We finalized the list of slaves to be purchased and reached the sixty-two limit, not including Rhea and Selka. In total sixty-four spaces for their living quarters needed to be worked out back home. Tessa and Eris were already on the job and used some money to hire contractors to help with moving extra furniture, beds and install any additional necessities as required.
It was Alexa’s idea for them to set up a large cafeteria in a sectioned off part of the first floor for everyone to eat their meals together. I felt bad about putting a lot of stress and things to do on the three of them and wanted to thank them later somehow. I sat down on the couch in Marcus’s office and we waited for the processing to be wrapped up. I told him to place the same slave seals that were placed on Tessa and Alexa onto the new slaves. For now, this was the only way to somewhat prevent betrayal.
It was all the reassurance I needed especially since I wasn’t sure if my dark magic was going to let me die regardless. Part of me wanted to remove the seals on both Alexa and Tessa. The nightmare third trial created mixed feelings on the matter but in the end, I decided against it. It was too soon to be one hundred percent sure.
Lily and Rhea sat on each side of me while Alexa was busy with the others. I told Lily about taking over our budgeting and money related issues as soon as possible. It was best for her to sit in for this next part. As for Rhea, I just appreciated her company.
“How much…, Marcus?” I was hesitant to know the full amount for all sixty-four slaves with the additional costs for secrecy and seals.
“The total comes out to two ruby coins for everything.” Marcus held the straightest poker face smile I’ve ever seen.
That was two hundred emerald coins! It took everything I had not to blurt that out. “Um…, do you have a calculator I can use?” We stood on completely opposite ends of the spectrum.
“That won’t be necessary, allow me to handle negotiations, master.” Lily spoke softly and continued. “Pricing them as a bulk purchase instead of individually at a figure of two and a half emerald coins each that's 155. This is excluding the higher-priced Rhea and Selka at five coins each after processing. The total would come out to 165 emerald coins. Taking into consideration that this will be paid on credit we will happily add in five extra coins with an interest of twenty-five percent each month if it reaches that point. That makes the new total 170 emerald coins. Even with this amount you are still making a large profit from my new master. Any more and you are surely trampling over any future goodwill.”
Lily spoke without pause and calculated those figures like nothing. Even forcing her hand in the negotiations to a point it was nigh difficult to refute. People always said getting an accountant always pays for themselves and then some. I’m surprised she didn’t include herself as a high-value slave like Rhea and Selka or maybe that was her plan all along to reduce the price further. Truly terrifying and grateful she was now on my side.
“I knew I shouldn’t have put you on the list, Lily. Very well, I’ll accept the terms of payment.” Marcus sighed as he drafted the contract and handed it over to sign.
“You’re a lifesaver, Lily. Everyone will be glad to have you with us. I know Alexa will be happy with one less task to handle.” I signed the papers and watched Marcus do the same.
“Thank you, master.” Her voice was soft as a tinge of crimson colored her cheeks red. A complete one-eighty compared to when she was negotiating. Almost like a switch was flipped. A cute side to her and I couldn’t help returning a smile.
I had Lily help Alexa and to let Jade know to come here. She needed to hear this next part with Marcus. I asked if Marcus knew about reforcers and he responded with an affirmative. Did everyone except for me know about them? He warned me not to mention them in public and it helped me rethink doing so tomorrow at Pizzahunt. I’ll have to figure out whether I want to bring Mia to our home or somewhere else for privacy.
At this moment Jade knocked and walked through the door. “Master, Lily said you wanted to see me?” Her voice carried an air of elegance and it had a soothing effect.
“That's right. I’ll need you to know about our plans from now on. If we ever get approached by other companies or the general public you will be the first one to interact with them. For any major decisions, you will refer back to either Eris, Alexa, or I. Aside from that feel free to speak for us.” Incidentally, Jade’s long hair was the same color as the mineral mixed in with black highlights.
“I understand. Leave it to me, master.” I nodded my head and patted the seat cushion next to me so that she wouldn’t awkwardly stand behind us. It looked like I was right as she was clueless at first, then caught on quickly to my intentions. Mental note to self, address the master-servant issue as soon as we get home. I didn’t want them to act too differently than how they would normally on their own.
