In the wee hours of the morning.

Rotting corpses ran in the shadows, and Luan Coobird stared at the green eyes, munching mustard on the branches.

[You return to the main road outside the cave, where the rider is waiting for you. 】

"It's the limit, there are so many things that it will take at least a week to empty."

"Well, the granary needs to be repaired as soon as possible."

The men beside the carriage were nimble, and the night covered their expressions, but they were excited, and it was difficult to hide their excitement.

Their memories of food were often accompanied by lord taxes, army requisition.

After more than half a month of fleeing, when they saw the whole wall of food, they all cried like children, and many people fell to their knees, trembling and whimpering.

Adam was a little distracted, and the rider with the steel dagger at his waist let out a soft snort.

"Your Lord."

"Heh, I'm not used to that yet."

He regained his composure and quickly scanned the scene.

Hide the cave exit again, clear the footprints, and start heading back.

The horses were pulling carts and running down the mountain path, and the others had already set off early, and they must have been waiting in the stronghold by now.

"Trouble?"

The rider asked again.

This is the Hagena district, on the edge of Arnold's sphere of influence.

If Adam rises, there will inevitably be a conflict of interest, and there will certainly be no small test waiting before the opportunity to recruit and submit comes.

He rode away and returned, and he remained silent, which did not match his previous image of shrewdness and wisdom, which is why his subordinates would ask such questions.

Adam realized at this time that the few people around him had completely trusted him, so a simple daze made them think too much.

Then he smiled.

"No, I just went to see my girl."

The men around them all kept their mouths shut, but they didn't know what they were guessing in their hearts.

Adam's words were not indecent.

In fact, girls who have a good relationship or really love can be called their own girls, and this kind of name often has a protective connotation.

He glanced at the rider beside him.

"What's your name?"

"Luca Munch, Lord Lord."

Adam still remembers when they first met, the other party cried loudly because of the mouse, and the homeless man who was once crushed by the despair has become a decent man.

【Rider Luca Munch】

[Attitude: loyal and reliable]

[Qualification: body 1.4 wisdom 1.2]

[Specialty: Riding, Inspiration]

【Quality:-】

[Monologue: Follow you, my lord.] 】

"Luca, how many people do you think will choose to leave?"

However, the other party did not speak.

Adam's mind was sharp, and he felt something strange in the air, and even the young man driving couldn't help but glance sideways.

"Why don't you answer, is it bad for you to follow a poor and sour lord like me?"

"Oh no, my lord."

Lukka replied in a panic, the language was rapid, and the clumsy redneck did not know how to speak.

He stumbled for a long time before he smoothed his tongue and said in a serious tone.

"Mr. Adam, oh no, my lord, you are a great lord!

A character like you, with this batch of grain, can go to a king at will, and you can rightfully enjoy a fief.

We...... We are stupid people, we don't know anything but strength, and we who grew up in the countryside should have died in that forest.

Sir is a smart man, you must have discovered something to ask me this, but I think we gave you our lives a long time ago, so I don't know how to answer. ”

The militiamen stubbornly raised their heads, apparently agreeing with Luca's statement.

Adam's face was calm, observing the people around him without a trace.

He will let others choose their own fate, but on the Kundia continent, there are not many people who treat the displaced people as people.

Adam's values challenge the common sense of the world, and some of the rights and respects that he takes for granted are too extravagant and overwhelming.

There was no stubble, and several people returned in such silence, the horses' hooves were chaotic, and the goods were jolting softly.

……

The grass tips are crystal clear, and the rotten morning light sweeps away the night.

The stones snapped into the carts, and the road was paved with wooden planks for easy passage.

Although the wheat was neatly stacked, the pieces of meat hung in more than two rows, and the oak barrels were stacked higher than a man, the charcoal fire was wilting, and the cold soup was boiling in the container.

No one stole even a single bean, and the sleepless crowd was still waiting at the intersection.

"What do you mean?"

Adam, who turned over and dismounted, saw this scene.

The displaced people did not explain, but they all got out of the way.

The passage formed by the crowd leads to the slightly empty square in front of the houses below the heights.

Although they were exhausted, their expressions were joyful, their hands folded on their hearts, and their heads bowed.

Hagena was spun off from the kingdom of Sokurschi, and under the rule of the late tyrant, this plebeian ritual was practiced as a sign of respect for the ruler.

Cruel taxation and distinct hierarchies are often rife with gratuitous tyranny.

Lords or warlords, perpetuating this tradition, rode through the saluting crowd, wielding their swords at their bare necks, their heads stacked with majesty.

Adam recalls the history of the pose, sitting in the apparently vacant position—a stone base, covered with bear skin, and wooden tables on either side.

The crowd was chaotic, and the homeless people were mixed in a line of joy, with more or less traces of flight on their faces and bodies, but the atmosphere was very warm.

Adam sat with his legs crossed, his shoulder blades straight, and his hands folded, revealing the majesty of a lord.

[Shabby lord, but won enough prestige, the exile is proud to be taken in by you, and spontaneously pays the tax. 】

"Lord Adam."

When the militia met the lord, he was shy and excited, put the rhombus on the table, and quickly left.

This is what he picked when he was migrating in the mountains, and he has always treasured it, and he is reluctant to put it down, and the fruit has obviously been washed, but after a long time, the skin has been loose.

"Sir, for you."

"My lord, offer my loyalty."

……

Then came the outcasts, the riders who came on their horses, and the cowardly women.

Each ruler had a different tax, but they all liked to collect it proportionally, and almost all things were counted, so it was called "tithe".

The surviving countrymen, offering their best, put them on the table.

【Washed towel (78% damp)】

【Iron rusty dentures】

【Hoe】

……

Adam sighed for a long time, his eyes closed, his eyelids twitching, he prided himself on his composure, and his sanity and determination were his usual image.

But at that moment, he couldn't bear to look at the notes on the item.

He rubbed the [Lord Ring] in his hand all the time, and for more than half a month, he had never felt its weight so truly.

That night, Lord Adam held his first banquet in the airy stronghold.

Cinnamon beef with cloves, grilled duck with shallots, pork chops marinated in juice......

Adam smashed the cork of the barrel with his steel sword, unfastened the clasp, scooped up the wine from the clay pot, and stood on the steps as he spoke.

"Listen, gentlemen.

The proudest thing I am to do is to get you out of the mountains alive. ”