The Villainess Is My Cute Daughter

"You listen to every word I say. Period," Adrian added. "If I talk to someone, you keep quiet. You stay right next to me. Got it?"

"Got it Papa."

"Pull that off and I’ll buy you literally anything tomorrow."

Aria threw her hands up as she gave a tiny cheer. Her brain was already calculating the profits. Act like a good kid and get free stuff. There was nothing else she’d ever wanted.

Adrian stood up. He was still a little skeptical. Her massive public tantrum was still fresh in his mind. He decided to play it safe. No main objectives yet. Just some side missions to test the waters.

"Our mission starts tonight," Adrian told her. "You need to take a nap right now. We’re moving out at midnight."

By evening, they headed back to the inn. Aria didn’t argue. She climbed into the plush bed, pulled the blankets up to her chin, and forced herself to sleep.

Adrian waited until her breathing slowed down. Once she was completely asleep, he walked over to the corner of the room. He opened his system interface and linked it to the dungeon.

’System, craft two heavy travel cloaks,’ Adrian commanded mentally. ’Make one in my size, and one to fit a five year old child.’

He also chose a dark fabric for the cloak.

Adrian dumped the cloaks in the box and crashed in the chair.

Soon, it was midnight and he city outside was still lively and bustling.

He walked to the bed and nudged Aria. She rubbed her eyes and sat up as Adrian tossed her the small cloak. He threw the heavy one over his own shoulders.

Aria wrapped the dark fabric around herself, put the hood on and looked at herself in the mirror. She liked this look as it reminded her of her past self but as she looked at her own face, she couldn’t help but notice the difference from her past self to now.

In her past life, she’d always had a cold and emotionless look. But now, she had a wide, excited grin on her cute little face.

Adrian pulled his own hood up. His silver hair and red eyes, completely hidden with it.

"Stay close," he said.

They slipped out. The inn was quiet, but the streets were a mess. Torches were everywhere, the drunks were laughing. The smell of meat grease and cheap ale wafted in the air. It was a totally normal night in a bustling county.

Adrian ignored all of it. He kept a firm grip on Aria’s shoulder as they walked until they hit a massive, poorly lit tavern. It was a place where mercenaries and traveling merchants went to get hammered.

He shoved the heavy door open and the noise slapped them in the face. Guys sang terribly as they slammed their mugs on the already wet tables, spilling more of their ale.

He marched straight to the bar. The bartender was huge, had a scarred face and was wiping a filthy glass with a filthy rag. The guy looked at Adrian before he glanced down at the tiny shadow clinging to his leg. He raised an eyebrow but kept quiet.

Adrian flicked a bronze coin onto the counter.

"Need directions," Adrian said. "Best place to buy slaves around here."

Slavery wasn’t illegal, it was just another tuesday business. The bartender didn’t even blink as he swiped the coin.

"Out the door. Hard left," the guy grunted, not looking up. "Keep walking down the main strip and you’ll find a big building with four floors. Hard to miss."

"Thanks."

Adrian grabbed Aria’s hand and pulled her back into the cold street.

They followed the directions. A few blocks later, a giant four story structure loomed ahead. It was literally an open air market. There were no sketchy back alleys and no passwords.

Torches lit up the wide double doors, rich guys strolling in and out looking smug, and heavy armor guards on duty.

Adrian took a deep breath and walked in.

The inside was massive. Clean floors, bright magical lamps and rows of comfortable chairs. It looked like a high end real estate office.

Slaves had specific rights in this world. They couldn’t be randomly beaten to death in the streets. Owners were legally required to feed them at least one meal a day. They were basically permanent unpaid servants.

To Adrian, it was still a disgusting concept. But he was just one guy. He couldn’t dismantle a global economic system by himself. He had to play by the rules for now, and if he was going to do that, he would rather use the system to destroy it.

He walked up to a free salesman near the center of the room. The guy wore a tailored suit and a polite customer service smile.

"Welcome, my lord," the salesman bowed slightly. "How can I assist you tonight?"

"I’m looking for combat personnel," Adrian said. "Specifically, I want to see your stock of knight slaves."

The salesman’s smile widened. "Ah, a discerning buyer. We do have knights in our current inventory. But I must warn you, they are only low ranking individuals. We currently only hold F rank knights."

"That’s fine. What’s the price?"

"A knight slave will cost you fifty gold coins each," the salesman stated smoothly.

Adrian kept his face blank. Fifty gold was a massive sum and a peak physical adventurer slave would only cost one or two gold coins. The price jump was simply because knights could use more mana. That tiny drop of mana made them premium goods.

"Bring out all the knight slaves you have. I want to look at every single one of them. I need to ask them a few questions before I buy."

The salesman frowned. He looked at Adrian’s plain cloak.

"My lord, gathering all of our premium stock requires a significant deposit," the salesman said carefully. It was clear that he doubted Adrian’s wealth.

Adrian didn’t say a word. He pulled a single glowing mana crystal from his pocket. He held it up so the salesman could take a good look at it.

The salesman completely froze and his polite smile vanished as pure panic and respect took over.

A mana crystal was the ultimate status symbol. It proved that the guy standing in front of him was incredibly wealthy and probably dangerous.

"Right this way, my lord!"