Alec borrowed a nearby log to stand on. Although he wasn’t exactly tall, he still stood out when his head suddenly popped up with the campfire illuminating his pale face.

He gazed out over the crowd Millie had led out of Nuss. It was more than he had expected, but that wasn’t so strange. He had only seen two buildings’ worth of people when the Lounge had at least five of them.

“…”

‘What am I supposed to say? Do I introduce myself?’ Alec had said that he was going to make the Madam’s offer for her and let the others decide, but now that he had silently gathered everyone’s attention, it suddenly felt like he didn’t even know where to start.

“Hello, everyone. My name is Alec, and…I’m sure most of you know my part in today’s events. I didn’t have any plans on addressing you like this since I was going to just let you all find your way back home once we were safe. But then, something changed.

“While I was going to let you all go home, I had planned to keep fighting the human trafficking in this area and make sure none of my comrades get abducted again. For that, I will need information. If I want to take down not just the Lounge but the ones who were abducting people and selling them to the Lounge, as well as all other customers, I will need information.

“Right now, I have someone here who can provide information like that as well as different kinds of support.

“The problem is that she is the Madam of the Lounge. As someone who hasn’t suffered under her, I did not think it was my place to decide whether to accept that help or not. I will leave that up to you all, but I will say two things first.

“Some of you may not have homes to return to. Some of you may not want to return. Some of you may want to stick around and help out. All of you are more than welcome, and I will gladly accept your input in this matter.

“However, if you are going to leave and will never see the Madam again, your input will be a little weaker.

“Lastly, I am only interested in whether I ought to accept her offer or not. I am not interested in what you all think she deserves. I am not interested in hearing what you all want to do to punish her. The moment you start calling for her suffering, I will immediately stop listening.

“I know what she’s done, so I won’t fault you for it. But she came here offering an olive branch.

“I killed her most trusted aide. I ruined her business. I killed several clients, guards, and workers. Although not much of a life, I ruined hers. And right now, I am injured and weak, while she is still a third-circle mage at her peak.

“If she wanted to, I and all of you would be dead. But we’re not.

“I want you all to keep everything I just said in mind and think it over during the night. That will be all, thank you for listening.” Alec waved quickly before stepping down from the log and sighing. Not a moment later, a voice from the crowd of victims called out.

“You want us to stay here with that whorish spawn of evil!” They shouted.

Alec glanced in their direction but couldn’t see who said it.

“I told you, didn’t I? You’re free to go,” Alec said lazily. He then looked at Millie. She nodded. That person’s vote wouldn’t count.

Alec held up a hand to stop everyone from speaking. He was not interested in what they would say when emotional after being ambushed by the Madam’s presence.

So, he ignored everything and put up a barrier after moving away from the campfire so that he could sleep in peace. The Madam took up a spot close to him.

That way, she would also be alone, and she reduced the risk of anyone coming to bother her since the people saved by Alec naturally didn’t want to cause him trouble, especially not when he had admitted that he was weak and injured after fighting for his life to save them.

It wasn’t that the Madam was scared for her safety. If anything, it was the opposite. Right now, the best she could do was make sure nothing happened during the night and let Millie, Red, and Ned settle things.

They made sure everyone got at least some food. But as the three walked around, mostly Millie and Ned, though, since Red wasn’t very sociable, the Madam couldn’t take her eyes off Millie.

It had nothing to do with her habits from her past life and everything to do with the fact that a young girl had carried a full-grown boar on her shoulders with seeming ease. If she had to guess, Millie had also been the source of the noise they heard shortly before the group returned to the camp.

The Madam didn’t understand.

Millie looked young.

It could be, as Nikolai had assumed about Alec, that she was using some way to mask her true appearance. The only other explanation the Madam could think of was that she might have started training to become a warrior since she was a small child, and she was burdening her heart just for a better life right now.

But while she was strong, she wasn’t that muscular.

She hoped she would be able to find out.

Before long, the soothing night started to pull away and make way for Miteria’s two blazing suns, which made it difficult for Alec, who wasn’t used to sunlight after all that time in the lab, to continue snoring away.

It was probably just as well. If it were up to him, he might have procrastinated this issue for several days. It was a good thing he didn’t.

Ned came up to him with an air of pride.

“Sir, I managed to talk to everyone while you slept, and I think we’ve reached a conclusion,” He said excitedly, happy about being able to ease Alec’s troubles.

“Really? What’s the verdict?” He asked.

The Madam’s ears perked up, and she listened closely.

“As long as you give us what Millie promised, we have no objections. This time, ‘us’ are the ones with no homes to return to and who want to continue working for you, if you will let us.”

“…What did Millie promise you?” He asked, shooting Millie a glance.

Millie grimaced. She had forgotten to tell him about that.

“That you would make us strong!” Ned’s eyes were like stars as he dreamed of a future where he was no longer weak and at the mercy of others’ whims.

‘Shit…’ Alec sighed.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep