As the potato wedges ran out, Lawrence introduced Halafina to another dish, Deep Fried Chicken Wings.

These things that were crunchy always went along with beer extremely well. The other thing that was going well was of course, Lawrence gathering information.

“Where are you staying anyway?” Lawrence asked and Halafina’s eyes brightened up at the mention of the place of stay.

“There is this fantastic inn-“

Of course it is fantastic! I built it!

Or at least, that was what Lawrence thought to himself.

“Indeed! The best inn in this town! We all know what it is!” Lawrence said cheerfully, ordering more ale for the two of them. The bells at the door jingled as Trey, with a stylish coat walked in, his eyes scanning the crowd and stopping at Lawrence and walking over. Lawrence noticed that Trey had taken a quick look at Halafina’s face, hands and shoes before turning to Lawrence.

“Sir Carstein, a minute of your time please, ma’am if you will excuse us?” Trey said politely and Halafina nodded. Lawrence muttered, “Be right back…” as he left the table, following Trey outside.

As they walked outside, Trey brought Lawrence to an alleyway behind the tavern. Looking around, Trey said in a low voice, “We have rounded up six people who have attempted to enter town with forged merchant papers.”

“Their purpose?” Lawrence asked and Trey shook his head.

“We are still interrogating them. However, they hid weapons and supplies in a secret compartment in their wagon. We’re working to see if any of their accomplices got in,” Trey said, a small smile playing on his lips. Lawrence shuddered to know what interrogation techniques are being used but whatever works to protect this place that he built.

“Who is that lady, Sir Carstein?” Trey asked, his smile widening and Lawrence took a step back involuntarily.

“An acquaintance, we only just met. Why?” Lawrence asked, wondering if he had just met a swallow.

On the first day of military training, Lawrence was taught to identify Ravens and Swallows. Ravens was the term used to identify male spies while Swallows represented female spies.

“Well… Just for my little black book,” Trey smiled, licking his lips and walking away. Lawrence made a mental note to watch his own shadows more carefully now that Trey has become more and more active in his role. Rumour has it that Trey has a single book binded in black cloth which contains list of important people and all sorts of dirt on them.

What dirt could he possibly… Hmm…

Shaking his head, Lawrence entered the tavern again, to find Halafina looking at him oddly, shifting between narrowing her eyes and twitching awkwardly.

“You are a knight?” Halafina asked and Lawrence rubbed the back of his head.

“Well, yes, recently knighted.”

“Wow… Knights don’t exist in our homeland,” Halafina explained and Lawrence listened as she explained that distinguished men of service were raised to what were called Maharaja and granted a piece of land by the Shah, who ruled supreme.

There were only the Shah and the princes as well as the Maharajas which were considered minor nobles at best. The army specialized in fighting in the desert and has never ventured beyond the deserts to fight as the rulers know that they can only hold their own mostly within the deserts.

It resembles a mixture of India and the Arab nations huh…

“You’re a talented person, so why don’t you just drop by the employment office? I’m pretty sure you can find a job in the army, the internal security or even the Civil Defense,” Lawrence suggested.

“There’s plenty of artisan openings as well along with uh… Well, a lot of people need assistants,” Lawrence said and Halafina sighed.

“I can’t escape killing here either?” Halafina whispered to herself and Lawrence shook his head.

“Go to Civil Defense then. Their duty is fire watch, assisting civilians and a lot of other work.”

“What is Civil Defense?” Halafina asked, trying to find the equivalent of whatever it was in her head but coming up with nothing.

Lawrence coughed and began his explanation.

“They have a few important duties. They inspect shops and houses to make sure that in the event of a fire, they can leave the area quickly and safely. That is fire hazard inspection.”

“Then, in the event of a fire, the Civil Defense will be activated to put out the fire and only in the event that they can’t cope, the army may get involved. They also have a duty to evacuate the civilians and carry the wounded to the Tower of Mercy.”

“Next, they patrol with the Internal Security Department. If a family at night has a man so ill that he should be sent to the Tower of Mercy, you will be the runner that brings that man there.”

Lawrence finished his explanation of duties to Halafina who scratched her chin.

“So… Militia without the fighting part?” Halafine asked and Lawrence squinted before nodding reluctantly. That is like calling salmon sashimi sushi without rice.

“Does it pay well? I mean… It isn’t that it is an issue but…” Halafina hesitated and Lawrence understood this hesitation. The reason being that civil servants in these times are usually poorly paid.

“Healthcare, life insurance, performance bonuses and a monthly wage,” Lawrence said, finishing his acting of a businessman giving a pitch. At least he didn’t attempt to do it like insurance salesmen who stopped you outside the rail stations asking for a minute of your time.

“I should get going, Halafina. I hope to see you around in this town again,” Lawrence reached out his hand and Halafina shook it. Lawrence could feel the bumps and calluses on her hands. Her hands were used to manual and heavy labour.

“See you around, Sir Carstein?” Halafina said, a hint of a question at the end.

“I don’t see why not,” Lawrence smiled and leaving, he felt the cold wind on his face. Drawing the coat that he had from his inventory, he walked down the streets, gently pushing his way through the crowds of people even at night.

He could hear the hammers falling on anvils, the yelling of town criers and more. Lawrence for once, congratulated himself.