***The Saint’s Tree Pace, Cherwoods…***

  The ‘Inner Sanctum’ of the Elf Saint’s Tree Pace often served as the pce where the holy dy would conduct her duties meant to praise or appease the heavens. However, with her disappearance and the subsequent coup de etat against her pace officials, it was id empty. No one ever tried to clean inside, for the elvish servants of the Elf Saint regarded the pce as sacred; thus, they were afraid something bad might happen should they come in without her permission.

  Still, when some noise was heard inside, the pace's in-charge, the member of the Life Guards, Lord Gerard of Yusave (disguised as Kuro), sent in soldiers and maids to investigate.

  What they saw brought arm to everyone…

  “There’s something bck coming from behind the doors,” a servant pointed out. “It looks like a smoke, yet there’s no smell of it.”

  The head of the Life Guards, Sir Eldarv, ordered another soldier to open the doors. However, they were shocked to find that they couldn’t. It’s as if something behind welded it shut; no matter what weapon they used to destroy the doors, those arms broke or injured someone else.

  Because of this, they summoned the Lord Gerard.

  “What’s going on?” the disguised elf asked.

  “Milord,” Sir Eldarv showed their problem. “Looks like the doors to the Inner Sanctum was shut. No matter how we try to open, or destroy the doors, nothing can break it down.”

  “And what’s that coming out? Smoke?”

  “Looks like it, but there’s no burning smell.”

  Gerard then drew near and tried pushing the sanctum doors.

  “!!!”

  Much to their confusion, it opened when his hands touched the doors. However, even before they could understand what was happening, the elves were shocked to see that the entire sanctum was filled with swirling, jet-bck smoke. It was Sir Eldarv who recognized the danger…

  “Milord!” he called to Gerard, “Close the doors! It was no smoke; it’s some miasma!”

  However, his words fell on deaf ears, for the disguised elf never heeded his warnings. Gerard only stood there, seemingly mesmerized by the sanctum's dark miasma. Sir Eldarv took the matter into his hands and moved to pull the elf away. But then…

  “!!!”

  Something stirred within the miasma. The Life Guards Captain stopped in his tracks; almost simultaneously, the miasma formed a funnel and quickly entered Lord Gerard’s body. The elf never moved, nor struggled, and those who witnessed it were also glued on their spots. It took some time for the dark miasma to empty itself from the Inner Sanctum and disappear inside the disguised elf.

  “…”

  The elves were silent. They waited for the Lord Gerard to move. Sir Eldarv’s hand was on the hilt of his sword, ready to strike any moment. “Sir Kuro?” he called out to him. “Are you alright?”

  “Never been better!” the disguised elf replied with a wide grin on his face.

  ----------

  **Kuro, a week after his ennoblement…**

  Being a duke was no easy job unless maybe, you belonged to those stereotypical noble snobs who didn’t give a damn about their subjects…save for when collecting taxes or tributes from them. And you know me; as much as possible, I never intend to become the very person I hated, just like those politicians in my world, and the members of the nobility in this pce.

  “Milord, our apologies, but we have no necessities as of the moment. Your concern for your humble subjects is appreciated, thank you very much!”

  I looked at the vilge leader and his constituents. Typical of the medieval rural countryside, their clothes were ragged, though retively clean. Perhaps the occasional dirt I saw was from their usual hard work in their fields, as the duchy of the Maverny got a rge agricultural base. I think only the port city and its immediate vicinity were ‘urban’ enough for commercial purposes.

  So, I asked, “Would you like to have clean water then?”

  “A what, milord?”

  “Clean…water? Like for washing your clothes?”

  The vilgers exchanged confused gnces, and one said, “Uhm, Your Excellency, we already have water here, down there, at the nearby stream. We only have to fetch some to wash our clothes.”

  “How about having water in your vilge and not fetching it?” I proposed.

  “Is it even possible?”

  I nodded and showed them a drawing of an aqueduct. “We can build one leading to your vilge. Do you know where the upstream is?”

  “Y-Yes, milord,” the vilge leader answered.

  “And also, I think your vilge can use a network of paved roads for better transport,” I wrote in my notebook. “It’ll be connected to a highway going around Maverny, along with some tracks from trams and trains.” Though the vilgers were with me, I mostly said those to myself, as a mental note while I write.

