"Hey. What are we going to do about that girl... Marina was it? At this rate she's nothing but a bad asset."

"I know that already..."

"We've got to cut our losses somewhere. We're running a business here too."

"...Alright. I'll give it one more month. If she still doesn't sell, I'll contact Mamon-san."

"I don't like sending her to the mountains either. But if you're in the slave trade, these things can't be helped. I'm counting on you."

This kind of nagging from my wife was a daily occurrence.

I suppose I'm simply not cold-blooded enough for this profession. In this trade, the ironclad rule is that you must discard unsellable stock eventually. If anything, slaves are a liability that only eats up more cost the longer they stay in inventory.

Marina was brought to me a few months ago by a regular client. She was a beautiful girl with clear, well-defined features, but there was one glaring problem.

She was a Turk. A race regarded as "fake elves".

Just as I had feared, she remained unsold. It had been nearly half a year since I acquired her. I had already dropped her price to the absolute floor. And yet, no one wanted her.

If only she had been a man, she would have sold instantly...

The Turks are naturally strong as a racial trait. On the flip side, they are said to be a race unloved by the spirits. Whether that's actually true, I don't know. What mattered was that for customers looking for labor, there was usually a specific selling point—and she didn't fit the mold.

Furthermore, her Vocation was a disaster.

I remember the day Marina was brought into my shop.

* * *

"Your name is Marina... I see. And your Vocation?"

"...ight... de-arimasu..."

"...Knight. Marina is a Knight, de-arimasu."

"K-Knight?! A female Knight... I see... Marmon-san really is a piece of work."

A woman cannot become a Knight. In other words, her Vocation was effectively the same as having none at all. Of course, it might count as a plus in terms of raw combat ability, but in that case, a buyer would just purchase a male warrior from the start.

Perhaps, if luck were on our side, a mercenary might buy her as a human shield, but Erishe is far from the front lines. The chances of a customer looking for that kind of slave coming here were slim.

It was partly my fault for not double-checking when I heard she had a combat-oriented Vocation... I just never imagined it would be "Knight".

...I have no choice but to lower the price even more.

Customers' needs vary, but many people will buy anything if it's cheap enough. Since keeping a slave is expensive, owning one is difficult unless the buyer is already wealthy or the slave is an asset that generates income.

Still, many customers buy on impulse if the price is lower than the market average... though they often end up unable to handle the burden and come back to sell the slave again.

Regardless, keeping her any longer would incur too much in food and maintenance costs. My wife's advice was sound. I didn't get into this business to run a welfare program.

If she didn't sell, I would be forced to send her to the "Mountains". But that was essentially synonymous with death—a de facto disposal. I often used the name of the Mountains as a threat to keep unruly slaves in line, but I had never actually sent one there. Even if I had heard stories of slaves I sold eventually dying there.

I lowered Marina's price to the absolute minimum. I was already in the red, but it was the last bit of humanity I could afford to show.

Marina was already the longest-tenured slave in my shop. It's rare for a slave to remain unsold for this long. Even for a Turk, buyers usually don't care much about race as long as the price is right.

I could only pray that she would sell within the month.

* * *

"Well, dear. The month is up. You promised."

"Yeah... I know. I'll... I'll contact Marmon-san."

In the end, Marina remained unsold.

There is no choice but to dispose of a slave for whom there is no demand. This is a business, so I wanted to recover at least the minimum cost I had put in. I couldn't simply set her free.

"...I wonder if that man sold her to me knowing this would happen."

"Marmon-san? Oh, it's entirely possible with a man like him."

I don't like to speak ill of my business associates, but that man is the type who truly does not view slaves as human beings. He is an efficient merchant, perhaps, but not the kind of person I'd want to associate with outside of work.

I bought Marina from him, and if I were to sell her back, he would profit from the difference while I took the loss. That's how business goes sometimes.

Honestly, it grated on my nerves, but Marmon was the only connection I had who would take an unsold slave for a decent price.

The "Mountains" are a place where dragons and monsters engage in a never-ending cycle of war. The carcasses of dragons slain by monsters are left where they fall, making the area a literal mountain of treasure.

There, day and night, wretched slaves are forced to risk their lives collecting dragon materials. Naturally, if they are spotted by a dragon or a monster, their lives are forfeit.

Marmon was a man who had amassed a fortune by sending slaves to that place; it was rumored that the number of slaves who died under his watch reached triple digits. He wouldn't hesitate for a second to work Marina to the bone in the Mountains.

My hand stopped as I began to write the letter.

My wife was glaring at me.

From her perspective, Marina was just an extra mouth to feed, and she likely wanted her gone as soon as possible.

I even asked Efta-san and he turned me down... I can't just set her free...

If I released her, it would be a loss of over 40 gold coins.

They were just people who had fallen into misfortune, children of the Great Spirit just like us. It would be one thing if they bore the Mark of the Criminal, but for those who had received the Blessing and a Calling... was it right to choose a path that would lead to their deaths?

"Dear. Look, your hand stopped again."

"...Hey, maybe Marina is—"

"What now? I know what you want to say. but if you keep showing compassion like this, there'll be no end to it. We have our own lives to lead."

"But her life—"

—In the moment I spoke those words, it happened.

With a soft pop, the Vocation Board sprang out.

"Eh?! What?!"

When a Vocation Board suddenly appears before your eyes, it is always a "Guidance" from the Great Spirit.

Guidance is a roadmap for life bestowed by the Great Spirit Le Baraka. No matter the reason, it is the duty of a believer to fulfill it—even putting aside the fact that the Spirit Stones earned from completion are worth a fortune.

