It has been another two years. Percius and my merchants guild keeps me completely busy. I've hired a crew to run the guild while I'm not there. The business is doing beyond well. One of the new recruits has started talking about opening up another merchants guild in a different town if I fund him the start-up money… I of course don't do that, if I give someone the money it would take to start a new guild, that money would be gone. Instead, I could open another guild myself as I have more experience with starting them up.
Before I can leave. Someone I haven't seen since entering the town shows himself. Percius (the father) enters my merchants guild. He looks very happy, surprisingly happy… I start to think about telling him about his child… Until a woman enters behind him. She looks… Surprisingly like me… In her hands is a baby. He speaks before he's even noticed me.
“Hello! I've come to ask abo-.”
His eyes widen when he sees who is behind the desk. I finish his sentence for him.
“You've come to ask about what?”
“A-Ah… My daughter was just recently born… I was wondering if I could put in a request for baby toys.”
“Yes… That will be a 15 silver for custom made toys. If you don't have that much... I think we've got some spare ones from a family recently. They've just lost their child to a disease and sold everything involving the child to us for full price. I'll sell you the entire set for 5 silver.”
“I'll take the custom made toys… I haven't seen you for so long. It looks like you're guild is doing well.”
As if he timed it perfectly. My son enters the room. He was being watched by a maid but he is allowed to enter if he misses me. He walks over in front of the stand. In front of his father… Walking all the way around to get to me. Percius just looks confused by the small child walking into the room. My son doesn't know many words, just enough to ask for things he likes. My son speaks.
“Up.”
I move to pick my son up… Gears start clicking in Percius' head. The age of the child and when we left each other. His eyes finally start to get wide again, like when he saw me. I speak, cutting him off before he says anything that he will regret saying in front of his wife.
“This is my son, he's such a pushover like his father. Always wanting attention from me. So with your payment. It will still take the in house woodworker 1 week to make the toys. We can talk about a discount if you want since we're friends.”
Percius just looks at me confused for a few seconds before he snaps back to reality.
“R-right. Here's the money, my job as a guard at the coliseum pays very well so I don't need the discount.”
He pays me. We talk for a few more moments. I have to lie about some unknown man who is the father of my child… I could have told him but he looks happy in his life now… I can handle a child on my own… The thing that surprised me the most was the pain I felt when I seen the wife he brought in… I guess I did have feelings beyond carnal for him… I wish I would have known before it was too late... His wife walks to the door, Percius turns around to speak to me one more time.
“Well… It was nice seeing you…”
“Yea… It's amazing how fast time goes by when you're not expecting it too… Have a wonderful life Percius.”
He walks away. I can hear his wife ask a muffled question as they walk away. “Who was that.” Percius says. “Just someone I knew years ago.”…
I exit the city… I need to get away for awhile and starting another merchants guild location seems like a good reason to run away. Leaving the business to the most trustworthy member. Once again a female who is too kindhearted. It might be exploitation but I know she wont ever steal from me.
I've given the meanest person under my leadership the job of punishing those who would try to steal from me. I've caught 3 different people attempting to steal from me already. They were all dealt with accordingly.
Starting a business with a young child… Has proven more difficult than doing it while pregnant. So I've decided to buy a house in the area. The money I've been making from the merchants guild is a lot already. Even with just a single building, I could live off it. I don't want to just stop at a single building though. I want to make something that will last even once I'm gone. A legacy like the adventurers guild. I leave my child in the new house with a maid and start focusing on the cities merchants guild.
The biggest problem so far with the business, is the lack of people buying membership cards. I've had almost a dozen people buy membership but more people don't. It also isn't a very friendly practice to new merchants. I've decided to give membership to those who become workers for 1 year.
The price of membership is an entire gold. A measly year of work to pay for membership is beyond a good deal. I have 5 hopefuls approach me after I advertise that deal. I think I've just found my method of expansion. I leave this guild to the most hopeful of the 5. Taking my son with me to the next town, I leave the maid at my newly purchased house. Expanding my building count to 4 in total. If this merchant guild doesn't work out, I could become a land lord.
