222 Temporary Aquisition

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Kazuya's twitching brow scared Raizer and Etha. They thought that he might have been angered because he had assumed that they thought of him as a lascivious person.

Nell, on the other hand, was holding herself back from laughing. She found Kazuya's reaction to be amusing and somewhat cute. She knew that the couple was afraid of him which was the reason why he had been trying hard not to show any weaknesses in his demeanor.

To the couple, Kazuya might be a person with an unfathomable background but for Nell, what she saw was a young man who was close to her age that was trying very hard to fulfill his purpose.

She had already considered herself to be affiliated with him so she was heavily paying attention to this mysterious young master of hers. They were going to be bound together in the future and from what she has seen so far, she was not against the idea of following him.

"This was my idea," Nell spoke up.

"Please do not misunderstand, young master. Nell brought up an issue that I did not take into account before so I decided to go with her suggestion after hearing her concern." Raizer quickly followed up.

"Explain." Kazuya inwardly sighed and felt a headache was coming on after hearing that it was Nell's idea.

"You see... since you are not from this place, you probably don't know much about the capital. In here, most people have their specific affiliations. These affiliations more or less have a noble or an influential person at the top. Any major, or suspicious movements that these people observe are immediately reported to the people who might be interested." Nell began to speak.

"Yes, one of these organizations is our merchant association who are connected to almost every merchant group that passes by the capital. We offer rewards and benefits to merchants who offer us information." Raizer supported Nell's statement.

"Raizer here told me that you were interested in purchasing a bunch of personnel because of your journey.

While that may not be strange in itself. There are many people in the capital who may not believe it to be as simple as that. The capital may appear peaceful but the undercurrents in this place is like a never-ending war.

This is why as much as you don't want people to pay attention to you, the fact that you will be leaving here with personnel that is comparable to a small force will attract the people who have been keeping their eyes and ears open to such matters."

Kazuya was a little surprised. He did not think that Nell had been thinking about this as soon as he showed the intention of purchasing her. He did not think that she would be actively solving the problems they would encounter while their connection was not yet finalized.

"(It seems like the difference in our previous relationship is already starting to show.)" Kazuya held back an urge to smile.

He usually could not read much of Nell's thoughts back when they were travelling together because she always hid them behind the mischievous smile that she always showed.

She might be a troublemaker but it was more of a facade. As a person who grew up in harsh conditions, this had become her defense mechanism. She did not want people, especially those who plotted against her to be able to read what she was feeling, thinking or planning.

"I apologize. I was not able to realize this problem as I was too concerned about being able to meet your demands as quickly as I could, young master." Raizer nervously apologized and let Nell have the glory.

That was all that he could do. He did not want to displease this troublesome woman after her purchase had already been decided. It was more beneficial for him right now to let things play out honestly for he did not know what it was exactly that let Kazuya decide on taking such a stance when it concerned Nell.

"So, you're saying that rather than having the personnel I will be leaving with today act like guards, you suggest they act like servants?" Kazuya more or less understood their intentions but was rather interested in how they would make this come to life.

He was already aware of such a thing but he remained quiet because it would be a lot more beneficial to let Raizer think it was his oversight. While he may have no problems when it came to expenditures, it was better for the black-hearted merchant himself to bear the burden rather than the funds that Kazuya had procured for himself.

"Precisely, young master! Many of the merchants that were present in the association were already aware of what kind of partnership we are going to have. It would not be a problem to assign them to be the ones to provide information should outsiders decide to pry about your identity." Raizer began to explain what type of identity he will have amongst the knowledge of the people who were not privy to the truth.

An eastern young man who was a victim of having untrustworthy companions arrived in the Maynira and went to the merchant's guild to be discovered by Raizer. With his talents in craftsmanship, he was given preferential treatment and also people to serve him so that he could focus on his work as well as repaying Raizer for all his expenditures.

To the eyes of the public, it was as if he was a poor young man who was a victim of the black-hearted merchant. This was the cover that both Raizer and Nell had agreed upon as this was one of the situations where most people will only lose interest in such a person.

While he may be in a pitiful situation, there were not many who would offend Raizer in the capital. Many of them will assume that the personnel that Kazuya was provided with were people under Raizer's employ to appease and keep an eye on the young man so that the black-hearted merchant will not lose his newfound goose that lay golden eggs.

Raizer did not bother to create a pretense that he was some kind of saint. He was already known as a person that had a hand in slave trading so he could only make himself more useful in Kazuya's eyes rather than being a good person.

