"Welcome! Welcome, my good friend Lord Ives!" Benjamin welcomed him as soon as the doors closed behind them, sealing off the sounds of the bustle of the city.

  Behind him, standing in two rows, were nearly thirty shop clerks wearing top-quality uniforms in green and blue colours.

  "Good afternoon, our esteemed guests!" The clerks chorused as they bowed at them in unison.

  "You truly work quickly, Benjamin." Arthur smiled warmly as he shook the man's hand. "It's a very impressive shop."

  Without doubt, it was the truth. While the items and wares sold here couldn't match Arcadian quality, they were as good as Metakan or Ebrusian. Or perhaps even slightly better. The ground floor seemed to be a general store with plenty of daily-use products and items. The assortment of items displayed was very impressive.

  "I closed the shop for you today so no one would interrupt us, Lord Ives. My employees will serve you to the best of their abilities. However, before we start, who are those three?" Benjamin smiled as he put his hands together.

  "Right! Catherine?" Arthur was no wiser to the answer and looked at the Nekomi to fill them in.

  "Fiera, Sara, Olivia, please come forward." Catherine pointed at a spot on the floor in front of the two men.

  The three girls stepped out and bowed, uncertain of what exactly to do.

  "I totally see what you meant now." Benjamin shook his head as he appraised them and grumbled angrily. "They are young and cute, so even though they don't own anything, the Temple would take them in. I can almost see those bastards running an auction..."

  "I don't even know how to comment." Arthur opened his hands powerlessly. "If not for Catherine's warning, I would have released them all and thought I had helped them."

  "You three should thank Catherine, then." Benjamin shook his head with a sigh but the girls were too stunned and nervous to react at all.

  "A scholar, a barmaid, and a tailor... Sara, as a scholar, what kind of knowledge did you want to pursue?"

  "Mathematics, Sir..." The shy Human woman answered without looking at the merchant.

  "Excellent!" Benjamin moved to the next girl and smiled encouragingly at her. "Olivia, you are still an apprentice tailor which is fine. I have had an idea for a long time for a new business venture, but finding a tailor who could do complicated embroidery is almost impossible! I was even told that the embroidery I wanted is basically a specialized branch of the tailor class. Could you follow that route? Of course, if the business fails, I will not hold you responsible and will continue to support you."

  "With pleasure, Sir!" The girl beamed a happy smile.

  Benjamin nodded with a smile and moved to the last girl. "While we are not running a restaurant or a bar, we do sell supplies for them. However, the shifts are long and exhausting, so maybe we could run a kitchen? What do you think about it, Tom?"

  "A kitchen sir?" The older man rubbed his grey beard with a growing smile that slowly turned sour. "That would solve many of our problems! But to find a cook who would work for a trading company, even as big as yours, is nearly impossible..."

  "Now we have one." Benjamin grinned and pointed at Fiera. The Human girl trembled slightly. "Appraise her if you don't believe me!"

  "If I may then..." Tom approached and smiled in surprise. "A barmaid with nearly maxed cooking skill?! That's incredible, Miss! We must employ... Oh..."

  Only then did the older man notice the slave collar and lowered his head in shame.

  "Don't worry about it! Lord Ives thinks exactly like us. You don't have to be worried about it. His opinion about slavery is... Well, I'm sure you will be surprised to find someone who is even more radical than you." Benjamin grinned at the man and everyone in the shop looked at Arthur.

  "What?" The Arcadian blinked in surprise.

  "Could you tell everyone what laws regarding slavery you have in Arcadia, Sir Arthur?"

  "Slavery is a crime punishable by death. Any slave who manages to reach Arcadia is automatically released and given freedom." Arthur answered almost automatically and saw incredibly happy glances and murmurs from the shop staff.

  "Then..." Tom looked at the slaves behind him.

  "Yes, Tom. Lord Ives wants me to take those three girls into my custody so that even the Temple leaves them alone." Benjamin grinned and the three girls broke into tears.

  "What about us, Master?" The boy asked with a sad voice.

  "Catherine told me that in a few weeks, you will come of age. I want you and your sister to work for me. Once you are old enough, I will free you both. I was told that it would be enough to protect her from the Temple wanting to marry her to a complete stranger." Arthur said with a shrug.

  The siblings looked at him with shock and hugged each other with cries of relief and happiness.

  "What about Catherine?" Tom pointed at the Nekomi with concern.

  "I will remain Lord Arthur Ives's slave. It was my decision, Mr Tom. You don't have to be worried about me. Lord Ives promised to take me to Arcadia with him." She said with a happy smile.

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  "I see! I see!" He smiled and wagged his finger at her. "You were always a clever kitten, Catherine. I wish you the best of luck!" His voice faltered and he dropped his hand. "I'm so sorry I couldn't help you..."

  "You couldn't do anything." She shook her head and smiled at him and then looked at Arthur with a smile. "However, everything will be fine now."

  "I didn't know you knew Catherine, Tom," Benjamin said.

  "I knew her Father. I was powerless to stop Griss Vul and his thugs. It happened so quickly that I couldn't save anyone. Even Baron Howthorns couldn't do anything..." The man lowered his head. "But now with Lord Ives here, the criminals would perish!"

  "I appreciate your faith, but I can't do much." Arthur raised his hand to stop him and shook his head in denial. "I won't be staying here forever, either. I want to return home..."

