Nathan walked with Fuge and Gius to the edge of town. Before long, they arrived at a massive wooden gate. There was a chunk of raw iron on the ground—a bar to shut the door? At the moment, the doors were open, the metal lying to the side, its purpose clear.

“There are two gates, one at the south and one at the north,” Fuge said. “Reinforced wood, two doors to serve as an additional buffer.”

Nathan nodded. “Was there any reason why two were chosen?”

“Compromise, my lord. I would’ve preferred one to create a strong chokepoint, but the merchants and agriculturists said it would impede the flow of goods. We ultimately arrived at two.”

Nathan hummed and looked at the construction.

“What’s with the slits in the wall?” Nathan said.

“Archers can take up position and fire from there. We also have oil reservoirs on top that can be thrown down at the bottom.”

Nathan tried to think through his time playing medieval games. There had to be something he could contribute.

“W-what’s the construction of the walls looking like?”

“As strong as we could ask for at our current level of wealth,” Gius said. “We could only afford so much. Not to mention…”

“Burrau?” Nathan said.

“He keeps blocking me,” Fuge said. “I can’t get anything done. There’s no way the walls we have will be able to withstand the kinds of attacks we’ll be looking at.”

Gius shook his head. “We’ve had this discussion, Fuge. We’re not upgrading the walls. It’s too expensive, and besides that, Burrau has a point. Contract law must be observed. We can’t just run roughshod over it.”

Leadership opportunity.

“Um, what if we…”

Both of them turned and looked at him. Sweat pooled under his armpits.

“W-what if we compromise?” he forced the words out.

“What would you suggest?” Fuge said.

“I think we can pretty reasonably guess where they’re going to strike based on last time, right? The bulk of their forces were concentrated to the north. So let’s upgrade the walls to the north.”

Gius’s left eye twitched. “That’s not—“

“An excellent idea, my lord,” Fuge said.

Nathan opened up his Strategy View and upgraded the walls close to the north gate. Builders streamed in to get to work. The Authority bar clicked upward by 5%. Fuge gave him a nod.

They spent half an hour discussing the defenses further. Nathan made a few more suggestions and generally implemented them unless both Fuge and Gius were against it. With that, they enhanced the defenses. Nathan felt pretty confident about the whole thing.

There’d been one funny conversation that stuck out to Nathan.

“We have catapults,” Fuge said.

“Catapults? How’d that happen?”

“Leftovers from the last ruler. It wasn’t destroyed by the System—probably because we don’t have any suitable ammunition. I’m not sure.”

“So it’s just dead weight.”

“Pretty much.”

After that, Nathan asked about the rest of the council.

“I want to go see the other members of the council now and try to get a better handle on what’s happening here,” he said.

Gius sighed. “Like I said, my lord, that really isn’t necessary—“

“Sticks is out on the eastern farms, overseeing the harvest,” Fuge said. “The nutter and Vee are over at the Divine Seed, as usual. Mister ‘the Contract is king’ is gonna be at his office arguing with Moneybags while Bricker sits on his fat ass.”

Gius’s jaw clenched. “You’re overstepping your authority, Fuge.”

“Aren’t you, too? But in your case, it’s Authority, not authority.”

Gius’s eyes widened and his nose flared.

Wait a second.

The emphasis she’d put on the word Authority. That had to be on purpose, right…?

Nathan stepped forward. He’d figure that out later. Priorities.

“Hold on, I’m not sure what all this is about, but you can agree that we need a united council right now. In three days, we’re all gonna be on the chopping block if we’re divided, so let’s cool our jets.”

Gius’s jaw clenched. “Fine. But we’ll be having words, Fuge.”

Fuge didn’t respond.

Gius sighed.

“If you’re absolutely insistent on meeting them, then it’s my obligation to assist you… my lord. Let us take our leave.”

----------------------------------------

“What’s this Sticks guy like?” Nathan said.

They’d exited the gate and were walking toward the east where this ‘Sticks’ was. After that, they’d stop by the magic grove where Nathan’s seed had been planted—and where ‘the nutter’ and ‘Vee’ were as well.

