“I’ll take them both!”
Luwei said without a moment’s hesitation.
She took the keys from the slave merchant and opened the iron cage door.
At the sound of the creaking door, the eyelashes of the two Frost Wolf Tribe girls fluttered as they looked toward the newcomer…
“Do you want them to die of thirst? You won’t even give them water!?”
Luwei barked.
“Bring water! And give them some treatment.”
At Luwei’s words, the slave merchant’s eyes lit up.
“Certainly, Highness!!”
She swayed her hips and hurried into the warehouse.
When she emerged again, she was followed by two burly men; one carried a bucket of clean water, while the other carefully held several bottles of murky green liquid.
Without waiting for Luwei’s orders, the three of them skillfully began treating the injuries of the Frost Wolf Tribe girls.
“That will be a total of thirty-one gold coins and sixty-five silver coins,” the slave merchant said, rubbing her hands together.
“Your Highness Luwei, since you’re a new customer, let me shave off the change. How does thirty gold coins sound?”
Hearing this, Luwei pulled out her purse…
But before she could take out a single coin, someone else spoke.
“Why don’t you just rob us instead?”
Floxi, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke up.
“Even including the cost of branding the Slave Mark, it should be ten gold coins at most, right?”
Hearing Floxi’s words, Luwei was the first one to be stunned.
‘Does this mean… I’m being scammed?’
The slave merchant only offered a forced smile and replied as if it were common sense,
“Young lady, it’s written very clearly on this cage. Five gold coins each, so that’s ten gold coins for the pair.”
“Additionally, these two little ones were heavily injured. We used five Healing Potions in total, at three gold coins per bottle…”
“Finally, there’s the branding of the Slave Mark and the labor costs for the nursing.”
“These charges are absolutely reasonable…”
Luwei didn’t interrupt; she just looked at Floxi with a neutral expression…
“You’re lying!”
“The five gold coins marked on the cage was the total price for both of them, and it even covered everything from the treatment to the Slave Mark branding!”
Floxi’s behavior was uncharacteristic, completely lacking her usual timid demeanor.
“It’s only because the buyer is Her Highness Luwei, who doesn’t know the trade…”
“You think Her Highness has more money than sense, so you’re inflating the prices on the spot!”
Floxi said indignantly.
Having said that, she pointed to the empty potion bottles on the ground.
“Diluted, inferior Healing Potions. You pretended to use several bottles but only used two.”
“This is nothing short of fraud…”
“If I remember correctly, this is a violation of the laws of the Kingdom of Avalon, isn’t it?”
Hearing this, the slave merchant’s expression finally turned sour.
“How could our Healing Potions be diluted, inferior products?”
“All Healing Potions look the same. How could you possibly tell the difference?”
“Young lady, you have no proof…”
Hearing this, Luwei finally caught on to what was happening.
The slave merchant was clearly trying to deflect by focusing the argument on the Healing Potions…
“Because I am an Alchemy Apprentice!”
Floxi angrily interrupted the slave merchant.
“I didn’t just see it; I smelled it!”
“If you still want to argue, then take those bottles on the ground and we’ll settle this in court.”
Listening to the dispute between the two, Luwei suddenly felt a bit sentimental.
‘I was actually being treated like a fat sheep?’
‘Do the NPCs in this world actually lie…?’
It wasn’t surprising.
After all, having just transmigrated, she still carried her gaming mindset.
She had taken it for granted that merchants wouldn’t deceive players.
In Luwei’s previous world, there was a revolutionary Neural Link Technology that could upload a player’s consciousness and synchronize game sensations in every aspect.
Bond was one of the games that utilized this technology, providing players with an immersive experience.
As for Luwei…
She had accepted the fact of her transmigration quite easily without showing much surprise, partly because of this background.
From her perspective, this was just a game with a more realistic engine and more lifelike AI, just without a log-out button…
But looking at it now…
She seemed to be wrong?
In this familiar yet strange world, she had witnessed intrigue, racial slaughter, and these poor people who had fallen into slavery.
They all truly existed; it wasn’t a game.
‘It really is… a novel experience.’
Thinking of this, the corners of Luwei’s mouth slowly curled up…
She actually laughed from the bottom of her heart.
Smiling, she patted Floxi on the shoulder.
Floxi had been puffing out her chest in anger, but the moment she saw Luwei’s face, she immediately deflated like a punctured balloon, reverting to her timid self.
Seeing this, Luwei’s smile carried a hint of confusion.
She turned her head to look at the slave merchant—
only to find that upon seeing her smile, beads of sweat had formed on the woman’s forehead…
Luwei wondered.
“Your Highness Luwei…”
The slave merchant endured the pressure, still trying to make an excuse.
“It was our mistake for not clarifying the price beforehand.”
“How about fifteen gold coins? We’ll take a loss and give you a friend’s price…”
Hearing this, the smile on Luwei’s face vanished without a trace.
“My maid said it’s ten gold coins at most. Are you deaf?”
Her face darkened as she frowned.
“If you keep yapping, I’ll have someone ruin you!”
Luwei wore a textbook expression of a spoiled, unreasonable brat.
It instantly subdued everyone present…
[Ding!]
[The young girl’s heart is thumping because of you. Love Support Options triggered. “Floxi” is looking forward to what happens next!]
[1. Forcefully order her to call you “Master” in public. (Obedience)]
[2. Pat her head and praise her actions. (Affection)]
[3. Sternly scold her for her laziness and demand she return to work immediately. (Work Efficiency)]
‘Did some weird option box just pop up?’
“N-No problem, Your Highness Luwei,” the slave merchant replied.
She immediately began preparing the materials needed for the Slave Mark…
But at this moment, Luwei didn’t have the energy to deal with her.
‘Love Support Options…?’
Looking at the small lines of text before her eyes, the corners of Luwei’s eyes couldn’t help but twitch.
Then, some unpleasant memories surfaced in her mind…
Back then, the game Bond had been criticized for its weak guidance and a level of freedom so high that players didn’t know how to play.
So, the production team held an overnight meeting and came up with this solution.
[Whenever a target’s emotions are stirred because of the player, trigger Love Support Options.]
It was meant to be a support function.
After all, some players didn’t know how to talk to girls without dialogue boxes and options.
They would just complain that the game wasn’t like other dating sims while leaving negative reviews.
But as for how the function performed after it was implemented…
There were even more negative reviews.
The reason was that the options that popped up were too “hellish” and overly utilitarian.
They only listed what could be gained by choosing them, but completely ignored that what the players wanted was a sweet romance.
Refocusing on the options before her, Luwei actually gave it some serious thought.
Following the romance options would grant extra bonuses—
for example, the action of a head pat.
Usually, it might seem random, but once a romance option was triggered, a head pat was guaranteed to increase affection.
Thus, looking at Floxi, who was intimidated by her aura, Luwei cleared her throat.
“Not bad. As a maid, you know how to protect my interests…”
“I grant you permission to call me ‘Master’ in public.”
She lifted her chin and spoke with an air of arrogance.