《Rebuilt By Force》 Ch: 01 William Tising ¡°So¡­you¡¯re telling me¡­because of your countries incompetence¡­because of your lack of ability to correct your own issues. You snatched me from my home, from my friends and my family, and expect me to willingly assist you with fixing your broken system. Did I miss anything? Please correct me if I''m wrong.¡± The crowd of fancily dressed people before me look around uncomfortably and refuse to look me in the eyes. ¡°Our situation is a little more¡­demanding¡­than just any regular nation¡¯s issues sir¡­¡± A plump and well-rounded man to the right finally spoke up with a shaken voice. ¡°Well to me it just seems like you have an infestation that has gotten out of control, and rather than moving funds from your food budget, that by your size I can assume It''s quite large and able to be reallocated elsewhere, you just sit back and decided to push the issue on someone else.¡± ¡°That is not¡­what are you insisting?!¡± ¡°That your people have your heads stuck so far up your own¡­¡± I take a second to calm down. ¡°That you, the leaders and voices for this country are not incapable of realizing the issue, but you are incapable to step foot out of your pampered and spoiled lifestyle even for a minute moment to assist your own people and fund the corrective actions that are required to repair this nation and help It''s people.¡± Again silence fell in the hall as words full of insult fell upon the men who once saw themselves as untouchable. ¡°If you believe, that even for a moment, I will assist you. You who doesn¡¯t really want change in the first place, shown by your actions. Then you are highly misguided. I am done here, and I refuse to assist with the repair of this nation. Good luck and may the gods give you their sympathy in the coming days.¡± Without waiting for a response I turn around and walk out the hall. As the doors close I hear an uproar of voices from those who just a few seconds ago couldn¡¯t even look m in the eyes. I heard some demanding my head, other demanding I be forced to do the work. ¡°Idiots.¡± As the doors close and block out all noise from the hall, I walk in silence back to my quarters in the west end of the manor. Maids and butlers politely move aside as I walk near and lowered their heads, all afraid of getting abused as they normally do from the big wigs in that hall. I attempted to assure them I wouldn¡¯t harm them when I was first brought here but they still don¡¯t relax. ~Do da do dum de do do~ Coming around the corner a young maid focused intently on not dropping her tray of drinks as she rounded the corner and headed my way down the hall. I''m just looking out the hall windows as I walk so I don¡¯t see her either and the inevitable happens, drinks crash down me and the maid fall and are immediately surrounded by the maids and butlers around us helping me up and trying to clean the tea off of my shirt. ¡°We¡¯re so sorry sir, she should have been paying attention. We¡¯ll had be punished immediately.¡± Confused for a second I stand up and look down at the young maid who¡¯s almost in tears looking up at me, shaking because she believes that I''m just another one of the big wigs who¡¯ll have her severely punished for her mistake. I sigh and reach a hand out towards the young maid who in turn jumps and covers her face bracing for a strike. ¡°Momma always said there aint no use crying over spilled milk.¡± She¡¯s still covering her face and the rest of the maids and butlers stop moving, fully expecting me to go berserk on the young girl. ¡°We¡¯re both at fault here so no need to get all worked up, anyways she¡¯s still learning so cu her some slack for me okay?¡± Realizing she won¡¯t move from the floor because of fear I reach down and stand her up myself. Straightening her outfit a bit so she is back to looking proper and won¡¯t get yelled at by anyone. ¡°It''s good to be focused on your tray but don¡¯t forget to look up sometimes and watch where you¡¯re going, I¡¯ll do the same and try not to zone out while walking either.¡± I give her a little smile and start to walk away. Once I turn the corner I just hear the young girl start crying and the other maids around her start comforting her. ¡°This may be a horrible place but at least the staff have each other backs.¡± I enter my room just a few doors down and get out of the suit I was forced to wear, throwing the tea soaked clothes over the back of the sofa and put back on my sweats I was brought here in. ¡®Knock¡¯ ¡°Sir, is it okay if I come in?¡± I sigh as I hear the familiar voice of the man who brought me here. ¡°Come in I guess.¡± I drop down onto a chair and rest my head back as he walks in and sits in a chair opposite me of me.