A clear morning.
Ian opened his eyes a little later than usual.
Because his fatigue hadn’t completely dissipated for several reasons, it was a morning slightly later than his norm.
Stepping out of his room with a weary sigh, Ian spotted the mbers gathered by the second-floor window as he headed down the stairs.
Everyone seed to be looking out the window, watching sothing.
Approaching them, Ian spoke first.
’What are you all doing there?’
’Ah, Master.’
When Ian’s voice suddenly ca from behind, everyone flinched unnecessarily and stepped back from the window.
Wondering what on earth they were looking at, Ian peeked out the window and asked.
’Is there sothing outside?’
’There’s sothing over there.’
Rin pointed out the window.
A small procession was passing by along with soldiers. People wearing chains and handcuffs walked down the street behind the soldiers.
It was a ti when restoration work was almost finished and the festival was just around the corner.
It was a sight that did not match the street atmosphere, which had begun to feel excited as the city’s chaos gradually subsided.
The mbers watching beside Ian muttered.
’Looks like prisoners.’
’I wonder what they were caught for?’
’Who knows....’
While anyone could easily tell they were prisoners from their appearance, Ian couldn’t identify their cris just by looking at them from a distance.
The procession of prisoners passed through the street, heading toward the eastern district where festival preparations were in full swing.
Everyone watched the prisoners pass by with puzzled faces.
’Where are they going?’
’The prison is in the opposite direction.’
Since it was a rare scene to behold, everyone on the street could be seen watching them as well.
And in that procession.
A female rcenary with a small build standing at the very back lifted her head.
Even from afar, the rcenary looked quite timid, scanning the surroundings with an anxious face until she happened to lock eyes with Ian, who was at the second-floor window.
The rcenary who made eye contact flinched in surprise and hurriedly looked away.
Ian’s gaze stared intently at the passing rcenary.
＊ ＊ ＊
Louise walked down the street with a swift pace.
Glancing back while leading the way, Louise gestured toward Ian and the other party mbers as if telling them to hurry up.
’She’s incredibly energetic today.’
’Well, she’s been waiting for this since a week ago....’
Rin and Mika, who were following behind Ian, said.
It was the second Labyrinth festival they were encountering.
Tanya had gone out to see the festival with her friends, and Lia was resting. Rin and Mika, who had already experienced the festival last ti, had also intended to stay in and rest this ti.
Because they had already experienced the wicked sches of the rchants who lted away one’s money.
Honestly, it wasn’t that it wasn’t fun... but it wasn’t worth paying that much to go twice.
However, the two who were spending ti in the lounge quickly tagged along when they heard Ian was heading out.
When they heard Louise and Ian were going out together and asked about the destination, it sounded like quite an interesting place.
Today, they had business at an event hall held in a different district rather than the general festival streets.
The Monster Market.
It was the largest monster material exchange, trading materials from the countless monsters gathered during the invasion.
’Is it here?’
’Why didn’t you tell us there was a place like this last ti!’
’Even if you guys buy monster materials, you have nowhere to use them.’
Upon arriving at the market, the eyes of Rin, Mika, and Louise sparkled with light.
The Monster Market was already packed with people.
With monster carcasses and materials strewn everywhere, it was a sowhat macabre place at a glance, but the people gathered here didn’t mind at all.
’Wow.... Isn’t every rchant gathered here?’
Rin muttered while looking at the rchants filling the entire area.
Countless rchants were moving about, trading monster materials. It felt like every rchant who had co to the Labyrinth was gathered in this spot.
Since the primary purpose of most rchants visiting the Labyrinth during this period was this place, it wasn’t exactly a false statent.
Louise, quietly observing the market, eyes glead.
This is it....
Louise muttered to herself.
Nurous rare materials that were hard to even see listings for elsewhere, and which one could only obtain by begging to be sold if they did exist.
Such things were piled up here like miscellaneous junk in a market.
This was exactly why she had co all the way to the Labyrinth personally.
Louise turned her head to look at Ian.
Although she had received a promise beforehand, she confird with Ian once more.
’Can I really buy as much as I want?’
’Yes. The shop is opening soon anyway. Buy the materials needed for then, and also whatever you want for personal use. Just enough to fit in the warehouse.’
While basic materials could be ordered for delivery, there were quite a few high-grade materials that those places didn’t handle.
The Monster Market was a place where one could obtain such materials as cheaply as possible and in large quantities.
It wasn’t that they couldn’t be found later, but at that point, one would have to pay a considerable amount of money. And the stock might not even be there when needed.
