Chapter 4. Go after the weak first. (2)
Information is an asset. Information about slaves being purchased by noble families was particularly valuable.
With the support (forced) of the nobility, they were able to further expand their power.
‘Even though now we’re just running after slaves in this remote corner of the country.’
One day, he will advance to the capital’s ‘head office’ and become a senior employee there, commanding his subordinates.
One sunny fall afternoon, Noah had such a dream.
“Hey.”
The driver slowly stopped the carriage. The meeting place was the shabby street corner of No. 7 in Kader’s estate.
‘I’ll take a good look at it today too.’
Noah hummed and jumped out of the carriage. Then he turned the corner and headed towards where the customer was.
He always arrived before him, and he often cowered to avoid the gaze of those around him.
‘hmm?’
Noah tilted his head. There was no one where the customer always stood.
‘what? Could it be that he unilaterally broke his promise?’
I look around in bewilderment,
“Howdy.”
An unfamiliar voice called to him.
When I turned around, I saw a person wearing a familiar gray robe getting up from where it had been leaning against the wall.
‘what?’
Noah looked at the man, hiding his surprise.
‘The voice is different?’
It was the beautiful voice of a young man. The languorous ending sound was very attractive.
“who are you?”
The young man nodded in response to Noah’s question.
“I came to buy a spoon.”
Spoon was a slang term for a slave in the underworld.
“A spoon?”
Noah asked back, deliberately pretending not to understand.
‘There’s no harm in being careful, just in case.’
His cautious nature allowed him to survive in this harsh backworld.
I had to be careful because someone else appeared instead of the customer I knew. After all, slave trading is illegal in the Empire.
“You’re very careful, aren’t you?”
The young man laughed out loud.
“You were supposed to sell five spoons here, right?”
Then he crossed his arms and tilted his body.
“The old man who was supposed to come had something to do, so I came instead. Is this okay?”
“ah.”
Only then did Noah let down his guard. He was certain because he knew the information about the purchase of five people and the information of the original customer.
“I see. I’m sorry. This matter was being carried out very carefully.”
“Well, yeah. It’s worth it.”
It was a generous agreement, as if it was a favor. It seemed familiar to receiving this type of apology.
Noah then took a closer look at the young man wearing a robe.
He was much taller than me, and I could feel his slim but well-proportioned and solid physique through the robe.
Although I couldn’t see it, the face under the robe seemed to be quite handsome.
Noah asked with a curious face.
“By any chance, what is your relationship with the customer who originally decided to come?”
“Does it matter?”
“yes?”
The young man responded in a blunt tone.
“All you have to do is buy and sell spoons. I don’t have a hobby of chatting with men, so let’s move on, right?”
“Ah… I understand.”
Noah answered with a puzzled expression. And she lowered her head to hide her thorn-like emotions.
‘Why does this guy keep speaking informally?’
While middle-aged customers in the past may have felt uncomfortable with Noah but did not treat him carelessly, this young man was different. He scratched people’s stomachs with his arrogant attitude and sassy tone of voice.
‘after… … . Let’s calm down. ‘Customer, customer.’
Noah calmed himself down from crying. In any case, he remained faithful to the spirit of service.
‘That guy is right.’
In his mind, the young man in front of him was downgraded to a bastard.
‘What matters is the transaction.’
Above all, this young man had a loyal following of quality customers who bought many slaves on a regular basis. There was no need to go against his wishes.
“Yes, you are correct.”
Noah quickly put a smile on his face.
“There are five products. Since there were no special requests, we prepared them with regular spoons.”
This was also a type of slang. Slaves were given different names depending on their characteristics, such as gold spoon, silver spoon, and white spoon.
“Then let’s make a deal.”
Noah said and waited for the young man. To be exact, the money he will take out of his pocket.
As I said this, the elderly customer would always take out the money bag from his pocket with slightly trembling hands. But today things seemed to go differently.
“I want to see the product.”
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The young man spoke instead of taking the money out of his pocket.
“yes?”
“What idiot pays without even seeing the product? How do you know if what’s inside is a fork or a knife?”
Noah felt the anger he had calmed down earlier rise again.
‘… … ‘Is this guy for real?’
He was truly a guy who was good at irritating people.
‘It’s a customer, a customer.’
He chewed and swallowed the words he had been repeating like a spell. I was able to calm down only after I chewed it until it crumbled into powder.
Noah could barely hide his emotions and looked sad as if he was sad.
“Are you saying you don’t trust us? There have been no problems with the transaction so far.”
“I believe it.”
The young man spoke in a tone of disbelief.
“I just want to be clear. If there is any problem, I will be the one to show you the respect.”
Then he added, as if he found it very annoying.
“My master has a very bad temper.”
Noah felt curious. She felt like she had finally gotten a clue about the customer she had always been curious about.
‘Wouldn’t it be possible to get some information if we coax this guy out?’
At that thought, Noah quickly smiled and pleased the young man.
“Oh, if you say so. I understand.”
Noah took the lead and took the young man to the chariot.
“Let’s watch it together.”
When I carefully inserted the three keys that I carried around my waist, the locked door finally opened.
“Hoo.”
The young man snorted and approached the carriage.
