12.LITTLE GIRL IS INTRODUCED TO SOMEONE
“Well, in terms of raw quality, they are not so good, but it seems they have some experience in it.”(TL note: Not sure about the translation there ->まあ、素材はイマイチですが仕込みは悪くないようですね
“I don´t wanna hear about that. What are you saying to a child like me?”
Bela cursed at Marfoi for what he was saying.
“You, who brought them, is saying such a thing…”
“They are kind of volunteering for that. I will still be receiving the money though.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Bela was right now at the guest room of the slave trading company Vagahte. In that room, she was talking with Marfoi, dealing with the formalities for selling the girls she brought.
There was about two million ten hundred thousand goldin inside the pouch Marfoi gave Bela. The selling amount was in fact three times the amount Bela received. As the remuneration for having rescued them from the bandit group and have escorted them, it was decided Bela would take one third of the sold price. The remaining would be split between the women. This would be the step for them to buy themselves back in the future.
“Thank you for your patronage. I hope you may do business with us next time.”
“Well, I would rather just be buying instead of selling. I want to let this be the last time I bring slaves along. It is a pain in the a.s.s to look after them, you see.”
“”I was the one looking after them though.””
At the back, Borudo muttered those words. Fortunately, the two that were talking to each other seemed to not have heard him.
“”Either way, it is good that we got here safely.””
Borudo let out a sigh as he thought that.
It has been six days since Bela destroyed the bandit group.
While there weren´t any problems along the way here, there were troublesome parts about it. Most of it lied on the aftercare of the women. Right when they were released from the bandit group, it was immediately decided that they would become slaves. It could be said that such couldn´t be helped, but it still wasn´t impossible that they would get gloomy because of it.
Of course, Bela didn´t take any part in it. The one doing all the work was Borudo and Rama, the mediator between them and the women. To the old man that knew nothing of a woman´s heart, it was a difficult job.
“Now then, it seems you´ve received a good amount for your reward. I´ve heard a new batch of quality goods came. What will you do? Will you be buying anything?”
“Really, you are very quick-eared.”
Bela smiled at Marfoi´s words.
Bela handed in the heads to the mercenary a.s.sociation right on the same day she arrived at the city. She also let Koozo handle the machiini she captured. It looked like Marfoi already had knowledge of that. But even so, Bela tilted her head to the side at Marfoi´s words, and then asked him.
“I was thinking of doing that, but there isn´t any of the good ones remaining, right?”
Marfoi gave a dry laugh in response to that.
It seemed that the territorial war, which controlled the economy of this city, was currently well-matched for both sides.
It was indeed a fact that the knight group of the kingdom of Paroma has joined the fight, but according to the information of the spies, it seemed that this was the result of a political strife, which led to the subordinates of the general Koujin to be sent to the front lines.
According to Kooza, although it was true that the kingdom of Paroma temporarily recovered the Mona region because the knight group that had been exiled to the battle were doing unexpectedly well, Paroma still thought of the knights as only sacrificial p.a.w.ns, and on the other hand, the kingdom of Ruuin was presently getting stirred up.
Even before, there pretty much wasn´t anyone notable except for Borudo. Bela saw all that as most of the slaves that could be useful as a fighting force having been already sold. However, Marfoi´s reaction was different from Bela´s expectations.
“There is a gladiator I would like to introduce to you.”
Bela narrowed her eyes at those words.
“It is a man that has been continuously winning at the colosseum.”
“He isn´t a slave?”
“No. This time it´s something else.”
Without worrying about Bela´s puzzled face, Marfoi continued to speak.
“He is a wanderer. Someone from the Rahsa race just like you. He said to be from the warring tribe of Rahan.”
“This guy seems like it might be good.”
The Rahsa race was a warrior society of brown-skinned people that lived at the western desert. They were tall and strong. Most of the reason why Bela had the strength to be able to swing her war hammer around was due to her being of the Rahsa race.
“But what do you mean by telling me you are going to introduce him?”
“It seems that that guy used to be a machiini pilot. He has been fighting on the colosseum because he desired a new machiini.”
