Chapter 48: How to Be Loved
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 48: How to Be Loved
A scene rife with plausible lies.
A brawl where everyone was throwing punches and no one was getting hit.
The overheated atmosphere simmered like an active volcano ready to erupt at any moment.
In fact, as their auras began to seep out, the building started to tremble faintly.
Deciding the tavern might be blown to bits if he left them alone, Victor moved. He filled two glasses with water and approached the little elf.
“Ice.”
“Hey, that’s not what spirits are for.”
“I suppose I’ll have to tell Miss Alfia that a certain elf wants to go back to the forest.”
“You cheap human.”
Ice created by the ice spirit plopped into the glasses.
Victor immediately walked to the center of the scene and set the glasses down.
“Drink some cold water and cool your heads.”
The self-proclaimed slaves, who had been glaring at each other like cats and dogs, glanced at the glasses. After exchanging looks that suggested a temporary truce, they gulped down the water. As if that, too, were part of their competition, they downed it in one go.
Thwack!
They slammed the glasses down and exhaled sharply, letting out their pent-up heat.
“My apologies. I got a little carried away.”
“As did I. As a long-lived being, I should have shown more magnanimity.”
Narsha instantly regained her composure.
“So, where is he now?”
“He said he was going to Vestia.”
“Vestia…”
If the Great Forest was the paradise of the elves, Vestia was the kingdom of the beastkin.
“Then why are you here, Miss Alfia, instead of chasing after him?”
“I’d love to, but he told me to raise the elves as slaves. I’m just doing my part.”
“Hmm…”
Narsha hummed, lost in thought.
Should I go to Vestia?
No, that would be pointless. She couldn’t even find him when they were in the same kingdom; chasing him to an entirely different one would be impossible.
Then…
Her next course of action was decided in an instant.
“I shall stay here as well.”
“What?”
Alfia was waiting for Karami’s return while training the elves, right? In that case, all Narsha had to do was live a leisurely life here, and Karami would eventually show up.
There was no need to go through the trouble of searching for him.
Of course, Alfia immediately protested.
“Absolutely not.”
“Why not? The city doesn’t belong to you, Miss Alfia, and it seems you’re just freeloading at this tavern. You have no right to say no.”
“We have too many kids, there’s no room for you. Right, Master?”
Alfia looked at Victor, but his expression was grim.
“Why don’t you all just hold hands and get out while you’re at it.”
“What?”
She had been so sure he would take her side, but what came out of Victor’s mouth was an eviction notice.
“Why?”
“Why? Do you have any idea how much I’m spending on food?”
There was his granddaughter Emily, plus Lili, Lala, and Matthew, whom Karami had brought. Then there was Hanni, whom Matthew had brought. And on top of that, Renard.
That much was fine. Karami had given him plenty of money to raise the kids, and Renard was staying by Victor’s own will.
And Alfia?
He had a soft spot for her, so he was willing to tolerate her, too. But…
Victor looked at the little elf children. There were ten of them.
“I can’t even tell if this is a tavern or an orphanage anymore. Do I look like I want to be an orphanage director at my age? I bought this tavern with my own money. I can’t live like this.”
“But this is all for the greater good…”
“To hell with your ‘greater good’! I don’t know anything about that. There’s no money! Go out and earn some!” Victor roared.
As Alfia’s eyes darted around in a panic, Narsha clapped her hands lightly and interjected.
“Oh my, then I suppose there’s room for one more person? Unlike some people, I’m not shameless. I’ll be sure to pay for my room and board.”
“Hmm, if you pay, then there’s no problem.”
“And if you need an extra hand, please don’t hesitate to ask, sir. I once ran a merchant group myself, so I’m quite confident in my ability to serve customers.”
“Sniffle, to think such a considerate young lady exists. All I have around me are brats who don’t know how to respect their elders… Yes, this is how the world should be!”
Victor was so genuinely moved that he covered his mouth and nose with his arm, choking back tears.
Narsha skillfully comforted him. Then she shot Alfia a triumphant little smirk.
On the verge of being kicked out, Alfia desperately sent a signal for help to Renard. Renard, who had been determined to remain a spectator, sighed.
“Master, you say you have no money? What a lie.”
“Huh? A lie?”
Victor flinched.
“While you were all in the Great Forest, the Master and I, acting on a tip from your master, went to the merchant group’s basement. We found Roperman’s relic warehouse. The artifacts in there… selling just one would be enough to build several taverns.”
“Renard, you brat…! I specifically told you not to tell anyone…!”
“Oh dear, it seems it’s time to feed the children. Let’s go, little white-haired ones.”
Renard shrugged, as if to spite Victor, and led the children down to the basement. Victor tried to stop her, but he was frozen in place by Alfia’s murderous glare.
A cold frost settled into Alfia’s eyes, which had previously held the freshness of spring.
“What? No money?”
“No, this is my retirement fund…”
“Retirement fund, my ass. There’s a whole basket of kids here older than you, Master. Aren’t you ashamed to say that in front of them?”
“If they’re older than me, why are they kids…?”
“Enough.”
Alfia cut Victor off.
“Let’s take this opportunity to expand. The children need to grow up in the sunlight. Does it make sense for them to live in a basement?”
