...

Inside the Copper House, the entrance

"Hello..." Alexander raised an eyebrow, "...there?"

The moment he entered the courthouse, he was overwhelmed by its underwhelmness, an impression he didn't know existed. Even though the appearance from the outside was as basic as possible, the inside was even more so. This experience reminded him of the recursiveness of blandness, but this changed quickly the closer he looked around.

Walking through a simple wooden double door, he was inside the entrance hall. He saw a plain reception, with some flowers, mostly Lisops, inside not-so-bland lime vases modeled after the head of a human. This gruesome sight perturbed Alexander, 'Well, I saw wor...' He almost flinched when looking away, '...woah!'

Looking to the side, Alexander noticed a giant wall painting. It was a little pale, so it evaded his sight initially, but focusing on it, he wished it was still invisible to him since it was quite the statement. Beast-kin were standing hand in hand on a sea of corpses of humans, high-elves, dwarves, and gnomes. What was bizarre was that it wasn't too realistic but a little puppyish, starkly contrasting the theme.

Besides that, multiple sigils of the Copper House were painted on different pieces of furniture, such as the reception area. Looking closer, Alexander now understood the bizarre contrast between those beautiful and fragile flowers and the gruesome painting, 'We really hate humans, huh.'

To the right of the reception, on the visitor's side, was a 2m (~6ft) high and a 6m (~18ft) wide separate wall that had pinned hundreds of papers and parchments with bounties. There were descriptions of who to catch, with the typical dead or alive written on it. However, most of them had Alive crossed out, 'Well, I would say they are pretty efficient.'

Other than that, it had everything a courthouse needed: tables, chairs, a giant chandelier, and the most indispensable resource: people, or what he would call them now, co-workers.

All the clerks wore either a suit, sometimes more colorful than the standard black, or a dress, which was also more classic in design and black in color. They also wore some kind of copper-colored necktie with different patterns, showing they were part of the Copper House.

The guards, who had an apparent hangover, suddenly stood straight when they saw Alexander and the soldier strutting inside. They obviously feared consequences from their seniors, who looked at them sternly.

While there was a direct promotional path from guard to soldier, it was one of the few things Merlin created that only partly worked. He intended to create an inner and external safety system to divide power and create the Earth equivalent of police and military.

However, being a soldier was considered more prestigious than being a guard. For many, being a guard was just a stepping stone to becoming a soldier when they needed more time to train and wanted something close to it when they applied to the military. Other than that, it was a job one did if one had some strength but had no desire to put one's life on the line. Depending on the place of one's duty, it was pretty safe, like seemingly the Copper House.

The exceptions were quite apparent, like guard leaders, who were on par with some officers and lieutenants in the military, or personal guards, who were even outside of the control of the Lord and Lady, only serving to protect their Master or Mistress. So, in some sense, Merlin made separation possible, which Alexander respected. Since nothing was perfect and his predecessor was commonly known as incompetent when it came to administration and politics, it was a job done well.

However, the funniest thing was how the prisoners in the background suddenly looked at him and became almost immediately frightened, 'Nobility is really feared, huh?'

Their behavior was not all that changed. All clerks appeared to work harder, trying their best to make a good impression before him, which, funnily enough, left him ignored as he went to the reception and waited there for someone to talk to him.

Yet, it gave him some time to peruse everyone and everything a bit more, trying to ascertain how things were run at the copper house. This caused him to look more intensely at some criminals who became white as ghosts, which Alexander ignored conveniently, thinking it was a good lesson for them.

Those criminals also looked relatively weak compared to what he usually saw at the estate. However, even without his experience, he could've ascertained this easily since they wore only some weak anti-energy collars and no slave tattoos, which made sense, as they were costly and only reserved for the most egregious criminals.

'Wow, there is really no danger, huh... makes sense, though.'

After minutes of waiting, with clerks, guards, and thieves getting sweatier by the moment, as nervousness spread through the hall, someone finally came confidently toward him. A pig-kin with a broad smile, one he knew too well, slick blond hair, and three hoop earrings on the left side of his piglish ear, but there was also something disconcerting about him, 'He is fucking jacked.'

