The rain still tapped against the windowpane.
I sighed at the downpour. The abnormally damp weather this year had already caused several problems, one of which was the recent outbreak of demon wolves, the same ones Ice and his platoon had been dispatched to contain. As fire-element creatures, the constantly wet conditions had driven them berserk to the point where they were setting forests and towns ablaze in a desperate attempt to warm themselves up. I felt a surge of sympathy towards the wolves. Cooped up in their dens for so long, the cold, boredom, and poor lighting must have been unbearable. The chill in my own room was hardly dispersed by the portable stove I use to make ink...
Despite it being only eleven in the morning, I lit another candle. The sun was not shining today.
On the bright side, the heavy rain would make it more unlikely that a protest would start in Central Market Square today. On the other hand, it was the stormy weather that had caused the issue in the first place. Again.
Rye bread is the staple food of the Kingdom of Forgotten Sound and most of the surrounding countries. Unfortunately, waterlogged fields combined with a rye fungus decimated a large percentage of the rye crops on the Continent this year. In addition to the disaster of the poor harvest to drive bread prices up, the Kingdom of Forgotten Sound also has protective tariffs in place for rye and other staple crops. The Kingdom of Forgotten Sound produces few agricultural products because the thick woodlands blanketing the territory are poor farmland. Even the capital has a dense forest right outside the city limits! The tariffs were intended to help the few local farmers compete with foreign grain, but now the tariffs' only effect was to drive the prices of all grain through the roof.
Naturally, the citizens were fairly unhappy. Although it was officially the Sun Knight Platoon's turn to patrol this month, I also gave orders to my own platoon to quash rumors that exaggerated the severity of the issue and to keep the atmosphere in the city as calm as possible. The disarming smiles and nonchalance of the Storm Knight Platoon actually work very well for this purpose!
While my platoon members were busy completing their mission in some tavern or another, (Taverns are excellent places to trade information! And I wouldn't be so cruel as to send them out on the streets in this cloudburst.), I was staying holed up in my own room... Correcting documents as usual.
With the current situation, it was likely that I would be roped into inciting a rebellion over the cereal tariffs as soon as I stepped out the door. Although his Majesty had been crowned only a few months prior, he had been ruling ever since his mother had passed on, and was definitely a competent monarch. It was likely he would be able to resolve the situation without any further interference from the Church of the God of Light. So why lose sleep over it?
Someone on my ceiling sneezed.
"Bless you."
"Thanks."
Metal dropped to the floor.
"Did you manage to infiltrate the Royal Treasury?" I asked. Metal looked suspiciously dry for someone who had traveled to the palace and back.
He grinned. "Easy as always. His Majesty's stepped up his father's security, but that was hardly a challenge."
"Did you see any of the items on the list?"
"Mmm... About half of them."
My suspicions were confirmed! I whistled in admiration. "The king managed to pawn half of the coronation presents in a few short months without anyone noticing. He's simply too amazing!"
Metal shrieked, "That fast?! Is he selling them on the black market?!"
If it was anyone else, I might have suspected that too...
"The gold probably turned directly into bullion, and as for the precious stones... I've noticed that the pawnshops around Leaf Bud City have seen a slight increase in the number of gemstones they've purchased during the past few months. Fairly high quality gemstones too, the kind that rich merchants or well-to-do artisans can afford. The precious stones are all small though, which may be why none of the shopkeepers noticed anything suspicious."
"... Do people constantly gossip about pawnshops too?"
"I'm quite friendly with the pawnbrokers here! Would it be strange if I went over to chat?"
After visiting them so many times to help Judgment find stolen items, they instantly pull out a record of their recent purchases whenever I walk in through the door. Actually, most of them are unhappy to see me after I confiscate some evidence. But if I bring a young noble with heavy gambling debts and a family heirloom to sell, they suddenly cheer up. I suppose this means my relationships with the pawnbrokers aren't too bad after all.
I continued with my explanation. "The most pricey gemstones were likely auctioned off at the jewelers' guild convention two months ago or are still being kept in the Treasury because they are simply too recognizable to sell. It would take too long if I asked you to rifle through every safe box in the Treasury, so I can't confirm whether they're still there or not."
Metal suddenly frowned and cast a suspicious glance at me. "Why would you need information on the kingdom's treasury? Usually it's the money-grubbing Pope who sends me to check on the Treasury to see how much in donations we can expect to squeeze out of the king."
I smiled innocently. "Keeping track of the contents of the kingdom's coffers puts my mind at ease. Every citizen should keep up to date on the kingdom's economic conditions."
"... I'll be leaving now."
Metal swiped his own stack of paperwork and exited out the door, leaving me with a spluttering candle for company.
Bored again, I idly stamped a stack of paperwork and watched the raindrops slide down the windowpane.
One of my platoon members skidded into my room. Though he was soaked to the bone, his face was flushed, and he was breathing hard.
I set down my quill. "What happened?"
