Ethan examined the quality of his own sword.
It was only a D-grade item, without a name of its own.
A decent quality sword, crafted by a great blacksmith.
Considering how much his father had paid for it, he had really expected something better, but that was okay.
In the end, the main difference between a high-quality weapon and a low-quality one was the amount of Aura or Mana it could absorb.
With Ethan’s current power, even all of his Aura pushed into the metal of that blade would barely be able to make it tremble.
"I really need to train." He repeated to himself.
Fortunately, Evelyn was more than willing to help him with that.
Sighing, Ethan removed the Skull-Crushing Axe from the system’s storage.
His hands closed around an elegant darkened wooden handle, long, but not too long, with perfectly balanced weight.
The head of the axe was divided into two parts: a sharp, curved silver blade and, on the opposite side, a hammer-like structure covered with small metal spikes.
That was probably where the name "Skullcracker" came from.
"It’s a beautiful weapon..." Ethan murmured, swinging the axe a few times before looking up at Evelyn.
Her beautiful silver-gray eyes were shining, fixed on that axe as if it were everything to her.
Ethan shook his head and threw the axe in her direction.
Immediately, Evelyn moved, catching it with both hands.
"What the hell do you think you’re doing? Do you know how much a weapon like that costs?" she asked, her mature voice laden with indignation.
"I know. It’s yours now." Ethan smiled, turning his back on her.
Evelyn’s eyes floated between the weapon and Ethan repeatedly, until she bit her lower lip.
[Evelyn’s opinion increased by 5 points]
[Evelyn’s loyalty increased by 5 points]
Two system notifications reached Ethan, whose lips curved even further.
That was just the beginning. Before acting as the rightful lord of these people, he needed to win their loyalty.
His father had taught him that early on; even with all the money in the world, a leader without the loyalty of his people couldn’t even build a chicken coop, every step would be taken with the resistance of a thousand blades at his neck.
Ethan didn’t want that for himself.
"Hey, where are you going?" Evelyn ran after him as he walked, her huge breasts bouncing rhythmically with each step.
Ethan didn’t answer, continuing onward.
Maybe having her by his side was a good thing.
As soon as he left the mansion, his eyes fell on Ulric and his son, Alaric, gathered with the rest of the guard under a tree a few meters away.
The moment he noticed Ethan’s presence, Ulric’s face lit up with a glow of false friendliness.
"My lord, to what do I owe your esteemed presence and..." Ulric’s words died in his throat as he bowed.
Where the hell had that woman come from? He hadn’t seen her anywhere before.
"My lord, who is that woman?" Ulric asked, slightly concerned.
"Evelyn. A friend of mine," Ethan replied coldly.
Behind Ulric, Alaric also stepped forward.
"That’s not enough, my lord. Do you know the dangers that inhabit this region?"
Each subsequent word that escaped Alaric’s mouth caused a new vein to appear on Evelyn’s forehead.
"What if she’s a monster in disguise? I need to have control over anyone who,-"
"Try to control your own filthy ass first, you damn dog face. I can smell you from here." Evelyn growled, her beautiful, sensual voice laced with venom.
"Besides, shouldn’t you be on your knees while speaking to your Lord? I would kill you myself if I had such useless servants."
Alaric clenched his jaw so tightly that his teeth seemed ready to break, every part of him screaming in agony and rage.
"My lord..." Alaric turned his face to Ethan.
"My father would break the legs and rip out the tongue of any servant who treated him as an equal. You’d better get down on your knees." Ethan said.
His father wasn’t that strict about noble etiquette, but that didn’t matter now.
The fact was, Ethan couldn’t show weakness. Not at all.
Alaric shuddered and glanced at his father out of the corner of his eye.
He was almost begging to just kill that damn golden lord right there.
Fuck the Church. Fuck that priest.
They had the power!
Still, his father didn’t move, maintaining a stern gaze.
In the end, Alaric simply bent down, one knee sinking into the muddy ground. "Forgive my disrespect, my lord!"
[Alaric’s Loyalty dropped 5 points! Negative Loyalty.]
[Alaric’s Opinion dropped 5 points! Negative Opinion.]
"Good." Ethan nodded silently, motioning for Alaric to stand up, then focusing his gaze on Ulric.
"It’s time to inspect the settlement’s warehouses. Things aren’t looking good, correct?"
Hearing those words, Ulric, who had also knelt, stood up, ignoring his son retreating behind him.
"Well... they’ve been better, my lord. We had a long and difficult winter, and we were still forced to pay a..." Ulric answered honestly, but fell silent at the last part, starting to walk.
The village was small, so the warehouse wasn’t far away, and its size was certainly not impressive.
"Hm..." Ethan scratched his chin, stopping in front of the warehouse. "We must have at least one large field, right?" He asked.
"Yes, my lord. Would you like to inspect the fields as well?"
"After the warehouses." Ethan replied, opening the double doors of the place.