Chapter 115: She Would Exploit the System

Chapter 115: She Would Exploit the System

The day after her birthday, she began to feel her legs from her thighs to her toes. She could feel the thin blanket against her legs when she woke up. As the days passed, she not only regained feeling, but some movement.

It was as if life were trying to make up for giving her the life-long burden of governing a county.

Tori could also feel the energy of the vein in her blood. The tingling sensation she usually ignored was back, and there was a feeling of energy around her legs.

Im not grounding, Tori told Master Ramos as she sat on her wheelchair in the front of her tent. Her shoes were off, and she had pulled the hem of her dress up to her knees to show that she could move her legs ever so slightly. But I feel it. Not just the usual energy in the air, but Im taking it in.

Youre sensitive to it because your body is absorbing trace amounts, Master Ramos said. Experienced crystal users are naturally like this. We unconsciously absorb such energy as easily as breathing. The amount is small and not detrimental to your recovery. Its not something to worry about.

Tori let out a low breath. Thats good. I was concerned, as its not something I was doing on purpose.

On the contrary, the slow absorption should speed up your grounding. Think of it as slowly repairing the connection, the old man replied. He gave her a nod of approval. Can you move your legs enough to stand?

Tori shook her head. I can twist them and shuffle them a bit, as well as wiggle my toes, but I cant lift them all the way. She tried to lift her left leg, but at most, her knee rose, and her thigh didnt lose contact with the seat. She pursed her lips, frustrated. How much longer will it take?

A few more days to be able to move your legs freely, but remember what we said about control and walking.

In other words, he didnt want her to get her hopes up so soon. Tori chewed on her lower lip and nodded. It will take some time to regain the ability to walk. All the crystal masters and Instructor Ignatius had told her that.

Still, she hoped that being in the delta and over the energy vein would speed up her healing. At the very least, her ability to ground was being repaired.

As if knowing what his pupil was thinking, Master Ramos chuckled. You should be able to ground as normal in another week. I recommend waiting for another week after that.

I understand. I wont rush it. Losing the ability to ground after being so dependent on it made her anxious and unsettled her. Shed never felt so helpless as when she was sitting on the cabin floor, unable to move or ground.

If she had been alone or without protection, Tori didnt know what shed do. She couldnt exactly fend off multiple people with a dagger while on the floor. HEMA didnt train her for that.

Will Tori need any physical recovery exercises and practice once she can move her legs freely, as those recovering from a physical leg injury? Sebastian asked as he sat on the cushioned bench against the tent wall.

I would recommend it, yes, Master Ramos said. There is time to invite one of the doctors from the Fortress to assist her.

Aside from a doctor, is any equipment needed? Tori asked. Such as parallel bars, a ramp and steps, or a walker?

Parallel bars? Sebastian looked at her curiously and Tori furrowed her brows.

How do people recovering from a leg injury learn to walk again, providing theyre able to?

Crutches, a cane, railing, and if possible, an assistant will be at their side to help them stand as they take their first steps during recovery, Sebastian told her.

Well, an assistant is always good in case someone falls. Parallel bars would just help me support myself as I try to regain coordination and strength in my legs. Tori sank back into her wheelchair.

She didnt know when technology in various fields stopped in the game. She knew it was a fantasy mishmash when she was reading the wiki article and didnt expect historical accuracy. Even then, she understood historical accuracy could be flipped at any moment when new things were discovered, or theories were proven.

Fashion clearly went up to the early twentieth century in rare cases, but surprisingly, there were no small firearms. There were plenty of cannons both small and large, but nothing like what shed consider a gun. Frankly, she did not want to delve into that. If the game didnt have them, then she wasnt going to be the one to bring them up. She had very little knowledge on them, anyway. Shed only gone shooting in the desert with her cousins twice in her original world, and had to be guided every step of the way.

From construction in the delta, shed learned a good deal on where that technology was in terms of building, but things like plumbing and heating involved the use of crystals. She thought they may be on the cusp of innovation using crystals as both a power source and motherboard, and her excitement was shared by the other crystal fanatics.

She had no idea where medical technology was, but after seeing Instructor Ignatius use heliotropes to facilitate the healing of her brothers tiger slashes, it was another field that mixed the two. Learning to use crystals for healing was on her personal to-do list, along with learn to ride a horse and wheelchair accessible.

Being unable to do crystal experiments really let her mind wander.

