Annette was waiting outside Gordon's office. She bowed and asked, “Is there anything else I can do for Your Excellency?”
I stared at her for a second, thinking of many things. “First of all,” I began, walking to her and placing a hand on her shoulder. “Don't call me glorious...”
She straightened and gave me a nod. “Alright,” she agreed with a smile. “Anything else?”
“I'd like to see your mom,” I told her. “Could you guide me?”
Her feline ears shifted a little and she gave me a nod. “This way, please,” she said and turned around.
I followed.
We walked through the palace towards the back, then out to the gardens.
A small plaza surrounded by tall bushes with flowers all over them welcomed us.
The Queen was sitting at a table with four other individuals and going through some documents.
To the right of the monarch sat a male Shishi Tigea wearing a thin robe. To her left was a female Dhar'Ji Tigea wearing a shirt and shorts. Next to her was an identical female Shishi Tigea wearing a simple dress. The last one was Prince Rinald wearing a loose shirt and pants.
They had tiaras on top of their heads.
Behind them, a pole held a parasol, casting shade on them.
“How are things going?” The Queen inquired, writing something down on a sheet of paper without lifting her eyes.
Annette cleared her throat and announced, “Her G... Excellency Natasha has come to see you, Dear Royal Mother.”
The five looked up from the documents, locking their eyes with mine.
The Queen quickly stood up and bowed. “Your Excellency,” she greeted me.
Her children also stood up and bowed, greeting me just like Josalia did.
I tried not to sigh.
Still, I had decided to have a talk with her so we could solve misunderstandings.
With that in mind, I walked to her.
She straightened up, looking at her feet.
“How about we have a chat?” I offered.
Her eyes widened and she looked up at me. “...Your Exce-”
“Natasha is fine,” I interrupted her with a laugh.
She nodded and turned to her children. “I'll take a break for a while,” she informed them.
“Leave it to us, Royal Mother,” Rinald replied with a charming smile.
The rest nodded and returned their attention to the documents.
“This way...” the Queen hesitated for a second. “Natasha,” she finished.
I nodded and followed her through the gardens until we reached a bench overlooking a wide field of flowers.
Josalia gestured for me to sit first.
I did and patted the spot next to me.
She sighed and took a seat by my side, then looked at the scenery in front of us.
“How long have you been Queen?” I asked while looking at the flowers.
“Seven hundred and forty-five years,” she replied. “Gordon and I were crowned after his Royal Mother passed of old age.”
That's a long ass time, I thought with a hum. “I was out of line when I told you how to deal with your family,” I admitted.
Josalia laughed, “Not really, but I get your point.”
I nodded and thought for a while. Well... she's the Queen and a Merchant, I considered and asked, “What do you think about monopoly?”
“That's illegal,” she replied almost instantly. “It serves no purpose other than stagnation, be it financial or otherwise.”
“How about if a single family owns, say, the newspaper in a city,” I suggested. “Like Ren Dabrak, for example.”
“Lady Dabrak's family owns Riverfield's newspaper. Not the country's,” she pointed out. “And there's two other newspapers in Riverfield. Those deal with different matters than hers, however.”
“Like?” I probed.
“There's the Church's daily publications which promotes healthy habits, information of when and how the people can schedule an appointment with a healer, information about Chasers and their parties if they need new members, obituaries, report the death of a God, etc,” she replied. “There's the Watchers fliers about public safety, announcements of the cases they work on when they're closed, the rare missing person post, reports of dangers outside of city walls, and bounties. Lady Dabrak's newspaper deals with politics and informs the people of the decisions made by the local nobility, announcements regarding other countries' political scene when news get there, announcements from us Royalty if we need to relay information to the masses like the death of a member of our family, information about traditional events, etc,” she finished. “For example, she'll report about Gordon's recovery in her newspaper.”
“Huh,” I uttered, a little surprised. I didn't see any of that... I should read the newspaper.
“Monopoly of violence is strictly illegal in all countries of the world,” she continued. “The State has its own force to protect whoever is in charge... like our Royal Guard. The Watchers, who deal with public order, are a private organization. The Army was under Royalty during the wars, but it has since moved to be under Nobility, or private if not a Monarchy.”
“What about Chasers?” I inquired, thinking of an Adventurers Guild I had yet to encounter.
“Chasers are free agents. They make use of the bounty system facilitated by the different City Councils to get work if they need it. Chasers used to be part of an organization that gathered them, but a few leaders got overconfident and crossed a Halve, resulting in their disbandment a long time ago. It's illegal for Chasers to form an organization greater than twenty members since then,” she chuckled the last bit.
