Cutie
I took out 14 gold coins, and 378 silver coins and paid for Sherry.
I don’t have much money left now.
100 silver coins equals a gold coin, but it’s necessary to pay the price.
A gold coin is 10,000 nars, and quite expensive.
I count out the money and the slave trader leaves. Roxanne comes back instead.
“I’ve decided to take her.”
“Really? That’s good then.”
For a brief moment Roxanne’s expression becomes cloudy.
Did I notice because I’m feeling guilty?
Or am I hoping she’s jealous?
Even though Roxanne’s expression seems to darken, on the surface she is welcoming it.
It’s because of Roxanne I had this chance.
Does she think she can’t object because she’s a slave?
I don’t think I’d mind if she showed her displeasure a bit.
To enter the Labyrinth we need to increase our war potential.
Would it be fine if I bought a man? Well, that would cause other problems.
“I’ll still be relying on you in the future Roxanne.”
“Yes Master. Please do.”
Roxanne replied with a smile.
Maybe I shouldn’t have bought Sherry.
Well, I’ve paid a lot of money and it’s done now.
“Sorry to have kept you waiting. Come here Sherry.”
After leaving with the money, the slave trader returned to the room.
Sherry is right behind him.
Sherry bows.
“Please look after me.”
“I’ll be in your care.”
“I am the number one slave Roxanne. Please look after me.”
Roxanne seems to have reached the rank of number one slave.
It’s true that I bought her first though.
Does this need to be said?
The number one slave? The top seat?
I don’t know.
“You were a slave after all? I thought you were his young wife.”
Sherry is surprised at Roxanne’s remark.
“Young wife. That isn’t the case.”
Roxanne. I didn’t want you to deny that so flatly.
“I was mistaken because your cloths are so nice, you look very health, and your skin has such a lovely complexion.”
“It’s because Master is a gentle, wonderful person. You won’t have to worry about food, clothing or shelter.”
While the two slaves are talking, I lift my left hand.
Sherry also lifts her left hand.
The slave trader recites an incantation and the intelligence cards appear.
“The contract is completed. Please confirm her age.”
Confirm that she’s young even though she has thin ears.
Since there is an intelligence card the age can’t be falsified?
Perhaps there are methods somehow.
Sherry. 16 year old female. Explorer. First year slave. Owner: Kaga Michio.
I already knew she was 16 because of [a.n.a.lyze].
Sherry’s ears really are thin, but that doesn’t worry me.
It’s convenient because she was cheap thanks to those ears.
Kaga Michio. 17 year old male. Explorer. Freeman. Owner of slaves: Roxanne, Sherry.
The number of slaves owned has increased on my intelligence card.
Is there a limit to the amount of slaves I can own? Wouldn’t there be a problem displaying it if the number of slaves keeps increasing?
“I’ve confirmed it.”
“It takes time to have the cloths made. Please come and pick them up in 10 days.”
The same with Roxanne, we received more details afterwards.
A receipt was completed, and we left the business.
Once outside, Sherry was invited to the party, and [Plating] was cast.
Explorer Lv10, Villager Lv3, Herbalist Lv1.
Even though I could see her jobs because of [Party Job Settings], master smith was not there.
There isn’t many jobs, is it because she’s still Villager Lv3?
Warrior, Swordsman & Merchant become available at Lv5. Perhaps master smith is at Lv5 too?
It’s admirable that she doesn’t have thief.
Sherry doesn’t have anything except the tunic and pants she is wearing.
Roxanne just had a case of clothing as well.
“I’ll stop by the explorers guild.”
“Certainly.”
“C-Certainly.”
On the way back we stopped at Vale’s explorers guild and bought one black magic crystal.
We bought one this morning in Quratar’s explorers guild as a replacement for the yellow one we sold.
Now that I have another slave I needed an extra though.
I have not found any black crystals in the labyrinth since the one I tested fusing on.
It feels like I wasted it.
My judgement is bad at times.
“After that we’ll go to the adventurer’s guild, and then should we return straight to the house?”
“Certainly.”
“Um, yes?”
Sherry seemed a bit hesitant, but walked up right next to me.
“Is something wrong?”
“Um, is there also an adventurer that is a party member?”
“No, why do you ask?”
“Because of the way you said we’d return to the house.”
Then Sherry went back and chatted to Roxanne.
There’s the possibility of getting home from the wall in the adventurer’s guild using the adventurers skill [Field walk].
