Necromancer, summoning 055? What the heck?

Chapter 93 The Butler, the Minotaur, and the Halfling

On the twelfth day of December, the increasingly cold north wind whipped at the slowly advancing procession.

This is the path Chen Mo takes to assume his post as the prospective lord of the Vast Ocean Territory.

Looking at the time, they were destined to spend the New Year on the road, crossing the boundary between the Year of the Moonlit Thunder and the Year of the Storm.

"However, in this situation, it seems the thunder hasn't subsided, but the storm has already arrived!"

The person speaking so sentimentally was the new steward that the old clerk of Yunwu Territory recommended to Chen Mo.

This guy's name is Heran, and he's a professional butler.

This is a profession in the Starry Continent that serves the nobility. Most of them are born from the servants of the nobility. They are selected from a young age because of their quick thinking and sharp wit, and receive a complete set of knowledge related to nobility. This learning period lasts for twenty years.

The same applies to combined master's and doctoral programs on Earth.

These twenty years were enough for them to become living encyclopedias of the aristocratic circle.

They were not only proficient in the complete and rigorous aristocratic etiquette, which was tens of thousands of pages thick, but most of them also studied the languages, customs, and traditions of elves, orcs, dwarves, or gnomes, serving as diplomatic protocol officers for their hosts.

They were experts in the management of noble residences and the operation of the servant system. Under a head steward, there were usually more than a dozen levels of junior stewards in charge of specific affairs, as well as leaders of various sub-positions such as head male servants, head female servants, head chef, head guard, head groom, head gardener, etc.

They are responsible for arranging the daily schedules and study plans for all members of the family, working with the finance staff to prepare budgets and supervise daily expenses, organizing various family banquets, hunting parties, dances, and cocktail parties, and, when necessary, taking on the heavy responsibility of family crisis management during special periods.

The best among professional butlers go even further. They are intimately familiar with the history of the continent, able to remember the emblems, mottos, historical grudges, important members, and even the complex marriage relationships that are like a spider web in the abyss, of thousands of existing or extinct noble families, knightly orders, and magic academies...

Furthermore, although most of them are neither knights nor mages, they have a deep understanding of the theoretical knowledge of many professions, master the basic principles of most protective, alert, temperature-regulating, and lighting magic arrays, are well-versed in the locations of energy nodes and daily maintenance needs, and are intimately familiar with the charging methods and usage taboos of common versions of magical items and enchanted equipment...

On the very first day of Helan's arrival, he clearly pointed out that at least two of the magical materials that Lord Chen Mo had used were of insufficient age and quality, which would affect the effectiveness of meditation.

So, what kind of price did this butler offer Chen Mo?

It is very high, comparable to the annuity of a count's direct heir.

To be honest, if it weren't for the old clerk's recommendation and guarantee, and his own need to clear his name, Helan would never have come to Chen Mo's command—even though he was already in dire straits. Therefore, he offered an astronomical price.

The tides of the aristocratic world never cease; new nobles always rise, and old clans always fall.

The reason for Helan's downfall was that the nobleman he had served was utterly defeated in the tide of political struggle, and his entire clan was wiped out.

Although the professional butler and the master have an extremely close relationship, they are not related by blood. Whether it is the execution of nine or ten generations of their family, it will not involve the butler.

However, there will always be aftereffects; at least in the short term, no one dares to hire Helan.

The obvious reason is that the previous owner's family was wiped out, which carries a bit of an ominous aura.

The real concern is whether the powerful figure who wins the struggle will take his anger out on the person who shelters the "remnants".
It's not worth offending a superior for the sake of a servant!
Therefore, Helan is destined to have a period of recuperation, which can usually only be spent in two ways.

Firstly, it depends on time. After three to five years, the victor will be at peace, or simply forget about it, and the matter will basically be over.

Alternatively, they could find a daring lord, use him for a period of time, and find that there were no adverse consequences, then Helan could be legally exonerated.

This is the core reason why Helan is willing to accept Chen Mo's employment, but is unwilling to accept it long-term.

Essentially, he still hoped to find a noble family with a distinguished lineage and refined taste within the Emerald Duchy or even the higher-level Qiyue Dynasty, rather than end up eating sand in a saltwater beach.

But after a long period of unemployment, with several family members waiting to be fed, he had no choice but to bend down again.

Regarding this point, neither the old clerk nor Helan concealed anything from Chen Mo, and they explained it to Chen Mo frankly on the day of Chen Mo's interview.

Thus, this one-year service contract came into being.

It must be admitted that professional butlers, especially Herran, who once served as the head butler of a count-level family, are beyond reproach.

