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Chapter 110: Mina || Harem in a Labyrinth
🕑 Added 2025-05-12 19:21:12 +0000 UTCSome time ago…
"And with that, I think we have visited all the rooms," I said, looking back at the jam packed corridor.
"Shall we wait near the stairs for the auction, Master?" Anastasia asked quietly.
"Not just yet. I need to visit someone first," I replied, rubbing my chin.
"Who?" she asked, curiously.
"Just follow me," I said with a mysterious grin.
While checking out the rooms and discovering more and more waifus—each with unique races, jobs, and circumstances—I quickly realized that the money I brought today probably won't be enough.
Desperate for a solution, I ran through several ideas in my head. Some were ridiculous, others time-consuming, and a few even downright risky. But obviously, the smart move was to try the harmless and easy options first.
So I made my way back to the hallway entrance.
The seating area of the Quratar Merchant Guild still had a decent number of people. It wasn't as crowded as when I first arrived, but plenty of folks were still lounging at the scattered tables and chairs. Most of them were clearly labyrinth parties. Only their leaders had gone into the auction to avoid paying extra entrance fees, leaving the rest to wait out here.
By now, anyone who planned to attend the auction had already gone in, and the entrance was clear. Only two desks remained near the hallway. One was empty, while at the other sat a bored-looking girl.
"Hello. Do you know when the Auction will start?" I asked her with a casual grin.
[Mina <Female * Age 17>
Merchant Level 5]
"Oh! Yes, sir. It should be starting any minute now," she replied, straightening up and quickly putting on a polite smile.
"Ah, that's good. I'm Michio Kaga, by the way," I said, extending my hand.
"I'm Mina… sir," she replied with a smile, her brown eyes meeting mine as we shook hands.
Her hand was soft—but my attention was on the two other things that stood out. One was her charming smile… and the other was the deep, fair cleavage I was currently getting an eyeful of.
"It's very pleasant to meet you, Mina," I said, returning her smile and doing my best to keep my eyes on hers instead of drifting lower. Maybe if this was a few hours earlier, it would have been a struggle—but after being thoroughly baptized in cleavage during the room visits, I had built up some resistance.
"Me too, sir," she said with a polite smile as I let go of her hand.
"I will be a little cheeky, Mina, and just say it outright," I began, taking a breath. "After visiting all the exhibits, there was one girl whose bright smile I just couldn't get out of my head. So I thought, well… I'm only waiting for the auction to start—why not go say hello? Maybe she will have time for a little chat."
"Oh…" she said, blinking, clearly not expecting that.
"So," I said, leaning in slightly with a grin, "are you free… for a chat?"
"Ah… you mean me?" she asked, surprised, her brown eyes blinking again.
"Yes, Mina. Are you free?" I repeated, this time more gently.
"U-uhm, me, sir?... I'm flattered," she said, flustered. She quickly stood up, adjusting her clothes and avoiding my gaze. "Sure… I have time. Plenty of time."
"Good. I was worried I might be interrupting your work," I said, glancing down at the bundle of papyrus slips on her desk.
"No, no—there should be no one arriving this late for the Auction," she assured me quickly. Then her eyes flicked past me, landing on Anastasia who was standing quietly a few steps away, looking around. "Umm… should we maybe go somewhere else?"
"Here's fine," I said with an easy smile. "So, Mina—tell me about yourself. Are you a merchant too? Where are you from? I find myself… quite interested in getting to know more about you," I added, meeting her eyes directly.
"I'm from Vale City… and yes, I'm a merchant. But it's only been a few years since I transferred to the Quratar Merchant Guild. As you know, it's much bigger and better than Vale's," she replied with a bashful smile, casually leaning forward—making sure her cleavage was even more noticeable.
I grinned. At least some of the things I have seen and heard about picking up girls seemed to actually work. First, eye contact. Second, subtle compliments—like how I was talking to her instead of the prettier girl standing nearby, Anastasia. Of course, I was also pretty sure that the real winning factors were, my system enhanced good looks and, even better, the expensive silk clothes I was wearing.
"Oh, that's nice. You know, I have been to Vale City—it's a lovely place. Before I rented Mansion Number 69 here in Quratar, I actually stayed at the Vale Pavilion for a while," I said, casually dropping a hint about my wealth… though I wasn't sure how subtle that really was.
"Ah! I heard about that," Mina said, her brown eyes widening in recognition. "A handsome guy with a beautiful slave rented the haunted mansion… That was you, wasn't it?"
"Heh, looks like some information broker's out here giving away my story for free," I chuckled. "And enough with the 'sir,' Mina. I am not a Noble. I would prefer it if there wasn't so much distance between us." I said while slightly invading her personal space.
"Oh… okay, Michio," she said, cheeks flushing slightly as her eyes met mine.
"So tell me, Mina—what do you usually trade in?" I asked, genuinely curious.
"I'm just a broker for labyrinth drops right now. But I'm trying to become an information broker… though it's pretty difficult," she admitted with a sheepish smile.
"Information broker, huh? That does sound more interesting. So what would you need to make that shift?" I leaned in a little, showing I was paying close attention.
