Thirteen decided to spend 1,000 Silver Coins in order to procure food and other necessities to make the lives of his slaves—errr, the people under his wing a little more comfortable.
He had a feeling that their quest, which was Lighting the Beacon of Hope, was closely related to the previous Valbarra Kingdom, which had now become the Sumatran Kingdom.
With this in mind, Thirteen decided to make Gronar City his base of operations.
Not only was it close to the Houdini Desert, but it would also allow them to travel by boat to reach the other places within the Sumatran Kingdom.
Also, the city would provide them with all the necessities they needed like food, weapons, and armor, making it their ideal place to create their base.
Currently, Thirteen, Cristopher, and Rianna were inside his room because he planned to give the young lady some advice on how to properly manage the people under her.
“Since you are the one who freed them, they will listen to you more than they’ll listen to me,” Thirteen stated. “So, you will be the one to manage them. I told you yesterday that you need to earn money.
“The fastest way to do that is to let them fight in the slave duel. You are their leader, so you mustn’t get hurt in any way. Delegate duties to them to split the work in maintaining the warehouse. Make others clean this place, while others do other chores like buying food, etcetera.
“Remember that they are Wanderers, so they are not babies that you have to take care of 24/7. Right now, they are just waiting for an opportunity to leave. But since they are afraid that they might get hunted down if they leave the city, they are relying on your kindness.
“Let’s keep things simple for them. Those who don’t work won’t eat. If they don’t like it, they can leave. Simple as that.”
Rianna nodded her head in understanding. After a night’s rest, she realized that she didn’t really think things through and just followed what she thought was right.
Now that she understood that she alone wouldn’t be able to take care of thirty-three teenage boys and girls, who were the same age as her, she needed to change her ways of doing things.
“Young Master, what about us?” Cristopher asked.
“Us? We’re going to the Duel Arena, of course,” Thirteen replied. “I bought a slave after all. It will be a pity if I don’t put him to good use.”
Cristopher and Rianna couldn’t help but shudder after seeing the evil smile on Thirteen’s face. They offered a silent prayer to the pitiful Tigerkin, who would soon realize that his new Master was someone who mustn’t be provoked no matter what.
——————————
Duel Arena…
“…” Raldo looked at the seven-year-old whom he had asked to keep a low profile due to the incident that happened in the duel arena.
Only a day had passed since his duel against Brakka, yet the boy was back again to cause trouble!
“Don’t worry, I didn’t come here to fight,” Thirteen said. “I came here to make him fight.”
The boy used his thumb to point at the Tigerkin behind him, who was busy glaring at his Master.
Raldo breathed a sigh of relief because he thought that the boy would insist that he fight again in a duel.
“Okay. Let me see who is on the waiting list,” Raldo said as he checked the scroll in his hands. “By the way, what is his name?”
“My name is Percival!” the Tigerkin declared.
“His name is Taiga,” Thirteen stated.
“Okay. Taiga then,” Raldo said as he scribbled the Tigerkin’s name in his scroll. “Since he is a Tigerkin, his opponents will be Trolls, Ogres, or other Tigerkins. There are a few candidates here, so I’ll let you choose his opponent.”
Percival, whose name had been changed to Taiga, growled. However, before he could do anything, Thirteen glanced in his direction and said…
“Kneel.”
The Tigerkin gritted his teeth as he endured the mind-numbing pain in his head as he tried to defy his Master’s orders.
Seeing his resistance, the seven-year-old smirked before crossing his arms over his chest.
“Taiga, if you don’t obey my orders, you will suffer because of the Slave Tattoo,” Thirteen stated. “If you continue to resist, you will lose your mind, you know?”
“I’d rather lose my mind than obey you!” Percival growled as his body shook uncontrollably from trying to defy his Master’s order.
“I see. So you mean you would rather die than obey me, right?” Thirteen asked as he once again checked the contents of the scroll in his hand. “That’s what you call warrior’s pride, right?
“Well, I don’t really mind if you die. There are many other slaves that I can purchase from the Slave Market. I just find it pitiful that your life will end here without even being able to achieve your dreams and aspirations. It just means that you are fated to die like a dog, not a warrior.”
A moment later, Thirteen heard a thud, making him look at the kneeling Tigerkin in front of him.
Blood seeped at the corner of Percival’s lips after biting his lip too hard.
Originally, he didn’t mind dying because he was aspiring to be a warrior of his Clan.
However, Thirteen’s words had shaken him.
If he were to die now, he would indeed be dying like a dog, not like a warrior.
For the Tigerkins, dying in battle was a great honor.
As an aspiring warrior, he had made a vow to himself that if he were to die, he would be dying on the battlefield, facing their Clan’s enemy in mortal combat.
‘I can’t die here!’ Percival clenched his fists tightly. ‘Mother is waiting for me!’
Seeing that the Tigerkin had quieted down, Thirteen pointed at a name in the Scroll, which made Raldo arch an eyebrow.
“Are you sure?” Raldo asked. “You can pick a more favorable matchup for him.”
“No,” Thirteen replied. “I want him to be Taiga’s first opponent.”
Percival glared at the boy who refused to use his real name. However, he didn’t say anything else and simply clenched his fists tighter.
‘You think you can earn money from me?’ Percival sneered in his heart. ‘I’ll make you regret your decision of belittling me!’
Thirteen gave his slave a sidelong glance before turning around.
He was afraid that if he stared at Percival long enough, the smirk he was trying so hard to hold back would appear on his face.
‘Silly boy,’ Thirteen thought. ‘Do you really think I don’t know what you’re thinking? You’re a thousand years too early to scheme against me.’
The Tigerkin and the seven-year-old boy both laughed in their hearts.
However, only time would tell who among the two of them would truly have the last laugh.
—————
(E/N: Wah. When you said antihero, you really meant it.)