Elven Slaves, Mother-Daughter Duo

The place was a normal shop. Basic equipment on display. Nothing suspicious. A man came out, wearing a suit and pants. Smiling. The smile made you uncomfortable.

He introduced himself as Krax.

*You asked where the mage was.

Krax asked you to follow him.

You did. He led you behind the shop, into an alley, to a backdoor. He opened it. Stairs leading down. Strange. Why would a mage arrange a meeting in a basement?

You stayed vigilant. Hand near your sword.

The stairs ended. A large underground space. Compartments with curtains hanging. Shady. Really shady.

Krax opened a door.

It was a small room. More like a cage.

Your eyes widened.

On the floor sat two elves. One hiding behind the other. The one in front had mature features, curves, wearing revealing clothes. The younger one clung to her from behind.

The collars around their necks told you everything.

Slaves.

You looked at Krax. Slavery was frowned upon but allowed. Nobles kept slaves. Churches opposed it publicly, but they were corrupt. Still, you asked to meet mages, not to buy people.

Krax understood your look. He smiled his merchant smile and launched into his speech.

Krax : "Ohoho, esteemed sir, please don't be angry. I didn't deceive you. They are from the fallen noble house of Windwalker of the Sesta Kingdom. Mother and daughter. And they are really fine mages."

Sesta Kingdom. Fallen six months ago against the Empire. The Windwalkers were a count family, famous for their wind magic. Not unusual for nobles of fallen nations to be captured. Most chose to die. But if someone got survived and captured, their fate was something like this.

You looked at them with your appraisal skill—a cheat you'd gotten from reincarnation. A transparent window appeared. Only you could see it. It had saved your life more than once.

You examined the older elf first.

Her name was Shayla Windwalker. 127 years old. Elven bloodline: 97% pure. Wind attribute magic. Spirit magic. Current rank: A. Potential rank: S+. Rare. Very rare. On Surface all powerful leading figures of world were around this level.

You moved your eyes to the younger one. Krax signaled Shayla. She reluctantly moved aside.

Shiny Windwalker. Elven bloodline: 99% pure. 25 years old. Wind magic. Spirit magic. Current rank: C+. Potential rank: SS.

You stared at the screen.

SS rank potential. That was almost unheard of.

Shayla, A rank mage, it was top fighting force of powerful faction. For someone like her to end here, her enemies must have used some underhanded tricks unless she fought againts an S rank.

And Shiny is more of a surprise.

Krax smiled.

Krax : "Ohoho, looks like our esteemed patron really likes the merchandise."

Merchandise. He called them that.

Krax : "The older one is 1200 gold. The younger one, 800 gold."

Expensive. But cheaper than you expected. Ten gold could feed a normal household for a year. Krax clearly didn't know their true potential. This world had no way to check maximum potential caps.

Krax : "Which one would you like?"

You were thinking. The younger one had better potential. The older one was stronger now. While you considered, Shayla shouted.

Shayla : "Noble sir, please! I beg you. Please don't separate my daughter from me."

Krax laughed.

Krax : "Looks like we're in a predicament here, sir. Well, my heart isn't so cruel as to separate them."

You looked at him. This guy was selling them, and now his heart was aching. It was definitely a ploy to sell both. Looks like he is in hurry.

Krax : "I could give you a discount if you take both."

Fine. Better to have two mages anyway.

You bought them both for 1800 gold.

---

Later, in your lodgings, Shayla and Shiny knelt before you. Same revealing clothes from before. Clean, of course. They had to be kept presentable. No visible marks on their skin. But mentally? They must have suffered.

You asked them to introduce themselves.

Shayla : "I am Shayla. I come from the fallen noble house of Windwalker of the Sesta Kingdom. I can use wind and spirit magic... Master."

Shiny kept her gaze down, holding her mother's hand.

Shiny : "I-I'm Shiny Windwalker. Like my mother, I can also use wind and spirit magic... Master."

Their voices were small. Their bodies were tense. They were yours now. And you had no idea what to do with them.