Since Sherry has seen my intelligence card she knows I’m an explorer.
Did she think there was something strange?
“Don’t worry, you’ll understand soon enough.”
Oh. Roxanne stopped trying to explain it.
I’m uncomfortable about the explanation.
Is it because it’s a secret?
“What? Oh, um?…”
As expected, when [Warp] is used from the adventurers guild to get home Sherry gives a puzzled look.
“Lets sit down. I’m going shopping for some things we’ll need.”
I decided not to explain it.
I sit on the dining room chair.
“It’s not that late yet.”
“I think I’ll go to the effort of preparing the bath today.”
“Yes, that’s wonderful.”
Roxanne had sat down in the next seat, and her whole face lit up.
Roxanne seems to like the bath too.
Her dog ears are more beautiful when she’s smiling.
I pat them without thinking.
“Um. Is it possible that you have multiple jobs? I’ve only heard stories about that from Myths and Legends.”
Sherry interrupts.
Such a legend exists?
I’ve heard something nice.
If I had the adventurers job I could use [Field walk] while still showing as explorer on my intelligence card.
She has a good head on her shoulders to work it out from that.
“Sadly I don’t have the adventurers job. That was a magic called [Warp].”
“Is that time & s.p.a.ce magic?”
“Time & s.p.a.ce magic?”
I return the question like a parrot.
Is there s.p.a.ce magic?
“Well, not many know it but when [Field walk] is used it doesn’t just effect the location but time as well, so it’s actually a time and s.p.a.ce magic.”
“There’s a time difference?”
“The time difference, sometimes you move to a location that is night time when the starting location was daytime. If I leave in early morning, sometimes I’ll end up somewhere that is still night. [Field walk] is a magic that effects time like this.”
Well, it is a time difference.
Is it the sort of thing that you’ll notice if you travel to the same places often, but you won’t understand?
“Sit down for now.”
“It’s fine to sit?”
Roxanne who is next to me at the six person table speaks to Sherry in a quiet voice.
I chose the six person table because a party has a maximum size of six people.
“Yes, please sit next to Master.”
The chairs are in groups of three, and I’m in the central chair.
A beautiful woman is sitting on either side of me. A flower in each hand.
Roxanne understands things well.
“Well, thank you then.”
“This planet. Do you know the theory of a round earth?”
I asked.
It would explain the difference in time from one area to the next.
The circular earth theory has been around for a considerably long time on earth.
The positions of the stars move as well if you travel north.
Time and s.p.a.ce magic. Sherry might be smart.
For such a person it might be necessary to show off how smart the master is as well.
If I properly explain the time difference caused by the circular planet with the angle of the sun then I might get respected a bit.
It would be a good feeling to be respected by a cute girl like Sherry.
Also, it might be useful for smoothly progressing our life here.
Even though it’s not something I discovered, it’s from the scientists of earths past.
I wish to express my thanks to the effort of my ancestors.
“I have heard the story that there was a great old scholar who insisted it was so, but the people who made the story called him a useless fool.”
“What is the basis for it being a silly theory?”
“If the earth was round, a person on the other side would fall off.”
Well.
So that’s how it is.
I guess they’d think that, if they didn’t know about gravity.
“Well, I don’t think it’s a time and s.p.a.ce magic, but I have some magics that I use that you must keep a secret.”
“I will.”
Lets give up on explaining.
I don’t know how to properly explain gravity.
Although I brought it up with the intention of showing off my knowledge I think I’d just end up sounding foolish.
It seems that I need to keep up constant effort.
“So there is legends of people with multiple jobs?”
“There are legends such people existed in the past.”
“Well, you can think of me like that.”
“Um…?”
“So, for today what do I need to buy, a rucksack, a wooden bucket, some equipment?
I forcibly stopped the explanation and switched to speaking with Roxanne.
Roxanne seemed surprised at my remarks, but doesn’t falter.
She’s used to surprises from me by now.
“Well, for today and tomorrow the cloths provided by the slave traders business are enough, but please buy new underwear.”
“I understand, I’ll visit a clothing store.”
“Yes.”
There’s a good clothing store on the other side of Quratar’s labyrinth that I can go to.
“Um. Mine aren’t dirty yet so you don’t need to trouble yourself.”
“I’m buying them. Also, what would you like for a weapon?”
Well, she’ll need some underwear to wear tomorrow.
