Chapter 63

Ben sat down in the Restaurant and asked Athena to help him with an idea he had just thought up. Ben had Athena scan the cookbooks he had saved under the [Programs] section. All the books he had saved on his laptop were now a part of the system and he had not put them to use since he was sent to this new world.

Athena scanned these cookbooks and then filtered out every recipe that could be made with the food Ben had available. Each of the usable recipes was then added to the Restaurant menu.

Ben also saved this list so that he could add them to the Restaurant in the fortress. With the addition of these new recipes, there was now a much wider selection of meals available.

When he had finished organizing the menu Ben left the Restaurant to check on the slaves. After he did a quick head count he found everyone was gathered and waiting.

Before taking them into the Small Palace they all went over to the Restaurant. They were all familiar with using system menus making it easier for them to order a meal from the Restaurant food menu.

Even if they could not read what they were ordering they could at least see a colored image of what each meal would look like.

Ben explained that they could come here to eat in their free time whenever they wanted or they could withdraw food from the market and prepare their own meals.

"When each of you is not working you can spend your free time however you want. This Restaurant was made for you all to enjoy. I am sure you all have been provided small portioned low-quality meals up until now. That will not happen here, but do not expect anyone to bring you a meal. you can obtain food from the Market and make your own meals in your own homes or you can eat here free of charge in this Restaurant. There is no limit to how many times you can eat here or how much you eat as long as you all do not end becoming overweight." Ben said laughing.

They all sat down together and had a decent meal. As Ben watched them eat he saw the same type of reactions that the rescued slaves displayed. Some could only sit and stare at the plate filled with high-quality food as if they couldn't believe what was happening while some of them ate with tears in their eyes.

Ben understood how they felt because he had once asked the other slaves about their reactions. It made him feel good that he could pull at least some of these people out of the slave market and provide them with a better quality of life.

After an emotional meal, everyone was full and brimming with energy provided by the spirit foods. Ben led them out of the Restaurant and over to the Recreation Center.

They were shown how to use the system menu to learn how to play the board and card games through demonstration videos. Ben made sure to show them the private music rooms where they could listen to a wide selection of music from Earth and Victus. They also saw the Billiards and Foosball tables for them to use once they had learned how to play them.

By building the Recreation Center and Restaurant Ben had given them a couple of places to unwind and have some fun at the end of the day. They did not have the variety of facilities provided to them that the people at the fortress but there was plenty of land on this estate to build more places for them in the future.

For now, he would let them settle into their new lives and learn what their daily jobs entailed.

Once they had completed the entire tour of the Small Palace Ben took them all into one of the drawing rooms and had them sit down while he explained in detail what each of their duties consisted of.

"The good news is there will not be anyone living in the Small Palace for some time. The only people who presently live on this property are in this room. This means there will not be much work that needs to be done around here. The maids will have to do light cleaning occasionally and clean the rooms and beddings when guest stay here. The cooks and kitchen helpers will only need to make meals when there are guests or an event. The laundress will be responsible for cleaning any beddings or clothes of guests when staying here. The accountant may choose to use any of the offices on the third floor and will be responsible for keeping track of the household expenditures. I will leave you money to be used to purchase anything needed for the estate or pay any city officials as in tax collectors who come by when I am not here. The men with gardening and groundskeeper experience will be responsible for maintaining the gardens, ponds, lawns, and trees on the property. "

Ben then looked toward the man who had once held the Sergeant title who came from another kingdom. Ben found out the title of Sergeant was not the same as the military rank of a Sergeant on Earth. This world only gave the title of Sergeant to highly experienced veteran soldiers. These men would be comparable to special forces of this era. It was uncommon to find a Sergeant due to the fact that there were no full-time armies in the kingdoms of this continent. An army was drafted from the kingdom's population during times of war.