Nathan idly noted the improving plant life. Grass was everywhere now. It was pale green and short, but it was there. His Soulbound town was no longer a hellscape.

Gius shivered.

“Sticks is a terrifying man,” he said. “There’s a reason why he was able to rise to the head of the farmers. It’s a position that requires ruthlessness, cunning, and skill. He is a master of deception. Don’t let your guard down.”

Nathan had never heard Gius take such a fearful tone.

“If he’s that bad, do we want him in a leadership position?”

Gius shook his head.

“Too risky,” Gius said. “There would be riots and public outcry from the farmers. We’d starve to death. Besides that, he makes for a good ally—just don’t get on his bad side, my lord. Not even I can defend you from his wrath.”

Nathan steeled himself. This would be a challenging encounter, but he was sure he could handle it.

What’s a ‘master of deception’ compared to a Gliding Eel?

Golden wheat fields stretched onward. Dozens of mushroom men were casting spells. Dozens more were piling the grains in carts and heading back to town.

No horses, no livestock. They’re just dragging the carts manually.

There was one mushroom man in overalls, a wheat stalk in his mouth. He was on the ground, wrapping a bushel of wheat and chatting with another farmer.

“Sticks!” Gius shouted. “I present to you, Lord Nathan!”

The mushroom man in overalls poked his head up from his bushel. He stood up and walked over.

He had an easygoing smile and kind eyes, a well-muscled figure like you’d expect from a lifetime of work.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Gius drew back instinctively. “S-sticks. Lord Nathan wished to meet you.”

Sticks’s left eye twitched. “Gius, can you stop doing that?”

“D-doing what?”

Sticks sighed and turned his attention back to Nathan.

“So, boss.” Sticks stuck out his hand. “A pleasure to meet you properly.”

Nathan reached out and gave Sticks a firm handshake (not really on purpose, it was more instinctive.)

“Uh, right back at you,” Nathan said. “So you’re the guy in charge of the farmers?”

Sticks laughed and rubbed the back of his head.

“That’s what they say. I don’t look at it that way, though.”

“Oh?” Nathan said. “How do you see it?”

“I think that I’m just the only one of this sorry bunch willing to step up and do some real work.”

A laugh came out from a few of the surrounding farmers. One of them threw some grains at Sticks. “Shut up, you old fart. You earned it fair and square!”

Sticks shook his head.

“But to answer your question more honestly, we don’t have a formal system like the merchants or those HOA guys,” Sticks said. “Gius asked someone to represent the farmers, and someone threw my hat into the ring. Turns out no one was interested in the job, so I ended up being the ‘winner’ by default.”

Gius leaned in, his tone low. “He’s lying. It’s well-known that the fight to become leader of farmers was one of the most bloody we’ve had, factions forming around multiple contenders. A man even died.”

“First of all,” Sticks said. “I can hear you—I’m literally right here. Second of all, the man in question was two hundred and died of a heart attack after someone tapped him on the shoulder from behind. I have no idea where y’all seem to be getting these bizarre ideas from.”

Nathan tilted his head. Sticks didn’t seem to be lying. If anything, Sticks seemed to be the most normal person he’d run across in this entire apocalypse.

“Can you walk me through what you’ve been doing?” Nathan said. “Like, how the farms are going, stuff like that?”

“Farms have been great, thanks to you,” Sticks said. “The roots of your flower thing—“

“—the Divine Seed!” Gius shouted.

“…yeah, that. It’s spread across most of the ground around the town, and it’s really brought life back to the soil. Without that, it would’ve taken weeks, maybe even months to bring the farms up to capacity.”

“Do you guys have storehouses?” Nathan said. “In case there’s a disaster?”

“Yes, sir!” Sticks nodded, a proud smile on his face. “Only thing I’ve really pushed for as ‘leader’, but I think it was a good thing. We’ve got enough food in greenhouses to feed the town for a month without harvesting or foraging abilities.”

Nathan smiled. “You know, you seem like a pretty good guy, Sticks.”

Sticks laughed.

“Aw, shucks. You seem mighty fine as well, sir—“

“Call me Nathan.”

Sticks blinked. “You sure? Isn’t it a breach of protocol or whatever that glasses guy says?”