I repeat this process, expanding the amount of merchants guilds to all the neighboring cities. The idea of the merchants guild has been accepted by everyone. The money I've made with this guild has been more than I would have made in my entire life being a merchant. The merchants guild has started to grow into an idea that will last even after I'm gone.
It has been 5 years since then. I've had another son, this time to a man who's name I didn't know. He was very attractive and didn't have enough money to pay for items he wanted. I had him pay in a different way... My second sons name is Julius, after my father.
Percius looks just like his father, blonde hair covers his head now. He brushes it out of his eyes the same way his father does. He even has his kindheartedness. I fear for him because of that. Because he might get taken advantage of later in life like I did.
I've started to get requests to open up new merchants guilds across the lands. A portion of the money will go towards the main merchants guild but the benefits of being part of the main merchants guild branch is too big to try and start their own merchants guild. For one, they get the ability to hand out membership cards. This helps them be recognized by the other merchants as a credible business. People who've paid for membership would rather go to a guild where that is a benefit. I made my membership cards very difficult to replicate. So I haven't seen a counterfeit version yet.
This entire guild has gotten… Too big for me to handle by myself… I've decided to add ranks similar to the adventurers guild. Percius has started showing interest in my field of work, I've tried to hired a tutor for him and Julius. For the reason to teach them similar to how Vesta had taught me… It has been years since I've thought of her. I doubt we will find someone as skilled as her to teach my children, which makes me feel sad in a way.
I go to the slave auctions. The one thing my guild will never sell is people. I'll sell anything besides slaves… I've realized the biggest mistake I've made in my life was that I stopped learning. So I'm looking to hire a tutor not only for my children but also myself. It takes awhile, it is a disgusting practice. I hate the idea of buying someone… I figure it is better than them being bought for something more nefarious.
I end up buying a few more than I thought I would… I ended up feeling bad for them, so I bought more than I should have... I guess I unintentionally have become a slave owner.
The first was a dwarf. He was actually tall for a dwarf, still an entire foot shorter than me. His name was Lanister. He had a full length brown beard he loved more than anything else. He wasn't very smart but he knew common. The main thing I was looking for was slaves that knew common so we could communicate. I bought a female elf and another male human. The female elf looked slightly mean, her eyes were very piercing. I still felt an… Unnatural attraction towards her. Like she was convincing me to buy her… I accepted her in that way…
The male human was the main reason I had went there. After putting out a request for tutors and turning them all down because they didn't meet my standards. He looked very scholarly which is why I had purchased him. The auctioneer had talked up his intelligence, even mentioning that he could be used for the purpose of a tutor. The female elf's name was Fayolen.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
The male teachers name is Albert. He wasn't an unattractive man… Some would even say he was attractive. He looks very weak compared to other men I've slept with but that won't stop me from trying… If he's so smart it makes you wonder why he ended up a slave in the first place…
One year later, both of my children have been learning from their new teacher. The house I've been living in has went under extreme renovations. I have a staff now of maids, butlers, chefs, guards and workers. I've put Fayolen to maid work, her body was very attractive but she wanted nothing to do with me. I would never force myself on her if she didn't want to. She had a mysterious way of convincing people around her to do what she wanted, it turned out it was her class.
I had Lanister handle the heavy lifting and farm work. I like to keep fresh produce so that is his work. He had the farmer job already. I'm pregnant with my third child… I think it could be Albert's… It could also be Lanister's though… I'm not 100% sure who's it is. I guess we'll find out when I give birth.
My father came to visit me. It was a very… Guarded meeting. He said he was surprised to hear that the head of the merchants guild was none other than his daughter. Months later, he brought my mother with him and even Vesta. My mother looked… Far older than before, I could see wrinkles under her eyes, most likely caused by me leaving.
I started to feel bad until she smiled and hugged me. Just happy to see I was alive… She noticed my two sons and my big belly and was happy to see that she had grandchildren. I begged them to move in with me, to catch up and get to know their grandchildren. They accept, I have more money than I know what to do with. Years go by like this. Vesta helping with tutoring my children, now they have two amazing teachers.
