I ride Black slowly down the middle of the street with full focus, scared I'd run into something like a new driver.

I fidget around with the ring on my finger while anticipating my destination. I've got 2 whole platinum coins, 126 silver coins, and 70 copper coins all stored safely in my brand new space ring along with the rest of my belongings. All I have to do is pour a little mana into it and I will feel a connection with it, like mental inventory slots, where I can freely throw items into the ring or pull them back out. I can't help but continue fidgeting with my new toy while thinking about what I'm about to do.

I'm going to buy a slave.

I keep down the guilt by telling myself that this is an important step in gaining a dependable ally, all in order to survive. Though there's a twisted sense of excitement as I'm about to venture into something very illegal and unethical in my old world, and knowing I won't receive any repercussions for it. Oh well, when in Rome, do as the Romans do.

I stop musing over useless things when my decision has already been set and start putting my attention back to looking for the slave trader's place.

I enter an area I've never been to, the buildings around have almost none of the familiar sight of the colorful signs sticking out perpendicular to the street. Instead, the store signs are all on top of the entrances with the names of different merchant companies on them. This is definitely the office area of the city, having no retail stores.

I keep alternating between looking left and right, reading the signs, trying to find the name Norton gave me.

Marvin Company, nope.

Adler's Transportations, nope.

Celis Fashion Design, nope.

Kelrick Brothers Company, not that either.

Allen Company, that's the one.

The buildings in this area all look similar, a three-story building with a 50 meters wide front. I dismount from Blacky, holding on to his reins as I move towards the entrance. A boy by the entrance spots my approach and comes to greet me after knocking on the door.

"Greetings sir, did you have business at the Allen company?"

The boy who looks like he belongs in middle school speaks to me in a professional manner.

"That's right."

"Allow me to tend to your horse then sir."

I give the boy a look and hand him the reins along with a couple of copper coins, no way a reputable company would have scammers at the door front right?

He swiftly takes Blacky off to the back of the building as I enter the building.

Upon entering, I'm swiftly greeted by the view of neatly tied up black hair contrasting with the lacey white headpiece, as someone bowing towards me in a maid uniform that goes down to the ankles.

"Greetings sir, and welcome to the Allen company, how may we be of service today?"

The lady lifts her head and smiles politely at me, she was middle-aged but you could tell she was a beauty in her youth as the afterglow of that beauty still shined through.

"I was introduced by a friend to come here as I wish to buy a slave, here is the introduction letter."

The slave trader here only dealt with the reputable as they were the main target market and someone who would be beneficial to build a relationship with. That also meant that they only dealt with high-quality slaves.

"Certainly, please take a rest in the reception room while I call the master."

The maid politely receives the letter with both hands and a slight bow. She then leads me into one of the nearby rooms, deeper into the hall before she elegantly takes her leave.

The door opens again moments after I take my seat and another maid enters with a tray in hand. This maid was much younger, probably in her late twenties, with slightly wavy brown hair and ample curves. She quietly comes toward me and places the contents of the tray on the table in front of me. She pours what seems to be tea in a delicate ceramic cup beside a plate of cookies as she bows before leaving.

"Please enjoy."

Even though Norton introduced this place to me, I still don't feel comfortable enough to consume anything, especially not after the feast I just had.

I waited patiently for another 10 minutes before the door once again opens. This time, the figure that emerged was a fat man, slightly shorter than me and wearing clothing reminiscent of the renaissance era. Following him was the middle-aged maid from earlier.

"Welcome sir Aster, my name is Allen Witsmore, head of the Allen Company. I heard you are a promising adventurer who would like to purchase a slave to join your party?"

This guy had the aura of a merchant gushing out from him, I like the straight to the point attitude though.

"That's right."

I nod and look straight into his eyes, trying to convey I'm serious and not just window shopping.

"Perfect! I'm sure we have what will satisfy you at our store."

"Hana, please prepare some of the merchandise to show our esteemed customer here."

The middle-aged maid nods and steps out of the room.

"Please, follow me."

