When I returned to the manor, the first to greet me was Cal.
“Have you returned, Lord?”
“Nothing happened, right?”
“There were no problems.”
Fortunately, nothing had occurred while I was away.
That meant I could immediately get started on what needed to be done.
“All right, shall we begin?”
First, I prepared the payment for the mercenaries.
They seemed delighted to have finished their escort duty and left without any hesitation.
Next, I turned to look at the eighty slaves.
“You’ve worked hard walking for a whole month. You must have had all sorts of thoughts. After buying you, I brought you here to the territory without a word, after all.”
Eighty pairs of eyes trembled with anxiety.
Now that they had arrived at the territory, their fate would be decided.
Some of them were probably imagining the worst-case scenario, while others might still be holding onto a sliver of hope.
Now was the time to explain why I had bought them.
“I’m going to train you as Soldiers. No, I plan to make you Knights one day.”
The slaves were startled by my words.
No, to be precise, their faces said they couldn’t believe what I was saying.
“Jenny here was once a slave, just like you.”
At my words, Jenny removed the gloves she never took off and showed the back of her hand, revealing the Brand of Slavery.
“I bought Jenny about a year ago. Since then, I’ve taught her Swordsmanship and Magic.”
At my signal, Jenny demonstrated some Light Magic and basic Swordsmanship.
It was just a few simple moves, but it was enough to surprise the slaves.
“And I promised Jenny: if she showed loyalty and dedication to me, I would free her from slavery.”
I took Jenny’s hand.
And then I used my skill.
“Brand of Slavery.”
The brand on Jenny’s hand disappeared.
“Congratulations, Jenny. You are no longer a slave—you have returned to Commoner Status.”
At my words, Jenny looked at her own hand, and tears filled her eyes.
But instead of crying, she straightened her posture and declared boldly.
“I, Jenny, will serve you until my dying day, Lord.”
I nodded at Jenny.
Then I looked back at the other slaves.
“I will provide you with food and shelter, teach you the sword, make you Soldiers, and someday, Knights. Follow me. Be with me. This is the surest way for you to escape slavery—trust me and follow me for your future!”
At my words, the eyes of all eighty slaves blazed with hope.
For those who had fallen into slavery—no different from insects that could die at any moment—I had given them hope.
And I had proven that hope was real.
“Each of you, take a sword, shield, or spear from the carts. Move.”
“Yes, sir!”
At my command, the slaves echoed my words and moved.
It was chaos, with people bumping into each other, but they quickly grabbed their weapons and turned burning eyes toward me.
“That building over there is your quarters. Each of you, pick a room and rest. Take it easy until dinner.”
“Loyalty!”
Someone Shouted.
Then, after a brief pause, everyone else Shouted together.
“Loyalty!”
I don’t know where they’d picked that up, but watching them imitate it was oddly cute.
I patted my back, and the slaves rushed toward their quarters in perfect order.
The building I’d called the quarters was originally where Viscount Filton’s Soldiers had stayed.
Would the Marquis’ Third Son really come here with only his family if he’d gone mad?
Of course not. Soldiers needed somewhere to stay, too.
Normally, cleaning that place was Remia and Lamia’s job. Since it was a fairly large space, I knew they split it up and cleaned it over several days.
Now, I’d leave it to the newcomers to handle on their own.
“I’ll show them what’s worse than hell itself—military life.”
At least in the beginning, I needed to be strict to set the discipline so things would be easier later on.
So, even if it was a hassle for me, I’d have to push them hard for a while.
As I turned around, I saw two women, the Smith family, and Cal.
“Cal. The man next to you is Master Smith. Do his family have a place to stay?”
“There’s a forge right behind the manor. The Marquis’ Third Son built it out of curiosity.”
“Take the Smith family there.”
“Please, this way.”
Cal and the Smith family left.
The two women remained.
Jenny’s face was still full of emotion, and Irene’s looked somewhat puzzled.
“Jenny, go wash your face and rest. I’ll give you your duties starting tomorrow.”
“Yes, sir!”
“On your way, take Irene with you and give her a room on the second floor. She must have a lot on her mind right now.”
As long as Irene handed me her Secret Inheritance, everything would be fine.
Whether she did or not was up to her, though.
“Still, even if she’s a slave, she can’t just do nothing. From tomorrow, I’ll have her work as a Maid with Remia and Lamia.”
That’s what I told Irene.
Then, passing by the two, I went into the manor.
It had been a long time since I’d been home.
For today, I’d rest.
I’d get things properly started tomorrow.
“Ah… I still need to assign the three Administrative Soldiers a place to stay…”
Just before falling asleep, I remembered I hadn’t arranged sleeping quarters for the three I’d chosen as Administrative Soldiers.
But I fell asleep before I could do anything about it.
Later, I learned that they’d waited in the carriage until Cal, making his rounds before bed, found and rescued them.
***
The next morning.
I woke before dawn and left the manor in light clothing.
I saw Cal, just up himself, opening the windows to ventilate the manor with messy hair.
“Good morning, Cal.”
“Oh dear, forgive me for showing such a messy appearance, Lord.”
