4 Chapter 2

"Slaves." As the word left my mouth, there was a sudden silence. Silent enough that one could hear the dust particles falling to the ground. And then the silent was broken by the loud protests of the people in the room.

"Lord Kyros, that's!"

"There are certain lines that should not be crossed!

"How can we accept using a method as honor-less as slavery in order to fix our problems?!" I had no problems with their complaints, I knew my solution was not a pretty one, but that last one was not something I could allow.

"Honor you say, Gazef?" I asked with a raised eyebrow and they all quieted down, with Gazef looking at me with confusion. "Tell me Gazef, can 'honor' fill my people's bellies?"

"My lord?" The warrior captain looked unsure of what was happening, but I wasn't done.

"I asked a simple question Gazef and I expect a simple answer. Can honor fill my people's bellies?"

"…no, my lord. It can't." He said with his head hung low, Wilhelm and Mogamett looking less than proud of their earlier protests as well.

"I am not saying this to demean you Gazef, and I understand what you all think of slavery better than anyone so trust me; this is not an option that I am comfortable with either." I said with a sigh.

"But in the real world, we are faced with ugly choices." I then looked up.

"My father is dead and I am now the ruler of these lands, this position comes with certain responsibilities to people who live here." I said with a sad smile. "Even at the cost of doing things I really don't want to."

It was so sad that it was almost funny. I had been awake as Kyros Mansour for less than a week and I already was using ugly methods for my own needs. The mission given to me by Atum meant that I needed to survive, the sun god had worded it quite clearly that without me in this word for them to be able help this world through loopholes; the future would be bleak at best.

I might not care about this world too much but letting it get destroyed by an egomaniac bitch did not sit well with me either.

"Noblesse Oblige, those who hold power also hold a certain responsibility." I said and then, much to the shock of all three at the table, bowed my head to them. "The road ahead of us is treacherous and full of evil, evil that we will have to submerge ourselves in. If any of you don't feel like that's the right decision, then I won't begrudge you for leaving." I ended my little speech.

I really hoped that none of the three would leave, they were all a big part of my life and masters of their fields, losing even one of them would be a devastating loss. But that loss would be nothing compared to keeping those who might one day decide to betray me by my side, simply giving them an out right now was the best decision.

"Lord Kyros." Mogamett looked at me and bowed his head. "It was your father that saved me when I lost my daughter. If you belive that the path you are taking now is the path to save these lands, then I am willing to walk through hell with you."

"It is same for me, lord Kyros." Gazef continued from where the old mage left. "I can not apologize for my outburst from earlier enough, it is my sworn duty to aid you in your endeavors as a knight and I swear to never fail in that duty again."

"I too must apologize for my outburst, lord Kyros." And then Wilhelm continued as well. "You are right, we can not afford to be picky when it comes to solutions, we are behind you."

"I am glad to hear that." I nodded with a smile, happy that I hadn't lost any of them. "Then let's get down to business. Gazef, I want you to go to Zeltoble in order to buy as many slaves as you can without compromising our budget. You have a good eye for talent so keep your eyes open."

"Are you saying that Mogamett and I don't have an eye for talent, my lord?" Wilhelm asked with a playful smirk and I smirked back.

"You do, but I have another mission for Mogamett. And you... not gonna lie, I don't think this place will be able recover if you actually leave for more than a day." I said and the old butler chuckled.

"You flatter me my lord, but I am sure that it could recover... in a decade or so." And then the once somber air in the meeting room was replaced by boisterous laughter.

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I wasn't gonna lie, that little moment I had with Wilhelm, Gazef and Mogamett really helped my mental state after the whole thing with Atum making me a pharaoh slash representative of Ma'at slash bait for evil bitch goddess.

Which was a very much needed 'spirit up' cause leaving the manor and actually taking a look at my lands, along with the remaining people in it, without that boost would have lowered my morale to somewhere between zero and negative ten.

The people all looked downtrodden, as if a dear member of their family had just passed away. Sure, I was kind of touched that they cared about my parents to this extent but it wouldn't do well if their feeling stayed like this and led these lands to ruin.

The slavery was meant to be only a stopgap measure and a way for talented people with practically nothing to lose to enter my employ. But a stopgap measure wouldn't work if there was no plan for anything further.

The problem was the fact that, much like Gazef himself had claimed, people did not exactly trust me to lead them well with my parents gone. Meaning that the biggest of my current problems was a situation of morale, one that already had led to a significant amount of people leaving my lands. What I needed to do in order to deal with it was to show people that I had the capability to lead them, which was hard since most of the leading was done through bureaucracy and it was hard for peasants with minimal amount of education in such manners to understand how bureaucracy worked. What I needed was something that could be seen, something that would make people look and think 'Our lord is pretty damn great.' But wha…

"Huh." I looked at the forest that was at the edge of the village, one that was filled with monsters of many different types and even said to house creatures unknown to anyone in the world. And as I saw the bushes at the edge move and the wind howl, an idea started to form inside my head.

"That might work." One that might solve more than one problem of mine at once.

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