Heavenly Castle

Translator: “Pink Tea” Editor: ”Ryunakama”

One of the rooms of Karluk Kingdom’s royal castle. Inishida, the king of the kingdom, laughed with glee.

「Fu HA HA HA! I thought that I can’t read him, but it turns out that he just doesn’t think anything! How ridiculous! To think he really would start a slave trade on the terms he voiced to me! There is a no bigger fool than that!」

「My, it’s truly as Your Majesty says. After humoring him for a bit, so he won’t resort to force, I’d say it’s fine to leave him to his own devices.」

「Prime minister! Is that fool truly a king of the Heavenly Castle?! If it turns out that he lied, won’t it be a great chance to put Reginshion Company under my control?!」

Laughing, Inishida turned around and asked almost in a shout. Prime minister’s shoulders jerked a bit from surprise, after which he made several light nods, and then let out a sigh.

「A-a-about that... It seems that there is no mistake about Heavenly Country’s presence in Karluk Kingdom...... Garrison and some of the merchants saw golems flying through the sky.」

Hearing the prime minister’s words, Inishida clicked his tongue, displeased.

「Though it’s absurd, flying golems stopping the advance of the Empire became rumors all over the place. We can’t dismiss them as a hoax... If only we could somehow obtain those flying golems...」

Looking into the floor, Prime minister muttered in a small voice, eyeing Inishida with a sidelong glance.

「Our country doesn’t even have magicians capable of producing golems on their own...... Good grief, His Majesty it’s just impossible...」

Breathing a deep sigh, oozing with the grief of his hardships, the prime minister looked into a window.

Though their thoughts went in different directions, there was something that both of them recognized.

Taiki’s slave trade will certainly fail.

Surely, any slave trader would think so.

However, some merchants began to entertain other points of view.

———————

「...The slaves seem very lively.」

「Yeah, it’s my first time seeing such slaves.」

In front of the duo that voiced such thoughts was a pair of slaves clad in neat outfits, that showcased their skills in an experienced manner.

A middle-aged man sat on the stool, with both of his feet pressing on an animal’s hide, and using thin strips of leather instead of a thread, made something that appeared like bags. A young woman, smiling, took leather products and lining them up on a small table wrote, in smooth movements, price tags, placing them in front of the merchandise.

「He-hey. You can write?」

「Rather than that, look at those bags. And shoes. They are quite well made. Is this black wolf’s leather?」

The merchants exclaimed, surprised by the skills of the slaves. Those voices became a bait that lured in other merchants, in the blink of an eye creating a crowd in front of the two slaves.

There, Diego appeared with a smile on his face.

「Both of those slaves can read and write and also can do simple calculations. The man is skilled in leathercraft, simple sharpening of cutlery, and woodwork. The girl is skilled with trading, weaving and musical instruments.」

After hearing that short bit of introduction, the merchants curiously gazed at Diego. ƒ𝔯𝗲𝗲𝙬𝒆𝚋𝐧oѵℯl.𝒄𝑜m

「Musical instruments? How good is she?」 𝙛𝐫e𝚎wℯ𝗯𝒏𝗼ѵ𝙚l.𝒄o𝚖

「And I’d like to verify his skills as a carpenter, is it possible?」

Barraged with questions, Diego returns simple replies.

Then, a black-haired beauty, Yuri, raised her hand, having a faint smile on her face.

「And how much would those two slaves cost?」

For some reason, that phrase could be heard very well. As if reminded of something, everyone looked at Yuri in silence, then shifted their gazes to Diego.

Not flustered by that at all, Diego nodded with a delighted smile and then clasped both hands in front of his chest.

「Oh, so they caught your eye! Yes, the two of them are very diligent after all. I do recommend them. However, it would be required to make a special contract meant for highest grade slaves, and considering their skills, they would cost a bit more than market price.」

And after that prelude, he first pointed with his hand to the man.

「He is 40 years of age, so it would be one gold coin. She is young and good-natured, so it would be two gold coins.」

「So-So much......!」

「You can buy three or four common slaves for that sum!」

The moment Diego voiced the prices, the merchants erupted, almost screaming.

Yet Diego didn’t falter, making a deep nod.

「Naturally. We would be troubled if you viewed the slaves available at this store the same as any common slave. After the purchase, they will earn you many times more than they cost. This store concluded that they have enough ability to do so.」

Being told so with pride, the merchants hesitated for a bit but soon stepped forward with another objection.

But before they could say anything, Yuri spoke.

「Three gold coins? A cheap price.」

Everyone’s eyes went wide to the words she spoke in her energetic voice. Yuri gave them a sidelong glance and slightly raised her chin.

Then, breaking the crowd, an elf in a white robe appeared. With the entrance of someone who had a completely different atmosphere about him, the merchants took a step back.

White-robed elf, Aifa, silently walked to Diego and offered him gold coins.

「...Three gold.」

Being handed gold coins with those words, Diego accepted them with a bit of a frightened expression.

「Tha-thank you for your purchase. My, to think you would take both of them......」

As he said, wiping the sweat, Yuri made a meaningful smile, and slightly lowering her voices, asked.

「Those are skilled slaves, after all, we will come for more. However, our land, Imperial Country of Fleida lies a bit far from here. Can we leave delivery to you?」

Diego immediately gives affirmation.

「Oh, Imperial Country of Fleida! Please leave it to us! This store belongs directly to Heavenly Country! Purchases above ten gold coins will be delivered by flying golems! Of course, if it would suit you, we can also offer noble lady a flight through the skies with her companions.」

「Oh my! So the rumors about Heavenly Country’s involvement were true? Our King has a great interest in Heavenly Country. If only it was possible to somehow convey a message to the Heavenly King......」

With wide-open eyes, the surrounding merchants observed the conversation between the excited Yuri and Diego.

And the next moment, their minds made a complete change.

「Could it be, that we can make a deal with Heavenly Country?」

「If so, then people surely would buy their slaves for any price. Is it possible to sell them good slaves?」

「Fly-fly through the skies...... For ten gold coins......?!」

A clamor of all kinds of voices made the surroundings even noisier.

Looking at the merchants overwhelmed with emotions, Diego and Yuri silently smiled with corners of their mouths.