For the rest of the day, I let Tray and his servants test out some of the more unon parts of HomeBase. Not that anything about HomeBase is exactly on, but things like the massive bathing area, which is basically a spa, as well as the sauna are not something that I’ve ever seen in a noble’s manor before. Even the hastily put together arcade is something you probably ’t have anywhere else, even if the arcade is not really that good yet. This world's level system breaks most arcade games I nning on making, unless I make some sort of level based difficulty system. But even that wouldn’t be fair, as people with more magic based skills would be at a massive disadvantage against people with more physical builds.

  So yeah. Things like bowling and darts weren’t really great, but that was basically all we had for now. Well, the pool table was retively fair, but even with that, more strength usually means more accuracy. Unless you are to and actally break the balls, Agunan.

  In case you were w, from our few test games, Wilma was the best pool pyer. She has great accuracy with her shots, and knows how to trol her strength.

  What was I talking about again? ht, Tray and his crew.

  I did get some minor feedback from them, like some of them finding the sauna great, while an uioned person found it to be torture. But they did all enjoy the other services in the spa, even if the massage station wasn’t opeo ck of personnel. Of course on purpose.

  For dinner, I agaih Tray. This time we ate some chi breasts from Crimson Sunbird. Crimson Sunbird is a chi, right? At least close enough.

  Spoiler

  [colpse]I was thinking of making fried chi, but I think that might be a bit too exotic. Well, I do still have the thighs in my Ste, so I might still do that ter.

  “Is Lady Wat not ing with us?” Tray asked, as we were ready to leave HomeBase aurn to Burch city.

  “Alice is busy today, so she ot.” I told him. Though if things go as I’ve pnned, he’ll see Alice soon enough. Not that he will like her after that.

  “I see. That is a shame.”

  “It really is. I’ll call our ride now.” I said, as I got a card out of my Colle. I the on my founder’s terminal, before I said its name. “B.E.S. Tetran.”

  Spoiler

  [colpse]I was usiran again, just so I wouldn’t show my entire hand to Tray. Well, more like my entire Colle. We all got oran, and because Tray didn’t question it this time, it happened very quickly and we were off.

  We returo the city and I beamed us down at the yard of the same mansion we left from. Then I unsummoetran.

  “Lord Wood, if you would please wait a bit. I shall prepare a carriage for us, so we go the the sve house.” Tray told me as he walked off.

  I was left with one of his ‘guards’ and two dies. It looked more like they were here to keep an eye ohan to serve me.

  Luckily it didn’t take too long for Tray to return in a carriage. One of the dies that was keeping an eye on me opehe door, and I stepped into the carriage.

  We had a ride through town, which took way lohan it really should have. Partially because the driver was taking some dumbass route, that wasted a lot of time. I think it was meant to fuse me, so I wouldn’t know where we were going, but it didn’t wainst Laura’s mapping. She had the ey already mapped out, so following where we were wasn’t all that difficult.

  After the carriage came to a stop, the door soon operay was the first to step out, and I followed. Waiting for us was a group of four armed men. And about six women, in not at all subtle outfits. All of the women had a visible sve seal, but all of them looked like the legit sve seal, not the illegal one.

  I followed Tray ihe building we had stopped by. It was quite a rge house, but not quite as big as the mansion the Bnken pany owns. Still rge enough to house multiple families, I’d say.

  After being led iray told me to sit at a cou some sort of parlor room, so of course I did. He then quickly began bringing sves into the room to show me. I guess he didn’t want to waste any more time, or something.

  I was both taking stock of potential workers, as well as making sure to carefully check each visible sve mark. But even after the first 20, no illegal marks. There were a few people I could see myself buying at least, so not all was lost. I told Tray as much, but I said I’d want to see everything that was avaible, before I decided who to buy. It pained me a bit to refer to people as products, but I think that was the best choice I could make.

  “Did any of them suit your fancy?” Tray asked, after he had showotal of 36 sves. All had the legal sve mark, so no hits just yet.

