Dungeon of Niflheim

117 Chapter 117: The merchant guild master, Sebastian (2)

Sebastian was waiting on a very comfortable couch and drinking a pleasant cup of tea that one of the servant’s kindly prepared for him. He greatly appreciated the couch and the kindness shown by the servants, frequently asking if there was anything he needed.

Sebastian was quite annoyed at himself right now well more his body than anything.

‘Haaaaa age is a horrible thing.’ In his rush to reach the lord’s manor he pretty much threw out his hip, and now his every movement sent jolts of pain throughout his body. Yet he kept his smile, he was a respected senior after all

“Ee ttitt titit,” he used sipping his tea to cover his pained exclamation.

Frost and the group arrived very quickly.

“Uncle Sebastian thank you for arriving so promptly, I wouldn’t request your presence at such a time unless it was of grave importance.” Leo moved over to shake Sebastian’s hand but when Sebastian moved to greet the young lord.

Crack!

His back audibly cracked so loud that everyone in the room heard it and Sebastian’s expression froze and his face blanched.

‘Oowwowowowowowwowowow,’ the pain was horrible, and he couldn’t move, stuck in a half raised position. He honestly thought for a moment that this would be how he died. Luckily there was a very capable person present who acted swiftly after receiving an instruction from her young master.

.....

“[Greater heal]” Maya casted her healing magic on the old man, choosing to use a higher level spell, given his age.

“Mmmmmm” Sebastian released a happy moan as his body filled with warmth and the pain quickly subsided, turning into almost pleasure. His body hadn’t felt so light and comfortable in decades.

Straightening his back, he turned to face Maya, his saviour if you will.

“Thank you, young lady for your generosity.” As if to prove his newfound health he gave a bow to Maya in thanks, full blown 90 degrees and everything. Maya instantly jumped up to his most revered of acquaintances, she granted him a second life, truly.

Maya smiled and curtsied back, she was happy to help this old man, not just because she was taught to respect the old but the fact, he was the one who’d be helping these two cuties standing beside her.

Sebastian then finished his original greeting towards Leo.

“Not a problem little Leo happy to help, now what do you need me for?” Sebastian sat back down wriggling his back with glee already pleased with the trip’s results.

“Haaaaaaaa” Leo sighed before asking the rest of the group to join him on the couch including the young phoenix kin. Sebastian only noticed the children slightly but when they sat down, and he got a good look he sucked in a sharp breath.

‘Phoenix kin and slaves to boot.’ Sebastian’s expression became very serious and instantly understood which of his mercantile skills Leo required.

“Illegal slaves and a very rare pair of phoenix kin.” He moved close to the children inspecting them from every angle.

“That’s!” The moment he noticed the green slave tattoo underneath their slave collars he exclaimed and pulled back his hands afraid to cause a reaction. His thoughts were awash and his mind panicked, this situation was very serious but most of all anger filled him. He more than most knew what these slave tattoos entailed, and he was filled with hatred towards Adam.

“I knew he was a piece of shit but this!” Grinding his teeth in anger Sebastian crushed his teacup to smithereens, he too was once a respected fighter, more than enough to break some brittle teacup.

He now also knew why the situation was urgent and why he was specifically summoned. There was no one within hundreds of kilometres that could even attempt to deal with this problem. Unskilled slave merchants would kill the host when trying to interfere and even those who could, would probably refuse due to the legal implications. He was in a unique position of first being able to stop the further corroding of the host’s soul and revert them to being simple slaves albeit permanently. And second his status, it not only allowed him to have some pull with the government but more so that he was nearing the end of his life. Even if his actions would be considered illegal what could the government do to threaten such an old man but.... He looked back at Leo.

“Are you sure? This could end very, very badly for you even if I do succeed.” Sebastian was confident in his skills but even he had a 15% chance of killing the slaves with his actions, far better than most but still a possibility.

Leo smiled, he felt happy that Sebastian didn’t even think of saying that he won’t do it but worrying about the fallout for him.

“Don’t worry we’ve figured out a loophole in the law making it a somewhat grey area, that should keep us from being implicated.” Leo then went on to explain the entire situation as well as their intentions.

“Ryuu agreed that it’d be classed as a grey area and should work. That’s all the royal family really needs to condone this action, given that in the end it’s filled with good intentions.” Leo knew the Emperor as well as some of the princes and princesses, most of them were kind and generous people that would do everything in their power to help those in need.

“If Ryuu said that then who am I to question it, no one in the territory is more aware of the empires rules and regulations than him.” Sebastian smiled and leaned back; he was satisfied now that Leo wouldn’t be placed in harm’s way.

“So, you are Frost, I’ve heard whispers about you, and it seems we’ve met before, although you were hiding your face then.” Sebastian questioned with a mischievous smile. Frost’s appearance had zero effect on him. Given his station he’d had many encounters with elves and other races with appealing faces. He was far more interested in Maya, he even offered to train her as his successor as long as she occasionally casted her healing magic on him. Which she sternly turned down and grabbed on to Frost’s arm in response.

“Yes, it was just in passing but we did meet each other in the adventurer’s guild.” Frost spoke gently and nodded. He then remembered him saying something foolish like they’d likely meet again, inadvertently raising a flag as Maya put it.

