"At ease, everyone. If I wanted to harm you, then I wouldn't have talked to you like this."
Smirking slightly, Theodore came to a halt, gazing at them calmly. Despite the absence of any murderous intent or hard feelings on his end, they all felt as if a heavy pressure was bearing down on them, making it difficult to breathe. Judging that they would still need a moment to recover, he leisurely continued to speak.
"I must say, you're quite sensible. Having an accurate understanding of the situation that you're in is something I can appreciate."
Noticing him looking straight at her, Marina got a little agitated, but managed to squeeze out a complex yet polite smile.
"You're too kind, Sir. I'm relieved that we managed to avoid any misunderstandings."
With an appreciative nod, he acknowledged her words, then let his eyes sweep past the other five people. Except for Jules, there was only one more man left, whilst there were three women. This wasn't much of a surprise, as Yevgeni's demeaning comment in regard to them likely didn't work in his favour, causing merely one of the originally five girls in their team to follow him. The rest–even if they had wavered–were ultimately convinced to stay behind.
"I won't beat around the bush–will you become my Retainers, or not?"
The moment that his words left his lips, a notification popped up in front of the six Heaven's Chosen, eliciting various different reactions. Marina and one other woman immediately accepted without a second thought, whereas Jules and another girl hesitated for a moment, then did so as well.
As for the last two people, they felt conflicted for a while longer. Eventually, they did make the same choice as the others–yet it was unknown if they merely did so because they knew that there would be no good end for them if they refused. But at this point, the truth didn't matter any longer, as they had already booked this one-way trip.
All of them were astonished by the additional Standard Attributes which reinforced them immediately after they had become Theodore's Retainers, causing them to feel more favourably about their circumstances. Growing stronger in such a manner was always welcome.
Quickly glancing past the six' information, the man in question soon wrote them off as 'just about average'–all of them were around as extraordinary as Conrad and Corinna. Mind you, that wasn't a bad thing. They were still fully capable of cultivating to extreme heights. It was simply that his own standards when assessing others were far too outrageous.
"Welcome, all of you! Now that you're my Subordinates, it's time to figure out your future responsibilities. Currently, I'm beginning to build up two different divisions of Retainers–guards and maids."
Pausing for a bit, he glanced at the only two guys of the group.
"Unfortunately, Jules and Bogdan, the two of you won't have the opportunity to choose to become maids. But I highly doubt you'd want to do that, anyway. When we return, report to Conrad, he'll help you get adjusted."
Seeing the two of them acknowledge his instructions with a hint of amusement flashing past their faces, he turned to Marina again.
"As for you, your Proficiencies and Talents make you quite well-suited to be a maid. Your agile mind would excel in more organizational pursuits, too. But if you really want to, I can let you become a guard as well. Both you and the other ladies can select one of these two options."
Admittedly taken aback at having been granted the right to decide on such a significant matter, Marina's eyes widened a little, then she pondered her options for a few seconds. When she finally responded, her decision came as no surprise.
"I'll become a maid, then. The life of a guard, of constant strife... it doesn't really appeal to me."
The choices made by the other three, however, did lead to something unexpected. Two of them–Juana and Soraya–did elect to become maids, but the last one, Annis, curiously picked the guard option. Naturally, Theodore wasn't one to judge, and was only too happy to have another person in his ranks who aimed to become a professional fighter.
With the recruitment matters settled for now, he led them all outside, where they were surprised to notice a red-haired woman with runic tattoos on her body waiting for them–as well as the four who had slipped away earlier. At this point, though, they were utterly unable to move or speak, having been entirely locked up by invisible Energy chains.
"Thanks, Vigi. Everyone, this is Vigdis Rún, my secretary."
Introducing her with a smile, he soon focused on the prey that had already been caught for him. His gaze sharpening a little, the somewhat more harmonious atmosphere between him and his new Subordinates became tense once again.
"There is something you must know. Killing others will strengthen me. So if someone has ever gone against me, or has otherwise forfeited their life by being absolute scum, I will personally eliminate them–no exceptions. In essence, I will make use of any valid excuse I have to take the lives of others, unless it goes against my bottom line, or they're actually innocent."
His frankness when revealing such an astonishing yet ruthless 'secret' stunned all of those formerly of the Neutral Party, whether they had become his people or his prisoners. With this explanation alone, it was already clear what the fate of the four restrained ones would be, causing them to feel dread deep in their bones.
Nobody dared to speak up for them, however, even though some did have at least small hints of camaraderie for them. They had spent a not-insignificant amount of time with each other, therefore although they had split up, this didn't mean that they necessarily wanted them dead.
"Then goodbye, and thanks for your support!"
With a slightly mischievous grin, Theodore pulled a devilish broadsword out of its sheath and in one swift motion decapitated all four poor souls. Because none of them had reached the Soul Sculpting Realm, this marked the end of their lives. No matter how angry or terrified they might have been, it was of no consequence.
Seeing Yevgeni and his group, who they had been on arguably friendly terms with less than an hour ago, killed so nonchalantly by their new Master sent an excessively cold shiver down the others' spines. They had borne witness to his merciless slaughter from afar before, therefore they had expected this outcome. Still, it felt different when they saw people they knew be met with such a fate.
