Chapter 12(New) – A pleasure to be working with you, My Master.

Chapter 12(New) – A pleasure to be working with you, My Master.

After walking for another minute, Gerhart and Billie reached the orphanage.

At this time of day, he didn't see any kids.

"Either they are studying, doing chores, praying... Or working." Gerhart thought.

"Hey, Gerhart... Can you please not tell the nuns?" Billie worriedly said.

Stealing was a bad thing, and children were not exempt from punishment. In addition to fines, cutting off a finger was a common punishment for repeat offenders, if not an outright beating.

Because of that, the nuns were naturally fearful for the kids, and a good spanking was likely.

"I won't this time, but promise me you will stop stealing." Gerhart sternly looked at Billie.

"Okay..." Billie resignedly said, looking away.

"Look at me and promise," Gerhart said.

"... I promise I won't steal..." Billie looked at Gerhart and reluctantly said.

"Haa... I hope you keep your word. Let's go." Gerhart sighed and continued walking to the orphanage.

The front door was wide open, with the main hall of the orphanage having a nun, several pregnant women, and several children praying to the statue of Brigva, the Loving Mother.

It was proven that praying to a god raised one's favor with that god, and hence, their luck in related aspects would improve. In Brigva's case, she helped pregnant mothers have safer childbirth, improved the odds of children reaching adulthood, and the cohesiveness of a family.

Seeing them in prayer, Gerhart didn't want to disturb them, so he turned to Billie. "Okay, Bille. Can I trust you with placing the raisins in the kitchen?" He said in a quiet voice.

"Yes," Billie whispered back.

"Good boy. Take this and buy some snacks later. And leave some for the others." Gerhart said, taking two Copper Coins from his purse and handing them to Billie.

"!!! Thank you." Billie couldn't wipe the smile on his face, nodded, and quietly entered.

Gerhart smirked and walked away. He still had business to do.

The Youvamor Kingdom was a pro-slavery nation, and the slave trade was widespread. As such, there was a dedicated auction house in the city for slaves. Vlita was a city of about 10,000 people, so only three shops and an auction house were in place. However, the slaves were not sold in the market district but between it and the red-light district.

After walking for some time, Gerhart reached the area. It was named Slaver's Alley, with four prominent buildings in place. Except for the auction house that sold high-quality slaves, the three other shops usually allowed window shopping and purchasing on the spot.

"I have no point in joining those wretched auctions... I prefer buying." Gerhart thought and entered one of the shops at random.

At the reception desk, Gerhart saw a slim man counting coins. The man raised his head and looked toward Gerhart.

"Ah! Welcome, honored customer! I am the humble owner of this fine establishment. How may I assist you today?" The man asked with a flattering smile.

Secretly, the man eyed Gerhart before eyeing the sword. "His clothes are new but a tad big... But that sword sheath... He isn't some nobody."

"Hello. I wish to browse your available slaves." Gerhart said while looking around.

"And what is the distinguished guest looking for?" The merchant asked.

"I need a literate slave. He should be older than 18 but younger than 25. I care not for gender, race, slave training, or talent, but they must not be criminal slaves." Gerhart gave his conditions.

He needed a literate slave since he was illiterate and wanted someone young enough. And he also didn't want to accept a murderer or rapist as a slave of his.

"Hoh... You are in luck. There was a recent shipment of goods." The slaver nodded and called to the back. "Lexi! Watch the shop."

A female slave wearing linen clothes and a slave collar came from the back. "Yes, master."

"Please take a seat while I fetch the slaves." The merchant said and walked to a basement.

"Okay, I will wait." Gerhart nodded and sat on one of the seats.

Several minutes later, the merchant returned with five slaves in white linen tunics. The merchant then arranged them in a row in front of Gerhart.

The first one was a thin, average-looking man with a gloomy countenance.

The second was an average girl without remarkable features aside from having too many freckles and wearing glasses.