Inside the carriage were five slaves, leaning against the wall. An eye patch was a given, and a gag was placed on his wrists and ankles to prevent him from escaping.
Noah began to kindly explain.
“I gave him the medicine right before I came, so the medicine is still taking effect. If it takes time to move, I will give you more medicine. After you return home, just give him the antidote and he will feel better soon.”
And he added with a secret wink.
“Of course, depending on the owner’s preference, if you like the condition soaked in medicine, you can leave it as is.”
The young man was silent for a moment. All I could do was carefully examine the condition of the slaves in the light of the sunset.
“Hmm.”
Then he suddenly jumped up onto the carriage. Noah was so startled that he jumped onto the wagon.
“What are you doing now…!”
“I want to take a closer look.”
After saying that, the young man approached the slaves. Then I literally started looking at them meticulously.
‘… … Huh, indeed.’
Looking at that, the young man stuck out his tongue.
‘I don’t think I have a strong heart.’
Ordinary people would have been horrified to see slaves strewn about inside the carriage.
It is not a very nice sight to see a human being reduced to a commodity while losing all human rights and identity.
So the middle-aged man who was originally trading would turn his head in the opposite direction every time Noah opened the carriage.
‘If he had been that person in the first place, he wouldn’t have even asked to see the slave.’
Noah was thinking about that and then raised his head when he heard the young man calling.
“hey.”
“yes?”
“This slave is in such a mess?”
“Huh? That can’t be….”
Noah rushed over and checked the slave pointed out by the young man.
“Look at these muscles. Are they so weak that they can even lift a spoonful of rice?”
“…….”
“Do you mean buy a slave, or take him and serve him?”
For reference, the slave in front of them was a sturdy man in his 30s.
‘No, what do you want from a slave? ‘If you’re so healthy in the first place, why are you here?’
While Noah gaped in bewilderment, the young man pointed his finger at the slave next to him.
“What about this slave? What on earth is this look on his face? He is in no position to serve his master.”
In fact, the facial expressions of all slaves were the same. Because everyone was drugged and asleep.
“…….”
While Noah was speechless, the young man went one step further.
“I can’t use this anymore.”
This time the slave he pointed to was a young female slave. He was the youngest and freshest of the five slaves.
“Huh? This is pretty much the same level….”
“You look ugly. You seem to have lost your appetite.”
Noah kept his mouth shut.
The absurd feeling has now turned into discomfort. The young man was clearly nitpicking right now.
“What now….”
“I will go to the store and choose it myself. Please guide me.”
Noah stopped talking. Out of frustration, she frowned.
‘You want to go in person?’
The store usually operated under the guise of being another store. There were no customers coming in to buy slaves there.
In the first place, the fact that there was a reason for customer dissatisfaction was itself a problem. If I had taken that young man away, Moritz would have been furious.
Noah responded with an embarrassed expression.
“That’s troublesome.”
“I’m in more trouble than you. If I don’t take the right slave, I’ll die.”
“Then, please tell me the conditions. I will bring you back accordingly.”
Despite Noah’s persuasion, the young man stubbornly shook his head.
“This is a bit secret to talk about. I’ll just go and choose it myself.”
Noah thought.
‘Isn’t secrecy already a problem at the point of bringing in slaves?’
My stomach boiled at the young man’s stubbornness, which was not stubbornness.
This young man had been embarrassing himself ever since. He said that he was fighting like this even though it was already time for him to finish the deal and go back.
Finally, the young man started looking around the carriage.
“Tsk tsk, this is why the kids are in this state. Shouldn’t we at least spread some straw on the floor?”
Then he fiddled with the door leading out of the carriage.
“Is this necessary since I gave you medicine anyway?”
In a mocking tone.
Noah couldn’t stand it anymore.
“Hey! Where are you touching!”
I growled and tried to pull the young man’s shoulder,
“Whoop!”
Suddenly I hit the carriage wall. Because my cheek was hit so hard, my head instantly throbbed.
“Ugh.”
Noah let out a suppressed groan.
My right shoulder hurt like it was going to tear. A strong force was twisting my arm and pressing it down.
“therefore,”
A young man’s carefree voice came from behind me.
“I want to go and choose. Don’t you understand yet?”
Noah twisted his body without giving in. But the more she did it, the more her broken shoulder hurt and she couldn’t bear it.
“Ugh, I told you no! I’ll just go!”
Noah said and touched his waist with his left hand. The moment I quietly hold the dagger I always carry with me,
“Uh huh.”
The young man’s other hand tightly grasped Noah’s wrist.
“Do you carry something dangerous like this? You have poor hand habits.”
A loud laugh was heard from behind.
“Ugh…!”
Noah trembled with his arms and strained to open his face. But no matter how hard he tried, the hand he held wouldn’t budge.
‘What kind of power does this guy have?’
I felt a sense of helplessness, as if a child was unable to overcome the strength of an adult, as if being hit by a huge rock.
“Can I help you?”
A young man from behind asked in a humorous tone. Noah got angry.
“Can’t you let go of this right now?!”
Instead of responding, the young man let out a huff. Then he grabbed Noah’s wrist and he slowly began to move.
fantasy,
