The dirt, grime, and soot sticking to his body slowly vanished from sight. His dark skin gleamed under the open light revealing a silky smooth texture. He was amazed at the bath water, as did everyone else in the open bath. The servants standing on the sidelines kept their faces tight without a slip of emotion and did not seem to mind the groups cautious but merry banters. Their change in moods was a breath of fresh air, accompanied by an amazing spa treatment and much needed hygienic care.

The servants had separated the large group into male and female before ushering them into a large open bath with a waterfall accompanied by an endless stream of floating flowers white near the middle and pink at the edges that Eladis had never seen before. The room gave off a very tropical feel, with trees and bushes surrounding from all sides and the glass dome ceiling let in enough light to reflect across the water’s surface, creating a myriad of gleaming radiance.

No matter how much dirt their bodies had, the water still remained in its purest turquoise color. Even the weird soapy and slippery substance in his hair did nothing to contaminate the miraculous water and instead gave off a healing and calming effect. He watched as his uncut hair reveal a stunning glossy shine when he dipped his whole head into the water. It’s been so long since he’s been fully clean and wanted to spend a few more minutes lying around in the large bath.

Before long, the servants came to round them all up and performed a large-scale magic spell that automatically dried their bodies. They handed them a fresh batch of cotton clothes and slippers to wear. Even though many were malnourished, the clothes were enchanted to fit into everyone’s body sizes. The clean cotton shirt held a warm clean scent and rubbed softly against his skin, making it a perfect pair of nightwear in the evenings.

Seriously, who was this mysterious woman, Eladis couldn’t help ponder over. He still had his suspicions at large, especially knowing that many slave owners loved to clean and doll up the slaves before committing audacious acts upon them.

“Brother, look!” her sister ran towards him only to stop and twirl her white cotton dress around. She gave a wide sunny smile, making the corners of his mouth twitch. “It’s so comfortable, and the water from the bath was amazing!” her cheerful chirp caught the attention of the onlookers who also seemed to agree. He patted his younger sister’s now fluffy silver hair, the last remaining trait passed from their deceased mother.

“Remain cautious, Ena. We can’t let our guards down just because they bathed and clothed us. There’s more than what meets the eye,” he whispered loud enough to be heard by Ena. He kept her close afraid he may lose her, the only resemblance of their dear mother. He promised to protect her at all cost and needed to constantly remind her to be alert. The last time they let their defense slip caused them to be chained in the back of a slave cartel and beaten near death.

They passed the long halls, illuminated by the wide paned glass windows that spanned endlessly. Eladis secretly scanned his surroundings, in case escape was ever necessary. It would be hard with the slave contract binding them, but it was not impossible to remove as long as either the master died or if the master’s level was significantly lower than that of the slaves.

If Robin had known this very fact, it may help solve the question to why there weren’t as many slaves walking in broad daylight in the town compared the to the amount she’ll eventually meet in the capital.

The large group was led to a grand dining hall where the table stretched so long it could leave a human out of breath if they were to run to the very end. On top of the elongated table lay an unimaginable amount of warm steaming food. The amount could feed even the largest of town, not to mention the peculiar food never seen in the capital or anywhere else.

Eladis could feel Ena trembling with excitement at the sight of the scrumptious meal. It made him wonder how long it had been since they last ate something this fancy no less edible. They seated themselves and couldn’t help but dig in like starving beasts. Forget common etiquette, the slaves have been given the barest minimum to live off of, and sometimes diseased or unworthy slaves were not fed and left to rot painfully.

The servants kept on the sides watching as the guest gobbled up the food prepared, their expression remained ever glued to the one unmoving appearance. They were not at least once bothered at how delicious the plate of food smelled and continued to stare straight ahead. It wasn't as if some of them needed sustenance to survive so common human food did not look appetizing at all.

It was only then when Robin entered the dining room, did everyone pause. The servants bade their way to bow before leaving the room. Behind Robin was Quinn whose eyes twitched at the untidy sight. Dorian on the other hand simply closed his eyes probably his own way to scorn the guest’s inadequate etiquettes.

“How’s the food? I hope it’s to your liking.” She asked receiving quick nods, ignoring the stuffed face and crumbs stuck to their mouths. A few shy individuals did not answer, but the delight in their eyes proved otherwise.

She scanned the vicinity and met eyes with Eladis and took notice of the girl who had the same skin color and hair color as him. She assumed the girl next to him was his sister recalling the conversation she overheard.

