"First thing first, since I bought you, I want to tell you what do I expect from you guys. Do any of you know how to farm or tend to the animals?"

As soon as the soldiers left me all alone with the prisoners, I turned to them with the question. Even if the first thread of communication between us was established when they listened to my orders as they built the boat, it was only a seed that I had to take care of as to let it grow into a proper relationship of master and servants!

"Do you really think the overlord will allow you to settle in this place? Dream on!"

Instead of replying to my question, one of the former prisoners exclaimed with a look of ridicule in his eyes.

While I wasn't happy with his tone or attitude towards me, just the fact that he was the first to step up earned him a few points. In the end, I wasn't going to spend my entire life in the tower, so as long as the core didn't reject them, sooner or later I would have to find and appoint someone to take the leading role in the community I was hoping to create!

"And who said I'm going to make your work on this island? Did you ever thought about the reason why we built this boat?"

Maybe they thought I want to go fishing? Or who knows, maybe they believed this boat to be some kind of kinky housing? I wasn't here to judge. While they could lack the knowledge to name this vehicle a boat, my words should be enough to point them in the right direction.

"You want to travel to other places? On this punny thing? You better kill us right away then!"

What's wrong with those people? Since I spewed quite a bit of nonsense while talking with Laicar about my homeland, they had to know I wasn't native to this island. Even if they were scared of the seas, if I was able to come here, wasn't this obvious I had a safe way to get back or even further down my travels?

"I understand why you think what you think, and I applaud you for your courage. Not many would dare to act like that in your position."

Winking to the man, I took a closer look at his features. A small, greyish beard and wrinkles all over his face betrayed his respectable but still ripe age, while his buffed body proved he didn't slack off in his life.

"Don't even try to threaten me, kid. Just by going to the battle I resolved myself to die, so there is nothing you can scare me with!"

Oh, silly guy. He really thought that death was the worst that could happen to him?

Ah, wait. I want them to work for me. History proved it countless times that compassionate and a benevolent ruler could make his people work harder with lower chances of revolt than one using fear as the only deterrent.

Since I already had the idea to go back to the refugee camp and get the people related to my prisoners before migrating them all to my tower, there was no way to start with those men on an aggressive note!

"While I don't think you are quite right about this point, I don't have any reason to prove you wrong. If you want to fear something, then how about losing your chance to reunite with your families and the chance to live your lives in peace, somewhere far better than this island?"

Instead of forcing them to do my bidding with fear, compelling them to do so with potential benefits… Yeah, I will go with this approach. If I want to paint myself a picture of a good lord, I need to do so right of the bat!

"As if something that good could happen to us. Stop trying to bullshit us and just get it over with!"

Sadly, despite my honest attempt to convince them, it was pointless from the very beginning. I guess people who just experienced a battle, weren't that easy to just trust some nice words, especially from the mouth of a stranger! Considering how negatively infused were the words this man said about the overlord, it was pretty possible that considered me to be someone just like that guy!

"Okay then, how about it. I will bring you together with me to the place I was speaking about, without asking for your names or anything. Only after I prove that my words were true, you will tell me the names of the people that you would want me to save. Just remember, this boat can carry only so many people, meaning, there will be a hard limit!"

I knew that allowing myself to look for common ground with those people would initially weaken my position in their heads, but I could only hope that they didn't miss the showcase of my strength that happened during the battle.

While they couldn't hurt me, I didn't want them to suddenly start going crazy in the boat, risking it capsizing!

"It's not like we have any choice, do we? And seeing how far are you willing to go even though you are way stronger than us even without the seal of our kanmo… I can't say shit for others, but I'm willing to go with you!"

Right after this guy said his part, the remaining duo of way younger guys stepped forward and nodded their heads, as if unwilling to speak up despite their senior decision. I couldn't help but wonder whether this old guy wasn't some kind of officer back in the ranks of his own tribe!

"Since that's done, let's not waste any time. I heard the overlord will be returning to the island shortly. Thinking about how I'm going to sneak out your families later, I think it would be better to unluckily miss his arrival!"