  “Yes. I could see myself purchasing a few of them.” I first answered holy. “But they don’t seem like the ‘imports’ you spoke about back at my Home. Where are they?” I then bluntly asked.

  “So you really do want to see them. I suppose some prefer them.” Tray said as he got up from his seat. “I don’t usually show them to first time ers, but I make an exception. Follow me please.”

  I did as requested and got up.

  Tray led me through the house, opening a door. Behind that door was a staircase that led to a basement, aered.

  The basement was just a bit dark, but Tray put his hand on a light switd turned on dim magic lights. We walked a bit deeper, until he opened a door. Behind it, a small room split in two by iron bars.

  Behind the bars was a group of three people, all females from what I could tell. And they all had oher thing in on, uheir long hair, I could just see pointy ears poking out.

  If I were to guess, they are elves. I’ve never seen them before and this definitely isn’t how I wao meet that race.

  On the elves chest, a red sve mark. A specifid of sve mark that happeo be illegal in this try.

  “May I ask about them?” I requested.

  “Of course. What I tell you about them? Do you wish to know if they are pure?”

  Pure. What a word to use in this situation. Just be straight with me and use the word virgin.

  “That is of little io me, as I have my own girls.” I holy told him. “I wish to know why they are sves, and about their skills.”

  “... I see. Well, I wouldn’t know much about their ins, as the Bnken pany purchased them from a trusted sve trader in their try. The man likes to keep the details to a minimum, so we do not know. I hope you uand.” Tray expined. “The blonds are have some experieh Spirit Magic, while the oh lime hair is a reasonably skilled archer, with the Wind Magic skill. They all are also trained in basic etiquette as far as service goes, including night service.”

  “... I see. They are quite good then.”

  “Would you like them, Lord Wood?”

  “Yes. I do think I could take them.” I told him. I may as well purchase them and thehem. Then I either take them home, or offer them a job at HomeBase. Aing Tray’s hopes up should be a good thing. “But I do wish to see more imports. I hope this wasn’t all of them.”

  “No. Of course not.” Tray quickly said. “Let us head to the room.”

  There were five rooms holding these imported sves. In total, seventeen sves. Out of them, all but one had the illegal mark.

  They varied in race as well. There were of course the elves, but there were also plenty of beastfolk of different varieties, and even one dwarf. I really want the dwarf, as he is an older male, so having him work with Wilma should be good. As for the beastfolk, there were three catfolk, two dogfolk, four foxfolk and four horsefolk. The horsefolk were quite iing, as I think they evolve into taurs.

  “So, which would you like?” Tray asked after our tour was plete and we had returo the parlor room.

  “All of them.” I just said.

  “... All? Are you?”

  “Yes. I’ll take them all. How much?” I just asked. I was doing evidence, as well as buying time, so let’s just get this show on the road.

  “I do hope you uand that sves like this are quite…”

  “Just give me a price.” I cut him off. “So how much? 1,000 gold? 10,000? Give me a number.”

  “... alright then. If you do have that much. For all of them, 8,000 gold.” Tray said.

  “8,000, huh? That is fine. I bring the money out here, or do you want it in another pce?”

  “Eh? Here is fine, but…”

  “Alrighty then.” I said, as I began piling gold s oable between us.

  Piles of ten gold s each, ht o the other. The table was quickly filling up and I was holy afraid it would break. But before the table could break, something else happened.

  Knock, knock.

  Loud knog could be heard from the dire of the froranbsp;

  Quickly after that, a sve servant came and whispered something into Tray’s ear.

  Tray then turo me and said: “I apologize, Lord Wood. But there is something that needs my attention. I’ll return shortly.”

  “Alright. I’ll take out the rest of the gold while I wait.” I told him, with no iion of doing just that. I kly who is at the door, so there is no need. Well, there is a bit of something I o do, so let’s get on with it.

  I got up from my seat and quickly took all of the gold s from the table bato my Ste.

  “Sir? What are you doing?” The sve that was keeping an eye on me asked.

  “I wouldn’t worry about it if I were you.” I told her.

