"You?"
Leon looked at the girl with a slight hesitation.
Even if he believed that Alan could be seduced, he didn't think this girl had that charm.
Because he had seen many other charming ladies.
"Sir, I know I am not that good-looking. Your recruitment idea made me realize that if I gain his favor, I might be able to reach Bronze Rank."
The girl expressed her true feelings as she suggested to herself.
Leon paused for a moment and said.
"Demon Lords can indeed share their mana with others. But you have to understand. If you join him, you can never leave him. That's the code of a Demon Lord."
"In case this person ever tries to go against humanity, you will become a traitor to the human race. You have to understand this choice. You have reached Black-Iron Rank."
"That is above Iron and Bone Ranks. Although you might need some luck, you still have a chance to reach Bronze Rank since you are still young."
Hearing that, the girl shook her head, and a purple energy glowed around her body. Her skin started wrinkling a bit.
In an instant, she went from a young girl to a middle-aged woman.
Even Leon wasn't surprised by this transformation, as he didn't see it coming.
"Sir Leon, I am a Technique Awakener. When I reached Iron Rank, I had unlocked a secret art of my technique, which saved my life during an invasion."
"They know some about it. I didn't tell them about my secret art."
Leon looked at Bulk, who thought for a moment and nodded.
"Sir, her situation was indeed critical. Normally, she should've died. She made an excuse that she survived because another Superhero saved her. Although we didn't find any evidence of a Superhero."
"We didn't think much since she did survive, which was a good thing for our team."
Hearing that, Leon stared at the middle-aged woman and nodded.
"Alright, you can take this chance. I hope you understand what you are doing."
"Thank you, sir!"
The middle-aged woman was terrified of revealing her true face because she was only nineteen and looked like a forty-year-old woman.
It was a torturous experience for her, but she now had a chance to reach Bronze Rank and refill her lifespan.
Thinking about it, she couldn't help but thank Leon once more.
"Thank you for giving me such an opportunity, Sir!"
"As I said before, this is your choice. Now, you can go do your job. I am leaving."
Leon spoke and left without any drama.
Watching him enter the green portal, Bulk turned toward his team and spoke.
"You all heard it. We have a great responsibility. We must do everything in our power to keep the situation stable. Otherwise, it will be a huge stain in Sir Leon's career."
......
While Bulk was busy talking to his team, Alan was feeling bored.
He couldn't help but stand up and do something, anything.
But since he didn't have any job to do, a place to train, and even friends to talk to, he stood silent.
"Sir Demon Lord!"
A rough voice came from behind, whose presence he had already sensed, but he didn't turn around until the old man spoke.
"Yes?"
Alan curiously stared at the old man.
"We want to thank you for saving our lives. Without your help, we would've been dead." The old man bowed his head and thanked him.
Behind him, several other old people and children came. Most of those children looked quite rough, especially their clothes.
Seeing this, Alan frowned.
"Previously, I ignored it because I didn't think much about it. But now that I am thinking about it, I don't understand something. Why are these children in such a difficult condition?"
It would be one thing if there were still Aliens hunting these people. But since all aliens in the vicinity were dead, he didn't know why these people's parents didn't come to pick them up and return home.
Old Man was surprised by his concern. Because this man was a Demon Lord. And, if he had any understanding of a Demon Lord, he knew they weren't kind enough to care about others.
'What a strange Demon Lord?'
Despite that, he truthfully answered.
"Sir Demon Lord, these children are orphans living in an orphanage. Because the orphanage was the first to suffer this disastrous invasion, they don't have a place to return."
At this moment, Alan caught up his tone and understood the situation.
"You want me to take them in?"
The Old Man immediately got to his knees and begged.
"Sir Demon Lord, I beg you. Please take them with you. They are just children. Morality, humanity, nothing matters to them. I just want them to survive in this crew world."
Hearing that, Alan didn't respond immediately because he had already seen the determination in the eyes of those children.
Besides the old man, others weren't kneeling, but they also didn't argue with his statement. Because these people knew their situation.
It was better for these children to survive than for them. After all, these children still had a future.
"You are the head of that orphanage, aren't you?" At this moment, Ken noticed there was a huge wound on the old man's left hand.
This was the same old man who reminded him to run away when he asked him about the superheroes.
"Yes, my lord! I am an incompetent guardian. I neither have power nor wealth to keep these children alive. We all heard your previous conversation."
"Sir, you must be in need of a horde. You can use these children as your soldiers or pawns. But just give them a chance to survive, a chance to live."
The Old Man kept begging while touching the ground with his head.
Alan turned his head towards the children, and he felt pitiful. Because of those memories that he had inherited from his previous life, he knew just how good the lives of the orphans of Earth were compared these children?
Even if they had to beg in the street, they wouldn't be killed.
But here, everything was possible. Even now, there was a chance of a new invasion.
Because of that, it was hard to stay an orphan and a child in this city.
After understanding the situation, Alan nodded his head.
"Alright, I will take them in. But once they join me, they belong to me. Of course, if someone tries to force them, they will feel my wrath. Anyway, Old Man, how about you? Do you want to join me?"
Hearing that, a joyful look appeared on his face. But Alan's invitation didn't bring much joy to his face.
He simply shook his head, turned around, stared at his old friends, and said.
"We are old, Sir Demon Lord. Even if we do get a lot of power from you, we will not be suitable for your future glory and current strength. We were born as humans, we will die as humans."
Hearing that, Alan slapped his forehead and said.
"Did I step on your death wish? I'm really sorry. I should've let you die in a glorious battle."
His words made the old man, who was full of excitement, dull instantly. This was quite a feat considering how much this old man has faced during his lifetime.
Alan chuckled and asked.
"By the way, can you tell me more about your power system? I am quite curious how you get stronger and why people wear different colored armors, especially those Superheroes."
The Old Man nodded his head and said.
"Sir Demon Lord, that is a simple way to distinguish between the ranks of a Superhero. There are a total of nine ranks: Bone Rank, Iron Rank, Black Iron Rank, Bronze Rank, Silver Rank, Golden Rank, Diamond Rank, Platinum Rank, and Rainbow Rank."
"Each rank represents a person's strength and lifespan. For example, Bone Rank superheroes are simply normal people with superhuman strength. They don't have any extra lifespan more than what they should have."
"But when one reaches Iron Rank, one's lifespan would increase to 150 years. This increase isn't constant and will fluctuate based on the purity of life essence that one could produce."
"To produce life essence, one must absorb extraterrestrial energy, which we call 'Dimensional Energy', from the surroundings and use the ability or technique awakened during a certain age to obtain life essence."
"Since we have not awakened any ability or a technique, we don't know how. That's why civilians have the highest casualty rate among all humans."
"I am not sure if Sir Demon Lord knows this, but you can simply give someone a certain ability or technique by giving them a drop of your blood. Of course, this drop of blood will also allow you to control these people."
Hearing that, Alan showed a look of interest as he said.
"Sure enough! I can always learn something new. That's the piece of information I knew nothing about. Tell me more about these abilities and techniques."