Volume 4 - CH 1.15

But even with all that said, that still does not make it clear to me why she would be so aggressive in her attempts to convince me to buy her.

「Master, if I may add something, then I would say that she probably did that because she thought that the conditions were favorable.」

「Conditions were. . .  favorable? I do not know about you, but if someone were to approach me and said that they are going to be diving head first into the danger-filled places like the Labyrinths and then asked me to join them in that endeavor, it would have had the opposite effect on me.」

That is definitely not something that I would have been thrilled or overjoyed about.

「Obviously, that would normally be the case, but I think that it is precisely because she learned that we are going into the Labyrinths that she has been putting so much effort into promoting herself to us as a reliable companion.」

If that is indeed the case with her then I can say that I can definitely sympathize with her. When I first arrived in this world, the only way for me to make money as a total rookie was to either go to the Labyrinths, hunt monsters in there and sell the money obtained from their Drop Items. Ahh, those were the days that I do not remember all that fondly. Also. Depending on the person, they are going to perceive the degree of danger differently. Some may consider going to the Labyrinth by yourself to be the peak of danger, while some may consider going through it while taking orders from a leader they deem as incompetent to be infinitely more hazardous to their well-being.

「So if this girl was going through such lengths just to make sure that you would buy her, master, then I think it is safe to say that she has been looking for someone like you from the start. Incidentally, that was my goal as well.」

Is that so? Because I think this is actually the first time when she talked about it so openly. So Roxanne back then and Sherry right now have at least one thing that they have in common: meeting me was like killing two birds with one stone to them, and frankly, knowing that I was the one whom they found the most suitable for their needs made me feel good about myself.

「Ah, of course, if master ever decides that you no longer feel the need for us to be going into the Labyrinths, then please allow me to continue loyally serving you by your side.」

As expected of Roxanne. So reliable, regardless of circumstances.

「Okay, so, time for the real talk now. Roxanne, from your perspective, does that Dwarven girl look like she is promising? Or is she only going to slow us down?」

I asked for her honest opinion. Since Alan-san was oh so nice to give Roxanne and I the time to consult each other on our opinion on Sherry without anyone else disturbing us, might as well milk that opportunity for all that it is worth. Now that he is not here we do not have to watch ourselves, so me can exchange our true, unbiased opinions, and there is nothing that he can do to influence that in any way, even if we ultimately decide not to buy Sherry.

「Well, let me think for a moment. . . I do not know all that much about Dwarves, but even though she claimed to have no talent whatsoever, then as long as she will be willing to work hard and improve and put in some actual effort, then I think I would be able to train her into a truly formidable ally in no time!」

「I-I see. . . that. . . that is good to hear.」

Although the way Roxanne got fired up thinking about whipping Sherry into a proper fighting shape does look a little bit scary. If it does end up happening, I hope she will not be putting her through any kind of hellish training regiments. Also, her eagerness to help her learn the ropes of being a vanguard fighter sets my heart at ease for a wholly different reason: it looks like, for now at least, Roxanne does not have anything against our newest Party member being another girl (maybe because she does not see her as a rival due to how childish she looks because of her height?), so at the very least I can rest assured when I comes to that particular matter.

「Also. . . and forgive me if it sounds wicked, master, but while I do not think that in her current state she will not be able to play any kind of active role in our Party for quite some time, her price should be sufficiently low because of that, and just that fact alone should make her purchase a pretty decent choice.」

Oh? Well well well, would you look at that. I was somewhat worried that I was the only one here who was having wicked, materialistic thoughts, but apparently it was not like that at all.

「Eh? 「She will not be able to play any kind of active role in our Party」? What do you mean by that? I thought that since she is the same age as you, Roxanne, so I thought that this would be a good sign.」

「Normally that would be the case, but looking at her ears told me that she must be getting on in years, so before you make the final decision on whether to buy her or not, you would be wise to confirm her actual age, master.」

「Huh?」

Confirm her age? But at the moment when I used Identify on her earlier, it clearly showed that Sherry was sixteen years old, just like Roxanne, so by all accounts and purposes that should make her a very young person. So what was Roxanne trying to say by that? Does she mean that Dwarves have a generally short lifespan so I should take that under advisement?

「The ears of Dwarves are pretty thick from the moment they are born and they gradually get thinner as they age. To that note, I noticed that her ears are already pretty thin.」

「I see.」

Roxanne explained to me as I was twisting my head to the side in wonder. Come to think of it, Dwarves tend to be described like that in some works of fiction, are they not? Not to mention that it was actually Alan-san who explained to me that different races have different aging processes and thresholds, so for Dwarves it must be shown through the thinness and thickness of their ears. If it is like that here as well, then maybe I could just 「casually」 remark that she looks older than she really is and see how the slave merchant is going to react to that.

And speaking of the Slave Merchant, as soon as we finished talking, he returned to the room together with Sherry and the old lady who brought her here before. I do not know if it is just me, but his timing in doing so seemed too perfect to be coincidental. Was he somehow able to tell that the situation was turning bad for him? Or maybe he was actually eavesdropping on us the entire time?

When Roxanne saw the old lady, her face immediately brightened up and she started to wag her tail happily. She then turned towards me and asked:

「Master, would it be all right for me to leave my seat for a moment? That lady over there is the one that was taking care of me while I was here, so I would love to talk with her and thank her for everything she has done for me.」

「Sure, go right ahead and have a nice, long chat.」

「Yes! I definitely will!」

Roxanne bowed to me and then to Alan-san, and then she left the room together with the old lady. Alan-san sat on the sofa in front of me, waited until the door to the room closes with a silent click, and when he was sure the we were the only ones left in the room, he leaned forward and asked:

「So, how was the Dwarven girl? What to you think of her?」

「Well. . .  she definitely was not bad, but I guess it will all depend on the price. Also, could you tell me how old Sherry is? Because even though she said so herself, I would still like to hear it from you.」

「I see. Very well, as you wish.」

Even if Alan-san was displeased with the current situation, he did not allow it to show on his face.