TBAGM Vol. 1 Chapter 3 Part 1

Chapter 3 – The Prodigy Girl

My recruitment method was simple: walk through the busiest streets and keep casting 【Appraisal】 on everyone I passed.

Back in my Incarnation of the Sun days, that was how I scouted talent. Looking back now, it was a fairly arbitrary process.

“Looks like all the promising individuals have already been picked over.”

As I walked through the city, I couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed.

Even using 【Insight】, no real standouts emerged. Occasionally, I’d spot someone who might have been worth scouting back in the old days, but people with such favorable circumstances weren’t what our new guild needed.

They could go on to live normal lives even without my intervention.

“Hm? What’s this crowd?”

A bit farther down, I noticed a gathering of people.

Maybe a celebrity or a street performer was putting on a show.

Curious, I allowed myself to be swept along by the flow of onlookers.

A voice amplified by magic echoed through the air.

“Thank you all for coming! Now then… let the ‘Slave Auction’ begin!”

“Oooooh!”

The crowd roared in response.

Surrounding the temporary stage were what appeared to be well-dressed nobles and wealthy merchants.

It was another slave sale; just like the one I’d seen the other day.

With people pushing from behind, I couldn’t escape the crowd even if I tried.

Resigned, I decided to observe the proceedings for now.

“First up is a female from the Warbeast tribe! She’s twenty-three years old and fairly skilled in combat. One of today’s top items!”

As the host shouted, a Warbeast woman was led onto the makeshift stage.

As the name implied, Warbeasts were a humanoid race with animal-like features.

This one resembled a tiger; definitely a combat-oriented lineage.

Her limbs were bound in heavy chains, and she stood fully naked. Scars from lashings crisscrossed her body.

Those could have been healed with potions, which meant she had likely been tortured to the brink of collapse before being put on display. The sight left a bitter taste in my mouth.

“100,000!”

One bidder raised a hand almost immediately.

Others followed suit.

“200,000!”

“400,000!”

“600,000!”

Warbeasts weren’t native to this country. They were imported as slaves from neighboring nations, which made them exorbitantly expensive.

“In that case, sold for 1.2 million!”

In the end, she was purchased by a pompous-looking merchant for 1.2 million pal.

Her frightened expression as she was led away was difficult to stomach.

But I wasn’t wealthy enough to spend over a million, and as a merchant’s slave, she was likely to be employed as a bodyguard. I could only hope she wouldn’t be mistreated.

“And next up—”

And so the sale continued, hawking rare races and impoverished slum dwellers one after another.

—

Then came the eighteenth person.

“For our final listing—A Dark Elf girl!”

“That’s…”

The moment the host announced it, a small Dark Elf girl was brought onto the stage.

She was the same one I’d seen the other day when I was explaining the slave trade to Ellis. It seemed she still hadn’t been purchased.

“She has no standout features, and since she’s remained unsold, we hope someone will take her off our hands…”

Her skin was a warm, dusky tan, and she had the long ears typical of elves.

But instead of the usual blonde hair associated with her kind, hers was snowy white: striking and beautiful.

Like the others, she was bound in chains, her body marred by fresh scars.

The light in her eyes was gone, clouded over.

Given her status as an unsold remnant, it was clear she had been treated even worse than the rest.

“……”

No one raised a hand.

That was to be expected; Dark Elves were seen as harbingers of calamity.

Just to be sure, I cast 【Appraisal】 on her.

.

[Name] Elna (10)

[Title] Slave – Dark Elf

[Stats] Vitality E/D, Magic D/A, Ambition D/A
      Leadership E/E, Intelligence C/A

[Skills] Brainwashing E/E, Archery E/E

[Inherent Trait] Magic Manipulation

.

What—? An inherent trait? And her max potential in Magic, Ambition, and Intelligence is A-class?

She was exactly the kind of talent I was looking for: someone overlooked by society, yet brimming with potential.

Before I even thought to check my wallet, my hand shot into the air.

“I’ll take her! Please sell her to me!”

After I raised my hand, I did start to worry about my finances, but since she was a leftover that no one had bid on; I was able to purchase her for the minimum price: 10,000 pal.

Of course, I couldn’t let her walk the streets naked, so I took off my robe and wrapped it around her.

It was large enough to cover her completely, making for a decent temporary solution.

I crouched down to meet her eyes.

“My name’s Lloyd. I promise I won’t hurt you.”

“……”

As expected, she didn’t open up right away.

Her eyes weren’t focused: hollow and distant.

“Elna, do you have any family?”

“…!”

The moment I asked, her brow twitched.

In a soft, broken whisper, she asked:

“I… I don’t have family… how did you know?”

“Your name?”

When I replied, she gave a small nod.

She might have never encountered someone using 【Appraisal】 before.

“I have the 【Appraisal】 skill.”

“A-Appraisal?”

“Yes. It lets me see someone’s stats and talents—”

I began to explain the ability, but she suddenly stepped closer and interrupted me.

“Then why did you buy me!? I don’t have any talent!”

Elna clutched at my clothes, desperate for answers.

Her eyes were no longer vacant; they brimmed with sorrow.

“I… I’m useless!”

She wailed in anguish.

Her face was a mess of tears and snot.

Useless, she said. She must have suffered through a great deal to end up believing that.

For a child that young to call herself worthless; it made me want to curse the world that created such circumstances.

“I understand. We can talk more later. For now, just rest.”

“Huh?”

I pulled her gently into an embrace, trying to soothe her.

Her body was ice-cold, and faintly trembling.

She tried to squirm away, but I held her tighter.

“I’m dirty… if you touch me, the calamity will—”

Calamity? That’s nothing more than baseless superstition.

“It’s fine. Just rest for now.”

Thanks to 【Appraisal】, I could tell—she was already near her limit.

.

Stamina: 1 / 30

Vitality: 1 / 50

.

As shown, if she let her guard down even a little, she could lose consciousness at any moment.

“…Okay.”

She initially resisted, but soon her body slackened.

Then, with small breaths, she began to sleep peacefully in my arms.

I felt like I was starting to understand what it meant to be a parent.

Yes… she was adorable. The kind of adorableness that made you want to cherish her.

For a ten-year-old girl, life as a slave was far too cruel.

With no family to turn to, there was no telling what kind of hardship she had endured.

If she ever wished to live independently, I wanted to support her.

But if she chose to stay and work with me, I couldn’t ask for anything more.

“Elna, you have the potential to become a masterful alchemist one day.”

Her inherent trait, 【Magic Manipulation】, would allow her to brew potions in minutes—formulas that normally took hours to complete.

But until now, she had never been allowed to use that talent.

Well, hopefully, she’d open up someday and tell me about that herself.

“First, let’s get a potion for you. Then a bath…”

Feeling almost like a father, I couldn’t help the flutter of anticipation in my chest.

Cradling Elna in my arms, I made my way back to the guild.

†