“I see,” I muttered with a disappointed nod. “All over the world?”
Josalia nodded. “Eternal Edict,” she replied. “Every country has to follow and enforce them.”
“Eternal Edict?” I repeated. “Like... some shit we Halves enforce on the world?”
“Precisely.” Josalia nodded. “There are quite a few, do you know them?”
“First time hearing about this,” I admitted with scrunched eyebrows.
The Queen hummed. “I trust Lady Pofeta is teaching you about the world?”
“She is.” I nodded. “We've been focusing on E'er and the production of E'eral utilities.”
“Ah, well,” she muttered with a slow nod. “That's more important, to be honest.”
“Can you tell me a few?” I requested, looking at her.
She gave me a smile and nodded. “The first ever Eternal Edict was to help newly born Halves if found and redirect them to the Gods.”
My eyebrows went up at that. Nobody had told me anything about that.
“The second Eternal Edict was the founding of the countries. Your predecessors gave people the right to rule others under a plethora of conditions,” she explained. “For example, if the people are unhappy they have the Halve-backed right to remove the rulers however they see fit.”
“Right.” I nodded.
“The third was that, no matter what, Divine Lands are not to be invaded. Any attempt to do so would result in the death of everyone involved,” she continued. “No questions asked, no chances given.”
“Makes sense,” I agreed.
“The fourth was to seek approval from Halves if a country wanted to establish a prison,” she sighed, “Queen Abrielle, the Monarch that founded the Endless Pit, went through a long procedure for it since it was a forced labor prison.”
“I see.” I leaned back on the bench.
“Many Eternal Edicts are warnings to people ruling countries... that are honestly common sense, but times were different back then. The latest is the ban on war by Her Excellency Filestra,” she summarized.
“Any special one I should know about at the moment?” I inquired, looking back at the flowers.
The Queen thought for a second. “Countries are not allowed to gather forces outside of their borders, have more than ten operating mines at the same time, and cull monsters for the sole purpose of territorial expansion.”
I nodded a few times. “Got it, thanks.”
“Not a problem,” she replied with a polite smile.
I decided to change the subject. “I noticed you have twin daughters,” I pointed out.
The Queen's face lit up with a beautiful smile. “They are my treasure. I had the fortune of having an ovum fertilized by Gordon, and another by André simultaneously. Truly a miracle.”
My head swam in confusion for a second until her words clicked. “Wait, that can happen?” I blurted out in disbelief.
She nodded with a proud smile. “Very rarely, and only once in the history of our family,” she smugly bragged.
“Impressive,” was all I could say, then noticed a little something. “Your other husband's name is André?”
She nodded. “Yes, he's the caretaker of Ancestral Animals,” she replied. “I believe you met him the first time you came.”
“I did...” I nodded. Wasn't his last name La-something? “His level is impressively high,” I recalled.
The Queen covered her mouth and laughed in joy. “He accompanied His Excellency Miraztor for a few decades. We met when they visited and he stole Gordon's attention, then mine,” she giggled with a warm smile. “He chose to stay after the three of us spent a few nights together.”
Talk about paradigm shift, I thought with a chuckle. “So you conquered him?” I joked.
Josalia's brown cheeks darkened with a blush that contrasted with her snow-white hair. Her feline ears twitched and her smile turned into a sly grin. “Naturally,” she replied with the confidence of a dom in her eyes.
“Queen, indeed,” I laughed and nudged her shoulder.
“Gordon greatly enjoys it,” she bragged.
Well, that came out of nowhere, I chuckled.
“I could give you some pointers, if you want,” she offered with a raunchy smile.
“What?” I asked in confusion.
She shrugged. “You have something about you...” she squinted at me. “Like a potential of sorts.”
“You think so?” I titled my head, a little interested.
“I know so,” she replied with an arched eyebrow.
I considered for a second. Who better than a literal Queen to point me to be a better top... “Sure,” I replied, feeling my smile turn perverted.
I am, after all, a degenerate.
After a very productive chat with Josalia, I went back to the apartment.
She was very eager to answer questions both political and... specific to other kind. The objective of having a better relationship with her went smoothly in various aspects and I moved away from my bias against mothers.
All in all, great success.
I knocked on the door and Thelea opened after a few seconds.
“Hey,” I greeted her and went inside. “How's it going?”