Alexander had to agree that his family had very defined muscles, as most of them trained day and night, but the pig-kin here looked a bit like a bodybuilder. Still, he quickly remembered that pig-kin had also naturally much more muscle mass for some reason, making most of them look like this, 'So bizarre.'

Standing before Alexander, he bowed down, showing perfect etiquette, "I am honored to greet the esteemed Mr. Alexander; my name is Otto Melodias."

Alexander only nodded, surprised that some lower judge had a second name, which was not Leonandra. Still, it didn't matter to him as those could be bought from a noble with some wealth, and looking at Otto, who looked and sounded very young for a judge, it was most likely the case.

"Nice to meet you, Otto. Please speak more directly. Can you tell me what the weird mood is all about?"

Otto straightened up, showing that Alexander should follow him, still smiling, "This way, please. I will explain on the way to your office, Mr. Alexander."

Alexander nodded toward him, "Lead the way..." He turned around toward his guards, "...stay outside. I don't need any of you here." While sensing how a barely discernible blob of mana moved beside him, '...she is getting better, huh?'

After giving all the guards instructions, some went out, and others stayed inside, with the courthouse guards probably cursing their lives as they would need to do their job now.

Like that, Alexander and Otto went behind the reception and walked upstairs. While strolling through a rather dull hallway with bland furnishing, gruesome sigils, and paintings, he talked with the typical ass-kissing tone. However, Alexander had nothing against such types as long as they were loyal, competent, and not yes-man, "Mr. Alexander, how do you like it here? I heard that this was your first visit to this beautiful city."

Alexander rumped his nose slightly, still trying to suppress his urge to puke, "It's... certainly different."

"Oh? How so?"

Alexander didn't know what to expect, but the little speech at the marketplace, looking at all his subjects, made him realize something important. It was not as glamorous as he imagined.

He wasn't a nerd by any standard but enjoyed some fantasy novels, movies, or animes. So, coming to this world and only seeing the estate, he somehow imagined it was like what was described in those creative works. In those, the other world was always described as somewhat underdeveloped but nonetheless had some kind of charm. It was very Westernized, with basically only without some luxuries.

Yet, what he saw wasn't even close to this. Many were badly nurtured, seeing how they looked, others sickly, with clothing too inadequate to call it rags. There were no fun buff mercenaries with giant axes or little witches with giant hats who joyed around. Reality hit him hard, and he was even happier that he started the charity. He expected something like this but wished it wasn't as bad.

The worst was that it was a somewhat upper-middle-class district with many artisans and merchants living there, so he couldn't imagine what others looked like, 'Aurum, we need to fasten our project.'

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

However, there was one positive thing: the profits. Bringing a more prosperous society up to speed would get his household a lower increase in taxes. The development would also be slower due to already existing functioning systems, but blossoming a more desperate one, at least how he would describe it, would equally create more wealth for everyone and systems could be set up much easier.

It was a chance he accidentally took by creating the charity and slowly implementing mandatory education. Soon, Wolfsteeth and all other territories would experience a golden age, with him on the helm taking charge. If he could build the necessary foundation for faster acceleration and catalyze it, he could create so much more with so many unused resources, together with magic, an unimaginable deep well opened up, filled to the brim with hopes and dreams.

Although inwardly restless, Alexander looked at Otto solemnly, shaking his head, "It's fine..." He smiled nervously, "...How could I have imagined a city if I were never in one? I only know it from numbers and tellings, but I would rather talk about something different."

Otto looked at him, astounded, "Mr. Alexander is truly wise, and I will answer you everything I can."

Alexander became a little irritated, frowning, "Why is everyone so nervous?"

Otto's face barely moved, still smiling, "Mr. Alexander, you are just that great that..." Alexander interrupted him, "...I don't care about brown-nosing. I need a real answer."

After a moment of silence, Otto sighed, "Mr. Alexander may not know this, but this place isn't the most efficient workplace, and they fear being thrown out by a noble."

