"Hire us?" Selene asked, her ears twitching slightly.
The word sounded strange coming from her new lord’s mouth.
Hire wasn’t something a leader said to their subordinates... especially not to the ones who’d already lost to him. In their world, the command of a lord was absolute.
There was no "hiring," only obedience.
Azel nodded simply. "Yes."
He patted the cubs on their heads, and the three of them giggled before running out of the sick hut or rather, the sick building, since it no longer looked like a hut.
"I won’t be around for much longer," Azel continued. "And I’ll need people who can organize the others while I’m gone."
He said it casually, but in truth, this place was a farm for Fate points...
If he could manage the territory properly and level it up, the gains would multiply.
XP, Fate Points, resources... all of it could be harvested. It was the perfect setup, and he wasn’t planning to waste the opportunity. And since these two were in the competition, it meant they wanted to be lords... it was better than forcing them.
Selene blinked.
"My lord... if I may," she said softly, lowering her gaze. "You don’t need to hire us for that. We’ll perform any order you give us... good or bad as long as you fulfill your duty as our lord."
Azel stroked his chin thoughtfully. "I see..."
That made sense. There was no need for formal hiring if loyalty was already enforced by hierarchy.
"Then you’ll take over when I leave," he decided after a moment, he couldn’t use Vargan since the people were afraid of him... and the people loved her so... It wasn’t a tough choice.
"Me?" Selene blinked, pointing at herself.
"Yes."
He said it plainly, as though it were obvious. "Just don’t do anything reckless. No attacking each other. And definitely no going up to the surface world."
Selene bit her lip but nodded. She had wanted to bring glory and survival to her people... not destruction.
"My lord, what about me?" Vargan’s voice rumbled from behind.
Azel turned.
The massive werewolf was sitting upright on his bed, still wrapped in thick bandages that barely clung to his enormous body.
The bed beneath him creaked under his weight. Even wounded, he looked terrifying...
"You’ll be the main guard," Azel said.
Vargan’s golden eyes widened slightly.
Then, after a moment, he nodded. "Understood, my lord."
There was no argument.
She turned back toward Azel, her face a little red as she took a breath.
"Uhm... my lord," she said quietly, shifting from her werewolf form to her human one.
Her silver blond hair fell down her shoulders, and her hands fidgeted nervously at her sides.
"For a woman to be able to lead here..." she hesitated, "...they must either be the lord themselves, or the lord’s wife. Or... concubine."
Azel froze. "...Eh?"
He slowly turned toward Vargan, who nodded in confirmation.
"She’s right, my lord," the huge werewolf said. "The people will only follow a female Alpha if she shares blood, or a bond, with their leader. Since you beat her, nobody will believe even if you lose to her again."
Azel’s eye twitched.
"I see," he said dryly. "...Tell them we’re married, then."
Selene’s cheeks flared pink immediately.
"We... we haven’t consummated the marriage," she whispered, looking away. "Tradition doesn’t count it unless there’s... proof."
"Proof?"
"I-I mean... I’m not pregnant yet."
Azel sighed deeply, dragging his palm down his face.
’What’s with all these women and being pregnant lately?’ he thought miserably. ’If this keeps up, I’ll have kids scattered across the whole damn continent before I even turn twenty.’
"We’ll talk about this later," he said, waving a hand to dismiss the topic entirely. "For now..."
He looked around the sick room... and sighed.
"...Let’s deal with some things first."
A golden glow spread from his palm, thin threads of light stretching outward like glowing vines.
They weaved through the air, connecting to every werewolf in the room... even those who were unconscious, well apart from Selene who was already healed.
"My lord... I wanted to ask before but what... what is this?"
"Holy magic," Azel said quietly. "It’s faster this way."
The light brightened, and soon a wave of warmth filled the room.
Wounds began to close, bones knit together, fevers broke and even the oldest scars faded to regular lines.
But the strain was immense. Azel’s brows furrowed as the mana flow increased. Healing one person was fine... healing twenty at once felt like trying to drain a river through a straw.
He clenched his fist. "Hold... still..."
Sweat ran down his temple as the light surged once more, coating every patient.
Then, slowly, the glow began to fade.
The room fell quiet except for the sound of breathing.
Azel straightened, rubbing the back of his neck. "That should do it."
He turned back to them. "This virus... Ravik mentioned it earlier. What exactly does it do?"
Before Selene could answer, Vargan spoke up immediately. "My lord, the virus makes us unable to use our lower bodies."
Azel froze mid-step, his mind blanking completely.
He looked down slowly then quickly lowered a hand to his own crotch, checking just in case.
Still working.
’Phew...’
He exhaled slowly. "Right. That’s... not good."
The golden threads struck Vargan next, surrounding him in a flash of light. The bandages on his chest and arms unraveled as the flesh beneath knitted itself together.
His immense muscles flexed and the old scars vanishing as if they had never been.
Azel looked around, satisfied, though his mana reserves felt like they’d been through a blender.
"Alright," he said, turning to leave. "Both of you... come to my place this evening. We’ll go over your duties properly."
They both nodded.
Azel pushed open the door and stepped into the sunlight.
The cool air hit his face immediately, and he took a long breath.
Standing near the door was Ravik, waiting patiently. His fur was brushed neatly, and he straightened the moment Azel appeared.
"Ravik," Azel greeted. "You look serious."
"My lord..." Ravik began, bowing slightly. "Forgive me, I came to ask your permission."
Azel raised an eyebrow. "Permission? For what?"
Ravik’s golden eyes gleamed softly. "I wish to see my wife."
Azel blinked. "...You have a wife?"
Ravik nodded firmly. "Yes, my lord. She lives outside Lycas, near the ridge forest. She was one of the reasons I wanted to return."
’Eh? Ravik has a wife?’ Azel thought incredulously. ’When did that happen?’
Ravik was supposed to be the loyal, single werewolf soldier type. Not... married with a side family.
"Well..." Azel sighed. "I can’t exactly stop you from seeing her."
Ravik bowed gratefully. "Thank you, my lord. I’ll return before sunset."
"Go ahead." Azel waved him off. "And bring her back with you if she’s alright with that. We’ll need every able person here."
"Yes, my lord."
’I need to see Edna again.’