Chapter 163: You must be a good servant, Neil

Inside Zardar’s mind at that precise moment, the situation was truly concerning.

In truth, his selection of Neil—who was currently drowning in the chaos of managing the children—was for a glaringly obvious reason, and far from random in any way, shape, or form.

The old man standing beside him was the very individual whom Cain, after emerging from a spatial rift portal, had explicitly designated as someone of utmost importance. Cain had bound himself to a promise he had yet to fulfill, making it their absolute duty to treat him with the highest degree of respect and attentiveness, providing every single thing he required without the slightest oversight.

The explanation alone was hardly enough to capture what had transpired just moments prior.

A short while ago...

When Cain stepped out of the spatial rift portal bringing the old man alongside him, Zardar needed no more than a few words to grasp the man’s immense importance.

"Take exceptional care of him. Clean him up, treat him with absolute courtesy, and ensure whatever he desires is present and available instantly."

In other words, the order demanded the absolute highest tier of hospitality the palace could possibly offer.

After his master Cain and Lucy vanished at that moment, having informed him that they had other pressing matters to attend to, Zardar’s mind went into overdrive.

By virtue of his position as Head Butler and the specialized perspective he had forged over long years of managing palaces and catering to high-profile guests, a single glance at Old Man Daren’s state was all Zardar needed to begin constructing a comprehensive set of rules and directives for everyone to follow while caring for him.

He promptly dispatched a message via telepathic transmission.

Less than a minute later, an entire squad of servants and maids filed into the room.

Sixteen attendants, to be exact.

Some carried lavish meals and fresh fruits, others held massage and personal care tools, while several brought various supplies meant for rest and recovery—they had even brought a carved ivory magical artifact specifically designed to accelerate healing, alongside a specialized physician who was part of the squad.

The physician rushed into the room right behind the attendants.

This brought the grand total to seventeen people.

Yet Daren, seated in his wheelchair, stared at the massive group for a few moments before calmly raising his hand and shaking his head in refusal.

"Master Daren, these individuals are all here to serve you alone. Is there a problem?"

Daren refused once more.

"I dislike having so many people around me. Send them all back."

Zardar froze for a moment.

This was... completely unexpected.

Yet finding zero reason to oppose a guest’s wish, he ordered the servants to dismiss themselves according to Daren’s command.

Once every single one of them had departed, Zardar looked at the old man in genuine bewilderment.

Did dwellers of other worlds always conduct themselves in such a manner?

Could a person of this advanced age, in such a frail physical condition, simply reject seventeen people assigned to serve him purely because he disliked crowds?

Zardar didn’t know how to handle this specific individual.

Thus, he inquired cautiously:

"In that case, does Master Daren have any other requests?"

Daren remained silent for a few moments before raising his eyes, uttering something that left Zardar even more bewildered:

"I want the person who serves me to be the busiest person in this palace right now."

He paused briefly, then added:

"And I do not want him to halt his primary duties for my sake. I want him to execute his usual work, attending to me only when I strictly require it."

Zardar could not fathom this logic whatsoever.

As Head Butler, he knew that a guest’s ultimate desire was to receive the best possible service—not to be assigned an attendant who could barely catch his breath.

Even so, he had no choice but to honor Daren’s wish.

Which was precisely why his choice ultimately fell upon Neil.

Neil, who was already buried up to his neck in overseeing the fifteen children of the Ayan family.

From Zardar’s perspective, the decision made sense on a certain level: Neil was built to handle extreme pressure, served as a highly reliable butler, and, most importantly, would never abandon the children simply because a new guest required attention.

What Zardar failed to realize was that Neil, at this exact moment, was enduring one of the absolute worst ordeals of his professional career.

Zardar pulled his thoughts back to the present.

At that moment...

Neil was desperately trying to process the exact nature of this new catastrophe landed upon him, while Daren observed him quietly, as if inspecting a new tool he had decided to utilize.

As for Zardar, he merely noticed that the two had suddenly grown quiet.

"Very well, I shall leave the matter in your hands, Neil."

He bowed slightly toward Daren with deep respect.

"Master Daren, if you require anything, inform Neil and he will handle it immediately."

Daren nodded.

"Alright."

Zardar turned and quietly departed.

The moment he took several steps away, he glanced back for a second, pondering whether he should stay close by just in case something went awry...

When he focused his gaze...

He saw Neil standing directly before Daren, while fifteen children ran wildly behind him in the courtyard, one of them still clinging to the hem of his clothes.

Zardar sighed inwardly.

He knew Neil was an exceptional butler.

Yet he possessed an eerie premonition that the old man he had left him with was not going to make his assignment easy in the slightest.

As for Daren, he continued observing Neil in silence.

In truth, his earlier request was hardly born from a sadistic desire to torment someone else or saddle them with additional burdens without cause.

The matter was far simpler, rooted in caution.

He was a man who had lived a long life, possessing sufficient experience to know that words alone never revealed a person’s true nature.

Especially within a world he knew nothing about, save for the fact that it was the very world featured in the web novel his master had once read.

Yet the web novel was no longer fiction now.

It had manifested into reality.

This meant the characters he recognized from those pages were no longer mere written names and scripted actions; each individual now possessed their own willpower, distinct personality, and unique circumstances.

Thus, Daren sought to observe a single thing:

How do these people behave when subjected to extreme pressure?

Do they break?

Do they abandon their responsibilities?

Do they bare their fangs when matters grow overwhelming?

Or do they continue executing their duties regardless of the circumstances?

That was the true motive behind his request.

He didn’t want a flawless servant.

He wanted to see the genuine human beneath the butler’s mask.

Which was why, when Daren looked back at Neil—who was currently attempting to convince a small child that the beard on his face was not proof that he was a leaf—a subtle spark flared in his eyes.