Testing My Luck in the New World

Volume 1 - Chapter 4

"I-I would like to see what slaves you have available!"

I blurted out my reason at his pressuring and quickly covered my mouth to try and undo what I'd said. I'd only just barely thought that I could have the wrong place, that Albert had lied to me as a joke or maybe even that, if this was indeed the right place, that blurting something like that out could have the police, the knights, running straight over to arrest us all for our obvious crimes against humanity.

But instead of looking bothered, the man just grunted at me.

"Geez. If that's all ye wanted, just say so next time. Wait here."

The man shoved the door open and went inside while his companion leaned against the railing, his beady eyes lingering on me long enough to shake my already barely existent composure. It was almost like he was expecting me to pull out a knife and attack him. The thought was laughable, but it was the same sort of cautious stare security guards always had. Constant vigilance in the face of potential dangers. The sort that made you feel as though you were speaking to a brick wall. Appearances aside, at least he was taking his job seriously.

Once more, in hindsight, after these men, Albert, the innkeeper and the dog-girl, I realized that my confidence-boosting trait must not work against those of a higher level than mine. The thugs surely were, even though they were only around level 10. I wasn't sure about the dog-girl, since her info box wasn't exactly the part of her I had been looking at, but I did remember seeing a number that was bigger than mine. But whether it was her age or her level, I did not know. Then there was Albert and the innkeeper to consider. The innkeeper was a high-level Mage and Albert a seasoned Merchant. And I found speaking with both difficult.

This needed to change. If my boost was contingent on my level and that of the person I was speaking to, then I had to level up and test to see if my hunch was correct. I didn't want to continue walking around like the timid asshole I was back on Earth.

A few silent minutes after deciding this for myself, the thug came back, this time with a well-dressed man in tow.

His body was stout, lean and likely muscled under his well-tailored suit. The slickly smoothed back hair atop his head was mostly a fine jet black and while the sides were starting to grey, he wore it proudly. When our eyes met, he didn't share the same happy customer service smile Albert did, but neither did he show visible distain for my existence like the Innkeeper did. His face was placid. Almost like he was waiting to decide how to shape his emotions until after we greeted one another.

The bald thug gave a quick, contemporary bow to this man before he mirrored his lanky friend and leaned against the opposite railing. His part in the introduction done with, he easily started to ignore my existence while the new man put his hand over his heart and gave me a slight bow.

Scanning this person's info box, I noticed that he too was a much higher level than me, a level 50 Merchant. Beneath this comparably shocking number, he also had the Slave Master class, as one might expect. Both of these classes conflicted with his well-mannered appearance and shows of humbleness in front of someone dressed only slightly better than a stereotypical peasant, like myself. I decided his demeanor as something acquired with age since the info box said he was in his upper fifties.

"Welcome to De Grave Imports, dear customer," he said. "My name is Alphonse De Grave. How may I help you?"

I got this far. Might as well go all the way and see what the place had to offer. I sucked in a deep, discrete breath and answered.