The gag carelessly drops to the floor. Hal has never been one for following his impulse -or rather, he is, but following his impulses has never ended well,- but this time it seems easy to decide. Putting aside the sparks of insubordination that Hal most decidedly did not, in fact, miss: the eyes that looked straight back at him, the casual way of speaking, the 'Sir' that was belatedly tacked on; all of that pointed to a barely trained slave. However, the fact that this one could maintain the balance between following his Master's orders, and thinking on his own without rebelling made him appeal to Hal. That this one isn't openly hostile or mindlessly submissive made him a perfect fit for Hal's needs.
"Unfortunate, but you'll be out of that box soon enough." The rest of the slave's words are ignored. It's an action he feels he would have to do often if -when- he buys this one. He glances at the papers tacked beside the cage. Name, age, birthday, and skills all printed neatly like some job application. There was no price, but judging from the slave's placement and size of cage, he clearly was not their most expensive. He neatly takes off the papers, a clear intent of sign to buy this slave. "I can see your name here, but this," he taps the paper with his finger, "has been wrong before. Name, and other pertinent information, if you please."