Vim’s Intentions

As I enter the mansion, Aria and James are there to greet me.

“I’m back—”

“Welcome home. How was the Guild Master?” James asked.

“Well, first impressions weren’t bad. I get the feeling I can work well with him.”

“Is that so? I am glad to hear it.”

“Yeah, I’m relieved there’s still someone around who listens to reason,” Vim said as he pulled off his robe.

“Here, please take care of the laundry.”

“As you command,” Aria said, receiving the robe.

“I feel like so much has happened in just one day.”

Vim threw himself onto the living room sofa. It was already evening. His talk with the Guild Master had ended smoothly enough, but he had been bombarded with questions by the Guild staff afterward. By the time he was done with that, the sky had turned a deep madder red, and darkness was beginning to peek through.

“Will you be retiring for the night soon?” Aria asked.

“Yeah, I think so. I’ll rest after dinner. I have somewhere I want to go tomorrow, after all.”

Vim had already decided on his schedule for the following day.

“Understood.”

Dinner was prepared immediately. As always, my chef is incredibly skilled; I finished the meal in no time.

“James, do you have a moment?”

“Yes, what can I do for you?” James turned around, pausing his cleaning.

“Sorry to bother you while you’re working.”

“Not at all. Attending to your needs is also my duty.” James straightened his posture perfectly.

“I’m thinking of buying a slave to join me as an adventuring companion. If you know any slave merchants, could you introduce me to one?”

“Understood. I shall bring you a note with the contact information of an acquaintance during breakfast tomorrow morning.”

“Yeah, thanks. That helps a lot.”

As expected, James had a slave merchant among his acquaintances. Truly, his network is nothing short of impressive; he must have cultivated it to ensure he could meet any possible request.

“Even so… a slave as a traveling companion?”

“Yeah. They work better than a mediocre adventurer.”

The word “slave” might carry a negative connotation. However, their standard of living is guaranteed to be nearly identical to that of an ordinary citizen, and slave merchants are forbidden from operating without a business permit from the state. Since illegal “underground” slave traders do exist, I wanted to buy from a trustworthy source. That was why I asked James for a recommendation.

“Better than an adventurer, you say?”

“Yeah. Adventurers sometimes go off on their own and don’t listen to instructions. It’s different with a slave, right?”

“I see. That makes sense.”

Vim felt that many adventurers were overconfident in their own skills and knowledge. While that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, it was a fact that it could lead to fatal mistakes. In that regard, a slave acts according to instructions and is less likely to be overconfident. If a companion acts selfishly, they end up being nothing more than a hindrance.

“Well, I’ll leave it to you then. You should get some rest early too, James.”

“Understood. Thank you very much.”

With that, Vim headed to his room. Once in bed, he closed his eyes and soon let go of his consciousness.