The giant woman placed a hand on my shoulder and gave me a knowing smile.
I was amazed at her head not hitting the ceiling.
“Four days, huh?” she teased while wiggling her eyebrows.
I nodded. “Four days, indeed.”
She chuckled and let me go, then walked to the living room.
I followed her and found Bonte, Bromisnar, Lapia, and Pokora chatting.
Thelea sat next to the catboy and patted his head.
I sat next to Pokora and let out a long sigh.
“How did it go?” Lapia probed.
“Fine,” I replied. “We have to dress to impress.”
They nodded.
“Could I talk with you, Poko-Poko?” I poked the Elf's shoulder.
Her eyes widened and she turned to Lapia.
The Wizard shrugged and shook her head.
Hmm? I tilted my head at the interaction.
The Archer turned to me and nodded, avoiding my eyes.
“What's up?” I probed. “Did I miss something?”
Pokora blushed and took a deep breath, “Sure, let's talk.”
I glanced at Lapia for any clue.
My girlfriend just smiled.
“Let's go to my room,” I offered and stood up.
“Y-your room?” Pokora stuttered.
I gave her a suspicious look and nodded. “I want to know if you have clothes for a Royal Banquet,” I explained, a little confused with her reactions.
“Ah,” the woman uttered with... disappointment, then stood up and followed me.
I'm definitely missing something, I concluded and guided her to my bedroom.
“Could I talk with you, Poko-Poko?” I poked the Elf's shoulder.
Her eyes widened and she turned to Lapia.
The Wizard shrugged and shook her head.
Hmm? I tilted my head at the interaction.
The Archer turned to me and nodded, avoiding my eyes.
“What's up?” I probed. “Did I miss something?”
Pokora blushed and took a deep breath, “Sure, let's talk.”
I glanced at Lapia for any clue.
My girlfriend just smiled.
“Let's go to my room,” I offered and stood up.
“Y-your room?” Pokora stuttered.
I gave her a suspicious look and nodded. “I want to know if you have clothes for a Royal Banquet,” I explained, a little confused with her reactions.
“Ah,” the woman uttered with... disappointment, then stood up and followed me.
I'm definitely missing something, I concluded and guided her to my bedroom.
Thanks for the chapter!~
“Could I talk with you, Poko-Poko?” I poked the Elf's shoulder.
Her eyes widened and she turned to Lapia.
The Wizard shrugged and shook her head.
Hmm? I tilted my head at the interaction.
The Archer turned to me and nodded, avoiding my eyes.
“What's up?” I probed. “Did I miss something?”
Pokora blushed and took a deep breath, “Sure, let's talk.”
I glanced at Lapia for any clue.
My girlfriend just smiled.
“Let's go to my room,” I offered and stood up.
“Y-your room?” Pokora stuttered.
I gave her a suspicious look and nodded. “I want to know if you have clothes for a Royal Banquet,” I explained, a little confused with her reactions.
“Ah,” the woman uttered with... disappointment, then stood up and followed me.
I'm definitely missing something, I concluded and guided her to my bedroom.
Thanks for the chapter
OMG, what idiot brought up the no monopolies idea and was imbecilic enough to enshrine it as an inviolable law.
Why haven't the other governments occupying the same geographical area then the one that the king and queen Nathasha is talking to now made an effort to contact Natasha. Oh yes government in itself is a monopoly, it is possible to do it otherwise but it is so much easier, less corruptive and cheaper to just have one government in a specific geographic area.
Similarly roads or the pipes for water and most other services that use up large tracts of physical space. But that is more due to it usually not being economically viable to compete, first mover gets the monopoly.
You might even want a monopoly in some cases. For example schooling to ensure quality.
In short monopolies aren't always bad but you need to look closely to see if it is appropriate. For example the glass fiber in the city where I live in; It has non-profit monopoly on just the infrastructure and 20 or so, if not more since the last time I checked, ISPs that are competing with each other on that. In this case a single monopoly on one aspect of everything needed to get me on the internet significantly increased the competition for the consumer reducing prices while expanding services offered and increasing the (perceived) quality of those services.
government is not a monopoly... royalty, nobility, and the people all have levels of power in politics. It's even more pronounced in democratic countries.
I know monopolies aren't always bad, if anything they're pretty often good to start competition like uber and the following apps.
