Althea couldn't help but recall the gossip of her team when they arrived back for dinner the day she hired Oslo.
Oslo was very handsome with his long golden hair, clear blue eyes, tall lean muscular structure, and very prominent facial features.
This naturally caught a lot of attention, much like how it was for stars, and this included the people from her own team.
"Oh that guy was sooo handsome, right?" Harold said, looking like an old lady excited for some gossip. Sheila nodded very vehemently.
"More handsome than the stars I've seen!"
Eugene chuckled at his team's fangirling. "You don't know. He looked indifferent at first, but then I saw him crack a bit when he saw our buildings."
"Ohh?" Sheila and Harold leaned in, listening. "Tell us more!"
"He paused for a long time in front of our building, his dull bored eyes gradually gaining light the more he stared."
"In the end he looked around the house, studying, until he looked enamored like staring at a beautiful woman."
"I wish he would stare at me like that…" Sheila mumbled, dreamy, and Harold amusingly nodded as well.
Althea smiled as she watched her team gossip about a handsome man as if they were still in the peaceful times back in Terran.
Speaking of Oslo, her first impression of him was a very handsome stag who didn't want to work—in sharp contrast with the strict and upright red-haired Rowan—because the holographic image was just standing lazily, uninterested in the world.
This was very different compared with the others, who either had professional looks and stature or had welcoming smiles on their faces.
The blonde back then even had a deep frown, and his overall body language reeked of leisure and laziness.
She felt like he didn't want to be hired by a little village like theirs. And perhaps, this was indeed the case before.
However, it seemed that the past two days, the territory had quickly grown into him and he showed some promise.
This was the case to not only him, in fact. Because the population was relatively small, it was tightly-knit, and the newcomers were more or less actively welcomed.
Terrans were open-minded people, as seen by the lack of discrimination in their population—no matter what size, shape, finances, or color… they were all Terrans in the end.
This was unlike their people from hundreds of years prior, where people even discriminated for something shallow like the color of their skin.
Looking back at that part of history, she couldn't help but shake her head in distaste.
In any case, befriending these NPCs wasn't a challenge at all. She reckoned that even if they looked odd, as long as they contributed to the territory, they would be welcomed by the people with open arms.
Even, some people were even more fascinated with them because they loved hanging out with these exotic people. Oslo, a charming man, already had a couple of girls following him around.
Safe to say, the NPCs integrated quite well. She could see it in their eyes.
Back to the present—
"If I may ask, at what point do you plan to upgrade Milord?" Oslo asked as he sipped his tea (for the nth time that morning), bringing Althea back to the present.
"I plan to gather more resources first. At least enough to rebuild the walls even if they reached 1% remaining health twice over."
"That is wise."
"I do hope so…" She said, turning her head to look at Rowan, and the red-head straightened up his spine as he listened.
"While I handle the defensive amenities of our territories, the manpower would be up to you and Drake."
He nodded. "The training of the guard team will be enhanced."
"I hope to get your assistance on this."
"Yes, my Lord." He said with certainty and she nodded, relieved at this new help.
In the wars, at worst, a territory at the peak of her level could attack her. Then… didn't she just have to make sure her strength, facilities, and infrastructure were better than those a level higher?
She had helpful NPCs and she could ask of this.
At this, Brenda couldn't help but look at the lord admiringly. This was obviously a good safe method, but why hadn't she heard others do it?
How many people could truly stop themselves from upgrading when they had the chance?
Then she thought the upgrade was equivalent to more power, more wealth, more prestige… How many could put that aside?
Apparently her Lord.
Brenda stood up and did a full bow as if wanting to reiterate her loyalty. "Whatever help you need, Milord, I will do it."
"Just focus on Class D weapons. If you need resources to level up, tell me, and I'll try what I can do to help you."
"My Lord, I—"
"You deserve it." She said and added when she saw the woman was about to cry with emotions. "Just make good weapons, that's plenty helpful to me."
"Y-Yes, milord," Brenda said, furtively wiping her tears, before finally excusing herself.
"It is the same with you, Clutch, although I understand having no armory is–"
"No, my Lord, Master Eugene, and the others had been extremely helpful in providing me with a good workspace. I…. I cannot ask for more."
It was true. To be placed with such importance was such an honor to him as a professional and as a person. He could only promise to prepare the armors for the territory to the best of his abilities.
Then she looked at the handsome Oslo who was both leisurely and poised. She could tell he was well-bred, and she was a little curious about how he ended up in their little village.
The blonde smiled at her warmly, "The first phase of factories must be completed within the next few days, Milord. Rest assured we are monitoring their progress very closely."
Althea smiled, and his eyes flickered a little as he looked at her.
"The harvest of the crops will be very soon. They must be processed at the soonest."
"Understood, my Lord. We will be able to make it."
She nodded and dismissed the NPCs. "Meeting adjourned," She said, though her green eyes followed as they stood up at the same time.
"Thank you for your hard work."
This made the NPCs pause their movements. Their eyes widened and they flushed, very flattered and embarrassed.
Not everyone could receive gratitude from their lord.
Althea flinched when she saw a few of them about to cry again. Awkwardly, she repeated that the meeting was adjourned and they ought to go back to their jobs.
As they were sent away and went on their way to handle their assignments, they vowed to not disappoint her by even the littlest bit.
Althea, on the other hand, after finally seeing the passionate NPCs off, looked at the rough plan of her territory with her mind.
She already began adjusting and making plans to prepare for the upcoming beast tides and Territorial Wars.
She habitually patted her stomach, feeling the presence of her children, and her thoughts becoming firmer than ever.
She was determined to make her territory worthy of its name:
The Strong, the Beautiful, and the Proud… Altera.