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°By your demeanor I guess it¡¯s safe to assume the meeting did not go well.¡± I don¡¯t respond other than give a slight nod. ¡°What happened to your clothes? I gave you a set of the nicest clothes this city has¡­¡± Again I say nothing and just point to the clothes draped over the sofa back, ¡°Who did this, was it the politicians¡­no they wouldn¡¯t act like that in there, it was that foolish clumsy maid again wasn¡¯t it, I¡¯ll have her hand for soiling your clothes. Maid!¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough Alfas, relax. I was also at fault for not paying attention.¡± As he was about to say something, a gentile knock came from the door and an older maid came in. ¡°You called, Mr. Moorwrite.¡± Before he could say anything I cut him off. ¡°He¡¯s just a bit thirsty, can we get some tea for him and water for myself please.¡± ¡°Of course, Mr. Tising, we will bring it immediately.¡± Without another work the maid turned around and left, softly closing the door behind her. ¡°Why do you cover for that klutz of a girl Mr. Tising, she soiled your clothes and is not fit to be a maid in this establishment.¡± ¡°Because, she just a little girl and she¡¯s still learning. People make mistakes Alfas. Let it go.¡± ¡°Mr. Tis¡­..¡± I hold up a hand and stop him for continuing. ¡°Let it go. I have already corrected her actions when the event happened. Now if you don¡¯t mind I would like to take a quick nap before the next set of meetings.¡± ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll let you do what you need. If you need anything I¡¯ll be in the study.¡± As he walks to the door there is a soft knock and a small voice from the other side. ¡°Mr. Tas...Ti...Tising¡­I have your drinks.¡± I nod my head and Alfas opened the door. On the other side was the same clumsy girl I ran into in the hall. ¡°Please come in, you can put them on the table. Alfas, I¡¯ll talk to you after the next meeting.¡± Giving the young maid a scowling glance as she limps past him, Alfas leaves the room with a slight slam of the door. ¡°Is there anything else you need sir?¡± With a shaken voice the maid looks at her feet, refusing to look me in the eyes. ¡°No that¡¯ll be all, thank you.¡± Nodding her head the maid turns with a little difficulty and starts to limp towards the door. ¡°Wait, come back please.¡± Coming to a halt she turns around and come back to the table area. I notice she leans to the right while standing still to keep weight off her left leg. I look her from head to toe to look for any visible injuries and see some swelling on her left ankle. As I look her up and down she uses her arms to cover over certain areas and starts to shake slightly. I motion to the couch beside me. ¡°Please take a seat, do you like tea?¡± ¡°I¡­I¡¯ve never had it before¡­¡± Sitting down she tries to pull the short maid skirt lower in attempt to cover as much skin as possible but failed to get any leeway from the material. I stand up and walk over to the wardrobe against the wall and grab a bag hanging inside. After checking to make sure the contents are what I needed I make my way back to the maid and hand her the tea while moving the tray aside and sitting on the table in front of her. ¡°Please try some, it¡¯s not my type of tea but a lot of people like it.¡± Nervous and keeping one hand still tugging down on her outfits skirt and take a sip. ¡°Blehhh¡­.its bitter.¡± Laughing a little I pass her the water and put the tea on the table. ¡°Yeah that¡¯s one reason I don¡¯t like it. One day I¡¯ll make my tea and then you can give it another try okay?¡± I smile at her and try to ease her nerves. ¡°O...okay¡­¡± ¡°Now why don¡¯t you prop your leg up on my lap for a second?¡± I motion towards her injured ankle and pat me lap. ¡°Why¡­what are you going to do to me?¡± Scared she pulls her legs closer to her. ¡°I''m not going to do anything bad, you¡¯re hurt and I want to make sure it¡¯s not too bad. I promise.¡± Still on guard she slowly puts her leg up on my lap. Gently I remove the shoe and sock on that foot and look to try and see how far the swelling goes. ¡°Alright I''m going to move your foot, tell me when it hurts okay?¡± ¡°Okay¡­¡± I move it to the left, to the right, up and down. Looking up at her, her eyes are filled with tears and she is death gripping the cup while keeping he mouth shut even though I can tell it hurt her. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say anything?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to be removed¡­¡± ¡°Removed?¡± ¡°Yeah, if a maid or butler gets injured they are useless and get replaced.