The more the Conquistador explored the building, the greater his joy grew. There was so much space to utilize for setting up a workshop and a barracks. Not to mention the fact that there was an intact kitchen as well as a large dining hall to make use of. The bedrooms were all untouched, with each of them filled up with beds and furniture that were simply adequate. The cushioning was nice, which would ensure that he would have a nice night of rest up ahead.
There was a giant office that had what seemed to be a map of the town as well as numerous books and even a desk with an ink and pen to write with. Certainly something he was going to claim as the staging ground for their conquest. Last but not least, the giant reservoir underneath the building that was full of water, ready to be drunk or used for bathing.
The only worry was food, but that was easily achievable by getting the foragers to head out with a platoon to defend them. For now, the most important thing was to set everything up to have the rescued blacksmiths get to work.
He looked over all of his subjects. Some of them were blank-eyed and standing straight, some were terrified as they cowered and shook, while others glared at him with a defiant look with their hands curled into fists. All in all, something that he could deal with.
“Alright. Set things up.” He commanded, “The right wing has a giant room. Set up some beds there, because that’s where your living corners will be. Make sure you find a place to set up the workshop and do it fast. Last but not least, deposit all the materials into some storage areas. You can use the wood we collected to make the furniture for your barracks, but the cushioning will need to wait until we have a decent supply of it.”
The group started to mutter amongst themselves, before moving forward. They were obviously upset, but that was, quite honestly, none of his concern. If these idiots chose to sabotage the project, then he’d merely use his divine blessing on them. Though, that being said…
He sighed and commanded some of his soldiers to follow behind the mass. If they decided to truly destroy anything, then these warriors would stop them in their tracks and prevent any other riots from happening. After all, he couldn’t predict the actions of brainless morons. The previous few that decided that ‘oh no, we did something we regret, and now we must stay silent regardless of the consequences’ were so pathetically idiotic that he couldn’t help but consider them as nothing more than gnats. Annoyances that had zero value in the world, with the only thing they could contribute being dumb labor.
… Speaking of annoyances.
“Every single one of the women, stop right where you are.” At his words, every single female froze in position, some of them with fear and others with confusion. The Conquistador looked over each and every single one of them, before pointing at one specific one.
“You. Follow me.”
The same woman that had been in his cabin and massaged his shoulder back at the village flinched. She seemed scared as she looked around, hoping to see if he had meant to reach out to anyone else.
“Yes, I meant you, woman. Come on, we’ve got other things to do.”
With that, she sagged in resignation and walked towards him, with a few tears beginning to roll down her eyes. The rest of the women looked absolutely miserable, one of them raising her hand before lowering it and walking back with the rest of the men. That left her and him alone, with a few of his soldiers. With that, he gestured her to follow, which she did so somewhat reluctantly.
“You might be wondering why I have separated you from the pack.” He started as they walked down the stone hallway towards one of the bedrooms, “Understand this. I have found you somewhat more competent than the rest of your flock. With this, you are being given the opportunity to serve the world for the better.”
“... Huh? O-oh! Um, how?”
“Simple.” He smiled, “You will need to do some tasks for me. If I recall, you did live here at some point, and you did have a good idea of some of the things around here, no?”
“Um… Well, I did mention before that Eldge would be a better option… And then, you, uh…”
“Yes, I did what was necessary.” He rolled his eyes, “But do not worry. If you do not try to sabotage what I am doing here, then you have nothing to worry about.”
“Oh. Uh. Okay.” She said rather awkwardly, looking away as she scratched her arm. In any case, now that she was going to be his assistant for his future developments, it might be best to get to know her a bit.
He went ahead and finally took the time to look her over, taking the time to learn how she looked. For one, he had to admit that she was rather easy on the eyes. He didn’t know how he hadn’t been realizing how well-defined her body was before, but that was most likely because he was more focused on important things. She certainly was worth keeping around, that was for sure.
Her face was quite nice as well. She had a well-rounded noise, her green eyes were enticing, and the fact that she was clean was all a bonus. Her hair was well-taken care of, which reflected itself in the silky long brown hair that reached all the way down to her chest and over her bountiful mounds.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Though, there was one thing he needed to complain about: her clothes. The only thing she had on might as well be from a sack or something! For goodness’s sake, she didn’t even have any shoes on! Why, if she was to be his assistant, he would need her to change right here and now.
“Woman. Go and change. If you are to be helping me, then you need to be dressed for the position. Understand?”
“Uh, yes! I understand!”
“Then go and change!” With that, he pointed a finger at the bedrooms, “Go and find a room that has clothes that are modest and fitting for your new prestigious role. Make sure to clean yourself up as well. You must be presentable, especially with the new responsibility you are being gifted.”
