Becoming a hunter was all well and good, but with our stay being limited, there wasn't much I could do in this city.
Rose had asked me to stay at the inn and not wander around, but I had no reason to take orders from her like that. In the first place, Arnold usually served as her bodyguard. I hadn't seen it for myself, but even my grandfather had vouched for him. Arnold's skill with a sword was beyond doubt. Under these circumstances, there was no need for me to stick to Rose as well.
And so, accompanied by Faf, Asta, and Fen, I was currently browsing the market of Balse.
Fen had refused to stay inside the Compendium when I told him to, so I had reluctantly allowed him to come along on the condition that he stay close to me.
"There is so much food, Master!"
Faf shouted, her eyes sparkling, while—
I wanna eat too!
Fen let out a small whine from atop Faf's head, raising a tiny paw.
Perhaps because it was her first time in such a lively place filled with all sorts of treats, Faf had been in high spirits for a while now. Twirling around, she flitted from stall to stall, buying food with the money I had given her and happily stuffing her cheeks alongside Fen.
Hmm. My purse had grown rather light, so I needed to seriously think about how to earn some coin soon.
I had countless treasures obtained from that Easy Dungeon.
However, as that back-alley incident the other day showed, if someone perceived as incompetent like me were to circulate dungeon treasures through official channels, it would almost certainly draw unwanted attention. If it were just third-rate hunters like before, I could handle them without breaking a sweat, but if the bigwigs from the heart of this greedy nation got involved, things wouldn't go so smoothly. In the worst case, it could escalate into an all-out war with the Amelia Kingdom. Naturally, I would crush them completely if it came to that, but what I wanted was a slow life, not a turbulent one.
Black-market channels carried less risk of alerting the scum running this country, but I had no connections in the underworld to begin with. Finding a trustworthy dealer during our brief stay in Balse was practically impossible. Either way, it was best to avoid that route.
In that case, the only option left was to hunt monsters like a proper hunter. But with only five days left in our stay, it might not bring in much money. Now then, what to do...?
As I pondered my options, I noticed a crowd gathering before a large tent in the plaza, followed by the sound of a man and a woman quarreling.
"How dare you raise a hand against such a young child?! What on earth are you thinking?!"
"Listen here, this is merchandise. Basically a beast. And beasts need to be trained, don't they?"
"A beast?! Don't mock me! Is that not a child of the beastfolk race?!"
"Well, yes, she is. But aren't you kingdom folks the ones who decided the beastfolk race are beasts lacking in reason? Or am I mistaken?"
I recognized that woman's voice. Pushing through the crowd to the front, I found an effeminate man in makeup arguing with a red-haired woman clad in luxurious white armor. That was Anna. What in the world was she fighting about?
"Wrong! We have never declared the beastfolk race to be mindless beasts! What our kingdom asserts is distinction based on Gifts, not discrimination!"
"Oh, please. Distinction is just discrimination by another name. Are you right in the head?"
I had to agree with the effeminate man. The Amelia Kingdom's government had long branded races lacking Gifts—such as the beastfolk—as apostates, treating them with open hostility for centuries. For a beastfolk girl like her to be dragged to this country as a slave in the chaos of war was an everyday occurrence. The ones who built that system were the kingdom's royalty and nobility, Rose included. Blaming this effeminate merchant from the start was completely barking up the wrong tree. Then again, I had no love for scum who beat children, either.
"You bastard, are you making a fool of me?!"
When Anna reached for the hilt of her sword, the black-suited men behind the effeminate merchant moved to block her path.
Good grief, this woman is endless trouble. Still, she couldn't stand by and watch a young child get whipped. That made her far better than the bystanders who were just watching in silence.
"Stand down. You're in the wrong here."
Stepping into the circle of onlookers, I gave Anna a brief reprimand, then turned to the effeminate man.
"This woman is a bit naive to the ways of the world. Please overlook it."
I offered an apology that lacked even a shred of sincerity.
"Well, finally someone who talks sense."
With a small sigh, the effeminate man raised his right hand, signaling his men in black to ease their combat stances.
Anna's armor bore the royal crest; it was glaringly obvious that she served the kingdom's government. The slave traders clearly had no desire for a pointless conflict, either.
"Kai, you bastard—!"
Ignoring Anna's shrill protests, I pulled a cloth pouch containing eighty thousand Aul—virtually my entire remaining wealth—from my waist bag and tossed it to the merchant.
He caught the pouch, peered inside, and frowned.
"What's this? There's only eighty thousand Aul here. You can't ransom anyone with this pittance."
He spat the words out dismissively, just as I expected.
"How much, then?"
"Silver-furred beastfolk children are rare. It'll cost you two million Aul."
"Understood. Consider that a down payment. I'll bring the rest later, so treat that child well until then."
"If you don't pay within twenty days, I'm keeping the deposit. Are you fine with that?"
"I don't mind."
Either way, we couldn't linger in this city forever. If I couldn't raise the funds in that time, it was my loss regardless.
"We have a deal. All right, boys, let's move! Get that child some proper clothes and food! Treat her as an honored guest!"
"Understood!"
In a stark reversal, the men in black respectfully escorted the beastfolk girl away as though she were the daughter of a noble.
She looked back at us several times before disappearing into the tent.
"What is the meaning of this?!"
Anna grabbed me by the collar with both hands and shouted, prompting Faf to growl and Fen to bristle his fur aggressively.
Meanwhile, Asta slumped his shoulders with a quiet sigh, as if to say I was taking on yet another needless burden.
Setting that aside, his look of utter exasperation was getting on my nerves.
"You seem a bit slow on the uptake. Isn't it obvious? I'm going to buy that child from them."
"Buy her?! You intend to purchase a human life with coin?!"
"Yes. It's the fastest way."
"How could a proud knight of the kingdom ever permit the trafficking of people?!"
Anna was supposed to be of noble birth, yet unlike other nobles, she treated beastfolk as fellow beings. And yet, she had no qualms about calling me an apostate. Her sympathy for that beastfolk girl and her contempt for me were completely contradictory. One of those reflected her true nature, though given that she had shouted her beliefs in front of a whole crowd, there was hardly any need to ponder which.
"It is permitted. In fact, the Amelia Kingdom's government recognizes the slave trade as legal. There is no legal obstacle to buying her."
"His Majesty the King does not condone the slave trade! The ban simply hasn't been strictly enforced!"
"Fool. That is precisely what the rest of the world calls 'legal.' And as long as it is legal, taking that child by force makes us wanted criminals. That would severely jeopardize Rose's standing. Are you fine with that?"
"That would... be a problem..."
Biting her lower lip, Anna muttered quietly, tears of frustration brimming in her eyes.
"Then our only choice is to protect that child according to the kingdom's rules. And buying her out is the quickest way. Do you understand now?"
"..."
She finally released her grip on my collar and gave a small nod.
"In that case, we need to scrape the money together as soon as possible. Let's head back to the inn and figure out our next move."
"Understood."
She clearly wasn't happy about it, pressing her lips into a tight line as she marched ahead with brisk strides.
"Let's go, too."
I scooped up Fen, who was still growling at Anna from atop Faf's head, gave him a gentle stroke, and urged Faf and Asta to follow as we made our way back to the inn.