Bertham von Elsa. She is a 60-year-old marchioness. The Berthaam family is famous for having produced a head of the family who excelled in magic for many generations, and was instrumental in leading the Kingdom of Juka to victory against the Heedata Empire 250 years ago through numerous military exploits. For his achievements, he was raised from a commoner to a marquis, a position he holds to this day.
Well, this is the brief biography of my bidder. The city official told me when I was handed over to her.
"Oh, thank you very much."
In a way, you saved my life. I should thank him.
"Call me master."
The man next to Mr. Barsam, the one with the gray hair. Who the hell is this guy?
"My name is Falco. I'm a mage in the Bertham family. I'm also Lady Elsa's bodyguard. By the mercy of the Lady Elsa you have become a slave of the House of Bertham. Rejoice!"
"Thank you. Master."
"Mrs. Bertham. Thank you very much. We'll be in touch with you as soon as possible to change the ownership of this slave.
Before I knew it, the slaver's husband was approaching. He bowed reverently to Elsa and began to chant a spell toward her. Hearing this, Elsa also offers her hand to the master, and his hand glows. And my hand glows, too.
"This slave has now been changed to Bertherm-sama. We can also buy the slave back. Please let us know how we can help you.
Since he said he would dispose of the property if it was not sold, the repurchase offer was probably a socially acceptable offer.
"No, we probably won't repurchase. So, please allow me to change the ownership of this child at my discretion. Oh, and register Falco here as an administrator too. You don't need to add the ...... effect to bind him.
"Awe. Good day."
Erza's body glows again. It seems that the procedure has been completed.
"Well... Rinos. Let's name him Linos. Then Falco. You take care of the rest.
Elsa turned on her heel and got into the carriage. It seems that there are soldiers inside the carriage. Falco salutes the carriage. I follow his example and bow to the carriage.
"Now, I'm going to take you back to the house. But first..."
They take me to a well and force me to strip naked. Water is then splashed over their heads three times. He takes a large cloth from his pocket and hands it to me.
"Wipe yourself. You can have the cloth. Do with it what you will."
The weather was neither hot nor cold, but it was quite cold because water was suddenly poured over my head. It was a hard cloth, but it was better than nothing. I scrub myself vigorously, washing off the dirt and water at once.
Once dressed, Falco casts a "clean" spell. The smell and small stains on the clothes are gone. It is said that this is a cleaning spell, and if there is a little dirt, it will clean it.
"Well then, Linos. Follow me."
As expected, the squire is going on foot. On the way, I was stunned to see a huge castle floating on the lake.
That is the castle of Juka, where His Majesty the King resides. Take a good look at it."
It is a Western-style castle, but in any case, it is too huge. I heard that it is famous for its impregnability. Farming is done inside the walls, and unless the walls are breached, the people will not starve. Moreover, there is only one bridge across the lake, which inevitably extends to the royal castle. It certainly seems impossible to attack it by brute force.
Um... why did you buy me?
What, you don't know your own skills? I don't blame you. You have warding skills. But it's only at level 1. The House of Batham has many political enemies. I thought I'd use your warding skills to protect Lady Erza."
What? I can use magic? Falco looked at me in a puzzled way,
"If you learn how to use magic, you can see your opponent's skills." It's called "appraisal. You seem to have a lot of magic power, so you should be able to train yourself. You're a slave, so you can learn only warding magic, but since you're here, I'd like you to learn various kinds of magic. Are you ready for that?
I look at the gray-haired old man who smiles ferociously, and my shoulders slump, knowing that my life is not going to be long after all.