After a brief conversation with Chen Mo, he quickly took over the task of organizing the expedition team, planning routes, arranging personnel, purchasing supplies, and allocating vehicles... He hardly made Chen Mo worry about anything and completed all the preparations for the trip in just one and a half days.

As soon as Chen Mo received the approval document from the Pioneer Knights Territory, the team set off immediately, seamlessly connecting with the new leadership.

The sporadic fighting in the distance had nothing to do with this team. They traveled through states and prefectures, and soon crossed the border of Cloud Mist Territory, about to enter the most difficult and wild land.

As the sun set, it was time to set up camp, rest, and prepare dinner.

The soldiers were busy laying foundation stones, setting up tents, collecting firewood, and settling the camels and animals. Helan stood in the field with his brows furrowed and arms crossed, occasionally letting out an angry rebuke.

"Lead that camel a little further away, put a muzzle on it, and don't let its cries pollute the lord's ears!"

"Lynn, keep your men in line. If I see them defecating in any place I can see again, I'll cut off their genitals and feed them to the wild dogs!"

"Where is the damn cook? Time to get to work! Prepare dinner for the lord and Master Downs early, and don't let me see any more undercooked dishes."

Chen Mo leaned out of the car window and waved.

Helan immediately suppressed his anger, straightened his already crisp clothes, and carefully brushed the dust off his trouser legs before bowing and entering the lord's carriage.

The carriage was filled with a faint scent of wood and leather. At the rear, a comfortable couch was placed in the main seat, with two maids standing quietly on either side with their heads bowed—this was the "aristocratic appearance" arrangement that Helan insisted on.

Chen Mo originally didn't want maids, but Helan insisted that other expenses could be saved, but this expense concerning the face of a nobleman could not be saved.

"Once you arrive in your territory, if you want to keep your people there, you must let them see the majesty of a lord."

Okay, that hits Chen Mo's weak spot.

Where will Hanhai Ling find its talent? This is the main management challenge Chen Mo is currently facing.

I called Helan over to double-check this issue.

Chen Mo started by casually picking a topic: "The halfling cooks you hired are already quite good. Yesterday I was in a hurry to meditate, so I urged them to finish before they were done. It's not really their fault."

Helan sat up straight, his face serious: "My lord, you should not excuse the problems of these servants. The halflings' task is to provide the lord with suitable food, and of course, suitable time."

"If they cannot match the lord's schedule, then they should prepare in advance."

"In any case, there are only servants who make mistakes, not lords who err. I implore you to be mindful of the lord's dignity!"

Chen Mo sighed and got back to the main topic.

"Any good news to report regarding hiring?"

Helan bowed slightly, performing an impeccable "greeting," and replied, "My lord, I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you."

"As you know, there are countless destitute people in this world. If you give them a piece of land where they can grow food, no matter how barren it is, they will swarm around your feet like ants chasing after a fishy smell." "If even destitute people cannot stay on a piece of unclaimed land, it is either because there are powerful magical beasts on the land, or because there is no resource available there to survive."

"Um... the Han Hai Territory is such a rotten land. There is nothing but shifting sand and hardened saline-alkali soil. Even the most tenacious bark trees can only survive sporadically. People simply cannot survive there."

"Therefore, no matter how many promises are made, those lowly people will find it hard to believe them."

"As you probably know, many years ago, the previous lord lured the common people to his territory with money and food. After they finished their hard labor, he slaughtered them for food, which really ruined the reputation of that place."

Chen Mo took a deep breath.

The constant repetition of bad news was certainly depressing, but the fact that this exceptionally capable butler kept referring to him as a lowly commoner made him feel an indescribable discomfort.

After leaving the city lord's mansion in the Emerald Duchy and losing the aura of an earl, he once again experienced that terrible feeling.

A feeling of alienation that followed Pevne throughout the escape team after his departure, exactly the same feeling.

Without the support behind him, the respect shown to him by those below him became merely superficial.

As a lord, he lacked a distinguished reputation and a respectable background; all he seemed to have was money.

But money can hardly buy genuine respect.

Chen Mo sometimes didn't want to turn on the [Humanoid Micro-expression Analyzer], because behind those compliments and smiles lay more subtle sarcasm, ridicule, and cold indifference.

In this group, whether it's the butler Heran who controls his own money or the old silver-armored Lynn who is under his control, they all show this tendency to some extent.

The only one who didn't give negative feedback was the minotaur silver-armored warrior.

Can't you analyze the minotaur's expression?

After spending more time with him, Chen Mo realized that this bull... this minotaur was really simple-minded.

Because the name this guy gave was long and hard to remember, and it also contained a string of onomatopoeic words, it roughly sounded like "Moo moo lulu, the powerful Earthshaker, the third male of the Kaka Mimi family in Skyreach Ridge, home in Thunder Bluff, vast grassland, very long and large horns, mountain hoof..."

