~Chapter 3~Crassus, the richest man in Rome(2)~

The man couldn't hide his embarrassment at Jae-hoon's unexpected reaction.

"Oh, no... That's why I'm making it clear that this slave is mine. "

"I know... Slaves belong to their masters, right? "

"Yes, yes–"

"Then, the slave's wrongdoing must be regarded as the master's fault, right? "

"–No!"

For the first time, the man openly frowned at Jae-hoon, who smiled viciously. With such an attitude, Jae-hoon felt that his opponent had lost his composure.

"Look at my ankles. Your slave dirtied it and now it is covered in blood. How dare a slave grab and defile the body of the senator's eldest son? "

"No, that's... "

"Does your law allow this? "

"... That, that's... "

The man was speechless and did not know what to do.

Jea-hoon knew it would be like this.

Even in modern times, few people memorized the law unless they were lawyers.

In most cases, only those who bought trifling legal knowledge in this way knew what was advantageous to them.

"Slaves are not people, but the property of their masters, right? I think it's safe to interpret this as serious disrespect on your part. Am I right, Septimus? "

"It's as you said. Even if the young master takes the slave right now and kills her, there's nothing to say. If the opposite party doesn't agree, the young master can demand that they compensate you with money. "

Septimus nodded calmly, and the man's expression contorted.

It was not so easy to obtain female slaves who were beautiful and virgins. Hence, the man was willing to go to trial if necessary.

"So... Noble Sir, are you saying that the slave has been rude, so I should hand it over to you? "

"Yes. I'll take her and make her pay for the disrespect herself. I'll pay you as much as it cost you to get her. Then you won't have any complaints, will you? "

There was no way there was an idiot who would just give it up when asked to do so.

The man was confident that if he educated the girl for one or two more years, he would get more than double the money he spent.

He didn't have the heart to hand over this walking gold at the original price.

"I can think about it if the price is double, but I can't just take the principal and hand it over. "

"I think you're mistaken, but I'm not buying goods from you. I'm going to dispose of the slave who disrespected me, anyway."

"Noble Sir, why are you making things so long and inconvenient for both of us? Why don't we just go our ways..."

Thanks to Marcus's memory, Jae-hoon knew very well how to deal with this kind of person.

"Even if I become generous enough to pass over your insolence with pleasure, some things might happen that may not be related to me... Strange misfortunes may continue to strike you in the future as you continue your business in Rome; Minor problems might arise, such as not being able to find buyers, or firefighters not putting out a fire of unknown origin."

The man's face went completely white. It was an obvious threat. But that didn't mean he could do anything right now.

Physically, compared to a young boy like Jea-hoon, the man was overwhelmingly strong, but politically and financially, compared to a man who was an ordinary slave trader, Jae-hoon, the eldest son of Rome's richest man, had much greater power.

The man had a hunch that he was completely captured by this bizarre aristocratic boy.

Even if the slaves were handed over here, they might catch some other fault later.

He had to appear as if he wasn't an easygoing person either.

"Now, wait a minute! I don't know what noble family you belong to, but I also have aristocrats with whom I deal. Some have seats in the Senate. If they can't get a supply of slaves from me, they're pretty uncomfortable too. I just want to tell you I'm not sure what would they do then."

Jae-hoon didn't care at all about the man's words and sneered coldly.

"Hearing that, I'm genuinely curious. Will the senators who do business with you take your side, not the side of the Crassus family? Shall we try an experiment? "

'Hey, Crassus?'

The man's mouth was so wide open that it couldn't have been anymore.

The Crassus family was the most wealthy in Roman history, known to all ordinary Romans.

In particular, those who were not engaged in such a bright job as slave traders clearly remembered the dark side of Crassus as he accumulated wealth; Crassus was originally a military commander under Sulla who established an iron-blooded dictatorship to strengthen the power of the Senate.

The enormous wealth gained from thoroughly purging Sulla's opponents became the background for Crassus's wealth formation.

At this time, it was said that even Sulla expressed his disapproval at how much the opposition was stamped out without care of blood or tears.

In any case, any of the most famous pupils of the now-late Sulla would name Pompey first and Crassus second.

There was also Lucullus, who was elected Consul this year, but the impact that Crassus had as the richest man in Rome was a little bigger.

Being a mediocre slave trader was not something to be proud of.

All the man could do was lie flat and pray.

"Oh, Young master. I didn't recognize you, so I made a mistake. Naturally, you must take and punish the slave who dirtied your ankle! Of course, I have to give it to you, even if you just give me the principal, I have no complaints! I am even grateful."

"Really? I'm glad we have a common understanding. How good is it that the conflict has been resolved in such a mutually satisfying way? I'll pay the money tomorrow."

"That's right. Hehehe, then I'm done."

The man servilely rubbed his hands together, closed the door as if running away, and went inside.

Jae-hoon didn't even look at the man who had run away and approached the girl who was lying down.

"Relax and close your eyes. From now on, you will be protected under my shadow."

The girl, who was stricken with fear and futility, slowly closed her eyes at the thoughtful voice that flew in like a dream.

It was Septimus who was surprised, even if he did not show it on the outside.

He had never seen Marcus act like this before.

If he had to categorize it, Marcus was on the side of beating slaves to death, never on the side of rescuing them.

So, he asked the obvious question.

"Are you planning on taking her virginity now?"

"Are you crazy? Am I a pedo?"

"Yes? Pedo? "

"That means I'm not a pedophile."

Septimus still looked at him incomprehensibly.

Having s*x with a little girl in Rome was not particularly reprehensible.

The targets that should never be touched were children born as free people and the priestesses of Vesta.

In sexually open Rome, sleeping with a young female slave was not even scandalous.

