Suspected Necromancer

Chapter 2 – Mason and Molly

I spent all my time with Mason, the slave trader.
My parents? I didn’t know them. It’s not that I didn’t care about them, but rather Mason didn’t seem to know anything about them.
Was I abandoned, stolen, or kidnapped? Whatever the case, I don’t think it would have been a pleasant revelation.
Besides, Mason’s home wasn’t that bad.
Since his business handles a lot of people, his mansion was very large. I remember the long corridors clearly.
We were always busy polishing those long corridors, and it was quite tough.
The mansion, both outside and inside, was always kept tidy.
Mason and his wife, Molly, were both involved in the slave trade
I think Mason, at the time, was in his mid-30s. He had black hair, was tall, and always had a smirk on his face, but he was quite good-looking. He had many scars on his chin though.
Molly, on the other hand, had long red hair and a pretty face, but she seemed strong-willed and looked quite intimidating. She was tall for a woman and had a good figure. I think she was around the same age as Mason.
The two of them seemed to have a good reputation as slave traders.

Is it strange for slave traders to have a good reputation given their activities?

Actually, no. In the end, the slave trade is still a business, and there are good and bad traders. If you bought something and it turned out to be defective, wouldn’t you be upset?
It’s the same thing. The children Mason sold were known for their high quality.
Mason was adept at buying children cheaply and selling them at a higher price.
You could call it added value, I suppose?
He thoroughly educated the children in things like manners, housekeeping, and academics, and then put them up for sale. Most of the buyers were wealthy people like nobles or merchants.
Slaves are often purchased as labor, but if a slave received an education beforehand, they would be able to do more useful jobs. Educated slaves were highly valued, so they were treated well.
Because of their high quality, some people even bought children from Mason and adopted them.
Mason would often talk about his work with pride.

“Ours is a wonderful business where the product, the buyer, and the seller are all satisfied.”

Was it outrageous of him to take pride in slavery?

Yes, of course. I think the slave trade is obviously not the ‘wonderful business’ Mason spoke of, but at least he was better than many other slavers.
I only learned later that most slave traders just buy and sell slaves. They treat their slaves as mere commodities. Compared to that, Mason…
Oh, but his wife, Molly, was strict.
The children were terrified of her, like she was a demon.
If they made even the slightest mistake in housekeeping, studying, or manners, they would be severely scolded.
I was good at studying, so I never got scolded much. But my good friend Dorothy was scolded frequently.

“Why can’t you do something as simple as this!?”

Molly would yell and hit our heads with her fist.
It hurt a lot.
Molly avoided hitting the childrens’ bodies because that would risk leaving scars and decreasing their value as ‘merchandise’.
I wish she had just spanked us or something. I can’t forget that pain in my head.
It’s been a long time since then, but even now, I can still remember it.
After hitting us, she would say,

“This is how you do it!”

And show us the proper way to do things.
Molly seemed like she was good at everything. She could do it all perfectly.
Looking back now, I wonder why she was involved in the slave trade at all. She was good at etiquette, academics, housekeeping, and various other things.
But, you know, it was a lot of pressure for a child. It’s not possible for everyone to do everything perfectly like she could.
After showing us the way to do it, Molly would make us do it again and again until she was satisfied. Dorothy used to cry almost every night because of that.

“I don’t want to be here anymore. I wish someone would buy me soon,” she would say.

But well, with so much scolding, you would remember the process even if you didn’t want to.
Dorothy, who was scolded a lot at first, gradually got better at everything.

Huh? My master hasn’t come yet?

I see, well I’m not very good at talking.
You see, I don’t talk to people much, so when I do, I end up talking a lot.
So please bear with me, my master will show up eventually.
Oh, by the way, Dorothy was bought before me.
Just so you know, I was kept aside to be sold at a high price.
Because of my Asuran blood, my value was higher. That’s why Mason didn’t rush to sell me off like the others.
Well, the one who bought Dorothy was a kind-looking elderly noble.
Mason, you see, he chose his customers carefully. After all, he took the trouble to raise us properly, so he wanted customers who would treat us well. He wouldn’t sell to someone who considered us disposable.
People like that tended to destroy us, then blame our failures on the slave trader they bought us from. So Mason said that, even if they pay well, it wouldn’t be good in the long run for their reputation.

“Maintaining a good business requires good customers.”

Mason used to say that a lot.
So, Dorothy was happy. The man who bought her seemed kinder than Molly.

“I can finally leave this place.”

I remember her saying, while smiling.
On the other hand, Molly was always unhappy when the children were sold.

“That child is not quite ready yet.”

She complained to Mason.
Mason was all about business, and Molly was all about education. I think they were somehow a balanced couple in the slave trade.

Now, let me tell you about the day my master appeared.
One day, a gloomy-looking mage came to see me.
He wore a shabby black hood, and he had unkempt gray hair and a scruffy beard. It was hard to tell if he was young or old.
He had some kind of introduction letter from some noble, and I remember Mason talking respectfully with him.
The mage stared at me intently, looking deeply into my red eyes. It was a little creepy.
While Mason was doing his best to impress the mage.

“This child is intelligent, proficient in reading and writing, and has better manners than most noble daughters. She can even handle housework.”

And it was true. I could do anything. I’ve forgotten proper aristocratic decorum now since I haven’t had to use it for a long time, but back then, I still remembered.
So, this gloomy mage became my master.
He didn’t seem too interested in what Mason was saying.
It seemed that the fact that I was from the Asura tribe was more important to him.
Mason listed all my good qualities and then muttered nervously.

“That’s why, with her being from the Asura tribe and receiving proper education, the price is relatively high. To be honest, it’s not an amount that most nobles can easily afford…”

Perhaps Mason never expected that the mage would actually buy me.
He looked quite poor. I think he didn’t have high hopes.
But the mage decided immediately after seeing the price.

“I’ll buy her at that price.”

I was surprised too. I had seen several nobles before, and honestly, he was the poorest-looking one out of them all.
I was shocked, and I thought:

“Am I going to be bought by this person?”

Mason was delighted. He probably didn’t expect to sell me at that price.
That evening was our last supper together.
For the children being sold, Molly would cook their favorite dish. Only for their last meal together.
I liked meat, so I asked Molly to cook her specialty meat dish.
Molly was good at cooking, and while both Dorothy and I learned from her, we couldn’t make food as delicious as she could.
During that last meal, Molly kept repeating:

“Luna, I’ve taught you well, so make sure you don’t tarnish the reputation of our business. Do everything properly.”

She was so loud that I couldn’t enjoy the meal.
She also said:

“Always smile and do what you’re told immediately. Actually, you should be proactive and take action before being told.”

She might have kept talking, but I tuned her out. She was just being annoyingly meticulous.
That’s how much trust mattered to their business.
I remember that Mason was in a good mood because he had finally managed to sell a highly-priced product after so long.

“He’s an excellent customer, paying that much without hesitation. Maybe he’ll buy from us again in the future, so make sure you don’t disappoint him.”

He said.
Mason and Molly, the slave trader couple, weren’t really bad people after all.
I think I was lucky to have been with them.
Actually, it was my master who was the problem.