Volume 3 Chapter 12-2 The Side Story of the Village Butcher – Part III
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”This village is short on brides too, so even if she’s a slave, if a young girl wants to stay in the village, I’d welcome her as one of us.”
In a remote village, it’s not unusual to take a slave as a partner.
The subordinate skill seals other skills, but you can still have offspring, that’s why.
There’s a bunch of single young men in Toyata village.
If Chaa marries a female slave, he can have an heir for the butcher shop, and it gives other bachelors a chance too.
Chaa is one of the richest people in the village, a prime catch for marriage if it weren’t for his strange tastes, he’d find a bride in no time.
Laken thought so.
If Chaa was still single and drifting past 30, he should settle down with the Mauro scribe’s daughter.
He had considered that.
But Shea, Mauro’s daughter, is a dreamer who believes a prince from a novel will come for her one day.
Forcing it wouldn’t work out well.
And both the scribe and the butcher are powerful figures in the village; stirring up power could threaten Laken’s family’s control.
Laken didn’t invest a fortune in the village’s development to hand it over to someone else.
He didn’t trust Mauro, the scribe.
The man’s too smart, too obedient.
Trapped by his own suspicions, Laken kept chipping away at Mauro’s influence, only for the guilt to spawn even more doubts.
So, if Chaa marries a female slave, it’s convenient for Laken too.
He just doesn’t want to see the wealth wasted.
What’s important is that Toyata village is a proper village with a butcher shop and all.
It’s not like Chaa’s shop just started closing; if you want meat, you can just buy it from the next village over.
”So, I’m correct in understanding that you’ll sell all the male slaves to me, right?”
Seeing the village head, Laken, not drive out Chaa, the slave trader quickly changed his strategy.
”That decision is up to Sir Hero, the seller, isn’t it?”
Laken made it clear he’s not taking any responsibility.
All eyes turned to Hero, the scapegoat, at once.
”I’m… happy if you buy them for a high price.”
The slave dealer thought fast.
Is this kid called Hero stupid?
Or maybe just pretending to be dumb?
From experience, those who fake being dumb are the scariest.
Can’t let his guard down here.
He tried to sneak the top-notch female slave among the wounded and buy them all in a bulk cheap deal, but the butcher suddenly burst in.
What is this Hero really after?
If he tells the butcher to leave, then this place becomes not a clearance sale but a proper business deal.
If the goal is to get this village’s business permit, maybe the village head set this up?
Opening a branch in this backwater village is just trouble, no way it can make money.
How about calling off this deal once, then doing a proper official deal in the royal capital?
If that happens, the shop closing and coming here was all wasted.
Even if it means making some concessions, this is a situation better to avoid.
If that’s Hero’s plan, then this guy’s damn tricky.
If Hero is real, making a bad move here will cause a big problem.
For now, let’s do fair trade and watch carefully.
The seasoned slave dealer thought Hero’s not-so-interested attitude was just an act.
When there’s a trap, never show any opening to the other side.
In other words, fair deals are the strongest play.
”Then, how about 20 thousand gold for the younger girl, and 15 thousand gold for the one with the bigger chest?”
The price is a bit below the usual wholesale, but a bit high for a clearance sale.
It’s common for sellers to set fair prices by making bidders compete, so they can redistribute booty among themselves.
This kind of fine-tuning is normal business, even guild auditors here wouldn’t say anything.
”Then I’ll add one gold on top of that.”
The slave dealer decides to yield to the butcher here.
There’s 9 male slaves, which is a lot.
Young and strong male slaves can easily be sold to mines and such.
He gave way on the female slaves to save face for the opponent, but keeping the real prize──the male slaves──for himself is the right call.
”Then, you take the female slaves. I’ll take all the men.”
The slave trader peeked at Hero’s face.
Same old poker face.
”Mr. Chaa bid 350 thousand, plus 2 common gold, and the slave trader offered 270 thousand gold, hmm…”
Hero muttered with typical disinterest, then looked over at the doll princess next to him.
The slave trader was surprised that Hero could calculate like that.
He was confident in his own speed, but to do arithmetic that quickly in your head, you must be a young businessman who’s been through his share of battles.
Maybe this kid is subtly trying to drive up the price?
It wasn’t unreasonable for the slave trader to make that mistake.
In this world, people who can calculate are few and far between──usually just big merchants or government officials.
”Some of them look injured, so how about 50 thousand gold per person?”
”Nine people for 450 thousand, huh? To be honest, this is my first time selling war spoils, and I’m not too clear on the rules.”
