After leaving the labyrinth, Ash didn’t head directly to the fort construction site. Instead he headed for the Masonry Guild to talk to the guild master about increasing the building speed. As soon as he entered, Ash was welcomed and taken directly to a small room to await the guild master.
“Master Ash, I thought you might drop by,” the guild maser said as he entered the room.
The look on the guild master’s face was like stone, leaving Ash unable to read what the man was thinking. “Yes, due to unforeseen reasons, I need to see if there is a way to speed up the building of the fort.”
“I must admit that was not what I was expecting you to say,” the guild master said with a slightly more relaxed expression.” We can speed up some, but as you know that will require more funds then you have currently provided. Even then it will be hard to find more earth mages, especially with the rumors of war hanging overhead.”
Ash quickly pulled the document allowing the guild to withdraw money from the duchy accounts and handed it to the guild master. “I think this should cover the need for funds, but just as before I want a detailed report on all spending. My wife has not been in a friendly mood lately and I think she might put my head on the block along with yours if she finds any foul play.”
Ash tried to give off a serious air as he spoke, but unexpectedly the guild master just laughed. “I can understand your fears. Last time my wife found out I had been spending money without letting her know, she nearly skinned me alive. Don’t worry, I am not fool enough to try and cheat the duchess. Give me a few days and I will have every hand available clearing the forest.”
“About that, I was hoping that you could also start preparing some temporary barracks with the logs for some trainees,” Ash said as an idea struck him
“Using full logs would be wasteful, but I think I can get something done about that. With the large amount of wood that will be cut, it will be more cost effective to set up a temporary facility to process the wood on site then having to ship it. It will take a bit, but I think with the right words in the right place I can get what you need done.”
“It would be much appreciated,” Ash said with a light tilt of his head. “If anything comes up, please let me know as soon as you can.”
With his business at the Masonry Guild done, Ash went down a few blocks and walked into the Gambler’s Guild. The building was just as shabby as before, making Ash feel slightly ashamed but he pushed the thought aside and entered to find the guild master sleeping with his feet kicked up on his desk. Ash knocked hard on the top of the desk with his knuckles causing the guild master to jump slightly.
“Boy, you scared the daylights out of me,” the guild master said holding his chest.
“I need to advance my ranking,” Ash said coldly, not wanting to waste his time.
“Eh…You already made it to level thirty,” the guild master exclaimed, his face slightly turning white. “Humm… ok then, for a test I will simply have you pay a thousand gold. For a gambler, that should be easy enough to come up with.”
Ash shook his head. He had asked around about advancement tests. Shina never joined a guild so she wasn’t sure what would happen when she reached level thirty. In the end he had been forced to ask his guards. One of them had to fight against another ranked thirty member of the guild while the other had to subjugate a high level monster. They both belonged to fighter guilds so he knew there might be a little difference, but he didn’t expect it to be so simple. Ash pulled out the coins and tossed them to the guild master.
“Ah…I can finally get a new front door for the guild,” the man said as he lifted up the pouch of coins. “Well, let’s get started,” the guild master said as he pulled out a small clear crystal about the size of a plum. “Put your hand on top of the crystal.”
As soon as Ash’s hand touched the crystal he felt a warm energy fill his hand then spread through the rest of his body.
“Tring.”
[You occupation has been changed to Intermediate Gambler.]
“Tring.”
[You have been awarded the skill Gambler’s Stake.]
“Tring.”
[You have been awarded the skill Lucky Find.]
“Tring.”
[You have been awarded the skill Luck Toss.]
“Is that all I have to do?” Ash asked, slightly amazed at how quick everything went.
“Yes, all the skills for the second level promotion on in this crystal. For the next job advancement though, you will have to go to a larger guild. They don’t let small guild halls have the crystals for them.”
As Ash walked to the city exit he began to examine his new skills.
[Gambler’s Stake: cost 40SP- During a battle you can sacrifice gold in order to temporarily increase you stats. The amount of gold sacrificed determines the rise in ability.]
[Lucky Find: Cost 25MP- search the area for hidden treasure.]
[Luck Toss: cost 100MP- toss a gold coin if it lands on heads your luck will increase by 10%, if tails luck will decrease 10%. Can only be used once a day. Effect lasts for eight hours.]
“Master, do you miss Lillanis?” Shina asked a few moments after they exited through the city gates.
“I would be lying if I said I won’t miss her and the others, but I don’t think it is in the way you are thinking,” Ash said, patting Shina lightly on the head.
Shina let off a contented sigh, but didn’t say anything else. The only real difference was that now Shina once again clung tightly to Ash’s side.
Outside the gate, Ash found everyone working as hard as they had before. It seemed that even though they had expected them to cancel the contract, they didn’t slow down at all. Smiling, Ash pulled his Axe from his inventory and started to cut down the trees at a fast pace, not caring about how much his stamina might decrease.
7-8
The days passed by quickly. Just as was promised, the amount of workers more than doubled, but still clearing the large amount of forest was slow. There was so much going on though that Ash had far too little time to do everything that he wanted. He only got to visit the labyrinth a few hours every few days. Most of the time Ash spent with Emelia going over the duchies plans.