"Well… mostly a network of reliable people who can provide trustworthy info," she said with a wry smile.
"Well, you have made a connection with me now… and I would like to think I'm trustworthy," I said with a smirk.
That got a soft laugh out of her. "It also takes a lot of money to maintain that kind of network," she added with a small sigh.
"Is that why you're working the entrance desk today?" I asked, glancing again at the stack of papyrus slips on the table.
"Yes. I try to take on extra jobs around the guild and save up as much as I can," she said with a bright smile. "One day, I will have enough to start building my network."
"I'm impressed—you're such a hardworking and earnest girl, Mina," I said, meeting her brown eyes. "Also… very pretty too," I added, letting my gaze briefly flicker downward.
"Ahm… thank you," she murmured, blushing and glancing away shyly.
"So, how does your pay for sitting here work? Is it based on the number of these papyrus slips you hand out?" I asked, gesturing to the bundle on the table.
"Yes, exactly that," she replied with a small sigh.
"Then how about I help you out a little?" I said, stepping closer to her, our eye contact unbroken.
"H-how would you help me?" she asked, backing up slightly as I continued moving forward—until the table behind her halted her retreat.
"Oh, I can think of many, many ways to help," I murmured in a husky tone, leaning in even closer, as my hand went behind her. "Like…"
"Like?" Mina asked breathlessly, her cheeks turning crimson, her brown eyes wide as they met mine.
"Like buying these papyrus slips from you," I said with a smile, pulling back after grabbing the bundle from the table behind her.
"Slips?" she repeated, blinking at me in surprise.
"Yeah, I will buy them. That way, it looks like more people visited the auction. You get a higher payout, and the Merchant Guild's happy too," I explained while fanning the slips in my hand.
"Ah—you mean actually buy them from me?" she coughed, quickly straightening up and fixing her clothes. "B-but you don't really have to… There are plenty of participants here today already. My pay won't be bad."
"C'mon, Mina," I said with a playful grin. "I have a feeling this won't be the last time we meet, and I want to help you. It's a small thing for me, and it makes me happy to know I did something for a pretty girl like you." I lifted my hands and let my finger gently trace the curve of her soft cheek.
Her face flushed again. "B-but… won't your money just be wasted?" she asked, looking flustered.
"Ah, don't worry—I plan to buy a lot in today's auction, so these slips will definitely be put to use. They work for the noon auction too, right?" I added with a wink. "Alright, let me take eighteen of them. I will give you two gold coins," I said, placing the shiny gold in one of her fair palms and handing her the bundle of slips with the other.
"Yes, they do," she replied, nodding. Then she tilted her head, in confusion. "B-but why eighteen? Why not twenty? Each slip is 1000 nars."
"Well… the extra is for that pretty smile," I said smoothly, letting my fingers trace the line of her chin again.
"Hehe… You're quite the smooth talker, Michio," she giggled, cheeks pink as she carefully counted out eighteen slips and handed them to me.
Inwardly, I had a wide winning smile. Outwardly, I just kept a cool, casual one as I took the slips.
"B-but I don't want to take your money for nothing," she added quickly. "How about I take it as payment for brokerage instead—about information. Is there anything you would like me to find out or learn about?" she asked, looking up at me nervously, still holding onto the coins.
"Information?" I blinked. That caught me off guard… but in a good way.
The real question is, what don't I want to know about this world?
"Yes! Anything you want," she said eagerly. "I don't have a big network yet, and this would be my first real job… but I promise I will do my best!" she added with a determined little fist pump—one that, incidentally, made her breasts jiggle quite enthusiastically.
"So… how does this work exactly? I just ask you a question and you go dig up the answers?" I asked, eyebrows raised. Is this the medieval version of Google?
"Yes, but more specifically, you would give me an advance payment of 500 nars and tell me what you want to find out," Mina explained clearly. "You will also need to specify how specific and how detailed you want the information to be. Normally, there's general information, and then there's detailed information—and depending on the topic, there are different levels of detail."
She paused, making sure I was following, then continued, "Once I get the information, I will contact you. Depending on the difficulty involved, I will let you know the final fee. If you feel the cost is too high, you can choose to forgo the information—but the initial payment won't be refunded."
Her brown eyes looked serious as she laid it all out.
She really is passionate about this. At the very least, her knowledge about this information brokerage thing does sound complete.
"But won't the broker take a loss if the client refuses to pay and just walks away from the info?" I asked, curiously. It didn't sound like the most sustainable business model.
"Information is more valuable than money," she replied with a confident grin. "If that person doesn't need it, someone else eventually will. Sooner or later, I will make a profit."
I looked at her, genuinely impressed. She seemed like a completely different person the moment the topic shifted to information brokerage.
Honestly, I had only come here to grab some papyrus slips so I could score that 40% discount on multiple auction items today. But this... this turned out to be an unexpected and intriguing bonus.
Comments
striker James
Mina cute
Avirat Dulera
Lol why 😅
Vanthebeard
This chapter is suspiciously timed
