“I-I-I would like a warm bed to sleep in every night.” The predominant archer of their party said in a low, scared whisper. She expected this to be some sick game. She knew she was about to be told to screw herself and to know her place, but… Stay connected with empire
“Granted,” he nodded without missing a beat. “But I can only guarantee that while you’re at the main base, if you’re out on a mission the best I can do is a sleeping bag and a tent or money to rent an inn room if applicable.”
Their confusion and disbelief were reaching never-before-seen heights as they eyed Quinlan in search of clues that he was just playing with them.
“I would like warm meals once a day…” Their trapper murmured while stroking her hungry stomach.
“Granted. Oh, that reminds me. Here.” He stated and reached into his storage ring, then brought out six apple pies which were still warm enough to steam. He handed one to each of them, then did the same with six jugs of fresh water. “My maids made them to welcome the six new promising combatants of the Ascendants, the name of my faction made up of elite combatants, it’s the two little adorable maids’ welcoming gift. Please accept it if you’re hungry.”
They thought that their confusion had already reached the maximum possible amount, but he proved them to be wrong.
“Come on, don’t look at me like that. If I wanted to kill you, you would’ve been dead days ago. You were paralyzed from head to toe, remember?” He asked, but not in a mocking tone. He sounded rather patient and compassionate.
The trapper had the biggest appetite so she dove in for the food without further ado, and unbridled joy immediately showed on her features. While they were Mithril ranked, Kai was a hopeless hedonist who refused to splurge on them, so such things as a warm dessert was a relic of the long past when they weren’t his slaves. Furthermore, he was very selective with the quests he accepted, so they weren’t as well-off as most other Mithril teams.
The rich aroma that came from the meal was way too mouth-watering to hold themselves back any longer, so they followed the trapper’s example as they dove in. The man brought a seventh pie out and started digging in as well. “Hmm… I’ll be sure to praise them.” He decreed.
“Y-you should!” The trapper shouted between two hungry bites.
“Good to hear that you like it. Any other requests?”
“I would like us to not be inheritable.” Shallan whispered, earning shocked coughing and fierce glares from the other five. This was a totally unreasonable demand to make. They didn’t want to ruin the seemingly generous mood.
“Hoh? You want to be freed upon my death?” He asked with amused eyes.
She gulped from nervousness but nodded, refusing to yield to her better judgment or the wishes of her allies. If it was time to dream, then she might as well shoot for the skies, she thought.
“Denied.” Quinlan’s words were resolute. Shallan sighed dejectedly. Of course it would get denied.
“I don’t want my slaves to wait for my demise, that would be rather disadvantageous for me. How about a tenure? Ten years of dutiful service and you’re all free women, whether I live or die.”
“R-r-r-r-really?!” Shallan shouted with utter shock. Ten years to them was not nothing, but it wasn’t overly long either. If they continued leveling up, they could live for more than 500 years. For valuable prisoners of war who could provide this man with hundreds of years of valuable service, this offer was beyond generous.
“Yes. Any other requests?” He didn’t seem to wish to dwell on the topic, but he did chuckle at the six bulging eyes that were staring at him.
They found themselves emboldened and soon started slinging requests at him.
“I would like to have free days, just one a month is enough!”
“Too little, you will get two days off a week unless you’re out on a mission. In that case, you can take a longer leave of absence upon your triumphant return.”
“!!!”
“I want to have the right to not be used as sexual relief by anyone.”
“Granted. If someone tries to force themselves on you, turn the bastard into a woman. I know that for some reason, the women of Thalorind just love cutting jewel sacks off of men, so I’m sure you’ll feel right at home.”
“!!!”
“I would like to read books!” Liora decreed shyly while blinking rapidly at Quinlan as if she were a begging puppy.
“Stop looking at me like that, woman. Are you trying to give me a heart attack? You can get your books. In fact, all of you will get a monthly salary of thirty silver, you can spend it on whatever fancies your interest. But I’m a bit strapped for cash at this point in time, so this will only come into effect at the end of next month.”
“Kyaaa!!!” Liora shouted victoriously while she was pumping her hands toward the air.
“What about equipment?”
“You will get whatever you need to be most effective, within reason of course. As I said before, we have an alchemist, so potions will not be an issue. We also have an Epic-classed artificer, I hope to set her up with a smithy in the coming days so that she can begin producing her masterpieces.”
“E-epic?!”
“I would like hot baths…”
“My home is under construction, that will be available later.”
“We will live with your lordship?”
“It’s going to be a big stronghold with my main mansion in the middle. Whether you will be sleeping there or in one of the surrounding buildings is yet to be decided.”
“Any other requests?” He asked as he eyed them.
“Please don’t tell me that this was all a cruel joke…” Liora cried with desperate eyes.
Quinlan smiled in response before sending them his subjugation request. It was a contract that included the requests they made for him in its clauses.
“H-h-hah? What the hell is this?” Shallan cried. It didn’t look like a slave contract at all.
“Oh, yeah, about that, I had my Slave Master class upgraded. I’m the Primordial Subjugator now. It’s a Unique tier class, available only to me in the entire universe.”
Shallan and Liora felt their heart quickening and beating at a tenfold rate while their brains refused to work. It took a good ten minutes of revelations from Quinlan to sate their curiosity, after which they accepted the contracts with bright, shining eyes. The Ascendants gained six new combatants, and their recruitment didn’t even cost Quinlan’s spell much capacity since they ended up agreeing to be subjugated wholeheartedly.
It was time to turn his focus on the Phenom Trials at long last.