“Oh, okay! Uhm, give me a moment, please!”
She staggered and rushed towards the nearest bathroom, a bit of bright red starting to shadow on her face. The Conquistador couldn’t help but sigh as he shook his head, before turning towards one of his soldiers.
“Once she’s finished, lead her to the office. We have planning to do.”
The monster nodded and with that, he headed back to the office. He sighed as he took off the shoddy armor, finally free of the horrendous armaments that continue to poke and jab at his body in the most uncomfortable of fashions. His fingers combed through his hair as he looked at the map in front of him, trying to decipher what he was looking at.
For one, he knew where the walls were. That much was pretty obvious, as they were on the outside of the town completely. However, that was where everything ended as he could not truly figure out where they were, nor what any of these buildings were. He did get an idea of how big some of these areas were, but that meant nothing in the grand scheme of things. No, he was in the dark, at least until the woman came in and gave him useful information to move forward from here.
While he was trying to determine what he was looking at, the door to his office opened wide. The monster guard he commanded earlier had the woman in its grip, before shoving her in. She squeaked as she staggered in, before looking all around the room in shock and awe.
This time she was dressed far more modestly than before. She seemed to have found a blue dress, one that covered up the entirety of her body. This clothing piece was made of lace and cloth, something that he had to give credit where credit was due: this truly did accentuate her position and status. She had cleaned up quite a bit, something that even he was surprised by. That silky smooth hair seemed to have gotten shinier than before, with her face showing a beautiful pale white.
The Conquistador had to admit: she was quite a looker. Why, she was a diamond hidden in the horde of trash! No, more than that, he had been so focused on his mission that he simply did not have the chance to analyze the other women that he had taken as his subjects. Perhaps some of them were even more beautiful? No, what if…
He shook his head. Enough of that. Any further of those kinds of thoughts would lead to nothing more than disaster. He remembered his father’s lessons on chasing one’s lust. That ended in horror stories that still hounded his mind to this day.
Still, he kept that thought in the back of his mind, perhaps when he had fully conquered this land.
“Good. You have found a dress that will not embarrass me. Tell me, how long have you lived here?”
“Um…” The woman looked absolutely lost by his question. Her eyes darted from left to right before her face took on a grimace. “Well, I didn’t live here for long. I’m afraid I can’t help that much. If anything, I don’t even recognize the building we’re in right now.”
“A pity.” He sighed, before looking down at the map. “Though you must have some memory of important buildings, yes?”
“I mean… Yeah?” She looked away as she rubbed the back of her neck, “I don’t know if things have changed after I left, though. I mean, I left before the war, so…”
“Doesn’t matter.” With that, he slammed a hand against the table, causing her to flinch, “Look at this map and let me know if you recognize anything here.”
She looked a bit scared, before slowly walking up. Her eyes squinted as she looked over the map, obviously trying to recognize the streets and the buildings that were set up. She scanned the paper, trying to find something, anything to make him happy.
That was when she seemed to have found something. Her finger jabbed out and placed itself right to the near left of the entire map, towards a building that was hugging the wall.
“I remember that being a warehouse for the soldiers. I think it was supposed to contain weapons and armor at one time, but I think that may have changed overtime. For all I know, it–”
“Again, doesn’t matter.” He frowned as he looked over. Hm, the far left? He had to admit, he didn’t really know which direction they had entered. That was something that needed to be changed.
Actually, now would be a good time to send out some of the soldiers to scout. Though, if they were going to do so, he’d need to drag this woman with him. After all, she knew best in this case.
He was going to ignore the other cook. That man could stay here and prepare his breakfast and all that. Besides, if he was going to go out travelling, he’d prefer to have a beautiful woman by his side than some random brain-dead idiot.
“Alright. You’ll be coming with me tomorrow. We’re going to look over the town to figure out where exactly we are on the map.”
At his words, she looked absolutely terrified. She opened her mouth to possibly deny, before he raised his hand.
“No excuses. This is something we need to do, understand?”
“I… I see.” She swallowed, before nodding. “I… I understand.”
“Good.” With that, he got up to go and rest for the busy day tomorrow, before pausing. Now that he thought about it, he didn’t really know the woman’s name, huh? Might as well get that information before the next day.
“Say, what was your name again?”
“Um… Mandeline.”
“Alright. Go and rest, we’ve got a long day ahead.”
And with that, he left the office, heading towards the giant bedroom. He was tired of today, and he really wanted to get all of this over with. The only thing he could hope for right now was that no one caused a ruckus while he was asleep.