¡± ¡°Well I''m not going to get you replaced, I''m trying to help you. Now when did it hurt?¡± ¡°¡­Right¡­¡± ¡°Okay, that¡¯s better, now were getting somewhere. Can you wiggle your toes and tell me if there is any pain?¡± Confused she moves them a little. ¡°No¡­pain.¡± ¡°Okay now I''m going to start at your knee and work my way down applying pressure. Let me know if there is any pain okay?¡± I put both hands right under her knee on her calve and squeeze softly. I look up and she is beat read but shakes her head no so I continue down until right at her ankle where she lets out a little squeak. ¡°Alright so good news is it looks like it is just a slight twist so you¡¯ll be good with applying some pressure and going easy on it.¡± I reach in the bag and pull out a small roll of cloth and slowly begin to wrap her ankle snug. ¡°Why are you so nice to the maids and butlers here but rude to the politicians? Everyone here is talking about it.¡± Softly she speaks about halfway through the wrapping. It shocked me a little because I didn¡¯t expect her to open up or talk at all but I take a second to look up in her eyes. Dark blue but with a slight amber hidden in them. ¡°Because the way I was raised, respect is earned not given. Those big wigs in there have done nothing to earn any respect from what I have seen since arriving here, but you workers on the other hand have. I do not approve of the working of this nation and it politics so I refuse to just blind myself and follow along like a puppet.¡± I finish up the wrap and tie it off. As I''m putting her sock and shoe back on she doesn¡¯t say another word. ¡°Alright, stand up and let me know how it feels.¡± She does so, even leans on it a little and gives me a small smile. ¡°I feel a lot better Mr. Tising. Thank you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome¡­what was your name again?¡± ¡°Mariam, Trissa Mariam.¡± She gives a slight bow in a cute curtsey way. ¡°Well thank you Trissa, and you can just call me William or Will.¡± ¡°Understood Mr. William. Have a good day now.¡± Before I could correct her to lose the Mr. She leaves the room. Letting out a soft sigh I sit back in my original chair and close my eyes. It''s hard to believe that only three weeks ago I was just a typical office worker who played way too many sim games and now, now I''m trying to fix a whole fantasy nation that¡¯s come to real life. After I rested my eyes for a bit there was another knock on the door and an older butler walked in. ¡°Mr. Tising, the council has reconceived and are requesting you return quickly.¡± ¡°Yeah yeah yeah, requesting. More like calling me like a dog and expecting me to listen and do their bidding.¡± Leaning forward in my seat I look at the butler and get an idea. ¡°Excuse me¡­uhh your name slips my mind but do you have a piece of paper and something to write with? Before I go back I want them to have a little reading.¡± ¡°Of course sir, and my name is Head Butler Marvis Trau.¡± Ch: 02 Position of Power ¡°These demands are ridiculous!¡± ¡°Who dose this man think he is?!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give him what he wants when my head touches the chopping block!¡± Standing outside the council chamber I''m silently laughing to myself as I''m hearing the explosive reactions to the Head Butlers words as he read off my demands before I help fix their issues. They are a bit out there and for men of this caliber it is very demanding, but if they want my assistance then they need to know sacrifice. The list I gave Marvis held only five items and read as follows. Gentlemen of the council, On the day of Sunday, year 20XX, I was pulled from my natural home and forced into this position to assist you with your nation¡¯s issues. I have stated before I will not help you and I stand by that decision, I will not help you fix your petty issues. But¡­I will lead you in the right direction. If you want my assistance in fixing this nation I will not be just another tool for you to use and discard as your leisure. It has been brought to my attention by my current retainer, Lord Alfus Moorwrite, returning me home is currently a mere dream. So, I plan to make my time here as enjoyable and bearable as I possibly can. Therefore if you want my assistance I have a few condition for you to agree to first.
  1. If it is not directly related to the correction of this nation, I do not have to listen to your demands or orders. Even if it is related I get the end all decision of if it is or is not necessary for my intervention.
  2. I will take residence here in the capital for the duration of my stay with unrestricted access to all locations/documents/legal files and reports that I deem necessary for the repair of this nation.
