“Well, well . . . If it isn’t the Shield Hero!”

The slave trader’s carriage rolled up into the village. He’d been visiting a lot lately. I guess I couldn’t really complain, though, since I had him searching for the slaves from the village for me. I’d seen him talking to the slaves here, too, though. Would he even try to sell the slaves a slave of their own? I mean, I was giving them a small allowance, but come on . . .

“Did you bring me another slave from the village?”

“Unfortunately, I have brought no such thing. Yes sir.”

“Then why are you here?! Go away!”

Should I throw salt over my shoulder? If he tried saying he came to mooch food because he was bored I’d knock him off his carriage.

“Your response to my showing up without a purpose sends tingles of excitement down my spine!”

“I get the feeling you’re trying to turn me into your own personal chef lately.”

“That was just a joke. Yes sir.”

“Are you trying to pick a fight?”

“Not at all. I’m actually here to extend an invitation to the Shield Hero.”

“An invitation?”

The slave trader threw his hands up into the air. Everything was theatrical with this guy. Whatever it was, it was sure to be a waste of time.

“Indeed. Since we’ve had so little luck finding any of the slaves here in Melromarc, I consulted a relative of mine, and I’ve been told that they are on the market in Zeltoble. Yes sir.”

“Ah, I see.”

In other words, the slave trader had found out where the slaves were, so he had come here in person to report his findings. What a bothersome guy.

“How long does it take to get there?”

“Let’s see . . . Travelling by boat would normally be fastest, but that precious filolial of yours should be able to make it there in around a week and a half, I think.”

A week and a half for Filo . . . That was a long way. Even so, it was closer than the Spirit Tortoise country. That reminded me of something. A while back, the other heroes had mentioned that the weapon shop in Zeltoble was really good. That meant they had traveled there. No wonder their levels weren’t as high as I expected them to be back then. Their weapons were top-class, though.

“How long by boat?”

“Two weeks.”

“Hmm . . .”

I glanced over at the others around the village. Everyone was busy doing his and her part to help with the reconstruction. Raphtalia was teaching some slaves the dos and don’ts of peddling, and Filo was taking a nap. The slaves that wanted to fight had been training with the old lady in the neighboring town during their free time, just like Keel.