3.13: Progress – 4

The doors groaned open.

Every eye in the common hall turned toward us.

Not that there were many.

Erickson, Eliard, Bram and Lothar sat around the large table, while two soldiers guarded the door.

“Sorry we’re late,” I said, sitting down.

Aprilia sat beside me.

Lothar’s mouth twitched. He didn’t say anything, but gave one of the soldiers a look, who slipped outside.

The Elders kept glancing at me, with a mix of reverence and fear in their eyes.

“When can we hold the public trial?” I asked.

They looked to each other.

“Whenever you wish, sire,” Lothar replied.

“I want every single Cha to attend it.”

He rubbed his jaw. “That could be troublesome.”

“Why?”

“If every soldier attends, there will be nobody to watch the Bay. No one to stop the immigrants from boarding the ships and leaving.”

I almost scoffed. “And go where? All of the nearest coast belongs to Nanon, whose Queen sent those people to me.”

Aprilia’s hand settled on my arm. “People don’t always make rational decisions, Jack.”

I sighed.

Bloody emotions.

“I’ll talk with the immigrants. See if they will behave.”

“There are also the soldiers that are looking after Hyde’s supporters,” Lothar added.

“The jail will hold them for a few hours.”

“We only imprisoned the ones who bound Aprilia and attacked me. There are fifty-four others. Resentful of the immigrants, but not brave enough to act on their own.”

I let out a sigh.

“Where are they?”

“At the new logging camp. Making timber and charcoal under supervision.”

“You could use them to handle the soil you brought?” Aprilia suggested.

“No. It’s too strategically important. I need trustworthy people for it. What are the immigrants’ biggest complaints?”

“They’re in the middle of nowhere with no proper housing.”

“Other than that.”

“Rest are minor in comparison.”

“What do you think is important?”

She thought for a while.

“They have to walk far for even a pot of fresh water. It takes away time they can spend on building the insulae.”

“Why not use carts?”

“The construction. The animals are being used to haul stone, clay and wood every hour they can. If not for the grain you sent, the horses would be dead by now.”

I grimaced, then took a long breath to calm my guilt and think.

“Hmm… Maybe we can hit two birds with one stone.”

“Huh?”

“Infrastructure.” I turned to the General. “Lothar, are those men really needed at the lumbering site?”

“The housing and the industrial district are always hungry for wood and fuel, so we need the manpower.”

“We’ll replace them with others.”

“Why?”

“Those men are isolated, working together and complaining together. It’s a recipe for radicalization. Who knows what kind of conspiracy theories they are cooking up.”

His face paled in comprehension.

“I want them divided up, working close to the immigrants.”

“They hate the immigrants.”

“Because they don’t know them. When they work alongside them, they will begin seeing them as people.”

“It could end up badly.”

“Nothing ventured, nothing gained. There will be soldiers looking over them.”

His lips thinned. “They are stretched thin. Between watching over the immigrants and those idiots, they’re not getting much rest.”

It was my turn to be alarmed. Security was one thing we could not be lax about.

“Then we expand.”

“Expand what?”

“Our military. Double it. Two hundred men should be enough for some time.”

“Sire,” Erickson interjected, voice laced with worry. “Too many of our men are already smithing, logging and building. Any more, and there won’t be enough left to tend to the fields!”

“Security and shelter come first, Elder. It’s not like we are facing starvation anymore. I’ve brought extra grain that should last us through winter, and Nobart is only a day away by ship.”

Their faces blanched.

“Surely you don’t want us dependent on Nanon for food?”

“No.”

There wasn’t anything terrible about it, given how small Chadom was. Judging by their expressions, I could see food independence mattered a lot to them.

I raised a hand.

“My pupils are building tools that will help one farmer do the work of two. Once they are finished, only half of our people would have to be farmers.”

They looked at me with unbelieving eyes.

“Give me some time, and you will see for yourself.”

They nodded hesitantly, but I could see they didn’t believe me.

“What about the industrial district?” Aprilia asked.

“I will declare a holiday for that day.”

Her eyebrows rose. “Won’t that hurt crossbow production?”

“It’s more important everyone attends this. A few less crossbows won’t be an issue.”

“You sure? What if the Queen gets angry?” she said apprehensively.

I rubbed her back and tried not to laugh.

“I know how to appease her.”

Pink crept up her cheeks.

Across the table, Erickson cleared his throat. “You seem to be in a hurry, sire.”

I turned to him. “Justice must not be delayed. Besides, the gathering will also be the perfect opportunity to establish the new council.”

The Elders exchanged uneasy looks.

Bram was the first to speak. “Sire, the Elder’s Council has guided our people through centuries of oppression and exile.”

“I’m not kicking you out, Elder.” I folded my hands on the table. “I’m just giving others a chance to voice their opinions.”

“Will they have the right to vote?”

“They will.”

Panic erupted on their faces.

“Sire,” Eliard began carefully, “the young are impulsive, short-sighted and easily swayed, except for a blessed few such as you. Is it right to give them such power?”

“Age is no guarantee of wisdom, Elder.”

“The old more often are.”

“They are, but,” my eyes narrowed, “not always.”

Nobody missed the implication.

Two out of their five were awaiting trial for an assassination plot.

“If you are worried they might make momentous mistakes, I will retain authority to overrule them. But from now on, the Cha will decide their fate as a people, together. The Council will be established.”