  3. Along with my residence I will take on my own personal guard detail. With the nature of my newfound work I am bound to create some unfavorable acquaintances and will require personal protection. I will hand pick those I want on my own guard.
  4. I will receive a set pay once a month at the same rate as that of a standard government official to cover personal expenses.
  5. There will be a new seat created and that I will occupy in this council, the seat will be the overall head and lead of this council for the duration of my time in the correction of this nation and it will not be contended. What I say will be done as long as it is with the best interest of this nation.
These demands are not negotiable and are my one and only offer. Once all members of the council have signed and stamped this document this will become a legally binding document and will be followed to the letter. There will be a copy of this document released to the public, one to each of you councilmen, one for myself, and the original document will be passed to the national archives and preserved. Signed, William C. Tising The basis for the letter isn¡¯t to remove the council from power or to take tyrannical rule over the people, but to give myself a hand in leading the nation to correction with as little resistance a possible. Points one through for were obviously for my own protection while point five outlines the beginning of the path to fixing the way things are done here. I can¡¯t have a dead set plan yet until I get access to the national records and the areas tax forms. With nations like this I fully expect there to be some sort of embezzlement happening and if I can get rid of that right at the start then the people will be more willing to accept my lead with less restraint. Even though I wrote in that negations was not possible I am willing to barter a little bit. ¡°Mr. Tising, your letter.¡± Snapping me out of my thoughts Head Butler Trau hands me a rolled sheet of paper with warm wax radiating the last if it¡¯s heat to my hand. ¡°They...accepted? No attempts to negotiate? No attempts to loosen any hold or remove the idea of the head seat from my?¡± ¡°No sir, after a visitor appeared and spoke a word to them, the councilmen couldn¡¯t stamp the letter any faster. It was quite a scene.¡± ¡°What visitor? I¡¯ve been outside this door and I saw no one go in after you.¡± ¡°The messenger did not state a name but did indicate that he worked directly for the old king, King Melromack III. A ferocious man that not many see or hear from since he removed the royal family from power.¡± ¡°He removed the royal family?¡± ¡°Yes, the old king had three children, two boys were the eldest and youngest with a daughter the middle child. After an incident the king decided to make the youngest boy the heir of the throne rather than the eldest and the news was not taken easily. The eldest challenged the youngest to a duel and killed him. It was a horrifying event and the young heir was greatly unprepared, it was all over in a matter of minutes. The youngest surrendered but the eldest did not stop and beheaded his brother, presenting the head to the king who was in audience after a couple of senior maids saw what was happening.¡±Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. ¡°What did the king do?¡± ¡°He was infuriated, drew his sword and cut his own son down on the spot. Seeing both of her brother¡¯s die in the same day made the princess faint and she has been asleep ever since. The maids still care for her body and the kingdoms mages ensure her health is kept at peak. But the next day the king made the announcement that removed the royal family from the position of power and gave it to the heads of the common people. Though with you being here I''m sure you can tell how well that worked out, hence the reason he had you called here.¡± ¡°So I was brought here because the old king ordered it? Not because the council asked for it?¡± ¡°Correct, between you and myself, those councilmen couldn¡¯t make a proper decision regarding the wellbeing of the people no matter how hard I tried to make it obvious. They only care about fattening their wallets and stomachs.¡± Shocked for a moment because of the Head Butlers comment I blankly look at the rolled paper in my hands. ¡°I want to meet the old king, soon if possible.¡± ¡°I can relay your message but I will not guarantee anything. Until then shall we return to the council chamber and begin the meeting?¡± Resting a hand on the door to the chamber Trau gestured inside. ¡°Right, there¡¯s a lot to fix, let¡¯s get to it then.