Vol 1 Chapter 4 – Property Viewing【Vol 1: A Man Who Wants to Buy a Slave】

Yesterday was truly a terrible day.

The tragedy at the slave shop I’d dreamed about. Not only did I fail to meet my destined slave-chan, but I was confronted with the reality of just how foolish a fantasy I’d been harboring.

To top it all off, when I invited Zeke and Rain for drinks hoping for consolation, the two of them just laughed at me and made me the topic of their drinking session. It was truly the worst day ever.

But I’m not someone who gives up over something like this.

I have the cheat abilities bestowed upon me by God to defeat the Demon Lord. If I use this power correctly, earning money is a simple matter. Rallying my spirits with that thought, I started my activities today to meet my “destined slave-chan.”

◇

“Let’s see! For a 2LDK that meets your requirements, sir, it starts at five large gold coins! What would you like to do?”

The blonde woman wearing glasses—Nadia-san—pointed at the documents tucked in the file in her hands while asking me.

I’d come to a real estate agency to buy a house, which was one of the conditions Quark mentioned yesterday for purchasing a slave. Since I was told it had to be at least 2LDK, I had her search for properties, but apparently purchasing one costs a fortune—five large gold coins.

However, that’s an amount I can pay without any problem now. After all, I’d saved up an entire platinum coin for slave purchase funds. Therefore, I considered buying one immediately, but at the last moment, I hesitated.

Was 2LDK really enough?

One room per slave. Apparently slaves can share rooms with each other, but if the rooms are small, the number who can share is limited. In that case, 2LDK still felt insufficient.

“Actually, can you make it 3LDK? I have the money!”

Saying that, I pulled out one platinum coin from my pocket and placed it on the desk. Nadia-san picked it up and made a show of checking if it was genuine. After confirming, she placed the platinum coin back on the desk and brought out a different file from the back.

“These are the 3LDK properties! With one platinum coin, you can purchase properties from pages 1 to 5! Please take a look!”

Handed the file, I flipped through the designated pages. They all seemed to be similar level properties, but only the last property had slightly different interior features.

“Um, this property seems to have a bathtub, but is it really the same price as the other properties?”

“Ah, about that! It’s because the bathtub model is old and the location is bad!”

According to her explanation, apparently the installed bathtub was placed there several years ago, and the magic stone fuel consumption for using hot water is poor.

In this world, “magic stones” obtained when defeating monsters serve as the raw material that can power all kinds of tools. Magic stones are basically like batteries.

Poor fuel consumption means it costs money to take a bath. So unless it’s a wealthy household, it costs money just to keep living there.

Then there’s the poor location—indeed, it’s built on the outskirts of town and can’t be said to have good sunlight. Shopping would be inconvenient too, so it’s understandable that few people would purchase this property. But for me, things like location or the age of the bathtub don’t matter.

“Then I’ll buy this property! Can I view the interior before the paperwork?”

“Certainly! I’ll bring the keys, so please wait at the entrance!”

Saying that, Nadia-san picked up the file and entered the back room. I also stood up from my seat and headed to the entrance. A house worth one platinum coin—I’m looking forward to seeing what the interior is like.

◇

“This is the property you’re planning to purchase! On the first floor there’s a living room, kitchen, toilet, and bathroom. On the second floor there are three private rooms!”

“Ooh! What a fine house! One platinum coin for this is a bargain!”

Thirty minutes’ walk from the real estate office. Proceeding down a road off the main street, a splendid brick-style house stood there.

“Right?! I’d like to live in such a fine house too! …Well then, shall we tour the inside?”

Saying that, Nadia-san inserted the key she’d brought from the shop into the house door and turned it clockwise. However, since there was no sound of the lock opening, she tried turning it counterclockwise this time. Then there was a click as the lock opened.

“Ah, it opened! Please go ahead inside!”

Saying that, she pulled the knob, but the door showed no signs of opening.

“Huh? That’s strange… I’m sure it opened properly.”

Nadia-san tilted her head while inserting the key again and twisting it clockwise. Another click sounded, and this time the door opened properly. Apparently she’d turned the key in the wrong direction.

“Ehehe, sorry! It’s definitely open this time, so please take your time looking around!”

Nadia-san showed an embarrassed smile. If she were a slave, I could get excited, but the world doesn’t work out that nicely.

Under her guidance, I toured the facilities on the first floor. The living room was quite spacious, and the adjacent kitchen seemed to have well-equipped facilities too.

Next, I went to check the problematic bathtub. There’s a frame for fitting magic stones at the faucet part, but there are three of them. According to Nadia-san, the latest baths can heat water with one magic stone, so the fuel consumption is more than three times worse.

Well, since I have water magic and fire magic, I can probably economize if I do it cleverly. In other words, the point I was concerned about isn’t a problem.

“This is really great! I could move in right away with this!”

“I’m glad to hear that! All that’s left are the private rooms on the second floor! Let’s quickly go around!”

The moment Nadia-san shouted that while raising her hand, a thud echoed from the ceiling.

“Hyaa!”

“What was that!?”

While shielding the frightened Nadia-san behind my back, I looked up at the ceiling. For a moment I thought it was a mouse, but the sound was too large to be from such a small animal. Plus, I could faintly hear the sound of fabric being dragged.

“I-Is it a ghost!? Please stop! Go away!”

“Calm down, Nadia-san! There’s no way ghosts exist!”

“A-Are you sure!? Then what was that sound!?”

Nadia-san clung to my back while shedding tears. If this were a slave, I could embrace her right now and say something like, “It’s okay. I’m here, so rest easy,” and get all cozy. Damn, what a waste.

Well, rather than such delusions right now, confirming the identity of that sound comes first. If it really is a ghost, even I might not be able to handle it. I’ve only learned recovery-type magic for holy magic so far. Well, regarding recovery magic, I’ve mastered up to the highest-level magic to heal slaves with missing limbs.

But I don’t want to go home without checking the second floor and not sign the contract. There’s a possibility it’s just a dog or cat that wandered in.

“It’s probably a cat or dog! When you opened the entrance key earlier, Nadia-san, there was no sound at first, right! They must have forgotten to lock it and left it that way! So an animal probably wandered in!”

“Oh, now that you mention it! Then it’s probably a dog! Let’s go check!”

Though Nadia-san had regained her composure, she still couldn’t completely shake off her fear, and proceeded to the second floor while pushing my back.

I also climbed the stairs one step at a time with some tension, arriving at the second floor hallway. The moment I did, the door to the room on the right began slowly opening with a creak.

“Kyaaaa!! It’s a ghost!! Please don’t eat me! I don’t taste good!”

The door opening on its own completely flustered Nadia-san. She pushed me toward the door and fled down the stairs in a flash.

“Hey hey, is it seriously a ghost!?”

Even I felt tension run through me and hurriedly entered combat stance. Just as I braced myself for whatever might come, the true identity appeared before my eyes.

“Fwaaa… who?”

A girl in her underwear yawned while glaring at me. Black cat ears were attached to her head.

“Cat ears!? Y-You’re—”

Who are you! The moment I tried to shout that, her sole landed a clean hit on my face.

“Intruders… will be punished.”

While muttering incomprehensible words, the cat-eared girl continued stomping on my face as I collapsed to the floor.

And thus, I concluded my first property viewing.