The next day, Leo continued with the inspection. The matter of desolate beast bone ash was being handled by the army headquarters.

He hadn't met the town chief's daughter yet. He had previously inspected the town wall with the town chief. However, he decided to conduct further inspection by himself. The town chief had plenty of work to do.

Leo was currently standing on the second floor of a building. This building was a facility built by the army in each settlement. On the ground floor and first floor of the building, several books were arranged in shelves. It was a library!

The library was located at Briele's End, not far from the Town Hall. It saw a steady flow of people throughout the year. The ground floor of the library was accessible to all members. The first floor had limited access. The second floor was the office.

To become a member, one just had to pay a small fee. It was easy to become a member. The fee was a nominal maintenance charge. The membership was valid across all the public army libraries in different settlements.

Access to the first floor was limited. To access it, one needed to be a Warrior. Warrior was an umbrella term for all levels of cultivators. Also, the warriors were screened for having ties with hostile forces. Access was permitted only to people of allied and neutral settlements.

If hostile forces wanted to access the first floor, it wasn't all that difficult. But officially, they weren't allowed access. It was like a harmless benefit given to people from affiliated areas.

The ground floor had more books. They covered topics related to daily life. The first floor had books needed only by warriors like common fighting techniques.

The library didn't lend books. You had to read them within the library. There were seating areas for reading on both floors.

There was another way in which this library was different from modern libraries. In front of the library, there was a window display. People in the street outside could see a notice board through it.

On this notice board, news from different settlements would be displayed. Information displayed on it was controlled by the army. There was no internet in this era. But people had a curiosity about stuff happening everywhere. The only people who had access to such information would be the Resurgent Army.

The powerful Terran communication system had several functions. It had a fax machine like function too. So documents could be exchanged between settlements. It had some limitations, but sharing information had become much easier.

The notice board had become a part of daily lives. Many people were used to checking it out whenever they passed by. It also became a bridge between the army and the population.

The local forces were regularly in contact with people and developed a rapport. They were confident that the Resurgent Army couldn't replace them very easily. The army needed to be in touch with regular people as well. The library was an excellent means to do so.

It could also be used as a tool of propaganda. The libraries of different settlements varied in size and number of books. But they all had this notice board that displayed the current news. They were clearly the army's tools for guiding sentiment.

On the second floor, Leo had finished the superficial inspection of the library. There were no major concerns. The detailed audit would be performed by personnel arriving later.

He looked outside the window. The sun was high in the sky. Briele's End was visible outside. The town center was being decorated.

Currently, Briele was bustling with activity. People were preparing for the Spirit Summoning Festival. The actual Spirit Summoning rituals would take place in the God's Valley. But the people of the town celebrated it as a festival too.

In times when chances of survival were bleak, the human mind could get warped. When the Terran catastrophe had happened, many witnessed such horrors.

When civilization began to sprout again, people led very monotonous lives. People worked hard for survival. But there was no joy to life.

At that time, the concept of festivals was reintroduced. They did not need to be associated with anything significant. It was just an event where you gathered and had fun.

Slowly, they began to be associated with local customs. People formed myths and stories around them. Special cuisine was developed for festivals.

Festivals became important cultural tools. They uplifted a dystopian society and motivated it. People started working hard for splurging at the next festival!

They helped in improving the psychological state of society. Other steps were also taken for the benefit of the general populace. The current human society was fighting for survival. But it was no longer a gloomy society.

A major credit for this change went to the Resurgent Army. The Resurgent Army was not a very old force. But it was the most pro-expansion force. It wanted to expand human territory and resources. This gave people hope that the coming days would be better.

The Army also brought together a great number of human settlements. This led to a much larger interaction among the settlements. Over time, people started to identify as humans instead of just a city's or town's residents.

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Leo watched the people preparing for the festival with fervor. He thought about the town chief's invitation. He would be witnessing the Spirit Summoning ritual tomorrow.

After the Terran catastrophe, people sought ways to strengthen themselves. The survivors studied the stories and lores left behind by people of Heaven era. They started to explore the outer areas of God's Valley. Often, they suffered attacks from desolate beasts. Still they remained determined.

Their perseverance paid off. A cultivation hack was discovered and improved upon. Humans began cultivating again like in the Heaven era. People were eager to increase their strength. They began absorbing and storing world essence. Cultivation became widely practiced.

Methods other than cultivation were also discovered. These methods were often based on products from God's Valley, like fruits and herbs. One such method was Spirit Summoning.

Spirit Summoning was discovered by a God-level expert in the Heaven era. Spirits were summoned from another world. They had elemental abilities. They were super convenient for many purposes.

However, there were some big limitations to their use. Firstly, they could only be contracted inside God's Valley. The summoning ritual wouldn't work outside.

Secondly, their strength outside the God's Valley would be seriously restricted. They performed their best only in God's Valley. For example, a water spirit could produce a lot of water when inside the valley. But outside, they would produce only about a jar every day.

