Lord of Rot

Kolan Fosak was quite handsome.

He wore leather armor with a longsword at his hip. Though older than Leech, he still bowed respectfully upon seeing him. ”Good day, Lord!”

”The Fosak Clan? I met Sir Forsak at a banquet.”

The other man was not from a renowned noble family. His father, Sir Forsak, was merely a non-hereditary knight under Iron Stone Castle, managing a small village.

Fosak was the ”founder” of this clan. Even he had to be respectful when meeting Leech, let alone his own family’s utterly disregarded second son.

Among the nobility, even second sons had their own hierarchy. Take Leech’s brother, Leo, for instance. With an elder brother who was a landed Baron and a maternal grandfather who was a Knight, it wouldn’t be difficult for him to become a retainer to another noble.

But for a minor family like the Fosaks, it was already a rare opportunity for the eldest son to become a retainer, let alone the second. Though technically of legitimate noble birth, the family had no hereditary lands or titles, so their legitimacy meant little. They were even worse off than the bastards of great noble houses.

Kolan got straight to the point. He wished to pledge his loyalty to Leech and become his Knight.

A Knight represented loyalty and could only be officially knighted by a lord with a title. Take Leech himself: knighted by the Golden Thorn Sword Clan, he was Leopold’s Knight. He did not need to serve the King directly and, in times of war, would only obey the commands of the Golden Thorn Sword Clan.

If the King needed Porcupine Territory, he would have to issue the order to the Golden Thorn Swords.

If Kolan became Leech’s Knight, he would also be tied to the Porcupine Clan.

’As for loyalty... you could listen to what nobles said, but you didn’t have to take it seriously. There was no shortage of nobles who betrayed their lords. The Bear Clan, for example, were the original oathbreakers, but their immense power made people intentionally forget such things.’

Backstabbing the lord one pledged fealty to was hardly a rare occurrence.

”I’m very glad you’ve come,” Leech said, not agreeing outright. He was short on talent, and even shorter on Knights, but he wasn’t about to knight just anyone who showed up. ”You can rest here for a while, Kolan.”

”I would be honored to stay here and enjoy the beautiful scenery,” Kolan replied with a smiling nod.

The two changed the subject, occasionally touching upon Porcupine Territory and also chatting about interesting rumors.

Kolan Fosak was a skilled conversationalist, clearly well-educated. He also looked strong, and his combat prowess was likely impressive.

’Mid-to-high quality talent, and with no bad rumors attached.’

A male servant led him to his quarters to rest.

This time, Joe had not only brought back a noble seeking to pledge fealty, but also some basic books. Among them was information Leech desperately needed about ”Griffin Grass,” purchased from other scholars.

If the Griffin Grass from the dense forest could truly be cultivated, Leech would definitely use it on himself first. A strong body was the only thing that truly mattered.

At dinner, Kolan, Joe, and Gelan shared the table with Leech.

”I absolutely love it here!” Kolan took a huge bite of his bread. Smoked bear meat, pan-fried and then sandwiched in bread with vegetable leaves and spices—an Otherworld-style hamburger was complete.

Unfortunately, the bear meat had no special effects. Eating it didn’t cause a sudden warm current to flow through his body.

This was already Kolan’s second one.

”Haha, don’t worry, Kolan,” Joe said, extremely pleased. ”You’ll definitely get your fill!”

Joe felt a kinship with this first Knight he had recruited. If Kolan could achieve great things under the Lord, it would reflect well on him, too.

Even if Kolan wasn’t a true Knight yet, if he served the Baron, wouldn’t it be just a matter of time before he became one?

Joe even thought that with Knights and an army, the day he could avenge his friends and family was not far off.

Kolan’s mouth was still stuffed with the hamburger, grease smearing his lips. ”One of my hobbies is fine food!”

”Then you’re in for a treat,” said Joe. ”The delicacies Mr. Barrel makes are enough to feed you for dozens of days without a single repeated dish.”

”Hahaha, that’s wonderful!”

Meanwhile, on another side of Porcupine Territory, the newly arrived slaves had been broken up, separated, and scattered into different areas to make them easier to manage.

The slaves were divided into groups for work, and when they returned to sleep, they found their own beds. Naturally, men and women were separated.

A large house was filled entirely with bunk beds.

After eating and drinking his fill, Radish returned to his quarters. With the snow and ice melted, the weather was gradually warming, which made their work much easier.

He was quite tall and a diligent worker, toiling from dawn to dusk so that his younger sister could work less and earn a few more bites to eat. He saved up his work points so that if he got sick in the future, he wouldn’t starve to death.

He recalled when his sister had fallen ill during the winter, her life hanging by a thread. If the Lord hadn’t spent money and effort on her, he would certainly be all alone and helpless now.

His sister lived in the women’s dormitory. There were separate dormitories for men and women.

Not only were their living quarters separated, but they were also forbidden from relieving themselves wherever they pleased. They had to use the latrines.

Radish actually knew that many slaves would steal manure from the latrines. Manure helped the crops grow bountifully, and the Lord had once said that those who achieved the best harvests would be rewarded. Some slaves had already received those rewards.

They even frequently had to deal with commoners from Porcupine Territory trying to steal the manure. When that happened, everyone had to work together to drive the manure thieves away.

He didn’t understand farming. He just wanted to earn work points and take care of his sister.

Arriving in front of the women’s dormitory, he saw a group of female slaves gathered together, talking and laughing. As their lives improved, they had become much more relaxed.

”Sister!” someone shouted into the dormitory upon seeing Radish. ”Radish is here to see you!”

A figure immediately rushed out of the women’s dormitory and hugged Radish tightly.

”Alright, alright,” Radish said, gently patting his sister’s shoulder. ”Didn’t I just come see you last night?”

His sister didn’t speak, only hugging his arm tighter.

”Come on, I used my work points to get something good today,” Radish whispered in his sister’s ear. ”I’ll take you to eat it.”

”Mhm!”

They sat on a small pile of grass by the roadside, gazing at the castle lit by candlelight. Slaves had no freedom; even entering the castle was an extravagant hope. But just looking at it, Radish felt content.

”I asked one of the young maids in the castle to help me get this,” Radish said, pulling out an egg tart. It was already cold, slightly misshapen from being in his pocket, and flecked with a bit of dirt.

Egg tarts were a noble delicacy from the castle, and it smelled richly sweet.

Radish had earned a lot of work points recently. He had seen lame Ark eating an egg tart his daughter had brought back. According to Arkke, the Lord often had them ”dispose of” leftover food—milk, leftover bread, fried meat cutlets, egg tarts, and so on.

So Radish had used his work points to trade for an egg tart. Such a small thing, yet it was worth five loaves of bread!

His sister took the egg tart and took a tiny bite.

”Is it good?” Radish asked cautiously, swallowing his own saliva.

”You eat, Brother!” His sister held the egg tart up to Radish’s mouth.

”I’ve eaten already.”

Radish shook his head and patted his stomach. ”Ate a lot.”

”If you don’t eat, I won’t eat!” His sister kept her hand raised, a clear threat that if he didn’t take a bite, she would hold it there until the end of time.

Unable to refuse her, Radish took a tiny bite as well. The sweetness instantly spread through his mouth.

”Is it good?” his sister asked with a smile.

”It’s delicious!” Radish nodded emphatically. ”You eat too!”

”Mhm!”

One small bite for you, one small bite for me, they ate the noble pastry with its fragrance of milk and egg as if it were a precious treasure.

’If only days like this could last forever.’