“So, I’ve got a lot of questions for you Marcus. I’ll try to keep it short though since I’ll be busy tonight. If you know about reforcers and how dangerous it is to go against the true nobility, why risk it all for me?” I shouldn’t have asked since I mostly knew why, but thought some questions just needed to be answered anyways.
“I’ve shown you that my slave trading business is not the typical one you see littered throughout the streets along the way here. There is a vast amount of competition and it was the perfect way to hide in plain sight. I’ve gathered talents that others deem worthless and put them under the guise of slavery. Over time it led to many useful connections and even blackmail. I know my limits sadly and this is as far as I can take things. As for why I chose to help you, it’s more of a favor for Alexa.”
I wondered how many of the slaves he sought out were for his purposes and how many knew nothing at all. I couldn’t help shift my gaze between Rhea and Jade. They looked back almost as if they knew what I was guessing, and their lack of words proved they were involved. Perhaps all hundred brought to formation knew and there were possibly even more slaves Marcus was unwilling to part with.
“I’m afraid I’ve caught the attention of a reforcer and it’s only a matter of time before we are found.” I was as honest as can be with him.
“The nobles have turned a blind eye to my actions and I can assure you that they know everything I’ve done so far. I’m not entirely sure why they leave me alone and the only conjecture is, they don’t view me ever becoming a threat to them. What makes you suggest that you already have a reforcer hot on your tracks?” Marcus sat forward waiting for a response.
“It will be hard to explain and only until the other day did I even know of their existence. Let’s just say I have a reliable source. Plus it doesn’t help that I left a trail of evidence behind for them to follow.” I may have mentioned something unnecessary.
“You did what! How could you be so careless? You’re putting everyone in danger.” Marcus became furious and it was clear as day to see on his face.
“What? I didn’t know about them until yesterday and it wasn’t really my fault. I almost died and then accidentally killed everyone at the coliseum. Well, minus Eris.” Really needed to know when to shut up. They stared at me and I turned to Jade giving her the perfect example of what not to do in public.
“What kind of excuse is that?! How can you ‘accidentally’ kill a whole coliseum full of people?!” Everyone had the same question on their mind.
The memory of that day was still fresh in my mind and was brought back to life as I explained in detail the entire order of events that led to the situation. Rhea was sniffling halfway through, at the part where I got betrayed. I did my best to ignore her and finish telling the story. They freaked out from my in-depth visual description of watching Eris reform from a ball of blood and tissue.
Rhea offered a prayer to Regulus, the god of rebirth for the lost lives. I took a deep breath and found it sweet to learn that Rhea was very empathetic of others. Marcus was the first one to reply.
“I’ve never heard of magic like yours nor Eris. She is incredibly powerful to be able to regenerate in the state she was in. The way I’m hearing things sounds like the both of you are rebirthers and that for sure means they are after you.” I stared at Marcus, it was the second time I heard the term rebirther. It was something Mia brought up.
“I told you. Also, what exactly is a rebirther and why are the reforcers sent after them?” Marcus didn’t respond immediately and only did so after retrieving a stack of documents from his desk drawer.
“Rebirther is the term given to individuals who remember their past lives. The amount of memories retained differs between each person. You could remember partial fragments of a single life or several lifetimes entirely. It comes back to what I was saying before, a rebirther is a threat the nobles won’t ignore.” Marcus handed the files to Jade to hold onto, a list of blackmail info and connections he’s made so far with those that owed favors.
I was going to follow up on what he explained about rebirthers but was interrupted with him continuing first. “That list. It will help you when the time comes. That is all I know about rebirthers and I have a feeling Eris knows much more than she’s letting on. I suggest you confront her about it. Let’s end it there for today. We’re both busy with things to do today.” I received the hint easy enough and stopped for today.
He was right though, I wasn’t even sure if I should head home immediately or stop by to get clothing and other necessities everyone would require.
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Ah, the only reason he ended up telling him everything was due to trusting Alexa since she can't lie with the seal she has placed on her.
@Volatis that sounds logic