'Did we really make the right choice? Or will we be slain in this manner someday when he randomly wants to do so?'
Thoughts akin to these inevitably bubbled up within their minds, causing a few to grow pale and shiver. Yet they all quickly gathered themselves again. Obviously, this behaviour of theirs couldn't escape Theodore's eyes, but he didn't address it whatsoever. Sooner or later, they would grow accustomed to how he did things and would realize that his own people had nothing to fear from him.
"Now that we're done here, let's go back."
Aware that Vigdis had already taken all objects of value from the now-deceased prey, he teleported her and the others to in front of the palace at the centre of Qinglong City. There, he–like always–was met by Xie Mei and Han Junqiao awaiting his return. Well, there was also Cheong Suhyeon, who unabashedly had joined their group, plus Navya who was staring over from afar. The rest of his people also began to assemble when they realized he had returned.
"... you know what? I'm not even mad. Although you brought many girls back home, at least this time, none of them are all over you."
Raising an eyebrow, Xie Mei appeared at his side within a fraction of a second, reserving one of his arms for herself. Han Junqiao had followed alongside her and silently did the same, a shy blush on her cheeks.
"... I'll overlook that blatant dig at me this time, but I also agree. Still, isn't this unfair? There's no space left for me."
Feigning an aggrieved expression, Cheong Suhyeon stood in front of the trio, playfully glaring at Xie Mei, who stuck out her tongue at her in retaliation.
"It's first come, first served–be faster next time! Wait a moment... you're not even one of us sisters yet, so how is this unfair at all?!"
Amused by the adorable girl's reaction, Cheong Suhyeon walked a few steps closer, until she stood mere centimetres in front of Theodore's chest. All this while, she never once broke eye contact with Xie Mei.
"Oh? Then how about we change that right now?"
Not minding the onlookers, she leaned forward, directly against him. Now surrounded by three women who would make some goddesses pale in comparison, the four of them appeared utterly otherworldly. The sight of their clear intimacy did make the heartbeats of some observers speed up a little bit–with the one most affected of all being Navya, of course.
"... Mei'er, Qiao'er, weren't you going to go and get some rest?"
Choosing to not interrupt their little game, Theodore looked at the two of them, hints of concern evident in his gaze. Not too long ago, they had still been clearly exhausted.
"We took a quick nap, then waited for you here."
Bashfully, Han Junqiao spoke up, her voice barely louder than a whisper.
"It's your fault that we couldn't sleep well. After all, what if you pick up another rival?"
Pouting slightly, Xie Mei rubbed her head against his shoulder, shooting an 'angry' glare in Cheong Suhyeon's direction. The saintess, however, didn't let that bother her.
"... alright. Fine, it's all because of me. But let's talk about that later. For now, let me acquaint you with our newcomers."
Rolling his eyes in mock-annoyance, he turned to face the six who had been awkwardly standing nearby all this time.
"These three–Jules, Bogdan and Annis–are my new guards, while the others–Marina, Juana and Soraya–have chosen to become maids."
Pausing a moment, he contemplated how to introduce the ones who had come before them to the fresh initiates, then continued.
"The two clinging to my arms are Xie Mei and Han Junqiao, my lovers. The one in front of me is Cheong Suhyeon, my... trusted aide, for now. You already know Vigdis. The ones over there are Conrad and Corinna, who you'll be working with closely in the future. Next to them is Li Shuying, a servant of mine–treat her well! That one is Kiran, our communications guy. On the bed in that corner is Satoru, a meat shield in training. And lastly, this one is Navya, a Spirit race fangirl of mine."
Flabbergasted by some of the introductions, the newbies exchanged a few awkward glances, before making polite, restrained small talk with everyone. It would definitely take a chunk of time for them all to become comfortable and properly acquainted with each other. But now that the Anti-Winter Alliance had been dealt with, they had a lot of time to consolidate their position and drain this world's resources completely.
This didn't mean that they could let down their guard entirely, of course. Nobody knew whether or not there yet were dangerous individuals remaining in the Qinglong World–or even how many Heaven's Chosen there still were. However, it was extremely likely that a long period of 'peaceful' development lay ahead.
"Excuse me for a while, you two. I'll have to look through all of my gains in the past week, so that will take some time. Go and sleep properly in the meantime, alright? I'll relax with you again tomorrow night."
Planting kisses on the lips of Xie Mei and Han Junqiao, he looked at them affectionately until they let go of him and went to their own room in the palace. Whenever they didn't have the time to teleport back to the underground city, this was where they stayed. This only left Cheong Suhyeon behind, still snuggled up against him from the front.
Lifting her chin with his right hand, the two of them locked gazes. There was a playfulness in their eyes, along with hints of genuine interest for each other. After more than a month of living together, it would be a lie to say that Theodore felt no attraction towards her whatsoever–or that her pursuit of him hadn't become fuelled by more authentic feelings.
After staring at each other for a while, the two of them parted with a smirk. Cheong Suhyeon went to man the Compound Array to keep watch, whilst he found a comfortable sofa to recline on while working through his backlog.