Alexander raised an eyebrow, "No, I know..." He smirked, "...it's pretty obvious."

Otto tilted his head in surprise, "How did Mr. Alexander find out?"

Alexander waved his hand in dismissal, "I said comfortable talking, no need for third perspective, and it's obvious, isn't it?..." He put his hand forward and started counting on it, starting with his thumb, "...the guards were dozing off, still smelling of alcohol from the last night, the clerks had a strong herbal smell, the one which made the purplish smoke and calmed them down as if they had some hours ago, the thieves were making small talk with some of the workers while laughing..."

Alexander stopped, smirking at Otto, who looked quite perturbed toward the ground, "Should I continue?"

Otto shook his head, his smile lost, "I see..." His frown increased, making his face crease, "...I shall report this matter."

Alexander laughed heartily, "Haha, nah, you don't..." He waved his hand in dismissal, "...this is actually quite funny, and I would rather fix some things than have everyone fired."

Otto tilted his head in surprise, "Because it will return to how it was?"

Alexander nodded while chuckling, "Yeah, and if I dare to fire them, Noriken and my Mom will have my ass."

Even though he could change quite a bit if he discussed enough and even put a substantial amount of gold on the line, he was not here to improve efficiency but to learn. Yet, somehow, his finger itched a little, wanting to create something better, but such a thing needed to wait.

Otto tried not to chuckle, holding his facial muscles back as much as possible, "Mr. Alexander, you are truly a golden star in the darkened sky, which...!"

Alexander raised an eyebrow, interrupting him, but he didn't dislike it too much, "That's enough... however, where do we go?"

He looked around as they walked through a hallway with offices to the side and many people doing their jobs. However, they weren't unhappy or anything of the sort. They looked joyful, making him realize another thing, 'I guess sitting inside an office is better than fighting monsters, demons, or farming.'

While on modern Earth, office jobs were somewhat looked at in an unfavorable light, being boring and monotonous, here it was obvious that people loved jobs with some decent pay, regulated work time, and security, 'I need to bash into my head that this is a different world.'

Of course, he had imagined that many would love to fight, get stronger, and experience the kick of being on the battlefield, as the popular media had shown him. Still, it was far from glorious, and many hated it. Most who fought for gold did it because they had no other option, trying to utilize their skills to the best of their ability.

People hated risking their lives and mainly wanted just to have a family, some kids, and a decent life. Being a mercenary, adventurer, or soldier would make it harder. Besides, not everyone had the same resources as he did with the excellent training he went through. Most of them would need to learn by risking their lives.

Other than that, artistry was also heavily reduced to practicality, with most of them unable to buy even the accessories to create what they wanted. It was basically a job only a few could do, most of them nobility or overwhelmingly wealthy before they even started.

The contrast was best seen through his siblings and the populace as a whole. He and his siblings went through a lot, educating themselves and training at every possibility, thus becoming much more reckless and dreaming of much more intangible things like honor, pride, and excitement. At the same time, almost every lowly commoner dreamed of learning the basics, like reading and writing, so they could sit in a room and work by rewriting things and not being out there under the smoldering sun, breaking their back.

He was brought out of his thoughts, "To your office, Mr. Alexander."

Alexander became a little confused, fearing the worst, "How about you show me around first? Like, where I will rule and stuff?"

Alexander could see Otto holding back a smile, "Not today. You, Mr. Alexander, need to learn the procedure first."

He kept walking and could barely keep himself from flinching or doing something differently undignified. It was his worst nightmare: Bureaucracy. What seemed to others as a dream was a nightmare for Alexander.

Nonetheless, he tried to bargain, "Don't I need a case for this to learn as efficiently as possible?"

Otto shook his head, "Yes..." Alexander's hope suddenly went up, only to crash down the next moment, "...for this, we take older cases and act them out first."

Alexander nodded, "I see... are you sure real cases are not better."

Otto bit visibly in his inner cheek so as not to laugh, "I am very sure, Mr. Alexander."

"But it is not mandatory, right? We can switch things up a bit, right?"

