Chapter 2317: Letting the Mouse See the Cat
“Ah?” Older Brother Jayad didn’t react immediately, but he quickly understood. They weren’t loyal to him, and might not even trust him. Moreover, they had already gained their freedom. If he gave them a little money, they would likely run away.
“It’s fine, I don’t care anymore. Let them go if they want. I already said they are free to come and go as they please. The money is just to help them with their room and board,” Older Brother Jayad said indifferently.
Under my subtle influence, combined with the ever-increasing amount of money at home, he had also started to not care about money anymore. He didn’t even bat an eye when ransoming slaves and granting them freedom. This was truly commendable.
“No, it’s not about the money, Brother. If you let them go now, you’ll actually be harming them,” I said, shaking my head.
“Harming them? Why?” Older Brother Jayad didn’t understand this. In his eyes, nothing was more important than freedom. This was why he took me away from MacDuff in the first place.
“They are strangers here, with no relatives, no dwelling, and no money. They don’t even speak the same language. If they really run away, many of them will end up on the streets and starve to death,” Re said.
“Yes, that’s one of my concerns. They don’t have any special skills like you, Brother. If they can’t find work in a short period, and the money we give them runs out, they’ll have to sleep on the streets and starve to death.”
The special skill I was referring to was, of course, theft. Older Brother Jayad, with his skills, would never starve anywhere, though he might get beaten to death.
“Then, what if we give them more money? Enough to support them for a long time, and enough for them to buy ship tickets back to their homeland,” Older Brother Jayad tried to ask.
“That would be even worse. There’s an old saying in the East: ‘A common man’s sin is his treasure.’ When a person possesses wealth that clearly doesn’t belong to his social class, it becomes his original sin. He will be targeted by countless people and ultimately lose everything,” I said.
Although I didn’t understand it before, Older Brother Jayad suddenly understood after hearing my explanation. Expensive treasures placed on weak individuals who couldn’t resist would surely lead to them being robbed, and it wouldn’t be strange if they even lost their lives.
“Moreover, many of them are Otherworldly beings. It’s hard to say if they can even buy ship tickets normally. They’ll probably be captured by other Humans and enslaved again. Parul (Sister) is right, this is harming them,” Via also chimed in.
As a Vampire, she had seen the plight of other Otherworldly beings being enslaved on her father’s territory and knew the suffering they endured.
The current batch of slaves were left behind by Gaspar. To sell them at a good price, most of the goods he procured were slaves of various Otherworldly beings, with the Harpy previously being a typical example.
There were also Half-orcs, Earth Spirits, Treants, Sirens, and a series of other Otherworldly beings. Some were rejected by mainstream human society, while others were considered exotic. But regardless of their status, it was a disaster for them. Humans would not easily let them go, and they would eventually be captured as slaves.
Perhaps some might be lucky enough to find their own kind locally, receive their aid, and survive. But that was only a tiny minority; most people would be captured.
“Since we’ve granted them freedom, we should be responsible for them. At least, we should ensure they can survive on their own and adapt to the environment. Simply buying them and releasing them somewhere is not saving them; it’s just satisfying our own kindness,” I said.
For example, when we released a group of Harpies before, we first ensured they had their own survival capabilities. Harpies can fly, and with this special skill, they could go anywhere. They could fly back to their homeland, and those who stayed on the island were generally able to be employed by others.
We also taught them some common sense so they could communicate with others, and gave them some living expenses. I even examined their bodies to ensure they wouldn’t contract any viruses.
Most importantly, Older Brother Jayad at the time gave them several letters, ordering the Harpies to stay on Mallorca and help him procure supplies. This meant they were still accounted for, and if anyone captured them, Jayad would use this as proof to report them to the authorities for help.
Therefore, we took a series of measures to ensure that the Harpies could live freely after being released, with no issues regarding their status or material security, before we left with peace of mind. If these slaves were to escape, they would have none of these.
“Then, what do you think is the best course of action, Parul?” Older Brother Jayad asked.
“It’s very simple,” I said, turning to the former slaves. “Rest well on the ship and have some fun. When we return from our shopping tonight, we’ll buy you wine and delicacies. We’ll have a party together tonight.”
Everyone looked at each other, surprised that I would throw them a party. But deep down, they felt a sense of anticipation. They simply looked forward to eating and drinking well. They hadn’t enjoyed themselves for too long. Even on the ship, they could only eat their fill, as the food on the ship wasn’t that good.
“Oh, right. Is there anything you want? Tell me, and I’ll buy it for you,” I added. This time, they were even more astonished, barely believing it was true.
“What? Doesn’t anyone want to buy anything? How about daily necessities? Like clothes, tobacco, toothbrushes?” I asked again.
This time, someone finally stepped forward. It was a Kobold, who asked me to buy him a pack of candles. Kobolds are a race that particularly likes candles, often wearing a lit candle on their heads.
“Of course, no problem. Candles, right?” I immediately agreed. With his lead, other Otherworldly beings came forward one after another, asking me to buy things for them. I wrote them all down in a small notebook.
Most of what they asked for were daily necessities, such as towels, razors, and wooden basins. Some also asked for perfume, beast horns, and pipes, which were likely personal preferences.
“Anything else? Have you all listed your requests? Great, please wait. We’ll buy as much as we can,” I said, seeing the expectant and happy expressions on their faces. With this expectation, they wouldn’t attempt to escape on their own.
These subordinates, especially the Otherworldly beings, actually had some wild nature. They had been imprisoned for too long, and had suffered cruel treatment from Gaspar’s slaver subordinates. Their wildness had been suppressed.
But once they were well-fed and watered, their wild nature would return, and they might even develop rebellious thoughts, not only wanting freedom but also revenge on human society, which would undoubtedly be self-destructive.
What I wanted to do was to keep their moods good, to teach them how to live well, and to not resist Older Brother Jayad and me.
