Steel and Mana

Chapter 42 – Settling In

"You called, My Lord?"

"Yes, Oleg, please sit!" I smiled as he entered my study. Luna was already prepared and began serving tea for both of us. It seemed that she adapted very quickly, and besides peeping almost every night when I was having sex with Sasha, she was ready to fulfill her duties to the best of her abilities. "Have you been thinking about establishing our core of the military, as I asked?"

"I have been pondering it since you named me your General. Most of the trained soldiers will be needed to stay to guard the passage; that job is too important to draw people away permanently, so I can't ask for them."

"Father said he will let a hundred people join me. They will be your commanders and officers, but I want you to establish a proper recruitment procedure!"

"I examined the people, and there are some promising youngsters, but... to be honest with you, My Lord, they need a lifetime of work! They are not ready. My Father was a soldier, the same as his; I have been training to become one since I was young! These people are not like our families, fighting beasts for centuries."

"I know that. I want you to read through this in your free time." I didn't have to stand up at all as Luna was already bringing a stack of documents, giving it to him while I remained sitting, sipping my tea. I watched calmly as he quickly scanned the first few pages, his eyebrows moving up and down, humming and nodding here and there.

"This will take a long time, My Lord."

"I know, but being in the military will be a life-long job as described in my 19th Law. They will be directly under your command while you are under mine. They will need to study the art of war from an early age and must be instilled with loyalty, discipline, courage, and skill. I am still working out their pay and privileges, but I aim to set up a system that raises warriors and provides them with lifelong careers. Just as I will need someone to inherit my position, the same is true for you."

"My Lord..." He murmured, looking touched.

"Raise proper soldiers, and you can name your successor one day! For that, they have to be well-trained and organized. Start with volunteers and make sure they are only given a pass after they go through the complete training process that I defined."

"My Lord, the training methods you wrote here are fascinating! I think your Father would be really interested in it!"

"I already sent a copy to him earlier. He is slowly implementing them, but I want you to consider them right from the start while building up our military force. The first group doesn't need to be big, as I don't expect trouble to come knocking on our door. Not just yet."

"I will do my best, My Lord!"

"Make sure that those hundred who come to serve under me also understand it! Train them with these methods first to get a feel for it. Get them through 10 weeks of basic training; while you do that, the volunteered youngsters can concentrate on their studies. I want my soldiers to be literate, just like you! While Merlin teaches them the basic skills, you can continue with the AIT for the hundred Father gives us!"

"AIT..." he murmured, quickly flipping through the pages, finding it, "Advanced Individual Training. Teaching specific skills and knowledge for their future field."

"You know them the best, so try to give them the most suitable ranks and position. I detailed everything in my notes, and when you are finished setting up the officers, come back to me with a finalized list. I will conduct the PME myself!"

With another brief search, he quickly found the part about 'Professional Military Education' and my brief introduction to it. I was going to use my own experience as a basis to set up a new training regiment. First, I will need a completed list of who I have and what type of skillset they have for me to adjust and develop the best way to train them. What I didn't tell Oleg while watching him leave was that I would also experiment on those who volunteer.

My goal was to make sure my future soldiers were fed with beast meat... I ran through the thousands of books in my head but found no information about whether they provide benefits or boons to people. I had to conduct my own investigation to see if they grew this big and strong because of the meat they ate or if it was a genetic accident.

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"Thank you, Luna! Come, sit down, and eat with us!"

"B-but... Mistress!" She stammered, but Sasha wasn't having it, and she quickly made her sit at our table.

"Don't be shy!" I chuckled, enjoying the seasoning on my meat, happy with how professional Luna was in the kitchen. We still need to get a proper cook, but if she is this talented, I don't want to hire anyone else but her. "This is excellent, Luna. I hope when you finally give me a list of who to hire, you will teach them these recipes."

"Yes, it is really delicious! I will need to learn it if I want to be a good wife!"

"Mistress, nobles don't cook for themselves! That is the responsibility of their servants!"

"But..." Sasha flinched, looking at me, feeling confused, "I want to learn to make tasty foods for Leon..."

"Luna," I smiled while leaning forward and feeding Sasha one of the juicy bits from my plate, "Everybody needs a hobby. If my wife wants to learn cooking, please teach her."

"Yes, Master!" She answered, standing up and bowing immediately.

"When we are in private," I continued, watching her sit back, "You don't need to be this formal. Call us by our names."

"That is improper! No!" I was surprised at how vehemently she protested against the idea, and I exchanged a look with Sasha, deciding not to push it. Was this the effect of some kind of... conditioning?

"I like the word, Master and Mistress..." She murmured, looking at her plate, starting to stuff her mouth with food, not daring to meet our eyes.

"I see."

