Monster Lord: The Goblin Offers the Saintess to Me at the Start

Sivis looked bewildered, glancing at Vikalina, whose expression was oddly reverent and trusting toward him.

Earlier, Werner had threatened him—

"Vikalina will surely find your territory and destroy you, this Demon Lord." At that moment, Sivis had already braced himself for a confrontation with Vikalina, even devising a plan—using Werner, whom he controlled, as leverage to pressure Vikalina: "You wouldn't want anything to happen to your dear friend, would you?"

His goal was to bring her under his control, ultimately making this pair of "sisters" his exclusive guardians.

But what Sivis hadn't anticipated was that Vikalina would indeed lean towards his side, not because of any deliberate actions on his part, but because she had actively "thrown herself at him"!

Vikalina wasn't aware of her companion's thoughts; she just noticed him in a daze and gently reminded him, "Don't worry about me. Just focus on your own affairs for now."

Sivis nodded, a plan forming in his mind—since Vikalina's favor towards him had inexplicably increased, he might as well probe her intentions and formulate a strategy.

His approach was straightforward and decisive—

He would pursue a "normal" romance, gradually drawing Vikalina into his camp.

The two of them, with different thoughts on their minds, walked out of the Daister family's compound. Soon, they came across a nearly ruined residential area. A group of civilians who had rushed back from Minnet City were gathered around their destroyed homes, their eyes hollow, faces filled with despair and sorrow.

They didn't notice Sivis and Vikalina's arrival, lost in their grief.

An old woman knelt on the ground, looking at a middle-aged man who emerged from a dilapidated house, tears streaming down her face. "How is it? Is there anything left that can be used?"

"Nothing is usable. The food is contaminated with strange blood... We only have the few belongings we managed to take with us." The middle-aged man's voice was hoarse.

They appeared to be mother and son, but in reality, they were a married couple—excessive hard work had aged the woman significantly.

"What do we do now? We have four children to raise!" The old woman broke down into tears.

The surrounding residents were in similar states, their faces lost and bewildered. Their homes were destroyed, their food contaminated. The best-case scenario was that they would have to starve a few family members to survive.

For a moment, a heavy cloud of sorrow hung over the ruins, filled with the sound of despairing sighs.

Both Vikalina and Sivis were visibly moved.

The female knight was the most decisive. She walked forward without hesitation, taking out a string of pearls from her spatial ring—she had always been incorruptible in the Church, and this string of pearls, a gift from her mother when she left home years ago, was her only valuable possession. Though not worth much, it should be enough to exchange for some food to help the residents get by for a while.

But a lingering concern still clouded her eyes—after the Blood Servant's rampage, what else would the residents face besides the loss of their possessions?

Given the ignorance of most merchants, they would likely panic over the "blood plague outbreak near their homes" and refuse to hire these poor people.

When the money from the pearls runs out, where will these people go?

Could it be...

Just after breaking ties with the Knight Order, she would need their help to raise funds again?

Vikalina turned to discuss the matter with her companion but saw Sivis walking straight toward the city center, not even glancing at the suffering residents.

"Is he ignoring these people?" The words caught in the female knight's throat.

She had assumed that Sivis would share her compassion for the civilians.

Now, she was extremely shocked.

Vikalina was dumbfounded, standing rooted to the spot, feeling a chill run through her entire body, as if she had been cruelly deceived. Anger surged within her.

She had risked a complete falling out with the Knight Order, willing to face the pressure from the noble families upon her return to the Church—pressure that might even target her, Werner, and the other candidates for Holy Maiden, all of whom wielded the power of holy light, because of her "outlandish" actions today.

Vikalina firmly believed that protecting a companion like Sivis, who wielded pure holy light and was a "good person," was worth any sacrifice. But now, he was walking away without a backward glance.

Could the good name Sivis had earned among the civilians for "opening a factory to help everyone" be nothing but a facade?

Had she been so easily deceived? Vikalina felt a cold dread wash over her, as if she had been plunged into an icy pit, and a dark, unwelcome thought of killing intent surfaced—how dare he exploit her trust so thoroughly? How dare he trample on her faith and determination?

The female knight clenched her fists so tightly that her nails almost pierced her palms, barely managing to suppress the raging fury within her.

It took her a long time to regain her composure.

Vikalina kept trying to reassure herself.

No, that's not right!

