"Very well," said Vandalieu. "Hannah-san, he wants to bid farewell to this world."

"What?!" shouted the slave. "Wait a second, I didn't choose anything like –"

"Okay. I understand~♪"

The scarred man screamed as the Flame Ghost Hannah enveloped him, surrounding him in flames. Before long, he collapsed and stopped moving.

"Alright, next person –" Vandalieu began.

"W-wait a second! What are you playing at?!"

"Why did you burn him to death?! He didn't disobey you or demand that you give him money, right?!"

The criminal slaves were shocked and frightened.

Vandalieu blinked at them a few times before answering. "I did say that I have the right to decide whether to accept your decision, didn't I? Based on that right, I decided that I wouldn't accept that person's decision," he said.

"S-so then, why did you kill him?!"

"I mean, if I gave a former bandit weapons and food and set him free and then he returned to being a bandit and harmed more people, I'd feel bad for his future victims."

The spirits of those who had died at the mine had been purified by the priest, but the spirits haunting the criminal slaves were still there. Thus, Vandalieu was able to tell which of them were evil people by listening to the spirits behind them.

Vandalieu had given up on the Hartner Duchy, but he wouldn't consider releasing evil people into the wild. And if he did let evil people go free here, they might cause trouble for the nearest place where people lived, the cultivation villages.

"B-but what if we reform after being saved by you –"

"I haven't saved you criminal slaves," said Vandalieu. "You're just extras that happened to come along with saving the relatives of Borkus and the others. I'm simply deciding whether to take you with me or discard you here."

Vandalieu wasn't trying to become a protector of the weak or a liberator of slaves. His objective was only the rescue of Talosheim's refugees.

For him, these criminal slaves were nothing more than those who happened to be involved in that process. Leaving them alive would probably cause harm, so Vandalieu would kill them and make use of them, along with the soldiers of the mine.

"A-alright! I'm going to follow you and do whatever you tell me! I'll definitely be useful!"

"Then please burn to death," said Vandalieu. "Aria-san, please go ahead.

"Okay, look over here~"

"GYAAAAAAH! WHYYYYYYYYYY?!"

"I mean, it would be troublesome if a serial robber, rapist and murderer were to come with me," said Vandalieu.

The women of Talosheim would probably twist the necks of a sex offender with ease, but it would be bad for Pauvina and the other girls to see that.

"Now then, next –"

"W-wait! I'm fine with being a slave, I won't ask you to set me free, but please spare me being burned to death!" the third man begged, skillfully managing to press his forehead against the ground despite being bound. There were no spirits behind him; it was possible that he wasn't an evil criminal.

"Incidentally, under what charges were you turned into a slave?" Vandalieu asked him.

"S-stealing," said the man. "I entered an inn to steal something and saw a valuable item... and it just happened to be something belonging to someone related to a nobleman..."

Vandalieu thought that sending someone to the mines for stealing was a bit of a heavy punishment for the crime, but it was certainly possible if the person being stolen from was related to a nobleman.

"Then please work hard in Talosheim for a while," he said. "But if you try steal things in Talosheim as well, things will go horribly for you."

Vandalieu would have him work in Talosheim for a year, and if there were no problems, he would be set free. The noblemen of the Hartner Duchy weren't noblemen of Talosheim, so things would probably be fine like that.

"Yes... Heheh! I shall do my best to serve you in humility!"

Vandalieu gave a nod towards the man who had skillfully managed to fall prostrate while bound, delighted that he wouldn't have to die. And then Vandalieu shifted his gaze to the next criminal slave.

"I don't want to follow you, you creepy corpse-user. So if you're going to kill me, do it with your own hands rather than dirtying the hands of your subordinates."

"Eh?"

"What's wrong, you can't do it after all? Oi, you Titans! Even if you follow this guy, he's just going to work you to death! So come with us and – what are you –" The man began choking.

Vandalieu used both hands to grab the head of the man who had tried to stir up the Titans, used Surpass Limits and twisted it 180 degrees, destroying his cervical vertebrae.

I didn't want to kill with my own hands because I won't get Experience Points that way, Vandalieu thought with a sigh as he looked down at the man's face and back before throwing him aside.

"Now then, next –"

After that, the criminal slaves, having learned from these examples, seemed to have decided that being taken away and remaining as slaves was the best option for them.

Of course, even then, Vandalieu disposed of those who were evil people.

The former-slave Titans watched with stiff expressions as Vandalieu, having finished making a selection of the criminal slaves, headed towards the former inhabitants of the First Cultivation Village.

"J-just as he appears, he's not normal."

Seeing Vandalieu burn people alive and twist someone's neck with his own hands without a single change in his facial expression, they made changes to their impressions of him.

"I didn't really think of him as a liberator of slaves or anything like that, but..." Gopher murmured.

"Really? He was actually considerate enough to make it less frightening for us," said Borkus.

"He was?!"

"Yeah, the reason he twisted that guy's neck earlier was so that he wouldn't show you guys the blood."

"... Then I'd like him to do something about the smell, too..."

Of course, the smell of the burnt flesh of the criminal slaves was floating about. The Titans were quite far away, so it was bearable, however.

"You're right, it's starting to make me hungry," said Borkus.

Gopher almost responded to her father's remark with, "Exactly," but managed to stop herself and stiffened. She did a double-take as she looked at Borkus's face before looking towards Levia.

