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The underground of Raizer's property was remodeled to be more like a dungeon than a bas.e.m.e.nt. Many of the people that were kept here were the ones that had committed crimes and had their commoner status revoked.

Raizer was currently coordinating with his wardens as they had sloppily arranged most of the slaves that were put in here since there were hardly any people that would want them aside from those who partic.i.p.ated in the fighter coliseum.

"Seriously, why do you not make use of this opportunity to give that child the troublesome slaves you've been keeping in here?" Etha frowned as she noticed her husband was being overly cautious in picking the personnel that would be presented to Kazuya as candidates to be purchased.

As Kazuya's visit to their establishment was out of the blue, Raizer could only tell his wife that the young man he brought with him was a customer that was considered a person of influence in the eastern lands. He couldn't tell her the whole story as it would delay his responsibility of picking good candidates so that he could build a good relations.h.i.+p with someone that belonged to the Crimson Mansion.

"Don't be stupid. That young man is not like most of the n.o.bles in the capital." He admonished his wife and began to tell her a bit about what he had found out just earlier.

"That…" Etha was flabbergasted.

She had a.s.sumed that Kazuya was one of the n.o.bles who have yet to purchase their first slave. She had judged him to be pretending to act nonchalant while having the ulterior motive to purchase some women for himself in the guise of finding some slaves for guards or menial work.

"That look… don't tell me…" Raizer immediately picked up on the awkward and worried look that Etha showed after hearing about Kazuya's ident.i.ty as a member of the Crimson Mansion.

"I didn't know! I sent him to the usual hall and thought that he would have no problems showing his true colors once I've left him there…" She nervously explained.

"Oh? Looks like there is something special about that strange guy after all!" A voice interrupted the two before Raizer could scold his wife.

They turned around to see that it was Nell. She mischievously grinned at them while still having her restraints on. Her unchanged confident and prideful demeanor still had not changed after the continuous punishment Etha had given her and this immediately ticked the already frustrated woman off.

"You b.i.t.c.h!" Etha immediately raised her hand in anger and swung it towards Nell.

*SLAP!*

""What!?"" The husband and wife duo were immediately shocked as the guard who they did not notice with Nell immediately took the slap in her stead.

"Please calm yourself, madam! You cannot hurt this person!" the guard immediately knelt and ignored the hit he just took to his face.

"You don't have to touch me yourself, you old bag. Why don't you just use the slave crest bound to you to make me feel some pain? That is if you have a death wish~" Nell mocked.

"YOU—!!"

"Etha, stop!" Raizer grabbed his wife's shoulder before she could even activate the crest in her mind.

The guard breathed a sigh of relief after seeing that Raizer had stepped in to stop her. He feared that he would not be given a chance to explain what had happened. It would not be good for him, his job or his employers if what he and Nell had heard about Kazuya's ident.i.ty was true.

"Tsk!" Nell clicked her tongue as her plan did not work.

She was thinking of using Kazuya's previous warning earlier to have a little bit of revenge towards this vain and shameless wench.

"Explain what is going on here! Why have you brought this slave here?" Raizer was able to identify her restraints immediately so he had judged that she was not trying to escape.

He was aware of who Nell was since it was him that sent her off for Etha to take care of. Since she had features that did not match her status, he thought that if his wife had been able to domesticate this bandit, she would fetch quite the sum once she was auctioned off to the beauty-loving n.o.bles.

"What happened was…" the guard nervously told what had happened and repeated Kazuya's words of warning.

This caused Etha to tremble nervously as she turned towards the frowning Nell. If the guard had not stepped in to receive her slap, she would have to face the wrath of Kazuya after they had returned to him. From the fear that the guard had been showing, her life would have been on the line.

"I see… I understand." Raizer nodded after hearing the details and sternly looked at his wife before turning towards Nell.

"Husband… I…" Etha was at the end of her wits thinking about what to do. She may not have hit Nell but, if the fact that she attempted to was reported back…

"You have caused me an unnecessary headache, Etha. If you had just done what I asked and entertained him while I gathered the candidates… this would not have happened." He reprimanded.

"The next thing you ought to be doing should be clear, right?" Nell grinned confidently at Raizer.

"Change her restraints to the ordinary ones," Raizer commanded. "I hope you understand that there is still the risk of you trying to escape so I cannot allow the restraints to be completely taken off until owners.h.i.+p has been transferred to your new master."

The calm and serious look on the Raizer's face made Nell realize that her plans of making mischief will not work while this man was around. Both of them thought that Kazuya's need for personnel would not allow him to have a falling out with this slave merchant just for a single slave.

What they did not know was that they were both wrong. Though the fact that Kazuya had discovered Nell being sold as a slave was a mere coincidence, he had already made up his mind to take her out of here even if it meant using his ident.i.ty as a hero to justify eradicating every person that Raizer and Etha had on their payroll.