“Take your time to eat. There’s more food if you request for it, but overeating will cause severe stomach aches.”

Or even death.

“After you finish eating, the servants will lead you to your temporary quarters for a good night’s rest. And if you’re curious about tomorrow, I’ll inform you of your purpose in this residence and start preparing you all as new citizens,” Robin explained before leaving the vicinity.

With the brief appearance, Robin headed back to the library to read the books she had bought the other day. Upon entering, she was greeted by a familiar yet unfamiliar man. She remembered him being part of the meeting earlier today, yet could not remember his name or his job. After all, there were too many of her brother’s servants to keep track of even if they had introduced themselves before.

“You are…” she struggled to recall his name.

“Cain, Master,” he finished and bowed like how the others had.

They seemed to bow so much Robin had accustomed herself to their hard to change habits and let them be.

“Cain...I see. I’m just going to read up on my books. Please continue whatever you are doing,” and made her way onto the plush sofa. She searched through her mind to see if she remembered anything about Cain. Even though most of the servants could be recognizable through summoning from the gacha machines, it was hard to tell apart the original servant.

For example, Quinn’s actual name was Coraline an SSR servant under the mage job an original creation of Afrein. Her original appearance before any cosmetics or awakening was a green haired woman with dark brown eyes. Since the game allowed name changes to some servants, her brother had changed Coraline’s name into Quinn. Robin knew of this because, she also obtained a copy of Quinn, but opt not to customize her. There were exceptions such as special gacha banners, where the game company would often do collaborations with movies, characters from a book, historical figures, fictional characters, or gag characters. Their names could not be changed but, their personal looks are exempted with a few limitations.

“I’m sorry Cain, but could you show me your status page?”

Cain paused and placed the book back on the shelf, “Of course Master. There is no need to apologize.” He approached Robin and with a flick of his finger she ultimately received a detailed information of all his stats, inventory, and equipment.

Dark Fencer class, and a vampire…

Cain was a creation of the game's original story, in some update she did not remember. Like Quinn, he was also an SSR servant with an insane amount of critical damage and rate. His main weapon consisted of a rapier, classic of Spanish origins and if she recalled correctly, upon summoning Cain he had the possibility to branch out into other classes besides a fencer. Maybe her brother found the fencer class to be the most suitable, but it was undeniable at the amount of heavily enhanced armor and accessories the vampire had on him. It must have cost him billions to continuously upgrade, knowing that the stat boost was near "random number generator", with each continuous rerolls costing a hundred thousand.

In reality, Robin regarded her brother to be a perceptive individual and calculative towards things he was interested in. However, his impulsiveness may have been his ultimate weakness when something arose his interests. Likewise, the unknown sum of money spent on this game may have been overwhelmingly high, even though Robin turned blind eye to it. As long as it made him happy, she didn't care always keeping his health in check when he displayed signs of addiction.

A particular tab from Cain’s status page stood out to her. Much like a character’s lore, it also contained their likes, dislikes, hobbies, and talents. From the looks of it, the devs probably created this tab as a way to make their characters stand out, making them as humanly as possible. Other than that it was often ignored however, Robin found it useful in a merit system.

If it were only that easy.

Having a tab displaying a person’s likes or dislikes would have been amazing back when she was promoted to a manager. Using their weakness to her advantage, and gifting the upper bosses gifts without having to put any thought into it.

If she remembered correctly, rewarding positive behavior allowed a certain behavior to be reinforced. This model was often used in the workforce as a way to encourage productivity and a sense of worth within the workers. Higher rewards also meant less frictional unemployment and raise good morale.

But how do I apply this to the slaves? They aren’t driven by consumer demand just yet, and their past treatments make them hesitant to want more. Maybe Quinn and the rest may find some merit in the reward system.

She scanned through Cain’s hobbies, which turned out to be reading during his leisure time. It explained why he was in the library and brought up another question.

“Cain, are there any books on math, science, or history?” she asked, looking at the towering shelves against the walls.

“I’m afraid there isn’t master. There only seems to be only ability books, alchemy recipes, crafting recipes, and other miscellaneous.”

Of course, it couldn’t be so easy. Having science and mathematics books would allow research to be relatively more efficient, but then research itself wasn't any faster.

“Is there something bothering you, Master?” he asked. His bright aqua eyes sought out any traces of uncertainty. His Master had been silent for a while staring blankly at his status page. Is there anything displeasing written on his status page or was Master displeased at his capabilities?

