Chen Fan considered himself a fairly charismatic man.
At least...
He thought he looked friendly enough. Otherwise, so many people would not have followed him. He might not radiate such regal authority that everyone submitted at first sight, but surely he should not inspire fear.
And yet—
The women of various races gathered in the hall stared at him in terror, their arms wrapped around themselves as they kept retreating, huddling tightly together.
Old and new whip marks were clearly visible on their exposed arms and other limbs.
After a moment of silence, Chen Fan forced what he considered a kindly smile. Just as he was about to say something else, a girl timidly stepped out of the crowd and stood before the other women, speaking softly.
"Did you..."
"Defeat the Sahara Continent?"
"More or less."
Chen Fan nodded. In truth, he disliked the word "defeat." This hardly qualified as a battle. The Falcon Continent would not even go down in history as a campaign, merely a minor incident mentioned in passing.
Among the crowd.
A woman reached out and tugged at the girl who had stepped forward, seemingly worried as she signaled for her not to say too much.
The girl shook her head and continued softly.
"You smell nice. Your scent makes me feel safe."
"I trust you."
"I'll go with you."
Chen Fan smiled. That was more like it. He had known he was the sort of person who looked friendly at first glance.
An incense stick's worth of time later.
The women gathered here gradually lowered their guard. After learning that Chen Fan did not intend to imprison or beat them, but truly planned to find them a new home, much of their wariness faded.
There was a popular saying.
Fat men were impotent.
Of course,