“…I see. It seems that he has a lot of confidence in his strength.”
In other words, Marfoi selected someone that had difficult conditions to be met to Bela, who could fulfill them. He was definitely strong in fighting with his own flesh body, so his strength shouldn´t be limited to piloting machiinis. Not to say about the present situation, there should be only few machiinis for sale currently. There would be few people that would gamble on him without knowing of his strength, and for how the n.o.bility, who could do so even then, would not take notice of him meant that his matter in question was really unfavorable to deal with.
“”But will that man end up being a “bad draw” for me?””(TL note: Couldn´t think of a better way to translate -.- It would be that kind of like that thing about j.a.panese popsicles that either “win” or “miss” is written on the stick, and you get some kind of bonus if you “win”. I dunno another way to explain that so google it because Im too lazy ‘ 3’)
In any case, it wasn´t like she was signing a contract for something. Bela decided she should first check him out.
“I will go meet him. But, I have a place I need to go today. Is it fine if it is tomorrow or some other day?”
Marfoi nodded with a smile to Bela´s words.
———-
“I see, so at last you are heading to the Mona region.”
Right after Bela left the building of Marfoi´s Vagahte company, she went to the office of the Benmark company to meet with Kooza.
“Well, we aren´t going there right away. Besides, how is it with the machiini I left to you?”
Kooza smiled in response to Bela.
“Yes, it is a very well built machiini that is not seen around that often. As to be expected of the method knight group for raising machiinis. They bring up their machiinis without letting them pick up bad habits.”
The machiini Bela got from the bandit group used to be from the knight group of the kingdom of Paroma. The machiinis of organizations that knew how to bring up their machiinis surpa.s.sed the strength of the machiinis brought up by average mercenaries and bandit groups in the essentials.
“I believe I can come up with an adequate sum of money in case you are willing to sell it to us.”
“I´ve been thinking about it. But you see, I got a new appointment for that here so I will be giving up on that.”
Bela said to Kooza.
There was also that about the gladiator Marfoi recommended to her, but most of what Bela was pondering over was about that time at that battle last time when she was surrounded, going one on three by herself.
“”It was really good that I got to get one of them at the beginning. If it wasn´t for that, maybe the fight would have been a bit tough.””
Bela believed that situation hadn´t been one she could have been optimistic about. In the end, the things she could do by herself were limited. She had Borudo´s gnome, but when compared to a machiini, it was really inferior. And so, she was considering increasing her amount of allies.
“Only the c.o.c.kpit and the hatch at the chest were destroyed. I guess this is only expected with your skill. I will call a magician that has a contract with me for subduing the dragon heart stone, so it should go well one way or another.”
“So, how is it going at the bandit hideout?”
“I have already sent the scavengers there. If the place isn´t sniffed by others, they should be able to recover the materials.”
The ones that were hired by people to collect leftover materials after battles were the groups that went by the name of scavengers. Although they would be carrying cargo around, they were a group that owned machiinis. By Kooza´s directions, they headed out to collect the carca.s.ses of the bandit´s machiinis that Bela left at the place.
Although those machiinis wouldn´t move because they didn´t have a dragon heart stone anymore, they could still make up for a considerable fortune just by its raw materials, and those could become a foundation for new-born machiinis.
To begin with, because some amount of time had already pa.s.sed, it was possible that someone would come to know of the destruction of the group and would go rummage through the remnants of the machiinis. Because Bela paid money for that, if the scavengers were not able to recover the materials, it would become a minus that she had hired Kooza´s scavengers. But even so, she already brought with her the more valuable things, and besides, Machiini carca.s.ses were all in all goods that were difficult to carry along without using machiinis. To begin with, it was because the hideout of a bandit group wouldn´t be something that would be found out about immediately that those bandits were able to survive until the time Bela and Borudo came.
“Well, I will be heading to the Mona region when the scavengers come back. I will be counting on you for the maintenance of the machiinis.”
Kooza answered those words by saying “please, count on me”.
For the present, Bela would be seeing the gladiator tomorrow. But whether he was worth for or not… that was that problem.