Just as Emelia thought, within a few days of the announcement, hundreds of nonhumans flocked to become citizens. Most of them were either too young or too old to be of much use in battle, but Emelia accepted them all. If push came to shove, even the elders could shoot arrows from the battlements.
Among the numerous youth who had applied for citizenship, many of them were orphans whose family had been enslaved. Ash felt slightly bad, but they were the best age for training. Ash had gotten the idea when he remembered the tales his master told him about the Seven Swords Guild. Train at a young age so that they could become strong before they started to raise their levels. The knights did the same thing, though not for the same reasons.
Ash didn’t want to force the children to join the new knight order, so he gave them a choice though he felt it was a little unfair. If they joined the knights, the duchy would provide them with a place to sleep, food, and clothing. In the end, ninety percent of the children chose this option. Ash wanted to take direct control over the children’s training, but currently there was too much going on so he could only visit with them a few hours a day the rest had been turned over the Dem and his knights, though they were ordered to follow his strength training regimen. The children were the first class of the new knight’s school and while most of them were nonhumans, there were a few human children mixed in as well, though they were in the minority.
Other than the influx of new citizen, there was also complaints from the many slave merchants who had found it harder to get slaves. It was not just limited to nonhuman slaves, but all salves. Before if someone held a debt, even if it was a small one they could be forced into slavery. Also children could be sold into slavery, but now all slaves had to be given a trial and that meant extra cost and also made it harder for them to fabricate
a reason for slavery. Emelia made it even harder by opening up three new orphanages and buying off debts or the children themselves. This had been one of Ash’s ideas, one which Emelia wasn’t overly fond of but she had consented.
The idea was simple, the people who had debts were allowed to pay it off by working on the side for the duchy. Many of them worked on the clearing of the fort or at the new orphanages. The children on the other hand were treated well and while not slaves, were to be raised knowing that it was the duchess that had given them a second chance at a free life. Ash expected this to breed highly loyal servants in the future. Emelia thought it would be fine to mark them as slaves, but Ash argued that having loyal citizens would be a bigger advantage in the future. She didn’t fully agree but she supported him with only a few minor grumbles.
There was also a few problems with the nobles but so far, only one had been caught breaking the laws openly. Just as Emelia had promised, he was beheaded in a public execution. He had only been an un-landed noble, but Emelia, not wanting to foster an enemy of his family, let his son inherit the title.
This alone was enough to keep Ash busy, but Emelia had added a few more laws, though these did not apply to nonhumans but to females. With female population dominating over the men by a large margin, Emelia made it where noble titles now fell to the first decedent no matter if it was male or female. She also set up laws to protect females from harassment, that even spread to slaves making it illegal to force them to preform night duties.
One would think that this would cause less problems than the laws dealing with nonhumans, but it didn’t just effect nobles. All wealthy slave owners had demanded audiences to file grievances to the new laws arguing that the slaves were their property and they should be able to do with them as they pleased. For more than five days straight it was Ash’s duty to explain the new law and then to send them away. More than once, he had to threaten to have all their property seized if they refused to abide by the laws. A few even went so far as to declare they would leave the duchy, but Ash was left unmoved as he completely agreed with Emelia’s new decrees.
Thanks to his busy life, Ash had only been able to reach the twenty-seventh floor of the labyrinth. The demon wasp on the twenty sixth floor didn’t have any abilities he could learn, but the flame spirit on the twenty seventh floor had two and so far he had only been able to gain the Flame Sword ability.
[Flame Sword- cost 30MP coat a weapon in flame essence.]
Ash found it weird that it was called flame sword but would be used with any weapon. Then again the flame spirits had only used swords made out of flame so that might have been the reason.
Ash might have continued on with the busy days if Yuki had not reminded him of her advancement class that was now only a day away. He felt a little bad for ignoring her and the others lately, so he asked Emelia if he could take the day off in order to attend the class. When Emelia heard what it was for, not only did she give permission she decided to attend with him. Ash expressed his worries that having the duchess attend might draw too much attention, but she threw the words right back at him. Right now it was not Emelia who was drawing the most attention, but him as her nonhuman husband who could easily be seen as the reason for the current changes in policy.
Yuki showed a happy face and hugged both Ash and Emelia when she was told that they would both be coming to watch her test.
The next day Ash, Emelia, and ten guards left the manor and headed for the Adventurer School that was located at the other end of the city. As they walked through the city, numerous people started to gather but not one of them called out. Looking around, it reminded Ash of parades that he had went to when he was younger. By the time they reached the school, there were more than a hundred people following behind them. Ash couldn’t help but look at Emelia who seemed to be at ease, even with the large group following them so he did his best to endure the feeling of uneasiness that crawled through his mind.
When they were near the Adventurer School, two men quickly ran out and bowed to Ash and Emelia. “My lords, what brings you to our humble establishment?”
“We have been informed that one of our slaves will be having her advancement class today,” Emelia said without hesitation.
“Ah yes, the level two students will be having an advancement test today, but I was not informed that one of them belonged to the duchess. If I had known, we would have prepared for your possible attendance.”