『Sell your longest-tenured slave on the day of the festival 0/1.』

"...What?"

It was a task I never could have imagined.

By "the festival," it likely meant the Erishe 50th Anniversary Festival. That was still nearly half a year away.

And 'the longest-tenured slave'... That was, without a doubt, Marina.

Unconsciously, I crushed the half-written letter in my grip. The Great Spirit had issued "Guidance." That meant Marina would definitely sell on the day of the festival. No... it meant I must not sell her—must not let her go—until then.

"...Marina isn't going to the Mountains."

"Hah?! What are you saying all of a sudden—"

"—I received Guidance. It says to sell her on the day of the festival. There must be some good fate waiting for her on that day."

"Guidance?! I... I see... Well, if Lord Le Baraka says so..."

Even my wife had to concede when it came to Guidance. Besides, completing a Guidance meant getting a Spirit Stone. In terms of gold, it was worth 20 coins. That was enough to wipe out Marina's deficit in one go.

And so, Marina, the unsold Turk girl, came to live in our merchant house for a while longer.

* * *

"Marina! Stop playing Knight and help with the laundry already!"

"Understood, Big Mom-dono! I'm going right now, de-arimasu!"

I decided to keep Marina as a helper for the next six months.

There was no prospect of her selling as a slave before then, but there was no sense in letting her idle. Fortunately, she was good-natured and had a strong work ethic. Giving her tasks would serve as part of her slave education in the long run.

"Teyah! Laundry Pole Style Secret Technique: Rock-Smasher Slash!"

"Just get moving!"

...I did wish, however, that she would stop playing around with the laundry poles.

* * *

One day, with only half a month left until the festival, Efta-san of Marishela arrived as usual to offload some slaves.

He is a member of the Solo family—purveyors to the Imperial Court—yet he is surprisingly easygoing with someone of my station and very pleasant to do business with. He gives me generous discounts on wholesale prices, and though some call him a "playboy son", his work is solid, and above all, he is incredibly sharp.

Rumors really are unreliable things.

Usually, he delivers slaves from Marishela without so much as a single guard, which is reckless beyond belief, but on that day, he was uncharacteristically accompanied by someone wearing a hood.

After offloading the slaves, Efta-san left the merchant house once to get a meal, but for some reason, he returned immediately and spent the rest of the afternoon idling around the building.

He seemed to exchange words with the hooded figure from time to time, but I couldn't quite make sense of their situation.

"Proprietor, things have changed a bit. I've decided she should stay in Erishe until the day of the festival. Could you look after her until then? I'll make it worth your while, of course."

"By 'she', do you mean your companion, Efta-san? I don't mind, but..."

There was no real need to board her at a slave merchant's house. A man of his means could easily secure a room at the finest inn in town.

"Circumstances, you see. She is a guest of mine as well. I am merely looking after her temporarily due to a certain 'Guidance'."

"Well, if that's the case. We do have guest rooms available."

"I'm counting on you. Diana-san, please make sure to stay on your best behavior. I have to head back to Marishela for work for a bit."

"Efta is noisy, nodesu." the guest replied.

When the hooded figure removed her cloak, I saw that Efta-san's guest was an elf. Moreover, she was an elf whose every visible inch of skin was covered in colorful tattoos.

At that moment, it was clear that her circumstances were anything but ordinary.

"I'll leave it to you then, Proprietor."

She was an incredibly haughty elf, yet she carried herself with an air far more noble than even the town's high priest. I couldn't even bring myself to meet her eyes. She felt like a queen—a presence that seemed utterly out of place in a slave merchant's house.

* * *

The day of the festival arrived.

The Erishe 50th Anniversary Festival was a massive undertaking, drawing sightseers from across the Empire. Naturally, the number of people peering into the slave merchant houses increased as well. Marina, the Turk girl, was supposed to sell during this festival... or so the plan went.

Over the past year, both my wife and I had grown quite fond of her.

I truly hoped she would find a good master.

* * *

On the morning of the second day, Efta-san arrived.

"Proprietor, thank you for taking care of Diana-san. I'll be taking her back for the day."

"I have been in your care, nodesu."

The festival was only on its second day, but they apparently had business to attend to.

Perhaps they were guests of honor?

...No, if they were official guests, there would have been no reason to leave her at my house. It was a complete mystery, but Efta-san had paid me an amount equivalent to a stay at a luxury inn. There was no need for me to pry.

"Marina. You absolutely have to be bought during this festival. I've grown fond of you too. If possible, I don't want to see you sent to the mountains. No matter what, you must make them like you."

"Y-Yes, ma'am! I understand de-arimasu! I don't want to be sent to the mountains..."

My wife was scaring Marina, but in her own way, she meant it as encouragement.

It only looked like intimidation... but my wife was simply bad with words.

We had no children. Only someone like me, who had been with her for years, could notice that she had begun to feel something close to affection toward Marina.

Though the slaves feared her and called her Big Mom, she was, at heart, a gentle woman.

"Anyway, we have customers! You know what to do! Recommend Marina to them!"

"I know. Guidance is on the line, after all."

Just because there was a Guidance didn't mean her sale was guaranteed. If my own efforts were deemed insufficient, it could still result in failure. This was the moment of truth.

But this was the Great Spirit's Guidance. Marina is a good girl. There's no way she shouldn't sell.

And if, by some chance, she doesn't sell...

There is no way we could ever send her to the Mountains. We would just have to buy her ourselves. That would be the only way.