Schooling... is more complicated since they're related to classes in this world, and as said in a previous chapter they follow the teachings of different gods and their traditions/legacies. For example the church has a "monopoly" on clerics that the people can have access to unless the cleric in questions is a Chaser (or adventurer) and both can be approached if someone needs healing of any kind (like Elena). When Natasha met Ren Dabrak, I showed the lack of monopoly on healing by giving the alternative to alchemists and the fact some settlements have no clerics, the noble bought potions for the alchemist to study and reproduce.
@Biggest-Kusa-Out-There Governments are regional monopolies. Democracy is a form of government and thus by definition a monopoly. In the territory of one you cannot use another governments rules, at least not as we humans have set up governments for the last few eons. The US has a very explicit example of this; Marijuana, according to the US federal government a schedule 1 drug (no redeemable use, as bad as heroin), 20 odd states that are part of the US have legalized recreational use, another 15 to 20 have a medical use exemption. Neither the remaining states nor the US federal government can go into the states where cannabis use is legal and arrest people for what is legal in that state. Just like these states where it is legal cannot protect people stupid enough to bring weed across state lines, or have enough THC in their blood that it is measurable when crossing a state line, or bring money gained in the production to use of pot across state lines (note that this makes the production chain reliant on cash since most banks are big enough to trade across state lines) since the US federal government has the monopoly to police interstate (that is anything that crosses an US states border so that includes from/to inside the US to/from other nations/countries) trade and movement of people & items.
The fun bit about feudal society, it doesn't have to be the highest rank ruler that has the monopoly due to might makes right, it is quite possible to have an emperor/king/prince under which one or more dukes or lower nobility or even merchants are the ones who set the rules in an area.
It is funny about first stating that healing isn't monopolized only to bring out an example of a monopoly. Yes that alchemist has the monopoly on healing in that village, a natural one since there is likely is not enough work for more then one healer seeing that an alchemist can do more then just create health items. This is mitigated by the fact that it is easier to travel from settlement to settlement (at least in my interpretation of how the world is described). While what you describe is that the usual state of healing is an oligopoly, nothing prevents cartel forming and the creation of a quasi-monopoly due to that.
For even more fun another form of monopoly. If I invent something and others cannot (easily) reverse engineer it I am breaking this law if I refuse to share how to produce my invention.
So yes I consider the outright banning of monopolies as brain dead. Regulation as a way to prevent excesses is the way to go. The irony is that you need an entity that can enforce these regulations and that entity itself would by necessity be a monopoly (and as can now be seen in the US depends on good behavior and tradition to keep itself in check). A bit in the form of if you want to stop a society from being ruled by might is right, you can only do so by might is right as you need the strength to suppress anyone who disagrees.
@ThatGuyOverThere
1.- Government, be it feudal or otherwise, cannot, by definition, be a monopoly of power. Of course, totalitarian regimes are the exception that confirms this rule. A Monarchy has 3 or 4 bodies of political and economical power that stabilize it internally. These are Royalty, Nobility, the Bourgeoisie if it exists, and the people. While on paper the populace are servants to the crown, they hold the power of numbers and thus have pretty much the power to dissolve said monarchy as we've seen in many cases throughout history with the support of the bourgeoisie, or external influences. This is more true in the world I'm writing since Lapia could throw a sun at the Royal Palace if she'd be so inclined, for example.
2.- In democratic countries, the state has regulators in the form of laws from opposing political parties, the congress, the senate, or other body that prevents the governing party in turn from holding all the power, as stated by the many constitutions the countries abide to. This is even more evident with federal governments in which different laws exist in different geographical locations as you provided.
3.- Artificial monopoly in which the government bans economic and political competition, and is made of a single party, have existed and do exist to this day in our world.
4.- The monopoly stated in this chapter is that in which a single entity is the sole provider of a service/product, or is the sole holder of power be it political/economical/of violence in the entire country. Food, clothing, housing, mass media, access to work, entertainment, etc. are not a monopoly.
5.- Monopolies of service and product easily lend themselves to be financially abusive in our world due to the pursuit of profit above all else, since that is basically the goal of late capitalism. While it promotes growth and brings in jobs and money, the human factor is more often than not left behind or as an afterthought. Halves would simply not allow that to exist. Same with a country in which the destitute exist. Poverty is a failure of statectraft, after all.
6.- Local monopoly in the sense of being the sole provider of healing potions in a village do not count, the conversation is about country-wide monopoly.
7.- Might is right is... Halves. This is why some people, as seen in a previous chapter, consider Halves to be tyrants, and it's exactly where the story is going towards with the people that tried to kill Natasha. Halves can't be malicious in their control, however, with how their minds work. "Steady growth without anything being exploited". That's why it's been over 3 million years and the world has progressed this slowly.
