After Serphiano left, Nephira brought Takashi along a country road away from the center of town. The area they passed through slowly began to be covered with crop fields and rice paddies. Soon, they saw a large Western-style house at the end of the road. 

Turning to Takashi, Nephira said, "I heard it used to be owned by a prominent aristocrat."

(Th--This is my home!)

Takashi was impressed by the magnificent exterior. Frankly, he never thought he would someday own such a large house. It even had a garden and a pond with fish swimming in it.

"It\'s small compared to Syness Castle, but I guess it\'s enough to accommodate five or six people."

"Yes, yes! It\'s the BEST!"

Excitedly, he ran and opened the large double doors. Carpets lined the entrance hall, and a large chandelier was overhead. It looked like the entrance to a first-class hotel.

"Amazing! The inside is so beautiful!"

"Just like the castle, it hasn\'t been vandalized."

Takashi went up the stairs to the second floor, where five doors lined the corridor. Takashi checked each room one by one. All the rooms were fully furnished with bedding and other amenities. In particular, the room at the end of the corridor even had a wide and massive bed. Takashi jumped into the bed to try it out.

(Feathers? It\'s soft and fluffy! Hmmmm! I think I\'m going to make this my room!)

While he was mulling about this, Nephira was watching from the other side of the door.

"Let me tell you a funny story. The place where this house\'s master was slain by soldiers of the Thunder-Lance Charge... It\'s the bed you\'re currently lying in."

"No, wait!? You can\'t say something like that!! That\'s not funny at all!!"

If you thought about it, the availability of the mansion meant that the people who originally lived there had suffered some misfortune. Feeling ashamed of his excitement, Takashi turned his head toward the bed and clapped his hands together. In any case, he would probably make his room a different one...

After exploring the mansion for a while, he heard the sound of the door knocker coming from the main doors. 

As he went down the entrance, he saw Excella and Orneo, together with two strangers, a man and a woman, standing behind them.

"Master Suzuki. From today onwards, we will be in your care." 

Excella and Orneo bowed deeply to Takashi and introduced themselves once again. The two people in the back also bowed down to Takashi. Both of them must have been in their early twenties. The man had short blonde hair. The woman had waist-length blonde hair. They both had refined eyes and noses. However, they looked somewhat tired, and their bodies were thin.

"M-Master, I--I am Allen. This, here, is my wife, Kate. And... this is our daughter, Clarice." 

Kate was holding a newborn baby in her arms. With the presence of Nephira, the commander of the Thunder-Lance Charge, Allen and Kate\'s faces were tense.

Nephira announced to the five of them in an imposing voice.

"As a conclusion of our discussions, you are now all slaves of Suzuki. Listen to what your master says."

Nephira then took a look at Takashi. Takashi nodded to Nephira and stepped forward.

"All right, everyone. From today on, you will work as slaves. Those who don\'t listen to me will be severely punished."

Allen and Kate shivered. Nephira, who had her arms crossed, nodded her head in agreement.

"Uh-huh. Suzuki. Very master-like."

"Because I\'m now a Thunder-Lance Charge soldier, you know. I must keep these slaves in line."

"That\'s impressive." Wearing a look of relief, Nephira turned on her heel and said, "Well then, I have some business to attend to, so I shall return to the castle."

"Nephira. See you later."

Nephira left, and the door of the mansion closed. Then, Takashi\'s stiff face relaxed, and he smiled at Allen and the others.

"I\'m sorry about before! In front of Nephira, I thought I\'d try to act the part."

The husband and wife couple were perplexed. Takashi spoke with a smile on his face.

"Just do the basic things like housework, cooking, etc., ya know. The rest of the time, I want you to be free to live as you please."

Takashi approached Clarice, the daughter that Kate was holding. Takashi held Clarice\'s tiny hand.

"I don\'t know much about babies, but if there is anything I can do, please let me know. Also, if you get tangled up with a demon in town, tell them, \'I\'m Suzuki\'s slave.\' They probably will stop bothering you!

"Ha--Huh..."

Takashi smiled again at the dumbfounded couple. Orneo walked up to Takashi.

"So, Lord Hero. How did your meeting with Serphiano go?"

He let them in, and then at the table in the hallway, Takashi told Orneo and Excella about the previous meeting.

"...Hu-huh, Hu-huh. So, well, then. I think that was the right place to pull out."

"Eh, that\'s right, you know. If we push too hard, Serphiano may come to her senses and try to execute Lord Hero this time again."

"Th--That would be a problem...!"

Excella talked with a finger on her chin.

"Even if Serphiano, alone, were to change her way of thinking, it would be difficult to achieve peace. A sudden order to abolish slavery could cause a riot among the demons."

Orneo rubbed his white beard as he heard Excella\'s words.

"As expected, it would be unreasonable. It\'s best to take it easy and slowly fill the moat."

"I agree. First, let\'s expand our free territory here in Leirune."

"So, should I work harder to move up the ranks?"

"If you do, it would increase the number of slaves you could own and the territory you could hold. However, won\'t the higher the rank, the greater the risk that Lord Hero will end up being sent to war?"

"What Orneo said is correct. I think it\'s best to err on the side of caution."

As he talked with both of them, Takashi was impressed. Excella was intelligent, and her retainer Orneo was also very knowledgeable. These two people could provide Takashi with insights he couldn\'t have thought of on his own. Excella was also the one who recommended the Allens, who had a young baby, to be included in Takashi\'s first group of slaves.