Levia looked up, as if wondering what was wrong. Gopher then realized that Borkus and Levia had changed more since they were alive than she had previously thought.

"I suppose I have no choice but to just think of Oyaji and Levia-sama having been reborn as slightly different races and get used to it," she told herself. "But you really gave birth to a crazy son."

"... Are you talking to me?" Eleanora blinked as she turned around after Gopher's sudden remark, which had been directed at her.

"Yeah, you're His Majesty's mother, aren't you?" said Gopher. "Vampires really do look young; I'm jealous."

"No!" Having realized that she had been mistaken for Vandalieu's mother because he was a Dhampir and she was a Vampire, Eleanora was indignant in her denial. "I am Vandalieu-sama's servant; his mother is Darcia-sama!"

I want to eat some barbecued meat, Vandalieu thought as he finished talking to everyone from the First Cultivation Village, his hunger having been stimulated by the pleasant smell of burning flesh.

They were quite fearful of Vandalieu, but in the end, they had decided to come to Talosheim. Even if they stayed in the Hartner Duchy, there was nowhere for them to live.

If they were caught, they would be executed at worst or become slaves again at best. It would be a long journey if they wanted to escape to another duchy. Thus, following Vandalieu would give them the greatest chances of survival.

"I don't mind remaining as a slave, but if you could treat us a little better than we have been treated up until now..."

"Oh no, we will welcome you as normal people... as free citizens," Vandalieu promised. "Since you're not criminals, I have no reason to turn you into slaves."

The young man who called himself the village chief's son had become completely used to serving others after living as a slave, but Vandalieu stopped him from lowering his head.

Eleanora, having cleared up the misunderstanding about the matter of Vandalieu's mother, whispered in Vandalieu's ear. "Are you sure you wish to bring them with us just as they are?" she asked. "They may betray you in the future, Vandalieu-sama."

There was no way for Vandalieu to restrain the actions of those from the First Cultivation Village. Although Vandalieu had the ability to remove slave collars, he had no way to create new ones. Even if they were former inhabitants of the Sauron Duchy and followers of Vida's religion, there was no guarantee that they would remain loyal to Vandalieu.

Death-Attribute Charm didn't work on them, after all.

"Perhaps you should use Mental Encroachment to restrain them a little..." Eleanora suggested.

"No, I don't have to go that far," said Vandalieu. "Talosheim is a nation, not a secret society."

He had no intention of demanding such loyalty from them.

"But... if they betrayed you in the future..."

"They might betray me in the future. That's how people are," said Vandalieu. "I am the king, and they are merely citizens. With that being the case, that's how things are."

Vandalieu felt that it would be abnormal to use brainwashing to restrain the wills of ordinary people who weren't criminals. And if their families were taken hostage or they were promised great rewards, they could waver and betray him. That was how normal people were.

Leaving aside whether these people would really betray him, if they really did, Vandalieu would deal with it when the time came on a case-by-case basis.

But Eleanora didn't seem satisfied, so he continued. "And you know, you haven't betrayed me, have you, Eleanora? So it's fine," he said.

Eleanora's face lit up, almost audibly. And then she embraced Vandalieu in her arms.

"Vandalieu-sama, I will never let you go!" she declared.

"... The speed at which you hug me is steadily increasing." Being surrounded in softness that had a warmth unlike Rita and Saria's, Vandalieu was surprised at the fact that Eleanora's movements had no signs of hesitation or wasteful motions. He was already a user of the Unarmed Fighting Technique at such a level that he would be considered a master on Earth, but he hadn't been able to see Eleanora's movement at all.

Even now, her grip was superb, ensuring that Vandalieu couldn't slip out of it.

It was a sight to behold. As Vandalieu couldn't slip out, he asked her to carry him to the final group of slaves.

These were the slaves who had failed to sell or brought here immediately after the slave trader decided that they wouldn't sell anywhere else. Many of them were girls so young that even brothels wouldn't willingly buy them, and young boys who would take too long to grow enough to become useful for manual labor. They were slaves with large scars and damage to their bodies.

Their eyes were all dead-looking, and their faces were blank, as if their minds weren't thinking of anything at all.

Normally, it would be good to confirm what the slaves wanted. Even if their ability to think and decide for themselves had weakened, it would be best to stimulate that ability and prompt them to make a recovery and make a decision of their own will.

However, the slaves all stared at Vandalieu as he approached. They exhaled, groaned and looked up at him as if they were longing for him.

It seemed that Death-Attribute Charm was working on them.

"If there is anything you want to do, anywhere you want to return to, anyone you want to kill, please tell me and I'll think about how to proceed with those," said Vandalieu. "If there aren't, then please follow me. Accept what I give you, do what I tell you to do and do as you wish once you become stronger."

As long as Death-Attribute Charm was working, confirming what they desired wouldn't work properly. That was why Vandalieu had made it appear as if he were asking them, but then given them an order. Once their bodies and minds recovered and they learned to read, write and do arithmetic, they would become able to think for themselves even if they remained under the skill's effects.

"Yes... I understand."

"Goshujin-sama..."

The slaves, who were even more lifeless than the doll-like soldiers, nodded. Vandalieu would need to heal their wounds and make sure they ate properly before they moved from the mine.

Before that, the problem was dealing with one final person.

"... So, why are you here?" Vandalieu asked.

There was a man lying on the ground, his hands and feet bound. Vandalieu looked at this man through half-closed eyes – at Luciliano, the Degenerate.