  I didn’t notice that time, but Gaius said the people were amused and slightly befuddled as to what I muttered. Well, it’s not that I expect them to understand my pns for the entire territory; they didn’t need to. I love the thought of surprising these folks with the benefits of the infrastructures we’re about to build.

  “Milord, please pardon my words,” the vilge leader spoke. “I never meant to offend you or question your wisdom, but don’t you think you’re putting too much concern to lowly people like us?”

  I was dumbfounded by his statement. Nevertheless, given the usual attitudes of the Chersean nobility to the commoners, I guess what he said was from experience. Lord Dupree, Viscount of Maverny, was a competent lord. But he’s still of noble background, and growing up as one made him a bit ‘deaf’ to the needs—not the wants—of his subjects. True, they were happy with how things were run, because Maverny was up a few levels compared to the contemporary standards.

  However, to someone like me, who had seen better systems because of my experience living in a modern world setting, there was much to be improved. “Well, as your new lord, I’d like to reiterate that I view my subjects like you as equals,” I told him.

  There was horror on the vilge leader’s face and those of his people. “Wh-What do you mean by that, milord? That is just…”

  “…impossible?” I chuckled. “Nah, before I became a duke, I was also a commoner like you. I did command the Holy Saint’s army in the past, but I will never shed my commoner background.”

  “But you are our lord!”

  “I am, though, starting from when I became your lord, I’m your equal. A fellow man. A primus inter pares, if you will; first among equals. So, yeah, I’d really appreciate it if you’d drop calling me ‘lord’ and instead use ‘Mister Kuro.’ I’m more comfortable that way.”

  “Never will we commit such disrespect!” the vilge leader insisted. “While you say we are your equals, we still revere your sacrifices to our people! At least, please give us the honor of calling you our lord.”

  I could only stare at him. In my head, I was thinking, ‘Eris, whatever propaganda you guys did to make these vilgers praise me so much?’

  ----------

  While on tour around the duchy, I brought my ‘staff.’ And by staff, I mean my trusted friends like Eris, Salis, the Lady Hinwe, and her maid Meanor. Contrary to the contemporary wisdom of the time, we traveled in a small group; mainly for economic reasons. For the Elf Saint, I had her go in disguise since she was afraid to be recognized by her own people—some of whom lived in my territory after they migrated from Cherwoods. For added security reasons, I had some of the soldiers assigned to me by the Holy Patial Gardens, Cherwind, and the Demon Republic tail us, ready to react once the necessity arose.

  The main purpose of this travel was to determine the needs of our popuce—as in their needs, not what they wanted. I had many building projects in mind, but as our budget was limited, we had to maximize efficiency by looking for where those projects were most needed.

  Eris and Salis assisted me in conducting surveys and interviews with the common folk. Meanor was in charge of our own needs—like cooking food, getting clean water (usually through her magic), preparing our clothes, and driving our carriage—because there were times when we couldn’t head back to Dupree pace within a day.

  As for the Lady Hinwe…

  “…”

  For most of the time, she was just drawing. In moments when she was not holding her pencil and paper, the Lady Hinwe was sleeping, reading, or eating. Even with her weakening god-powers, the Elf Saint was still the saint, so I still respected her. But yeah, she’s downright zy, not even bothering to lift a finger when we were short on hands.

  Another reason for this ‘tour’ is to show the Lady Hinwe how to ‘rule’ again. But it seems it’s not really that effective.

  “Kuro,” she told me once while on the road. “You give too much attention to the common folk.”

  “You’re drunk, Your Lazy Holiness,” I countered, as I pulled away a bottle of wine she was drinking from.

  “No! I’m telling you the truth!” she replied. “Look…I did that once, and where did that kindness take me?”

  “I know, that’s why I’m showing you how it’s done.”

  The Elf Saint ughed. “They’ll say yes to your face, yet deep inside, they would still follow what they want!”

  “Yep, I’m aware of it. That’s why I try to convince them to do what I think is best for them.”

  “You think I didn’t do that before?”

  “Nope, but I have my own way of doing it.”

  The Lady Hinwe, who was already slumping, suddenly sat straight. She seemed interested in how I do things and said, “Heh, eborate then.”

  “If you want to convince others to follow what you think is the best course of action, you got to address their concerns first. If they got no concern, then create one. For example, you saw how I surveyed the vilgers st time, right? I took notice of their dirty clothes, so I asked them about it.”

  “That’s quite dirty, don’t you think?”