¡± Walking into the room there was a clear feeling of unease coming from each of the councilmen. Seated in two rows facing each other but refusing to look each other in the eyes the councilmen fidgeted in their chairs or with their cups as I made my way in between them. To the newly placed chair at the head of the room, its size was bigger than that of the councilmen chairs and looked more like a throne than just a chair. As I get to the seat I notice the worn out engraving in the wood and the fabric on the backrest shows what seems to have been a giant of a man sat there for ages, long enough to wear in his shape into the cushion. ¡°It is really okay for me to use this chair, it seems to¡­prominent for someone like me to use.¡± ¡°It was a decision made my King Melromack himself. He insisted you use this chair as a way to ensure the councilmen remember their place.¡± The response, coming from not Trau who was beside me but from the shadow behind the chair, sounded soft and feminine. It was not loud but the voice traveled well and clear for us all to hear. ¡°Please come out, I would like to speak to the one who assisted me with getting the stamps.¡± Assuming it is the messenger from the King, I call out on a whim and see what happens. ¡°Very well, we will be seeing more of each other soon so hiding my appearance is pointless.¡± Again the soft voice came from behind the chair but no one appeared, I step forward in an attempt to look around the chair but I get held back by a hand on my shoulder. ¡°What¡¯s wrong Trau?¡± Expecting it to be the Head Butler I turn towards him but he is still standing back at the door. Instead of him, the one holding my shoulder is a woman who looks the same age as I do but has no feeling of presence, as if she could just come and go as she pleases and no one would even notice a thing. ¡°Did I startle you Mr. Tising?¡± Releasing my shoulder, the one beside me spoke in that same voice and lowered the hood covering her face revealing shoulder length ginger and brown mix hair and bright green eyes with the pupils slit vertically like a cat. Smiling and revealing a set of pearly whites and a couple unusually sharp teeth. It sent a slight chill down my spine but I didn¡¯t get the feeling of danger so I forced myself to relax. ¡°I may have jumped a bit, but it is nice you meet you. Since you already know my name may I know yours?¡± ¡°Lucil Nesta, keeper of the old royal guard and messenger for king Melromack.¡± Extending her hand I notice a set of sharp nails and some slight scarring but I ignore it and grasp her hand, shaking it slightly. ¡°Well Lucil, again it is nice to meet you. You can relay to the old king that I appreciate the chair and hid support. I hope we have more dealings in the future. Now for the time being though, I want to get this council meeting started and begin work immediately. If you wish to sit in and observe then you are more than welcome to and ill have another chair brought in for you. But please try not to intimidate the councilmen too much.¡± I walk over and take a seat in the oversized chair and gets comfortable. ¡°I¡¯ll take you up on that offer, it will be interesting to see how you run things, and I''m sure the king will appreciate a live report on his chosen helps abilities.¡± Giving a slight smile as she takes a seat beside me that Trau brought out. After she gets settled I take a look around the room and take my time observing the five councilmen in the room. In this nation the five councilmen each had their own sections of land that they governed. The three larger councilmen that I''m sure were the one who rose the fuss about the demands first were Lord Mica Dalis, Lord Warren Noel, and Lord Teal Atal. The three who governed the coastal regions, central valley, and eastern plains. The other two councilmen, Lords Mica and Nica Thrum, were twin brothers that rule the northern and southern mountain regions. They were silent but Lord Nica looked uncomfortable because of the guest sent by King Melromack. ¡°Trau¡­¡± ¡°Yes Mr. Tising?¡± ¡°Can you do me a favor and retrieve a large stack of paper, ink, and a maid or butler who knows how to write well. From this point forward everything in these meeting will be documented and recorded. If possible bring two personnel who can write so it¡¯s not too hard to keep up.¡± ¡°Understood sir, I will have it done.¡± ¡°To the Councilmen of the chamber. The first thing I will put in place, at any point in time you can be removed from the meeting if you lose your temper. This will be a place of order. When one is speaking you will not speak until they are finished. While in this room we are not thinking for our own personal gains but for the wellbeing of the people of this nation. Is that understood?¡± Ch: 03 Beginings A slight knock came from the door and Trau walked in with a maid and butler carrying writing supplies. ¡°I apologies for the wait sir, but these two have some of the best handwriting in the manor.¡± ¡°It''s all good, just get them settled and we will be good to start.¡± Putting a little fire in their step, the two recorders quickly got set up and Trau brought me a small stack of folders. ¡°These were the issues that the council were going to talk about today sir, if you need a quick brief I can get you up to date with them.