In a room where decent furnishings are arranged, and a single fine quality sofa is placed on one wall side.
From the room’s design, it was made so that the face of the person sitting on the would not be seen even if the sun is out.
And in that sofa, one man is sitting, sizing up the five girls in front of him.
All of the girls were 10-years-old. They are merchandise which was gathered because of that request.
Four of five of them ended, and it’s finally the last girl’s turn.
「You, what’s your name?」
「Delfina Lanmari」
The short-haired girl answered clearly and crisply.
Her body is thinned, and her cheeks had sunk, but there is strength dwelling in her eyes, separating her from the other girls.
In fact, that girl answered the man’s questions very well. The man asked many questions, and the time that he took was twice of the other girls.
It finally ended, and the five girls left the room for once.
A middle-aged woman who entered in exchange with them bowed respectfully to the man.
「Did you have one that you like?」
「Umu」
The man did not answer directly, and leisurely puffed out smoke.
Unable to endure that, the merchant woman made a push.
「Those five girls earlier are the ones who have passed intelligence tests. I believe that they are intelligent girls that Your Excellency wishes for. Of course, as you have requested, we have yet to educate them」
「Umu」
The man only replied the same as earlier, leisurely rested his back on the sofa, and looked up to the ceiling.
And, he closed his eyes. As if to project something behind his eyelids.
There was an inexpressible intensity with that gesture. It is the thing called tranquil dignity who those who have crossed difficulties and bloodshed are permitted to possess.
Ordinary people would have gotten quiet just with that, but.
「If you find them unsatisfactory, we shall gather more if you give us time. In this times, we are able to find uneducated but intelligent 10-year-old girls. If you give us only three days, we can line them up in dozens」
Just like that, she continuously spoke her sales talk.
The man intentionally did not stop her. In his aesthetics, he tends to think that silencing another person by intimidating them using their status or personal wealth is a vulgar behavior.
The woman was noisy, but he let them do what she likes.
He was only, silently thinking about those girls.
「Your Excellency, would it be fine to ask why you wish for such time-consuming uneducated children?」
Is it because their conversation did not continue? The woman changed the subject, and asked the man.
The man slowly opened his eyes and answered to the woman.
「It looks like when you get a hold of various kinds of things, you’d stop getting interested in them」
「Haa」
「In it becomes so, one would start to use money on humans. Just like the world’s rich becoming a patron of unpopular artists and poor bards. My subject just turned to that of slaves. That is all that there is」
「I see, pure and innocent slaves, you wish to raise them from the start, huh」
The man raised the corner of his lips.
「I’ve decided. I’ll have that number two Petrina and that number five Delfina」
「Thank you for your patronage! By the way, why the two of them?」
「It’s intelligence, and wisdom」
「Haa……」
The woman showed an incoherent face after hearing the man’s words.
In a mansion’s room. There are two girls wearing decently good clothes, and is sitting with desks in front of them.
The collars on their necks show their status of a slave, but their hands and fingers do not seem that they were roughened by heavy labor.
The two girl’s job is not something of as such after all.
And, if one would ask what their job isーー.
The door opened and a man wearing glasses entered.
The man came in front of the girlsーーtook a teacher’s position, and spoke to them.
「I’ll return your test from yesterday. Petrinkun」
「Yes」
「You did well, you scored perfect this time」
「Yes!」
「Delfinkun」
「Yes」
「You scored 85 points. Do your best next time」
「Yes」
「This is all for today. As scheduled, there will be no lesson for today. His Excellency has said that you can visit the town and play if it is just for a while, but do not act without restraint alright」
After the male teacher said that, he left the room.
The two girls’ job is this. They are being kept inside their master’s mansion, nominally called as study slaves.
Petrina stared at her test paper with great mood, and talked to Delfina.
「It’s my win again this time huh」
「That seems to be the case」
「Delfina, you should do better alright? I’ll easily leave you behind if you don’t」
「Leave me behind?」
「That’s right, I’ll leave you behind」
Petrina said that, and left the room with great mood.
「……leave me behind, leave me, but where are you going?」
Delfina silently whispered.
She looked at the door where Petrina walked through, looked at her test paper, and looked out the window.
「Why, is he doing this? Why, did he go out on his way to buy a slave to educate them?」
Delfina whispered to nobody.
She gave the test paper a deep look.
「Why, did Rodotos’s reign did not continue? Why, did Orga threw away his dragon form and become a half-baked existence called Dragonoid?」
The test’s problems, she did not have questions about the answer, but about the problem statement itself.
Why, why, why.
Delfina was originally a girl like that, but recently, that trend had gotten stronger.
Since she was given education, she started to think of “why” towards everything.
And that, it had an influence on her usual studies and test scores, which cannot be called as good.
「It’s not bad thinking of why」
Inside the bedroom.
The mansion’s master, Lord Adamandieous Maneloi, kindly told Delfina after raising his body while wearing sleepwear.
「But, if you would be going『why』, just repeat that for five times」
「Five times?」
「You asked『why』, and made an answer. You should also ask『why』to that answer. Repeat that five times」
「Why is it like that? Why is it five times?」
Towards Delfina who continued to ask questions, Adamandious narrowed his eyes, and kindly patted her head.
「By doing that, you will be able to see the truth」
「The truth……」
Delfina whispered those words as if to digest them.
「Why five times? Can’t you reach the truth with three times?」
「Fufu」
He adds more kindness to the hand he used to pat her head.
「Delfina is really a wise girl huh」
She was not given an answer.
This was that man’s, greatest kindness towards that child he saw as “wisdom”.
The young Delfina who was bought for 100 Kre studied about many things in the mansion.
Compared to Petrina who has an intelligent brain which would absorb the knowledge like cotton, Delfina who would continuously ask questions was not definitely a good student for the teachers.
Even so, with the Lord’s authority, Delfina was given an environment where she could study without any inconveniences.
Figuratively speaking, it is the spring of a person’s four seasons.
The young Delfina enjoyed the spring of her life without being able to be self-conscious of it.
That period, three years.
That continued until the Lord died to disease, and until she brought into the market as a second-hand slave being sold for 10 Kre.