  “Well, if we think of it that way, it is. But then again, when convincing someone, you have to use all the techniques you know, right? Besides, I do not just create random ‘needs’; it was something they can benefit from as well. See, even though they cim they are satisfied with their hygiene, everyone wants to be clean. So, it’s not just some pointless ‘convincing’.”

  “Okay, so that’s the first point. What are the next steps, then?”

  “Second, rete their concerns to your pns. My overall pn is to improve the living conditions of our popuce, and one of the steps to do it is to deal with everyone’s cleanliness and hygiene. And for that to happen, their pce needs clean water source, which can be supplied through an aqueduct.”

  The Lady Hinwe was quiet.

  “Third, once you made the connection, repeat your suggestion. It’s not 100% guaranteed success, but at least you already made your point. It’s up to the people to consider it.”

  “Sounds like a pain in the ass.”

  “Convincing people takes time,” I pointed out.

  “Hmm…” the Elf Saint then continued. “And what’s it got to do with me?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Don’t py me for a fool, Kuro,” the Lady Hinwe chuckled. “I’m an elf; I lived long enough to gather wisdom and to know that this tour you’re having me do has another purpose than just what you cim is for ‘letting me take a break’.”

  The conversation suddenly turned serious at that point, so I put up my own ‘business’ fa?ade. “So, you’re reading minds now?”

  “Not really; my god-powers are still weakening.”

  Confident she couldn’t read my thoughts, I told her, “But you did know I have ulterior motives for bringing you along.”

  “Speak, I want to know from you.”

  “Alright,” I took a deep breath. “Didn’t I say I want you to become what you are like before? The Hinwe respected and looked up to by everyone.”

  “That Hinwe is dead,” she chuckled. “You’re wasting your time.”

  “No, I mean, even better. The Hinwe respected, looked up to, and revered by everyone.”

  “Didn’t you say that before?”

  “I added the ‘revered’ at the end.”

  “Pfft! And what benefit will you get from it?”

  I grinned at her, “Well, first and the most immediate effect, I’ll have my hands free of a certain freeloader.”

  “You can kick me out of your house anytime.”

  “I can’t do that. You’re someone dear to me.”

  “Aww…” but the Elf Saint’s voice hinted at sarcasm, so I brushed it off as a joke.

  “If it isn’t true, I would’ve let you die by the assassin’s bde before,” I reiterated. “After all, you’re dead weight.”

  “Alright mister! You’re talking too much!”

  “Sorry.”

  “I’m joking! I know what I am; you’re just telling the truth.”

  “Well, second reason is, your people would progress if you’re in-charge.”

  “Now you’re joking!”

  “It’s true! I heard your story before, from Lady Meanor. Your proposals for your people are sound; it’s just that, maybe, you don’t know how to convince them.”

  “That’s true…I suppose. But then again, I don’t want to deal with the elves ever again.”

  “We’ll work on that, too.”

  “Please don’t.”

  “Sadly, we’re already doing it!”

  The Lady Hinwe never replied to our talk, which ended at that moment. Perhaps she was already drowsy from all the wine she drank and slowly drifted asleep. Then, carefully, I lifted her body (she fell asleep on a log that served as a bench while we were on the road) and put her inside our carriage. The others were busy with their roles, and I was told to a break anyway, so I stood guard to her.

  “…”

  But yeah, I thought I got caught already. This was one of the times I was thankful her god-powers were weak…for I couldn’t tell Her Lazy Holiness the third reason I needed her to return to what she was before.

  ‘Her god-powers over the waters,’ Gaius reminded me. ‘If you get her to trust and kiss you, then you’ll surely get it. Then, you’ll be more effective in fighting against that accursed creature from the Void.’

  Dang…I sure wish I had taken the ‘cursed’ medallion of Seirna so I could seal my thoughts. I lost it in Cherfmmen before…

  ----------

  In any case, after gathering information about the standards of living and the needs of the citizens inside my fief, Eris, Salis, and I worked on solutions to ensure everyone benefited from my knowledge of my old world’s political, economic, and civic systems.

  “…”

  As the ‘personal’ maid assigned to me, I had Eris hold the budgetary matters. Her Amaranthine background and mental acumen influenced my decision to trust her with my finances. And yes, she did her role with utmost enthusiasm…though sometimes with overzealousness.

  “Kuro, you know I always support your ideals,” she told me once we were in a ‘brainstorming’ session. “And that’s why, with the same love, I have to deny financing your proposal of establishing basic education level schools in every vilge throughout your territory.”