He quickly straightened his clothes, brushed his hair a few times, and greeted me respectfully.
“Good morning, Lord.”
“Why so formal? There’s no one watching, anyway.”
“That’s exactly why I must be more careful.”
“Anyway, how are the slaves?”
“I gave them each a bowl of warm soup and a piece of bread last night.”
“Perfect. I’m sorry to trouble Cecil, but could you have her prepare forty servings with meat and forty servings with only vegetables?”
“Yes, sir. May I ask the reason?”
I grinned.
“I want to drive them crazy with food.”
“Yes, sir!”
“If they don’t work hard, they won’t get any meat—only vegetables, day after day. Kukuku.”
With an evil laugh, I left the manor.
I headed to where the slaves were sleeping.
Snoring filled the air.
Snort, snore.
Some were even groaning in their sleep.
It was a time when no one was awake yet, so I smiled and Shouted loudly.
“Wake up!”
The snoring lessened a little.
But not everyone woke up.
“Wake up!”
I called even louder, pouring Mana into my voice and Shouted again.
“Wake up!”
-Skill ‘Shout’ has been acquired.
-A skill that allows you to shout loudly, infused with Mana.
Lately, the Notification Window had been especially kind whenever I acquired new skills.
It almost felt like something had changed.
‘Whatever. That’s not important right now.’
I could figure out the reason for the changes in the Notification Window later, when I was alone.
Right now, the slaves were the priority.
“Wake up!”
As I used the Shout skill, my voice rang out powerfully.
At this volume, surely everyone nearby would wake up.
I felt a little bad for possibly waking the people sleeping in the manor, too.
Well, what could I do? What’s done is done.
“Everyone assemble downstairs! You have five minutes. If you take longer, no breakfast.”
My words threw the slave quarters into chaos.
The sight of them rushing out was something else.
Half of them were basically naked, and many wore only their underclothes.
Good thing I’d only picked men—otherwise, it would have been a sight I couldn’t bear to watch.
“Ugh…”
“Wha… huh…”
“Yaaawn…”
They somehow gathered, but many were still half-asleep or yawning.
It was the first day, so I let it slide.
Instead, I’d make sure to drive them hard.
“I’ll announce your schedules from now on.”
Some of their eyes burned with determination.
Yesterday’s events must have been a major shock.
After all, they’d seen a slave’s brand erased right in front of them, been fed, given a place to sleep, and promised training.
Surely none of them had slept soundly, busy imagining their futures.
I needed to break their habits and mindset.
With some true Spartan-style training.
“Wake-up is at 6 AM. After getting up, you’ll do some light Marching to shake off the sleep. Swordsmanship training in the morning after breakfast. More Swordsmanship practice in the afternoon after lunch. After dinner, free time—but you won’t be allowed to wander far from the quarters. Understood?”
“Yes, Sir!”
When I heard their answers, I nodded.
“From now on, everything will be based on performance. Since today is the first day, forty of you will get soup with meat and bread, and the other forty will get only vegetable soup.”
At those words, everyone snapped awake.
That’s how tempting the word ‘meat’ was.
“All right, line up in columns.”
The slaves didn’t seem to understand what that meant and tilted their heads.
“That means form rows of five.”
Then they moved, more or less.
Their movements were awkward, and they fumbled around, unsure what to do.
“Oh, by the way—if I don’t like what I see, you don’t eat.”
They quickly scrambled into lines of five.
“Follow me!”
With that, I led them at a slow run.
I circled the manor and the Soldiers’ quarters once.
It took about ten minutes, and fortunately, no one dropped out.
But I had no intention of stopping after just one lap.
“Huff, huff, huff.”
I took a deep breath and increased the pace a little.
Some of them started falling behind.
After two laps, I passed by the quarters again without stopping.
The slaves’ pace dropped sharply.
On the third lap, none of them could keep up with me.
“Since it’s the first day, I’ll let you off with three laps.”
I folded my arms and waited as they trickled in one by one, collapsing and gasping for breath.
When forty had gathered, I told them to move to the side and waited for the rest.
“Lord, I’ve brought your breakfast.”
Just then, Cal and the other manor residents arrived, each carrying food.
Jenny and Irene brought the two types of soup as I had requested.
“The first forty get meat soup. The next forty get vegetable soup.”
Distribution was quick.
Having sweated since morning, the men wolfed down their soup, scraping the bowls clean.
Those who got a piece of meat looked a bit better off, but honestly, it still wasn’t enough.
“From now on, you will clean and maintain your own quarters. Cal and I will check regularly, and if it’s not clean or tidy, everyone will be punished. Wait here until Swordsmanship class begins.”
“Loyalty!”
After hearing the slaves’ answers, I headed to the manor.
After a quick breakfast, I called for Jenny.
“From now on, your job is to teach them. Start with how to hold a sword and drill the basic three movements.”
“Yes, sir!”
As Jenny was about to leave, I called after her.
“Work them hard—just don’t kill them. Train them so they can survive this harsh world.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll teach them properly.”
At that moment, a wicked smile bloomed on Jenny’s lips.
A truly devilish smile.
I grinned back, just as satisfied.