The slave trader guides me upstairs to another room that is more spacious but empty except for a few sofa chairs near the center. We both take a seat on the comfy looking chairs.

"So tell me, did you have any particular preference in mind?"

"...Umm, I'm looking for a female slave who is willing to take dungeon diving seriously."

That was more embarrassing than I thought, saying I wanted a female slave out loud. Before the slave trader had a chance to answer, a knocking noises resounded.

"Come in."

The middle-aged maid Hana opened the door and moved to the side as more and more figures entered the room. Pretty girls quickly stepped into the room and lined up in front of the slave merchant and I. The girls all only wore a simple sleeveless white dress down to the middle of their thighs, they were bare feet and the only noticeable items on their bodies was a thick leather collar.

I scan through the dozen of them, they are all varied in appearance, tall and short, different colored hair, pale white skin to a caramel tan, but all of them are humans around my age and all have an exceptionally beautiful face like a model or more like a Japanese idol given their age.

This sleazy merchant fucking already knew the kind of slave I wanted, good job, I respect you as an expert of your trade.

"Do you only deal with human slaves here?"

I voice my curiosity to the slaver beside me and he gives me a helpless smile.

"It's been peaceful for the last few years so slaves of other races are getting more and more rare within the kingdom, especially so if they have to fit the standards of our clientele. Therefore all the top quality demi-human slaves are only seen during the semi-annual auctions at unreasonably high prices."

Well, that's not really a big deal to me, I wanted to get a human like me first anyway because I have no idea about the cultures and taboos of other races. The last thing I want to do is accidentally piss off my comrade-in-arm, having a nice amicable relationship is for the best.

"But rest assured, the ladies here are all trained thoroughly and have met our stringent standards so they will have no problems fighting in dungeons, and of course they are all virgins."

I mentally twitch at the sound of virgins. I use to never care much if a girl was a virgin or not back in school, as long as she was decently pretty, got along well, and we're happy being together. I dreamed of going out with a nice girl like that, moving along each stage of life together, getting married, start a family, have kids, and being together in old age.

But my ideals slowly changed.

As time had passed I never found a girlfriend at all, I had a few close friends so school wasn't that bad but still, my anticipation for a girlfriend year after year accumulated unanswered and growing the twisted feeling inside of me.

I saw the girls go from one boyfriend to the next, looking down on "losers" like me who focused on my studies, until they finally realized that those guys weren't going to amount to much in life and started going after guys with good prospects like me.

But I felt disgusted by that, they had their fun in their youth and now that they want to settle down and have a more stable life, they come on to guys like me and expect me to take care of them for the rest of their lives? I hated the very idea of that from the core of my heart.

As twisted undescribable feelings inside of me continued to grow, it also changed me into someone who would only ever accept dating virgins, I wanted to progress and learn about love together at the same startline, at the same pace, experience all the good and bad of life together, but that only made my standards even higher, leaving me single for the rest of my life.

Coming back from my thoughts, I once again look at each of the slaves carefully while using identify while I ignore the slave merchant's introduction on each of them. They are all 16-20 years old and all had similar levels in their magic, around the twenties in their main specialization and in the tens for their secondary magic. I guess this is considered the cream of the crop for their age.

I double-check on the one girl who had caught my attention.

 

Human Female

Age:18

Magic Level:   Dexterity Lv. 25   Stamina Lv. 14   Strength Lv. 1   Fire Lv. 1   Water Lv. 1

Unique Magic:   Sense Danger

This girl is the first human that I've ever seen with an unique magic besides myself.

She has silvery grey shoulder lengthed hair, sky blue eyes, and creamy white skin that glowed with vitality. Her delicate thin build made me want to protect her, but her defined curves and large chest made me wonder if it can be achieved naturally.

I want her.

Feeling my gaze on her she looked back curiously, unlike some of the other slaves who some gave me pleading looks, looks of disdain, looks of embarrassment, or even refusing to make eye contact at all.