  “Why?” I asked, quite shocked at her refusal.

  “Well, unlike in the Academy, the only pce where your duchy is densely poputed is at your port city of Maverny. Vilges in your territory have the rgest popution pegged at around 200 people, including working adults and old people. It’s too few for a school to be established; we’ll only waste money on the payment of teachers, supply costs and the maintenance of near-empty buildings.”

  I’d say I have to agree. Eris made her point.

  “But…” Salis interjected, shifting through the papers in her hand. “We can change some of the pn’s aspects, Human Chief.”

  “Please call me Kuro,” I reminded her. “And yes, can you expin your opinion?”

  The owl-girl served as a valuable advisor to me, at least for the duration of her stay in Chersea because of the exhibits. She and Eris would always weigh on my proposals, giving me insights on those pns that were impossible if it was only me who was thinking. “A-Ahem, K-Kuro,” she reiterated. “If we want to avoid wasting money on empty schools, we can just combine vilges into ‘education regions,’ where we build basic education level schools.”

  “You mean?”

  Salis took a map of the duchy and a pencil. Then, she drew some lines, dividing the vilges into several regions. “For example, I combined these vilges into a single ‘education region.’ Next is, we’d pick a vilge where we’ll build the school—preferably the centermost one since it would be easier to access other vilges surrounding it.”

  “I see. I like the idea,” Eris backed her. “This is more pusible than having schools in every vilge. Well, at least, for now.”

  “If we’ll just centralize the schools,” I raised another concern. “Then, how about the libraries?”

  “That, we can have them in each vilge,” the duchess nodded. “It only occupies a small space, so it’s pretty easy on the maintenance. Have a teacher—preferably one that specializes in teaching reading—as its sole staff.”

  “Oh, and we should also establish another Academy at Maverny!” Salis suggested. “This is so we can cater to the big popution in your main city.”

  “Yep, I like it,” I told the owl-girl. “However, I got a better idea in mind.”

  The two girls looked at me with sheer fascination and expectation.

  Then, I told them, “I think it’s time we built Chersea’s first university.”

  ----------

  I have many pns to improve my fief even further. Thanks to the competence of the previous viscount, we only had a few minor issues to fix when I took over. Thus, we could forget to deal with the duchy's problems and devote our energies to making life easier and more prosperous for the popution.

  As I previously mentioned, we already deliberated on education and literacy issues. The consensus was that we would establish ‘education regional centers’ throughout the territory and build the basic level schools from Grades 1-12. In the port city of Maverny, we pn to create a university, the first of its kind in Chersea and Cherwind. For every vilge, there’d be a small library manned by a reading teacher; it was meant to cater to the locals' pastime and increase literacy among the popution.

  Ever since we founded the Academy at the nds under the Holy Patial Gardens, literacy rates did improve, though the nobles mostly benefitted from its system. Now, I intended to bring education to the common folk by hiring teachers from the Beastmen and Demon races. The Beastmen would be assigned to the basic education schools, as well as to the libraries. This was because they were well-versed in my idea of basic education. The Demons would teach in our university, so their specialized knowledge gained from the Concve could be used well.

  “…”

  Of course, while we invest in the future (through education), we also seek to improve the matters of the economy. So, we sought to increase the tax rate on the businesses and guilds within our territory and lowered those collected from the common popuce, pegged at a ft 12% of their earnings. The te Viscount Dupree, perhaps trying to entice investments to his fief, lowered the tax for the businesses while putting the burden of his territory’s income on the people. While they were not compining, the commoners asked if they could have lower obligations to the government. So, we made the adjustments.

  Another matter was the transportation system, which was vital to the economy. Though cobblestone streets were widespread in the Empire and other kingdoms of Chersea, the road networks were still at medieval levels. Outside the cities, only dust paths were the recognizable sembnce of roads, and within the urban limits, the streets were filthy and quite narrow for traffic.

  My solution was to build a highway system that passed through all the vilges of the duchy, from the port city and back to it. Tolls would be collected upon entering the borders of my territory, which would go to the maintenance of the roads. On the side of the highway were tracks for a train route, to improve public transportation. All dirt roads would be paved with cobblestones, with paths connecting the vilges to the highway widened to six nes counterflow. A dedicated road for cargo transports would also be constructed to connect the entire duchy to its heart in Maverny, which in turn, would connect us to the rest of the empire and the whole human realm.