‘Looks like that stuff actually works.’ He chuckled internally at the notion.

“So, you’ll be the one taking care of these lovely kids.” His expression suddenly turned serious, and an imposing pressure bared down on Frost. It wasn’t aura but something akin to killing intent but less threatening.

Sebastian loved kids, he donated a large chunk of his profits to orphanages and always carried candies with him, which he’d already handed a few to the two. Frost was effectively going to become their eternal master, he needed to be sure he was a good man and wouldn’t bond them to him if he deemed him anything else.

Frost knew this was a test and smiled, he was happy with Sebastian’s actions, a man of honour and integrity. The kind he appreciated and respected, much like Douglas, Ryuu and Bastion.

“Yes, I’ll be in charge of looking after and raising them.” He spoke truthfully.

“Do you promise to treat them right and not abuse your relationship as a master?” The pressure Sebastian emitted became denser, this was standard routine when inducting slave contracts however in this case it was much, much more impactful. These slaves would have no rights or safety thanks to the contract being entirely on Frost’s side. Sebastian needed confirm that he wasn’t just attaching them to someone like Adam or worse. The slave tattoo destroys any semblance of a contract and forcibly binds the victim to the master, Sebastian was powerless to prevent this, all he could do is interrogate the would be master.

“I do” Frost spoke clearly and looked Sebastian directly in the eyes, not wavering for a second. He wasn’t in to causing pain especially to young children. He saved them and would look after them, he gave his word.

Sebastian gazed into Frost’s eyes and saw no hesitation or any semblance of falsehoods and was satisfied. He then looked at the two children, he needed to hear their take as well.

“And you two, are you willing to be bound to this man forever more?” He restrained his pressure for the kids but didn’t remove it entirely, this was one of his skills at play as a slave merchant. This pressure would help to gleam the truth, very important in his business.

The two children looked at one another and then to Frost and Maya before they each grabbed hold of their hands.

“Ummmmm” they both nodded and grunted towards Sebastian showing their resolve.

“Hahhahahaha perfect then let’s get this show on the road, it’ll take some time but I’m confident in getting it done.” Sebastian laughed with joy, Frost and the kids passed with flying colours, so he saw no reason to delay this matter.

Frost and the rest smiled and felt relieved, he moved to thank Sebastian but before he could.

“It’ll cost 5 gold coins per kid.”

Boom!

A bomb went off in Frost’s mind when he heard that number.

‘5 gold coins each, I don’t have that kind of money.’ All his confidence crumbled, his shoulders slumped, and his lips twitched.

“What, you think that’s too much young man?” Sebastian had asserted his role as an able merchant, his eyes appeared to be constantly calculating.

Frost subconsciously nodded.

“Haaaaaa kid I’m the only one who can do this let’s say ‘operation’ safely within 100s of kilometres and even then, I’m probably one of the best within the empire, so you’d be paying for a highly skilled specialist. Second this is dangerous work not just for the kids but also for me, If I mess up not only will the kids be killed so will I. But I’m not that bothered about that given my age, death could happen at any time. Thirdly the materials I’ll need to do this are quite expensive so that’s added into the cost, but the most important aspect is the fact that this action is strictly considered against the law. Even if you’ve mentioned that it’s a grey area, that’s only for you not the slave merchant. If this wasn’t me acting on a personal level, I’d be charging you triple that amount. These are rare species kids with the phoenix bloodline and slave tattoos created by the Church of Light are notoriously more difficult to remove from a still growing subject so in fact I may have charged you 20 gold coins a kid.” Sebastian took a deep breath at the end of his monologue.

“So, still think 5 gold coins is a lot kid? I’m practically just charging you for materials.” Sebastian wasn’t annoyed by Frost’s attitude in the slightest, just giving him a reality check.

“Ugh” Frost couldn’t speak, Sebastian spoke with such purpose that he couldn’t find fault and it was true that this was a very delicate situation. The price was most likely accurate, and he was already receiving a massive discount probably due to Leo but still.

‘I really can’t afford it.’ He barely had a single gold coin in his coin purse let alone 10.

“That’ll be fine, we’ll transfer the money to your account later today Sebastian thank you.” Leo butted in with smile.

“L...Leo?” Frost instantly felt relief but also felt rather ashamed. The kids were going to be his responsibility, he couldn’t have Leo be the one paying but did he have any other choice. There was the jewellery he pilfered from Adam’s vault but even if he sold that he’d likely only get 2 gold coins or so, still far from the 9 more he needed.

Luckily Luna noticed the issue, she moved in close and whispered into his ear.

“You’re still due your reward for the operation, just consider this a part of that, we can deduct from the final amount if that makes you happier.” Luna first offered it as a gift for services rendered but then allowed it to be taken from his total reward thus giving him the option to not be receiving their help.

Frost smiled, he was grateful for Luna’s kindness and thoughtful actions. He whispered back.

“Deduct it from my reward, they’re my responsibility and I should pay for this alone.” Frost didn’t regret his actions even though it’d mean less money for him. His pride mattered more than some coins.

“Hahaha, I thought you’d say that.” Luna giggled before walking over to Leo and relaying Frost’s decision.

“So, have we a deal young Frost?” Sebastian asked once again.

“Yes, we do, please disable their slave tattoos.” Frost bowed towards Sebastian with gratitude.