Chapter 54
“Thank you! Your Highness! Thanks to you stepping in we succeeded!”
Tears of gratitude welled at the corner of Isvart’s eyes.
But I was the one who should be thanking her.
In just three days, the Endelo mine’s output had increased.
Part of that was surely because the night shift had been paid more and therefore worked harder.
Still, with the cost of monster control reduced, the income increase was obvious.
It was nowhere near enough to pay off all the debts yet, though.
“Isvart.”
“Yes! Your Highness!”
“You managed the Endelo mine well. I should give you a reward.”
“…Huh?”
“Don’t like that? If you prefer punishment over a reward, I could arrange that instead.”
“Oh—no!”
She was plainly flustered.
“Well then. Is there anything you want?”
“Um…”
Presented with an unexpected reward, Isvart fumbled for words.
Of course—when someone suddenly says ‘reward’ your mind goes blank trying to figure out what to ask for.
After thinking for a long while, she finally spoke with difficulty.
“It might be presumptuous of me to say, but… there’s one thing I want.”
“Say it.”
She hesitated a long time before starting.
“I thought… wouldn’t it be good to have a giant worm for managing the mine? I heard the one that used to be at the Endelo mine died and they’ve been operating without one since.”
It was a request I hadn’t expected at all.
“A giant worm?”
“Yes. A monster that eats through the earth. It’s enormous…”
“I know what a giant worm is.”
“Ah… I’m sorry…”
I’d offered a reward, and she wanted a giant worm.
She wasn’t asking for something for herself but something that would help manage the mine.
What servant wouldn’t please their lord by asking for something useful?
“Kekeke! You offered a reward and she asked for a giant worm?” I chuckled.
“…Yes.”
But regardless of my amusement, a giant worm was expensive.
Even at the cheapest, it would easily cost a hundred gold—an extravagant price.
“…Hold on.”
A giant worm.
Maybe because I’d been thinking about Oberon a few days ago, a bright idea suddenly flashed through my head.
It might be a tremendous plan that could wipe out the debt to the Golden Bank in one strike.
“…Your Highness?”
Isvart peeked nervously at me and put on a worried expression.
“Oh. Don’t worry about it. I’m just thinking about something.”
“Ah…”
I put on a serious face and began to plan.
Oberon isn’t going to show up.
Then we should make the most of what we can.
Why be afraid of threats that may or may not barge in like they do now?
“Hoho.”
“…”
Isvart had no clue what I was thinking.
She’d probably think I was mad—sitting with a sour face a moment ago and now chuckling like an idiot.
Priyana seemed used to it by now and just accepted it.
“All right. I’ll buy one. A giant worm.”
“R-really? Thank you! Your Highness!” Isvart bowed repeatedly.
Priyana, looking puzzled, asked me,
“Are you sure? Given our current finances, I expect this will be a bit tight…”
“Heh. Don’t worry. I have a plan.”
I rose and grabbed my outer coat.
“Shall we go at once?”
“Now? Right this second?”
“Yes. I want to see if there’s a decent one.”
In the novel’s world, many ranks exist.
Swordsmanship and magic are the most numerous, but there are smiths, black magic, summoning (servitude), and plenty more.
One particularly unique rank is the servitude rank.
Depending on how it’s used, servitude could rival black magic.
But in daily life, it was a rank you couldn’t do without.
Some monsters, like giant worms, were extremely helpful to humans.
“Ugh…”
Isvart’s already pale face grew even more as she wasn’t used to carriages and had been trapped in one for half a day.
The carriage carrying our party headed for the Pesis Plains.
Within the Isoter Kingdom, this region had the most servitude-rank holders.
There was a simple reason.
The Pesis Monster Auction.
It was a market for serviting and selling monsters.
“…”
Priyana, sitting opposite, had closed her eyes and drifted into meditation.
Perhaps because horsemanship was taught as part of general education at the Janus Knight Academy, she seemed fine.
“Your Highness… please save me…”
Isvart sniffled, her nose and bridge reddened, and whimpered.
“That won’t make it stop. You’re only noticing the carriage’s shaking because you keep thinking about it.”
“Ugh…”
Priyana scolded her, and Isvart shut her mouth tight.
“Are we close?”
I opened the window and saw an expanse of green fields.
Tents were lined up in rows across the tall grass—uneven in size and arrangement.
Some tents had been pierced by the protruding backs of large monsters that couldn’t fit inside.
From afar, the Pesis auction looked like a circus.
Soon the carriage stopped at the entrance to the Pesis Plains.
“We’ve arrived.”
“Ugh…”
“Thank you for your hard work, Your Highness.”
Priyana hurriedly grabbed our luggage and disembarked.
I followed, and Isvart, trembling, stepped onto the plain only after a long time.
“All right. Good work, everyone.”
A cool, slightly chilly wind met us on the wide plain.
It felt like the kind of place you’d come to clear your head.
“So this is the place.”
“First time to Pesis Plains, Your Highness?”
“Well… I guess so.”
I’d only read about it in the novel; I’d never actually been here.
If I had to describe my impression… it was an awkward piece of land.
On the surface, the Pesis Plains were kingdom territory.
One might wonder what was so special that the kingdom would directly manage it, but actually, no one wanted it, so it belonged to the kingdom by default.
