CH 23

Chapter 23 I Got a Future Exclusive Chef Girl!

「Tell me about the kid over there… the one with a scar on her face.」

At the 90th person, I finally found a slave with a good aptitude.

She is a girl with curly pink hair and large and bright eyes.

She’s now wearing shabby clothes and her hair is dry, but she has a pretty face that would make her shine if polished.

…… It’s ruined by the big scar on her face, though.

「Understood. This slave is <Nina>, and she is 12 years old. She is a lifetime slave. She is the daughter of a poor farmer, and she was sold to reduce the number of mouths they need to feed since they couldn’t afford the money to get through winter. She was supposed to be sold as a prostitute, but she was attacked by a pack of wild dogs during transportation and her face was injured, so I decided to sell her as a general slave. She is a slave you can use for any purpose.」

I see.

She certainly has a pretty face, but it’s not to the extent of a first-rate beautiful girl, so she couldn’t be sold to a brothel for a high price even if her scar is healed with a potion.

I guess they can’t afford the expense (an expensive potion) since she’s just pretty.

…… It’s lucky for me.

「How much is she?」

「1 gold coin and 3 silver plates.」

「I’ll buy her.」

1,300,000 Japanese yen… Considering it’s the price of a promising talent, it’s a good buy even if the cost for the potion is included.

「Understood. Then, we’ll make the contract. Please put a drop of blood on this slave’s neck.」

When I did as I was told, the slave trader started chanting a spell with a pale face.

…… Is this Slave Magic?

A beautiful green pattern envelops me and the girl, and then it’s sucked into the girl’s neck with blood on it, forming a pattern with the size of a 500 yen coin.

「The transfer of the slave has been completed. From now on, this slave will completely obey Jink-sama’s orders.」

The slave trader is sweating a lot and looks exhausted.

Perhaps, with his ability, he could barely make one slave contract at a time.

「Thank you. …… Hey, you, let’s go home.」

「Yes, Master.」

Nina (12)

Level: 2 (3/20)

Job: Slave (Master: Jink)

HP: 20/20

MP: 5/5

Skill: Farming 2

Aptitude list

<Martial Arts>

Swordsmanship D, Body Strengthening D, ~~~~~~~~~, Shields C, ~~~~~~~~~

<Housework>

Cleaning B, Laundry B, Cooking S, Childcare A, ~~~~~~~~~

Cooking <S>.

I think this alone is worth a few platinum coins.

I was really lucky that I only needed 13 silver plates.

I don’t see any special talents in the physical strength system, but she at least has average aptitudes for them.

As long as she uses enchanted equipment and raises her HP, she won’t die easily.

「Ah, Jink-kun. Welcome back! It seems that you found a good slave!」

「She specializes in cooking. …… Her name is Nina. I can’t expect much from her in combat, so I’m going to put her in charge of cooking once I raise her HP to the minimum. Can I borrow your kitchen and ingredients until I buy a house?」

I want her to practice cooking and let her cooking skill blossom until we go to the dungeon.

「Okay. I’ll tell my family and servants.」

「Thanks. To be honest, I’ve never cooked anything other than steak, so I don’t have a clue about ingredients, seasonings, and how to cook them.」

「Ahaha. I’ve never even cooked a steak. You need to be able to cook a bit if you want to be a knight or adventurer, so it seems that you can choose a cooking class at the academy. I want to work at the knight order until I inherit the house, so I’m thinking about choosing it!」

「You can’t bring a non-combatant cook to a battlefield or dungeon after all. In my case, I have an item box, so I could make a large amount of steak at home and store them in a jar. When I was escaping from Rosalta, I saw adventurers making soup out of dried meat or grilling the prey they hunted on the spot.」

「I see.」

To be honest, the preserved food doesn’t taste good, but… I guess you have to give up on it for the sake of nourishment.

Even if there are item boxes and magic bags, most of them don’t have much capacity, so people probably don’t want to waste their precious space on food.

…… As for me, I don’t want to give up on the taste, so I’ll continue to use the item box without reservation.

「By the way, Chris. At the slave trading house, I didn’t see anyone with a notable combat aptitude. …… Is there a better place?」

「Hmm…. That’s the only certified slave trader in Qualarute…. Ah, there’s one. If you don’t mind using a criminal slave, there is another place where you can buy slaves, as long as you get permission from the country.」

Oh?

「That place is the Criminal Slave Sales Office.」

Criminal Slave Sales Office?

Is it an agency that specializes in criminal slaves?

「Criminal slaves also have ranks…. The criminal slaves who have room for extenuation and are judged to be okay without being monitored by the country and petty criminals who are deemed incapable of paying fines are sold at this place.」

Hee…

「Criminal slaves who remain unsold at this place for a certain period of time and criminal slaves who have no room for extenuation are sent to the mines to be worked until they die.」

「They’re going to work until they die even if someone bought them, so it’s the same, isn’t it?」

「That possibility is high, but it’s much better than being a mining slave. It’s said that if you become a mining slave, you’ll die almost 100% within a year, and your corpse will be thrown away in the exhausted ore vein. On the other hand, slaves in the sales office often live for a few years, so it’s said that criminals who are decided to fall into slavery will desperately try to make a request to be sold at the criminal slave sales office.」

I see.

According to Quall’s law, even if the crime is committed under unavoidable circumstances, such as theft because they have nothing to eat, there is a high chance that they will be sent to slavery if they are caught.

If overlooked, they will almost certainly try it again.

「How can I get permission?」

「You need to fill out an application form and a written oath that says, 『I won’t release the slaves I bought during the work period!』 and apply them at the royal palace. Basically, only nobles, large merchants, and high-ranked adventurers with achievements and credibility in the Kingdom of Quall will be granted permission, but I think Jink-kun will almost certainly get it.」

Even an ex-criminal (though falsely accused) with zero track record can get permission, huh…. I guess the rarity of an enchanter is not for nothing.

To be honest, I’m scared to have a criminal slave by my side, even if it’s absolute obedience, but my actions in Rosalta weren’t praiseworthy either, so I have no right to complain to the criminal slave.

Heinous criminals with no room for extenuation won’t be sold, so it’s better to compromise.