“But…”
“No. Let’s just build a new place and separate it from the tavern. This environment can’t be good for the children’s emotional development.”
Victor looked to Narsha for help, but…
“Oh my, if you’re building a new place, there will be plenty of room. In that case, I’d like my room to be a bit large. It needs to fit a big bed and a vanity, you see.”
She was already certain she’d get her own room.
And she was even making requests.
“I feel like we get along quite well.”
“Heehee, we are, after all, slaves to the same master.”
The self-proclaimed slaves, running the whole show themselves.
Victor’s world went dark!
*
That evening.
The Peacock’s Night Gathering was bustling with fairly well-known figures. A rumor that elves were taking orders and serving drinks had spread, turning it into a must-visit spot in Noctar.
Of course, Renard was the only one actually working. Alfia, claiming to be Karami’s slave, declared she would absolutely not serve anyone else.
Where in the world is there a slave who does whatever she wants?
Was this a slave?
More like slave cosplay.
Still, not wanting to feed a freeloader, Victor had parked Alfia behind the bar. She could at least be the face of the tavern. Even Alfia couldn’t bring herself to refuse that.
“Sir, I’ve been thinking.”
There was one other person who drew as much attention as the elves. Narsha, who had taken a room at a nearby inn since there were no vacancies here, had stopped by the tavern.
“About what?”
“I believe it’s a waste to run a small tavern with this lineup.”
“I’ve always run a tavern. They’re the ones who barged in.”
“A true merchant knows how to adapt their business methods to a changing environment.”
“What?”
Victor was flabbergasted.
“Wh-what’s wrong?”
“It’s a miracle! I can’t believe I’m meeting a sane person before I die!”
Lately, intelligent life had gone extinct in Victor’s vicinity.
There were the little kids who roamed the city trying to make slaves. And the elf brats, who weren’t even as tall as his waist, yet spoke to him with blatant disrespect.
All he had were fools spouting nonsense like, ‘I’m gonna be a master of slaves, tyu tyu, tya tya!’
When Emily had asked, ‘Should I become Brother Karami’s slave, too?’, he felt his world collapsing. He’d almost grabbed a bottle and gone looking for Karami right then and there.
To a man in his position, what Narsha had just said was the most sensible thing he’d heard in ages. He couldn’t help but be shocked.
Of course, Narsha showed signs of being one of them, but this was a major improvement.
Narsha gave a stiff smile.
Live a long life, sir.
“What are you planning? You’re not thinking of something weird, are you?”
Alfia, who was standing nearby, couldn’t resist jumping in.
“I’m thinking of expanding the business.”
“Business?”
“Yes.”
Back at the inn, Narsha had thought long and hard.
Alfia had rescued elf slaves. Karami would surely be delighted when he returned. Having just one elf was enough to make others envious, and she had a whole bundle of them.
If that happened, Alfia would monopolize their master’s love and trust. Narsha, on the other hand, would be compared to her.
I can’t let that happen.
So she decided to accomplish something that wouldn’t fall short. ‘Do what I do best.’
What Narsha was more confident in than anything else, even before she picked up a sword.
It was business.
“From what I’ve gathered, the city has been in chaos recently. Getting ingredients is like plucking a star from the sky, and even then, the prices are astronomical.”
With the fall of the Desert Rose Merchant Group, smaller groups and individual merchants had started fighting for power. The market had become fragmented.
The supply of goods once handled by the Roperman Group had been cut off. Because of that, essential items from grains and spices to metals had vanished from the market, and prices had skyrocketed.
The economic downturn was an opportunity for Narsha to make her move.
She would not borrow her family’s power.
She wasn’t shameless enough to cause them worry and then ask for a handout.
Besides, she didn’t really need her family’s help.
All the pieces were already in place.
First, there was herself. And though she had pretended not to notice earlier, she knew Baron Bardelli had high hopes for her. If she offered to stabilize the market economy, he would give her his full support.
Victor’s business sense was also sharp. His decision to make the tavern more upscale meant he knew how to identify customer needs.
Then there was Victor’s capital for expanding the business.
Victor’s shop.
Victor’s connections.
And most importantly, the key element of this venture.
Elves.
With them, she could run a one-of-a-kind establishment. She would rake in the money from the wealthy and establish an entirely new merchant group.
That was Narsha’s plan.
The name of the merchant group would be…
Merchants of Death.
If she presented the entire merchant group to Karami, she was guaranteed to be loved.
Ah, what kind of expression will my master make? What praise will he give me?
As expected of Narsha.
Of all my slaves, Narsha is by far the best.
Just imagining it brought a look of ecstasy to Narsha’s face.
I wonder what he’s doing right now.
He was surely doing something she couldn’t even begin to imagine.
*
“Ah, fuck, my points!!!”
In a tavern in a city on the way to the beastkin kingdom of Vestia.
A man’s desperate scream echoed.
All sorts of junk lay scattered around the room.
In the man’s hand was a single, shabby piece of paper.
[Points Owned: 3,120pt]
The points he had painstakingly saved by liberating slaves were wiped out in an instant. The devil’s temptation had driven him, a man who prided himself on his cool-headedness, to ruin in a single moment.
[New System: Slave Gacha]
You just can’t resist a gacha.
Not even if your grandpa the angel came down and told you not to.
He couldn’t resist, and now he was ruined.