I sighed as I sagged on the wall. Phew, that seemed to take forever. School lectures did not prepare me for this. But at least I didn’t stutter… I didn’t stutter, right? Well, I’d know in a few minutes when Aswelth comes in. Now to see my notifications.

System, unarchive notifications.

Notifications archived

Organizations founded!

Ducal guard.

Qi gained: 1700

Adventurers Guild.

Qi gained: 2300

Administrative Wing

Qi gained: 2500

Ducal Speech conducted.

Calculating rewards…

Morale: +3.7%

Economic growth stimulus: +7.9%

Qi gained: 375 Qi

Total Qi gained: 6875 Qi.

Mid-Plantling (9875/19200) → Mid-Plantling (16750/19200)

… Ok, can someone tell me why the Adventurers Guild and Ducal guard got so much Qi? System? Why did the Ducal guard and the Adventurers guild get so much Qi?

Qi is assigned based on the novelty, growth potential and the importance of the organization to the duchy in the current situation. The Ducal guard was deemed to have great growth potential and be of great potential, while the Adventurers Guild had all three.

Wait. If importance was such a criterion, then why did education not yield more Qi? System, why did education not yield more Qi?

The Education Council, while important, was deemed to not be novel and lacking in growth potential. The workings of this organization were deemed primitive. This reduced the Qi gained.

System, I take that as a personal insult. The School is not primitive! Ok fine, it doesn’t have a super curated curriculum and is very much run on consensus, but that's not primitive! Fine, you want it to be more special? I’ll make it more special. But first I need to know how I will be getting Qi from organizations. I was quickly running out of organizations to make.

I fished out the pebble and contacted Duke Selrin, causing his image to appear in the air. The man was in the same place again.

“Altura. If you are calling to ask when Lady Illiana will arrive, then she will reach the duchy in a few days.” Duke Reinar said. Ugh, I was being a bit too selfish, wasn’t I? Calling only when I needed something. But what do you say to…whatever Duke Reinar was to me. But that was for later.

“No, Father. Actually, I wanted to know how I gained Qi from organizations. I am quite close to running out of organizations to found.” I said.

“Ah, that is a worry, I suppose. I admit, I have very little information on the subject. The Selrin Duchy hasn’t had a nobility type seed in centuries. But from what I know, the organizations themselves level up. There are certain criteria to each level up, and they can be found out by asking the System about it. The early level ups are apparently easy to get, but they increase in difficulty later on.”

“That said, have you created a financial organization. Having one is absolutely crucial, and I know that you are against me interfering in the duchy, but surely you will allow me to donate some money?” Duke Reinar asked.

“I have created an organization to handle stimuli yes, and I thankfully have quite a bit of capital. I shall ask if I find myself in need of more.” I answered. “Thank you for doing this.”

A smile emerged on Duke Reinar’s face as he said, “Well, if that is all, I do have work to do. Goodbye” And then the video cut off. Now I was feeling more guilty. But it was time to check out what I needed to level up my organizations.

System, what are the requirements to level up my organizations?

The requirements are as follows

Educational Council [level 0]

Requirements:

500 charges.

3 weeks old.

Reward: 50 Qi.

Department of Minors [level 0]

Requirements:

300 charges

3 weeks old

Reward: 300 Qi

Administrative Wing [level 0]

Requirements:

15000 citizens

3 weeks old

1 million gold capital

50 members

5 level 1 sub-organizations.

100% Employment

Reward: 15,000 Qi

Ducal guard [level 0]

Requirements:

1000 members

3 weeks old

Minimum cultivation level: Late Seedling

100 Sapling stage members.

10 Mid-Sapling stage members

Reward: 15,000 Qi

Adventurers Guild [level 0]

Requirements:

3,000 members

3 weeks old

3,000 tasks completed

Reward: 15,000 Qi

Oh, wow. This is ridiculous. The Educational Council got nerfed hard. And the wing, guard and guild are all way too hard. Aren't the first early levels supposed to be easy? Why did it seem not easy? System, how are the level up conditions set?

The level up conditions are set based on growth potential of the organization. The Educational Council was deemed to have minimal potential. The tasks are set according to how difficult they would be to accomplish for the circumstances.

I suppose that made sense. 100% employment would be very hard for other duchies, but I could simply hire everybody. Hmm, System, how do I deem things sub organizations?

Please think- assign [sub organization name here] as a sub organization to [organization name here]

Ah, thinking it in. System, assign the Educational Council as a sub organization to the Administrative Wing.

The Educational Council has successfully been assigned as a sub organization to the Administrative Wing.

System, assign the Department of Minors as a sub organization to the Administrative Wing.

The Department of Minors has successfully been assigned as a sub organization to the Administrative Wing.

And that was done. I had an Educational Council to remake and some more organizations to make. Hmm, what other organizations could I make?

The Count, Cilanthra

“Are you sure about this, your grace? The King may take offense to us allying with someone from the Confederacy.” The Count said to the young Duke Artin. At first, he thought that he would at least have a voice in what happened, but it was soon clear that he was just a tool in a game, and he couldn’t withdraw anymore.

“Oh, please Rellit, keep your doubts to yourself and let your superiors handle things. The Shadow Prince is quite a bit more powerful than you realize. The King would not dare touch him, it would offend the Confederacy too much. Besides, we won’t be being obvious about it.” the young Duke said. The Count was still unconvinced. The Shadow Prince was the same person that was responsible for his woes. Depending on him to solve them was simply a bad idea to him.

Before the Count could counter, a woman entered the room. Immediately, the Count felt his presence being suppressed, the woman was a Plant. A Plant that was currently allowing her aura to flow freely.

“Greetings, young Duke Artin. It is a pleasure to meet you today. How may my humble organization be of service to you today?” the woman asked. The young Duke of course had come prepared with some kind of defense. There was no way a Sapling could handle the aura otherwise.

“I hear that we have a common problem, Miss Altere, a problem named Archduchess Altura. I wonder if it is possible to come to an agreement about this issue?” the young Duke asked.

“It might be, but it would be preferable if this discussion were held in…more private circumstances.” the woman gestured to the Count, making it clear that she wanted him gone.

“Of course.” the young Duke said, staring at the Count. Sighing, he left the room. So, it began, it might have been a bad decision to contact the young Duke. Now he didn’t even have any control over what happened.

The royal inquisition had already started investigating, and his sources told him that they had found several ‘leads’. To make things worse, he was constantly losing people, more and more leaving for that valley. More checks, curfews and sealing the city gate shut had done nothing. The commoners had taken to leaving from the mines themselves.

Now he didn’t even have trade. The only way in and out was either through the mines or jumping down the walls. And only he could survive the jump. Perhaps he would have to seal the mines too. But how would he run his county then?

Altura (one week later)

I looked on as a carriage entered the duchy through the tunnel. Aswelth had gone and cleaned up the mongeese, taking some Ducal guards to kill the weaker ones after he dealt with the stronger ones. That had given me fifteen Late stage Saplings, fulfilling one of the conditions for the level up.

And it had the added benefit of making the tunnel safe. But I was dreading dealing with this woman. Not only had Lady Illiana demanded that the guards assigned to her carry her across the mountains, but she had also demanded that they make a road just for her. I had gotten a road, but now I had to deal with this woman.

This woman who would be preparing a suitably grand birthday party. Why did those words sound like a threat to the duchy’s financial security now?