How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom: Volume 4

by Dojyomaru

  “One three is three, two threes are six, three threes are nine...” At my instruction, the slaves began to sing out their three times table.

  Next to them, another group of slaves were practicing their writing, using water to wet a slate. Paper and ink were expensive, so that was what we were using as a substitute.

  I wanted to have them available, but... I really didn’t have that much financial leeway, after all...

  “What are you doing this time?” San asked, sounding exasperated. She’d just returned from the errand I’d sent her on.

  “Hm? I thought I’d teach everyone to write and do arithmetic,” I said.

  “...Why?”

  “I did some thinking. When it comes to tools, those with some added functionality are better taken care of, right? Well, what sort of added functionality can you give humans, I wondered, and the answer I came up with was, ‘Education, maybe?’”

  The sad truth was, many people only thought of slaves as a cheap source of labor, meant to be used until they broke and then thrown away.

  True, that was an extreme position, but it was also true that for ordinary slaves, hard manual labor was about the only use for them. Now, what about a slave that knew how to write and do arithmetic? If a slave could read, write, and do arithmetic, wouldn’t that make them too valuable to waste as disposable manual labor?

  The fact of the matter was, those with such skills who fell to become slaves, they sold at a higher price, and they were used in a wider variety of ways than slaves that were only capable of manual labor. They served as shopkeepers, and were even sometimes hired as servants and secretaries to the nobility.

  You might think, “Well, we should teach all slaves to read and write, then,” but that would be inefficient. It took time to educate slaves, which meant they’d cost that much more in upkeep. Besides, most of the people who visited slave traders were looking for manual laborers. There were a limited number who would buy educated slaves. If too many were available, they would go unsold, and if the slave trader became forced to sell them as cheaply as manual laborers, it would defeat the point. This was, ultimately, a business, after all.

  Still, that wasn’t something that was a concern for me right now. I had no intention of continuing with this work.

  Even if I had to pour some of the savings my grandpa had left me into it, I was fine with that so long as I could arrange for the people here to pass into the hands of as reasonably good buyers as I could manage. Even if I didn’t turn a profit, I would actively work to sell them to buyers I thought would be good, and once I had seen everyone off to their various fates, I would close up shop. I thought of it as a way of paying my respects to Grandpa.

  “That’s how Grandpa taught me, and I’ve learned enough that I can teach the same to everyone,” I said. “Would you like me to teach you, too, San?”

  “I will be fine without,” San said. “I came from a family of merchants, so I can read and do arithmetic.”

  A family of merchants? How had she ended up a slave, then...?

  “Um... Do you mind if I ask?” I ventured.

  “It isn’t a terribly interesting story. The owner of a store who was swindled by others found himself needing to sell off one of his daughters in order to protect his store and family. That’s all there was to it.”

  “What do you mean, that’s all...?”

  “It is a common story,” said San. “The kind of misfortune... you could find anywhere.”

  No matter how prosperous the country, no matter how good its governance and public order, the malice of people will never go away. No shortage of these things will happen. I just happened to be the one to fall into it, San’s cold eyes told me. It was as if she had given up on everything.

  “Well, it is an ability I am lucky to have, so allow me to teach them with you,” San said.

  “...Please do.”

  It might be difficult for a slave, but I want San to have hope, too, I thought earnestly, watching her teaching a young slave boy to read.

  Months later, my sales weren’t exactly booming. Or rather, I hadn’t sold a single one.

  Ha ha ha... What to make of this...?

  While I was sitting at the counter clutching my head, San brought out some tea for me and asked, “I believe there were customers. Why did you not sell to them?”

  Yes, it was true, a number of customers had come saying they wanted to buy slaves. However, from what I’d seen in my interviews with them, none of them were the sorts I could ever bring myself to sell to.

  “If I have confidence in one thing, it’s my ability to see through people,” I explained.

  “They were not up to your standards, then, Master Ginger?”

  “Every single one of them only looked at slaves as tools to be used and then thrown away,” I said. “No matter how gentlemanly they might have acted. It’s not that easy to hide the dirty parts of your heart, though.”

  “Is that right...?” San asked.

  “I did promise everyone I would find them trustworthy buyers, after all. I have to select them carefully.”

