Chapter 80

“You didn’t have to take on any responsibility… but you did. And I… I realized it was far too late…!”

Despite his efforts to hold back, he broke down into hiccuping sobs. Yet even through his tears, he pressed on, desperate to make his case.

“The other lords—when they saw us, they called us their new slaves. That’s when I finally understood. To the pioneers, we were already slaves. Slaves they had no reason to protect, no obligation to care for.”

A sharp intake of breath rippled through the surrounding young people.

“We were the only ones who believed we were equals,” the man continued bitterly. “We were the only ones who thought it was natural. How foolish we were! We can’t even resist when they treat us like slaves, so what makes us think we’re equal?”

He squeezed his eyes shut as if trying to suppress his surging emotions. Around them, the faces of the young people had turned pale. They were already envisioning a future where every pioneer ruled over them as though they were mere property.

The man took several deep breaths before locking eyes with Justin.

“I would rather serve under you than live under them. At least under you, I would be a commoner. I would have my own property, and I would be protected under noble rule.”

Justin considered him carefully. “What if there are other lords who treat young people as equals? What will you do then?”

The man let out a hollow laugh. “It wouldn’t change anything.”

At Justin’s questioning look, he smiled sadly.

“Even if such a place exists, it won’t last. The pioneers have already made it clear—they don’t want to treat young people as equals. And for them, a land where young people are ruled as slaves would be far more appealing.”

That meant that such a land would never prosper. It would be swallowed up by those stronger than them. And the moment that happened, any pretense of equality would be erased.

What use was temporary equality if it was doomed to vanish?

“So please… take me with you. I don’t care about the class system anymore. As long as I can be treated as a human and not a slave, I will do anything—anything at all…!”

With that, he dropped to his knees and lowered his head once more.

Silence blanketed the space, so deep that one could hear a pin drop.

Justin studied the man for a long moment before finally nodding.

“Fine. I’ll take you with me.”

“T-Thank you! Thank you!”

The man, still crying, banged his head against the ground in gratitude.

The other young people watched in stunned silence. They had yet to fully process the conversation that had just unfolded.

Justin waited patiently, letting the gravity of the moment settle before he spoke again.

“By the way,” he added nonchalantly, “the pioneers we killed were planning to use you as human sacrifices to deactivate their lethal traps.”

A ripple of shock spread through the gathered young people.

“They were even worse than Nox’s group. It’s lucky we killed them first,” Justin continued. “Let’s just hope the next batch of pioneers is kinder.”

With those words, he turned away.

They had nearly reached the village entrance when a trembling voice called out behind them.

“Your Majesty…!”

Justin glanced back to see someone slowly dropping to their knees.

One by one, the others followed suit.

Before long, every young person who had come outside was bowing their heads before him.

Justin pressed his lips together to suppress the smile tugging at his mouth.

As they made their way toward the dungeon, the conversation continued.

“That went surprisingly well,” one of his companions remarked.

“Didn’t it?” Justin agreed. “Even me, I didn’t even expect this outcome.”

They had been on the verge of giving up, convinced that the young people were too lost in their own reality to see the truth. But one man had changed everything.

“He was sharp,” Justin admitted. “By now, I’m sure the pioneers have taken complete control.”

“And yet, no one else realized that within a week, the safe zone will be gone without us,” another companion mused.

“Too focused on the big picture to see what’s right in front of them,” Justin muttered. “Or maybe… just blind to their own demise.”

It was ironic, in a way.

Without realizing that they were moments away from death without a leader, they pledged their loyalty to Justin, all while looking toward a future that might never come.

It was, in the end, a better outcome than forcing their loyalty with threats. Voluntary submission carried far more weight.

“By the way,” one of his companions asked, “what will you do with that territory? You’ve occupied it, but there’s no one to defend it right now.”

“What else? I’ll relocate all of them to where we live,” Justin replied without hesitation.

“All of them?”

“Yeah. It’ll cost money to buy new homes for everyone, but it’s better than splitting them up awkwardly.”

It wasn’t just about a lack of defense forces. The entire territory had developed significantly thanks to the gold they recently acquired from dungeon rewards.

After living in a gloomy, run-down village, they wouldn’t be able to resist the allure of those pristine new homes.

“And don’t forget, our own young people have suffered far worse than they have. Once they hear the full extent of what happened, I doubt they’ll care about the class system anymore.”

Nox might have been brutal, but surprisingly, he had left behind very few actual deaths. It wasn’t mercy—he simply didn’t harbor as much resentment toward the young people as some of the others did.

Still, what the other pioneers had done was far worse than Nox’s cruelty. Once the survivors learned the details, they would probably think joining Justin a hundred, maybe a thousand times better than the alternative.

“Well, if we want to cover the relocation costs, we’ll need to focus on dungeon raids for now.”

Justin stopped atop a hill in the rolling highlands, the worn brass needle of his compass pointing directly toward a hidden dungeon entrance.

Pushing open a plain green door, it swung silently—smoothly—without the harsh screech of rusted hinges they’d heard the last time.

“Everyone ready?” he asked, glancing at his team.

“Absolutely,” Rachel responded with determination.