Chapter 416: In two more years, she could get married at 394.
In the territory of Mepleros, due to shortages of food and poor economic management in all aspects, rampant thieves would rob passing merchants and nobles of their belongings. However, when merchants and nobles were capable of confronting these thieves, they sometimes could make a small fortune from them.
For instance, the thieves’ equipment might not be of the finest quality, but with a bit of cleaning and polishing, it could still be sold for several gold coins.
The horses, too, could fetch a good price, and even the thieves themselves were considered valuable assets.
After all, this world had a slavery system. People like thieves, generally in their prime years and armed militants, meaning they had combat capabilities, would be worth a great deal of money if taken to the slave market.
The kingdom’s slaves mostly came from captured thieves or enemy soldiers, and sometimes from people arrested in the territories of various nobles for offenses and then sold off as labor or combat power. These individuals became the primary source of slaves throughout the nation, with some groups even secretly capturing people illegally to supply to slave traders.
The latter’s illegal human trafficking activities were naturally criminal in the Genas Kingdom, but the former was an exception, not restricted by law.
Thus, when merchants and nobiles had the capability, they often chose to capture these criminals alive and sell them in the slave markets to make an extra profit.
Unfortunately, Reiger had not left anyone alive; all the thieves capable of being sold as merchandise were dead, which even made Gel, who hated these thieves intensely, feel somewhat regretful.
However, Gel did not let the thieves go unchecked.
"I’ll help Lord Reiger strip those thieves of their equipment and possessions,"
Gel volunteered eagerly, moving so quickly that Reiger, who was about to say it wasn’t necessary, couldn’t get his words out in time.
Seeing Gel begin to strip the thieves of their equipment and possessions, Reiger thought about it but ultimately did not stop him.
It couldn’t be helped.
"This world is unlike the worlds crossed through Dimensional Travel before; dropping gold here does nothing."
During his Dimensional Travel, other than the initial Earth Mistake World, Reiger hadn’t worried about money anymore.
Because the magic system of the Akasha continent was quite advanced and alchemy technologies had reached a very high standard, structural magicians could even use magic to produce various precious metals.
As a result, Reiger could produce gold, so starting from the Demon Slayer World, he no longer needed to worry about money, and if he were to Dimensional Travel to a world where gold was valuable, it would not be a concern either.
However, in the world of the Akasha continent where the technology to refine gold had developed, the value of gold was no different from roadside stones.
In other words, in Akasha, Reiger was no longer the tycoon who could casually toss gold leaves and gold nuggets; he could even be considered penniless.
The currency of this world was made from magical metals like magic copper, magic silver, and magic gold, each stamped with specially crafted magic runes, making them impossible to forge or replace. This left Reiger, who had been staying with the Frenzel family, completely at a loss.
The funds for this journey were privately sponsored by Yuri; Reiger only found out afterward because Yuri had given the money to Liz, not to him, leaving him with no chance to refuse.
Thanks to this, everything from the carriage to the road expenses was sponsored by the Frenzel family’s friendship; Reiger had embarked on this journey penniless, which made him feel somewhat embarrassed.
Although Yuri had provided quite a substantial amount of funds, and even though he could live off it carelessly for a quite long period, Reiger naturally did not want to deplete his resources nor rely on Yuri for sponsorship after they were gone.
With this in mind, Reiger didn’t stop Gel’s actions and allowed him to gather all of the thieves’ equipment and belongings and load them onto the carriage.
"I, I’ll help,"
Seeing this, Liz quickly went over to lend a hand.
"No, no need! I can manage by myself!"
Gel immediately became nervous, his speech stuttering and his head shaking as fast as a tambourine, vehemently refusing Liz’s assistance.
In his view, a beautiful girl like Liz shouldn’t be doing such rough work.
Thus, Gel alone completed all the loading and gathered the horses ridden by the thieves, tying a long lead rope to the rear of Reiger’s carriage and letting the carriage pull the herd of horses.
After finishing this, Gel then rushed to his own driven carriage and invited the young lady inside to step down.
Reiger was not surprised.
His insightful perspective had already noticed that there was another person in the carriage driven by Gel.
