“That’d be a problem, but… Long ago, Grandpa said this about business: ‘Every lull comes to an end, and the tides can suddenly change. That’s why you need to wait for your chance without giving up, and when the opportunity comes, grasp it without fail.’”
So, for now, no matter how hard it is, I will persevere. So I don’t miss the chance that will surely come someday.
While I was thinking that, San smiled despite herself. “It’s strange… When I am with you, Master Ginger, even though I am a slave, it almost gives me hope for the future.”
It was a soft smile. For that smile, I felt like I could push myself a little longer.
It’ll be fine. A chance is sure to come along eventually. Probably… Yeah… I’m sure of it!
That was what I told myself as I continued to wait. And then…
…the chance suddenly came not long after that.
One morning, when I opened the store, the same as I always did…
“Excuse me! Are there any slaves here who can read or write?!”
“I need them urgently! I’ll buy them for a good price, so let me have them!”
“Me, too! If you have any demands, just let me hear them!”
…a great mass of people suddenly swarmed inside the shop. They were all relatively well-dressed and well-kept, too. Many were there at the behest of their masters, but others were nobles or knights here to buy for themselves. Both San and I were flabbergasted.
“Erm… All of our slaves can write and do arithmetic, actually…” I said.
“Is that true?!”
“Please! Oh, please! Allow me to buy them off of you!”
“I was here first! Our domain is in trouble!”
“C–Calm down, please! What exactly is the situation here?!” I cried.
I had San and the others prepare enough tea for everyone, then asked the customers to explain what was going on.
It seemed that it had all started when our young sovereign, His Majesty King Souma, had changed his policy on how nobles and knights were to be evaluated. His achievements in the time since the former king abdicated had been exemplary. He had put down the three dukes who opposed him, defeated the Principality of Amidonia which had attacked us, and just the other day annexed them. At this point, his position in power was secure.
It seemed that the king had suddenly said, “Starting now, I will be adding the ability to manage your domain to the list of factors considered when deciding promotions and demotions for the nobility and knights, so good luck with that.” (Though I doubt he’d said it quite so frankly.)
The ones who were panicking were the nobles and knights who hadn’t given much thought to their own lands, leaving the ruling of them to magistrates instead. The bureaucratic nobles who had come to work in the city had seen participating in the affairs of state their path to advancement, while the knights had believed distinguishing themselves on the battlefield would lead to promotions. That was why, now that they were going to be held to account for the management of their own domains, they’d hurriedly begun to search for talented magistrates and people to work under them.
The only things required of a rural bureaucrat were the ability to read and write and the ability to do arithmetic, but few in this country possessed both skills. Both required being taught, and those who had been taught (or rather, those who had needed to be taught) were concentrated at the top of the social structure. Merchants could probably do it, too, but they had their own businesses, so it wouldn’t be possible to hire them without paying compensation equivalent to their profits. In other words, there was a truly limited supply of people willing to become bureaucrats out in the rural areas.
Those who were low in social stature, but who had worked hard to study on their own because they’d believed it would surely be useful someday, had been the first to be called on. However, these people had all been hired by the nobles and knights able to offer the most favorable conditions. The ones in trouble were the lower-ranked nobles and knights.
They wanted people, but they couldn’t offer conditions that were good enough to attract them. The last thread of hope they had to cling to was slaves.
Come to think of it, slaves come from all walks of life, I thought. Slaves who can write and do arithmetic cost more, but some have been sold.
It seemed that the nobles who had that thought were all rushing to the slave traders. The slaves who could write and do arithmetic at the major slave traders had sold out immediately, and now they were going around to the medium to small scale slave traders. That was how they had come to our shop.
“Okay… I understand the situation,” I said. “I have a number of conditions to consider, so I will hold interviews.”
And so, I interviewed each of the prospective buyers one by one.
Rather than focus on the purchase price, I was concerned with how the slaves would be treated afterwards. There were quite a few who said, “I want to employ them as bureaucrats, so I’m willing to release them from slavery.” Those people were given preference when I set them up with slaves. I didn’t sell to those I could see clearly had ill intent, and decided to keep relatives together as much as possible.
For the mother with the infant…
“I’ll release her from slavery! The child can come, too! So, please, I’m begging you, have her come to my domain!”
…is what one female knight begged me, half-crying, so I let her buy them. She had apparently become a knight because she’d admired the gallant Princess Liscia, but her abilities were completely biased toward the martial side of things, and she had no idea how to manage her domain. That was why she was in a desperate hurry to find good help. She seemed like a good sort, and I figured they’d be fine with her.
The slaves kept getting sold off one after another like that, but… the ones that really surprised me were those two sister slaves.
It seemed one young noble was so enamored with them, he would not only set them free, but also wanted to take them as his wives. What was more, this noble was apparently from a fairly major family.
“Were you not here to look for potential magistrates and bureaucrats?” I asked.
“Of course that was my original intent, but I was smitten by their beauty and intellect,” said the noble. “My house is presently in a situation where it is best that we do not form blood ties with other houses. I am sure that it would reassure His Majesty if I were to take a wife of common birth. Besides, when I think of the posting that awaits me, I cannot say that I see the daughters of any other house wanting to wed me.”
That noble’s name was Piltory Saracen. He was apparently the young head of a fairly major lineage in this country, the House of Saracen. He was passionate, and seemed to be every bit the affable young man he looked like.
Why does a man of his stature want slaves? I wondered. Probably, his situation and post had something to do with it.
“Um, I can’t have you take them anywhere too dangerous…” I began.
“I want to assure you, I simply have to leave the country for a short time,” he said. “If they are to be my wives, I swear I will defend them with my very life. Let me pledge here and now that they shall never perish before I myself do!”
“U-Uh… For now, let’s hear what the two of them have to say about it.”
I found myself overwhelmed by his passion and allowed Sir Piltory to meet with the sisters. It turned out, the sisters were quite fond of the young man, too. He was handsome, affable, and rich, all of which made him a real catch, but it seemed the clincher was that the two of them would be able to stay together. They were a little worried that Sir Piltory’s posting was going to be in a foreign country, the Gran Chaos Empire, but the two still decided to go with him.