If they were to start the shop in earnest, it would be wise to obtain the necessary materials in advance during tis like this.
Having received Ian’s permission, Louise moved her steps alone, her eyes shining.
’First, I’ll buy this.... Ah, I need this too....’
Rin and Mika’s eyes also shone.
Since Mika had read so many different things in books, her theoretical knowledge of materials was vast.
Rin didn’t care about materials, but she liked looking at strong monsters.
Things like that were strewn all over the place here.
’Master, can we buy what we want too?’
’...What would you two use it for?’
Rin, with a slightly embarrassed face, pointed to a stuffed Gryphon head.
...Furniture is a matter of personal taste, though.
He had wondered who on earth would buy such a thing, and it turns out it was Rin.
Since she said she was buying it with her own money, Ian didn’t particularly stop her.
Ian walked through the market with his mbers.
Louise walked a bit further ahead, ticulously examining the items on the stalls and deliberating.
’Ugh.... It would be good to buy both.’
At first, she bought things left and right, but warehouse space was limited.
As the remaining capacity for what she could buy dwindled, Louise’s deliberation naturally grew longer.
She looked ready to buy everything if there were no limits.
After a while, Louise made a decision and paid for the items.
’Please deliver them to this address.’
Louise smiled brightly and moved to the next stall.
’She’s excited.’
’I’ve never seen her so full of energy.’
She was soone who was always slumped over in the basent.
Rin and Mika talked while following a bit behind Louise.
Well, for an alchemist, it must be a place to be excited about.
Ian also slowly looked around the shops.
He knew many of the materials, but there was no particular use for them even if Ian bought them.
Several rchants approached recognizing Ian, but since Ian had no need for anything, he declined them all while slowly making a circuit around the market.
And finally.
By the ti he had appropriately circled around and returned to the entrance.
Ian and the party discovered a new tent open next to the market entrance that hadn’t been there when they ca in.
Is it a festival booth?
Thinking so, Rin and Mika approached with quick steps, but what was there wasn’t a snack bar or a performance booth.
People wearing handcuffs were lined up there.
Rin saw the sight and asked with a slightly flustered face.
’What is... that?’
’It’s a slave shop.’
’Pardon? Slaves?’
Rin and Mika’s gazes turned toward it.
People wearing handcuffs and na tags stood in a line with dark faces.
...Well, anyone could see it looked like they were selling slaves.
Mika asked Ian in a low voice that wouldn’t be heard by the people in front.
’Were there... slaves here too?’
’These are people sentenced to penal labor.’
The one who answered Mika wasn’t Ian, but soone else.
Since they were standing in front of the tent and appeared interested, a nearby staff mber had approached and answered.
’Penal labor?’
’Yes. It’s serving as a slave for a certain period to substitute for criminal punishnt.’
Hearing that answer, Ian looked back at the captured people.
Slave labor sentences.
Along with fines, corporal punishnt, and imprisonnt, it was a relatively common punishnt in these parts.
Those sentenced to labor were usually involved in cris related to money.
Representatively, failing to pay back debts on ti.
’Then are they all criminals?’
’Technically, but almost everyone here is on a 1–2 year sentence. Most are because of debt.’
Since slave sentencing required a lot of effort to manage, it was usually only found in large cities like this.
Coming from relatively rural backgrounds, Rin and Mika were seeing it for the first ti, so they looked on with curious eyes and asked the staff various questions.
’....’
Ian, who was examining the place where the slaves were gathered, discovered a sowhat familiar figure there.
A slightly small build, with an outfit like a rcenary.
That rcenary, with a seemingly timid personality, was looking around nervously with a tense expression.
...I feel like I’ve seen her sowhere before?
As he focused on that one person with such a question, that slave rcenary also turned her gaze and locked eyes with Ian. The rcenary who made eye contact with Ian flinched in panic and looked away.
Seeing that, Ian rembered where he had seen that rcenary.
She was the rcenary he had accidentally made eye contact with from the window while passing through the street the other day.
To et twice is quite a coincidence.
Ian, his interest piqued, opened that rcenary’s stats.
In the anti, Louise, having finished her long shopping spree, also ca out from the market entrance, spotted Ian’s group, and approached.
Louise spoke to Ian, who was contemplating sothing in front of the slave shop open by the entrance.
’Oh my, it’s a slave shop. Are you planning to buy one?’
’I’m thinking about it.’
The rcenary, who lifted her head in surprise upon hearing that conversation, made eye contact with Ian again, then flinched and curled into herself.
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