The soil was too barren for crops, and the weather was chilly for grazing horses.
There wasn’t much to do with the land other than leave it as an open plain.
There were reasons nobles avoided managing the plains.
That’s when mercenary clans took note.
They pooled money, paid the kingdom a fee, and set up the auction houses.
From the kingdom’s perspective, getting taxes from abandoned land was welcome.
For the mercenary clans, selling monsters without worrying about others’ eyes was convenient.
There were no villagers, so dragging around monsters didn’t draw stares.
Thus the Pesis auction had been established ten years ago and had become the kingdom’s most successful auction.
“Shall we take a look around?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Priyana kept a hand near her scabbard and followed behind me.
Isvart trailed behind us with an amazed look, taking in the surroundings.
“Whoa…”
The Pesis auction was packed with tents like a night market.
Small monsters were displayed near the entrance.
Krrr—!
As soon as we entered, monsters’ cries burst from all around.
They were all locked in sturdy iron cages or wrapped in chains.
Mercenaries in plain attire stood guard in front of them.
“Quiet, you brute.”
One mercenary struck a cage with a rolled-up paper.
Clank!
Grrr…
The monsters that had been glaring at passersby retreated deeper into their cages.
These handlers were all servitude-rank holders.
They’d servited the monsters and made a living selling them here.
The earnings were fairly good.
Not all monsters were grotesque; slimes and spectral beasts were cute and popular with children.
In neighboring kingdoms’ high society, owning a cute pet monster was a basic social expectation.
And some nobles had weird tastes.
If it satisfied their desires, they didn’t care how much it cost.
If you got lucky and found one of those, you could hit the jackpot.
‘Still, having lust for a monster is a step too far…’
I couldn’t understand it, but the world had many kinds of crazy people.
“There’s not much hawking, huh.”
“They can tell whether someone’s here for a pet or a business monster, so they don’t pester customers.”
“Well… that’s convenient for me.”
Among all the monsters, I was looking for a giant worm—an old, aged one.
Isvart, momentarily forgetting our purpose, was distracted by an adorable slime.
The innocent girl would later be called a serpent-headed witch in the novels.
‘That probably won’t happen now.’
She’d come to follow me; she wouldn’t follow the novel’s script.
“Isvart.”
“…Yes?”
“If you lag behind again I’ll leave you.”
“Ah…! S-sorry!”
Isvart hurried after me.
As we went deeper into the auction, the monsters’ appearances changed.
Kraaak!
A gigantic crocodile-like monster screamed wildly.
“Hold it!”
Sizzle—!
Craack!
Three men—apparently its handlers—pounced and lashed skills at it, but the beast showed no sign of tiring.
Most of the monsters here were large and fierce—probably destined for arenas.
I approached one of the men in charge, arms folded behind my back.
Giant worms were expensive.
To find one, it was best to ask someone with a high enough status who would sell such creatures.
“Hey.”
“Oh! Sir! What brings you to the Pesis auction?”
The man smiled ingratiatingly when he saw me.
Behind him drooled a massive ogre.
An ogre that size wouldn’t be easy to servite; the handler must be a high-ranked holder.
He looked like a slick trader, but he must be someone significant.
“What’s your name?”
“Hoho! I’m late with introductions. My name is Yarta. I run the Yarta clan.”
The man named Yarta bowed with a bright, flattering smile.
“I see. Yarta. I’m looking to buy a giant worm.”
“A giant worm! Hmm… I have a good one right now. It’s two years old—fresh and energetic. Would you like to see it?”
Yarta naturally gestured toward his tent.
But I was looking for a specific creature.
“No. I’m looking for an older one.”
“An older one, you say…?”
“At least fifteen years. One born before the Great War.”
At my words, Yarta’s expression twisted for a moment.
He quickly scanned me from head to toe.
Then his gaze paused at my waist—at the scabbard.
Near the hilt of the Dragon Scale Sword was a red lion face engraved.
Seeing it, the man quickly recognized who I was.
“You’re from the Impera family.”
“Yes.”
The moment he realized my family, his attitude changed.
“Hmph… If it was born before the Great War, it should be nearing retirement. Even cheap as they may be, no one wants such beasts.”
‘Look at this guy.’
Priyana stood quietly, not understanding the hidden meaning.
But I knew what he meant.
Saying “no one uses them even if they’re cheap” meant “if you don’t have money, go away.”
Running a clan, he would have heard a lot—rumors about the Impera family too.
Even if we toppled Count Vener, Impera being the impecunious noble family was a well-known fact.
He was looking down on me for being from a pauper noble family.
To say that in front of a customer like me…
“That’s for me to see and judge. When did I ever ask for your opinion?”
“…Ahaha. I didn’t mean it like that. I apologize if that was rude.”
Yarta bowed slightly as if showing etiquette, but his eyes were unchanged.
“Hmm… There happens to be one born before the Great War. It was scheduled to retire soon. What luck.”
He flipped through a ledger in his hand.
“It’s in District 14. Follow me.”
His behavior annoyed me, but that was fine.
What I was about to do would put him in an awkward position.
‘Let’s see how long you keep acting like that.’
I gave a quiet snort behind him and followed.