  “If you keep saying that, you may find yourself in financial distress and eventually slavery yourself, you know?” San asked.

  “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 i
n 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.

  Well, I can tell he’s definitely a good guy, so if the two of them are all right with it, I guess I am, too, I thought.

  After that, even though I put some serious conditions on their treatment of the slaves, buyers came in every day, and within a few days, the only one left with me was San.

  The reason San had been left for last was because she was helping me. It had been too much for me to handle all of those people by myself, and San had been a tremendous help to me.

  Of course, with her beauty and shapely figure, there had been many buyers who’d wanted to buy her under conditions no less good than the sisters Anzu and Shiho had received. However, San herself said, “I will stay to help you until all of the others have been bought, Master Ginger.” So I’d indulged in her kind generosity.

  We were in the shop before opening. While sitting at the counter, I looked to San who was beside me offering me tea.

  “San, you...”

  “What is it, Master Ginger?” she asked.

  “Um... Well... It’s nothing...”

  “Hm?”

  San had worked hard for the slaves, and for me. It wasn’t as though I hadn’t felt something when I’d seen her doing that.

  Fortunately, everyone had been bought, and thanks to the nobles, I had some financial leeway for the time being. If I were to release San from slavery, we could start a new business together. I had started to wonder about the possibilities.

  But... I’m sure someone better will come along for San, I thought. There’s no guarantee that my new business will succeed, and maybe San would be happier that way, too.

  While I was thinking about it, the door that I was sure I had a “Closed” sign on it opened. When I looked up, wondering what it could be, there was a single young man there.

  “I have a request,” the young man said. “Could I ask you sell that slave to me?”

  The young man was dressed like a traveler from another country. He wore a conical straw hat low over his forehead, as well as a traveling cloak. The way he looked... Was he from the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago, perhaps?

  “Um, we aren’t open for business yet...” I said.

  “I apologize,” said the young man. “I was charmed when I saw that raccoon girl, and I simply couldn’t help myself. Is there any way you could give me that slave? Of course, I intend to pay well more than she’s worth. Once I’ve bought her, I will also set her free.”

  “How much would you be paying, exactly?” San asked.

  “San?!” I exclaimed.

  While I was still surprised that San was trying to move things forward on her own, she gave me a grin. “You did well for all of the other slaves, Master Ginger. I am the only one left. That being the case, as one last service, I will sell myself for a high price, and give you the extra money. Please, use it to start your new business.”

  “What are you saying?!”

  Had San been thinking about that all along?

  The young, foreign man dropped a small bag of coins on the table. “In this bag there
are ten large gold coins and fifty gold coins. Will this price be acceptable?”

  Ten large gold coins and fifty gold coin was... 1,000,000G?! The average slave went for 10,000G to 20,000G. Could he just plop down that kind of money?!

  This young man... there’s something strange about him...

  He was acting like rich men often did, using the power of their money to get their way, but I didn’t get that same unpleasant feeling from the young man in front of me. Unlike Sir Piltory, who had taken the two sisters, it didn’t feel like he was in love with San, either. If anything... I felt as though his attention was focused on me. Like he was watching to see what I would do when presented with a large amount of money...

  While I was eyeing him cautiously, San bowed her head to the young man.

  “It is enough. Please, take me.”

  “I told you, don’t decide that for yourself!” I stood up and placed myself between them, picking up the bag of coins and thrusting it back toward the man. “I’m terribly sorry, but she’s not for sale. When I start my new business, I want her there to work for me.”

  “Master Ginger...”

  San’s eyes were wide with surprise. This was... my selfishness.

  “I’m sorry, San,” I said. “It may be better for you to be bought by this person. He clearly has considerable finances, and I can’t guarantee my business will succeed.”

  But, I couldn’t do it. When San was... about to be stolen away from me, I finally realized it. How strongly I felt that I didn’t want to lose her.

  “But, out of my own selfishness, I don’t want to let go of you,” I said.

  “Master Ginger... I acted presumptuously...” San teared up as she said that. Then she walked over to me and bowed her head. “Please... Let me stay at your side, Master Ginger...”

  “Yes. Of course I will.” I gently embraced San.

  After doing that for a little while, I recalled that we were completely ignoring the young, foreign customer. When I looked at him, the young man had an awkward, forced smile on his face.