  I then quickly left the room and headed for the door leading to the basement. Ohere, I took a card out of my Colle and activated it. Now that the insurance policy is in pce, I leave the rest to Alice.

  Alice POV

  “We are here to do an iion. Here are the papers for it.” Big Sis Mariina said to Tray, when he finally arrived at the door. The papers were fully legitimate, signed by Baron Pineda, the person whose house Mariina had been staying at. It retty easy to talk him into writing up iion papers when Mariina told him that there was use of the illegal sve mark in this city.

  It wasn’t just us two, but also a group of 10 knights from the city's knight order.

  “Y— Yes. Of course. e right on in.” Tray said to us.

  After we got baside, he quickly told us about having a er and having to get back to them, so he tried to go to somewhere and leave showing us around to a sve. But after he ehe room Brian was in a bit ago and seeing the table cleared of all the gold s Brian put there, he began to really panic.

  “Why don’t you show us the imports, Tray?” I asked him, with the line Brian taught me yesterday. I don’t really know why I had to say that, but he was quite insistent.

  Tray finally realized that I was with the group, and I could see the color leaving his face.

  “I-I-Imports? Wh-what would you be referring to, Lady Wat?”

  “The sves in the basement, what else? Or do you need me to be more specific? What was it? Three elves, a dwarf, three catfolk, two dogfolk, four foxfolk and four horsefolk. I think that was it.” I recapped the info we got from Brian. “Well, I guess one of the foxfolk had the legal seal, so we fet that one.”

  “H-how did you?”

  “You think you will just be ignored forever? The System and the Goddess will not let you get away with this for any longer.” I told him. It felt really good to say something like that.

  At first, it almost seemed like Tray was ready to surrender, but then it seemed as if the color he had lost suddenly returo his face.

  “Ha. Ha, ha ha.” He then began to ugh. “You really think that is it? You e here and say things like that and that will make me surrender? No! Never!”

  “There is no point in this.” One of the male knights said. “You have basically admitted to your crimes. This pany will be audited and you will be lucky if you just lose everything you own.”

  “Ha, ha, ha. Really? Do you really think that is the case? You fet otle reality. Bitch Wat there should know it, sidering that her ‘love’ has illegal sves.”

  “Almost, but you are misinformed. Brian actually freed Einar and Eline, and they are now just workers. The sve marks on them were just red paint.” I corrected him. “But I know what you are trying to say. With just a word, you could order the sves in the basement to kill themselves. So why don’t you go ahead and try it? You’ll see just how worthless your little mark is in the face of the Goddess.” I egged Tray on, so he would go even further. Brian was already in position, so even if this guy tried, nothing would happen.

  “Really thinking the Goddess would do anything? You think She would care? Who do you think you are? The Hero? She doesn’t care about us. We are nothing but cattle to her.” Tray said, but I know that isn’t true. Even if we ot see her work in our everyday lives, I know the Goddess is real and is w hard to keep us all safe from the terrors we don’t even know about.

  “All Sves I own. Kill yourselves now!” We all heard Tray and.

  I really hope all of them are in this house, or we might actually have some dead bodies somewhere.

  “And now you have no hostages.” I told him. “Now what?”

  “...” Tray didn’t answer. Maybe he just realized that there is nothing keeping us from killing him, if he has no hostages. Not that we will.

  “Alright.” Mariina spoke up. “Tie him up. Let’s go check out this basement of his.”

  We ehe basement by using the dires Brian gave me. And he was there waiting for us.

  I gave him a quick hug, as the knights dragged Tray into the basement. I wao show him what was behind these doors.

  “Hah. Go ahead and see, little Wat. Your arroga all of those people killed.” Tray taunted me, as I approached one of the doors.

  “I wouldn’t be so sure.” I said, as I opehe door. Behind it, I saw the cell, just like I had been told. And in it, three perfectly alive elf girls.

  As Tray saw the alive elves, his eyes once agai wide.

  “As I said, your little mark is nothing pared to the power of the Goddess.”

  This was game over for Tray, possibly the entire Bnken pany.