"I am sad to say that it is impossible, at least not in the first month. We have a very strong responsibility for the commoners who come here. It was the Lord who started it and..."

Otto talked about the history of the Copper House, which was founded after his Father made some suggestions that his Mother found good. She implemented the Copper House and tried it for some time, which brought great results. As such, a more complicated multilayered judicial system was born.

It was actually genius, the idea and implementation of which only existed in another form in Feather-Paw territory. Until now, Nine-Fire, Cold-Snout, and Heart-Fire households happily copied it, making it quite new and fresh for many.

Before that, what they now call low-level criminals would never be prosecuted. It meant that a judge would never look at the case, but the guards would decide on the fine, which, looking back, was a catastrophe. They were too unqualified to determine such things, plummeting public trust in them while increasing corruption and decreasing public safety. It was a bad system.

After Otto's retellings, they ended with only an office in sight by the end of the hallway, with a shiny copper plate with Alexander's name engraved on it, 'I am in Outer Circle...'

Otto hopped joyfully and opened the door, showing Alexander the office, "Here we are! We have extra vacated one of the senior judges of the Copper house for you so you can have the best office, Mr. Alexander."

Alexander looked into the office, feeling an incredible dread coming. It was large but looked cramped, with cabins on one side, with even more files and a bookshelf on the other, with legal texts. The desk was big, but paper and parchments were stacked into towers, filling one side up.

He walked inside, trying not to flip out, and only now saw how there was an indent on the chair, symbolizing his death, 'I...' He looked behind the chair. There was at least a window, but the natural light it brought into the room was rather ominous. Since the window was turned away from the sun, it looked a bit shadowy and gloomy, '...I will die here, and nobody will know.'

From behind came Otto, sounding happy, "Oh, Mr. Alexander, you look baffled! As you see, we look after you, Mr. Alexander, as well as possible!"

Alexander looked at him, forcing a smile as he could see that they were at least sincere in their accommodations, "Yeah, thanks..." but inwardly, it was different, '...when I kill myself, I will take you with me, you fucking walking talking bacon strip.'

He meant it. While Alexander had his office and worked in it for hours every day, it was all voluntary. Now, though, he would need to force himself to sit down and do the actual work he hated. Usually, he just gave it away to Ocilia, Aurum, and all others so he could concentrate on things he considered fun, but this ended now.

Besides that, he couldn't suddenly stop it and do other things, taking a break for a week or so. This whole training phase would continue for at least a month or two. This meant he would need to drive back and forth every day, commuting for hours, which was another nightmare coming true.

Why commute, though, and not stay in a hotel? His Mother would move the estate toward Wolfsteeth instead of letting him stay there. She was still overprotective, and he couldn't change it.

'I can't believe I need to do this for a whole month.' He consciously took the least period of time he would need to endure this nightmare.

After much discussion with Noriken, who was surprised by his skill progress, they decided to change their plan so Alexander could start faster in the more prestigious courthouses.

It was also perfectly timed, with him receiving guests to do the typical rendezvous routine in two to three months. They were from the Feather-Paw and Heart-fire fief since Nila's Father was nice enough to arrange something for him.

Fortunately, Feather-Paws were the most conservative and much less excentric than the southern guards. As such, it was perfect timing to get it over with, as he would later have less time. Heart-Fires, though, were from listening to others, the ones who brought the Cathedral of Pestilence into Moorgrel, making them look insane to others.

Both had their specialties and, because they were canine-kin, had an inevitable overflow of girls, with the Heart-Fire being the most interested in getting Alexander married into their household. At least, that was what he understood from the Nine-Fire's Lord's letters.

They were Alexander's last households he needed to go through in the East, besides the Iron-Claws, but those were going through some kind of demon run and border fight, and they did not want to visit at all, 'I should send them some gold as a helping hand hm...'

He was brought back from his thoughts, "Mr. Alexander, is everything alright?"

Alexander looked at Otto, being brought out by his worried voice, only to shake it, "It's fine."

Otto smiled and nodded joyfully at him, "Shall we start then?"

Alexander nodded lightly back, "We shall."