"You sure have good eyesight sir Aster, Faris is one of the finest slaves I've ever trained; not only is she smart and catch on to things quickly, she is also a powerful dexterity enhancer and poses a rare unique magic, Sense Danger! I believe she is just right for you as not only does she excel in combat, she has been trained in detecting and disarming traps, fully utilizing her unique skill, and being a great boon to any adventurer party."

Seeing my gaze focus on Faris, this old guy sure is giving it his all with his sales pitch, but little did he know he was only wasting his breath as I had already decided.

I want her.

"How much?"

Tired of hearing his sales pitch who was veering off to who knows where I cut straight to the point. Hearing my question, the merchant lets out a elated smile.

"You must know a normal healthy man would be in the range of 20-40 gold coins depending on their skills, but a woman of the same skills may even double that price if she is beautiful. Our Faris here is the best of the best, even possessing a unique skill so her price will only double again."

"Enough, how much?"

Please just get to the point.

"She would normally cost 2 platinum coins and 50 gold coins, but seeing you're an esteemed guest recommended by the Lockhart family and a promising adventurer, I will give you a twenty percent discount, 2 platinum coins."

Did this bastard know exactly how much I got as a reward? He wants all of my precious hard-earned platinum coins I risked my life getting. My beautiful platinum coins. But every fiber in my being is screaming at me, it's worth it.

Because I want Faris.

"Deal."

The merchant lets out a hearty laugh having closed the deal as the maid Hana brings the slaves back out of the room. Including my Faris.

"Let us head back down to the reception room to finish our deal and wait for Faris to get prepared."

With his big hand on my back, the slave trader guides me back to the room where we first met.

"I believe this to be your first time purchasing a slave yes?"

I nod in confirmation

"Then allow me to clarify on a few things; first the slaves wear a special collar engraved with magic that connects the slave to their master. You will be able to feel generally which direction the slave is but the main feature of this collar is to kill the slave if the master should die or should the slave try to forcefully remove the collar, don't worry the collar are sturdy."

So the collars are magic, that's why I don't see the iron collars and chains of my imagination.

"Secondly, slaves are one of the major driving forces of production in the kingdom, thus it is against the laws to intentionally kill any slaves. Personally, I would like to remind you to treat your slaves with care, since the only deterrent for slaves is death, if you make their lives a living hell, then they may just take you out with them. There have been a few precedents."

I gulp at his reminder. I will definitely make my Faris happy!

"Lastly, slaves can't register independently as adventurers or travel in and out of town unaccompanied, this is just methods to target runaway slaves but you shouldn't have to worry with Faris."

I won't let Faris leave my side.

We wait for another for a dozen more minutes before Hana enters, bringing along my Faris now dressed in a cute pink one piece that matches her white shoes. Hana carries a tray and comes toward me with Faris in tow.

"We will need a bit of your blood to establish a master-slave contract."

I raise my hand atop the tray that Hana sets down as she pricks my index finger with a needle. As a high-class establishment, I'm sure that the needle is clean right? There isn't AIDS in this world, right?

While I mentally panic, Hana quickly finishes the contract by mixing my blood with some purple solution and pouring it onto Faris's collar.

I suddenly feel that I gained a mental compass pointing towards Faris.

"The contract is complete, Faris is now officially the slave of the adventurer Aster Estrea."

The fat slave trader reads out a piece of paper he just finished stamping with a seal.

"Take this, it is a document proving you as the master of Faris, you will need to show this when entering and exiting cities with a slave, should you lose it, feel free to come back to me or to any slave dealer and they can get you a new one with a fee."

I carefully take out my beautifully gleaming platinum coins that I had slept with and exchanges it for the piece of paper. After the transaction, the slave trader gives me another item.

"This is a complimentary gift that our Allen Company provides to our clients who have bought our female slaves."

"What is it?"

He hands me another smooth silverish ring with no designs on it whatsoever. Another silver ring? Does this world have an obsession with silver rings?

"This is a ring of cursed fertility, whoever wears this ring, be it male or female, will not be able to procreate."

