The Gladiatorial Arena manager was skinny, with the characteristic smile of a crooked merchant on his face. His only distinguishing feature was a tuft of a little moustache on his chin, which had been creatively styled into a single long strand with pomade.
Levi handed Fulina's written order to the manager. He carefully checked it while slowly stroking his "sexy" little moustache.
"An order from Duke Fulina?"
A trace of surprise showed on the manager's face. He sized Levi up for a few moments, then nodded. "No problem."
He led Levi and Zat into the Gladiatorial Arena.
Since it was a day off, the Gladiatorial Arena was empty of spectators. Only a few servants were meticulously cleaning the rows of private boxes reserved for the nobility.
"To be honest, ever since Duke Fulina dumped them on me, the money they've earned from fighting hasn't been enough to cover their food costs. The Gladiatorial Arena has been losing money to keep them."
"It's been a real headache. I've written to Duke Fulina about it often, but I've never received a proper response."
"So I'm glad you've come to take them off my hands."
As they walked, the Gladiatorial Arena manager gave a wry smile, expressing his thoughts. He seemed somewhat relieved.
Levi nodded, feeling a deep sense of agreement.
When it came to how much those Beastman gluttons could eat, no one had more of a right to speak than he did.
For example, in his past life.
An ordinary person's food for three meals a day might cost around fifty units. But if you put Zat in that world, a balanced diet of meat and vegetables for him would cost over five hundred units, minimum.
Fifty Beastmen would be twenty-five thousand a day, and nearly a million a month.
Without a significant family fortune, one simply couldn't afford to raise this pack of gluttons.
And you couldn't skimp on the food for these Beastman Barbarians. If they didn't eat their fill, they wouldn't have the strength to move their Giant Beast-like bodies, and their combat effectiveness would plummet.
Having received their orders, two Guards walked into a deep, dark corridor. When they emerged, they were followed by dozens of bare-chested, Green-skinned Orc Barbarians.
Actually, there was one thing Levi didn't quite understand.
Logically speaking, Beastmen should have brown skin, as green skin was a mutation that occurred after being corrupted by Evil Energy.
He had even specifically looked into it.
But the final answer was "it's always been that way."
This made him breathe a sigh of relief. 'If they were truly connected to something like Evil Energy, I'm afraid my System wouldn't be enough to handle it.'
It was a well-known fact that aboriginal peoples from colder, northern regions tended to have more robust physiques, while those from the south were comparatively smaller and thinner.
It was also a well-known fact that Beastmen were naturally gifted with physical prowess; "strong" was synonymous with them.
And when these two factors combined, an incredible change occurred.
This group of Beastmen, who lived on the border of the Wilderness near the Far North Icefield, were even taller and more robust than their kin who lived in the south.
Levi was about 1.8 ren tall. Years of combat and the boons from his System had given him a perfect physique—broad-shouldered and narrow-waisted. Even among the Northern People, he wouldn't be considered mediocre.
But compared to these Giant Beasts, who had an average height of 2.3 ren and were covered in corded muscle, he was as "cute" as a small potato from the south.
The Beastmen yawned lazily, their gazes somewhat cold. It was clearly the grumpiness that comes from being woken from a pleasant dream.
Moreover, they were the most outstanding Warriors, unrivaled on the battlefield. Thus, they were proud, arrogant, and looked down on everything.
Oh, including the little potato in front of them.
"Alright, you big lugs, I bought you from Duke Fulina." Levi, completely unconcerned by the Beastmen's scornful gazes, unfurled a parchment. After briefly showing them Fulina's handwriting, he rolled it back up and continued,
"In other words, you are now my slaves."
The lead Beastman froze for a second, then became furious. "Beastmen will never..."
"Room and board included." Levi looked up at these huge figures with a gentle smile. 'If muscle were a virtue, then every one of these Beastmen would be a devout Saint.'
Hearing this, the lead Beastman found himself unable to spit out the last few words. A hint of hesitation appeared on his face, and his morning grumpiness instantly faded by more than half.
"Even so, Beastmen..."
"Not only room and board, but I also guarantee meat at every meal until you're full." Levi's smile didn't waver. He added one last thing: "On the condition that you don't waste it."
At these words, the lead Beastman was dumbfounded. His imposing aura instantly deflated like a wilted cucumber, and he moaned weakly.
"Alright, you win."
He wanted to hold his ground, but this Debei's offer was just too good.
The Gladiatorial Arena manager, who had been accompanying them the whole time, went from sweating bullets at the beginning to utter disbelief.
In the end, he could only manage to squeeze out a single sentence: "Mr. Levi, you... you've certainly found a unique approach."
He never expected that this proud, scornful group of hardheads would be won over by Levi so easily.
Levi just smiled faintly.
Nobody knew better than him how to handle these Beastman Barbarians.
If one meal couldn't win them over, then two would...
"So, if you have any other demands, you can state them now. I'm usually especially lenient with valiant Warriors."
Levi snapped his fingers.
"Heh heh, Boss, I wanna eat a whole roasted pig tonight."
Hearing this, Zat quickly shoved the Gladiatorial Arena manager aside with a huge hand, squeezed his way in front of Levi, and grinned foolishly.
"Scram." Levi spat out a single word.
As if lifting a little chick, Zat grabbed the back of the Gladiatorial Arena manager's collar, put him back in his original spot, and then turned to face the wall, sulking with a wronged expression.
'Didn't he say he was especially lenient with valiant Warriors...?'
The Gladiatorial Arena manager, on the other hand, was completely bewildered. 'What just happened?'
Zat's interruption was just a small interlude. Although the other Beastmen didn't know why this Beastman, Zat, was so obedient to Levi, seeing his well-fed and robust build, it was obvious his life was quite good.
They couldn't help but feel a bit more favorable toward this Debei, since after all, all Beastmen are one family.
Finally, after the group of Beastmen discussed among themselves, they came to a conclusion.
"We will obey your orders, but we are not slaves."
"Alright, that's simple enough." Levi nodded.
The demand was as good as not making one; it was just a matter of making their title sound better. However, Levi was willing to preserve this bit of self-respect for these big dummies.
"One last demand: fight me," the lead Beastman said, his gaze firm.
He had no other intentions. He just wanted to prove the value of a Beastman so this Debei wouldn't look down on them, and so they could receive the treatment they deserved.
This Debei seemed too thin and weak compared to them, but among the Debei People, he was surely a strong Warrior.
If he could defeat him easily, he could make him personally experience the martial prowess of a Beastman.
That way, the other party would feel that the promised room and board was worth the cost, and that he wasn't just feeding a pack of gluttons.
Besides, he would go easy on him.
"I'll fight you!"
Zat, feeling like he hadn't made much of an impression, hurriedly squeezed forward again.
He was determined to show off his own martial prowess in front of his boss.
Looking up at Zat, who was a full head taller than him, the lead Beastman fell silent.