just what it sounds like—a right to go out. Can't have too many leaving at once, so we'll limit the quantity and sell them expensive."
"......"
Outing passes.
A right to spend 24 hours outside, living as a 'free person.'
A system inspired by some gambling manga.
If they gradually grew accustomed to the sensations of a 'free person' like this,
they could accept emancipation more naturally when the time came.
Most slaves who got freed ended up back in slavery anyway,
largely because they weren't used to the idea of freedom,
finding free life unfamiliar and frightening.
So, let them experience it in advance.
Moreover, if they had to pay 'big money' to buy such a right,
they'd naturally harbor longing and hope for 'freedom.'
People tend to yearn more for a life they can taste by going into debt
than one forever out of reach.
This was a fact proven by 21st-century Korea's SNS.
"Allowing free outings sounds risky, doesn't it? Slaves might run away."
"Of course we'll attach basic surveillance. Limit the places they can visit too. It's called a 'free' outing, but it won't be completely free. Above all, restricting it to 24 hours means they won't feel any real substantial freedom."
24 hours was an absurdly short time.
Most slaves, having never experienced freedom, would wander indecisively,
wasting most of their time before it ended.
It would finish before they could properly enjoy freedom.
Leaving just the right amount of regret and longing.
That way,
for the next outing, they'd ponder how to make the most of their 'real' freedom.
Naturally,
a concrete craving for 'freedom' would engrave itself into the slaves' souls.
Not some abstract hope of becoming free citizens,
but the hope of fully utilizing the rights they possessed.
"So, you're literally selling 'hope.'"
"Exactly. Selling the longing and hope for freedom itself."
"The greater their longing for freedom, the more diligently they'll work to buy outing passes."
"You got it."
"That's... a truly brilliant idea."
Torsso, grasping the merits of the system in an instant, expressed admiration.
Granting one slave 24 hours of freedom caused minimal loss.
But the output from slaves craving that freedom would multiply several times over.
This was creative economics in action.
"Plus, turning freedom into a tradable commodity reduces the risk of rebellion. Their abstract hope for a 'free life' turns into tangible hope for a 'free day' they can grasp. Oversight resources will drop too."
"You understand perfectly."
"Really... it's the kind of idea no normal person would think of."
Thanks, Kaiji.
"Then the key is the price."
"I'll price the passes so high they'd have to spend all their saved talants to buy one. Probably only two or three could afford it right now."
"That's fitting. If only one could buy it, the others might feel deprived and give up. But if multiple slaves compete to snag passes 'first,' the rest will get anxious too and hustle harder to save talants."
"Are you a genius?"
"Thank you for the praise."
Was his knack for moneymaking timeless?
Though it was his first time hearing of the system,
Torsso pinpointed aspects even he hadn't considered.
What he'd only vaguely remembered as 'do it this way,'
Torsso intuitively grasped down to the 'why.'
This was why a good aide was invaluable.
For someone like him, a modern man short on common sense here,
Torsso's presence was reassuring.
He'd take his rough plans and flesh them out into concrete, feasible implementations.
He set the direction,
Torsso understood and executed.
The perfect combination.
"And there's one crucial thing for selling these 'outing passes.'"
"The most important part?"
"For slaves to roam freely outside, they need one thing. Guess what?"
"......Exchange service, maybe?"
"Spot on."
Exchange service.
Slaves' currency, talants, couldn't be used in society.
To make proper use of outing passes,
they needed 'real' cash, not talants.
"They'll need money to go out."
"......Tricky. Giving money to slaves. This definitely needs serious thought."
'Talants' were currency too.
But since they could only buy what he supplied via rations,
they were essentially 'ration vouchers.'
Exchange service changed everything.
Now genuine 'economic activity' through real market interactions became possible.
"Seems too costly."
"Not necessarily."
"Pardon?"
"Slaves will procure goods from the market themselves—stuff I wasn't supplying anyway."
Items available for talants were limited.
Of course, using 'Winter's Blessing' to read memories, he prepared essentials with talants.
He accepted all requests for goods handleable by estate staff.
But that didn't cover everything.
Diversifying rations ballooned supply and inventory costs,
making it impractical.
Some items were just hard to source.
"Enterprising slaves could turn a profit from it."
"Turn a profit...?"
"Yeah. Buy stuff outside, sell to other slaves for talants, that sort of thing."
"Ho."
Though he'd persuaded Torsso with various excuses,
his true aim was singular.
Making slaves economic agents.
At least, accustoming them to the idea.
Preparing them to become 'real' free people later.
This was the ulterior motive Torsso couldn't fathom.
'Freedom without capital is colder than chains. They need market savvy.'
Capitalism was harsh.
So, he'd teach the slaves how to withstand the chill.
They would learn to make their own fire.