I think I was getting it. In the past weeks, I was starting to figure out my new maid. When I let her relax, she usually read a book, lazed around, and did nothing, becoming Sloth's avatar. When she was peeping, and I was trying to listen to her, I could swear I caught some really hardcore words coming from behind our door. Was she a closeted pervert? All the clues were pointing towards that. When dinner ended, I returned to my room with Sasha while Luna took care of the dishes. After stoking the fire, I embraced her and sat down before the fireplace, gently rubbing her tummy.

"Mhm... winter is soon to be here! The days are getting really cold!" She whispered, purring like a cat, happy to sit in my lap and enjoy the caressing.

"Yep, and there will be some things I want to try out when it happens!"

"Oh? New magic formations?"

"O-of course! They are related to fire, so it will be tailored for you! But what I wanted to talk about now is Luna."

"Hm? What is it?"

"What do you think about her?"

"She is really nice and hard-working!"

"Hmmm..."

"What? Did she do something weird?"

"No, she didn't; I just have a feeling she doesn't show us her authentic self. When she is surprised or overwhelmed, she bursts out, speaking her true thoughts instead of what had been crammed into her head as etiquette. I want her to be more like that when she is with us. I want you to try to get closer to her and slowly demolish that wall. I want her to feel more free and at home. I don't think she truly settled in yet, even if she says otherwise."

"I never lived in a big city, but... I guess it is really different, huh?"

"Very much so! This city still lacks the liveliness of the capital. But that will gradually change. Until then, I want you to help her open up a bit; what do you say?"

"Leave it to me! I always wanted a friend who was close to me in age!"

At that moment, watching her honest, childlike smile, I remembered Sasha had lived her whole childhood in fear and alone in the woods, always struggling to see another year. If not for her gift, she may have perished earlier. No wonder she was so clingy; she wanted a family...

"What?" She asked, seeing me being lost in her eyes.

"I was thinking about us... and how nice it will be when you gift me an heir."

That quickly did it as she turned redder than the fire warming the room, yet instead of complaining, she turned around, kissing and undressing me, blessing me with another passionate night.

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"You really want to send me away?" Yuri sniffed, her eyes watering up, giving me a hurt and puppy-like look.

"Stop it, I won't be fooled!" I grunted in response, leaning closer, watching the sadness disappear from her eyes, replaced by a sudden impulse.

I already knew I had made a mistake, but it was too late as she lunged at me and grabbed me by the neck before kissing me passionately, followed by her biting my lips. I tried pushing her off me, but she wasn't letting go, continuing kissing and biting. I could feel the taste of blood that mixed with our saliva gave me goosebumps. Shit... Did I like this? Finally, Oleg and the others reacted, pulling her off me and pressing her down until I waved a hand, signaling them to let her stand up.

"Ah fuck, that was too short..." She giggled, licking her lips and breathing heavily.

"Kneel." I commanded her and saw her shudder as she obeyed, looking up at me curiously. "Open your mouth." I already knew that she was not just a masochist, but she loved the powerplay, having a distorted opinion about it. She wanted to be on the top, yet she couldn't help but rejoice when someone dominated her. Could I ever cure her? No. I don't think so... but I may mellow her out if I satisfy both of her desires.

"Like this?" She asked with difficulty, keeping her mouth open, her tongue sticking out, and watching with enlarged eyes as I spit my blood and saliva into her mug. "Kyaaaah?!"

I think it may be the first time I heard her let out such a cute, girlish cry, both of her hands disappearing between her thighs.

"More please!"

"I will give you more." I answered, placing my hand on her head, rubbing it as if she were a puppy, "But first, you need to prove you are not just a wild fuckdog. Got it? I need to trust you. Do you know what I value most?"

"Pussy?"

"No." I said with complete honesty, maintaining eye contact with her.

"Money?"

"No."

"Power!"

"No."

"Fuuuuck, then what?!" She pouted but never took her eyes off of mine.

"Loyalty. Simple as that. Prove me you can be loyal, through thick and thin... then I will consider giving you more."

To my surprise, she didn't reply this time, but she also no longer pouted or complained about the mission I was giving her and her team.

"I am sending you because you can travel through borders between our regions unhindered. Don't cause trouble for my Uncle, got it? He has his hands full right now with reconstructing his court after killing Piggy! I want you to go along their borders and scout the neighboring counties! If you rob someone you can't deal with, I will abandon you, got it?!"

"Yes!"

"I hope so. Your goal is to make contact with the regional underground organizations. Until I find my own CC mine, I need a source. You will get me that, and in turn, I will reward you."

"With what?" She asked, wiggling her butt as if wagging her tail.

"Depends on your performance! We will see! Just make sure the magic formations I entrust you are only given over after you get the CC! Got it?"

"No problem, Boss!" She laughed, standing up, repeating everything I told her, "I remember what you said. I know that CC is always 1 kilogram! I won't be swindled with your handy scale at my side, and this won't be my first rodeo!"

"1.5! Don't get swindled! Now go! I expect good news from you by spring!"