Volume 6 - CH 2

Chapter 6. Yuuji, Changing Job from Pioneer to Farmer

「Good morning, Yuuji-san」(Kevin)

Kevin greeted Yuuji, who was diligently working on the field day by day.

「O, oh, Kevin-san. Good morning. It seems that you are really happy.」(Yuuji)

Yuuji raised his face and wiped off the sweat before returning the greeting. Certainly, Kevin the peddler had this perpetual grin and his appearance was very lively.

The season was spring.

The offline meeting participants and goods never appear near Yuuji, but Yuuji had pulled himself together and then began to work. It might be considered as just running away from reality, though.

He would clear the land for the entire morning, and then from noon he would maintain the field or fell the trees on the eastern side. Recently, these activities were the main contents of Yuuji’s schedule.

While Yuuji was clearing and reclaiming the land, Kotarou was either patrolling the surroundings or playing with Alice in the garden. Alice, too, was doing her own things by herself while Yuuji was working. Swinging the hoe alone by himself had become Yuuji’s daily routine.

「How I should put it, the first commercialized product, the oatmeal stick, is selling well. The selling price is cheap, but we have a steady profit. As expected, doing business with Yuuji-san turned out well! Ah, this is Yuuji-san’s promised portion. Since I also wrote down the sales numbers and money, more or less, please confirm it.」(Kevin)

While saying so, Kevin the peddler handed over a piece of parchment and a small bag.

Yuuji casually received it and opened the bag to peek at the insides.

There was a glimmer from several silver and copper coins.

「Oh, oh, ooooooooooo……」(Yuuji)

Yuuji made a squeal while frozen stiff.

Yes.

For the first time in his life, he earned money through his own hand.

Although he was just selling knowledge that he had brought from somewhere else, so it was questionable whether this could be considered as earning money through his own hands.

「Yuuji-san, Yuuji-san! Are you alright? Is something wrong?」(Kevin)

Yuuji finally came to his senses when Kevin called him.

「Ah, I’m sorry…… This is the first time I have ever earned some money, so I was a bit surprised……」(Yuuji)

「Is that so…… Well, I have a rough idea about the container for the canned food, therefore, from now on you will obtain even more money!」(Kevin)

Seeing Yuuji so surprised, Kevin informed him while having a pleased expression.

✧✦✧✦

This was the third time that Kevin the peddler had visited Yuuji.

After lunch was over, Kevin and Yuuji began to discuss through the gate while sitting in their usual folding chairs.

Kevin’s exclusively contracted adventurer trio started to chop the trees on the eastern side. Perhaps this also began to become their usual conduct.

Alice also did her best, but she was defeated by the sleepiness and went to the house with Kotarou to have a nap.

「Even so…… You have even made a field. The land reclamation had some progress, I see.」(Kevin)

「Well, since it’s only me and Alice, so it didn’t progress that much.」(Yuuji)

“No, no, for just one adult, this is already fast”, “No, no, that’s not true.” The conversation between both of them was surprisingly Japanese-like.[1]

「Hmm. In that case, shall I prepares slaves for you, Yuuji-san?」(Kevin)

Kevin spoke out in a way like it was just something ordinary, but today, Yuuji froze up for the second time.

「Eh……? Slaves……?」(Yuuji)

「Yes, that’s right. There are people that can be used to open the land or for farm work. Although the amount of money that I had given to Yuuji-san is just barely enough to purchase one, if the canned food had been sold, then we could quickly reach the needed amount. Should we make an advance order? Hmm? Do slaves not exist in Yuuji-san’s world?」(Kevin)

「Y-yes. Although slavery was practiced in the past, at the time where I was born, it had already disappeared. That’s why, I felt a bit…… reluctant.」(Yuuji)

「I see…… By the way, in this country, slaves are divided into crime-slaves and normal slaves. I don’t know if Yuuji-san’s world’s slavery also operated like this, but the slave’s master will provide the slave’s life necessities. In exchange, the slaves will perform manual labor. Opening a land, performing farm work or caring for a large mansion needs many servants, right? Depending on the master, they could be freed based on their achievements, or they could buy themselves using the small money that they had saved. So many slaves are able to earn their own freedom.」(Kevin)

Well, it’s completely different for the crime-slaves, murmured Kevin.

