At the round table in the middle of the living room, Vuni, Darnag, Saraya, Shala, and Mika all sat down at one side of the table. Behind them were Sherwin, Petran, Ratia, Anno, and the representative of the Lizard race. Hikaru sat on the opposite side of the table.
At this moment, everyone was looking at Ratia, and this made her a little embarrassed. Ratia then started thinking about how she could be useful to Hikaru when, suddenly, Darnag spoke up: "You are... Ratia right?"
"Y-Yes!"
"Hm..." Darnag rubbed his chin and said, "You seem to be well versed in making and modifying machines."
"Yes." Ratia said as her mood brightened, then she said: "My talent can help me research, renovate, and build things related to machines. If it's something related to machines, I can handle it. "
Darnag's eyes lit up as if he had just discovered a huge treasure. Hikaru could, of course, see Ratia's information; however, he did not want to acquire or convince her to join his territory.
Even if Ratia volunteered to become a slave, it was not easy for anyone to enter his territory. If Hikaru just accepted everyone into his territory, then his territory would be no different from a slum.
He only wanted to hire people with great potential and abilities. Hikaru admits that he's not very smart, so he needs smart people to help him build his territory. That way, Hikaru didn't need to think or plan everything; he just needed to be a boss in his spare time.
Darnag turned to Hikaru respectfully and said, "Master, I think Ratia can be of use to us. So I hope you can give her a chance. "
Hikaru naturally wanted Ratia to be his slave, a mechanical engineer with enormous potential. However, he still looked a little hesitant and tapped his finger on the table. Each of those taps made Ratia nervous. It was strange that Ratia wanted to be someone else's slave but was nervous as she waited for the results.
Hikaru said, "You should remember that when you become my slave, it means that I will forever own your life and freedom. You should think carefully about this. "
Hikaru reminded Ratia about her decision because since she had no clear purpose, he didn't want her to be a freeloader in his territory . Petran stayed here because of the Void Lord. Sherwin was his enemy, but his potential was so great that Hikaru kept him.
What about Ratia? He didn't know what Ratia's purpose was. Although her ability was useful, if she didn't have any motivation to work, she was nothing more than a puppet.
Ratia stared at Sherwin as if trying to find some hope. However, Sherwin just leaned back against the wall, lowering his head and paying no attention to her.
Ratia was devastated. It was like the thing she trusted and relied on was now gone. She took a deep breath and bowed her head and said, "I am... sorry. I was a bit in a hurry. "
Hikaru sighed and said, "So... go out, please!"
Hikaru spoke very coldly. Ratia bowed her head and started leaving, and when she was going out, she glanced back at Sherwin a little, as if hoping that he would stop her.
At this moment, Sherwin raised his head to look at her. However, his gaze was colder than Hikaru's words just now. Ratia shook her head and left.
Ratia turned her head to look at Hikaru's territory once more. She had no regrets about refusing to become Hikaru's slave because she didn't want her life and freedom to be controlled by others. If Sherwin had convinced her, perhaps she would have agreed. However, his cold gaze helped her realize that the truth was not what she expected.
"Ratia!"
'',
Suddenly, a voice came from behind. Ratia was a little excited to return. Hope reappeared. However, when she saw that the person calling her was Shala, she was completely devastated.
Shala held a misty compass in her hand and gave it to Ratia. Shala smiled and said, "Take it. This is a Misty Compass. It has the ability to dispel the fog and locate the territories that you have passed through.
When Ratia heard of the use of the Misty Compass, she knew it was very valuable, and hence she refused and said : "I can't accept this."
Although Ratia refused, Shala stuffed it in her hand and advised her : "Don't worry. The location of this place is saved in the Misty Compass. If you change your mind, just come back to this place. "
Ratia took the Misty Compass in her hand and looked at Shala, then smiled and said, "Thanks."
Ratia then left without looking back. Shala smiled as she watched her leave and had no intention of stopping her. Anyway, giving the Misty Compass to Ratia was Hikaru's order. It wasn't because Hikaru suddenly decided to be kind and help Ratia; he just wanted her to return to his territory if she changed her mind.
Ratia possessed the ability to renovate and build machines, which is an ability he thought would be needed in the future. However, he couldn't force someone who didn't want to work for him to stay in his territory, so he gave Ratia a Misty Compass as a reminder that his territory still welcomes her.
Of course, Hikaru didn't urgently need Ratia because he thought that the Farmer's House could produce a farmer of the same class as her in the future.
…
Ratia's departure was just a breeze, and no one cared much about that. Although Darnag was a bit regretful of letting go of a talent, he still obeyed Hikaru's orders because Hikaru was his master.
