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

"Of course I need to hire people! My family has been destroyed like this, I have to rebuild it, don't I?"

"The factory needs to start running again too. Those are profitable businesses, and I have no reason to suddenly give them up."

"I will definitely hire you all — don't worry. Many of you have worked for me before, so who else could I trust? But let me be clear, I can't pay wages to children who are too young. They can help out with small tasks, and I'll provide meals, okay?" Sivis responded with familiarity.

With each sentence, the surrounding commoners would burst into a brief cheer, and by the end, they were so excited that they could barely stand still.

"Yes, yes, yes! You should make money! We will definitely earn a lot for you! Thank you, Master Sivis! We all know that everything will be better once you're back! This time, we will work hard and won't let your wages go to waste!"

Suddenly, someone in the crowd murmured, "But... can your factory keep running? We've heard that after you left, your family made a lot of money from the soap and glass you left behind, and now they..."

The person was initially angry and wanted to say, "Those people are all dead." but then realized they were Sivis's family and quickly calmed down. "Now that they're gone, you should take over yourself, right?"

Sivis looked at their humble yet hopeful faces and couldn't help but smile — he had already planned to use these commoners to build his reputation, and now he promised even more confidently, "Don't worry, this job opportunity will always be here."

"I won't stop the factory in Minnet City, and I've just acquired a small territory that needs a lot of people to build it up."

"I'm more worried about not having enough hands. Raise your children well, they can all come to work for me in the future!"

"Really? You really mean it?"

In his past life, the idea of "exploiting employees and even targeting their children" would have sparked public outrage, but all Sivis saw before him was a crowd of elated commoners!

These people seemed to feel they were getting an incredible deal, and some were so moved that their eyes turned red.

As soon as Sivis mentioned "needing the citizens to work for him in the future." a system notification suddenly rang in his ear:

[Detected citizens with strong willingness to join your territory...]

[Detected citizens with strong willingness to join your territory...]

[Detected...]

The notifications flooded his ears, making his eardrums throb with pain.

Someone couldn't wait to ask, "Lord Sivis, what conditions do we need to meet to enter your territory? I'm willing to work for you for free! The kind knight lady gave us some money just now, so we don't need wages for a while. We just want to join your territory! We're willing to pay taxes, to work for free, as long as you're willing to take us in!"

"Right! Just name it, we're willing to do our best!"

"We just want to follow you!"

Sivis's face was initially filled with joy, feeling that his plans were indeed progressing steadily.

But as he listened to the words of these commoners, his expression gradually became strange — according to his plan, he needed to first hire a batch of people at the family's base and actually provide them with benefits before gradually attracting other residents to join his territory.

Words alone were not enough, the commoners, no matter how simple and honest, wouldn't believe him without any conditions.

Who would have thought...

That as soon as he spoke, the crowd would volunteer themselves, and upon hearing "join the territory." they would even give up their wages, willing to work for free — was it really that dramatic?

Sivis was taken aback. He could understand their eagerness to join his territory just because of his words — during his battle with ConningFlora, Sivis had received a large amount of Extraordinary Dark Power. Many people who knew his style of work, upon hearing he was establishing a territory, had, at the urging of those young men, decided to join him.

The commoners before him also knew Sivis and naturally trusted this Demon Lord.

Sivis didn't expect that these people would be willing to work for free, expending their labor just to become his subjects!

After a brief shock, he shook his head. Sivis's mindset hadn't changed: the more Extraordinary Dark Power, the better. He wanted to attract not only the old workers who had worked for him before but also the ordinary residents of Minnet City.

These workers in front of him had to serve as an example, showing that Sivis's territory was a good place to be!

He spoke to refuse their offer:

"Am I short on paying you wages? If you want to join my territory, I can agree right now. You'll still receive your regular pay. As long as you don't slack off, I won't revoke your right to join my territory."

His words were met with a moment of stunned silence, followed by an explosion of cheers from the crowd.

"Understood, understood! We will work wholeheartedly for you!"

"If anyone dares to slack off, we'll drag them right to you!"

"Whoever doesn't give their all will be going against all of us, and we won't let them off!"

The commoners looked at Sivis with excitement, as if the wounds caused by the blood plague were insignificant!

Back when Sivis opened the factory and personally oversaw operations, it took only about a year to improve the lives of many families in the area. Some of them still had savings from that time.

Now, he was back!

Sivis not only planned to continue running the factory but also intended to incorporate them into his territory — what kind of blissful days lay ahead!