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not necessary Trau, thank you though.¡± I receive the folders and flip through them quickly. ¡°Flower overgrown, creek were he wants a new house, request for a new mansion for his newborn¡­is this really what you consider emergencies? Trau please out this to the side, we won¡¯t be wasting our time on this.¡± Agitated I could see one of the councilmen readjust himself in his chair. ¡°Mr. Nica Thrum, you¡¯re the head of the military development and political and diplomatic report correct?¡± ¡°Yes Mr. Tising.¡± ¡°Give me a run down on the nations military standing.¡± ¡°As of last week¡¯s report, our military stands ready for anything. Over 100,000 soldiers total, varying from foot soldiers to battle mages and scouts. Our air defense consist of 300 wyvern fighters adding an extra 100 fighters of we include the royal defense unit, and over 50 of our elite dragoon units. As for the seagoing forces we have 30 light attack ships, 16 medium cruiser, and 1 battle draught.¡± Sounding a little proud of this Nica Thrum smiled and leaned back in his chair. ¡°How¡¯s the border security and maritime patrol set up?¡± ¡°As for our boarder we have 10,000 troops station at strategic points all throughout the boarder, but we have no maritime patrols set at the moment. The ships only go out when necessary.¡± Not expecting a follow-up question it took a second for him to get the information out. ¡°I¡¯ll be making a visit to the border in the near future to do an assessment and see how it can be improved. What are the capabilities of each class of ship?¡± ¡°We have three classes of light attack ships, a 32ft Dwarf class, 80ft Minsk class, and a 289ft Terk class. We have 7 Terk class, 13 Minsk, and 10 Dwarf. One class of cruiser, the Merday class, is 303ft. Our only Battle Draught is the Emperor Class, a 571ft ship that is also our nation¡¯s flagship. I¡¯ll have one of my subordinates bring you a brief will all the information you could need after the meeting is over.¡± ¡°Sounds good. How is out diplomatic situation with the neighboring nations?¡± ¡°We have Erusia to our north and east with Tibel to our south and ocean to our west. Tibel is a mercenary state so there is no issue or worry about invasion. Erusia on the other hand, has been going through major political turmoil lately and is currently split into two, the north and the eastern Erusia. We have been in contact with the northern Erusia leader since he was our ally before the split and we continue to hold friendly relations. The eastern Erusian people refuse to speak with us so we have troops focused on that area of the border.¡± ¡°Alright, not the best situation but it could be worse. Mr. Dalis, how are things going seaside?¡± I noticed that the councilman was starting to nod off while I was talking to Nica Thrum so seeing him jump after having his name called gave me slight enjoyment. ¡°Um¡­yeah¡­they are doing fine, shipping industry is holding live and well and the people are living in moderate comfort. There has been minor issue with the rogue islands attacking out ships more frequently.¡± ¡°What are these rogue islands?¡± ¡°It''s where the nations send their outcast and unwanted people. About maybe 200 nautical miles to the south-west of our shorelines there is a shipping lane that comes close to it.¡±This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Is there any way to go a different course?¡± ¡°Not if you want to keep the deliveries on time and not go in the red from cost.¡± ¡°Makes sense, ill want to see more detailed reports on the attacks if you could. Then we can think of a solution.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get those reports gathered as soon as possible.¡± ¡°Mr. Atal, how is the farming and agricultural scene doing?¡± ¡°In all honesty, there are no issues on my side. Apart from the few people rebelling rather than farming my region is doing well. The regional security will have the rebels put down within the month anyways.¡± Rubbing off a major problem like that as if it wasn¡¯t his problem kind of irritated me. ¡°Do you know why they are rebelling?¡± ¡°Uhhh¡­No not at all¡­.¡± Hearing a little giggle beside me I look down and see Lucil covering her mouth. ¡°I¡¯ll have an investigation started and see to it that the rebellions are ended quickly then.¡± I did not want to get into a major argument with him about treatment of his people without having any documentation. ¡°That¡¯s¡­That¡¯s unnecessary sir!¡± A bit frantic Mr. Atal tried to quickly stop me from doing my own investigation, which made me want to do one even more. ¡°Alright I think this was a nice introduction meeting, I want to get a few things done and then we will get back together and talk again. Trau be sure those records are saved and stored in a secure location.