Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 358 - 357: Public Security Issues

In the third week of the Revival Month, the Cecil Clan experienced a small amount of rainfall.

Agricultural Manager Norris stood in front of the newly leveled farmland, watching the farmers busily moving back and forth in the fields—they were carrying metal boxes on their backs that resembled the combat backpacks of the soldiers. The boxes had iron tubes and pressure levers connected outwards, and by pressing those levers, the nozzle at the front of the tube could spray liquid evenly and in large quantities.

This was a "sprayer" newly produced this spring by the Third Workshop of the Mechanical Manufacture. It was said to be a new invention by Miss Rebecca, containing not a trace of magical devices, making it easy to use with minimal training, even for the clumsiest of people. Using this sprayer, a single farmer could complete what used to take several people an entire day’s work, and its purpose was simple: to quickly and efficiently spray alchemical potions onto the farmland.

The medicinal mist sprayed from the sprayer shimmered with a faint blue-green brilliance under the sunlight. These mists, imbued with magical power, would quickly take effect upon contacting the soil, soaking it and decomposing plant residues within, while releasing harmful magic power accumulated in the soil—during their growth, plants constantly accumulate certain types of magic or elements in their roots. This concentration of magic or elements inevitably leads to a yearly decline in crop yields and rapid rewilding – a common piece of knowledge among farmers. The conventional methods to deal with this include either fallow rotation, which involves long periods of rest for the land to rebalance its magic and fertility or employing Druid potions or fertility theurgies to adjust the soil.

The former is time-consuming and wasteful, while the latter is prohibitively expensive and rare.

But in the Cecil Clan, these are non-issues.

The production of the Alchemy Factory brought an astonishing supply of alchemical potions to this land. Agricultural growth enhancers and rejuvenation potions, typically always in short supply, were being distributed directly and in measured amounts to each farmer by the Administrative Office. Consequently, farmers could use the highly efficient "sprayer" devices to spray valuable alchemical potions, providing every inch of land with ample care.

Watching the mist gradually soak the land and the fields glow with a faint magical brilliance, Norris himself felt a sense akin to finally tasting sweet rain after a long period of thirst. He knew how much more grain the well-cared-for land could yield, and those grains were essential to life—thanks to the efforts of the leader and the brilliant minds at the various research institutes.

What kind of unexpectedly transformative innovations might these brilliant individuals come up with in the future that could change the whole land?

Within the Administrative Office at the center of the territory, Gawain met with Aunt Heidi, who had just completed the latest population statistic.

"We have welcomed the thirty-thousandth settler in the territory," reported the beautiful lady enthusiastically as she met Gawain, "A group of farmers from the Western Region arrived on the cargo ship at the White River pier this morning. They’ve completed their registration and have reported to the buffer camp."

In the Administrative Office, Aunt Heidi usually wore a plain black dress and had her hair pinned up high. Seeing her like this, Gawain couldn’t help but think of her as a professional elite. Hearing her report, he couldn’t suppress a subtle smile: "It seems that the West City District, which we expanded last winter, will soon become lively."

"Indeed, we owe it all to the messages we actively spread last year and the activities of the trade caravans," Aunt Heidi said happily, but then she slightly furrowed her brow, "However, some issues have started to arise recently... As the population in the main city grows, especially with people coming from various regions, incidents of brawls are occurring frequently. Although the newly formed security team is actively handling it and the order hasn’t been affected, this trend is not promising..."

In the early days of the territory’s establishment, security within the camps relied on the soldiers. But as the territory developed and the original encampments turned into town settlements, Gawain established the "security team," separate from the army, to specifically maintain order within the territory and address internal security issues. The knight apprentice Byron Kirk recruited, named "Krim," was the first Sheriff of this security team.

So far, this security team, independent from the military system and directly answerable to the Administrative Office, has performed quite well. But evidently, the recent issues within the territory have deeper roots than simply "more people, more fights."

Gawain showed no hint of surprise on his face upon hearing Aunt Heidi’s report. In fact, he had already heard about the rise in brawling incidents from Amber.

"I’m aware of this situation," he nodded at Aunt Heidi, "Amber mentioned it to me three days ago."

"Amber..." Aunt Heidi looked surprised, "Is she actually doing proper work?"

"...Occasionally, she does some proper work." Gawain’s mouth twitched slightly, his heart filled with helpless amusement: That half-elf wanders around the territory in her spare time, hopping from one department for food to another or playing pranks on passersby in the streets and alleys. Gawain referred to her behavior as ’touching fish’ (a phrase that once raised Tiel’s discontent). However, in truth, the half-elf lady did contribute by reporting her observations within the territory to Gawain. While she mostly found it amusing to chatter about her escapades when she returned, Gawain indeed used this information to keep up-to-date with many changes in the city.

Listening to her ancestor’s explanation, Aunt Heidi also shared a helpless smile: "That girl... well, at least she has some use. But Ancestor, the security issues must be dealt with. Although brawls may seem minor, if this trend continues, it will indeed become problematic."

