Arc II - Agrarian Revolution

Chapter 13 - Cards on the Table

1 month and 12 days since the summoning

The sun was already setting over the sea, painting the town in hues of red. Kamelia and Alan sat on their usual terrace while Golna poured them some oire.

Kamelia shifted in her chair, nervously fidgeting with the hem of her doublet. "So, Alan... what did the two of you agree upon?"

Alan, who had already changed back into his old shirt, trousers, and boots after finding those clothes far more comfortable, replied, "We'll get the iron."

The Countess stopped fidgeting with her doublet. "We will... in exchange for what?"

"In exchange for you cutting his taxes in half for the next three years."

Kamelia blinked. "What do you mean? How is that possible? He is the youngest son; he rules over nothing." She narrowed her eyes. "Alan, either you have misunderstood something, or he has spun you a tale. Perhaps you meant reducing his father's taxes?"

He shook his head. "No. Specifically him."

Golna finished pouring the oire and left. Or rather, almost left. She stood just behind the wall at the entrance to the terrace.

The Countess tilted her head to the side. "Alan. Explain."

Alan's face was calm, far too calm. "Let's put all our cards on the table. I know about your betrothal."

A ringing silence fell. Absolute silence. Kamelia seemed to turn to stone. Her pupils shrank to tiny black pinpricks, and every breath required a colossal effort.

Alan said nothing. Kamelia said nothing. An entire minute passed in this manner.

The Countess finally lowered her head, her eyes shielded from view. "How?" she whispered.

"Tsinker," Alan replied flatly. "Now I want to hear it directly from you. Is it true?"

Kamelia clenched her teeth, then suddenly stood up. "What else was I supposed to do?! You would have been executed had I not agreed!" Her eyes glistened. "I had no..."

Alan rose as well. "Quiet!"

Kamelia froze with her mouth half-open, still intending to speak.

"I'm not blaming you for anything," Alan interrupted. "Just tell me. Is it true?"

She gritted her teeth. "Yes. It is true."

Letting out a quiet sigh, Alan leaned his hands on the table. "Then let me tell you something in return. You have to marry the eldest son of Baron Utew, and then Tsinker is going to kill him," he whispered.

Kamelia slowly, very slowly, sat back down. "What?"

Alan squeezed his eyes shut and exhaled sharply through his nose. "I'll tell you everything. Just don't interrupt me, alright?"

She simply gave a slow nod.

Alan opened his mouth to speak, but then stood up from his chair.

'Wait, this isn't the throne room. This is an open terrace. It's too easy to overhear us and hide.'

He walked over to the entrance leading back into the castle and turned to his right.

Standing by the wall was a pale-faced Golna, her eyes wide and her forehead beaded with sweat. She opened her mouth to say something, but Alan simply turned away as if he hadn't noticed her, and walked back. "Alright, no one's there."

The beastgirl clutched her racing heart, then slowly, very slowly, began to creep down the corridor.

Gothwald sat at the table and leaned in close, his voice dropping to a whisper. "Here's how things stand. Tsinker is planning to kill his entire family and take over the whole barony, and I've made two deals with him. First: he gives us iron
soon in exchange for you lowering his taxes, which I already told you. The second deal..." He hesitated for a second, his voice cracking slightly. "The second deal... he was going to kill his brothers before the betrothal, but now he'll kill the eldest afterward. In return, he wants to... work with us. I know how it sounds, but that's what he wanted."

Kamelia blinked, then blinked again. "Indeed... it sounds like absolute madness." Grasping the edge of the table, she barely kept her voice to a whisper. "He wishes to murder his entire family? What sane person would ever do such a thing? What makes you believe he has not deceived you or simply spoken nonsense? Perhaps he is completely out of his mind?"

Alan gave a humorless chuckle. "Exactly. He is out of his mind."

Kamelia froze. "You... you..." She was utterly at a loss for words.

Alan raised his hands. "I'm going to tell you something now, and all I ask... is that you believe me."

The Countess simply rested her arm on the table, shielding her forehead with her hand. "I am listening."