My third child was full blooded human. I wouldn't have really minded if it was half dwarf. I kind of like their little spunky attitudes. Always trying to pick fights. He is named Al after his father. I did end up settling down with Albert because of this. I know that my children need a father too ask questions. Soon enough, they'll be looking at girls the same way I look at boys and will need someone they can talk to... I also don't mind settling down now. Albert is a fine man, I do find him boring unless I'm doing embarrassing things to him.
My mother passed away last night… I knew it was going to happen soon. She hasn't been looking well for a few years now. Father mourned her for a few weeks before passing away himself… Only Vesta was left from my childhood. Losing both parents so close together hurt me far more than anything else in my life. I would give away my fortune to bring them back but I know that is impossible…
I'm upset with grief for months after it happened. Vesta came to console me… I had completely forgotten that she was both my parents lover… She was as brokenhearted as me from what happened… We leaned on each other for support after that.
My sons are all getting big again. Percius has enlisted in the royal guard, he takes after both his father and mother. Julius has gotten big to start getting into trouble with the girls around town. Looking up their skirts and playing with them. He is going to grow up to break hearts. Al was very close to his father. A sickly child who enjoyed reading books more than anything else. He had taken after his father the most.
The next few days, on a whim I decide to finally visit the coliseum. I've lived here for years but have never been there. Once entering, I understand exactly what the unnamed man meant. Cheers from hundreds, if not thousands of people. All looking towards the center where two men are fighting. I could get addicted to watching them. There is also betting during these events. I start betting a lot on each match.
I become very good at predicting the winners. Sometimes betting upwards of an entire gold per fight. I almost always end up ahead in money from entering. A few years of winning and I'm banned permanently from betting.
I still enjoy the spectacle of it all. Men fighting in an arena, sometimes to the death. Sometimes against monsters. While leaving one night, I'm mugged in the process of trying to make my way home. They don't just steal my money. One of them knocks me down and starts ripping my cloths off. I put up as much of a fight as I can.
Summoning black mages to help fight as I kick the man climbing on top of me. I manage to summon two black mages as they are crushed by the two other members of this band of men. I scream for help before he slaps me across the face. The man on top of me stuffs some of my ripped clothing into my mouth. I hear a guard yell out.
Before I can turn to look towards him I get my throat cut. The three men run off as the coliseum guard chases after them. I Tried to pull the cloth out of my mouth so I could heal myself. My hands just don't have the power to remove the cloth, I doubt I could even speak anyways… Goodbye I think to myself, unhappy I didn't get to say that to my children.
Trait removed Shy
Trait upgraded Lust--> Love- You have a tenderness in your actions towards loved ones, can see the value of your loved ones
Summoner level increased 47 to 71
Level 50 Summoner passive skill gained Mana reserved reduction- Cuts the mana reserved by summons in half
White mage level increase 42 to 65
Level 50 White mage skill Pacify- Calms the mind of a monster for a short period of time (weaker enemies are subdued for longer)
Secret Merchant passive skill Seducers prices- Able to haggle an extra 10% from the opposite sex
Mental map expanded
Title learned Boss- Know how to perfectly run a business
Title learned Descriptive- Notice more things about people, from their appearance to their characteristics
Dancer location revealed
Merchant level increased 48 to 67
Enchanter level increased 57 to 69
Chef level increased 61 to 80
… What an awful way to die… I almost feel sad for Lust. Lust speaks up.
“It wasn't the worst way to go out though, I could have been kidnapped and raped repetitively by those same men... At least I died where my body could be found... At least I died having fulfilled my life long goal...”
“WHAT THE HELL!? You're still here?… I guess I just assumed you'd disappear like Greed did.”
“Heh, you can't get rid of me that easily. I look forward to seeing what you do in your life.”
I don't look forward to all of your comments about sex though… I think to myself knowing that she can hear my thoughts. Lust speaks again.