SS - Chapter 39 - Looking to the Future

Not sure if I like the way this flows, will look at it again later.

Also, have a doctor's appointment later, so I can't guarentee the second chapter will get done today.

We took the time to unpack the wagons, and get my brother settled, before finally taking the time to investigate the strange construct. Once we were done, I took the little maid back to the village hall, where everyone gathered around her.

“Why do you think she did that?” Selena asked, inspecting the construct curiously. The little maid just stared back, with an equally curious look.

“I don’t know, this is the first time they’ve done anything even remotely selfish. Even though they have self awareness, and personalities, they’ve only done what I asked until now,” I replied. “I didn’t even know they had wants and needs.”

“Let’s hope they don’t all want magic stones,” my mother muttered. “I may have been able to scrape together a significant amount to bring with me, but they won’t last long if all your constructs want a bite.”

Camille put a hand on her chin, and leaned close to the little maid sitting on the table. When she did, the maid mimicked her. “Is it just me, or does she seem… different?”

“She looks the same to me,” I muttered. 

While we were trying to figure out what to do, Alex tugged on the back of my tunic. Gently at first, then more insistantly. 

“Yes? Do you have something you’d like to say?” I asked. One of the first things we discovered when investigating was that the rogue construct was part of Alex’s entourage. I didn’t exactly blame her, but it did make me question if I could fully trust her. Did she know this would happen? Why didn’t she warn me?

Alex stepped back hesitantly, and made a square using her thumbs and pointer fingers, then pulled them apart. “Hup.”

I stared at her for a moment. “You want me to use my system window? For what?”

The maid leader just pointed at her underling, sitting on the table. I looked between the two for a minute before finally stepping up to the table. “System.”

When the window came up I focused on the gluttonous maid and muttered. “Identifiy.”

Maid Bella

Title: Archmaid Retainer

Skills: Basic Spearmanship

Abilities: Many hands make light work

Boons: Jack of all trades

Banes: None

Magic: Basic Wind, Basic Water, Basic Nature, Basic Earth

Information: Archmaids represent one of the various evolutionary forms of the basic maid construct. Although they lose access to their firearms, archmaids gain the ability to cast multiple schools of magic. They make exceptional support units.

This evolution path was unlocked by having an Archmaid in your Head Maids Squad.

Maids must be exposed to a significant amount of magic in order to evolve into an Archmaid. The best way to achieve this is to leave a squad within a suppressed dungeon, or feeding them magical stones.

I blinked, trying to absorb all the new information.

“What?” Camille asked, stepping back from the table. She immediately tried to look at the window over my shoulder, then pouted when she realized I had it in privacy mode. “Share!”

“She apparently evolved into another version of the basic maid,” I explained slowly. “One that uses magic.”

“They can do that?!?!?” Camiile squealed. 

“Not normally. Most constructs only have two forms, one for the basic and one for the champion. I’ve never encountered a construct that’s capable of evolving before,” my mother muttered, looking at Bella suspiciously. “Usually only monsters evolve.”

“Well, it says these constructs do too. Not only that, but it says there are multiple evolutionary paths available,” I said.

“Strange…” Selena mumbled. 

Bella seemed to enjoy the attention of one or two people, but when everyone started staring at her, she appeared to get self conscious. The little maid hopped to her feet and slowly backed towards the edge of the table. When she ran out of room, Bella glanced around, looking for a way out. Instead of jumping off the table, which I expected her to do, she jumped in place.

Wind whipped through the meeting room, tossing up dust and scattering papers as Bella rose off the table and flew across the room. The tiny maid quickly landed next to Alex, before taking cover behind the head maids’ back. Cowering like a shy child.

“Cute,” Camille chuckled. 

“So, the question we have now is: Do we think it’s a threat? Is it okay to leave it running loose?” my mother asked.

“Well, I guess that’s up to Medea,” Selena replied.

I looked at the cowering maid, and shook my head. “I don’t think she’s a threat. If she was, the system probably would have warned me, or at least identified her as something other than a maid. She’s probably safe to keep around. You can take a look at the description if you want.” 

I flipped privacy mode off, and rotated the window so everyone else could take a look. “The real question is, can we trust the maids to stay away from the magic stones.” 

Alex looked uncomfortable, she stared at the floor, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. “Hup.” 

“Unfortunately, I don’t know what that means,” I said softly. “Can we trust them or not?”

The head maid slowly raised her head, looked me in the face and nodded. “Hup!”

“Then can you explain what happened outside? How did this happen in the first place?” I asked.

Alex shifted uncomfortably again, then gestured to her entourage, and then herself. “Hup hup, hup.”

I immediately turned and looked at Camille, hoping she understood. 

“I think she’s trying to take responsibility, and it only happened because Bella is one of her retainers. The others wouldn’t attempt it,” Camille explained.

“That is possible,” my mother muttered. “Not only are champions stronger, but they have a lot more free will. At least that was true for the Gilded Knights, I have no idea how it works for your little constructs.”

“Unfortuantely, neither do I. I’m just learning as I go,” I said, eyes still locked on Alex. “That being said, Alex has proven to be a reliable Ally so far. She has done some suspect things, but they’ve always been for the benefit of the kingdom. I choose to trust her, this time.”

Alex slumped in relief, then grabbed Bella’s hand and pulled the smaller maid up next to her. 

“Hup, hup hup,” Alex whispered, then both of them bowed low. 

I shook my head and turned back towards the rest of the group. 

“We should still move the stones into a more secure area. Even though Alex says the other maids won’t touch them, I still don’t like leaving them in the middle of my room,” I said.

“We can find a place for them tomorrow,” my mother replied. “The more important question is, what do you plan to do next?”

“Arrange for construction of permanent housing, setup new farmland, schedule training…” I said, listing the highest priorities.

My mother sighed. “Those are the short term goals, I mean what are your plans for the kingdom?”

“I… haven’t made any,” I admitted, rubbing the back of my neck. “We’ve been so busy preparing for your arrival, and dealing with emergencies, that I haven’t had time. I haven’t even had the time to review the reference section, or completely go over all the system functions.”

“Then THAT should be your plan for tomorrow,” my mother replied. “I can coordinate with Sieigward, and a couple of my advisors, to help you handle the day to day tasks, while you concentrate on the big picture.”

“Ummm… Do you really think that’s a good idea?” Selena asked cautiously. “Shouldn’t we let the people you brought with you see Medea leading the projects? They’ve followed you for years, and if you take command of the projects they might want you to lead the kingdom over Medea.”

“It’s possible,” my mother replied slyly. “But there are two problems with that line of thinking. First of all, I have no interest in leading the kingdom. I’ve spent most of my life running the duchy, and now that we’ve left, I plan to take it easy. And leave the big decisions to my daughter. I don’t mind letting everyone know it either.”

“Well, that’s good, assuming you’re being honest,” Selena muttered. I felt a little uncomfortable listening to Selena’s questions. On the one hand, I knew she was asking these questions for my benefit, but on the other, she was using a very distrustful tone. My mother, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying the conversation. “What’s the second thing?”

“Medea can’t handle everything on her own. There are close to five hundred citizens living in her country, and I only expect that number to increase over time. She’ll need to start trusting her advisors to handle the minor details, so she can work on the bigger picture,” mother said. “The people will expect her to lead them, plan for emergencies, and provide for the sick, not show up and lead local construction projects.”

She looked at me and smiled. “I know it’s not something Medea’s used to, but it’s what the people need. I’m sure with a little support, and good friends like you girls, she’ll do just fine.”