Chapter 755: Merchants Are Always Looking For Business
I decided to talk to Sameer for a little longer, though I did change the topic to him being a slave trader since I was a little interested in how it worked.
“So you transport slaves from the Republic of Modgnik to Lehcarouc Kingdom?” I asked.
“And also transporting them to the Republic of Modgnik from Shendhala as well.”
“Where do you get the slaves then?”
“Me? I have a set route actually. If I was transporting slaves from Shendhala to Modgnik, I would be getting them from either Oasis Market or Blue Sands Bazaar depending on the season. Those slaves would be sold in Fraltoheilm Capital City before I buy the trained slaves to be transported through Shendhala where I will make a stop in Sisaotoh Capital city to sell off in the auction.
The ones that were unsold would follow me down south to Asttol City to be sold before I start again in the first two locations.”
I blinked at him, “So… Your entire life is just travelling between these locations?”
He nodded, “Pretty much… Did well for myself too the past few years to the point I could actually afford three wagons… An average slave trader would only have one or two at most. I was considered a successful one.”
“And you lost all that to that crazy dude…”
He let out a deep sigh, “Yes I did… But at least I still have some contacts and investments elsewhere so I’m not completely ruined. The best part of my situation is the fact that he didn’t take away the slaves I was transporting so I could still make a sale from this. Not enough to get me back to where I was before this of course but still something.”
At least he had backup plans I guess.
“So what are your plans now?” I asked.
He looked back at his group, “We’re planning on heading to Sandsegde Fort to either sell the slaves there or head further to my original destination of Asttol City.”
I frowned, “Wouldn’t it be safer for you to just follow us to Sands Border Town instead of going to Sandsegde Fort on your own?”
He pursed his lips, “We could… But the market for slaves there is almost non-existent and I don’t have any contacts there. We would most likely be safer but our situation would be worse in the long term as we would still have to make our way to the Fort and there could still be bandits on the way as well.”
“Ah, so we would most likely be going our separate ways then.”
He turned back and nodded, “Yes, I had already discussed it with Miss Meela. We would only be staying the night before we would go our separate ways in the morning.”
I tilted my head, “Do you have food and water though? And how would you deal with monsters?”
He grimaced, “I do have some Creas left that I would like to buy some food from you girls, but for the monsters… I unfortunately would have to rely on luck to hope that we don’t run into any monsters on the way there.”
Well… I’m not sure how good his luck can be considering the fact he just got robbed by a brainrot Off-Worlder of all things and pretty much got screwed over by that guy.
But then again, I guess he had good luck running into us instead of the Dune Striders who I assumed were tracking us in the day. So it was good luck that he managed to avoid that too.
Oh well, it’s not like his plight was any of my business anyway to be honest.
I have my own things to do and even if he turned up dead on the way to his destination, it wouldn’t really matter to me.
Like I said before, I don’t intend to be a hero.
Unless he pays me to do it or at least gives me some benefits to escort him, I wouldn’t even bother.
Although… I guess if I come across the Off-Worlder that robbed him and get back the wagons, I wouldn’t mind seeking him out to return it but more out of sympathy than anything else.
Putting that aside, there was something else that I wanted to know.
“Are your slaves voluntary slaves or something? They seemed pretty content with their current status.”
“Ah, yes they are. I mostly trade in voluntary slaves instead of captured slaves. They’re a less problematic bunch if I’m allowed to be honest. There’s Slavers who would raid villages to capture slaves to be sold in the places I mentioned but these slaves would need to be kept under lock and key or they would attempt to escape when an opportunity arises.”
“And you don’t deal in those kinds of slaves?”
“Not at all. There’s people who go to those places and sell themselves as slaves either to pay back debts or to escape from unfavourable conditions they have found themselves in. Sure, these people have higher initial costs to buy them as slaves as compared to captured slaves, but from a long term investment point of view, I do not need to invest as much into security to watch over them.”
“Are there cases of slaves selling themselves and then escaping with the money after you purchase them?”
Sameer grinned, “Yes. When I was just starting out and being naive, that happened to me once. For you to consider something like this when I didn’t… Are you a merchant too?”
“Err… No, I’m not.”
“You would make a good merchant, I believe. Anyway, I learned from that lesson so I only pay them half of their price when I first buy them and pay the rest when we reach the Republic of Modgnik.
I would also chain all the slaves up together while we are travelling and when we set up camp since a majority of these voluntary slaves would not do this and the minority that had the plan would not be able to run when they’re chained to those who wish to stay.”
“I get the part where they would sell themselves into slavery to get money, but why would they actually want to stay? It can’t be because of honour or something right?”
He chuckled, “Never owned a slave have you? For most of these people, being a slave ensures they would have food, shelter and protection and they would have come from places where one or even all three of those factors might be something they had no access to if they weren’t a slave. It’s a possibility of a better life.
Plus, when they earn back their freedom, they would have another chance at living a better life too.”
Yeah, I believe I was told that in the past as well.
Although I did get more information from someone who is clearly in the business than from just general knowledge about it.
He then leaned a bit closer, “So how about it? You seem like you’re doing pretty good. I have some slaves here that you can have first pick if you want. They’re all properly trained so their quality is guaranteed. I have sex slaves, combat slaves and labour slaves that you can choose from and I’ll even give you a good price on them if you’re interested.”
Yep, this guy’s a merchant alright. He wasn’t going to let a potential business transaction go.
I bet he’s going to be telling the exact same thing to the others in the group and maybe even trying to sell some of the slaves off to Linette as well to get some money from us.
I shook my head, “Sorry but I’m not interested in getting one at the moment.”
After all, I already have one and she’s the best one that anyone can ask for.
Ugh… Now that I’m reminded of it, I miss Katsuki and the rest… I wonder if they’re doing well?
They were supposed to be looking for the Off-Worlder in our school after all. I wouldn’t be surprised if they already found him and were just waiting for me to return to decide what to do with him.
Sameer leaned a little closer, “Are you sure? How about you take a look first before deciding? If you like, you could even try out the sex slaves for yourself first at no charge! Don’t be too hasty in rejecting it! I really pride myself in being able to pick high quality slaves so you won’t be disappointed!”
I turned to look at the slaves and it was clear they heard his words because a few of them even started posing in a provocative manner to entice me. One of them even spread their legs open and exposed their sex without any shame while making a jerking motion towards their mouth.
Honestly… If I hadn’t just screwed all the Mercenaries in Meela’s party earlier today, I might have taken him up on that offer.
But because I practically screwed the entire camp before this, I was able to tell him no.
Yes, I can see the irony in my situation…
Oh look! Dinner is ready! Let’s just go eat now, ok?
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