How do parallel bars look like? her brother asked.

Tori snapped her head back in his direction and frowned. She opened her mouth and stopped herself before she could ask if they hadn't been invented. Theyre two long bars parallel to the ground and held up by legs so they reach just above the waist. There is one on either side of you, like having two railings. You put your hands on the bars to keep yourself steady and hold yourself up as you try to regain mobility.

There are railings against walls that we use. This is similar. Do you want to have that built? Sebastian asked. It was no secret that there were craftsmen working for Lions Gate.

Ill draw up some ideas that may be helpful, but there should be an assistant there to watch me in case I fall.

Idunn has a cousin who may be able to help, Sebastian said. She just finished her schooling at the Soleil Medical and Health College in Horizon. Ill talk to Idunn.

Ill continue my stretches and rubbing my legs. I still have plenty to do. Tori looked towards her desk, where her mother and Kasen were working on county charters.

Tori wasnt so daring as to attempt to do it on her own with no experience or enough knowledge on the subject. She had a basic understanding of Soleils government, but when it came down to intricate details, she felt it best left to people with experience. Hence, Antonia, who ran the civil departments of Sur, and Kasen, who was as well-versed as their mother.

They were people she trusted, and the Sur March was thriving, so she happily handed them responsibility. They were her best options. Once the foundations were laid, they could begin teaching her the basics slowly, and when it was most convenient.

Piers was still viewing suitable aides for her from the top graduates of Universit. She received packets of information from him daily on various counties around the empire that could be referenced.

With other people doing the bulk of the groundwork, Tori kept her focus on building the delta and how the newly acquired land should be allocated and for what purposes. If she was going to govern the delta, then there were buildings and services she wanted on the mainland. The primary and secondary schools, a hospital with outpatient services, and a post office.

The larger islands within phases one and two were already allocated, so she didnt need to worry about them.

There is an old charter that hasnt been changed since the early empire, Kasen said as he read some old books. Newly distributed noble lands are exempt from imperial taxes for the first five years of settlement if the amount that would be taxed is reinvested into the land.

There isnt exactly a lot of money coming in that we can tax, Tori said with a small snort. All of it is going back into the delta anyway. Thats not a problem.

You will need to take a census, as well, and begin the process for a common chamber representative.

Only permanent residents or can we include the temporary workers living here?

Temporary workers are counted under their permanent residence.

Even if they have permits to live here for the duration of their multiple-year work contract? Tori frowned. While she had a temporary residence permit for Horizon, when it came to population, she was counted under Presidios population. Of course, now she was an official resident of the Cosora Delta.

I havent found anything on that yet, Kasen replied. The delta is unique, so there will be loopholes and various matters that dont apply.Visit no(v)eLb(i)n.com for the best novel reading experience

Tori let out a small huff. Im fine with exploiting any advantageous loopholes. She was being taken advantage of, so she would exploit the system where she could.

Dont worry, my dear. We will find them, Antonia said in a calm voice.

Tori nodded and Master Ramos stood up. I will leave now. Stephanos and Benedict the man are meeting me at test farm one to test and observe the aquamarine irrigation system.

Tori stopped her head in mid-nod and looked over at the old man as he gathered his bag and headed to the door. Did you say Benedict the man?

He is different from Benedict the cat.

Tori pursed her lips. Poor Instructor Ignatius....

Sebastian put his hands on the back of Toris wheelchair. Where do you want to go?

Operations, Tori told him. With some freed-up space in the encampment, several family tents had been moved together to create an operations headquarters where she could find people. There were smaller adjacent tents that functioned as meeting rooms. It was easier to deal with while recovering, as she couldnt go search for people on her own. Mama, Kasen, Im going!

Are you coming back for lunch? Antonia asked without looking up from her work.

No, I have a meeting with some guild representatives, Tori replied. She needed to find space for them to set up a temporary office, as well as register the representatives at the gate house to be allowed into Viclya.

It would be a promising idea to prepare crystal identification tokens similar to what Lyce students had.

The crystal itself was a cheap, basic clear quartz; however, it needed to be programmed to react. If they were going to monitor who went in and out of Viclya now that it was developing into more than just a refugee camp, they needed identification. Paper documents had been created, but it was time consuming to check.

I know, but there isnt anything I can do. At the very least, Mama and Kasen are helping me, and Piers is interviewing two potential aides, Tori said.