"Then why did you save this child? Normally, you would never have acted like this. "

'Because if I didn't do this at least, I couldn't bear it because I was ashamed of myself for being an idiot.' Jea-hoon thought.

"Just because I wanted to..."

Jaehun trudged out, leaving Septimus tilting his head behind him.

He knew nothing would change even if he did what he did right now and it was something close to self-satisfaction.

Jae-hoon fell into the world of the past without knowing why, but he decided he would not abandon the minimum duty as a human being at least.

The minimum duty of a human being, of course, varied from person to person. And Jae-hoon thought his minimum duty didn't allow him to see other humans being treated as just mere objects.

But he could not oppose the injustice of slavery until he confronted the whole of Rome, not just the people who possessed an innate sense of justice like Martin Luther.

In the first place, there was no such thing as absolute freedom. Even so, he decided not to forget that they were humans as well.

Even if it was nothing more than the hypocrisy of a coward, this was the minimum line he had drawn for himself.

Septimus sensed something different from the back of his young master as he trudged away.

"Well, come to think of it, what should I do with that slave trader? "

"Investigate if he has done anything illegal. And if he has done something he hasn't been punished for, sneak the evidence out to a lawyer who has nothing to do with us. Someone as trash as him must have done a lot of things that are against the law. So, many things he could be accused of will eventually come out."

"I'll take care of it as you said. "

Septimus smiled but he had kept it slightly so that no one could see.

Even though he was now a free man, he was also a slave once. There was no way he wouldn't look down on those who beat the slaves for ridiculous reasons.

Septimus had been ordered by Crassus to report unconditionally if Marcus made a mistake. Still, this time, he decided to report as favorably as possible.

***

Returning to the mansion, Jae-hoon asked himself a question. 'How will I live? What kind of person do I want to be? '

It was a topic that needed a serious answer.

Initially, just like the second generation of modern conglomerates, he had decided to live his life to the fullest with luxuries that he could not enjoy in the past.

But now, he couldn't just aim for that.

What happened to the girl he saw today must have been common throughout Rome. It didn't make sense to pretend not to know when he witnessed such a scene with his own eyes.

'Those who are fortunate should know how to give back to society. '

Those who lived in modern times considered this a natural virtue.

But Jae-hoon's situation was a little strange.

'Let's think calmly. What can I do with my abilities? '

Just saving a few notable slaves wouldn't bring any real change. However, he had no intention of making an insane claim to abolish slavery.

Slavery was an important factor in the current Roman economy. It was perfect to be stoned to death for saying such a thing without any alternative to cover it.

It was a matter that must be approached from a practical point of view, not a sense of justice.

'Since the 'Gracchus brothers' were also killed by the vested interests while insisting on land reform. If I come up with a radical reform plan, I'll be seen as the enemy of the powerful nobles right away. '

The fact that the 'Gracchus brothers' tried to distribute wealth as representatives of the common people and failed was a famous story even in middle school textbooks. Later, a slightly more relaxed agrarian law was passed by Caesar as Consul.

In the book Jae-hoon read, Caesar explained why he succeeded but the 'Gracchus brothers' failed.

Although Caesar's reforms were less radical than those of Gracchus, there was another important difference. The Gracchus brothers promoted the support of the common people and did not consider the vested interests of the nobles at all. In other words, it was a reform close to a revolution from the bottom up.

Opposite of that, Caesar reformed after he obtained the title of Consul, the highest office in Rome. And he added weight to his proposal by attracting Pompey, who boasted a high reputation, and Crassus, a wealthy man; Reforms must be carried out within the system, not outside it so that the resistance they encountered would be much weaker.

It was Hadrianus, who later became the Emperor of Rome, who abolished the master's right to their slave's life and death.

'As expected, to achieve change, the first step is to get into a position that can promote it.'

If he reached that level, it would be easier to urge people to change their consciousness.

It was not simply a matter of slavery.

It was possible to reduce the number of contradictions – even if a little – that current society had and the number of victims who had been sacrificed due to them.

'I came to the 2,000 years ago, but if I didn't do at least this much, I'll feel like I'm committing a crime. '

It didn't take much thought to decide which way to go. The question was how to achieve that.

'Is it possible to simply rise to the Consul position? No, that alone is impossible. '

Even if the Consul was the highest official in Rome, the term of office was only one year. In principle, it was impossible to extend the term unless the existence of Rome was at stake.

It was unreasonable to pursue reforms in such a short time that would normally take a long period. The only way was to extend the period forcefully somehow...

'But it's kind of like destroying the republic like Caesar and doing it all alone as a dictator...'

Romans had an almost allergic reaction to dictators. Even in the case of Caesar, who passed a lot of reforms with quite good intentions, it was an assassination in the end.

Above all, the biggest problem was that Jae-hoon didn't have much confidence to compete with prominent figures such as Caesar and Pompey.

'I know roughly what will happen in the future, so how can I overcome it? No, even so, what if something goes wrong and a civil war breaks out? How can I beat Caesar? '

In Rome, it was almost impossible for a man without military achievements to rise to the top. A lot of ambitious people lost their lives for the same.

Didn't Crassus also die in an expedition while trying to gain military achievements that he lacked?

'Ah-oh! If I had known it was going to be like this, I should have thoroughly read ancient Roman history instead of just scratching the surface. '

Jae-hoon didn't know that he would suddenly go back 2,000 years ago, so it was pointless to blame his past self now.

Jae-hoon, who was immersed in his thoughts as he wandered around the room, clapped his hands involuntarily at an idea that suddenly came to him.

"That's right! This way I won't have to compete with someone like Caesar! I'm an idiot. Why didn't I think of this earlier? "

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