The hall went silent.

Erickson broke it. “Who will sit on it?”

I open my mouth. Nothing came out.

Aprilia had completely surpassed my expectations by establishing the Council this quickly.

I hadn’t thought much about it.

I looked away, pretending to consider the matter, rather than admit I was finalizing it on the spot.

After some time, I turned back to them. “A man and a woman from every decade of life. From twenties to sixties.”

The calculation was evident on the Elders’ faces.

Their expressions darkened.

My proposed system meant there would be ten representatives to their three.

“That makes us redundant,” Eliard muttered.

“If all you care about is power, then yes.”

His jaw tightened.

“You still possess decades of experience and wisdom no one else can match,” I continued. “I will value your advice more than that of someone who has lived only twenty years.”

“Advice isn’t vote.”

I sighed.

I could just put my foot down, but I didn’t want animosity between us. Not when I might be gone from Chadom for long periods of time.

“As the three Elders who led our people through the exodus, each of you will have two votes.”

Their expressions softened.

“It’s a novel arrangement,” Erickson commented.

“We don’t have a large enough population to divide representatives by towns and villages yet. This will work for now. Once Chadom had grown, we can revisit it.”

I looked at them, letting the silence stretch.

They bowed their heads in acceptance.

“If the Messiah believes this is best,” Eliard said.

I suppressed a groan.

Before anyone could say anything, the doors swung open.

The smell of stew and roasted meat drifted into the hall.

Servers placed the lunch on the table.

I tasted every dish before passing them to Aprilia and Lothar.

Nobody commented.

“That went well,” I commented, as we came into the courtyard.

There were a few white clouds overhead. The courtyard rang with the noise of hammers hitting chisels.

“Only because they now firmly believe you’re our Messiah,” Aprilia said in a teasing voice.

“You don’t?”

“Of course I do. Want me to worship you, again, Your Holiness?”

“No,” I said firmly.

I glanced at Lothar. He was unusually quiet.

“General? Do you have anything to say?”

“No.”

“I’ll see you later, then.”

He nodded, and headed towards the Military Headquarters.

The carriage was already at the gate, my four body guards on their horses surrounding it.

The Ducklings were standing next to it, their faces long as if they were facing punishment.

“You won’t be shoveling it all yourself,” I said,

Their faces lit up.

“Forever.”

Then fell again.

“Stop playing with them,” Aprilia said, climbing into the carriage.

We followed.

With seven of us, the cabin felt cramped.

It lurched and rolled out of the castle towards the Bay.

I couldn’t help but notice that the teenagers had gotten closer.

The diminutive Runa kept sneaking glances at Tobin, who looked very pleased with himself. Frida was leaning towards Fennar, who looked oblivious to her advances.

Poor Aldren was stuck alone, sitting next to us two adults.

“You know something about this?” I asked Aprilia.

“It was bound to happen,” she said, smiling.

My eyes narrowed. “Things better not go too far,” I said out loud.

All eyes turned to me.

“Why would you say that?” Aprilia said in a reprimanding tone.

“Because I don’t want underage pregnancies.”

“Oh, that. Yes. I agree on that, but they’re not underage.”

“By my standards, they are. It takes the brain eighteen years to physically mature. It’s stupid to rely on its judgment til then.”

“There have been great warriors younger than that,” Tobin argued.

“Exceptions don’t make rules,” I said in a tone that wouldn’t tolerate arguments, then looked at the teenagers. “No hanky-panky before you are eighteen.” Then added, “Not before marriage.”

Their guilty expressions vanished.

“I know,” I said dryly, “Look who is talking.”

That earned restrained smiles.

I leaned forward. “I’ll let you all in on a secret.”

They all leaned in, while Aprilia held her breath.

“After my marriage with the Queen, Aprilia and I will marry by the Cha’s customs.”

The carriage erupted into jubilation. They hugged the glowing Aprilia and congratulated us.

It took some time for them to calm down.

“Don’t mention it to anyone,” I told them.

They all nodded solemnly.

“We need to come up with a name for our people. Any suggestions?” I asked.

“You already did,” Aprilia said.

“I don’t want to use Chad.”

“Why?”

“I don’t like it.”

“I do. It’s short and distinct.”

“Me too,” Runa added. So did the others.

Ungrateful brats.

I could do nothing but groan. Public opinion had won.

“On the other hand,” Aprilia continued, “Supreme Leader sounds odd. Makes you sound like one of the commoners.”

“That is the point.”

“That won’t work. It’s not regal enough.”

The teenagers nodded in agreement.

She cocked her head cutely. “Hmm… Why not shorten it? Supreme Chad. Sounds much better. The Supreme Chad of Chadom.”

“No! Absolutely not!”

“Come on. We’re all Chads, and you’re the Supreme among us.”

“I like it,” Frida added.

The other teenagers followed.

I hung my head in defeat. At least there wasn’t anyone from my world to witness my shame.

Our destination announced its presence a minute before we reached it by the lovely, overwhelming stench of ammonia.

“Oh God,” Aprilia said through a pinched nose.

I couldn’t help but smile, as I turned my sense of smell low. As a former village girl, she ought to be used to it, but the tens of tons of soil saturated the air with its fragrance.

Opening the door, I climbed out.

The stink hit me.

Good. It was still potent.

Time to extract security out of soil.