Ed opened his eyes and saw that Xilǐ'er, along with the armored warhorse that had no flesh, was bowing before him.
Xilǐ'er knelt on one knee, his head lowered but his upper body straight. The warhorse, of course, could not make a similar movement; it simply bent its hooves and lowered its body.
"Your Excellency, your character is truly the best I have ever seen in my life... Xilǐ'er is merely a knight... I never expected to be treated so kindly by you. Please rest assured, I will do everything you have entrusted to me before I leave the baronial territory. If there are any dangerous battles, just leave them to me."
Ed looked surprised and took two steps forward to support Xilǐ'er's arms.
He tried to lift the armored man up, but the man didn't budge.
Ed skillfully concealed his embarrassment, and after a few more words of persuasion, he reluctantly helped Xilǐ'er up, a succubus-like smile already blooming on his face:
"Alright, alright, as long as you don't mind that my territory is small and my people are few, this will be your home forever."
"Regarding this compensation issue, who should we talk to next?"
Ed glanced around, wondering who could help him with this.
Seraphina?
No, no, using such a powerful weapon for such a trivial matter. If even one detail isn't settled, Xilǐ'er will have to be reset to factory settings, and all my previous efforts will have been for nothing.
Duolin?
No, no, none of the people from the Tree Worship Church have any concept of money. In this respect, the five of them are even worse than Seraphina. Don't offer them an exorbitant salary and end up losing money yourself.
Kaping?
Forget it. Ed doesn't have any expectations for these local villagers right now. It's a blessing that they can live well and not be killed by anything easily.
Just as he was lamenting in his heart that he had to do everything himself, a somewhat unfamiliar voice suddenly rang out:
"My lord, I have some knowledge of this."
"Oh?"
Ed glanced to the corner of the hall and discovered that the person speaking was actually [ Zhong Lele ], who had been secretly recording the screen.
You cyber stalker—no, cyber historian—you actually know this kind of thing?
Ed suppressed a twitch in his lips and looked at [ Zhong Lele ]:
"Really? How come I didn't know that?"
[ Zhong Lele ] Actually, she never expected the NPCs to be so intelligent. After witnessing Ed, the faction leader, "poaching" her team members, she couldn't help but mentally give him a thumbs up.
In the eyes of this real-world HR professional, Ed's smooth and efficient operation was a standard example of headhunting and poaching, and he even found a pretext for it, making it impossible to find any moral flaws.
This isn't an NPC, this is clearly a boss with incredible charm!
Even though no expression was displayed on the mask, [ Zhong Lele ] could feel the overwhelming gratitude in Xilǐ'er's heart at that moment.
I wonder how many real-life and literary bosses the production team uploaded to train such an AI.
Since the leader is working so hard, I have to get into character too!
[ Zhong Lele ] thought to herself, and quickly walked up to Ed, Xilǐ'er, and Seraphina, who was watching the show, and bowed slightly:
"My lord, a long time ago (in the real world), I helped a lord (company owner) who commanded a thousand people with similar work (discussing salary and benefits)."
The phrase "[ Zhong Lele ]" was interpreted in three ways by the person, the dragon, and the armor.
Ed understood, of course, that his player was getting too caught up in the game and was preparing to apply his real-world experience flexibly.
Seraphina knew that these energetic Soul Returner had been summoned by Ed's Secret Art of Soul Summoning, so she was not surprised that they retained their original memories.
As for Xilǐ'er, he felt that the young lord in front of him not only led his own territory and people but also had the spare capacity to absorb refugees from outside, so he immediately thought more highly of Ed.
Ed said with a smile:
"Since you have relevant experience, I'll leave this to you. Come back and tell me after you've finalized the details. Xilǐ'er also needs a room to stay in."
A taskbar immediately appeared in front of [ Zhong Lele ]:
Special Mission - " Labor Dispatch "
Task Description: Knight Xilǐ'er has agreed to allow Lord Ed to stay in the Baron's territory for a while, but the specific treatment and arrangements still need to be decided. The Lord has learned of your talent in this area and intends to entrust this matter to you. Please discuss the agreement with Knight Xilǐ'er within one day and submit a written version to Ed for approval.
Quest Rewards: 4 Silver Coins, Ed's Trust +10, Xilǐ'er's Trust +10
This was the first time [ Zhong Lele ] had triggered a hidden quest or a special quest. Before this, she had only seen related screenshots on the forum. For example, [ Dawn Ah ] had already uploaded the quest frames for the two special quests of encountering Gray and Xilǐ'er, and received hundreds of sour comments in the comment section.
Now that this opportunity had finally come to him, [ Zhong Lele ] suppressed his excitement and immediately chose [Accept] with his mind. Guided by the highlighted arrow in his vision, he led Xilǐ'er into a study with chairs, paper, and pens.
This area has always been a restricted zone, but due to a special mission, it has been opened separately to [ Zhong Lele ].
The cyber historian didn't stop recording the video the entire time. She was just waiting for today's test to end so she could use this hidden storyline to gain countless views online.
After all, once the agreement is signed, Xilǐ'er will become an NPC in his faction, and as the only bystander in this event, anyone who wants to know the details will watch his video.
Just imagining this scenario makes [ Zhong Lele ] start fantasizing about his life as a top video blogger.
Watching [ Zhong Lele ] take Xilǐ'er away, Seraphina came to Ed's side and gently nudged his ribs with her elbow:
"You really know your stuff."
The Dragon Girl said with some emotion:
"Thinking back now, you said something similar to me back then."
What's with this strange tone?
Ed suddenly felt like he was about to be roasted. He straightened his expression and turned to look at Seraphina:
But I have never lied.
"Yes, your technique is more sophisticated than a lie."
The dragon girl readily admitted this, and continued:
"So I'm going to seriously learn about this invisible power, starting with today's little lesson."
It's " Teacher Ed's Little Economics Class "!
Ed felt relieved—oh, it was just extra lessons, I thought it was extra meals.
He then changed the subject and asked about something else:
"By the way, Seraphina, I'd like to know... is there any way to replicate or imitate Xilǐ'er's abilities?"