Ken’s mood had brightened up, which caused his women to brighten up as well. They weren’t sure why he was so happy, and not even Emerald really knew, but since her Master was happy, she was happy.
They made their way to the market, which was only a few streets away from their inn. They had chosen the inn due to its proximity to the nearby markets, including the Slave Market.
Chan took the rear, with Nimi standing upfront, her blade at her side. Though she was a Martial Warrior, she didn’t actually have much combat abilities. However, her presence alone would be enough to stop common thugs. Emerald walked beside Ken, and Yuri walked slightly behind the pair.
The entire Slave Market was along the street, with hundreds of slaves on display. There were a few Slave Merchants, and also a Slave Pavilion, which dealt with the precise requests of a client, like a boutique.
He could see the long lines of slaves, those from all walks of life, including those of minor noble families. Ken could see sweet virgins who were prepared to be sold off to a Young Master, warriors who were readied for battle, and those with special physiques or abilities which could assist particular clients.
Then, he stopped. There was one merchant, one who wore fine clothing and was currently speaking with a client. Behind him were a large number of slaves, ready to be sold off as servants for whoever took their fancy.
The rage built deep within Ken’s bones, and he clenched his fists together. Emerald could see the rage build within him, and then connected the dots as she saw the person doing business with the Slave Merchant, as well as the people behind the finely dressed man.
“Ten gold for two slaves,” said a familiar voice, holding out the gold coins.
“Ah, yes! It’s always a pleasure to do business with you, Young Master. Please do come again!” The Slave Merchant swiped the coins from the man, grinning wide. The way he said Young Master was dripping with sarcasm, and he wasn’t treating the man with any level of respect.
“Just release them already!” The man exclaimed, already overcoming with rage. He needed to remain calm though, he couldn’t give the people watching him too many reasons to come out from the shadows.
[You bastards! The lot of you! Just you wait and see what our family will do to you!]
“As you wish, Young Master!” The Slave Merchant grinned wide again, chuckling lightly. “You don't want a contract?"
"Remove their statuses as slaves, I've paid you enough!" The man clenched his fists harder, almost unable to contain his rage. To see all of his family like this, in chains, all because of those damned families!
"Since you're such a good customer, of course!" The Slave Merchant was ecstatic to meet with this man, as he always was. This man was a repeat customer, one who came almost monthly in order to save his dying family. How he made so much gold, no one really knew, but that didn’t matter to him.
Ken watched the interaction with pure rage, though Emerald grabbed his shoulders and calmed him down. Ken looked up at her, still a little angry, but he nodded his head. Ken inhaled deeply and then sighed out, trying to clam himself.
"It just so happens that I need a large number of slaves,” Ken said. “How much for the entire lot?” Ken approached the two figures as the Slave Merchant turned to face him.
"You wish to buy the entire lot, Young Master?” The Slave Merchant asked. “I didn’t expect to meet such a big spender this day.”
[The entire lot?]
“H-hey! Hold on! You said you’d only sell them to me!” He paid extra for each slave because of it, and he needed to keep to such a strict deadline too.
"The deal was that you were the only one able to buy them individually, but collectively..." The Slave Merchant smiled his sleazy smile.
[Impossible! Don't tell me this young man is someone to do with those families? Hasn't the heavens already punished us enough.]
The man turned to face Ken, and then to the surrounding women. A Martial Expert, a woman who was utterly beautiful and graceful, and two more women, one of whom was a Martial Warrior with the aura she gave off.
There was no way he could defeat them all, not that he would even try to do it. If he acted out here, they would come for him and his family.
"I don't have all day, you know?” Ken smiled politely, even though his words were a little rude. “Tell me how much for the lot of them.” Ken raised his hand to make the sign of money.
"Since there are one hundred and sixteen, and they're all either crippled or don't have much cultivation, they only sell for three gold each."
“How much is it to set a slave free?” Ken asked.
“To set them free?” The Slave Merchant asked, a little confused. “It would be an additional gold for each of them.”
“Is that the common rate in the market?”
“For these slaves, yes. For other slaves, a few silver coins would do.”
“Then these slaves must be special! Three gold each, sounds like a bargain to me!” Ken roared with laughter, though there was something off about it. It was slightly hollow, slightly dark.
[Damn it! If he really buys them all, then our family won't be able to survive! What can I do though? He must be some kind of Young Master who has come to mess with me.]
"Young Master, perhaps you should pick another group?” The man smiled politely at Ken.
"I've got my eye on this group," Ken replied, a little too bluntly. "So, when are you going to get me their contracts?" Ken asked the Slave Merchant.
"Well with such a large scale transaction, I must see proof that you have the coin." The Slave Merchant was being careful, in case this was just a Young Master who wanted to impress the beautiful woman at his side.
