Chapter 318: Intermission 4

"Sure-sure. Ready to start the day? We've made good progress yesterday. Master said they might not be back for a few weeks, so it would be great to get at least the first building up to a liveable condition. We could then get proper beds and sleep in there instead of the tents too, which would further boost morale."

"Sure, let's begin." She nodded.

Iselda as a lady would take longer to get ready, and as a certified gentleman Ronan would naturally give her the space she needed, so he stepped outside. However, a strange sight welcomed him.

Much to his surprise, one of the labor slaves was already hard at work, hauling building materials from the storage unit to where they were laying the foundations for the servant/slave quarters.

Ronan recognized him easily. After all, he knew all his subordinates by name. He was an eccentric man but his leadership skills were right on the money. He was a charismatic guy who the labor slaves wanted to get along with.

It was David, a simple, average laborer. Ever since Quinlan's short speech and feast prepared by his ladies, the mood has been much better in the ranks of the slaves, and many of them were motivated to work much harder than they would normally. Of course, there were still some who were sulking, but most were cheery considering the severity of their situation. Some were incentivized by their master's offers of brothel visits, others by promises of tasty meals and quality wines, some by potential family visits, or the tantalizing permission for the best-behaving slaves to start families of their own once their master buys some females for his other business ventures.

However, none were more motivated than David. As for what he wanted to ask for, Ronan didn't know. He was curious, though, so he walked up to the hardworking man.

"You know it's early morning, right? You have free time for another hour, then we have breakfast, and then your 12 hour long shift begins."

"I do know, Sir Ronan." David nodded simply.

"Then why are you here?"

He paused his movements and thought inwardly for a bit before responding. "It's just that I have a bigger favor to ask from the master than reasonable. I know he will decline it once I ask, but I felt that if I wanted to have even a drop of a chance at being granted my wish I should give it my all."

"So that's how it is." Ronan understood that he shouldn't pry any further. Instead, he gently hit the man on his back a few times in a friendly manner. "If it's any solace, I think master Quinlan is the only slave owner who might listen to a truly unreasonable request from his simple labor slave."

Hearing this, David had a shy, hopeful smile tugging at his lips. He reached down and began hauling another portion of construction materials.

…

- PoV: Quinlan -

As soon as we got back to our temporary home the sight of Jasmine's cheery smile and waving hands welcomed us. She was standing in front of the building, waiting for our arrival.

"You did it! A heavy weight has been lifted off my chest."

"I can still see two very heavy weights there, though?" Ayame grumbled cutely under her breath. Jasmine seemingly elected to feign ignorance regarding my second-in-command's rather rude and unnecessary comment.

"We did." I nodded.

Her beaming smile brightened to an even greater degree.

"Can you tell me about it? I've never spoken with a Phenom in my entire life!"

"I'm not a Phenom yet, though."

She gestured dismissively with her hand, "small details, really. I'm confident you will go all the way, maybe even become a Veil Walker in a hundred years! For reference, that would be probably record speed, albeit I can't say for certain!" She then turned sour suddenly. "Though by then I would be nothing but rotting corpse deep underground…"

"We can't know what the future holds. And if you're worried about death, you could become a fighter too, you know?"

"I've been thinking about it, but it's really not for me I think… Anyhow, today is about you! Can I come in? I will cook you all something tasty! I even brought the ingredients!" Jasmine said while gesturing towards the weaved wooden basket in her arm. She was very eager for some reason.

<Blossom's nose smells the scent of a woman who isn't being entirely straightforward with her words.> My adorable dog-kin decreed.

<Of course not. Bitch wants to weasel her way into Quinlan's heart before he becomes an officially recognized Phenom, at which point a simple merchant like her would have no chance of getting his attention. Well, normally. This big oaf is a bit different than the rest of the guys.>

<Why so hostile, miss second-in-command? She seems like a lovely young lady that our Ascendants faction could use as our specialist Merchant classed individual. Is this jealousy getting in the way of you conducting your duties properly?> Seraphiel asked coyly.

<… We don't need a specialist like that, especially not a young and inexperienced one like her.>

<We are the Ascendants for a reason, we all rise up from the mud, no? We can't get her father or someone similarly well-established and experienced to be our merchant, or our party's youthful and ambitious theme would be thoroughly ruined.>

<Let's have a talk between just the two of us later tonight, Seraphiel.> Ayame replied rather coldly.

<Oh my.> The elf wasn't bothered by her boss's tone, though.

"Sure." I accepted Jasmine's words happily while ignoring the talk of my ladies. Well, sadly Seraphiel was still just a simple subordinate, but she was warming up to us rather swiftly based on her antics. I might have a chance to woo her sometime in the future, hopefully sooner rather than later. As for stepping in between the two hissing felines, I plan to let the girls talk things out between themselves. If things do end up getting ugly only then would I intervene. Continue your adventure with m|v-l'e -NovelFire.net

Going back to Jasmine's offer, I don't know what kind of meals they serve in this place, but a home-cooked one made with the delicate, caring hands of such a pretty girl would surely end up tasting better.

"What's on the menu?" I asked curiously.

"A meat stew with potatoes and lots of tasty spices!" She replied cheerily.

I happily accepted her words. A filling meal was best after we expanded so much energy today. Soon after the meal, we sat down in the common area where I chatted with her for an hour or so, after which the ladies and I spent the rest of the day with resting and having causal fun.

Then, the morning sun rose and it was time to begin making our way to the indicated location where the teammates we'll have during the second round will be awaiting us.

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