Maybe I'm wrong.

Sivis isn't a bad person, but he is a noble by birth, unlike herself, who was raised in the Church and dedicated to protecting and helping the weak.

For Sivis, being kinder than other nobles is already a significant step. Paying the workers and helping them with their living conditions might be the most he can do.

There's no need for him to go out of his way for strangers.

After all, Sivis had no way of knowing that she and the members of the Knight Order would investigate his character and integrity. If he really intended to deceive her, what would be the point?

"My friendship isn't worth much, and it would be even more of a loss for him to earn the hostility of the Knight Order for nothing."

"Sivis isn't trying to deceive me."

Vikalina analyzed, but her heart still ached with each thought.

She felt a bit... wronged!

Finally, a glimmer of hope had risen, only to be dashed again!

Despite her reflections, Vikalina's expression did not improve; it only grew worse.

She arrived at a more terrifying conclusion—that even Sivis, who wielded extremely pure holy light, was a cold person, only slightly better than other nobles.

The civilians' earlier statements were not wrong; Sivis Daister was indeed no different from the other nobles!

"Who, then, can I truly trust? What kind of person can I believe in?"

The female knight's eyes were filled with confusion, unsure of what to do next.

She quickly refocused her attention on the present—those ordinary citizens were still looking at their completely destroyed homes with despair, their eyes devoid of hope for life.

They were waiting for Vikalina to come to their rescue.

"Sivis may ignore you, but I will not abandon you," the female knight murmured to herself, quickly firming her resolve. After some thought, she hurried toward a merchant's shop in Minnet City, intending to sell the pearls she had.

As she walked, Vikalina noticed someone—Sivis, who was carrying a large wooden board, passing by her.

At this point, Vikalina had no desire to engage in further conversation. When she saw Sivis, he nodded at her, and she responded with a distant nod.

Sivis was thoroughly confused: "She was so unexpectedly friendly earlier, and I was thinking about whether I could win her over by building a good relationship, but now she's so cold?"

He couldn't help but want to complain—before he came to this world, he loved the various female characters in games because their thoughts were much easier to predict than those of real-life women.

There was a clear cause and effect.

Why was Vikalina's mood so unpredictable now?

However...

Sivis didn't have the time to ponder this too much; he was busy as well.

When he saw the plight of the civilians, he realized something—without outside intervention, these people would find it very difficult to survive.

Sivis immediately decided to hire these desperate civilians as advertisements!

Don't forget, the Daister family's reputation was even worse than these civilians; they had been completely wiped out by the Blood Clan!

Sivis felt that, given the ignorance of most people, they would be too afraid to work for him.

So...

He had to start by offering good pay and building his reputation!

These heavily affected civilians are the best choice; they cannot refuse Sivis, or they will starve to death!

"There are many among these people who haven't worked in my factory before, and I don't know them well."

"Then we won't rush into producing perfume."

"Instead, we'll focus on advertising. Let these people repair the family estate for me."

"The Daister family's continued state of being ravaged by the Blood Clan will also affect my ability to attract residents."

Sivis pondered.

His plan was actually a very classic method of economic recovery from his previous world: workfare.

Sivis would hire these people to rebuild the Daister family, completing his future plans, while also allowing these citizens to improve their lives through their own efforts.

Compared to distributing aid for free, a job would actually make these citizens more comfortable.

It would cater to their dignity, and more importantly, a job means being needed and having value, giving these families hope instead of relying on charitable handouts, which could make them lose their drive and fear that the aid might suddenly stop.

Sivis's approach would give the civilians hope!

This would be the best sign to attract residents!

Just now, after seeing the dire conditions of these residents, Sivis quickly designed a recruitment sign and hired a few foremen provided by other guilds in the city.

His attitude was clear: he wasn't hiring the civilians to just get by, but to manage them strictly!

This could be considered a mutually beneficial arrangement, Sivis thought to himself.

By hiring these displaced civilians, he would gain a wave of good reputation to attract residents and accumulate Extraordinary Dark Power for cultivation.

These people could earn wages to support their families and have hope for a better future by working for him—everyone would benefit, wouldn't that be great?

Sivis felt a bit guilty; in the class divide between nobles and commoners in this world, the wages he planned to pay were actually quite low, making him a typical "black-hearted capitalist" by the standards of his previous world...

Just then, he suddenly felt a gust of wind pass by him—