When confronted by the clerk of this particular store, Vicente handled the matter as if he was used to doing business there. "I'm not looking for anything in particular. But if something catches my eye, we can do business."
"Oh? So the young master is interested in seeing our catalog?" The salesman didn't find it strange.
The black market was not a continental organization but an association of groups that exploited the parallel trade in various things. Among them were items that were banned from official sale or at least restricted from sale. Not only that but items were also traded at a discount due to non-payment of taxes by the forces behind the black market itself.
But the black market in Saltstar City and the one in this city weren't necessarily part of the same organization. They followed similar practices, with the necessary discretion and offering of items that would move the official forces if their contents were made public.
Each area had different groups behind the black market.
As a result, each black market had a different product catalog, and the only way to know if you would find your items of interest in a particular place was to go there and see it for yourself.
Black markets didn't advertise what they had. If they did, they would surely get into trouble with the authorities. They kept their products hidden in their stalls, where not everyone could enter.
How did they choose who could come and go from such a place? That was the duty of the many guards who would guard any unit similar to the one Vicente had entered moments ago.
Official forces would never be allowed to enter the black market with identification or their public identities. But people who were unknown or hiding their identities could come and go with relative ease, depending on the type of item being sold in outposts like the one in this city.
How could this not cause problems for groups like those behind the local black market? Because members of the official forces needed to have groups at their disposal willing to sell special products without the high cost of the places that paid taxes.
The state itself had its rules and was harmed by forces using the black market, but people in general benefited greatly from the existence of such places.
So, it wasn't interesting for people from the official forces to fight against such places.
Since black market businesses were often very discreet and unspoken, there was no evidence of their actions to justify the action of the official forces.
Vicente knew how the black market worked because his family had at least three black market stores in Scott Province.
The only business he wasn't involved in was the trade of living beings, which, by the way, didn't violate his principles. The only reason he hadn't sold slaves before was a lack of opportunity.
So he looked at the creatures in the market cells with interest.
'Most of them are human, but there are also some monsters for sale... I didn't expect to find that.' Vicente thought as he looked at three cells next to each other, where a Lamia, a Goblin, and a Minotaur were.
Torne looked in the direction Vicente was looking and said. 'Magicians hoard all sorts of things, master. It may seem odd to buy a Minotaur, for example, but there are those who are interested in it.
Some will simply force such creatures to serve them as warriors, which is easy to do with a contract of slavery. Others will use these creatures in battle arenas, where they can win prizes with their slaves.
Some individuals will do experiments with those creatures, eventually killing them and using their bodies for various purposes.
In short, buying a magical creature is an easy and safe way to get a special creature that is useful in many ways.'
Vicente understood this crucial point. Not everyone had the power to control a special creature, but many might be interested in using it. At the same time, there were certainly hunters who were willing to collect creatures to sell in places like this.
'That makes sense. I've heard that Minotaur horns have excellent medicinal properties.' Vicente looked at the horrible creature in one of the cells.
'Yes, not just its horns, its entire body. The eyes of a Minotaur can improve the eyesight of a sick person, its tongue can be refined into a powerful stimulant, and its testicles are said to be powerful and miraculous. Even a sterile old man might have a chance to regain his virility after eating the testicles of a Minotaur.'
'That's a bit disgusting.' Vicente joked.
'Magicians are people who would eat horse manure if they're told it might benefit them, master.' Torne laughed.
After walking around the place for a while, Vicente tossed a bag of coins to the black-market employee accompanying him and asked.
"My friend, an acquaintance of mine came through here several times recently. Can you tell me what he was doing here?"
Vicente showed the portrait of Casey's father to the man, who quickly changed his expression.
"Young master, I don't want any trouble." The man said as he put the gold coins Vicente had given him into his spatial ring. "But since you're quite generous, I'll tell you this. He was looking for humans. He didn't find what he wanted and took something else instead. But I can't talk about that."
"I see..."
"But I don't know about this person, young master. He seemed strange. And the times he came here, he spoke to several of our slaves, but only one of them spoke to him more than once."
Vicente looked in the direction the man indicated, where the Lamia was.
The woman-like creature, lying on the floor of her cell, had her eyes wide open, scanning her surroundings as if preparing to make a move.
Vicente approached the creature, famous for its seductive powers but also for its monstrous abilities and thirst for blood.
He looked at her in silence, noting that this creature's 2nd-
stage cultivation was capable of hiding her true face from those weaker than her, but not from someone of Vicente's level.
'What would a creature like that have to attract Casey's father?'
There was no point in questioning this creature. It would only obey him if he bought her. However, the price of a 2nd-stage Lamia wasn't low enough for Vicente to buy her just to answer that question!
For 4,000 gold coins, Vicente would never buy this creature!
The Lamia looked Vicente in the eye but was not impressed. Many men came to her without her trying to seduce them.
'That smell...' She closed her eyes and took in the scent emanating from his body. 'That is the smell of a great talent!'
"What do you want, human? Do you want my body or something else?" She asked, wondering what to do with this human. "Say what you want. I'll help you make the choice you need."