¡± ¡°Understood sir.¡± With that the butlers left and soon followed the councilmen not looking all too happy. All that was left was me and Lucil. ¡°So what did you think, do I have my work cut out for me?¡± ¡°You are going to have a wonderful time. Be wary of those councilmen and their lackeys though. They can be a bit tricky to read and track.¡± ¡°I will, thank you for the concern. So when are you headed back to the old king?¡± ¡°Hmm I dunno he said to just come and go when I want and give him updates every now and then. He¡¯s pretty relaxed in all actuality.¡± ¡°Well in that case would you join us for some dinner tonight?¡± ¡°Gladly, though don¡¯t think of trying to court me or anything, I don¡¯t swing your way if you catch what I''m saying.¡± Giving a mischievous smile she looked towards the door that was left open and there were a couple of maids waiting outside for us to leave so they could clean the room. Lucil seemed to be looking hard at the tall slender maid on the left with waist length blond hair. ¡°I hear you, and I''m all for it. Just please don¡¯t bother the working women too much while you¡¯re here please.¡± ¡°No promises.¡± We laughed a bit and left the room. Heading towards the main hall there was a man standing by the door in heavy steel armor. ¡°Sir, I would like a second if you don¡¯t mind.¡± Speaking up as we approached the man called out to me and stopped us for continuing. ¡°How can I help?¡± ¡°My name is Captain Gerald Losten, I was the second in command of the royal security detachment before it was disbanded and merged back into the general military. I was told you were looking for individuals for your personal guard.¡± ¡°That is correct, I am. Though I want to be the one to hand pick from the new recruits being trained.¡± ¡°I would advise against that. All of the new recruits being trained now are in some way connected and affiliated with at least one or a couple of the councilmen. I would like to suggest a crew you can trust. If it is not an issue.¡± ¡°You can suggest but before I make any decision I want to see all of their files, everything from military service, specialties, even down to their financial status. Is that doable?¡± ¡°I¡­understood, please give me three days¡¯ time and ill have all their information you require.¡± ¡°Sounds good, I¡¯ll be waiting.¡± With that being said Lucil and I continue to walk until we get outside and end up on the parameter wall. The manor is pretty much a small castle on the top of a hill overlooking the city. We are not in the Capital city but a little side city called Menerva, Named after the first kings wife. This is where the council agreed as the meeting point for their meetings. Its close enough to the capital that if need be they can get there quickly but far enough away to relax a little. The city reminded me of some of the RPG games I played before I was brought here. I leaned against the wall and looked over the city watching the sun set. ¡°You know, I¡¯ve always wanted to live in a fantasy world like this, but why do I have to babysit useless councilmen. I¡¯d much rather fight like a demon king or something.¡± ¡°You would die almost as soon as you picked up a weapon.¡± Jumping up on top of the ledge and taking a seat, Lucil looked at me. ¡°I know, it was just some blabbering. But this area is beautiful, if I were a hero I wouldn¡¯t be able to enjoy the view like this. Being a politician baby sitter isn¡¯t so bad I guess.¡± ¡°If you wanted to remove the councilmen and just run things I''m sure the king would allow it and give you his support.¡± ¡°He might, but the people won¡¯t. What¡¯s the point in leading a nation of the people have no trust nor respect in you. The councilmen make for a nice cover, I can just do what I want through them and things won¡¯t be questioned.¡± ¡°So are you planning to keep yourself hidden from the public?¡± ¡°Nah, I''m not going to hide, but I am going to use my lack of visibility to get around without issue.¡± ¡°A bit shady, but I can¡¯t say anything.¡± ¡°Being called shady from the one who can throw her voice and appear from behind people. Pot calling the kettle black eh?¡± ¡°Side effect of my training for protecting the king.¡± ¡°Speaking of which, how did you become a worker directly under the king?¡± ¡°Well the king has a preference type of person that he wants around him. He is a strong intimidating leader, but the moment he sees these¡­¡± She pointed to the tuffs on the top of her head as they unfolded and showed full ears. ¡°¡­Or this¡­¡± I felt something poking me so I looked down and saw a long slender tail wiggling. ¡°¡­He turns into a bit kid in a way. So when he requested a servant of my race the queen set the requirements to be the servant couldn¡¯t like men. There are not many like me out there so I kind of got it with no competition.¡±