A Sergeant was a man who had been through multiple battles and established himself as a professional soldier. Most of them came from mercenary groups who were hired to eradicate bandits or fight local battles between nobles. Most kingdoms did not approve of nobles from the same kingdom fighting but if it was done out of the city and towns they'd be none would be the wiser about these skirmishes.

These battle-hardened men would occasionally find themselves employed by kingdoms. They would work as the king's guards and fight in wars or they could be assigned to military type missions. This was when they would be given the title Sergeant by the Royal Court.

Ben waved the Sergeant over and used [Analyze] on him as he stood up and walked over to stand next to him.

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Name: Faust Stokes

Age: 31

Rank: Slave

Skills: Veteran Swordsmen, Experienced Spearmen, Average Archer, Laborer, Guard

Emotional state: Eager

Physical Condition: Above Average

Mental Condition: Average

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"This here is Faust Stokes he will be in charge of security of this estate. If anyone finds any outsiders trying to cause trouble around here I want you to report it to Faust. of course, this also goes for each of you I am willing to provide you all with a better life and free time of your own but do not take advantage of it. There is a saying I want each of you to remember."

"The nail that sticks out gets hammered down!"

Ben looked around the room and paused to let what he said sink in.

"What this saying means is if anyone causes trouble and makes life difficult for others around here then I will make things difficult for you. I would rather treat each of you like employees but if you make me regret that then I will have no problem sending right back to the slave market and I am positive that your next master will not provide for you as I have."

Ben then looked toward the older gentleman and waved him over next while using [Analyze] on him.

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Name: Edward Hughes

Age: 53

Rank: Slave

Skills: Butler, Noble Steward, Manager, Logistics

Emotional state: Trusting

Physical Condition: Average

Mental Condition: Excellent

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"Let me introduce you all to Edward Hughes. This gentleman will be in charge of this estate and will assign any tasks which need to be completed. Each of you will address him as Steward Hughes and can think of him as your boss when I am not around. He is an experienced Steward who has run other noble households. If this man tells you to perform a certain job or task then you will respond with yes sir and accomplish it to the best of your abilities."

Once again Ben looked around to see if anyone had any questions or complaints.

"Alright, that will be it for this meeting. Everyone now knows what they are responsible for around here. I would like everyone to meet here each morning so that Steward Hughes can let you know what needs to be done. You can now all return to your homes and have the remainder of the night to yourself. You are free to go anywhere on the estate grounds but for now, I do not want anyone to leave the property. Have a great night everyone and enjoys your new lives here." Ben said with a smile as he let everyone leave.

He held back Steward Hughes and Sergeant Stokes from leaving while the slaves filed out of the room seemingly still in shock over everything that had transpired today.

Ben just confirmed with Steward Hughes that he had full control of the household and was free to make any decisions or assign any tasks needed doing.

As for Sergeant Stokes Ben outfitted him with spare gear he had produced for the Elven archers.

He gave him a Mythril chainmail tunic, a Mythril chest plate, Mythril gauntlets, Mythril leg guards, and a Mythril helmet. For weapons, he gave him a steel longsword, two steel daggers, a steel spear, a steel recurve bow, a quiver of mixed arrows and a shield.

He was also given a tunic with Ben's nobility crest and a thick leather belt he could hang his sword and daggers on. Sergeant Stokes looked like he was ready to step onto the battlefield now that he was armored and bristling with weapons.

Ben told him to patrol the estate and keep the other slaves safe from anyone who might be stupid enough to cause trouble. If possible he told him to report any troublemakers to the palace guards at the gate to the noble district, but if anyone drew a weapon on him or the people here he was clear to defend himself and them.

He also explained he would be hosting a dinner and a ball here in a few days and would be inviting the nobles of the city. Until then no one was permitted to enter the estate unless they were sent by the king or it was the king himself.

With everyone now updated on what they were to do from now on Ben left them to it and made his way over to the store. He found everything had already been restocked so he waited for his employees to show up and opened the store for another day of business.