However, when Reiger saw the young lady whom Gel had invited down from the carriage, he was momentarily startled.
It was because she was a very young girl.
She appeared to be only around 12 years old, younger than both Liz and Mitis and only slightly taller than the small bean, Isu, with an exceptionally youthful face. It was clear that she was a girl unfamiliar with the world.
The girl was rather pretty, with a delicate and well-crafted appearance. Although she did not possess the transcendent beauty of Liz, she was definitely above the standard line among women, making it easy to anticipate her future looks.
However pretty she might be, she was still only a 12-year-old girl. After descending from the carriage, she continually hid behind Gel, visibly scared and obviously greatly startled.
"Miss, say hello to this gentleman."
Gel spoke softly to the little girl, his overly gentle manner causing Reiger to look at the somewhat odd young man with a strange expression.
Perhaps to some, Gel’s behavior toward the little girl might be considered typical of an older brother to his younger sister, but to Reiger, Gel’s eyes seemed a bit inappropriate as he gazed at the girl—not as if viewing a sister in need of care, but rather like looking at a... not-yet-grown lover?
...A lolicon?
"Could it be?"
Reiger muttered to himself, verbally dismissing the thought yet internally feeling the need to reassess his acquaintance with Gel.
Unaware of Reiger’s thoughts, Gel continued to speak softly to the little girl, who, after a while, timidly stepped forward.
"I, I’m Fannie Alisier. Nice to meet you."
The little girl, Fannie, awkwardly bowed to Reiger and Liz, then quickly hid behind Gel again, appearing much like a shy daughter raised by Gel.
"Alisier?" Reiger suppressed a slight sense of oddness and spoke to Gel, "You mean the Viscount family you just mentioned?"
"Yes," Gel nodded and explained, "Viscount Alisier is the lord of the neighboring Alisier Domain, and Miss here is his eldest daughter, the young lady of the Alisier family."
"Eldest daughter?" Reiger was startled, then looked again at the timid Fannie hiding behind Gel. "Such a young child is actually the eldest daughter of a Viscount’s family?"
At this remark, Fannie, still timidly hiding behind Gel, puffed up her cheeks.
"I, I’m not little..."
Fannie muttered in a mosquito-like voice, clearly not liking being treated as a child.
Gel, for some reason, spoke very seriously.
"The young lady is not little. She will soon be 13 and in two more years, she’ll be of marrying age."
Gel spoke earnestly, but his demeanor gave the unsettling impression of anticipatory delight.
At least, that’s what Reiger thought, and Liz seemed to agree, instinctively stepping back as if wanting to distance herself from him.
"Alright then," Reiger once again felt the urge to reassess Gel and, trying to change the subject, said, "It’s only the two of you? Why didn’t you bring any guards or knights?"
This was the first doubt that Reiger had.
Logically, since Fannie was the eldest daughter of a Viscount’s family, she should have several guards or knights for protection when traveling, instead of just venturing out with a single servant.
If this servant was exceptionally skilled, a True Knight Medal recipient, then perhaps it was understandable.
A True Knight, if facing ordinary soldiers, could certainly handle thousands single-handedly. Such a skilled protector could indeed suffice to safeguard a small noble’s daughter all alone.
However, the Alisier family clearly lacked a swordsman of True Knight caliber. Therefore, it was essential to assign a few stronger guards or knights for close protection, especially since they were coming to a turbulent region like Mephisto. Without adequate protection, wasn’t it akin to seeking death?
Therefore, with only a moderately skilled servant as her companion, Fannie daring to venture into such chaotic territory seemed quite suspicious.
Reiger’s suspicion was undoubtedly well-founded.
This caused Fannie’s eyes to begin brimming with tears, and Gel showed an embarrassed expression.
"We, we have our reasons..."
Gel stammered.
"Really?" Reiger squinted his eyes and smiled. "If so, do you mind if I act as a faithful listener?"
Gel wanted to say no.
But seeing Reiger’s expression, he was sure the man harbored suspicions about the two of them.
Thus, Gel could only reluctantly nod.
"Please allow us to accompany you for the time being."
Upon hearing this, Reiger readily nodded.
"Welcome."
Thus, Reiger’s carriage welcomed two new passengers.