The sole man among the group of new arrivals had a relatively small frame, standing at just five and a half feet tall.
"Where is this place!?" he wondered aloud.
He seemed completely out of place standing alongside the two women.
Both his wife and daughter were bombshell beauties, radiating an allure that made them stand out.
"Dad, is what that woman said true?" the daughter asked hesitantly.
The man flinched slightly at the question, but anger quickly overtook his expression.
"Is it that hard for you to trust your father!?" he shouted. "Do you have any idea how much I've done for you? How much I've toiled to gather the money needed for your Class Bestowal? And now, just one stranger's lies are enough to make you doubt me!?"
The man's wife regarded him with a cold expression, which her daughter did not seem to notice.
"I didn't mean it like that, Dad. I was just confirming," she replied in a meek voice.
"Tch. Like I said, she was just making up some random excuse to pin the blame on me. People these days will believe anything a somewhat pretty woman says," he grumbled.
"Don't worry, Dad, I believe you. We'll start a new life here and leave the past behind us. You too, Mom—cheer up."
Throughout the conversation, the girl's mother remained silent. She gave off a quiet sense of melancholy.
"Tara, just wait here. I need to speak with your mother in private for a moment."
Without waiting for his daughter's response, the man grabbed his wife's hand and forcefully dragged her away.
His diminutive stature meant his head barely reached his wife's chest.
"Can you stop looking at me like I owe you a 100 gold?"
The 'you owe me a 100 gold' stare only intensified. She still did not say anything. She expected at least a proper apology.
"Look, I know what I did wasn't right, but don't act like you've never made the same mistake. And don't think I haven't noticed how the men on the streets ogle at you whenever you go out."
The woman's eyes widened as the man's implication sank in, tears forming in her eyes.
"With a body like yours, you must have had your fair share of trysts. As the breadwinner of the family, I deserve to enjoy my life too."
Tara observed her parents' interaction from a distance, worry etched on her face. She couldn't hear their words.
At one point, she saw her dad raise his hands to her mother's face, wiping away her tears. Tara's mind churned with turmoil. She desperately hoped her parents would reconcile.
Sometime later, Bob and Furina returned from their discussion.
Tara hurried to Furina, clutching her mother's hands. "Mom, are you alright?"
Furina's eyes were slightly red, but she forced a smile for her daughter. Freeing her hands, she pulled Tara into a hug.
Tara was shorter than her mother, Furina, but still taller than her father, Bob.
"Everything's going to be alright," she said, kissing her daughter's head.
Perhaps wanting to shake off her gloomy mood, Furina changed the topic.
"First, we need to figure out where to go. The ground here is corrupted, and I don't see any nearby settlements," she said.
"Your mother's right, Tara," Bob said, awkwardly trying to join the conversation. "There's no dedicated office for welcoming refugees here. It must be a new ruler. But I don't see any buildings or people, which is strange."
Tara raised her hand and pointed in a direction. "There's a person over there," she said.
The figure Tara spotted was, of course, Hiro. From such a distance, and under the dim lighting, it was easy to mistake him for a tree.
With no better options, they decided to approach him. As they drew nearer, his striking features became clearer.
Hiro was a tall, handsome man, standing over six feet. His fair, healthy skin could easily make some women envious. He had jet-black hair and piercing gray eyes that seemed to ensnare anyone who stared into them for too long. The combination of his suave features and enigmatic gray eyes gave him an air of mystery, as if he were a man with a tale to tell.
He wore the Baron's clothes he had obtained for free from the stone tablet's shop, which added a touch of refined nobility to his already impressive appearance.
Before the trio could say anything, Hiro greeted them with a small wave. "Welcome, travelers from afar, to my realm," he said.
The three newcomers were struck with varying levels of shock. What did he mean by 'his realm'?
"Y-Your realm? Are you the lord of this barony?" Bob asked cautiously.
"That's right." Hiro gave a thumbs-up before gesturing toward something behind him.
He directed their attention to the Chest of Holding and the stone tablet.
"Is that the Stone Tablet that every Ruler has?" Tara rhetorically questioned.
"And if that's the Ruler's Chest of Holding…" Furina added.
To provide conclusive proof, Hiro performed a small magic trick.
The stone tablet, which had been resting atop the chest, suddenly teleported into his hand. Summoning the tablet was a unique ability granted to every ruler—at least, according to Carnalia.
The tablet was indestructible and could only be used by the ruler of its realm. And no, it apparently couldn't be thrown as a weapon.
Seeing it appear magically in his hands, the trio was fully convinced that he was indeed the ruler of this realm.
While the three processed their shock, Hiro discreetly stole a few appreciative glances at the stunning figures of Furina and Tara.
Naughty thoughts began brewing in his mind, and he silently thanked the World for sending such beautiful women his way.
Bob, unable to hold back his questions any longer, asked, "My Lord, where is your settlement? Where are the people who should be with you?"
Hiro simply smiled at Bob after hearing his questions.
A bad feeling began to creep over Bob.
"Don't tell me… this is it? This is the settlement?"
Hiro's smile widened, and he nodded at Bob.
Bob's frustration grew. "My Lord, can you please say something? Why are you alone here? Where is this place?"
Hiro was, of course, completely clueless about his location on the larger map. Although Carnalia had provided him with extensive general knowledge about Rulers and the World, she wasn't familiar with Warnath.
So, he decided to play mysterious. "You tell me. Where do you think we are?" he asked.
Bob took a few moments to observe his surroundings thoughtfully.
"This dark, endless sky, the corruption in the land, and the palpable aura of desolation… Don't tell me we're in the middle of the Desolate Lands!?"
That sounded like a fairly educated guess. Hiro nodded and said, "Not bad."
"As for why I'm the ruler of this place… it's a tragic story, one I doubt your heart could bear. Let's just say there was a small accident."
Ignoring the flabbergasted expressions of the newcomers, Hiro continued, "Now, enough with the pointless questions. You are the fated ones, the first refugees to arrive at my doorstep. Will you become citizens of my realm?"
'There's no door, and the only thing we're fated for is death!' Bob wanted to cry, but the tears refused to come.
He glanced at his two family members, both surrounded by an aura of bleakness. They couldn't believe this was happening.
But what could they do? They lacked the strength to leave the Desolate Lands on their own.
An idea struck Bob. "My Lord, would you be willing to Exile us? Please? I'm begging you. My family and I are very weak. We're not cut out for this place."
Exile—an ability possessed by all Rulers. It allowed them to banish any sentient being within their line of sight from their realm. The catch was that every citizen in the realm would be notified of its usage, along with other, more complex disadvantages.
If Hiro Exiled the trio, they would be sent back to the last barony they had been in before the World brought them here.
But there was no way Hiro was going to do that.
"No," Hiro said flatly. "You either become my citizens or leave."
"My Lord! Please reconsider! Look at my wife and daughter—they're too frail to survive in these conditions."
"No," Hiro replied firmly. "And if you pester me again, I'll Exile you alone and keep your wife and daughter here with me."
"Hiiik." That did the trick, and Bob quickly shut his mouth.
The three exchanged glances, silently conversing. They knew they had no choice.
"We're willing to become citizens, My Lord," the three said unwillingly in unison.
Hiro retrieved the Citizenship Approval Slate, a free item he had obtained from the Shop.
Each of them dropped a single bead of their blood onto the Slate.
And with that, Hiro's realm welcomed its first citizens.