It seems that the treatment of the slaves was better than what Yuuji had imagined when he heard the word “Slave”.

「Then…… Can a master hit or kick them as he like, or doing se-se-se……sexual things with the slaves?」(Yuuji)

Yuuji asked Kevin while trembling. It seems he was confirming whether it was possible to do sexual thing. However, this couldn’t be helped. For the last ten years, his girlfriend had been his own right hand. Sometimes, he had an affair with his own left hand, though. So it couldn’t be helped if he asked about this.

「Yuuji-san…… Errr…  although it is allowed to hit the slave with a whip or a stick as a punishment for some kind of mistake, it is prohibited to be violent to the slaves without any reason. Since in the first place, they are an asset that had been purchased with a lot of money, there are almost no people that would injure them without any reason…… About sexual acts, as long both parties are content then there won’t be any matter. Or so they speak, but it could be said that the slave could hardly refuse, right? Well, the women who permit such thing, rather than becoming a slave, most of them would probably sell themselves in the brothel. Although they can obtain the money by selling themselves directly, if they were in the brothel, then they could obtain a higher income.」(Kevin)

「I-I see……」(Yuuji)

Yuuji dropped his shoulders, just a bit. He intended to gloss it over by doing this.

「B-but, that’s right, man-power! For land clearing and farm work, perhaps I want a slave, very much. If you can, a young girl, big bre-」(Yuuji)

「Kevin-ojiichan! Good day!」(Alice)

Alice, who had woken up from her nap, ran from the house entrance and greeted Kevin the peddler.

“Woof*woof” Kotarou also seemed to greet Kevin.

Yuuji froze up. This was the third time he became petrified for today.

「Yuuji-nii, you seem strange, you know? What’s wrong? What are you talking about?」(Alice)

「Eh, ah, welllll, Kevin-san, you know, employing slaves for land clearing and farm work, that’s right, for land clearing, ahahahaha.」

Under the illumination of Alice’s innocent sight, Yuuji stutteringly answered.

“Something smells suspicious.”

Kotarou stared fixedly at Yuuji.

While making a “ahahaha” fake laugh, Yuuji sent glances towards Kevin.

「Yes, that’s right. If you purchase slaves, then the land clearing can progress faster and it is easy to obtain a slave who has knowledge in farming. In that case, it’s easy to grow good crops. That is what I had been discussing with Yuuji-san.」(Kevin)

Communicating with a glance is a marktag of the camaraderie between men.[2]

“Yes, that’s right.” Yuuji began to murmur this and that.

The same as ever, Kotarou was looking at the two men.

“Don’t try to deceive me. Something is fishy.”

After all, she is a woman who wouldn’t be easily deceived by a man’s lie. She is a dog, though.

「Th-that’s right, for example a beastkin has a strong power, especially a dog-kin, what do you think? Ah, they have a high loyalty to their master, so they won’t ever betray him.」(Kevin)

Under Kotarou’s glare, even Kevin couldn’t hide his trembling tone.

However, why was he explaining this to Kotarou? Also, even if it was just like he said, a dog-kin arrived to the house in the future, they will pledge their loyalty not to Yuuji but to Kotarou.

“Beast-kin-san is kind, strong and cool, you know” or so was what Alice said to Yuuji. It seems that she was reminded of Doni the hunter wolf-kin that had helped her back in the village, so she conveyed this to Yuuji.

「Eh…… Huh……? So you mean a Kemomimi[3]!? Kevin-san, what shape are the ears that a beast-kin has?」(Yuuji)

Perhaps because he realized something, Yuuji braced himself to ask Kevin.

「Eh? Well, depending on the race, most of the beast-kin have their ears located at the top of their heads.」(Kevin)

Yuuji raised his fist towards the heaven in silence. It was a Guts Pose.[4]

“What are you doing, you baka[5].”

He was even disregarding Kotarou’s cold gaze on him.

Alice was just watching Yuuji with a blank expression.

Kevin-san, beast-kin slave, please arrange for one.

Finally, those words could be heard from Yuuji’s mouth.