Chapter 496: Calling For Help (1/2)

The afternoon of the same day, Jin promised Shion to do as much as he could.

He had returned to the room where Shion and Lucas were resting.

“Sorry for coming back so soon, but I had something I really wanted to ask you.”

“Sure, what is it?”

After having her magical power greatly restored by the Pelshika juice and a hearty lunch, Shion seemed to have completely regained her vitality.

“It’s about the kind of magic the demons can use.”

“Ah! …There are many secrets not even I know about.”

Jin could understand that well. It would be foolish of them to play the game with their hand completely revealed.

“Ah, but maybe you can tell me more about what I already know. I know about Gravity Magic, Explosion Magic, Transfer Magic, and Enslavement Magic.”

“W-What!?”

The one who had raised their voice hadn’t been Shion, but Lucas.

“That’s top secret! How do you know about these things!?”

“Lucas, you’re being rude. I’m sorry, Jin.”

Shion quickly calmed the agitated Lucas and apologized to Jin.

“No, it’s fine. The reason I know about them is because the demons I met used those types of magic.”

“…I knew it…”

Shion nodded as if finally understanding something.

“Hmm? What is it?”

“Eh, ah, yes, according to our legends, ‘Not a single hint should be given to the Magi Craft Meister, no matter how trivial it may seem’.”

In short, it seems to be a passage born out of concern for the Magi Craft Meister’s analytical power and ability to apply knowledge to new situations.

“The Magi Craft Meister, when given even the slightest opportunity, will be able to put the whole picture together.”

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that maybe that was a bit too much of a stretch, but on the other hand, looking at Jin, they were probably not that wrong about him.

“Well, I’m not so sure about that, haha.”

Jin scratched the back of his head.

“…And there are only a handful of clans that can actually use magic. I… can’t use it. Lucas is the same as me…”

“Young lady! That’s a bit too much!”

“No. How do you expect to earn this man’s trust if we hide such important details from him? Let’s talk about the things we came here to discuss.”

They wouldn’t talk about the total number of demons because it didn’t concern Jin directly, but they were open about talking in regards to their personal magical abilities.

Shion was the only one in the room who knew what was the basis for that logic, but Jin decided not to pursue that.

“And… About the remuneration for your help…”

“Yeah.”

Jin wasn’t planning to be made use of unilaterally. He was hoping there would be some kind of repayment from Shion.

“If you’re interested in… slaves… I can get you 10 of our people… myself included…”

“I refuse.”

Jin’s reply was as sharp as a knife.

“I have no need for something so troublesome. Or is it customary for your people…?”

Slavery in this world was a thing of the past. Jin wasn’t sure about the underside of society, but as far as the general public was concerned, that was the truth. One of the reasons for that was that the population had decreased too much.

People preferred to have employees instead of slaves to serve as their workforce. But that wasn’t the only reason. There would be no economic development with slavery.

In other words, the economic wheel turned whenever people bought things with their hard earned money as employees.

When money circulates, it can be said that the economy is in a good state. But when money is simply accumulated without it ever being spent, the economy becomes stagnant.

The politicians of this world seemed to have understood this quite easily at some point in history.

“T-Then, how about monster materials…?”

“Yeah, that’s more like it.”

Jin was more interested in getting some rare materials. However, Reiko’s face looked bitter.

“Father, if it’s materials you want, we can get them ourselves. Perhaps we should ask for something else?”

Lucas stared at Reiko, but her expression didn’t change at all.

“T-Then…”

“How about showing me some of your secret magic or artifacts?”

“A-Artifacts? Well, there are a few…”

“Really!? What kind of artifacts? Is any of them something you can talk about?”

“Um…”

Shion thought about it for a little, then started talking.