The lackeys looked around at each other. They were trying to wait for one of them to eat before deciding. But Alex didn't allow that. So, they quickly chose the red chillies instead of the cherry tomato.
They mistakenly thought that their leader cried due to spiciness after eating a cherry tomato. But that was not the case. He cried due to their betrayal.
By choosing the red chillies, they had dug their own grave. The searing spicy taste felt like fire to them. They were not used to eating something so spicy. It was killing them from the inside. It might also give them a bad stomach ache later.
But Alex didn't care about any of that.
By choosing to eat only the red chillies, the lackeys had made a choice to deny any friendship with their leader. They were also washing their hands clean, denying any responsibility for their action. This didn't sit well with Alex.
He appreciated the dumb but loyal leader who was willing to eat all the spicy hot vegetables more than these lackeys. In moments of crisis, he saw through the real character of the people before him.
However, he knew when to stop. It would be untrue to say that he didn't enjoy bullying the bullies. But it was time to end it.
Most people in the modern age would have treated these kids as misfits, irredeemable bastards who have no future. From his experience, he had seen kids like that being misguided into being something far worse than they are capable of.
And Alex didn't want that. Now that he had come across these kids. It would be better to help them realise their mistake than to punish them incessantly.
"Sigh!" Alex held his head with his palm. Things were getting more taxing than he thought.
"Now, stand up." He commanded in military style.
"One by one introduce yourself," Alex said.
The kids were happy to see that the devil was asking no more questions. They realised that they don't need to eat any more red chillies.
With a slight pause, they began introducing themself.
"I am the youngest grandson of the chief of the Woodland tribe. I am the most talented in my family. I am going to become the next chief of the woodland tribe. I will also elevate our tribe to become one of the nine great tribes. I will also marry the princess of the ice phoenix tribe. And…"
"Stop it! F**k! Is it so hard to say your name? Kid! Say your name. NAME." Seeing Alex angry, a slight shiver went through the leader's body. He was a little, no, a lot more scared than he let on.
"My name is Uli." Finally, the boastful kid said his name.
'Uli, not a bad name for a braggart.' While living in the woodland tribe, Alex heard this term before. It meant a chisel. freewebno(v)el
"I am Mavu"
"I am Adaka."
"I am Karik."
Three of the lackeys gave their names.
"I am Meru and from today onwards, you are my lackeys. You work for me and only me." Alex declared.
"This is what you should experience. When you tried to take advantage of me, you should have expected this outcome. I don't care who you were before or who you could be in the future. But from today onwards, you work for me. You would do everything I say without batting an eyelid. This is what I require of you."
"Don't worry, I don't take advantage of people. For your work, I will pay you. And if you show me that you are better people. I will end this slave contract."
"And let me remind you. You won't be able to escape from me until we reach our destination. HA ha ha ."
With a nasty evil laugh, Alex ended the one-sided conversation. He was clear in his explanation. And he was sure that they understood him well enough to not do anything stupid like rebelling.
"Yes." The lackeys quickly agreed. They were standing slouched with a dispirited look.
'I will fix all the crooked bones in your body.'
But the leader of the now nonexistent group, Uli was struggling to say yes. He didn't want to be a lackey. All his life, he was treated like a prince. Now, he had to serve someone else. It was abhorring.
"Uli, why are you saying nothing?" Alex nudged for an answer.
Understanding the reality, Uli finally agreed to be part of Alex's group.
"Now that we are all good. Let's begin the work. Uli, go with your lackeys to gather firewood." Alex ordered the kids.
While Alex went towards his sleigh to collect the vegetable. He was going to cook again.
Now that the woodland tribe was with them. He could cook lavishly in a large iron pot. It was big enough to cook for more than a hundred people.
There were even frying pans and barbecue grills.
It was enough to make a variety of food.
This was why he wanted to be rich. Convenience, power and prestige. Money can influence all these.
Although power and prestige were not important to Alex. But the convenience money provided can never be replaced.
After the brats brought the firewood. They were asked to burn it and fan the flames.
Seeing the rich kids fanning the flames in the smoke and dirt improved his mood.
'Now, you can see how real life is.'
Eating food that was well cooked and served in front of them had made these kids into the brats they are. It would be a good learning experience to actually see how the food is made.
Even if they had seen how food was cooked before, they wouldn't have cared enough to acknowledge it.
Like that, for the first time. The kids made their own meals. Even when they rolled in the grime and smoke. They enjoyed the process. And they were thrilled to taste it occasionally while they were cooking.
Alex didn't mind giving them a few pieces of fried meat while he was cooking.
—-------------
"See, I told you. The kid is different from the brats of your tribe. He can handle them just fine." Dhairya said to Thadi.
"Hm!" Thadi nodded.
"It is exactly why I took him along to the city. The way he solves problems in a unique and unprecedented way will be a huge help to us in the future. Even though he is not the strongest. His future is the most unpredictable one for me."
"Hm, I disagree. His future is not unpredictable. As long he comes to my tribe, he will be successful in his life. There is doubt about that."
"You old codger. You have yet to give up on that."
"Ha ha ha… We are allies, aren't we Dhairya? Let's work well together in the future."
Thadi replied with a sly smile. He was showing his businessman skill. He thought it was worth investing in the stone head tribe right now.
Dhairya who understood it kept quiet. Old codgers like themselves don't need to put everything in words to understand each other.
Some things were better left unsaid.
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