He steepled his fingers. "Tsinker is a psychopath, that's what we call it in my world. A psychopath is someone who... just can't feel empathy, fear, anxiety, love, or anything like that. Trust me, I saw it myself, and you can't mistake it for anything else. There's the answer to your question about what kind of sane person would do this."

Kamelia remained in the same position. "And what purpose is there then for him to work alongside us?"

"Precisely because he is a psychopath. Psychopaths... they can't feel anything from ordinary things like love, food, friendship, and all that. They're drawn to things that are... new, complex, unprecedented. I don't know about others, but that's definitely true for Tsinker. It's in his own interest."

She remained silent for about two minutes, then finally raised her head, her eyes slightly open. "And what... of the betrothal?"

"You need to choose Zinder at the viewing, and then... Tsinker will kill him. You'll essentially become a widow, and you won't have to marry anyone."

Kamelia clasped her hands together. "Alan... this is... it is too much... we are going too far... the consequences..."

Gothwald stood up and leaned closer to her. "Do you want to get married?"

She lowered her head. A lump formed in her throat, and her eyes began to sting. "No... I do not wish to..." she whispered. "Alan... I do not want this... you have no idea how much I do not want this..." Kamelia looked up at him, her eyes glistening intensely. "I... I do not want to be his toy... I do not want to be a dependent puppet... I do not want to be a mere ornament..." She swallowed, remained silent for a few seconds, then closed her eyes. "Yes... let Tsinker kill him."

Alan froze for a second, then extended his hand to her. "When I first got here, I helped you save your lands from the disease. When they wanted to execute me, you saved me at the cost of your future. Now, I'm going to save you from this wedding. Then you'll help me settle things with Tsinker. Then I'll help with something else. You're guilty. I'm guilty, too. But as they say in my world... two negatives make a positive, so I guess we're both... just a pair of complete idiots."

Kamelia gave a barely visible smile. "Indeed... we are quite the fools." She reached out in turn and shook his hand. "All because I lied, and..."

Alan squeezed her hand tighter. "You did it to protect me from feeling guilty. I get that, and I don't blame you. But don't do it again, okay?"

She simply nodded, then slowly, almost reluctantly, let go of his hand.

Alan sat back down and let out a heavy sigh. "Oh, fuck me... what a conversation that was."

Kamelia wiped her eyes, still wearing a faint, lingering smile. "Yes... it is very well that we spoke of this immediately." She coughed into her fist, trying to regain her composure. "So then, shall we return to business, Alan? What is the next step toward the Agricultural Revolution?"

Alan looked out toward the sea, at the red, setting sun. "Hey... it's kind of stuffy in here. How about we take a walk by the sea and talk?"

 

---

 

Ten minutes later, they were both standing on the sand. To the west, the very same red sun had already half-sunk below the horizon, while to the east, the city of Armenas was gradually winding down.

Alan breathed in the salty air. "Beautiful..."

Kamelia closed her eyes. "Beautiful..." she repeated. "The sea is so near, yet with all my duties, I have not visited in the last half-year." She opened her eyes and began walking along the shore, the sea breeze gently tossing her hair. "Okay, we have admired the view. What of your plan?"

Alan folded his hands behind his back and followed her. "Well, look, Tsinker took the instructions on how to make a filter. Basically, once he realizes it works, all his doubts will vanish, and in a week he'll send his man to invite us to a meeting." He turned to her. "Of course, you'll be there too, since we both know everything now."

Kamelia nodded, slightly quicker than necessary. "Yes. You said he wishes for a tax reduction? Okay, he shall have it. What follows the agreement?"

Alan stopped and sat down on the sand. "And after that, he gives us as much iron as we need... I don't know how he'll pull it off, but that bastard will find a way. Once we have it, we make the plows, new plows that can till the soil incredibly well. And then... we need to find seeds somewhere... Yeah... any ideas?"

Kamelia also stopped and sat beside him, leaning her hands on the sand. "Not within the county, as you well know. We must... purchase them beyond our borders."

Alan started drawing in the sand with his finger. "Do you even have any silver? I won't even bother asking about gold."