She can leave the desk work to us until she finishes her project, Antonia told Gregorio. I trust there are no complaints? She raised a brow as if daring him to protest. He did not.

I know Mama and Kasen are busy, so once the aides have been selected, they will train directly under Mama and Kasen before they return, Tori said.

Her father nodded. Sur is efficient. We can afford this.

Marquis and Marquess! Ilyana returned and gave them a bright smile. Please follow me! I will take you to the beach.

I have work to do now, so Ilyana will be your liaison. We are having dinner at Bluewater, Henriks restaurant. Tori pointed to the large restaurant nestled in the plaza further away. Her father nodded.

Then, we will see you at dinner.

She watched her parents be escorted away before having the knight accompanying her take her to the operations tent. With the buildings facing the promenade relatively completed, she wanted to start building inland using a shared courtyard model that was prevalent in old cities with congested populations.

The homes were narrow, but deep, and from the estimates of architects and civil engineers, traditional brick homes could be built up to four stories tall closer to the shore and higher the further inland they were built. Many Old-World towns and villages in her original world sprung up naturally over hundreds of years.

Their streets were twisted, disorganized, and easy to get lost in. Some streets did not even qualify as glorified alleys. This always drove Tori insane.

She had a large grid drawn over the largest map they had of the shoreline and islands. Since she was essentially constructing a planned community, Viclya was going to have its streets in a grid pattern if it killed her. Neighborhoods would be centered around small plazas and a large thoroughfare, which was currently the main road, would lead from the village borders to the promenade.

The road would also be the main transport road through her county and would connect satellite villages along the way. The satellite villages would support farms further inland. The road followed along the Cosora River and started on the western side of the river; in the Alvere Duchy.

Her county started at a point where the Alvere Duchy and the Fekete Duchy ended. The Cosora Delta region could best be described as a triangle from that point, spreading out to cover islands and the bay. Ideally, a town should be created there and a port for river crossing be built.

She was still working on her proposal to Duchess Fekete, but wasnt in a rush. She also wanted to see if bridges could be built across the expanse of the river.

Upon entering the operations tent, JP dragged her into a meeting on farmland allocations. A list of villagers who were hoping to return to farming was presented to her and, surprisingly, there werent as many as when she started. The original village was mainly farmers, but after resettlement many people had to learn new skills.

Most of them were younger people from farming families. However, after the tourist season, she would need to redirect their efforts to prepare for farming.

The meeting took up the rest of the afternoon and Tori submitted another proposal, which was for animal husbandry for consumption. It was mainly pigs, chickens, and cows. She could get mutton and wool from Anlar quite cheaply, so she didnt think it was necessary to add sheep and goats at this time.

My lady, should we give husbandry priority?

Were not purchasing animals now, but we need to prepare. We will need to find a suitable area for raising animals for slaughter. Preferably away from any planned villages and towns. She didnt plan any massive, industrial scale slaughtering, but a lot of animals always meant a certain amount of smell. No one wanted to vacation in a place that smelled of cow poo.

What if we lack manpower?

We start small and grow as the delta grows, Tori said. All things considering, I dont believe that your village will be the only village resettled here. The conflict on the eastern border has not subsided, and as of right now, we are the only working model of refugee resettlement in Soleil.

Her words were serious, and the atmosphere of the meeting room dropped.

My lady, has there been word of more refugees? one of the men asked with a worried expression.

No, but border villages are still in danger of being raided. How often was your home village raided before you were forced to evacuate? Tori asked.

Several people looked around and then towards the oldest member of the group. The fifty-something year old man with graying hair let out a heavy breath and seemed defeated. There have been raids every few years since I can remember. In the last five years, the frequency has increased. Several nearby villages were finally overrun and the Osten military told us that our choices were to leave or stay and risk death. Not all of us...left.

He looked up and met her eyes with some emptiness. The villagers believed their chances of survival were slim if they fled, but if they stayed, they would end up as neighboring villages that had already been raided and lost in the conflict. If they stayed, they would die, so they took what they could carry and abandoned their homes.

While the start was very rough, they considered themselves lucky after two years. Most adults had steady jobs, however meager. There was food, access to medicine, children were getting an education, and there was solid leadership they could trust. There was safety and stability.

