NABC Volume 2 - Ch 4.08
Volume 2 - Ch 4.08
By proposing to be Alan-sans bodyguard, I should be able to quell Roxannes worries, even if just for a little bit, and avoid having a guilty conscience myself. Because you know, I might not give two shits about the guy I sold here, but if anything happened to innocent people because of him, I have no doubt that it would have left an incredibly bad aftertaste in my mouth.
Are you sure about that? For an owner of the shop to hire one of his customers as a bodyguard, this is rather unheard of.
Yeah. Besides, I dont want anything bad to happen to the slave I sold, so you can say that I have a bit of a personal interest in this matter as well.
That was only half of the truth, but he doesnt need to know that. Also, if I get the chance, there is a little something that I would like to try.
Thank you very much, master!
Roxanne bowed to me in gratitude. She really looks relieved now. So she was that concerned about the wellbeing of the lady who was nice to her, huh?
Very well then, I accept your humble proposal.
Nice. Should things get too hairy for us to handle, the is always an option of getting the hell away from this place by using my Warp. I couldnt use Dungeon Walker while fighting against the monsters in the Labyrinth, but I think it should be good as long as our enemies will be just your regular Bandits and the battle wont suddenly move to the Labyrinth itself, since I am able to Warp between the Labyrinth and the Adventurers Guild without any issues. Also, a mental note for the future: next time we happen upon one of those monster-filled empty Trap Rooms, I should try fleeing from them using Warp to see what will happen.
Great. Looking forward to working with you.
Generally, I have to agree with him. The dawn seems like the most probable time for the Bandits to attack, since normally people would assume they would have made their strike in the middle of the night.
Some of my slaves are also capable of fighting. Three of them are here in the shop at all times, while the best five of them always venture out into the Labyrinth around daybreak. If we were being watched for the past few days, then it would be wise to assume that our observer has also taken notice of that fact. Ill also have you know that I am somewhat strong myself, since I did some adventuring together with my reliable Party before I started studying the ways of the merchant in order to become a Slave Merchant.
That makes sense.
When Roxanne was explaining to me how Parties and adventuring worked, she mentioned that oftentimes the aristocracy and the noblemen would send their children to the Labyrinths accompanied by strong Parties so that the children themselves could gain experience and raise levels quickly and effortlessly since the EXP gained from slaying monsters is being shared across all the Party members. And based on what Alan-san just told me, it looks like that if you want to become a Slave Merchant, you have to raise the level of the ordinary Merchant Job first. Alan-sans Job is Slave Merchant Lv.44. His age is quite advanced, but even taking that into account, his level is still abnormally high. Now I really wonder if he was frequenting the Labyrinths in his youth.
The peak in the adventuring activities in the Labyrinths is usually early afternoon to an early evening, so my Parties always go there right before dawn to avoid running into an unnecessary traffic. But, as I mentioned before, the Bandits should be well aware of that routine of ours if they were keeping a close eye on us. If we assume that this is indeed the case, then the most probable time for them to make their move would be when the Party of combat-capable slaves leaves the shop for the Labyrinth, meaning from dawn until the afternoon. Of course, I wont be having them going there. They will remain here on standby, and those of them who cannot fight will serve as a deception.
Was that why Alan-san sounded so confident and seemed like that entire matter wasnt such a big deal? Not that I am complaining, mind you. If anything, I quite like this new development, since instead of waiting cluelessly or getting dragged in the Bandits trap, now it feels more we are the ones setting the trap for them.
Hearing that is certainly reassuring.
I have to admit that it has been quite some time since I retired from the adventurers lifestyle and passed the place in my most reliable Party to my son, but I should still have enough steam left in me not to let some petty Bandits get the better of me.
He said proudly. Maybe he actually is more amazing than I gave him credit for?