She shook her head. "Absolutely not. I distributed all the silver near the very beginning of my rule to pay my father's debts. Even that was insufficient; some remain, though they are minor now, so there is no immediate rush."

Alan nodded and kept drawing. "Got it... so we have to use barter."

Kamelia didn't reply.

Alan blinked. "Ah, right. Memorize a new word. Barter is exchanging food or goods without silver, gold, or coins."

Kamelia scratched her chin. "Hmm... so in our county, nearly everything is... barter?"

"Exactly."

She lowered her head, watching Alan draw. "We must find someone who possesses seeds... wheat, clover, barley, and... turnip. A vast amount of seeds. But more importantly, what are we to exchange them for? We have nothing."

Alan shrugged. "That's exactly the problem. We have absolutely nothing except faith and the power of friendship."

Kamelia tilted her head. "The power... of friendship?"

He waved his hand off. "Never mind, it's a saying from my world. Anyway... maybe we can trade technology? Like, we could sell the filter recipe, or something along those lines."

'Hm... easier said than done. Basic "supply and demand" market economics apply here... and what's the actual demand for filters right now? I doubt conservative nobles want a water purification device without a damn good reason, especially from me. Unless there's a disease raging somewhere... Wait a second... disease...'

He looked up sharply at Kamelia. "That river where we found the dead jerkos... wasn't it near the border of some duchy...?" He started snapping his fingers. "What was it called again..."

"Tontopi," Kamelia answered.

Alan clap his hands. "Right! Tontopi. Since the water from that poisoned river runs into their territory... that means they've still got dysentery! We stopped it quickly, but they don't know how!" He leaped to his feet. "Kamelia? Have you heard anything?"

She blinked. "Yes, I have heard... that a plague of some kind is currently spreading through Count Bannaho's lands..." Her eyes widened. "Of course... Bannaho is our neighbor, and a vassal of Duke Tontopi!" She looked up at Alan. "You... you deduced that a disease was present there simply by reasoning it out... Let me guess, you wish to sell the filter recipe to Bannaho?"

Alan placed his hands on his hips. "Exactly. Supply and demand..." He paused. "Man... I never thought I'd be so happy about someone else's misery..." He shook his head. "Whatever, now is not the time for that. Can you get in touch with him?"

Kamelia's enthusiasm dimmed slightly. "Ah... that is unlikely. He does not trust women, particularly women in power."

Alan raised an eyebrow. "Why's that?"

She shrugged. "I do not know for certain, but I have heard that in his youth, his first wife either deceived or betrayed him. It matters not... I cannot assist you here." She narrowed her eyes. "Perhaps... we could ask Tsinker?"

Alan's face turned slightly pale. "Tsinker... Dealing with that psychopath again... He's definitely gonna ask for something in return." Gothwald began massaging the bridge of his nose. "Fine, we've been running in circles for too long anyway. No time to be picky."

Kamelia nodded. "Yes. You mentioned that you are to meet in a week... we must not waste time. What shall we do during this period?"

Gothwald ran a hand through his hair. "Hm... during this time, I'll try to draw up what the new plow should look like... or rather, you'll draw it based on my instructions, since I can't write with a quill. We'll also consult with the village of Zoligasha... plan out where the fields will go... Basically, we've got plenty of work to do."

The Countess rose. "Yes, there is indeed much work." Her gaze fell upon Alan's drawing in the sand. "And what is it you have drawn here?"

He looked in the same direction. "Oh, this? A map of my home world."

Kamelia immediately leaned closer, carefully studying the crooked but generally comprehensible map. "Oh... it looks so strange. There are tails everywhere, the lands on the left are so narrow, while on the right they are incredibly broad... so many islands..." She paused for a moment. "And where do you hail from yourself?"

Alan smiled faintly and pointed to the approximate location of Austria. "Right here. This is where I'm from."

Kamelia peered closer. "I see... so you are from the mainland... And what was it called?"

"The world, or the country?"

"The country."

"Austria." He drew a rough outline. "Right here."

The Countess squinted. "It is so small compared to the rest of the world..."

Alan chuckled. "Hey, it used to be a massive country."

Kamelia blinked. "And why is it so small now?"

He sighed. "It's a long story."