Gawain had already pondered over these issues in the past few days. Upon hearing her words, he inquired further: "Have you ever considered how the residents spend their leisure time daily?"

"Spend... leisure time?" Aunt Heidi was momentarily taken aback, evidently never contemplating this question before. After pondering her situation for a bit, she hesitantly replied, "I’m not sure what they do, but as for myself, I usually read magic books or study astronomy during my leisure..."

"Ordinary people don’t have such luxuries," Gawain chuckled, shaking his head, then glanced at the clock on the wall (as mechanists and mechanical technology existed, mechanical clocks had long been invented in this world). "Well, it’s about time for a break. Why don’t you come home with me? I have something to show you."

Aunt Heidi, still puzzled, followed Gawain home as instructed. What Gawain showed her only added to her confusion.

She anticipated some new magical device or a novel management method to improve security—both arenas her ancestor excelled in—but was surprised to see Gawain holding a square wooden box containing several wooden carved game pieces.

"This is..." Aunt Heidi looked curiously at Gawain as he took out a piece of parchment with grid lines from a wooden box and spread it on the table. Then he took out the chess pieces with black and red colors from the box and placed them on the parchment. She couldn’t help but ask, "What is this?"

"Chess," Gawain pointed to the chair opposite the table, inviting Aunt Heidi to sit down, "I’ll teach you how to play."

"Play? Is this something to play with?"

Aunt Heidi sat opposite Gawain, full of curiosity. She couldn’t sense any Magic Power from the chess pieces; even their material was just ordinary wood. She couldn’t see how this had any connection to the deterioration in law and order she reported earlier. But with great trust in Gawain, she listened earnestly to his explanation of the "game" rules.

The rules of chess are not complicated. Even ordinary people without much education can easily learn them, let alone someone as perceptive as Aunt Heidi. This lady quickly understood the meaning of these simple pieces—Gawain had localized the "translation" of the chess pieces, calling them "King," "Emperor", "Personal Guard", "Knight", etc., to help Aunt Heidi understand.

After understanding the rules, Aunt Heidi tried a game with Gawain.

"This... moves one step forward?" She carefully pushed the piece marked as "Soldier" one step forward, looking up to inquire with Gawain.

"That’s right," Gawain nodded with a smile, "and now it’s my turn..."

In less than ten minutes, Aunt Heidi’s first chess game ended in a complete rout.

However, from this stumbling and ultimately disastrous first game, she felt an inexplicable pleasure—how could these chess pieces contain so many variations, and something with such simple rules... be so fun?!

"Can we... play again?" Aunt Heidi, full of excitement and anticipation, looked directly into Gawain’s eyes, "I think this time I can do it without your hints!"

"Of course," Gawain, who rarely saw Aunt Heidi looking so relaxed and happy, readily agreed, "This time you set up the pieces, and I’ll guide you."

A few minutes later, Aunt Heidi watched as her "King," surrounded by rooks and wizards and already in a hopeless position, clenched her fists in dissatisfaction: "Ancestor, I want... to play again..."

Until the sun gradually set and the sky darkened, Betty entered the living room and lit the magic crystal lamps. Only then did the lady, addicted to chess, suddenly come to her senses. She glanced at the time, then at the chessboard in front of her, and suddenly sat up straight: "Ah! I forgot all about the time..."

A loud crack came from Aunt Heidi’s shoulder and neck as she didn’t finish her sentence and instead cried out in pain: "Ouch, ouch, ouch..."

"You need to stretch after sitting for a long time," Gawain looked up at her, "So, how do you find chess?"

"Fun..." Aunt Heidi said subconsciously, but then she finally remembered the real topic earlier, "But how does this relate to the increased conflicts and deteriorating law and order among the residents?"

"Of course it relates," Gawain crossed his arms, "Why do you think they are fighting and causing trouble?"

Aunt Heidi rubbed her shoulders and neck while thinking hard: "Because... they have irritable temperaments?"

"Some people do have irritable temperaments, but it’s impossible for so many people to all be irritable, and even less likely that everyone was mild-tempered in the past autumn and winter, only to become irritable in the spring," Gawain shook his head, "The real reason is that our residents finally have extra energy. They are well-fed and warmly dressed, no longer need to exhaust themselves for a living, but after satisfying their basic needs, they have few entertainment options, making fights and disputes inevitable. Of course, this is not the only reason, but it is an important one."

"Few entertainment options?" It seemed to be the first time Aunt Heidi had seriously contemplated the "entertainment for common folk" question, "But before... and in other territories, why don’t these concentrated fights and disputes occur?"

Gawain glanced at Aunt Heidi: "Because they’ve never been well-fed."

Aunt Heidi paused, somewhat understanding Gawain’s words. Then she looked at the chess in front of her: "Do you think, with this game, we can solve the territory’s law and order issues?"

Gawain’s response was straightforward: "No."