Lastly, the spirits were not omnipotent. They operated under the principle of equal exchange. Spirits had to be fed fruits for using their power. Not ordinary fruits, but the ones that grew inside God's valley.

Spirits could be used outside the valley, but they needed to be fed before using them. Even then, their strength outside would be limited.

Thus, this method was not very popular with resource-deficient humans. But it was pretty useful for people that made a living inside God's Valley. They could use the spirit's power well. They didn't need to worry much over feeding them too.

Every child in Briele was given the opportunity to form this contract. When they turned twelve, they were taken to God's Valley for the ritual during the festival.

Leo left the library and roamed through the town. He attracted some attention from the locals, but no one bothered him.

It was still early, so he decided to inspect another place. He walked leisurely towards the residential area. Soon, he could see his destination. It was a building larger than the other houses nearby.

In the front of building was a large door. Above it was a big board with the building's name on it.

«Briele's Nest»

People were going in and out of the building. Most of them were children. They were cheerful, excited about the coming festival.

This place was the army-operated Children's Home. Kids who didn't have anyone to take care of them lived here. This included orphans, as well as kids with parents who worked elsewhere.

Many of the Resurgent Army's soldiers had to leave behind kids. They often didn't have people to look after them. The army didn’t want its soldiers to worry about their kids. So, they took good care of all these children.

Children who had no link to the army were treated similarly well. It was common for kids to lose one or both parents. Or their parents were simply unable to take care of them. These kids were still human resources. If brought up well, they could help humanity grow.

Leo saw that the building was well maintained. It appeared to have been recently repaired. Seeing this, his brows frowned slightly.

Any repairs should have taken money. But the budget allocation had not been increased. Maybe someone sponsored the repairs. But it could also have been taken out of the money meant for kids. He decided to look into this matter.

He approached the entrance. A guard wrote his name in the logbook and allowed him to pass. He entered the building's guest area.

There were a few seats inside the guest area. The corridor at the end led to the kids' living quarters. Another room was attached to the guest area. It was the manager's office, and its door was open.

Inside, a young girl was sitting in the manager's chair. She was doing some paperwork. She was immersed in her work and didn't notice Leo at the entrance. He knocked on the office door and said, “May I meet the manager?”

She looked up. When she saw Leo, she froze for a moment. Then, she jumped from her chair and saluted.

“Irene of the Cold Pine Clan greets Commander Leo.” Leo realized the girl's identity. She was the Town chief's daughter!

“No need to be so tense. Let's sit down, we have a lot to talk about.” He said with a polite smile. The girl nodded and sat down in her chair.

“Has your father informed you of our meeting?” Leo asked her.

“He told me that you had some questions for me and... he also told me about your offer.” She said the latter part in a much lower volume, looking at the floor.

“You can think more about my offer. My visit here is just for examining the children's home. I won't rush you.”

Then, Leo voiced his doubts about the building's condition. Irene gave him an explanation. The kids who were above 12 years in age had been working part-time. They helped with various big and small tasks throughout the town. They got paid for their help.

The kids kept a portion of the money for themselves. They collected the rest and used it for maintenance of their home. They could spend their own share during the festival!

This activity was Irene's idea. Leo was very impressed by it. It taught the kids about earnings and expenses. He asked some more questions about the children's home. He had wanted to meet the kids too. But he postponed his plans to do so. He let the kids enjoy the festive time.

He asked Irene one final question regarding the children's home.

“Irene, if the building needed repair, the Army would've provided you with money. Why didn't you report this matter? Why did you do this yourself?”

Irene said, “Isn't it best to depend on oneself? Depending on yourself, things will be difficult. But it minimizes unpredictable factors.”

Leo thought over Irene's words. As he was doing so, he had a sudden epiphany. He seemed to be on the cusp of grasping something. He grew excited, but then immediately focused his mind. He closed his eyes and meditated.

He could feel an opportunity for a breakthrough. But he was being blocked. He needed something more. Something seemed to be lacking.

He was unable to succeed immediately. Still, after struggling for years, he finally saw hope. He knew he was on the cusp of success. He opened his eyes.

Only a few seconds had passed. His face hadn't revealed any emotions. He replied, “It's good to depend on yourself. But there is no shame in kids depending on adults. Rather, it is the very essence of a civilization.”

“The inspection is over. Good job managing the children's home. We will continue our conversation later.” Leo said. Then, he stood up to leave.

Irene saw him off at the entrance. As he was leaving, he said, “Irene, consider joining the Military Academy seriously. It will be very beneficial for your future.”

He left after saying so. Irene's ordinary words had given him an idea for the path ahead. Thus, he had a very good impression of her.

He went back to his inn. He checked up on his partner Anna. She acted pitiful in front of him. The glutton wanted to eat more desolate beast meat!

After spending some time with her, he retired to his room. He meditated and recalled his earlier state. All he needed now was a slight push. He needed to figure out what he lacked. His years of effort were about to bear fruit!