The third was an athletic dog-type beastkin, a man with dog features such as eyes, ears, tail, furry hands, and legs.

The fourth was a sickly-looking child with white mouse ears and a tail, her eyes pink, and her hands and legs furry up to the elbows and knees.

The fifth was a beautiful brown-skinned woman with floppy rabbit ears and bountiful assets barely contained in her tunic... Perhaps intentionally.

"Please sit. It is better than standing." Gerhart said, not treating her as a slave.

"Thank you." She curtly nodded and sat on a chair.

After Gerhart sat on the other chair, he asked, "Let us cut to the chase... What is your greatest wish?" Gerhart asked.

"To have a healthy body." The girl answered without hesitation.

"Reasonable... And if you have such a body, what would be your next wish?" Gerhart asked.

"To become strong." She answered.

"And why do you need to become strong?" Gerhart continued asking.

"To kill my half-brother and stepmother, who murdered my father and mother and sold me into slavery." She unhesitantly replied, her pink eyes flashing fury.

"Well... This keeps getting more and more interesting... And troublesome." Gerhart thought.

"And do you think I can help you with any of these ridiculous wishes?" Gerhart gave her a ridiculing look.

"Yes." She said without hesitating.

Gerhart's expression froze. "I think I heard something wrong here..."

"Erm... You meant to say no, right?" Gerhart squinted his eyes.

"I am serious. I believe you can help me." The Mousekin said, her pink eyes staring intently at him.

"... Why do you think I can do all that?" Gerhart asked, puzzled. "You realize what I said was impossible, right?"

"Because my intuition is telling me." She said without hesitation.

"Intuition?" Gerhart was taken aback.

"Yes. My talent is intuition. I also held back a piece of information from everyone. My Instincts are SS-grade. If they knew this, my price would be approximately 100,000." She said.

"... Did she just say SS?! Not just S, but SS?!" Gerhart was shocked.

No matter what stat, having an SS grade was an insane feat. To note, adult Dragons were considered S-rank monsters.

"Are you bluffing so I will buy you?" Gerhart skeptically asked.

"I am not, Sir. I am very serious." She said without a change in expression.

"So you believe I can give you a healthy body, make you stronger, and help you get revenge... Because of intuition?" Gerhart asked again.

"Yes. It may be hard to believe, but yes. My intuition told me my brother and stepmother would kill my father. I warned him, but he refused to believe me and died. I never dared reveal my talent my entire life, opting to hide it because my intuition told me that revealing it would get me killed." She said.

"... Okay, now I am curious. What can I get out of this?" Gerhart asked. "Surely you don't expect me to do this for free? I will be owning you if I buy you."

"Everything." The girl unflinchingly said. "I will give you my everything. You may buy my body and freedom, but my heart, mind, and soul will be yours if you give me what I wish... And I can promise you a trading company worth over 10,000,000 Silver Coins. Help me kill them and take over the company, and I will give you everything."

"NOW I am interested." Gerhart thought.

"And what does your intuition say about me? Don't you know I would benefit greatly from merely letting you die?" Gerhart asked back, dangerously narrowing his eyes. "It would save me all the hassle..."

If she died, he could absorb her and her ridiculously high talent without getting involved in all that revenge crap.

"You won't do that." She said with complete certainty.

"And what makes you say that?" Gerhart asked back, intrigued.

"Because you are a kind person." She gave a small, childlike smile.

"..."

"Did she see through me? Or is it her intuition?" Gerhart wondered.

Indeed, Gerhart didn't have the heart to kill her. If he did that, he would be scum, and it would make such behavior easier in the future. He didn't want to become evil.

"Hah... Fine, you win. What is your name?" Gerhart sighed in defeat and asked.

The girl got off her chair, grabbed the sides of her tunic, and made a courteous lady bow, her pink mouse tail wrapping around her waist.

"My name is Hope Farrington. A pleasure to be working with you... My Master." She said with a happy smile on her sickly face.