"It's only three hundred or so gold,” Ken said, rolling his eyes. He took the confirmation as an invitation into the man’s office. Once he was inside, he began to drop down the coins. It started off with a few of them, around twenty stacked high, but he continued to create more towers of gold, until there were exactly 348 gold coins.
The Slave Merchant’s jaw dropped. He never would have expected this young man to have so many coins to spend so frivolously, especially for a bunch of useless slaves. He had been tasked with keeping these slaves here until someone else bought them, overcharging the man who truly wanted to buy them.
“Ah, right. I also need ten Martial Warriors and two Martial Experts as well.” Ken smiled politely towards the Slave Merchant, even though he wanted to stick his sword through the man’s throat.
“Y-yes! Of course! That can certainly be arranged!” The Slave Merchant nodded, taking the gold coins.
“I’ll examine them. Bring me all the Martial Warrior and Martial Experts you have. Don’t you miss a single one, not unless they are already paid for, or reserved. Even if they are reserved, if I can pay more than whoever has reserved them, bring them to me.” Ken continued to smile, but it was more like the smile of a dragon.
“As you wish!” The Slave Merchant was already drooling with how much the Young Master had brought him, and so he quickly left the people alone within his office.
"Just what are you planning by buying all these people?" The man, who Ken knew quite deeply, asked.
Ken wasn’t sure what he should say, but seeing the look of dismay on the man’s face caused him to soften slightly. “My name is Ken. Ken Leaf.”
"Did you say… Ken Leaf?" The man’s jaw dropped, his face filled with both confusion and shock. "You...” He couldn’t believe it. This Young Master before him, who had bought all those slaves, he had the same name as that man.
“Is something wrong?” Ken asked, though he already knew why this man behaved this way.
“You have the same name as our Young Master,” the man said, reaching up to cover his face. He wasn’t sure if he was able to hold back his emotions.
"You're speaking of Ken Leafblade, aren't you?" Ken asked.
"What?" The man looked at Ken in even more shock. “The way you speak of him, do you know him?”
"I know him,” Ken replied, nodding his head.
“You know our Young Master?” The man stepped forward, a desperate look on his face. “Where is he?”
"Dead?" Ken replied.
"Dead?" The man’s eyes were filled with even greater shock, and was filling with grief.
“I killed him,” Ken said.
Announcement I hope you're enjoying the series so far! I'll be switching to chapters 5x a week starting from April! I might have a second work that I'll be writing, but I'm not sure.
Ken’s mood had brightened up, which caused his women to brighten up as well. They weren’t sure why he was so happy, and not even Emerald really knew, but since her Master was happy, she was happy.
They made their way to the market, which was only a few streets away from their inn. They had chosen the inn due to its proximity to the nearby markets, including the Slave Market.
Chan took the rear, with Nimi standing upfront, her blade at her side. Though she was a Martial Warrior, she didn’t actually have much combat abilities. However, her presence alone would be enough to stop common thugs. Emerald walked beside Ken, and Yuri walked slightly behind the pair.
The entire Slave Market was along the street, with hundreds of slaves on display. There were a few Slave Merchants, and also a Slave Pavilion, which dealt with the precise requests of a client, like a boutique.
He could see the long lines of slaves, those from all walks of life, including those of minor noble families. Ken could see sweet virgins who were prepared to be sold off to a Young Master, warriors who were readied for battle, and those with special physiques or abilities which could assist particular clients.
Then, he stopped. There was one merchant, one who wore fine clothing and was currently speaking with a client. Behind him were a large number of slaves, ready to be sold off as servants for whoever took their fancy.
The rage built deep within Ken’s bones, and he clenched his fists together. Emerald could see the rage build within him, and then connected the dots as she saw the person doing business with the Slave Merchant, as well as the people behind the finely dressed man.
“Ten gold for two slaves,” said a familiar voice, holding out the gold coins.
“Ah, yes! It’s always a pleasure to do business with you, Young Master. Please do come again!” The Slave Merchant swiped the coins from the man, grinning wide. The way he said Young Master was dripping with sarcasm, and he wasn’t treating the man with any level of respect.
“Just release them already!” The man exclaimed, already overcoming with rage. He needed to remain calm though, he couldn’t give the people watching him too many reasons to come out from the shadows.
[You bastards! The lot of you! Just you wait and see what our family will do to you!]
“As you wish, Young Master!” The Slave Merchant grinned wide again, chuckling lightly. “You don't want a contract?"
"Remove their statuses as slaves, I've paid you enough!" The man clenched his fists harder, almost unable to contain his rage. To see all of his family like this, in chains, all because of those damned families!
"Since you're such a good customer, of course!" The Slave Merchant was ecstatic to meet with this man, as he always was. This man was a repeat customer, one who came almost monthly in order to save his dying family. How he made so much gold, no one really knew, but that didn’t matter to him.