The young Hero stared straight into the slave trader’s eyes.
In a flash, he did the math and showed his hand, exposing his thoughts so brazenly.
Even an experienced slave trader like him couldn’t predict what this guy was thinking.
”If I really want to make a profit, I should sell to a slave trader I know in the capital. But for me, every day is too precious to waste. So I’m grateful you came all this way, and I hope you make enough to want to come back.”
The slave trader couldn’t quite grasp what his counterpart was saying.
Telling him to make a profit?
What kind of game is this guy playing?
”Putting your own earnings second? I can’t even imagine valuing time over gold.”
”Well, I’d be happier if you let me make a profit too, so I’d want to come back and see you again. By the way, we have a saying in my country: time is money.”
”Time is money, huh?”
The slave trader had something come to mind when he heard that.
For instance, this time, he had traveled 2 days from the capital to the village of Toyata.
Since he owned the carriage, the actual expense was just the cost of lodging, or so he had calculated.
Shops don’t usually pay live-in workers, so the stable hands only cost food.
That’s why there’s no concept of hourly wages to begin with.
But if you work hard until the division of profits, you’ll get your fair share of the loot.
It’s not like they’re working for free.
Every trip felt like a loss, but since using your legs to earn is a merchant’s virtue, he never thought too hard about it.
But expenses were definitely piling up.
If you calculate every single cost, time really is money.
Absolutely right on the money.
The slave trader felt something click in his head.
He couldn’t quite grasp what it was yet, but this alien concept seemed to clear the fog that had been bugging him for years.
If it’s true that the Hero came from another world, then this must be wisdom from a different world.
For example, think about this.
He has relied a lot on experience and intuition, but what if he could calculate business expenses precisely?
Knowing the funds needed in advance would be a huge help.
No more wasting time on calculating each little thing, and if we always trade at the guild’s standard prices, there’ll be less cheating.
Both buyer and seller can plan ahead.
It’s all good things, isn’t it?
”I understand, then I’ll buy each one for 70 thousand gold without hesitation.”
* * *
The slave trader’s assistant was shocked and looked at his master.
Jacking up the price like that, for no reason – he’d never heard of such a foolish negotiation.
A showy noble might do it, but for a lowly merchant on the fringes, it’s just not done.
”Then, I’ll pay with 35 gold pays and 2 gold pieces.”
Chaa started piling up the coins with a jingle, but the Hero’s doll-like girl cut in.
”It’s 350 thousand gold coin not pays, plus 2 common gold. Please pay with a guild card.”
”Hey, that changes the whole deal!”
One common gold coin is worth ten thousand gold coin, but if it’s chipped, it’s worth less.
Chaa liked to trick people by using messed-up gold pays when he bought things from them.
Chaa had even filed down his gold pays almost halfway.
”I’ll buy them for 350,000 gold if you want.”
The slave trader heard Chaa and jumped in.
”Okay! I’ll use my Guild card to pay!!”
Chaa felt his blood run cold.
Using the Guild card meant he couldn’t cheat them, and he’d lose almost all his money.
He wouldn’t have any money to use for his business tomorrow.
Should he give up on the young woman?
He hesitated for a moment, but his lust won.
He wanted both women.
He could make more money later.
If he had to, he could borrow from Nora.
Chaa was always thinking positively.
”Then we’ll pay you 630,000 gold. With the Guild card, right?”
The slave trader was happy while Mr. Laken processed everything on the Adventurer Guild’s machine.
”We had a good deal today. Please visit the Earth Merchant Guild when you come to the Royal Capital.”
The slave trader pushed the slaves into a special carriage and left Toyata Village.
It would take 2 days to reach the Royal Capital.
”Why are you so happy, boss? You spent more than twice the money you planned. That butcher’s face made me so angry, I still get mad thinking about it.”
The assistant kept complaining while driving.
”Boss, you’re the worst. You let them raise the price. That’s not how merchants are supposed to act.”
He was going to brag to his friends in the Royal Capital about how they had gotten a good deal.
He was disappointed with what the slave trader had done.
”More importantly, do you understand what it means when they say ‘time is money’?”
”How could I? If time could turn into money, I’d sleep all day for the rest of my life.”
”I see. Well, most people think that way.”
The slave trader let out a sly little chuckle.
Even alchemists can’t turn time into gold.
But somehow, he felt like he could do it──turn time into money.
”Now, how do I make some cash off this?”
First, he gotta get more people who can count.
Everything starts there.
The slave trader’s eyes shone like a kid’s, watching Toyata Village fade into the distance.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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