Everyone was silent again, then this time, Hikaru looked at Sherwin and asked, "How is your wound?"
Sherwin looked at Hikaru, nodded, then lowered his head and said, "It's fine. However, I want to keep the wound in my right eye to remember this feud."
"Okay!" Hikaru agreed, "However, I hope that the loss of your eye will not affect your ability to fight."
Sherwin nodded and replied, "Of course not."
"Besides... I want to know more about Morital. " Hikaru said, his gaze fixed on Sherwin.
Sherwin sighed: "Haizz, really..." I don't know him well either. However, the only thing I know is that he doesn't exist in this world; the person you killed is just a copy of him. "
Hikaru, of course, knew that from the message the system displayed. Besides, he didn't think that Morital wasn't in Misty World right now.
In the vision of the future he saw, Morital easily cut him into three pieces , but the Morital he killed was too weak. Because of that, he believed that the real Morital was lurking around this place, but Hikaru didn't understand why he didn't attack him. The only reason he could think of was that Morital was wary of Vuni's power.
Hikaru also didn't want to know how Sherwin was able to meet Morital. For an existence as strong as Morital's, it was easy to create an opportunity to meet Sherwin .
Hikaru looked towards Vuni and said, "Vuni, watch out for anyone who appears near the territory. You can kill them if they pose any threat to us."
"Yes, Master!"
Hikaru continued to look towards Saraya and Shala. The two understood what Hikaru's intentions were, so Saraya stood up and said, "Master, while patrolling the territory, Saraya and I discovered the existence of the Lizard race and..."
'ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ NovelB(i)n. ᴄᴏᴍ',
Saraya frowned at Anno and continued speaking , "And four stupid Dark Elves."
"Hey! Whom are you calling "stupid?" After listening to Saraya's words, Anno immediately shouted angrily, "I won't allow anyone to call my friends stupid!"
"Oh! Why are you so angry? Are you stupid? If you're stupid, then your friends must be as stupid as you. Hahaha.. "
"You..." Anno was angry but didn't know how to refute Saraya. Seeing Saraya smiling happily, Anno was so angry that her face turned red.
"Enough!" Hikaru shouted, his voice laced with authority so that it silenced everyone.
Saraya knew she had made a mistake and bowed her head and said : "Sorry, Master."
Hikaru sighed. He knew that after Anno's defeat, Saraya was still dissatisfied with Anno. It was true that Saraya was very strong, but compared to someone who carries a hidden buff and is equipped with a lot of items like Anno, it was normal for Saraya to lose.
"Shala, continue your report." Hikaru turned to Shala and said.
"Yes, Master." Shala stood up and continued speaking. Saraya sat down, her face pitiful as she looked down at the table. Sometimes she glanced at Hikaru for fear that he would be angry with her.
After listening to Shala's report, Hikaru concluded as follows: Anno left the four Dark Elf girls in the forest. However, those four girls were also very lucky. Saraya and Shala, when leading the Lizards back to the territory, discovered the four Dark Elves and took them with them.
Luckily for them, they entered the territory before the rampage took place. Otherwise, the Lizard race and those four Dark Elf girls would turn to dust.
The representative of the Lizard clan standing here was named Laziro. Hikaru looked at Laziro, and Laziro immediately stepped forward and bowed to Hikaru, saying: "Kjhwio (&*^*lkjlh)
"Hm?"
Shala immediately stood up and translated Laziro's words: "This is our first meeting, lord of Elkia. I am Laziro, the son of the chief of the Lizard clan. "
Shala is fluent in all languages, so she translated what Laziro was saying to Hikaru.
"The patriarch's son?" Hikaru, a bit confused, asked again.
Laziro said apologetically, "My father is seriously injured, so he can't come here, so I will be the representative of the Lizard clan."
Hikaru nodded and tacitly accepted what Laziro said. He then asked, "How many people are in your tribe?"
Laziro continued, "Our tribe consists of only about 70 people right now."
"70 people?" Hikaru frowned.
Shala understood what Hikaru was thinking and immediately spoke : "Master, the Lizard race has many tribes. There are conflicts and wars between the tribes. Laziro's tribe is just one of the many other lizard tribes in this world. For Laziro's tribe was attacked by other tribes, so their numbers have plummeted. For now, they need a safe place to live.
Shala added: "Laziro's tribe is very peaceful. They don't like war, so they found a very deserted place to live. However, they didn't think there were spies in the tribe, so they were attacked by surprise, and only 70 people escaped alive.
Hikaru nodded and said to Laziro, "I will provide accommodation, food, and more. However, your entire tribe will have to become my slaves. If you accept, you can stay; if not, you can take your tribe and get out of here. "