Ken watched the interaction with pure rage, though Emerald grabbed his shoulders and calmed him down. Ken looked up at her, still a little angry, but he nodded his head. Ken inhaled deeply and then sighed out, trying to clam himself.
"It just so happens that I need a large number of slaves,” Ken said. “How much for the entire lot?” Ken approached the two figures as the Slave Merchant turned to face him.
"You wish to buy the entire lot, Young Master?” The Slave Merchant asked. “I didn’t expect to meet such a big spender this day.”
[The entire lot?]
“H-hey! Hold on! You said you’d only sell them to me!” He paid extra for each slave because of it, and he needed to keep to such a strict deadline too.
"The deal was that you were the only one able to buy them individually, but collectively..." The Slave Merchant smiled his sleazy smile.
[Impossible! Don't tell me this young man is someone to do with those families? Hasn't the heavens already punished us enough.]
The man turned to face Ken, and then to the surrounding women. A Martial Expert, a woman who was utterly beautiful and graceful, and two more women, one of whom was a Martial Warrior with the aura she gave off.
There was no way he could defeat them all, not that he would even try to do it. If he acted out here, they would come for him and his family.
"I don't have all day, you know?” Ken smiled politely, even though his words were a little rude. “Tell me how much for the lot of them.” Ken raised his hand to make the sign of money.
"Since there are one hundred and sixteen, and they're all either crippled or don't have much cultivation, they only sell for three gold each."
“How much is it to set a slave free?” Ken asked.
“To set them free?” The Slave Merchant asked, a little confused. “It would be an additional gold for each of them.”
“Is that the common rate in the market?”
“For these slaves, yes. For other slaves, a few silver coins would do.”
“Then these slaves must be special! Three gold each, sounds like a bargain to me!” Ken roared with laughter, though there was something off about it. It was slightly hollow, slightly dark.
[Damn it! If he really buys them all, then our family won't be able to survive! What can I do though? He must be some kind of Young Master who has come to mess with me.]
"Young Master, perhaps you should pick another group?” The man smiled politely at Ken.
"I've got my eye on this group," Ken replied, a little too bluntly. "So, when are you going to get me their contracts?" Ken asked the Slave Merchant.
"Well with such a large scale transaction, I must see proof that you have the coin." The Slave Merchant was being careful, in case this was just a Young Master who wanted to impress the beautiful woman at his side.
"It's only three hundred or so gold,” Ken said, rolling his eyes. He took the confirmation as an invitation into the man’s office. Once he was inside, he began to drop down the coins. It started off with a few of them, around twenty stacked high, but he continued to create more towers of gold, until there were exactly 348 gold coins.
The Slave Merchant’s jaw dropped. He never would have expected this young man to have so many coins to spend so frivolously, especially for a bunch of useless slaves. He had been tasked with keeping these slaves here until someone else bought them, overcharging the man who truly wanted to buy them.
“Ah, right. I also need ten Martial Warriors and two Martial Experts as well.” Ken smiled politely towards the Slave Merchant, even though he wanted to stick his sword through the man’s throat.
“Y-yes! Of course! That can certainly be arranged!” The Slave Merchant nodded, taking the gold coins.
“I’ll examine them. Bring me all the Martial Warrior and Martial Experts you have. Don’t you miss a single one, not unless they are already paid for, or reserved. Even if they are reserved, if I can pay more than whoever has reserved them, bring them to me.” Ken continued to smile, but it was more like the smile of a dragon.
“As you wish!” The Slave Merchant was already drooling with how much the Young Master had brought him, and so he quickly left the people alone within his office.
"Just what are you planning by buying all these people?" The man, who Ken knew quite deeply, asked.
Ken wasn’t sure what he should say, but seeing the look of dismay on the man’s face caused him to soften slightly. “My name is Ken. Ken Leaf.”
"Did you say… Ken Leaf?" The man’s jaw dropped, his face filled with both confusion and shock. "You...” He couldn’t believe it. This Young Master before him, who had bought all those slaves, he had the same name as that man.
“Is something wrong?” Ken asked, though he already knew why this man behaved this way.
“You have the same name as our Young Master,” the man said, reaching up to cover his face. He wasn’t sure if he was able to hold back his emotions.
"You're speaking of Ken Leafblade, aren't you?" Ken asked.
"What?" The man looked at Ken in even more shock. “The way you speak of him, do you know him?”
"I know him,” Ken replied, nodding his head.
“You know our Young Master?” The man stepped forward, a desperate look on his face. “Where is he?”
"Dead?" Ken replied.
"Dead?" The man’s eyes were filled with even greater shock, and was filling with grief.
“I killed him,” Ken said.
Announcement I hope you're enjoying the series so far! I'll be switching to chapters 5x a week starting from April! I might have a second work that I'll be writing, but I'm not sure.