Although it sounded impressive and powerful, Chen Mo felt a sense of humility, like a man showing all his information on a blind date.

Lord Chen simply called this guy "Silly Ox".

After feeding the ox, he was probably the only one in the entire team who genuinely and unreservedly regarded Chen Mo as "Lord".

The others were either squeezing themselves out of business and preparing to run away, or waiting for the one-year agreement to expire so they could go their separate ways. No one was optimistic about the future of the Vast Ocean Territory, and naturally, no one was optimistic about the prospects of him, an unorthodox noble lord.

Chen Mo understood the principle of combining kindness and severity, but for someone as young as him, achieving that level of leadership was still too difficult.

Just as the conversation was once again falling into an awkward silence, a sudden gasp rang out outside the car, followed by the halfling cook's signature sharp and manic roar, shattering the peace of the camp.

When Chen Mo and He Lan arrived at the scene, they saw a mess next to the makeshift stove. The short, half-human cook was jumping down from his special high stool, waving his arms and legs excitedly, his round belly heaving violently.

"Oh, my lord, my steward, it's not my fault! It's that cow, that stupid cow! Oh, God of corn and fire, it spilled my seasonings!"

"Oh, it ruined everything! I bought those from Sky Blue Swallow City for a fortune! Oh, twelve kinds, a whole twelve kinds of seasonings!"

"This is a disaster! Oh no, without seasoning, I can't make anything palatable. Poor halfling, I'd rather be dead!"

Halflings are only half the height of ordinary people. In front of minotaur warriors who are two and a half meters tall, it is no exaggeration to say that they can jump up and hit the knees.

This guy had to use the high stool to jump up and down, shouting at the top of his lungs to denounce the old ox.

Perhaps it was also a way to transfer the frustration of being scolded by Butler Helan.

The simple-minded ox stood helplessly to the side, its large eyes revealing a hint of fear.

This period was like a dream for Han Niu.

Although as a silver-armored warrior, his strength is arguably among the top of low-level mercenaries, it's impossible for an orc to survive in human society without being deceived or cheated.

I've lost count of how many times I've been scammed, but in short, whenever I had more than two silver coins in my possession, they would inexplicably disappear.

Sometimes it's accidentally damaging someone's expensive property, though it's never quite clear who bumped into whom; sometimes it's unintentionally puncturing someone's precious tent, even though the other person was being kind, and the ox feels as if something deliberately got caught on its horns...

The worst time was when I accidentally stepped on another mercenary's foot while using the War Stomp skill during a jungle battle.

That time it was for real; the enemy mercenaries' feet were flattened, like a spread-out pancake.

After receiving compensation, Han Niu ate grass for the better part of half a year, and all the work he did for the mercenary group was used to repay the disability compensation.

Although Han Niu also felt something was off, he couldn't understand or calculate anything about "interest rolling," so he could only follow the group's arrangements.

If he hadn't been forcibly conscripted into the army, he would probably still be paying off his debts now.

Having been sold into the ranks of this new, young lord, the simple-minded ox was finally able to eat to his heart's content. He could eat vegetables if he wanted, or meat if he wanted, until he was stuffed. The lord would just smile and say, "Is that enough? If not, have some more!"

The ox may be simple-minded, but it's not stupid; it can sense the lord's unique affection for it.

Therefore, he worked exceptionally hard. Even though he was the strongest soldier in the team, he was always assigned dirty and tiring jobs, but he never complained.

This time, he was once again assigned the hard labor of collecting firewood.

As a result, just as he was delivering a large bundle of chopped and broken firewood to the halfling chef's stove, the end of the firewood accidentally brushed against the halfling's workbench.

What followed was the halfling's hysterical screams.

Mercenaries who had heard the news quickly gathered around to watch, and Han Niu saw gloating and mocking looks in their eyes.

Since everyone has become a slave to others, seeing others suffer misfortune can be a source of joy.

Even the usually aloof Master Downs came over, and not far away, the lord and the butler were also walking over.

The simple-minded man felt like his world was about to collapse.

After only a few days of good food, are we going to have to eat grass to pay off our debts again?
No, I am a slave now, I don't get paid at all, and I don't even have the right to pay off my debts.

The simple-minded ox felt a strange sense of panic gripping him.

It's like when I was very, very young, I accidentally knocked down a house while practicing war trampling, and half the tribe watched as my dad, naked, was on top of my mom...

The terrifying look in his father's eyes, a mixture of rage, shame, and the "you're dead" message, sent a deep, uncontrollable chill down his spine.

(End of this chapter)