On the one hand, I know that buying and owning slaves is morally wrong. After all, it was outlawed in my world for a reason. But on the other hand, she is such a beautiful girl that I felt that if I wont step up now and claim her as my own, such a chance might not present itself to me anymore, and I wouldnt be able to forgive myself to the end of my life if something like that ever happened. I need to make a decision now!
Of course, if your Party consists of people you know you can trust with your life, there will be no problem with betrayals. Or if you still worry about that, you can purposefully hire the people who are weaker than you. Thankfully, cases of such happenings are fewer now than they were just a few years ago.
He was practically spoon feeding me valuable information, but Roxanne was all that I could think of.
If this was a game, having conflicts within the Party wouldnt be such a big deal. Worst case scenario your in-game character would die and simply respawn at the nearest church/temple (whatever the spawn point was) and you could go on to exact revenge on the Party member who thought he could screw you over. Even in MMORPGs, where the interaction was almost exclusively between living, thinking players stuck together for better or worse, the possibilities for betrayal and PK (Player Killing) were limited by the games systems.
Reality, however, was a totally different nut to crack.
No matter where you go, people around you are all ultimately complete strangers whom you dont know if you could trust at all. I mean seriously, lets consider the following: youre going to the Labyrinth with your Party members, you fight monsters, one of them drops some valuable item that one of your Party members wants so badly that hes willing to kill for it, and he does just that. What am I getting at? Considering that death is probably nothing unusual in a monster-filled dungeon like a Labyrinth, no one would probably even be suspicious when someone would die in there, since the culprit would be able to just play the whole thing off as a He bit off more than he could chew scenario. And while were on the subject of valuable drops and treasures
A question, if I may. While in the Labyrinth, is it possible to get stabbed in the back by one of your Party members?
There is such a possibility, yes.
I knew it. It would have been too good if that wasnt the case. Knowing that she might as well try to kill me if she doesnt find me to her liking or that if the opportunity to run off with a valuable treasure presents itself to her, do I still want to buy Roxanne?
I see. Thats not nice to hear.
However, Parties consisting of a master and his slave have some unique rules to them. Since a slave is a possession of its master, the same principle applies to any item or money the slave might obtain.
Thats one concern out of the way. But if I want to make Roxanne mine, there is still one thing that I have to know about.
Okay, I get it.
The biggest problem here is that you cant form a Party with anyone unless you trust them. I came alone from Japan to begin with, but even before getting isekaid out of the blue like that I had severe trust issues coupled with disdain for other human beings, who I assumed were all out to get me and pour salt onto my open wounds, so how can anyone expect me to form bonds of trust with the denizens of this world when I dont even know what are the laws of this land and what counts as common sense here?!
And will I be able to procure enough money to buy food for both myself and Roxanne without delving into the depths of the Labyrinth? Well, I can always not buy Roxanne and begin my career as a solo Adventurer. With a weapon like Durandal by my side making a name for myself shouldnt be anything difficult.
So how about it, Michio-sama? Would you be interested in buying Roxanne? Shes a Beast Warrior, so Im sure shed be a great addition to your Party.
Beast Warrior
Yes, because shes a Werewolf. Beast Warrior is a Job that only a Werewolf or other Beastman can acquire.
Werewolf huh? Gotta say, she doesnt look like one at all.
Of course I knew about her Job and its level because I used Identify on her.
Well, what do you say? Pretty tempting offer, am I right?
Yeah, but
And to top it off, shes the most beautiful one among the female slaves I happen to have in stock now. With her stunning looks and the intellect to match it, shell be a perfect companion for a first-timer like you. And shes a Werewolf Beast Warrior at that!
The Slave Merchant continued to pour his honeyed words down my ears.
This is nice and all, but I need to keep a clear head. I mustnt make a hasty purchase under the influence of that sweet-talking of his! Besides, there must be a catch somewhere! There always is!