Chapter 355: Luxurious Sheds - 5
While Brok and the others were going back and forth, and the three girls tried to extract as much information as they could for peace of mind, the elves seemed to have noticed them.
The elves looked at each other.
"M-Lord said that we will be living alongside them," one of them said quietly. Apparently, Leo had instructed the elves to call him Lord to keep things uniform. At the same time, he had also asked Miho to address him as Big Brother, like she used Big Sister for Lily.
As for Kaelion, Leo didnât think it would be long before he started getting called by his name or some intimate personal variation, like Katherine used for Brant.
"But he also said nothing should be revealed to them... how we were captured, what power they used... anything."
"Itâs the Lordâs orders; we have no choice but to obey," another elf replied with a faint nod.
Then a timid elf spoke up, her voice hesitant.
"Do you think we will be treated as Lord said yesterday? Sister Sylraelâs dreams didnât suggest that at all..."
Hearing that girl, the others showed complicated, conflicted expressions.
"Sister Sylrael said he seemed very believable with the look in his eyes... but we can never be sure."
As they discussed among themselves, Sylva seemed to take the opportunity to approach first.
"So you are the new slaves that Mister brought last night?" she asked rather rashly, her tone carrying the kind of bluntness usually reserved for slaves.
The elves didnât respond, only nodded silently.
"Is this one of the blue-haired girls that the lord said to be careful around?"
they spoke through their spirit link, which was Aeilaâs talent. Since she was a 1-star individual, she stayed with them. Leo had permitted her to use her talent.
"Seems so... letâs not talk about anything important."
"How many of you were caught? And whatâs your proper race?" Though Sylva asked bluntly, her eyes wandered over the elvesâ bodies, checking if they had been hurt somewhere.
"Miss, we are not supposed to speak out personal information," one of the elves responded politely.
"Huh? You are a slave in the Human Empire; you cannot refute a humanâs question. Now answer."
"But we are Lord Leoâs slaves, and he has ordered us to do what we are doing now. Please donât pester us," Aeila responded from the back. Her tone was strangely bold, almost as if she had confidence in Leo.
She recalled Leoâs wordsâthat he would protect themâand she took this opportunity to test the waters. They knew slaves were the lowest category of beings anywhere and were supposed to follow anything asked. But here, they were not public property and belonged to Leo, so Leo must protect them.
"You girl, do you want to get beaten to death?" Sylva said as she tried to activate her mind interference skill.
But the next moment, she felt she was about to break the contract she had signed with Leo.
They are territory members...?
Sylva wondered, confused, and looked over the elvesâ bodies once again. There, she saw the life bracelets tied around their wrists. She had missed them the first time because there was an identical bracelet tied to their other wrist, almost making them look like jewellery. She also noticed their not-the-usual slave collars around their necks, which strangely made them look like expensive ornaments.
"Who gave you the authority to beat people under me?" Leoâs voice came from the side as he appeared beside the group, with the other elves following behind him.
Sylva was taken aback for a moment, but she quickly composed herself.
"Leader Leo, these slaves wonât listen to me, a human," she said.
"Yeah, because thatâs what I have ordered. They are explicitly ordered to listen only to Lily and me. So keep that in mind in case more slaves are brought into the territory."
Sylva gulped. Leo seemed strangely commanding today. Seeing Lily beside him, Kaelion and Miho slightly behind, and the 14 elves standing behind them in formation, it gave off the aura of a noble prince.
"I-I understand," Sylva said, stepping back.
"Good. Now let me introduce you to our new territory members. These 20 elves..."
Leo gave a small briefing on the 20 elves and introduced Sylrael, Naelith, and Aeila to the others as important figures. These three had been chosen specifically by Leo because of their importance.
Sylrael, because she was still the elvesâ leader.
Naelith, because she had considerable strength and, though she hadnât spoken much due to Sylraelâs earlier words, was trying her best to accept their current circumstances.
As for Aeila, she was the most important figure among the six elves who would be living below the plateau separately, because their strength didnât allow them to go deeper into the mana-dense region.
"So, from now on, we will need to report everything to Aeila, and she will be the one to give us our daily tasks?" Aina asked, her mouth slightly open. For some strange reason, this seemed to be directed at themâAina, Sylva, and Mira.
"Yes. Today I will be constructing a water supply line so that Miho wonât need to come down every time and can focus on her training. Another piece of information is that the management department is now under Lily. She will set everythingârules, regulations, taxation, etc."
"As for the last thing for today, from now on, Sylrael will be in charge of the territory defence. Take orders from her for your shifts, and if you find yourself exemptedâbecause I suppose we have more than adequate manpowerâapproach Lily so she can instruct you on other things."
Leoâs eyes sharpened.
"And donât forget that you are supposed to be listening to Sylraelâs orders. I donât want any complaints later that you wonât listen to a slave. If thatâs the case, I am giving a free hand, leave the territory now."
Leo kept listing the things they had decided. It was also because of these decisions that they still hadnât slept yet. Though a single day without sleep was nothing for them.
Suddenly, Leo felt a familiar figure approaching from the horizon.
"Professor Brant..." he muttered. The dark storm eagle grew larger in view as the white-robed man stood calmly on its back, the wind tugging lightly at his robes.
Leo told Lily to inform the others about the remaining things as he went to meet the professor at a distance.
"Those are some nice elves that you managed to acquire; they will definitely be beneficial for the territory," Brant said with a nod after giving the elves a brief look.
"Nice to meet you, Professor Brant. So whatâs the special occasion today?" Leo asked.
Brant still felt astonished every time he saw how Leo always jumped straight into the main topic.
Brant chuckled.
"Didnât you say you needed a water beast for your territory? Letâs go, I got a spot to fish."
"Eh?" Leo looked at him, confused.
"What?" Brant asked back, equally confused.
"Didnât Professor Katherine tell you that I can use the water element now?"
"Huh?"
"..."