Tori bit her lips. If the Duraga Federation is smart, they would focus their raids on farming villages that supplied food and feed to the soldiers and their animals. If that is cut off, it will weaken the military. Luckily, our infrastructure can provide a steady stream of supplies to the eastern front even without border villages, but that doesnt mean the Duraga Federation will stop. The border villages can also be claimed for their use if they can keep them enough. That is why I expect there to be future groups that require resettlement. Large scale evacuation will leave swaths of land open to the Duraga Federation if they cant be protected. Of course, no one wants to leave their home, either.

I have yet to draft plans to prepare for more refugees, but I dont want anyone to think that it isnt possible. I am sure that there are many villagers who have families that remain in that region. If and when the time comes, we must be prepared to take them and resettle them. If not here permanently, then elsewhere in the empire. We have roughly a hundred young people who are scattered around Soleil studying, and not all of them will come back to settle here. We should keep such options in mind.

Dont worry about the resources. We have land we can use. We can still grow. Tori let out a sigh and smiled. But none of this has happened yet. Lets focus on what were working on now.

Several voices agreed and as people began to leave the meeting room, two people, including the gray-haired man, remained to ask her about bringing relatives they were worried about. The gray-haired mans daughter had married out of the village and her new village hadnt been evacuated. He wanted to bring her and her family to Viclya.

Tori furrowed her brows. Let me discuss the legalities of this with my counselors. However, from a personal standpoint, I believe that if you can support and live with your extended family without straining the resources of your neighbors, then you can bring them here. At this time, we are not prepared to provide additional resources for people outside of the initial group, so it will be up to you and your family to support them until they can support themselves.

The man nodded understandingly, and left the tent.

I shouldve considered chain migration earlier, Tori said as she was pushed out of the meeting room. I can imagine that many people have relatives in the border region and are worried about their safety.

JP nodded as he walked through the operations tent with her. We might be able to use the additional people now that farmland has been allocated. The land youve been given is spacious enough; a few more villages and towns along the main road wont be bad.

Tori let out a small hum and nodded. Well look into it more later. Honestly, there is so much to think about.

Its tough being the Countess. JP grinned and Tori rolled her eyes. JP remained in the operations tent, doing light clerical work for her.

By the time she reached her tent, the sun was setting. She raised her arms and stretched. The two knights outside her tent gave her a small nod and one held open the flap. As she was rolled in, she furrowed her brows and looked at the four people in the front room.

What are you all doing here? Tori frowned. Mama, Papa, youre supposed to be relaxing. And Sebby, when did you get back?

An hour ago, Sebastian said.

Marquis Guevera looked at the knight pushing her and gave her a curt nod. It was a silent dismissal and Sir Balzar bowed her head and stepped out. The heavy tent flap closed behind Tori, and she looked back at her family. There was some tension in the air.

Whats going on?

I have to go to Horizon tomorrow, Kasen said as he leaned back on a chair behind her desk. His lips were pulled into a frown. Im going to have to leave for a bit.

Is it for the job you were doing? Tori asked. She expected hed have to leave eventually and wasnt surprised that he was leaving so soon.

Kasen nodded. Mama will continue my work. I should be back in a few days.

Is it serious? Tori narrowed her eyes. She looked around at her family and no one seemed to want to answer her. Tori closed her eyes and let out a heavy breath. I know you dont want to tell me, but since everyone is very quiet, I suspect it may have something to do with me?

Not directly, but related, Sebastian told her. Do you remember the poachers in Anlar?

Yes, it was a few weeks ago.

Baldwin called, Kasen said, sitting up straight and putting his hands on the desk. After some investigation, several of the poachers captured by Sebastian had been seen in some small rural villages and identification papers with them were suspicious, which coincides with my mission.

His eyes flickered to their father and Tori turned towards him.

The Marquis was staring at his daughter, as if trying to find an answer. After a few moments, he took a deep breath. You are sixteen years old now, Tori. You are an adult member of the march. When your brothers were your age, they began to participate.

Toris lips tightened into a line. Are you saying I have a right to know?

Yes, but you also have the right not to know, Kasen told her. Youre still in Lyce and have a complex project. In addition, you were made countess and now must bear the responsibility of governing the Cosora Delta. The level of complexity of your project and your new peerage are things Sebastian and I never had to deal with, so we were able to take on additional work from the march without worry.

Tori narrowed her eyes. How much is the additional work?

If it is regarding your brothers mission, there is nothing for you to do. It would simply be information, her mother said. That being said, Tori. Do you want to know what Kasens mission is?

Tori pursed her lips. No. Not particularly.