Monarch of Solitude: Daily Quest System

Stiffening, nobody dared to move as Rino continued to pin them with his intense presence. Slowly, the lich listed the incidents he witnessed happening in his town. The blatant mistreatment of newer townsfolk compared to older townsfolk made Kamiya and the troll chief feel ashamed.

Zerg and Acht did not dare speak up even though they had no part in it. Sheila felt regretful that this happened under her watch, and Quasimodo was simply lost. What this had to do with animals in the barn, he had no idea. If anything, he got along rather well with the new assistants, who were hardworking and cheerful.

By the end of his speech, Rino looked at every leader in the room and told them to get off the floor. He made his point clear, and while the bank was still not constructed, he gave these subordinates a chance to redeem themselves.

"Find an appropriate job for each new talent without discrimination. Offer rewards based on ability and not familiarity. Forge a bond as part of my shadows to die for each other. Our enemy lies beyond the barrier of this town. We should not be fighting against each other. Give more than you would take and toil in the glory of the monarch's name."

The meaning was clear. Even if Rino's orders sounded a little more towards dictatorship and brainwashing, he needed them to understand their places in his empire. When Rino left, he wanted them to always remember what they were doing, who they belonged to and why they existed. A dog who could not obey the orders of its master wasn't a good dog. Rino did not have uses for such disobedient animals who thought they could get ahead of themselves. If Rino could summon them easily, he could just as easily dismiss them.

The threat of a greater enemy outside the safety of his town's barrier reminded Zerg about the tragedy his village experienced. In fact, everyone started to see the severity of the situation. Kamiya was ashamed of allowing his clan members to bully the newcomers instead of welcoming them and helping them ease into the town they built.

A part in the monster's heart couldn't fully accept Rino's new subordinates because these people were benefiting from what everyone else built in the town. The monster rabbits remembered the days when hot springs and the Nightless Underpass did not exist. However, these newcomers could enjoy both these benefits without much contribution to their name. A part of him thought it was unfair. However, Rino's speech made the killer rabbit monster shove aside all complaints.

In such a situation when their lord was preparing to go up against such a powerful enemy, how could he dwell over such trivialities? As a leader of the espionage clan, he should set aside differences and look at the bigger picture. A small short term loss was considered a great investment for the foreseeable future.

"My lord, I was wrong."

Rino nodded. Honestly, it wasn't as if he could not understand what the monsters were feeling. Mutt already complained to him about the unfairness of the situation when they had to pamper the newbies who did not contribute to anything they did.

In an organisation, Rino knew that there was an order of superiority and seniority. The ranks of nobles, the position of managers, career promotions and even access rights of long-time employees in smaller businesses were some ways that the leaders used to control the people beneath them. Recognition was important, and nobody liked to be ignored for their efforts.

However, Rino really did not give a damn about these things. He was in their position for the longest time and could understand the grievances they must be feeling. Rino never claimed to be a particularly fair or responsible leader. He just needed reliable subordinates to work for him with their lives on the line as he did whatever the gods wanted for a mutually beneficial arrangement.

Rino wanted to rest eternally. If he could work for that without needing the approval of gods, he would have done so a long time ago after the world exploded. However, the gods dragged him back into a different world and worked him the same way the empire did in his previous life. There was no escaping the clutches of divine beings, and Rino had to admit, there wasn't a better option out of this tedious life.

Rino could only negotiate with the gods to create a kingdom capable of managing itself even without his experience. For that to happen, he needed leaders under him to see the vision he saw.

"Did you feel that it was unfair or that you were treated badly?" Rino directed the question to the troll chieftain and Kamiya.

Compared to other species, the monsters had a stronger sense of territory and would feel mistreated if Rino told them to give the things that they worked for and thought belonged to them to others. Mutt's feelings were communicated very clearly to Rino, and it took the lich a while to explain to Mutt why this was necessary. To appease the sabre tooth wolf, Rino had to convince Mutt that he wasn't favouring the new summons. He was simply offering them tools to better society at a quicker pace. Mutt's position was irreplaceable, and that statement was all it took to win him back.

Kamiya and the chief troll did not answer. Rino could tell from their expressions how they felt. Yet, he continued to ask for a reason.

"It was unfair," Kamiya finally broke the silence, and Sheila stiffened. 

Of all the leaders gathered, it was a common understanding that they should not speak up against their lord. Yet, the rabbit monster was challenging Rino's ideas openly. Bink weighed his options. The earth gnomes were faes, and he shared similar feelings with the fairies that worked closely with him. As the spokesperson for the faes, he supported Kamiya's statement.

"My lord, we do not have issues following your orders. If you wish for us to hand over what we've worked so hard to achieve to the hands of strangers, we would gladly do so without reason. However, it isn't easy to feel happy about it when they treat what we've worked so hard to accomplish so lightly as if they were deserving of what we did."

Jealousy was universal. Rino could understand it. The case of someone else stealing the credit of another person's research was very common in the magicians' tower. While he tried to prevent plagiarism, it was almost impossible to deter greedy scholars from stealing information from one another to prove that they were the greatest. Rino hated those kinds of people the most, but there wasn't much he could do.

The most he did back then was get nicely rid of those losers. After giving them an award of some sort for their 'contribution', Rino sent them out of the tower. Instead, he told the magicians to retain the true talent as a lowly 'assistant researcher' but treasured all their contributions, providing them with the resources to contribute collectively towards the great library.

Initially, the victims of the plagiarism incidents did not understand why the tower did not serve justice even though it was very obvious what was happening. However, it was after several years that they came to understand why the tower managed matters differently. 

Similarly, Rino needed time to sort these matters out. They could not understand him now, but they might later.

"Do you trust me if I said that all my subordinates are replaceable?"

The questions floored everyone. Some reacted with hurt in their eyes, while others felt betrayed. The simple-minded ones like Quasimodo blinked blankly, and Rino chuckled. Of course, that wasn't what they were expecting to hear after they brought up their grievances, hoping that he could become their beacon of light in this darkness.

"Did you think I was a kind ruler?" Rino followed up, and this time, nobody answered. The light in their eyes dimmed as they struggled to accept what they were to this cruel king.

There was no happiness without the knowledge of sadness. No sweetness without the taste of bitterness. Rino wouldn't lie to them and give them false hopes. However, he wasn't an utterly cold-hearted bastard who would leave them to die on their own.

"I am neither a fair lord nor an understanding one. However, I can say this now. Those who contributed the most to this kingdom will inherit portions of it by their contributions when I retire. All of you gathered here today, except for a few I did not summon, are forerunners for this kingdom's territory inheritance. I do not need or want unwilling followers in my empire. Those who do not work do not get to eat. Those who work more than what they eat must be rewarded in the same way that those who eat more than they work do. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Initially, nobody moved. Rino's words were very encrypted, and it took Sheila several moments to understand them. Zerg was too young to comprehend the message, but Kamiya gratefully bowed until his head touched the floor.

"My lord! This soul, heart, mind and body are yours from the moment we answered your summoning. Till the end of time, my clan and I will devote it entirely to your cause. Please give my clan and me a chance to atone for doubting you!"

Even though Zerg and Bink still could not understand what was going on, they followed Kamiya and bowed, urging the troll chieftain and Quasimodo to follow.

With this matter settled and convinced that they could now see things his way, Rino booted them out of his private space to take a nap.. They could sort the difference in understanding among themselves.