Chapter 378: Overlord's Eyes
A month seemed to be just the right time interval to reinforce their motivation and bolster their dedication toward completing my orders, so I planned to do a reward session once a month. Of course, I will first consult with Ronan and Iselda who will let me know if any of them don't deserve anything, or if any of them had done something outstanding.
As for the fruit of their work, the first building in the stronghold territory stood proudly nearby.
Expecting them to finish even a servant-housing building like this in its entirety was beyond what was reasonable, but I was very happy to see it being in a near-finished state already. It was still barebones with no paint, windows, or any other similarly fancy stuff, but at least it was liveable.
I would soon need to make a shopping trip to get furnishing.
The time was also nearing when I would need to get more laborers. I wanted to scale things up, but to do so I would need to secure more funds to buy them. Or, at least, so it should have been if we were to go by the book. Now, with my Primordial Subjugator class, I could technically skip the 'buying' part of the 'getting new slaves' procedure. However, I would not be kidnapping and enslaving random, innocent people for sure. Enslaving Abudha was already an act that left a bad taste in my mouth, but he was at least a criminal and simply knew too much to be let go.
If I went for defenseless villagers and the like, not only would I become an even bigger scumbag than I already am, but my lovers and most other subordinates would heavily dislike my actions as well.
"Demigod Boss! Can I show you around the building? We knew you were going to be coming back any day now, so we did our best to create a dedicated floor for you and your ladies to enjoy." Ronan eagerly asked now that almost everyone else dispersed.
"Sure, but a bit later. I will come find you."
"Yessir!" He saluted and with that, he rushed after the laborer squad.
"Baby, give us some money and a portal to Cratol." Lucille 'asked' in a rather confident tone. It seemed that their hushed conversation had come to an end.
Aurora spoke up next, "we refuse to have those two be the only ones who can nurse your mental health, that's what we are here for as your devoted lovers!"
"Blossom is eager to do this for Master! She likes the plan a lot. She thinks Master will love it."
"Uh… I decided to play along with them just this once. You've been through a truly incomprehensible trial while we were none the wiser about it. You deserve a very big reward which I hope you will find both pleasurable for your body and healing for your mind." Ayame's embarrassed words finished their round of declarations.
It seemed all four were on the same page.
"Sure. Buy yourselves something nice while you're at it."
I happily accepted their request, eager to see what they cooked up for me. I took my storage ring off and handed it to Lucille since she seemed to be the ringleader this time around. It had the loot we acquired from the pillaged corpses back in round one of the Vesper Trials, so in case my meager amounts of cash were not enough to finance their plan, they could sell some of the gear off.
Now I've dealt with all the imminent things I had to do in this place. Thus, it was time to focus on Abudha, Iris, and how the discipline trio reacted to the news - if they survived in the first place, that is.
"[Overlord's Eyes]."
…
Iris and Abudha traveled in muted silence next to each other toward the battle site which they left with the strange man's teleport spell.
They did not speak a single word to each other, for their minds were heavily occupied.
Iris had just met a random man who was not a human but a member of a mythical race, and he happened to witness every moment of her childhood. No, not just witness, but live through it. She had so damn much to think about.
Truth be told, Iris hated such complicated situations. She heavily preferred problems she could cut with her sword compared to these difficult dilemmas that had no clear right or wrong answer.
Abudha, on the other hand, found himself enslaved by said legendary creature. He understood the reason for Devil's actions, but that didn't mean he felt good about it. Nevertheless, he knew very well that no one asked how he felt.
Based on his new owner's antics, he at least seemed to be amicable. Maybe he would prove to be what Abudha had been searching for all along.
When they reached the site, the monk shed a tear while rushing toward his friends' corpses. He kneeled down and began offering his prayers while Iris stood motionless a short distance from him. Evidently, she was so occupied with her thoughts that she didn't even feel like looting.
A few minutes later a cheery voice sounded. "Pfew! That felt so good. We should invade these losers from time to time to get a good exercise in."
Abudha turned his head to see the beautiful examiner's, Vex's delicate features which were very clearly overjoyed.
Next to her stood the black-haired Raika, though her expression was the exact opposite of the aforementioned woman. "I failed to finish him off! Curse Mordecai and his underhanded tricks! Next time I see him, I'll bash his skull in."
The pink-haired, eldest sister offered a few words of encouragement, though her tone was entirely emotionless. "We can't do much about it. Having an answer to everything is his biggest strength."
With their conversation concluded, the trio observed the bloody battlefield ahead of them. "Just what in the hell happened here?" Vex asked Iris and Abudha, though her tone was amused instead of worried.