“Ah. Thank you. I can use a hammer if I’m a vanguard, or a spear if I’m in mid range. I’m good with a spear but a spear can’t be used by a vanguard. The hammer is better to avoid hitting allies because it’s powerful and easy to use.”
Since the spear is long it may be difficult to use in the narrow labyrinth.
“For the spear, do you use it from behind?”
“Yes, or thrusting it into the demon between the vanguards. It’s slow to use but the power is quite strong.”
It doesn’t seem like a bad idea to use the spear as well.
However, the current situation will require her to be a vanguard.
“In Master’s party, Master annihilates the enemy with his magic while I keep the demon’s in check. It would be good for you to use a hammer and become a vanguard while Master is the fire power.”
Roxanne has the same opinion as me.
“What? Magic?”
“Yes.”
“It’s possible?”
Sherry alternately looks between Roxanne and me.
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
“Oh…”
“Keep it a secret though.”
Sherry looks confused, but I force her agreement.
“Ok. So… it really is multiple jobs?”
“Yes. Don’t worry about it. Have you defeated demons with a hammer?”
That could be the problem.
Monk was acquired from defeating demons bare handed, and swordsman might have been because I use a sword. Perhaps defeating demons with a hammer is a condition for master smith?
It really feels like a master smith should use a hammer.
“No, I have not.”
“Well, if your fine with it I’ll get you a hammer to use.”
We’ll try that out first.
“Ah, yes.”
Sherry nodded while slightly tilting her head.
Is the missing condition that she hasn’t defeated a demon with a hammer?
There is a chance it’s related.
A small chance.
“I’ll get a hammer. Do dwarves often use hammers?”
“There are people who use other weapons but it’s quite common, and I’ve used one a little.”
For a dwarf with talent, a demon is usually defeated with a hammer. It will be enough to try it.
“Has Roxanne used one?”
“No, It’s quite heavy and my speed would be reduced by it.”
Right, with a heavy hammer Roxanne’s ability to dodge would decrease.
Movement with a light sword.
Actually, the scimitar isn’t really that light.
“Do you hold the hammer with both hands?”
“Yes. Some people just use one hand, but power goes up if you use two.”
I confirmed it with Sherry.
She doesn’t need a s.h.i.+eld.
“I don’t have much money left for equipment, so please bear with some cheap equipment for now.”
“It’s alright.”
“Also, do you know about empty slots on equipment?”
I casually asked.
“A skill slot?”
“You know about it?”
“A great old scholar had a theory that equipment has slots, and a skill won’t fuse to it from a monster card if there isn’t one.”
I asked, and there seems to be such a theory.
I’ve hit the nail on the head?
“Knowing the same thing as a great scholar. Master is very wise.”
“Ah, yes, the theory about the round earth, and… the dwarf skill slot… even only a small number of dwarves know about it.”
The old scholar was great.
If there is a person saying the same thing then the idea that a monster card will fuse with an empty slot seems to be correct.
“That theory, is it no good?”
“n.o.body knows because n.o.body can see the skill slots.”
I can see them with [a.n.a.lyze].
“There’s no way to check?”
Roxanne asks about it.
The theory is easy to check.
You just have to fuse monster cards with equipment many times.
If you find a piece of gear that the fusion fails on every single time then the theory is proven. After that, if you find a bit of gear that fails even once you wouldn’t try it again.
Is that all?
They should be able to verify it.
“If anything, there are more people who don’t believe it.”
“So it’s not being completely denied?”
“When fusion fails, the monster card is lost, and the equipment returns to being it’s materials. Even though the piece of equipment can be re-made, the people who believe in the skill slot theory don’t believe it becomes the same piece of gear.”
Does the equipment break as well when it fails?
Then verifying it is impossible.
Aside from [a.n.a.lyze], there is no change to the appearance if an item has a skill slot or not.
The skill slot theory still seems to be correct though.
“What do you think Sherry?”
“The skill slot theory seems a little far fetched. It blames this and that for failure, but the argument against it doesn’t hold any weight either.
So Sherry disagrees?
I understand what she’s saying though.
There’s no way to disprove it.
There’s no way to get any results.
To think of such a thing.
Sherry seems to be quite smart.
“Is that so? You seemed to know a lot about it.”
“Sorry. I was interested so I asked someone that was well informed.”
How smart and knowledgeable she is might make her useful.