@Biggest-Kusa-Out-There
1) I have been talking about geographical monopolies. There is only one government in an area. What you describe is an entity that not even the most fanatic communists have managed to create (yet, and please let it stay that way).
Governments, as we humans has set them up for eons now, are regional monopolies, having two of them in the same location results in either one being subsumed (usually through warfare) by the other, both subsumed into a new entity or anarchy.
2) Saying that a government due to having some or all of these parts means it is not a monopoly is the same as saying I'm not a human since I have two legs, two arms, torso, head, various internal organs. The government itself is a regional monopoly, it does not matter what parts it has or doesn't have.
And that is why my example is so clear. The US is 50 geographical government monopolies each preventing other governments from governing the geographical location where they exist. The exception being the power that those 50 have given up to work more efficiently with each other & interact as a united front against the rest of the world. And that federal government is a monopoly on its own because it will not allow others with those powers to exist in the area where the federal government is active.
3) Oligopolies and cartels can generate artificial monopolies as well.
4) So according to this chapter cable television, and broadband internet, and telephony are monopolies in large sections of the US.
Further You do realize that you just invalidated your own argument in point 1 and 2 with the second prong with which you identify what is a monopoly, any government satisfies it in the geographical location where they are the government for what they govern.
5) I'll go a bit further then you here. The initial stages (when it is not yet a monopoly) of the monopoly type you describe here might promote innovation but once it becomes a monopoly it doesn't need innovation or provide more then the minimum of jobs while the rent seeking insures that the monopoly keeps the money. Oh and sometimes spend that money to kill/absorb potential threats to the monopoly effectively hampering innovation. I see growth and innovation as something different, growth is only needed to become a monopoly after reaching that threshold it can stagnate (or even shrink) as long as the rent seeking can keep extracting similar or greater amounts of money.
What you describe as late goal capitalism isn't just bad through monopolies, it also hollows out other companies (usually listed on a stock market but that is not mandatory) by stating that there is only one stakeholder, that is the shareholder and that the only thing that counts for said stakeholder is the (virtual) value of the share they are holding. That tends to crater any long term investment while wasting money, both own and loaned, on temporarily goosing the companies value for the next earnings report.
6) Noted. I'll refrain from being an ass and start playing games with that.
7) Halves are tyrants, benevolent tyrants. As described they keep the run of the mill tyrants out of places where those can do harm to more then a few people (most of the time, criminals tend to be criminals for ignoring laws) so that others have a better chance at a peaceful non-exploited existence.
To me the slow technological growth would be more a side effect of the reduced needs, those tend to be a bigger drive for invention then curiosity of the type what happens when I do this, & replacement by magic for some solutions then a world that runs on the precautionary principle and trying to reduce disruptive effects of introducing something new (although those will also add to the slow down). It is quite possible for areas to be more advanced thanks to the addition of magic and the drive towards having a healthy sustainable society.
@ThatGuyOverThere
1.- Yeah, a country has the monopoly within its boundaries, that's the very basis of establishing a governing body, be it a monarchy, a republic, a theocracy, etc. I agree with that and I think I misunderstood your point entirely, lmao.
2.- Yeah, it went over my head.
3.- Almost anything can create artificial monopoly if left unchecked.
4.- Idk much about the US and frankly don't use the country as a reference to anything since I don't live there.
The services you mention are offered by various companies in the country i live, so no clue about the US. Here you can live in a town in the middle of nowhere and your neighbour can have a different ISP than you. Same with phones, tv, etc.
5.- Right, but my point still stands. The late stages of capitalism sees the human factor as something to be milked and exploited for profit. Every profit should be maximized to the detriment of those involved for the end goal of amassing massive amounts of wealth. If it costs 1 to make, see if you can sell for 100 because more money=good, which is true to an extent. If the cost of massive profit is predatory practices, so be it because money is what matters at the end of the day.
I'm not saying hurr durr communists were right, but the absurdity in which profit is idolized has clearly gone beyond what is sustainable and it affects everyone everywhere.
7.- pretty much, yeah.
And yeah, the technological needs are fewer in the form of, well, physical tech like a phone, a tv, etc. but magical tech like floating cities to avoid monsters, better mining equipment to break super hard magical ores, barriers around cities to prevent monsters from approaching, etc. was more urgent.
You sound insufferable