"(Tch! This is why I hate dealing with merchants!)" Nell clicked her tongue and proceeded to enter the dungeons to complete her task.

Still, knowing a little about the mysterious young man who had caught her curiosity made her feel a little better. While she would still have the ident.i.ty of a slave, being with someone with such influence was an opportunity that she might not have gotten even as a commoner. All that was left for her to do now was to appeal to the young man on how useful she was.

-

What was supposed to be a simple task, turned out to be a small compet.i.tion for both Nell and Raizer. It took them a little while but after selecting the candidates they would present in front of the mysterious young master, they silently headed for the courtyard to present them. 

"This…" Kazuya's eyebrow twitched as he glanced at the people that Nell had brought with her.

"(Looks like he's trying hard not to lose it. Hehe~ how cute.)" Nell smiled after seeing Kazuya's reaction to the selection of people she brought.

They were mostly comprised of women. Nell had not only gathered the ones she had been familiar with from the dungeon, she also asked Raizer to gather the ones that have been sent to Etha's place for 're-education.'

"Young master Kouzuki, I'm sure you were not aware that this woman was sent here because she was a bandit who loved to steal from other people. I sincerely hope that you would rethink your decision about having such a person under your employ." Etha, who also noticed Kazuya's complex reaction to the people that Nell brought with her did not miss this opportunity to speak up.

"She had been part of a group of robbers that were mostly made up of these women she brought with her. I am afraid that something might befall the young master if you carelessly let this woman trick you into buying her." Etha continued.

"Enough." Kazuya turned his sharp gaze towards Etha.

He was well aware of what he had just heard. That was the past of the woman named Nell that he knew of. Kazuya was more concerned about finding out how his actions had affected the history that would have eventually brought him in front of her in the end.

This was the reason why Kazuya was alone with the quiet little girl Lucia and a guard in the courtyard. He had sent away the noisy girl who kept appealing for him to purchase her so that he could think about what was it that he ended up meeting with Nell a few months later if she had been a slave in this place.

"As the buyer, it is not uncommon to use the suggestions of people more familiar with what can be offered by this place, am I right?"

"That is correct, but—"

"I am currently not in a position to be so picky. As long as they are not rapists or have committed any crimes heavy enough, they would be eligible for me to evaluate them. Time does not permit me to raise new people under my command and the people here are less likely to betray me since they will be bound to me via their crests." Kazuya did not want to hear any more words of dissuasion as there will be no one that can stop him from taking Nell out of this place.

"I understand… I was just worried that—"

"I know what you are worried about. Despite what you or your husband may have treated these slaves, I a.s.sure you that I have no intention of listening to their pleas regarding that matter. Raizer and I still have a deal in place after all." Kazuya rea.s.sured her.

It was already clear from how Nell had been treated in this place. If it had not been for her looks, she would have suffered more because of her att.i.tude. Etha was afraid that Nell had plans of getting back at her for how she had treated the latter.

Kazuya was someone who did not plan to use her to warm his bed, rather it was already clear that he was going to use everyone who he purchased today as subordinates. If that were the case, then if Nell had played her cards right, she might influence the young master to strike back at Etha for revenge.

Kazuya felt a little grat.i.tude towards Raizer though. He would not have seen or met Nell today if it had not been for them. His thoughts were more focused on the fact that the notable scars he had been familiar with were not present in the current Nell, compared to the mischievous version of her that he had been familiar with, she was also a lot thinner.

While Kazuya had been prepared to eradicate Raizer and everyone who worked for him, for the time being, he was more useful alive at the moment.

Aside from his hero ident.i.ty that was connected to the powerful Eberbach family, Kazuya still needed to gather people that would be loyal to him and him alone.

This was the primary reason for him making a commotion in the merchant guild. Raizer was the most useful person in the capital if he wanted his actions and current ident.i.ty to not gather as much attention as it normally would have.

Merchants could be said to be the people perfect to gather information around places like the capital. Many n.o.bles may not have realized it but merchants they are involved with would take note of what kind of purchases they make.

It is not only so that they always have it available for whenever they purchase it, but this also serves as indications on whether or not a specific n.o.ble is going to make a move.

The ones that provide commodities are well aware of their uses. That is why merchants and people working for them have far more potential to gather information compared to those who are tasked to gather information by themselves.

This is also one of the reasons why Kazuya had opted to get himself an ident.i.ty of a merchant. While the occupation itself would let him freely be able to wander around without arousing much suspicion, he was also not bound to be called to arms in emergencies compared to the pact that had to be agreed on when one becomes an adventurer.

"Now then… before I start evaluating the people you've brought with you…" Kazuya turned back towards the group of people that Nell brought with her.

He actively tried to stop his eyebrows and cheek from twitching at such a sight. While he had his share of surprises from the events that have transpired, it seems that he was once again shown a sight that he never even expected or considered.

"Why are the women wearing maid uniforms?"

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