Eleanor:

That went well. Now, to get a response from the public, my first public interaction as Queen.

"Everyone! Isn't that a great way for Aragon to welcome the rest of his hopefully long life!"

She lifted her fist as if the cheer. The crowd, no doubt appreciating the feeling of relief from not having to watch his execution, cheered without any further encouragement.

"How about some of you help him reunite him with his sweetheart!"

The crowd was willing, and soon, Aragon and Esther were squashed together, sharing a hug.

Their first hug, as of now, they had only momentarily brushed their hands together as part of their regular everyday living circumstances.

Evereena:

Evereena was swept up in the crowd-imposed hug. She did her best to remain attached to her mother without sharing too much physical contact with Aragon.

I mean, he's a nice person for a man. And he's sworn multiple full-strength vows to look after us. And he certainly didn't deserve to die. And I have no regret about the death of that horrible king - although it's incredible that Eleanor killed him.

But, really, all this fuss over sex. Or is it romance plus sex? Or whatever.

Wouldn't vows of friendship be sufficient?

If it's what Mum wants, then it will have to do.

Eleanor:

Meanwhile, Eleanor was still on stage, watching the crowd become boisterous.

They're all happy...

Am I going to have any problems with the guards?

She looked around. The guard, who was the designated executioner, was standing back, looking somewhat self-conscious.

"Perhaps you would like to take the rest of the day off?" she said.

He rapidly did as suggested. He hopped off the back of the stage, did his best not to attract any attention, and disappeared down the nearest alleyway.

That left the guards stationed on crowd control duty, including the ones keeping the Misfits and the others under control. Right now, these guards were casually backing off from the ones they were supposed to be controlling and trying to look as if they were merely doing everyday guard-like things, for example, standing around and watching out for littering.

Eleanor caught the eye of one of these guards.

Ding! The Voice of the World has granted you the ability [Address an Individual]. No matter what the conditions are, how big the crowd is, or how noisy it is, if you will it, your voice will be heard only by the individual or individuals you are interested in.

Ding! Unique ability: long distance low-level [Intimidation] granted. It could be helpful.

More bullshit? Say, Voice of the World, any hints on managing when the slavers overrun this place? Since I can never leave here...

Nothing came back.

OK, OK.

She used her new powers to order a few guards to remove the evidence, namely the garroting pole. They promptly did as they were told.

Yes! They promptly followed my orders and looked slightly intimidated!

I could get used to this.

She looked around the crowd at a loss for what to do right now, only to see Lena looking back.

Ahh. Lena. Her little vow was just what I needed to push me over the starting line. So, what about I make one back?

Lena:

Now, that was surprising. Or maybe shocking. The upright, prim and proper daughter of nobility killed the king in front of everybody. Then, she brazenly declared herself the new Queen.

What the hell do I think of that?

I guess I am also responsible for her actions, at least to some degree.

And, of course, I can't desert her due to my vow.

I'm not afraid of her, am I?

Probably not; she risked her own life to save Aragon's.

And what does she think about me?

Ding! Eleanor has made a private vow to you: 100% strength. I pledge my friendship to you, forever, no matter what happens. If you ever need me, I shall be there beside you. Thanks.

Ahh. Right. I guess whatever it is between us is mutual. And there is no way we can get out of it.

After exchanging a significant glance or two with Eleanor, she decided she had better spend some time explaining the situation to her two orphans and soothing their agitation.

The Misfits:

Cassy giggled and said: "It looks like we didn't need to take any action ourselves; they were perfectly competent all by themselves."

"Yep, sure looks like it," said Drayden.

"But I was looking forward to making another vow," said Alice, sounding regretful.

"So, why don't we?" said Bronsen, "Private, of course, just to Eleanor. Tell her we're on her side. And none of this public vow stuff being conveyed straight to the slaver emperor."

"It's a bit late to worry about that. Remember Eleanor's vow went to the Emperor," said Drayden.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"Oh, never mind. Anyway..." said Bronsen.

So, in their own little group, they had a four-way handshake and:

Ding! The Misfits have made a private vow to Eleanor only, 100%. Hi, Queen Eleanor. We pledge our support to you for as long as we remain on this Ringworld.

They saw Eleanor, who was currently standing on the platform and not doing much, jump slightly. She turned her head to find the Misfits, then smiled and waved at them.

The Treasurer:

This is all beyond amazement. Eleanor is now the Queen.

She put her life on the line and decided, all by herself, to do it.

I would have never believed she could have had it in her.

Stupid Kalitran. He practically got the kingship delivered to him on a silver platter, but he still lost it. And lose his life.

All because he was obsessed with being seen as a powerful leader.

Sigh.

Now what? Maybe I can keep on advising the new Queen? Somehow, I don't think she is going to be as easy to influence as Kalitran was.

But, if I keep making sensible suggestions, I suppose I'll be able to retain my job.

At this point, Eleanor, after waving to someone in the audience, turned around and saw him.

She nodded at him and said: "I guess we should make some arrangements?"

Yeah, I guess so.

Eleanor:

"For a start, I need to move into the castle. We might as well get the orphans and Aragon's little group in there also; arranging the guards to protect the ex-slaves will be easier. So, of course, the Misfits as well. We can all go somewhere into the residential block; it's certainly big enough." she said.

If Lena is going to be a friend for life, she might as well live in the room next to mine.

Although I'm sure she'll try to get me to socialise with the orphans more.

Sigh.

Nimbus ( the prime minister of Crysteth):

More of these 100% strength vows being delivered to everyone in this segment of the Ringworld. And the slaver Emperor.

I'm sure I will love all of the extra headaches these will bring.

He did some thinking.

