Chapter 46: In the Den of Predators
"By the way, Mr. Gentleman, you said you had a proposal... Well, what is this proposal?" the captain finally asked.
’Well then, it’s time to start bargaining...’
"As you already know, I have come to the city of Verigia for the first time, and therefore I need a servant or a slave who can do basic things. And when I was walking around the ship, I met the girl who just brought us wine. I liked how she pours and carries herself. If you don’t mind, I would like to buy her. We can discuss the money right now, and I’ll give it to you right now as well." Alister immediately got down to business without dragging anything out, as he urgently needed to change the conversation and not dig into Alister’s past, since he had already made one mistake. Now he couldn’t allow a second one.
"Ah, so that’s what you mean... Now I understand. Well, if you need a slave, I can offer someone better than her, someone who knows more than she does and will help with many things," the captain immediately began to trade, pushing more expensive goods.
’It just occurred to me, but how did the girl become a slave? In this world, aren’t girls in the big leagues or not? Or maybe she has some problems with her powers because there’s a crystal inside her. In any case, I’ll need to use Primal Gaze on her; maybe I’ll be able to see her stats and analyze what’s going on.’
’But for now, I will stick to my guns. Right now, I need to save money, no matter how much I have. I don’t need an expensive slave and servant yet. She will be enough for me, and after I decide what to do with her, then it will be worth thinking about help. But first, I need to find out how to get the crystal out of her.’
"Thank you for such a tempting offer, but for now I prefer to refrain from them. I liked this girl. I hope you will sell her to me at a reasonable price to strengthen our relationship in the future," he replied politely to the captain’s proposal.
"Hmm... alright, moreover she is useless to me, so I don’t need her right now," the captain said, agreeing to Alister’s proposal.
"Captain Vincent Coldwell, by saying those words just now, you have lowered the value of your goods in the eyes of Mr. Gentleman. You should be more careful if you want to get rich in the future. As a captain, you are impeccable, but when it comes to conversation, you make such small mistakes," Garrett Vance intervened in our conversation-he who had been very clever before and had almost caught Alister on his mistake.
’He is very clever... It’s impossible that he’s just an ordinary aristocrat. If he is so vigilant and knows social dynamics, then he must definitely have good connections with the city of Verigia, especially if the Queen herself is located here.’
"I completely agree with Mr. Garrett. Well, I mean there is truth in his words about the captain. But a random question occurred to me: hasn’t Mr. Garrett just made the captain look stupid in front of Mr. Gentleman?" Jonas suggested his point of view in the conversation-he who was so different from Garrett himself.
If Garrett was a serious and heavy-charactered person, then Jonas radiated fun and warmth. But being absolutely kind and being a famous merchant and aristocrat was almost impossible, as it was incompatible, at least in this world. So one should not expect warmth or help from them. Although Alister didn’t expect it from them anyway.
"Nothing of the sort. Mr. Gentleman has already started to become like a member of our group, especially since his behavior and manners meet our standards. So I believe that some things can be told. I hope Mr. Gentleman understands this and it remains within our group," saying these words, Garrett immediately looked at Alister with a very serious face as if saying, "If you betray us, it will be hard for you, so sit quiet and still."
’I don’t like him. After this conversation, I realized that I definitely need a spy who will find out everything about these people and how they are connected, but how can I find such a person... I hardly know the city. And to find one, I need at least a month to study the city. It’s just that events happened very quickly: death, Princess Lysandra, Lucian, and now this trip.’
’There was no normal time for strategy adaptation. And now I have to adapt on the go, which increases efficiency. Now, if similar events occur, I should take such moments into account and find out everything in advance so that there are no problems in the future like now.’
"Alright, alright, calm down. Better tell us, Mr. Gentleman, how much do you want to offer the captain for the slave?" Silas Crais, who had been standing to the side and not interfering in the conversation, asked immediately.
’How much can I offer... I need economics here.’
’The lower class earns 70–90 rons a month. At the same time, they buy their own food. The slave girl on the ship is free labor. The captain only spends money on her meager food, for example, on bread at 0.4 r each as recorded in the old man’s book and doesn’t pay her a salary. She is thin, starving, which means her maintenance costs the captain pennies; I can assume about 5–10 rons a month.’
’In the slave market, if it’s legal or semi-legal, the price for an unskilled, exhausted servant usually equals the annual or semi-annual salary that would be paid to them. That is, her real market price is in the range of 50–100 rons.’
’But two factors come into play here: Captain Vincent Coldwell is a person who only cares about money and status. Moreover, judging by the conversation, he wants to get rich.’
’And I need to take her immediately, without long bargaining, and at the same time not look suspicious.’
’I must offer an amount that will be higher than the market rate so that the captain’s eyes flash instantly, but not too huge, so as not to cause suspicion.’
"Well, are you going to say it after all?" asked the captain, who apparently was tired of waiting for Alister’s answer.
"Yes. My proposal..."
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