  Bus routes, in the form of horse/leviathan-pulled carriages that could carry multiple passengers, were built and were meant to ply the highway network. Their stops would be at the outer limits of every vilge, so as not to crowd the already narrow ‘main’ streets of the rural settlements. We did encourage the rger vilges to establish their own public transport network within their territories, to cater to their own popution, while the smaller vilges could be traversed just by walking.

  Clean and safe water was also necessary for the growth of the duchy. As such, we ordered the construction of an aqueduct network, simir to the ones that could be found in Cherwind, particurly in the Avinus Isles Region. In vilges, it was required to have at least two water tanks in case of famine. Canals were also dug around the farmnds to ensure those were always sufficiently watered. Storehouses were pced in every settlement so the vilgers always had something, even during hard times. Part of those crops stored could also become the source of seeds for pnting days.

  “…”

  Communication was a priority, and for that, we established a postal service network with griffon riders, responsible for hauling light cargo and mail across the duchy and beyond. We chose griffons to be the partners of our ‘mailmen’ because, not only could they fly, minimizing the travel time of the messages, but they were also powerful creatures, ensuring the safety of their baggage should the need to defend it arise.

  A few reforms in governance were also made. See, the militia maintained internal security and order under the command of the viscount himself. While its personnel did its responsibilities well, their small numbers and limited range, as well as the diverse collection of weapons employed, put a strain on the fief’s budget. So, we increased its funding and membership and imported arms from the Demon Republic to equip them. We also established ‘militia stations’ in every vilge, so the ‘police presence’ would be everywhere, and the militia meant to protect the port city wouldn’t have to travel far and check other pces anymore.

  Okay, now here’s the tricky thing. Most would say that authoritarianism is bad, and yes, I mostly agree with that observation. However, not fully, since the problem with every government was not the system itself, but its people. Authoritarianism still had benefits, like easier implementation of reforms and faster decision-making, especially in emergencies. Nevertheless, I pn to create a council of business people, the clergy, representatives of the urban popution, and the rural ones. Salis’ idea was to have the popution elect council members from a pool of candidates chosen by the lord of the nd, which was me. Of course, it was taken into consideration.

  And finally, the matter of the health of the popuce. We pn to build a hospital in the port city to serve as the center of my duchy’s health and wellness efforts. It would be augmented by smaller ‘health centers’ scattered in every vilge. Rishnu, the Chief Royal Doctor at the court in Cherwind, volunteered to train our future physicians, while Yufa would instruct the potential nurses. Their medical partner, Taro, would be the one to school the ambunce staff.

  So, with those pns in mind, the only final obstacle in completing these was the budget.

  “…”

  Eris, Salis, and I stared at the papers on our table. Once we trimmed down everything we could cut or adjust, the ‘red’ in our fief’s finances was still there.

  “We can’t run a fief on a reduced budget with projects of this scale,” Eris decred. “For sure, the people will get mad at their lord, and your reputation will suffer.”

  “I don’t mind about my reputation,” I reiterated. “My worries lie on the duration in which we can run a government in a tight financial situation. Well, we can put some of the pns on hold until we find other sources of money.”

  “Eh, what for?” the Duchess of Braunhauer and the owl-girl blurted out as if I had just asked the most outrageous question they had heard in their entire lives.

  “Isn’t it we’re in the red?”

  The two girls chuckled, and Salis replied, “You worrywart! Have you forgotten that the greatest genius in all of Cherwind—and perhaps beyond—is on your side? I can always build those machines you need from scratch! And look, I’m the Directress of the Royal Academy of Cherwind; I can always ask my underlings to serve in your schools!”

  “Not only that,” Eris added. “My sweet duke, I may be your maid, but you’re talking to the heir to one of the richest—if not the richest—noble houses in all of Chersea! One word to my mother in our duchy, and your financial problems will be over in no time!”

  “Guys, you know I can’t—”

  They stopped me from speaking further. “If you refuse, milord,” the duchess decred, “then I’ll just slip an entire bottle of love potion on your food to make you agree to me. Or, if you won’t eat, it’ll go in your drinks. Or, if you won’t drink, I’ll slip in your room during the long sleep and pass that potion by kissing you instead. Whichever you may prefer, I’m alright with those.”

  “Yep, you can’t refuse now, Chieffy!” the owl-girl grinned. “So, you better accept our help, or else.”

  I could only scratch my head in amusement.

  Hans.Trondheim