If this Eleanor person proves competent, and given that she has committed herself to staying at Manifestoria even when the slavers come through, she could be a reliable ally. That entire area is blocked off by the sea to its back and side, plus the rim wall on the other. So the only way the slavers can get in is via the rim wall top, or by boats.

He shuddered at the thought of making an ocean crossing. Flexians really, really didn't like deep water.

And, as for the rim wall top, it was exposed. The lack of cover and clouds meant anyone with high [Perception] could see people coming from fifty kilometres away in either direction. Since the wall was only a hundred metres wide, repelling invaders would take only a small force, at least for a while. There was also the monster territory next door to Manifestoria.

So, if she does well, that entire border is reasonably safe.

Until the slavers sweep around the sea and take Crysteth from the other side, of course.

He massaged his temples, then settled down to write some contingency plans for discussion at the next strategy meeting.

Kelper (The gold collar current slave emperor).

The theme of the Emperor's bedroom was black. Black floor, black ceiling, black walls. Even the bed and covers were black. Since it was daylight, enough sun shone through the window to make it gloomy instead of entirely dark.

He walked out of it and acknowledged the servant waiting at the entrance.

"Clear up the mess." said the Emperor.

The Emperor of all slaves was not feeling all that happy. He settled his body into his over-stuffed chair before his office desk. The gold inlays on the top of it nicely matched the gold colour of his slave collar. However, through long exposure, he no longer noticed such details. In fact, such shows of wealth were pointless since he did not have anyone of equal status to show off to.

What a miserable life this is turning out to be. Just like my grandfather, the previous Emperor said it would.

In his background, the servant came out of the bedroom, carrying a heavy load, and took it away. The Emperor totally ignored this. Instead, with a look of irritation, he turned to his office assistant.

."Fetch me the Major Issues file."

I hate this particular duty. The Major Issues rarely change; there's no need to keep thinking about them when nothing can be done...

Every slave had standing orders and absolute orders, which governed their behaviour. The only difference was that the higher-ranking slaves had a slightly different set of orders. Thus, the Emperor, as the highest-ranking slave, had some special extra orders exclusively for him. One of them, specified by his grandfather when he was the Emperor, ensured he could never forget about the most critical issues and problems they faced.

So, he was compelled to go through the folder regularly.

Issue #1: The natural rate of population growth of slaves.

According to their best guesses, the green-collared clerical staff estimated that the current growth rate was 99%.

(Green-collars were above the blue-collars and only out-ranked by the Emperor himself.)

99% per year.

A steadily declining population. Just under 10% in a decade. In a century, without intervention, the population would be one-third of what it was now. Of course, the total population was slowly growing for the time being, but only because of continual advancement into foreign territory and the acquisition of new slaves.

But that also involves constant fighting and defending against every vermin country on all sides. And when we conquer the whole ring, that will be the end of that option.

And, for some reason, producing slaves from babies doesn't seem to work very well.

After all, what could be wrong with getting teenage mothers pumping out half a dozen babies while they are young, then putting them into creches as groups? After they become three, collar them and put them into cohorts, say a hundred each, run by a red collar. From then on, there are no problems; they will do what they are told to do.

But, for some reason, there is a high death rate. And even those who survive don't seem to get all that high abilities.

At this point, he received the Voice of the World notification about Queen Eleanor's vows.

Who the hell is Eleanor? And where's Manifestoria?

Ahh, it's that little country stuck between the rim wall, the Jaserra Ocean and a monster territory. They are of no importance to anyone, have no trade routes, no resource mining, and barely produce enough food for their own use. And, if I remember correctly, its population has been steadily declining as the top-level vermin run away.

So, why has the Voice assigned her a 100% strength vow to govern it?

Hmmm. Maybe that is where those Misfits are?

Could be. Or it might not be. Although those 100% vows - presumably there is a connection - maybe.

He had tried to find the Misfits but had no leads to draw upon. And he was busy managing invasions on about six different fronts.

It's not urgent to grab that Eleanor vermin.

But, those Misfits with their 100% vow to end slavery, I must do my best to collar or kill them.

Damn, I don't think it would be wise to invade the country and convert it to slaves - it is, at the moment, too far from our other territories. Maybe it can be maintained using the rim wall top for communication and logistics - Nyah, it is too vulnerable. Crysteth can just as easily access the rim wall from the other side of the monster territory and harass us.

Suppose I can get confirmation about the Misfits' location. In that case, I can mount a small force to get those Misfits, possibly Eleanor and anyone of any importance, then retreat.

Diverting our resources when we are already stretched out is a pain.

All things considered, I suppose I can delay this for a while.

Unless I get more information about the Misfits.

His own personal absolute orders did not allow him any leeway in this matter; he had no choice but to make himself a permanent reminder to keep looking into this matter.

This is all such a pain. And I can never get a break from it.

The Misfits:

Later that night, the Misfits were in their common room. They had been exhaustively discussing the whole matter of Eleanor's ascension without gaining much enlightenment. Then, Cassy thought of checking her status.

"Hey! Check this! Our locked points have gone down! By about 300 points or so!"

"So it has." said Drayden, "Where did the points go to?"

Ding! The points were used to give Aragon the ability [Never Get Drunk Again] and to provide Eleanor with the abilities [Address an Audience] and [Address an Individual], not to mention low-level long-range [Intimidation].

This was a worthwhile investment, wouldn't you agree?

"Well, sure, sounds like it was a good idea," said Alice.

"But, wait, sometimes System-san uses our points to give an ability, and other times, the points are made up on the spot. Isn't this more bullshit?" said Cassy.

Ding! Of course!

Cassy rolled her eyes. She then flicked her tail across Drayden's face.

"Whatever. Drayden and I are going to bed."

Nobody objected.