Three days had pa.s.sed after Vlad had finished conquering the dungeon. Caiden and Alicia went back to their group and had reported back what had happened in the
ancient ruins; the dungeon. After that, they also went back to the capital to report what they had seen, how powerful Vlad was, and what magic he uses.
To observe Vlad - that was the reason they forcefully came together with him. And Now that they have completed their mission, they now don"t have a reason to stay with Vlad.
With their reports, and with proof gathered by the guild itself, the city has recognized Vlad as the subjugator of the dungeon; together with Caiden, Alicia, and his slaves that were registered as his teammates. And soon, the story even reached the other cities.
A day after their reports, the guild has sent a few adventurers to observe the state of the dungeon. And as they have reported to the guild, the dungeon is already dead. It was nothing more than a large empty cave with no monsters sp.a.w.ning inside.
At first, it was only known as an old ruin, but with Vlad, they have discovered that with actually a dungeon hidden from the world. Only a day had pa.s.sed since it was discovered, but now it was bound to be forgotten again.
Their subjugation was a complete success, because of this, Vlad"s, Alicia"s, and Caiden"s name became even more famous. With Vlad"s even reaching other cities and the capital itself.
His name is already publicly known.
***
[ Sarah, Lumi, and Nina... ]
Vlad sat on the table inside a large well-decorated room. He considers it as his office and this is where he was usually found when he was not messing around with his magic or when he"s not training and giving his slaves instructions.
Right now, he called for his slaves that went together with him on the subjugation. After the said subjugation, he had given them the rest of the day and the day next to it to relax and rest. Now, he calls for them again to give them something.
[ The reward for the subjugation finally arrived. ]
[ Re-Really, master!? ] again, Lumi was the noisiest of the three.
[ Yes. The reward was a total of four thousand gold coins. That includes a large part of the treasures that were found in the dungeon. There was also the fact that we discovered it was actually a dungeon. ]
[ ... ]
[ ... ]
[ ... ]
As he said those words, the trio went quiet and turned into stones. They did not move a muscle or even blinked.
[ But since Caiden and Alicia were also part of the subjugation, they also received a part of it. They got 25% and we got 75%. ]
[ Whwhat!? ] Lumi exclaimed in surprise. Her reaction seems to be disagreeing with what Vlad had just said.
[ That"s... ] Sarah too, was a bit speechless.
[ Master! No, Vlad-sama! They did not even do anything! Why do they get a part of the reward!? 25%... That"s three 1500 gold coins! ]
[ No, it"s only two 1000... ]
[ S-Still! They only come along with us and they did not even do anything! ]
[ Well, we can"t do anything about it. They contributed too, even if it was little. You do know they guided us to the dungeon, right? ] Vlad explained, trying to convince her.
Vlad doesn"t really care about the money in the first place, and even if he disagrees with the contribution of the reward, he will still not be able to do anything about it since it was the guild who had decided it. Additionally, he didn"t want to look more villain than people already think he is.
[ Well, we still got the higher sum, so it"s fine. ]
[ If you say so, Vlad-sama... ] she dropped her shoulders in defeat.
Sarah too seems disappointed. After they fought a group of monsters or two, everything went easy as her master already defeated all the monsters they were supposed to meet. She had also witnessed his last battle with the boss, seeing it makes it clear that her master did the most in the subjugation. She doesn"t want the reward that was supposed to be given to his master to be shared with others. But still, she remained quiet and did not say a word.
[ So, Vlad-sama... Why did you call us here for...? Will you make us train again? It"s been two days and we still haven"t done anything... ] regaining her usual self, Lumi ask. And as she did, she looks at the small yet cute-looking imp that was floating in the air beside her master.
[ Don"t worry, you"ve been doing nothing but training all this time, you can go ahead and rest for now. ]
[ Mn? Is that so, Vlad-sama? ] with a tilt of her head, she replied.
She was confused that her master had allowed them to rest since it"s been every day that he trains them.
[ Yes. Also, I"m planning to split the reward. ]
[ [ ... ] ]
[ Vlad-sama? ]
[ Yes, we"ll split the reward 50/50. ]
Vlad took out three pouches filled with gold coins and put them on the table.
