Chapter 12 - Wesley's House

The five children, upon hearing the shout, immediately jumped back and stared at Wesley with angry but fearful eyes.

'Haha, these kids are great. Their eyes show strong will, and their reaction was not bad. Impressive, really impressive.'

Wesley was truly impressed. These five children, whose oldest was not even seven, displayed an impressive amount of willpower that even most adults lacked. Also, the fact that they reacted so well to Wesley's sudden shout completely surprised him. Of course, he didn’t show his excitement and simply stared at the children while releasing intense amounts of killing intent. Wesley then slowly pulled out his sword. He really wanted to see how capable these five children truly were.

"Why are you in my house?"

Wesley's voice boomed loudly as he began walking toward the children with his sword drawn. This would have terrified most adults, but aside from turning pale and showing fearful expressions, the children didn’t resign themselves to death. The oldest boy, who was around Wesley's height—only a little shorter—stepped forward with a small dagger in his right hand. The other three immediately spread out to the sides of the first child, while the youngest girl was furthest towards the back.

'Ah, a formation of sorts. It seems they really want to live.'

The oldest child, who was directly in front of Wesley, spoke. His voice was weak but determined:

"We apologize. This house used to belong to our family, so we didn’t know where else to go. Please let us leave, we won't return."

'Such coolheadedness. I wonder what they would do if I pushed them a little more.'

Wesley was extremely interested in these children. Even though they were weak, their willpower, determination, and calmness were many years beyond their age. What must these children have gone through to become like this? He was truly intrigued.

"Why should I let you go? Perhaps I should just kill you all now."

Hearing Wesley's words, the oldest child's face turned ugly. He knew he couldn’t face Wesley, so he was counting on him just letting them scurry away, but it seemed that wouldn't be happening now.

"We haven't done anything to you. Please let us leave."

The child's voice was a pitch higher, showing his frustration and fear. Wesley, however, was not going to let these little enigmas simply leave.

"And if I said no?"

"Then we will have to fight you. We can't just die yet."

'Oho, it seems these little kids have something they must accomplish. This explains their determination. I wonder what it might be.'

"Is that so? Tell me, why can't you die just yet? If I like your answer, you might just live. If not, then you'll have no other option than to die."

The oldest child's face showed a small sign of relief. It seemed like he had found a way for them to escape this predicament with their lives intact. He hesitated slightly, then spoke in a calm voice:

"We are from the Black family that used to own this manor. Our family was one of two minor noble families that resided in the seventh district. Our family never bothered with politics, but for some reason, we were perceived as threats by the other noble family, the Shorn family. So one night, a few years ago, they attacked us, killed most of our family members, and looted our belongings. The five of us survived after being hidden away by our parents. Since then, our only goal in life has been to make the Shorn family pay for what they did, so we can't die just yet."

Wesley felt a tinge of pity for these children. It seemed that the only people who suffered at the hands of nobles were not just commoners. Wesley had already made up his mind the first time he saw the fire in these five children's eyes, but after hearing their story, he was even more certain of his decision.

"After hearing your story, I will give you two choices. You can freely decide which suits you better."

Hearing Wesley's words, the children were delighted, though only the oldest showed a hint of worry. He was smarter than he looked. He instantly realized that these choices would most likely be an ultimatum, though he didn’t know what Wesley would demand of them.

"The choices are simple. You either swear fealty and eternal loyalty to me, or you die."

The initially delighted faces of the children instantly turned dark. Swearing fealty would make them his servants. How could they, who were nobles, become servants? However, before they could even complain, Wesley spoke again:

"If you swear fealty to me, I will wipe out that Shorn family that you so hate. What do you say?"

The oldest child had a thoughtful look on his face. He really wanted the Shorn family to pay, but he wasn't sure if Wesley, who looked not much older than him, could do it. He felt that this might be a ruse to get them to serve him. So, he looked directly at Wesley and spoke:

"We will swear fealty to you. But there is only one condition."

'Haha. This kid keeps surprising me. Not only does he know when to give up, but he also makes sure that he is not swindled.'

"Speak."

"You have to wipe out the Shorn family within a month. If not, then we will be absolved of our duty to serve you, and we'll leave. If this is not acceptable, then we refuse your offer."

'Haha, this child is truly one of a kind. Not only does he know when to give up, he also knows when to stand his ground.'

"Those terms are acceptable. Now, all of you kneel and swear fealty to me." Wesley spoke as he sheathed his sword.

The oldest child sighed inwardly. Then he signaled to the other four, who approached him with hesitant steps. The oldest then immediately kneeled, followed by the other four. He then spoke in a strong voice:

"I, as the current head of the Black family, now swear fealty to you. We are bound by our honor to serve you with the utmost loyalty until eternity."

The other four immediately repeated after him, but their voices were not as strong. Wesley just stood there unmoving, nodding in approval. He then tossed the house key to the oldest child and spoke to them, this time in a kind and friendly voice:

"Good. You guys go inside the house. I will be back shortly."

"Yes, Master." They all spoke at the same time.

- - - - - - - - - -

An hour later, Wesley returned to the Manor with some food and clothes for the children. He wasn’t in any rush to go anywhere since he wasn’t expected at the academy for a few more days, and the matter with the Shorn family would have to wait until he had more information. For now, all he wanted was to get to know the little treasures he had come across.

After entering the Manor, Wesley was surprised to find all five children sleeping in the main hall.

*'These children are always sleeping. They must be quite tired.'*

Wesley decided to let them sleep. After setting the food down, he began exploring the Manor. The Manor wasn’t very large, but compared to most houses in Blackreach City, it was quite spacious. It had two floors. As soon as one entered the house, they would see two sets of giant stairs leading to the second floor. The first floor had the main hall, the kitchen, and about four servant quarters tucked neatly behind the kitchen, along with some bathrooms, a storage room, and a study.