The damn slaver gives me a knowing grin as I quietly receive the ring, though, with the word cursed in its name, I would find it sketchy as fuck if it wasn't coming from this place Norton trusted.

Anyway, I did part with my precious platinum coins that I shared a night with, which means the ring will come in handy since I'm going to have to sleep with what I used those coins for as a replacement. Yep, it can't be helped.

---

I walk with quick steps and large strides out of the slave trader's place with my new partner, Faris cutely following.

I feel the nice warm rays of the sun and turn back to get another look at my Faris in all her glory under the sun.

"Faris, we're are going to be fighting together from now on, so if you need anything, feel free to just tell me okay?"

"Yes master, Faris will definitely do her best and be useful to master."

Faris clutches her two small fists and brings them up to her chest. Her feminine and gentle voice soothes my soul, my Faris is so cute.

I get interrupted admiring my Faris at the sound of a horse neighing. I turn to see the kid from earlier there with Blacky waiting for me. I wasted enough time here, let's get going.

I mount Blacky as Faris skillfully mounts behind me without need any help at all.

"Faris, do you know how to ride a horse?"

"Yes master, I have received horsemanship training before."

"I'm kind of a beginner, so it would help a lot if you mentor me while on the road."

"I'll do my best to teach master."

I start guiding Blacky back to the part of town I'm familiar with while thinking how Faris's determination to help me is so cute.

"So Faris, let's go shopping, we need to get you some spare clothes, daily necessities, and equipment for the dungeons. Let's start with equipment first, the store is nearby, what kind of weapons do you prefer anyway?"

"Master, I'm proficient in most single-handed weapons but I am best with short-swords and daggers."

"Let's go then."

---

We enter the shop with Faris trailing slightly behind me as a high pitched voice jumps out to greets me.

"Welcome to ou---It's you!"

Its the little dwarf with pink hair who made a big scene the last time I was here, I sure hope you don't make a scene this time.

"...errr...I mean...SORRY FOR LAST TIME."

Here we go again. Her loud voice draws in the sight of everyone else in the store to her bowing 90-degrees to me.

"It's okay, I was in the wrong too, I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions and treating you like a kid."

"...ehhh..."

"It's yer lad, welcome again, how may ar help you today."

With the little dwarf lost for words, Bosgrem, her father comes in to save the day.

"I just wanted to buy some equipment for my new companion here."

I point to my cute Faris with my thumb.

"Ai, you gotcha self a fine one didn't yer? Clarice, do yer job and help'em out would yer?

Seems like the boss is busy today and quickly retires back to the workshop in the back after leaving those words.

"...Umm, what are you looking for?"

"Some leather armor like mine, and some short swords and daggers for her. Faris choose what you like yourself."

"Yes master."

I let Faris take the lead herself and casually follow the two while taking my time browsing the rest of the store.

I think I made one of the biggest mistakes since I come to this world, I let two girls go shopping by themselves, they endlessly compared the same products over and over again, taking forever to decide on each item. I lost my patience and had to step in and use identify and just picked the best one.

Faris finally finishes her selection and settle on a leather armor much lighter than mine to facilitate her movement, a short sword, and several daggers and a strapper for them to strap to her thighs. I still have a spare short sword I found in the dungeon before so she can take it too as she duel-wields.

Thankfully it was all within budget, costing only 75 silver coins, non-cast weapons sure are cheap.

"Bye-bye Faris, come find me when you have time okay?"

"See you later lady Clarice, I will if my master allows me."

Hey hey, don't stare at the back of my head like that, you're going to bore a hole straight through my head, I'm not a bad guy I swear. It seems like they become quick friends through their shopping.

We exit the shop under the reluctant gaze of Clarice as we go to finish our shopping for my cute Faris.

We finally finish getting everything before sunset, in the late afternoon and start heading back to the inn. I'm left with a grand total of 41 silver coins and 65 copper coins, got to work hard starting tomorrow to earn some back. but first...

 

The day may be ending soon but my night with my Faris is only just starting.