Seeing this, the trio, again, went quiet.
[ Vlad-sama? You mean you"ll share that money with us...? ] it was Sarah who asked the question. Lumi and Nina were only silent. They couldn"t believe what they just heard.
[ That"s right. ]
[ Vlad-sama... That"s... We"re your slaves; you don"t need to share it with us... ]
[ Yes, you three are my slaves, but you three went with me in that dungeon as my teammates, it"s only natural that we share the reward. ]
[ Bu-But Vlad-sama! ]
[ Accept it. Work needs to be paid, you know? You can share it with the other workers if you want, you can save it or you can even buy the finest armory in the city. I won"t care whatever you use it to. ]
[ But... But that would be unfair to you, Vlad-sama! ]
[ It wouldn"t. Since your my slaves, I won"t pay you for the work you do. This is your chance to get something for yourself and the other workers too. ]
[ I know... But Vlad-sama... What if we buy our own lives back? What would you do...? ] again, she mutters those words with worry written on her face.
It was obvious. Just by looking at her, Vlad already understood what she meant.
[ Sarah. When I first bought you, I gave you the chance to get your normal life back. I"ll make it clear again. That was the only chance you will ever get. You can never buy your life back without me agreeing. ] his voice was serious yet sincere and gentle.
[ ... ] Sarah turned her head up and gazed at him.
[ You"ve already agreed that you"ll forever become my slaves. No, that word leaves a bitter taste... What I meant was, you"ll forever become my workers. ] he shakes his head and scratched his chin as he rephrased his words.
Ever since he had developed a cool image, Vlad had avoided looking and acting weird towards others, but yet again, this time, he had shown that side of him.
Seeing his unusual side, the trio looked at each other and made a small laugh.
[ We get it Vlad-sama... We"ll split this reward to the others too and make sure they will use it well! ] saying so, they all took the pouches lying on the table.
[ Vlad-sama. ]
[ [ Thank you very much!!! ] ] they all bowed at the same time.
[ We promise to even work harder! ]
[ Un. ] Vlad nodded at the three of them.
***
In the same room.
[ To gain their discipline and trust without using force. You really are something. ] A tiny girlish voice was heard from beside Vlad who was still sitting on the table.
Vlad turned his eyes on where the voice came from and replied:
[ You know, back then, I always worked hard for the company I worked at that I will even put my life on the line... Yet my salary was still the same... I don"t even get any bonus for my extra work... I really hated my boss that sometimes my mind wonders into killing him off... Even though it"s different, I don"t want to be that kind of boss to them. Work needs to be paid. ] he said the same thing as he said to the trio.
[ Hmm...? I don"t really get what you"re saying but I will still commend you... ]
( ... )
Again, Vlad turned his head to the person he"s talking to and went silent. It was then he finally decided to ask the thing that was in his mind since earlier.
[ By the way... Can you remind me again why are you in that form? ]
[ Well, this is the same image as one of the vampires I told you that had visited me years ago. I use this form all the time since It"s easier to move around. I don"t have to make heavy movements and I don"t need to flap my wings every time. ]
[ Really... I can"t believe that the dungeon boss I just fought three days ago will suddenly turn into a little girl annoying me with my work... ] Vlad mutters in annoyance.
[ Aren"t you supposed to be my boss now? You resurrected me, you should take responsibility. ]
[ Yea... And resurrecting you was a mistake... ]
[ What? I thought you were already satisfied with the information I gave you? Isn"t that why you came to the dungeon in the first place? I shared all of my knowledge to you, I even promised to help you build your own dungeon! Now you"re saying you regret resurrecting me!? ]
[ Haah... Right, right... Just... Don"t interrupt me right now... ]
[ Hmph! At least call me by the name you gave me! ] she pouted. Yet Vlad still ignored her and brushed her off.
[ Don"t ignore me! Just what are you looking at!? ] she peaked at the piece of paper Vlad was holding.
[ Can you please stop annoying me? Haah... Anyways... This is an invitation letter. ] Vlad replied to her with a sigh.
[ Huh...? An invitation to what? ] she asked back, tilting her head to the side.
[ It"s an invitation to the capital... ] he replied with a serious tone.