The second floor had around five rooms. Each was a decent size, with a couple of windows, a cupboard, and a personal bathroom. There was also the master bedroom, which was twice the size of the other rooms and featured a giant bathroom and cupboards. Aside from these rooms, there was nothing else upstairs, so Wesley made his way back down.

The moment he was downstairs, Wesley immediately went to the study to see what was there. The study was even bigger than the master bedroom. It had tall shelves on all four walls, each about ten feet high. What surprised Wesley, however, was that all the shelves were stocked to the brim with books. In fact, it seemed that the looters had completely ignored the study, and the housing department hadn’t bothered checking the house since it was in the Seventh District, so the study had remained virtually untouched.

*'Haha, who would've thought I’d find a treasure trove. All the books in this room combined are worth more than the price of the entire Manor.'*

Wesley left the study with a pleased look on his face, then walked toward the back of the house. The description of the house indicated that it had a basement, and Wesley naturally wanted to check it out. The door leading to the basement was inconspicuously placed in the kitchen. It looked like a simple storage room, making it easy to overlook.

Wesley immediately descended into the darkness of the basement, a makeshift torch in his right hand. The moment he reached the bottom of the stairs, he was startled. The basement spanned the entire length and width of the house, including the courtyard and the backyard. Furthermore, it was completely empty—there wasn’t even a scrap of metal to be seen anywhere inside.

*'This place must have been used for weapons or treasure storage to be so thoroughly cleaned out.'*

Wesley walked around the basement for a while, but after not finding anything noteworthy, he decided to leave. Before exiting, he locked the basement door from the inside, then used his Dark Warp to appear outside the room.

*'Haha, this basement is perfect for refining and training. I’ll need to do something about the entrance.'*

Wesley then headed back toward the main hall where the kids were still sleeping. A faint smile spread across his face because this house was truly worth the money. Upon reaching the main hall, Wesley found that the four children were awake and busy eating the food he had brought.

*'It seems they were really hungry. I wonder what these children have gone through in the last few years.'*

Wesley’s heart ached at the thought. While he had been leisurely enjoying his life at the Royal Palace, these kids had been starving on the streets. There was no doubt in his mind that hundreds, if not millions, of other children around the world were suffering in the same way.

*'What a world we live in. The wicked enjoy life, and the kind suffer.'*

When the children noticed Wesley, they all looked up at him, gratitude visible in their eyes and grease all over their mouths. They were skeptical of their new master, but their hunger had been satiated, which set their hearts at ease. The oldest child immediately stood up, bowed toward Wesley, and spoke in an apologetic and somewhat embarrassed voice:

"Master, we—"

Wesley interrupted him before he could finish, laughing lightly:

"Haha, don’t worry. Eat first, and we’ll talk when you’re done."

Wesley then sat down on one of the chairs, pulled a book from his satchel, and began reading.

-- -- -- -- -- -- --

After about thirty minutes of eating, the five children seemed to have satisfied their hunger. They cleaned themselves up and then looked toward Wesley with a mix of embarrassment and reverence, though they were still scared of him. After all, he had been about to kill them not long ago. The oldest child stood up, then turned to Wesley and spoke in a low voice:

"Master."

Wesley immediately looked up, and seeing that they were finished, closed his book and said:

"I see you're done. Good. Now, introduce yourselves."

"Yes, Master. I am the oldest of us siblings, my name is Lane."

Lane then looked at the other four, who all stood up immediately and began introducing themselves from oldest to youngest.

"Master, my name is Stein."

"Master, my name is Wannel."

"Master, my name is Lavar."

Wesley memorized these names instantly. It seemed like these kids were well-educated since they all spoke in a respectful and dignified manner. Then the youngest of the five, a little girl, stepped up and said:

"I am Sala."

Her tone made the other four glare at her, but Wesley laughed out loud and spoke:

"Haha, Sala. Good, good. My name is Wesley. Now, let's get to work."

Wesley stared at each of the children in turn. Everyone, except for Sala—who was looking around like a child—stood as if at attention.

*'These children really are something else. They're inside the house where their family was killed and where their pain began, yet none of them seems to be wavering.'*

These kids, whose oldest was barely seven, displayed the attitude of adults far older than they were. This impressed Wesley, who always prided himself on being wiser than the snot-nosed kids his age.

"First of all, those clothes are for you, so change out of those rags. Then go pick your rooms upstairs and sleep. Lane, you stay."

The four kids took their clothes, then, after bowing to Wesley, left the room. Only Lane remained standing there.

"Lane, tell me about the Shorn Family."

"Yes, Master. The Shorn Family is one of the two minor noble houses of the Seventh District. However, because our Black Family never meddled in politics, we were recognized as lords of this district, even though we didn’t do much for it. The Shorns collect heavy taxes from the residents and businesses here and hardly ever show themselves in the area. In fact, they spend most of their time in the inner districts."

*'Hmm, it seems this Shorn Family is like most nobles—leeching off their people while giving nothing in return.'*

"I see. Tell me, Lane, how many people does the Shorn Family have?"

"The Shorn Family is relatively small. It consists of the lord, his wife, and their two sons."

*Sons. I would very much prefer not to kill children.*

"And how old are these sons?"

"The oldest son is around forty, while the younger one is in his thirties. Master, the two of them were part of the group that attacked our family." Lane, realizing why Wesley asked that question, added more information than was required.

"I see. Good. That’s all, Lane. Go and get some rest tonight. The master bedroom is yours since you're the family head. We'll talk more tomorrow."

"Yes, Master. Thank you."

'Haha, this Lane is smarter than I thought. To understand the meaning behind my question so well is no small feat'

Wesley decided it was time for him to get some rest as well. It had been a long day.