Published: August 2, 2025
Today, three chapters are posted simultaneously.
This is the second chapter.
~Side ？？？~
Under the direct guidance of Mr. Moulton, the head of the Moulton Trading Company, Ryoma and his group visited the courtyard.
This store had been remodeled from a noble’s mansion, so the courtyard was spacious.
Some might perceive it as rather desolate.
What was probably once a garden richly adorned with various plants had been leveled and covered with sand to serve as a ground. In the center, a brick wall partition was set up with targets for demonstrating archery and magic skills. Near the door connecting the building to the courtyard, seating was arranged for guests, but slaves ran freely, so wielding weapons posed no problem.
In front of the seats stood ten slaves already prepared. The moment Ryoma and the others sat down, Moulton announced the task for the skill evaluation.
“From now on, everyone will showcase their abilities... but your opponents will be the customers.”
All eyes — mainly on Fay — were directed at them, but Moulton continued.
“And there are three options for your opponents.
One is Lord Fay, seated there. He is a former Jirmar soldier and currently serves as the head of security for the employer’s store. Those who are purchased this time will be working under him.”
Though the word “three options” raised some curiosity, things so far were as expected. The slaves remained calm.
“The second opponent is none other than Ryoma Takebayashi here. He is the customer and the store’s owner, but despite his age, he is still an active D-rank adventurer.”
A slight murmur of surprise arose.
D-rank adventurers were not uncommon.
However, considering Ryoma's appearance and age, even being E-rank would be exceptional.
“And the third... no, it should be ‘three’ — the three slime familiars belonging to Lord Takebayashi will be your opponents.”
“Slimes!?”
“Surely you can’t mean...”
Some of the slaves who were told their opponents would be just three slimes seemed to feel insulted.
But when Moulton held out his hand and told them to calm down, silence followed.
“I’ll continue explaining. As I said, you have three choices. This means you have the right to choose your opponent. If you think an opponent is unworthy, you don’t have to fight them. What you have to do is select one of the three options I mentioned and then compete to demonstrate your skill.”
Their task remained unchanged.
Having convinced the slaves, Moulton finally turned his gaze to Ryoma.
“Now... the results will be judged based on the match content. However, winning will earn you a higher evaluation than losing. But if you choose an opponent with a huge skill gap, the match might end immediately, giving you less time to demonstrate your abilities.
Think carefully about this and show us that you can work well with us! By the way, the slime familiars are not ordinary slimes; they are evolved higher species, so please be careful.”
“Everyone, please return to the waiting room. You will have five minutes to consider your opponent, and then matches will proceed one by one.”
At Moulton’s signal, a staff member by the wall took the ten slaves away.
Just after they completely disappeared behind the door...
“Well, I wonder what kind of decisions they will make. This is truly exciting.”
“You’ve stopped hiding your true colors at last...”
“Oh dear, Lord Takebayashi kindly proposed a test content to my liking, so I forgot to keep it secret.”
Moulton, who no longer seemed to hide his true nature, caused Ryoma to smile wryly, thinking it wasn’t his fault.
The four adults, finding no point in reacting to trivial matters, remained indifferent.
“Giving multiple choices and telling them that winning grants higher evaluation — this tests their ability to gauge the skill gap with their opponent.”
“More than that, you never know what kind of people come to the store. Sometimes, it’s just drunkards, but other times, it’s people who seem to have been hired somewhere else before... Personally, I think it’s more important how they behave assuming they are hired. The result is secondary.”