“Nah. I’m the lord of the town, right? So what I say goes.”

Sticks shrugged. “Doesn’t make much sense to me, but I’m only a simple farmer, Mister Nathan.”

Nathan couldn’t help but grin.

Their conversation was productive. The whole time, Gius seemed to have a darkening, depressive mood coming over him.

After they were done, Nathan turned to Gius. “What’s up with you?”

“Imagine two natural enemies. Both of them dangerous apex predators,” Gius said.

“Oh, like… a tiger and a lion?”

“Now imagine that you’re trapped in a cage made by a lion. The lion is going to eat you, but then a tiger arrives,” Gius said. “The tiger and the lion, when they meet, don’t fight each other or act skittish. Instead, they become best friends.”

“What?”

“Nothing, my lord. Let’s visit Veelda and Papim. If Fuge was right, they won’t be far from here.”

----------------------------------------

Nathan blinked.

“Gius, where did these saplings come from?”

“Your seed, my lord,” Gius said.

Nathan stared at the sight. Before, there’d been a small grove with plants coming to life. Now, thick, wild grass coated the ground. Saplings were springing up everywhere like weeds. The trees toward the center were fully grown at this point, their branches covered in leaves.

Nathan took a sniff.

There was a power in the air. Thrumming silently in the background, an invisible pressure on Nathan’s skin. It was almost impossible to describe, subtle yet obvious, like the feeling one gets after staying underwater too long.

“What’s this feeling?”

“Magic, my lord,” Gius said. “Pure magic. This place is saturated in it, all coming from the Divine Seed.”

This plant might be more powerful than me in terms of raw mana production. I’m tough, but I don’t bleed mana just from my presence. What the hell?

Nathan was broken out of his thoughts by the sound of yelling.

“Just let me take a sample!” one feminine voice shouted.

“Absolutely not!” another female voice shouted, this one squeaky and screechy. “This plant is sacred! You’re not touching it!”

Nathan and Gius glanced at each other. Their steps increased in speed. As they did so, the trees and grass seemed to bend toward Nathan.

In the center of the forest was the flower that had sprung from Nathan’s seed. It had gotten slightly bigger than last time, and its petals had opened up further—it was close to fully blooming but not quite there. It had kept its half-black, half-white petals.

“I promise that I won’t take off too much!”

Nathan caught sight of the person speaking. It was a mushroom woman with short fibrous ‘hair.’ She was dressed in a white lab coat, thick, circular spectacles framing her eyes.

“Just a bit,” she said. “I swear!”

“I don’t know how much clearer I can make this. You’re not taking any samples!”

The woman who’d spoken was much shorter and plumper than the other mushroom woman. She had long fiber hair that extended down to the ground and she was dressed in a nun-like outfit.

“Excuse me,” Gius said. “Ladies.”

Both of them froze.

“G-Gius,” the tall one said. “What are you doing here?”

“We weren’t arguing!”

Gius raised an eyebrow, then shook his head. He pointed at Nathan.

“This is Nathan Lee. You weren’t given a proper introduction to him last time you saw him, and he wanted to meet everyone in the council.”

The tall one nearly slammed her forehead into the ground from how quickly she bowed. “Lord Nathan! So nice to meet you properly!”

The shorter one did a slow, formal bow. “My lord.”

Gius pointed at the tall one. “This is Veelda—“

“But you can call me Vee!”

Gius stared at her. “…she represents the scientists and arcanists on the council. Why they offered her as a representative, I’m not sure, but that’s the way things work.”

“They gave me the position because I’m a genius!” she said. “I’m the smartest person here!”

“And the humblest, evidently,” Gius said.

“Yup!”

Before Nathan could say anything, she sprung forward. “You’re the one who gave us that weird water, right!?”

“Uh… yes? Did you find anything interesting about it!”

She instantly drooped down.

“Not a thing,” she said. “We’ve learned some surface-level characteristics—it seems to be chock-full of mana, for example, but the rest of its properties remain a mystery. How it created Specimen 5 is beyond us.”

“First of all, it’s not Specimen 5,” the short woman said. “It’s the Divine Seed. Secondly, I’ve already explained how it was created, you just refuse to believe me!”

