Chapter 4 – My Slave

After the auction was over, each buyer was individually escorted to a separate room and instructed to wait until a staff member arrived.

With nothing in particular to do, simply waiting proved unexpectedly tedious. I couldn’t help but yawn. Just then, the door opened—it seemed they had finally arrived.

Entering the room were the Dark Elf I’d seen on stage earlier and—a man I recognized.

“…Oh my, Onii-san? I thought you were just here to observe, but you ended up joining in after all.”

That man was the very one who’d been canvassing with a sign. I never expected to run into him again; since he hadn’t appeared during the auction, I thought I’d probably never see him again.

“I changed my mind a little. It looked like a good buy.”

“So you won her for 150,000 Robs, huh? Haha, a Dark Elf for 150,000 Robs is practically unheard of. You really got a good deal, Onii-san.”

Unbelievable, huh.

“A good deal, huh? What’s her actual value?”

“Not that it matters. I mean, even if we talk about her true worth…she’s certainly not cheap, but because they rarely come up, there isn’t a standard market price. It all depends on the situation. Just for reference, the latest one I know of was put on sale ten years ago in the Koltzel Confederation Kingdom over on the Western Continent for 500 million Du. When converted to Robs, that’s a bit over a billion.”

Upon hearing that figure, I burst out laughing. The number was absurd—like, twice the value of an elf or something like that.

“Unless the exchange rate has dramatically changed without my knowing. But I haven’t heard of any major events like a war or regime change in Koltzel, so I doubt it’s shifted that much… Hey, Onii-san, what’s so funny?”

“N-no, it’s just the price.”

“See? I told you you got a great deal.”

“…You’re not going to back out of the deal, are you?”

I couldn’t help but ask. The discrepancy between that figure and the actual selling price was enormous. It wouldn’t be surprising if someone said, “That price is too low to sell,” or something like that. And that suddenly made me anxious.

“Trust is everything in this business. If people start saying, ‘They always undercut the products they’ve sold,’ then it’s all over for us. This time, our judgment was way off—you made a killing, Onii-san, that’s all. Business is interesting because these things happen. Besides, it seems the others sold for pretty good prices. I’m confident our gross profit is intact.”

That seemed to settle it. I felt a bit relieved.

“Alright then, let’s move on to payment.”

“Understood.”

I quickly handed over 150,000 Robs. Perhaps because I’d planned to spend all my money anyway—or maybe due to the thrill of acquiring a Dark Elf at a bargain—I didn’t feel any particular regret about losing my entire fortune. It was a strange feeling.

“Hee hee… Alright, that’s a proper 150,000 Robs.”

After counting the money, the man pulled out a pure white collar from somewhere.

“What’s that?”

“By the way, Onii-san, I’d like to have a bit of your blood.”

“Blood?”

“I want you to let your blood drip onto this collar.”

“Why?”

“Because I need to engrave on it that its master is Onii-san. This collar—known as the collar of subjugation—is designed so that if the wearer ever attempts to target the life of the person inscribed as their master, sharp needles will spring out.”

“So that means… if someone tries to target my life?”

“Then the slave dies. And by the way, this collar can only be removed by the master—namely, you, Onii-san.”

That’s one scary collar, indeed.
But then again, having a slave and a master can sometimes lead to deep resentment, so as a deterrent it might be justified…
I nodded at his explanation and decided to let my blood drip onto the collar.

“Want to use a needle?”

The man extended a small needle, and I gratefully accepted it, pressing it against my fingertip.
A small bead of blood formed and dripped onto the collar.
As it absorbed a bit of my blood, the collar changed from pure white to a deep, dark vermilion.

“All right, that concludes our transaction. Oh, and Onii-san, be sure to put the collar on yourself.”

“What?”

“It’s the master’s first duty. Or is it acceptable for someone else to collar their own slave? Well, it’s sort of like a good-luck charm.”

“Alright, I understand.”

Hurriedly, I turned to face the Dark Elf girl.

“……”

The Dark Elf girl said nothing.
She simply fixed me with her deep, forest-like, jade-green eyes, staring intently.
She didn’t seem to be resisting or frightened—more as if she were merely observing me.

“From the moment you wear this collar, your master becomes me.”

But regardless of what she might think, it doesn’t matter.
She is already mine.
My slave.

“……Yes, please treat me well.”

As soon as the Dark Elf girl replied, I snapped the collar of subjugation onto her slender, soft neck, sealing our master-slave bond.

I got my slave!