“I’m just thinking of a way to utilize the slaves. After all, they will be the first citizen and residents.” She rubbed her chin as if deep in thought. “Many of them are probably illiterate assuming they haven't seen daylight in years, and I was thinking to educate them a little bit before having them establish a small community outside the castle. However, they are a diverse group of people with ranging cultures and language, so it may serve as a small complication. Universal language may be beneficial, but we'll see how they are able to absorb the materials or earnestly learn.”

“Master there is no need to worry about this sort of issue,” imparted Cain. He curled his lips, placing his hand on his chest, “If you would please allow me to impart my knowledge, I’ll dedicate my time polishing them into first class citizens.”

Robin blinked a couple times, “Are you sure?” Teaching was a strenuous job that requires the utmost skill to control a large group of diverse individuals with different strengths and weaknesses. A teacher can easily impart their knowledge to a student, but it was up to the student to understand and they may be unable to no matter how many times the teacher explain the materials.

“Of course, as long as I can provide my use for Master,” insisted Cain. It seemed he was adamant about his decision, much to Robin’s puzzlement.

She shrugged, “As long as you’re willing and it makes you happy.”

What a weird guy…

“As for the subjects, teaching them basic arithmetics, and English is a very good start. It’s also better if we separated them into different grades after a week of universal teaching. We can give them an assessment to see how much they learned after giving something like an orientation? I’m not sure how to conduct the whole process, but hopefully, I can place that in your hands.”

“Of course, Master. Leave those small details with me. I won’t fail you.” Cain bowed before quickly leaving. She could see a little bounce in his steps.

A strained smile emerged on her face and went to take a look at the books, before accidentally stumbling on another curious piece of information regarding the blonde vampire.

An immortal being shrouded in mystery. Humans remember the infamous immortal comparable to the demon king himself, as an incomparable intellect and monster who feeds on the blood of his preys. Disguised as a famous teacher in the Imperial Academy located in Crestshire, he preys on young students and imparts his collective knowledge in broad daylight. Not even the headmaster knows of his secret as he continues to haunt the school grounds when the sun sets.

“...” The game may overexaggerate a bit of their biography, but it had its uses.

Hopefully, Cain will not attempt to drain his new students dry, but it also explained why he wanted to teach so badly. She made a mental note to remind Cain not to suck the blood from his students.

As soon as Cain left, Quinn entered the premise, a troubling pair of eyes met with her own thoughtful ones. "Master, If I may voice out my thoughts," the violet-haired woman began.

"Why do you insist on going to that magic academy?" she asked, seating herself across from Robin. Her Master's desire to attend a school was a bit troubling for her and she continued to puzzle over it after their adjourned meeting, besides the fact that she didn't want to use force and outright take what she needed. Quinn had pondered over this for quite a while.

Robin gave a wry smile. It wasn't as if she wanted to go to school, but schools were important cultural areas to understand the environment more. "My main goal is to find a way to go home. That requires a person who is an expert of this world, and where better than a collective place where the most outstanding intellectuals gather, exchange information." Robin leaned closer, "It's where I can create my own skin, after learning their customs and social etiquette. A spy to put it in simple terms."

That made sense, Quinn nodded.

"I'm no expert in this plane, so I need to seek information my own way."

"Why not use force than?" Quinn pointed out.

One of her brows rose, "I'm not some barbarian. Violence doesn't always solve everything. Even if necessary, it has to be falsified in a way that the other party think it will benefit them. What use do unlimited resource, physical power, and manpower accomplish if you can't even use it efficiently no less rashly? It only makes people fear you, run away, and resist. And you know what that creates? Inefficiency." Her voice had gotten louder only to tone it down upon realizing irritation was leaking out of her.

"Sorry." She ran her hand over her head. "I just want to go home faster, without having to spill a lot of blood on my hands," she honestly voiced. She already committed a sin back on Earth, her future straying off into a morally ambiguous path. It wasn't right to inflict harm on innocent bystanders for her benefit, but now it felt as though she were teetering at the edge of chaotic good or something. Her society's teachings still bound her, furthermore brother's law-abiding and positive outlook troubled her to an endless degree.

"There's no need to apologize Master. I understand you're troubles more clearly now." Quinn said about to take her leave.

Robin shook her head, laying down on the sofa, "No, you've worked the hardest out of everyone. You deserve better and a much-needed break."