  The people lowered their heads and Arthur could feel their disappointment. Unexpectedly, he felt a soft hand on his arm. Catherine was looking at him with understanding in her blue, feline eyes.

  "Lord Ives is right, Tom." Benjamin cleared his throat. "We must endure and certainly, the better days will come. Baron Howthorns is a very reasonable man, and I managed to get acquainted with him thanks to Lord Ives. I believe that new possibilities opened for us all. However, this is not the time to discuss it! Let's wrap it up and help our great patron with his shopping!"

  Benjamin clapped his hands and looked at his workers who once again put on the most professional expressions possible.

  "I want you three to work for me. I want Sara to help you with the ledgers and accounting work, Tom. Since she is a Scholar and likes mathematics, that should be easy for her." Benjamin said and Tom simply nodded. "Would you like it, Sara?"

  "I appreciate any help, Sir!"

  "I would love to, Sir!" The girl burst out, her face brightening instantly.

  "Olivia already agreed, so that leaves us with… Fiera? Would you work in our kitchen? If that works out, I would like to start running kitchens for employees in all the branch shops, so you would be overseeing a lot of locations..."

  "I would be happy to, Sir!" The young barmaid bowed rapidly, clapping her hands together in glee. She was still crying.

  "Excellent! Welcome on board! Tom, I would like you to go to the Temple and deal with the formalities. They will be taken into the custody of the Alabaster Trading Company as our important employees. If they won't agree on that, tell the priest that the Company will adopt them if necessary. Can we find them rooms in the dormitory, Dorothy?" Benjamin asked a middle-aged woman standing near Tom.

  Tom took out three parchments and started writing down something after which each girl signed it with a cheerful smile.

  "It's going to be tough..." The woman sighed heavily.

  "Oh, only for Sara and Fiera! Olivia will be going to Apimos City where we have our textile production centre." Benjamin corrected himself. "If it's necessary, I will ask for permission to build another floor, or we could buy out the adjacent building."

  "Apimos?" Arthur whispered and looked at Catherine.

  While Benjamin was discussing something with Dorothy, he was almost sure that no one was listening to him and Cate.

  "It's a city a few days away and it's the capital of the Dukedom, Sir. It's placed near a huge lake and is a centre of agriculture for the entire region." She explained quietly.

  "Most probably we will visit it, sooner or later..." He shrugged.

  "In that case, I would gladly invite myself to travel with you, Sir Arthur!" Benjamin grinned, making the Inquisitor laugh as he was proven wrong about being ignored.

  "But please don't hold your breath! I still don't know what to do next." Arthur put his hands on his hips. "Can I take off their collars?"

  "Absolutely." Benjamin nodded as Tom left the building.

  Arthur took off the slave collars and, after a moment of consideration, dropped them into his storage space. "If I recall correctly, Sion mentioned something about the bounties for capturing some targets alive. Anyway..."

  Arthur gave each girl a silver coin and they looked at him in shock. "That is to help you start a new life."

  They thanked him and hugged him in gratitude and happiness until Miss Dorothy called out to them with a smile. "All right girls! Come with me and I'll find you a room and a change of clothes..."

  Once the girls were gone, Arthur turned towards the siblings. "Silfa, Ben, would you like to work for me longer than the time needed to set you free?"

  They looked at each other, the boy nodding at his sister.

  "That depends on what you expect from us, Master." She said with a slightly nervous voice.

  "Nothing too crazy. Call me Lord Ives instead of Master." He shrugged. "I was told that you know the roads in Saftia and you were Adventurers. I will be extremely blunt, so please don't take it personally."

  They looked at each other and nodded slowly.

  "The truth is, I don't need you to fight or even help me during fighting." Arthur rubbed the back of his head. "But I'm the Arcadian noble and I simply can't travel across Saftia with only Catherine. I will need you to be something between my guides and my retinue."

  "So, basically you want us to guide you from point to point, Lord Ives?" Ben asked with furrowed brows.

  "The short answer is: yes."

  "And the longer, my Lord?" Silfa asked as she tilted her head.

  "If you know the roads, you know where the best camping sites are, what kind of trouble we can expect to face, what kinds of monsters live where, and so on," Arthur explained.

  "We can fight, Master..." Silfa said with determination. "If you allow us to help you, maybe we can level up and become stronger..."

  "I won't stop you, if that’s what you want." He smiled. "So? Would you like to work for me?"

  "Yes, Lord Ives!" They replied in unison.

  "In that case, I will need you to get them clothes, armour, and weapons. Their funds are two gold coins per head, Benjamin." Arthur nodded.

  He heard Catherine loudly gasp and managed to mask his laugh as a cough.

  "Two gold coins per..." Benjamin shook his head in disbelief. "With that much, you can arm a small company, Sir Arthur... A single gold coin will be plenty enough to buy them the best gear they can use on their levels."

  "I will trust you on this, Benjamin." Arthur said, grinning.

  "Felix, take your team and provide everything the siblings will need." The merchant instructed another senior clerk.

  "Yes, Sir Benjamin!" About ten people took Silfa and Ben out of the room.

  "Now... What would you like to buy, Sir Arthur?"

  "Well... A few things, actually. But that can wait for now." He looked at Catherine, who suddenly froze under his mischievous smile. He made a few steps behind her and, after he put his hands on her shoulders, gently pushed her towards the merchant. "Now is the time to spoil my charming Maid rotten..."

  Thank you all for reading.

  I wish you all a great day and as always I wait for your comments.

  A big thanks to and who edited the chapter!