“You keep on saying that it sprung into existence from the air!”

“…this is Papim, head of the Church of the Seed,” Gius said.

She turned to Nathan and gave another bow. “I am your humble servant, my lord.”

“The Church of the Seed?” Nathan said. “Please don’t tell me that people are taking the Divine Seed thing seriously—“

“You’re not a believer?” Papim said. How disappointing. I was hoping that the messenger would be aware of what he delivered, but I suppose I expected too much.”

Okay, I think I already dislike her.

“Can someone explain what the argument was about?” Nathan said.

“I’m not asking for much!” Vee said. “I just want to take a few samples! It’s clear that the flower is the source of the power—or at the very least, that it’s some kind of control center. I want to find out what strange biological reactions must be happening to enable such prodigious growth!”

“You’d chop off the holy petals before they’re even in bloom!? You heretic!”

“Miss me with that shit, I’m not even religious!”

“Blasphemer!”

“Fundamentalist!”

“PAGAN!”

“CRAZY BITCH!”

“Okay, that’s enough!”

Nathan stepped in between the two, holding them apart. Vee scoffed and took a step back. Papim tilted her nose up and opened her mouth to speak when she froze and looked down at Nathan’s feet.

“What is that?” she whispered.

Nathan, curious, followed her gaze. The grass had grown and wrapped around his boot at some point. The flower’s stalk bent and the petals reached up toward Nathan.

Nathan kneeled and brushed his hand against the petals. The petals reached out and wrapped around his finger, the texture soft with a slight sandpaper edge.

“The messenger is blessed,” Papim said.

“It’s the blood,” Vee said. “Whatever’s in there recognizes our lord as being some kind of relative.”

How conscious is this thing?

“Will it just get more and more powerful?” Nathan said.

Vee shrugged.

“Probably. But it hasn’t hurt anyone so far, and the roots are just helping revive the town, so…”

Nathan inspected the petals more closely. They were just on the verge of blossoming. At the rate it had been going, it would finish in two weeks or so.

“Are there any risks at all?” Nathan said. “Is there a chance this thing goes armageddon on us?”

Vee rubbed her chin.

“I don’t think it’ll be a danger—“

“Idiot,” Papim said.

Vee scowled. “What’s that for!?”

Papim turned from Vee and looked at Nathan.

“Think about what this entire place is, my lord. It is Soulbound. Have you ever thought about what that means?” Papim asked.

Nathan shook his head. “Not really.”

Vee rolled her eyes. “Here we go again with the mysticism."

“The Soulbound Town is linked to the nine circles through your soul,” Papim said. “This isn’t normally a problem in the slightest. Spells that can affect or touch the soul are extremely rare, and the link has several defenses designed to prevent any kind of damage or backflow.”

“I feel a ‘but’ coming up.”

Papim stared at the flower. “Yes. If the circumstances were right—if, perhaps, the link was unstable on the other end—something from this end would be able to… interfere.”

“What exactly would this look like?”

“I don’t know.“

“She doesn’t know because it’s all bullshit,” Vee said. “Maybe there’s a soul, but even if that’s the case, she’s not the one to ask about it. She’s just repeating stuff from thousands of years ago.”

Nathan tilted his head at Papim.

“Why would you tell me this if you’re trying to protect the seed?” he asked. “What if I had gone ballistic and just torched this place to the ground?”

“You wouldn’t have been able to,” she said.

Like, physically been unable to? Or did she mean she would stop me?

“Besides that,” she continued. “I feel you have an obligation to know since you are the one who brought the Seed here in the first place.”

Her tone was simple, brooking no argument.

Nathan nodded.

“We’ll leave it alone, for now,” Nathan said. “I would ask, however, that you continue to monitor it, Papim. And please let me know if it’s about to do something to my soul?”

Papim bowed. “Of course, my lord.”

Vee sniffed.

“Suck-up,” she muttered. She raised her voice. “And what about my sample?”

Nathan shook his head. “At a later date. I don’t want anyone touching it till we have a better idea of what it is.”

She drooped. “Fine.”

Nathan looked back toward the town. The last three to meet. ‘Moneybags’, ‘Bricks’, and Burrau.