"Leon Demorian. Due to the rising threat of monsters and the violent empire, direct combat skills are favored for the future of our land and kingdom. Out of the seven princes of Demorian, I hereby declare your elimination." The old gaunt man growled with a cold face, reading from the scroll he had spent hours writing.
"Your Skill, [Sultan's Harem], is a management skill that has no direct use in combat. As per our wizards, your skill's main function is commanding multiple people of the opposite gender from yours. If you were a woman, you would've earned the throne without a question, as such power could have allowed you to control the entire army." The old man sighed with a hint of sadness and disappointment.
"To avoid future conflict and deaths, I request that you leave our territory and never return for the next ten years. Until the next lord is already well established. You've got a month on your hands." The old man gave his son, Leon, a sharp glare filled with regret and disappointment, but not a shred of love. This man didn't see his sons as more than their skills were. To him, they were just tools for war.
"One question." Leon looked back at his father with glowing ruby eyes and got shouted at instead. "You dare speak on this stage?!"
Leon wasn't fazed at all, not because he was courageous or powerful, but because he had already gotten used to his enraged father. "I'm taking Noel with me. That's okay with you, right?"
The old man stared at him with a boiling glare, and then sighed. "Fine, she has already lost her purpose with you leaving. I would've fired her out anyway." He waved his hand. "Now, scram. I've got your brothers to walk to."
"Thanks, old man." Leon turned around to leave, his white hair scattering the faint light coming from the windows. "May you live a long life. I'll come back to visit you in ten years."
As angry and violent as Leon's father was, Leon didn't hate him. Monsters were indeed on the rise in the past few years, and right now, any region without a powerful leader and a sizeable army would get consumed by them in no time at all.
As the door closed behind him, Leon had now been officially kicked out of the Demorian family. "Lord Leon!" A short maid with green eyes and long curly black hair rushed toward him, worried. "How did it go?! What did Lord Belfast say?"
"The expected. I'm kicked out." He replied, and her face paled. "No, that can't be. Does that mean... I'm getting fired!?" She looked to be more concerned about her job than him, which even made Leon's heart hurt a bit.
"You aren't... well, not technically." Leon looked at her with a smile. "You're coming with me. I asked father if I could keep you as my personal maid, and he agreed."
For a moment, she looked as pale as a corpse, but then sighed. "Well, I wouldn't have found a job anyway. There isn't any noble family willing to hire fired maids. If I'm going to starve on the street, I'll at least get to insult you on my last days."
"Insult me? I'm your master now." He was devastated, but clinging to life was all that he could do. "Let's go change your contract from the family's maid to my personal servant and leave." Without dawdling on the past or wasting time, Leon grabbed Noel by the hand and dragged her behind him so they could move fast and get out of here before any of his brothers saw him.
The last thing he wanted was them playing a cruel prank on him. Unlike his cruel but fair father, his brothers were nothing but sadistic, evil, and power-hungry warlords.
Even though it looked like he was dragging her behind him, she still moved with grace because, unlike him, who had nothing but a Management skill, she had [Sword Master], a purely offensive skill that allows its holder to quickly master the blade and move with an inhuman level of dexterity and power. In the war of succession, she wasn't just his maid, but his personal guard as well.
But even though her skill was powerful, it wasn't what the Demorian family looked for. They only looked for powerful magical skills that could wipe hordes of monsters all at once, like [Flame Lord] or [Weather Control], which were far too rare to find, as those two had only been recorded in legends.
As the two reached the house's management office, Leon immediately got Noel's contract transferred to him. As his father said, the office was already preparing to fire her that day, and the reason they cited was incompetence and failure to support her master.
No one would hire a maid with such a black dot on her resume, so it was a good decision to transfer her to him before they could do that and ruin her entire career.
Noel stared at her now-discarded firing papers with a pale face. Why didn't they cite that her master failed and she was let go? Why would they go so far as to ruin her career?
Leon smiled by her side. "At least now you can find a place to belong to if I die fighting monsters." Hearing him mumble that, Noel froze, finally understanding the depth of despair Leon was on.
He never intended to live or survive. He knew well that someone who couldn't fight like him would never make it in this monster-infested world. Like the majority of adventurers, he expected to be a part of the 99% that dies on their first quest.
If that happens, then she would not be fired but set free, as her master had died. That would still allow her to get hired anywhere she wanted.
"Master Leon! No, you can't..." She cried, but at that moment, a voice rang in her and Leon's head.
[Notice: Noel Cromwell had joined the the Sultan's Harem.]
[Notice: Noel Cromwell's Loyalty had increased from 0% to 10%]
[Notice: Noel Cromwell's skill [Sword Master] had been copied to the Sultan.]
[Notice: All of Noel's stats would increase by the same percentage of her Loyalty to the Sultan when fighting in his name.]
[Notice: All of the Sultan's Stats increased by the combined percentage of loyalty of his Harem. Current increase 10%]