“The young lady does not belong to me but my husband,” Emelia said as she signaled for the man to raise his head. “He has taken extreme interest in her growth so we have come today to see how she has grown in your care.”
Though Emelia was speaking politely, there was a hidden tenseness in her voice that left Ash speechless. Even Ash could tell that there was a thinly veiled threat in her words. After the man bowed again, he led them to where Yuki and the others had been gathered as they waited for their test to begin.
“What was that about?” Ash asked as soon as the men were far away not to hear them talk.
“The Adventurer School is outside my control and they have been long known to treat nonhumans badly. I just wanted them to know that the new laws included them. They will report this to their higher ups and soon they will be smart enough to figure out the true meaning behind my words. If they don’t, then they wouldn’t have deserved their position.”
Ash felt slightly bad she was using Yuki’s advancement test in such a way, but Emelia had told him before that a noble had to look how any action they take will be understood. They had to take every chance they could right now to reinforce the new laws, otherwise they will be taken lightly and it will be harder to enforce them the longer they allow people to disregard them.
Thankfully after Ash and Emelia reached the Adventurer School, the large group of people started to disperse. Still it was hard to miss the sight of two nobles accompanied by a number of heavily armed guards. Thanks to their exaggerated escort, as soon as they entered the small training field, Yuki noticed them and ran forward while dragging her friend Tina behind her. “Emelia, this is my friend Tina,” Yuki said, pushing her friend to the front.
“Your grace,” Tina said with an awkward curtsy.
“Tina, if you are Yuki’s friend, there is no need for formalities, it would just make her uncomfortable,” Emelia said with a smile.
Shortly after Yuki and Tina appeared, Helen and Susan walked up behind the two young girls. “Master Ash, nice to see you again,” Susan said with a warm smile.
“Boy, I was hoping my daughter could rope you in, but it seems the duchess already has her claws in tight. Still for a second wife you could do worse than my lil girl,” Helen said in her normal bawdy manor.
“Helen, I see you are still the same,” Ash said laughing despite himself. “Though you should really not say such things when my wife is standing right beside me.
“Meh…If that lady can’t take a bit of a challenge, she don’t deserve you,” Helen said throwing Emelia a wink. “If not, this old bat has lived long enough. Even if she wants to put my head to the block, I doubt the axe could cut through this old hide.”
“Mother,” Susan exclaimed, her face turning slightly white as she began bowing over and over to Emelia. “I am sorry your grace. My mother’s mind seems to falter a little with old age.”
“Bah. My mind is a clear as it ever was,” Helen said while sticking out her chest. “My tongue on the other hand has grown a bit loose with age. Too old to worry about something as silly and certain as death.”
“That is fine,” Emelia said with a hint of laughter. “I have to deal with enough people who use flowery words to cover up what they truly want to say. Talking to someone who speaks there mind in such a straightforward way is refreshing. If half the nobles did the same, then it wouldn’t take a week to get anything across.”
“Seems like the duchess is a smart and feisty one,” Helen said laughing. “Only a lady with a bit of gumption can put some of those dim-witt
ed dandies in their place. Bout time they learned a woman can do their job twice as good with half the effort.”
“How would you like a job?” Emelia asked her tone suddenly turning serious. “I could use someone like you to put a few of those dandies in their place. I think you would make a great judge.”
“Judge. I think I need to take back what I just said. I don’t know a lick about all the laws.” Helen said scratching her head.
“I mean as a judge for the new slavery laws. Too many nobles are using crooked judges to get around the new laws. Not even I can release a judge from his duty without proof, but I can add a new group to rule over certain laws and I think you would be a great at keeping track of them.”
“Would get me out of the house and I would enjoy putting some of those young punks in their place. I just need to know if it is common to hire someone you just met?”
“My father always said when you meet the right person for a job, don’t let them get away. Most the people applying for the new jobs come from noble or merchant backgrounds. It is hard to find someone I can trust to do what I want done. You seem like you would be a good addition. The hiring and firing of the new judges will be left up to you. As long as they can read and write and you think they will follow the law, then hire them. I don’t care if they are nobles or commoners.”
“Let me think about it a bit,” Helen said seriously.
While Emelia and Helen talked, the rest were left speechless. Even Ash who thought he was used to Emelia’s strange actions was surprised by her actions. The only one who seemed to think nothing was strange was Tina, who just beamed as if saying it was natural for her family.
Their discussion was interrupted by the head teacher as he stood in the middle of the training field and raised his voice. “For those of you who were here for the first advancement test, you will understand. If this is your first time, then you need to listen well. We will be going to the labyrinth to fight on the fifth floor. Students may form in groups up to six or fight alone if they wish. Their task this time is for each student to kill ten zombies. For the safety of the students, they will be accompanied by a minimum of one teacher. If you are at least level fifteen, you can apply to watch your child, but if you are found to be cheating then your child will instantly be expelled from the school. For the parents who are not fighters, they can wait outside the labyrinth for their children to finish. Now any parents that wish to be chaperones, please come forward now.”
Reborn: Knight's Code Page 6