"Phew, finally time to sit down and rest."
Returning to his small estate after his daily walk in Aivir, Korin checked to see if the villagers were working and not lazing around. He leaned back and sat at his desk. The bright sun illuminated his office, creating a clear afternoon sky.
He glanced into his small cabinet, which held many small, colorful bottles of delicious alcohol for him to enjoy.
But-
Knock. Knock.
"Hm?"
He heard a knock, straightened up, and muttered curses under his breath that he had to postpone drinking until later.
"You can come in."
A young woman with short red hair and purple eyes, dressed in a maid's outfit, entered his office. The maid bowed to her master.
"Lord Korin, a merchant has requested a meeting with you."
"Tell him I don't have time. Let him come tomorrow."
"I'm sorry, sir, but this merchant insisted on meeting you right now."
"Eh, fine, then. Bring him in, Selen." Korin ordered, tapping his index finger impatiently on his desk.
The maid named Selen bowed again and went to the door to bring in the guest.
Shortly thereafter, Selen brought into the office a middle-aged man with brown hair tied in a ponytail and blue eyes.
"Good morning, Count Korin." The man bowed politely.
"Aha, yes, it's a very beautiful day. What do you want from me, Mr. Philip?" the Count asked the merchant. "You may sit down."
He did so and sat down across from him, a gentle smile appearing on the merchant's face. Korin had known this Merchant Philip long enough to know that that kind of smile didn't bode well.
"So, what do you want from me?" Jarrett Korin asked, his tone calmer this time.
"Well, I have something very important to offer you and..."
"Oh gosh, if this is so important, let's have a drink with it."
"I'm sorry I can't today."
"Huh?"
The Count looked surprised. It was true that he was weak-headed, but Philip never refused free alcohol, especially during business meetings. So his refusal was strange, too strange.
Korin glared sternly at the merchant, showing that he didn't have much patience. Philip took a deep breath, closed his eyes for a moment, and then began to speak.
"The Count has probably heard that he sells items from another world."
Jarrett nodded. Personally, he didn't believe Philip was actually selling things from another world and considered it a mere marketing ploy.
"Anyway, things haven't been going so well for me lately," the merchant continued. "More and more people think I'm just selling junk. I've been having trouble with money lately, so I thought..."
"There's no way!" The Count interrupted, not hiding his irritation. "Don't think I'll buy anything from you. I already paid you a lot of money for that rooster sculpture."
"I didn't come here to beg for my goods, Count Korin." Philip grimaced, as if Jarrett's speculation offended him. "I came here to ask you for a job."
"And the job?" Jarrett replied with dismay. "Don't tell me you want to work in my house. You spend most of your life traveling for money. Why do you want to work here?"
"You misunderstand me, Count," Philip replied sourly, scratching his head. "I don't want to work for you permanently. I just want to help transport your prisoners to Wojtyn."
"?!" Korin was shocked by his request. How did he know he planned to move the prisoners to the nearest city? "How do you know about this, Mr. Philip?" Jarrett asked with a grimace.
"Er... well, your maid told me about it."
Jarrett glanced suspiciously at Selen, who had been standing behind him the entire time. Feeling her master's chilling gaze upon her, the maid swallowed hard until Philip intervened.
"No. She didn't tell me about it, Lord Korin."
"Oh, so that was the second one." The Count stated, hiding his face behind his hand. "Oh, okay, so how much money do you want to squeeze out of me, Mr. Philip.
"150 silver tablets." The merchant said with a serious face.
"Are you kidding me? There's no way I'd pay you that much. My servant can do it himself for less."
"I know how much I'm asking, but please hear me out," Philip said calmly. "I know the roads in this area better than anyone. Besides, I know there's a mana nest there."
At these words, Jarrett seemed to perk up. He looked in surprise at the man sitting in front of him.
In the world Henryk found himself in, a mana nest was a kind of cave where one could find mana crystals, which were used to craft magical items: magic swords, mage staffs, and so on. Unfortunately, these caves were infested with dangerous monsters that attacked anyone who approached. That's precisely what adventurers are for, earning money for such assignments. Jarrett Korin was once one of them. Being an outstanding craftsman, he quickly gained respect in the capital and was granted his own domain.
"So you're saying a mana nest was found not far from here. I'm sorry, but I don't understand what you're getting at. What do my prisoners I want to sell have to do with this?"
"I'll explain, so when I was going to Aivir, I came across some adventurers. They told me they were looking for cannon fodder to make it easier to get through this nest. They offered 50 silver tablets for one living shield. They have enough money for five people.
"Hmmm..." Korin thought for a moment. In Wojtyn, the slave trader would get at least 30 silver tablets for most of the prisoners. He had six elven girls in his dungeon who could be worth 70 silver tablets. Considering the condition of his prisoners, he couldn't have expected more. "That's a pretty good deal, Mr. Philip," he finally said.
"Great, so do we have a deal?"
"Yes, but I'll only give you 110 silver tablets. Don't count on more."
"Okay, let me lose," Philip said, shaking the count's hand to seal the deal.
They talked for a while about various things, for example Philip told about his recent adventures with a bandit attack, they almost stole everything from him if the guard knights had not appeared.
As evening approached, Philip decided it was time for him to leave, and he thanked the Count for his hospitality and for giving him work. After setting a date for the prisoners' transport, which was to take place in three days, Philip was about to leave, but Jarrett stopped him.
"Wait!" he called, taking out a black suit and what looked like a backpack from a desk drawer.
"What is this?" Philip asked, looking at the clothes and backpack that obviously belonged to Henryk.
"You know that brat who came to my village over two weeks ago. Well, these things belong to him."
"These are some pretty strange clothes." Philip remarked, holding the sweatshirt and backpack in his hands.
"I know. If you want it, it can be yours. I don't need junk wasting space on my desk."
"Thank you, I guess." Philip said uncertainly, then bowed low to Filip and left the office, leaving Korin with the maid.
"Selen, find Lira and bring her here and tell that black tin man to bring that kid. I want to get something out of him before I send him to an even worse hell."
The maid bowed once again and left the office to carry out her master's instructions.
[[Reference Art for Selen in comment]]