He knew that the eastern young master was inexperienced but not innocent. Young people like these were very dangerous as they seldom thought of the consequences of their actions and would often act based on their emotions.

Raizer wanted to have a good relationship with Kazuya for benefits in the future as the opportunity to be connected to someone with his standing was even rarer than having connections with high ranked nobles in the human kingdoms where he only needed to have enough wealth.

"While the plan is noteworthy, I believe that I already mentioned that I am currently staying at one of the inns in Maynira. While it was already my intention to indeed procure sufficient enough personnel for me to able to continue my journey, your plan would require me to gather the people in one place." Kazuya gestured that he had begun to think about this matter while in reality, this was hinting for Raizer to do something about it.

"Since it was my oversight, I will help the young master by lending you one of the properties under my name while you are within the capital." Raizer held back the urge to scold the young man as his impression of him being a clever man deepened further.

He had initially wanted to make an additional profit out of Kazuya's accommodations. Now that Raizer had decided to take the blame for not realizing the problems that his purchases would ensue; he had no other choice but to offer it for free. The black-hearted merchant could only swear to take full advantage of their relationship in the future since he will be eating this loss for the sake of future benefits.

"Hmm… is that so? I do not mind the expenses to be added to my debt since I intend to remain here for the time being in order to get familiar with the people I will be choosing as well as training them with their respective duties." Kazuya nonchalantly declared.

"(This kid…)" Raizer flinched as he understood the underlying message.

Kazuya did not want just a regular place. He wanted a place where the slaves he bought would be able to train. This required at least a property that was comparable to a noble.

"I do not mind at all young master. In fact, I do have one property in mind." He quickly whispered into one of his assistants' ears and watched as the man left in a rush.

"I do not expect that those people who are already aware of my identity would keep their mouths shut forever, nor am I stupid enough to think that a merchant who is deeply rooted in here in the capital arrogant enough to proclaim themselves as the only rightful human kingdom to take my secret to the grave but… it would be ideal for such leaks to come out once I have peacefully left to continue my quest." Kazuya looked Raizer in the eye.

This was a man who lived for profits. So, the only thing that could be trusted with Raizer was that whoever brought him the most benefits would have his support.

Right now, the only reason why he was being submissive to Kazuya was because he was not aware that he was currently being fooled into thinking that he had the mysterious Crimson Mansion behind him.

"I will take those words to heart young master. I will try to ensure that your stay in Maynira would be a peaceful one." He bowed.

"Now then, I guess the matter at hand has been delayed enough already." Kazuya stood from his seat and took a look at both the people that Raizer brought and the people that Nell had chosen to nominate.

Those who were able to hear their discussions were a little confused. Although they talked cryptically, what they could understand from the situation was that the young man who they were presented to did not have a normal identity.

This has been one of the few times that they have seen Razer so careful and respectful so many of them were puzzled as to why they were chosen as potential candidates and not those who were usually given attention to by their slave masters.

"I am sure many of you may be wondering why there are so many of you called here. I have asked to meet people with many different talents in order to build a group to accompany me on my journey towards different places in the land." Kazuya addressed the slaves that were brought to him.

"I will not lie to you by saying that my travels will not be without any danger. As most of you are well aware, the world is not a kind place."

"Before I even begin to evaluate if any of you are worthy of joining me, I want to ask if you have the courage to put your lives on the line to escape your current standing as slaves."

"Those who are interested in joining me must always remember to choose to follow my words over any other ruler, relative, or deity. To give a specific example; none of you are allowed to kneel before any ruler if I do not allow you to do so. If none of you at least have the determination to do that then the difficulty of joining me in my travels will only be much harsher for you."

Kazuya disregarded their reactions as he continued to give a speech that seemed like he was discouraging them from wanting to be picked to be purchased.

However, he was not lying. His journey was indeed not going to be an easy one. He was just but one man who had voluntarily returned to this world and was now in the center of the conspiracy of both the Zweifel kingdom and the Church of Light to go up against the demon race.

"I am indeed in a need for people to accompany me on this journey but I do not want a repeat of what I had previously experienced. My former companions not only betrayed me... but they also tried to take my life along with those who they knew would be on my side. That being said, it should also be the farthest thing from your minds because no matter where you go, I will spare no effort to find and let you experience what it means to stab someone like me in the back."

"So now I will give each of you a choice; Would you rather go back to your cages and continue on being a person who is not a person, or would you risk your life and come with me to hopefully achieve something greater?"

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