Inheriting a Lost Bloodline, My First Task is to have heirs?!
Chapter 191 - 191 - The true face of Freyheimr (Part 2)

I eventually let Vaelion inside my villa since he already made an effort to come here and accept my offer. He also called me "master" on his own accord so that got him some plus points in my books. Once he was inside the villa, he looked around with sparkle in his eyes as if it was the first he has been in a spacious house. He walked slowly behind me but at a distance that respects my space. He stayed standing even if I have already sat on one of the soft chairs in the living room. He's not presumptious and looked quite obedient. He's quite likeable, not exhibiting any of the annoying traits of the elves of earlier times. I asked him to choose where to sit and that was the only time he sat down on one of the chairs which was the farthest from me. He seems to be trying to make his presence as small as possible and was also very cautious about using or touching any of the things here.

I conjured some snacks and something to drink on the center table and offered some to him which he respectfully accepted with thanks. Once he looked less tense, I asked him a very important question, "Why are you really here, Vaelion? I don't think you just come to a stranger's house knowing the dangers of it without having an important goal in mind." He suddenly became jumpy as if he was cat whose tail was stepped on. His shoulders lifted quickly in surprise then slowly looked up to meet my eyes. He then looked around the villa urgently as if checking if someone is looking or listening in. I smiled at him and waved my hand to do a chantless spell. I already knew the people of who manage this festival were watching my every move and listening in but since I did not have anybody with me here before, I did not find the need to mute all the sound out. Now that I have a companion here, I don't want anybody listening in to our conversations anymore. I then talked while moving my lips as little as possible. I am not sure if these elves could lip read so I better be cautious. I smiled at him again and said, "You can answer now. They can still see us but they won't be able to hear anything." He looked at me in the eyes for a few seconds and I saw a grateful look from him. He then started his answer with, "I would do anything you want but please bring me and my father out of this hellish place. I was a fruit of the festival from several years back. Nobody knows I am talented in magic as my father sealed my abilities so the others won't detect that I was special. He does not want me to live the same life that he has been living, a vessel whose only use was to bear offspring. The time left before I get discovered 1not participating in the festival is running out. We need to escape as soon as possible." I nodded my head in understanding and asked a few other questions to test if he's worthy to give a bit of my trust, "Is your father a slave too? Do you have siblings? What did you mean when you said you were special?" He looked down with evident stress in his body, his hands tightly clutching his clothes as he said, "Yes, he's a slave. I don't have siblings. After my father gave birth to me, he was not lucky to have another child no matter how many partners the elders has assigned to him. I am special because I can use mana. Most children born throughout these years have very little to no talent in using mana. For the last few decades, there were only four on the elves side and only one for the heralds. They were taken away from their families and were educated to be perfect vessels. Their families were given lavish lives while their children were subject to harsh training, loneliness and cruelty. Elves and heralds are known to not value family or blood ties so they wouldn't care about those little things that their children are experiencing and will only want the tangible benefits which was money and power. To sum it all up, they sold their children off." I nodded my head and decided to go with much lighter questions this time. I asked, "Where do you live?" As expected, he answered that he lives in the outermost district. To feed my curiousity, I asked, "Do all slaves live there?" He chuckled for a few seconds as if my question was a big joke and then he answered me, "I think your question is a bit wrong. Not all slaves live there but everybody in there is a slave if you get what I mean." I looked at him coldly not because he laughed at me but because I am trying to not look at him with pity. The previous chuckle and the recent statement, no matter how he tried to laugh it off, I felt helplessness, desperation and self-depracation in his voice. I always thought that elves and heralds were only evil to other races. I did not know that they will do the same to their own kind. How vile could you be to do that? I am not washing my hands off of this sin because humans do the same. It is just that, the elves and heralds are already very few in numbers. Why couldn't they just help each other survive and live better lives?

We talked about other topics like the best places to visit in this territory, possible souvenirs I could buy to bring home, food that I should try and clothing shops to get elven weave clothes from. I tried to be as discreet as possible in my information gathering by starting with stuff that a normal tourist would like to know. I gradually eased in to questions about culture and laws being followed in Freyheimr which Vaelion gladly and patiently explained to me in detail.

Out of the blue, I asked him if he wanted to be my attendant and tour guide for now since I will need a bit of help during my two-week stay here. I also gave him a challenge that if he serves me well, I might consider getting him and his father out of this place. I also talked about slavery in general like how the elders decide which will become slaves, commoners or high elves. He said that he couldn't understand much about politics but he is quite sure that it has something to do with talent and the purity of one's bloodline. That much information is understandable I guess since the specific details of such things won't be discussed to the general public.

The next question I asked is the process of acquiring slaves and the current buying price for them. He said that acquiring a slave is as simple as buying a piece of bread in a store. You point at the item and you pay for its price then it's yours. He then said that the price is set differently. He said that the selling price is very cheap compared to the selling price of elves outside. It was as if they are giving away people instead and couldn't wait to get rid of them. As for the price itself, he said that every slave in Freyheimr costs about 50 silvers in human currency. He said that the territory does accept the same type of money but they prefer if the payment would be in kind. I furrowed my brows as I tried to figure out wha⁰t he meant by "in kind".

He patiently said that the territory would appreciate more if a slave master would pay with either food, clothing, medicinal formulas, alchemy materials, potions, elixirs, or the best one there is would be getting their men pregnant. I started making a mental inventory of what I have brought with me in my storage space that can fulfill their preferred payment methods. As for the alchemy materials, I can ask for permission and volunteer to gather ingredients in the nearby forests. I want to map the area since this is the forest on the west side of Sklavryet. At the same time, I can send excess alchemy materials to Uncle Daejung's shop for more profit.

Vaelion said that by tomorrow, the elders will surely give me a slave owner's ring if I ask for one. He said it can be used to brand anyone as a slave. He was shivering in fear but was trying hard to hide it. He then said in an almost inaudible voice that with the slaver's ring, if I like anybody from any of the outer or middle districts, whether they are of slave status or not, I can mark them as my property as long as I pay the right price. This important rule is making things interesting for me. I think I have to ask more specific questions when I am claiming my ring like what specific items they would be interested in taking in as payments or if I have a limitation in the number of slaves I can bring with me. I would love it if I can take as many as I want. Should I steal talented people from their workforce and have them come to Marahuyo as my workers? Them being vessels, would then be just secondary. I prefer useful people anyways so this route is far more beneficial for me and its the one I would highly prefer more. I heard that elves are good with making things using different types of wood as well as being naturally talented in handling plants and animals. They would be perfect farm or wood workers then, wouldn't they?