Not to mention, they would immediately receive wages from this "great benefactor." They even felt that the outbreak of the blood plague was "perfectly timed." wiping out the unscrupulous members of the Daister family and leaving only Young Master Sivis. Truly, the heavens were helping the good!

Their own losses...

Though painful, the good times with Young Master Sivis lay ahead!

Several figures approached from behind — they were the foremen Sivis had hired.

Seeing the commoners' jubilant faces, they couldn't help but wonder, "When did these usually lazy guys become so happy over a job?"

Several of them looked puzzled, but they all respectfully bowed to Sivis.

Sivis nodded at them. "These people are under your supervision now. Remember my requirements: no insults or abuse, just ensure they follow the work schedule, understand?"

"Also, after twelve hours of work, they must be allowed to rest. Don't push them too hard."

Sivis didn't mind pushing people a bit more, but excessively long work hours would actually decrease efficiency.

Not something that enthusiasm alone could make up for.

What kind of requirements were these?

Was he crazy?

No beating, and even limiting work hours?

Was he running a charity?

"No problem!"

The foremen, though puzzled by their employer's "strange requirements." quickly moved forward to "herd" the crowd as Sivis instructed: "Stop milling around! Get to work immediately, or the whip in my hand—"

They were about to use intimidation but remembered their employer's orders, so they swallowed their threat and instead scanned the crowd with a cold gaze. "You're lucky, since the master is feeling generous and won't allow beatings, but if anyone makes me miss my bonus, I won't go easy on them!"

Expecting anger or humiliation, they were surprised to see the commoners cheerfully crowding around: "Foreman, what should we do? Give us your orders, we can't wait to get started!"

"Am I crazy, or is the world crazy?" The foremen were once again bewildered, these people weren't following the usual script!

With no choice, they followed Sivis's plan, directing the commoners to start clearing the rubble from the Daister family's ruins. They also had the former workers from the glass and soap factories lead the newcomers in inspecting the warehouse for raw materials and preparing for production.

Unfortunately, the commoners' enthusiastic response to the work made the foremen feel almost superfluous.

Sivis watched the bustling crowd and sensed another surge of Extraordinary Dark Power entering his body as he had nodded to accept the new residents. A smile crept onto his lips.

By the most pessimistic estimates, it would take him a month to break through to the Silver Rank, but with this influx of Extraordinary Dark Power, his cultivation time would be shortened by at least a day.

And earlier, at the intermediary shop, Sivis had not only hired foremen but also had multiple job recruitment signs made and sent to various parts of Minnet City. It wouldn't be long before other citizens came to sneak a peek at the treatment of the first batch of workers. With these "living advertisements." the plan to attract more residents would go even smoother than expected.

"At least I can break through to the Silver Rank before the Radiant Great Array is completed, and reclaim some Silver-level magical beasts." The heavy weight in his heart finally lifted.

The strength of the territory would be stable!

He wouldn't have to die!

Sivis was about to head back to the Church Inn to pick up Reina and find a place to cultivate, but he noticed that Vikalina had somehow appeared beside him.

The previous stern and cold demeanor was gone, replaced by a warm smile.

Huh?

Another mood swing?

Sivis could guess her thoughts—

The female knight had sold her personal accessories to raise funds for the relief of the commoners, which meant that all of Vikalina's emotional changes earlier were to help the disaster victims.

So, she was extremely disappointed when she saw Sivis "coldly watching" the situation.

"Now that she sees me recruiting workers for relief, her attitude is warming up again?"

Sivis observed carefully and noticed that in addition to her smile, Vikalina's eyes also carried a hint of guilt and awkwardness.

She was embarrassed!

She felt she had wronged Sivis.

"What a good opportunity!"

Sivis's mind raced.

Wasn't this the perfect time to use his psychological tactics from his previous life?

Moral manipulation.

Guilt induction.

Emotional projection...

Sivis's mind was quick.

He saw that Vikalina, a newcomer, had a much less developed mindset compared to the fully grown version he had encountered in the game from his past life.

So easy to deceive!

Sivis was incredibly eager to get the Spear of the End, his dedicated guardian. He decided to make a move!

Seeing that Vikalina was about to speak, Sivis lightly coughed and casually glanced at the busy crowd on the ruins. "Sorry, I've been so busy with the recruitment that I sort of neglected you."

He paused, then turned his head to look at her. "By the way, you seemed a bit angry when you looked at me earlier. Did I do something wrong? Let me apologize in advance, just in case."

Critical hit!!

Sivis saw the guilt on Vikalina's face rapidly intensify!