"There's... There's a riot. Several dozen children from the orphanage at the edge of the city were poisoned by bad rye. Families afraid of seeing this happen to their own children began marching through the city, smashing windows on the bread stores as they went, stealing anything that wasn't rye bread. Thankfully, it's too wet for any fires to start. The Sun Knight Platoon brought the children to the Sanctuary of Light for treatment and managed to calm the crowd somewhat, but..." He grimaced here. "There's only so much you can do against a mob of enraged mothers."
I took a deep breath.
"So where is the riot mostly concentrated now?"
He flinched and the blood drained out of his face. "Captain... They're all outside the doors of the Church holding a vigil for the poisoned orphans. They've been quiet for now, but we don't know how long it will last."
Like the calm before the storm, I suppose.
"Did anyone go out to speak to the crowd?"
"The Pope personally assured them that he himself, along with several high level clerics, would work on healing the children. And just now –"
My platoon member stopped short and saluted respectfully when he noticed the person who had walked up beside him. Sun looked unusually grave.
He flashed a kindly smile at the saluting storm knight to reassure him before addressing me.
"Brother Storm. It seems as though the dense clouds have obstructed the God of Light's blessings, and have shrouded His view from the dire plight of His children. Although Sun cannot guess at the God of Light's true intentions, he believes allowing the citizens of Leaf Bud City to suffer in such a manner cannot be something He would wish to happen. Though wholesome grains are meant to nourish and sustain the people, they have turned to bitter poison. It is understood that the kingdom's coffers are emaciated, yet the well-being of a kingdom's people must come before the accumulation of earthly riches. Sun implores Brother Storm to contemplate these matters." He turned and left. My platoon member looked deeply moved.
My head was beginning to throb near the end of that speech, so I couldn't help but be pleasantly surprised that Sun decided to cut his spiel off there. Most likely, Sun couldn't be bothered putting in too much effort for a one-man audience. He seemed to be fairly bored as well, otherwise, he could have completely dispensed with the speech by shooing off my platoon member.
I sighed and pulled a waterproofed cloak out of my wardrobe. Time to uphold "freedom."
The sight of over a hundred people kneeling in the rain in front of the Church was a testament to their faith in the God of Light and His church.
I didn't intend to let them down.
When they heard the doors open, they anxiously peered upwards, their tense expressions changing to hope and determination when they realized who stood at the top of the three-hundred twenty-three steps of the staircase. I took a steadying breath.
"Citizens of Leaf Bud City! Friends! Family.
"You have come today as witnesses of a calamity: the poisonings of thirty-nine orphans, and soon, the mewling cries of hunger from hundreds of children."
As I spoke, the crowd grew more and more riled up, until I convinced them to march to the palace against the grain tariffs. As for the matter of the merchant who sold the orphanage contaminated rye... I'll leave that for Judgment to investigate.
We walked through the streets, more and more people following behind me as they discovered what why their neighbors were marching. I called out to the matronly housewives I normally winked at, and asked them to join us. Their husbands, faces creased with wrinkles as they worried over their growing expenses, only hesitated for a moment before they merged with the crowd. I saw Clarissa and the other clerks at the bakery walk out the door to join. Ice's father waved them off and smiled, then went back in to take care of his business while they were away. I was glad to see their store hadn't been vandalized earlier.
By the time we reached the palace gates, we had become a force that could not be ignored.
The sentries at the gate grew hostile when they saw the mob. They shouted at the other guards to quickly close the gates. But when they spotted my head of blue hair bobbing at the front of the ranks, their hostility faded to guarded suspicion. The gates were slowly eased open once more.
As we passed through the gates, the clamor of the parade gradually quieted down, until we were left with only the sound of our footsteps clacking in the hall and the rain beating against the windows. Despite their anger at the moment, the people were still dutiful citizens of the Kingdom of Forgotten Sound. The home of their king was still sacrosanct to them.
And whenever anyone slipped in a puddle caused by our dripping clothing, the good citizens helped each other up.
In this manner, we came to the great hall and requested a brief audience with the king. In accordance with my image, as soon as we received permission to enter, I dramatically kicked the door open and strolled right in.
At least that walk through the ridiculously long corridor managed to get rid of most of the mud on my boots. That way, it shouldn't be too difficult for the palace maids to scrub the footprint off...
I coolly stared at his Majesty, ignoring all the startled courtiers murmuring at the fringes of the room. Thank the God of Light I don't have to wink at all the ladies present. I can pull off looking dramatic and stern while I'm sopping wet, but it's much too difficult looking suave while my bangs are plastered to my forehead.
"Your Majesty. Currently there are thirty-nine children lying in the wards of the Church of the God of Light. The failing harvest and the Kingdom of Forgotten Sound's tariffs have caused the price of grain to soar so high that the orphanage no longer had the means to fully feed all the children. When they resorted to buying the cheapest grain possible, they consequently bought contaminated rye. This will not be an isolated incident. As people grow more and more desperate, they will sink to any measures to survive. All these faithful citizens before you do no wish to witness such a dire situation. And so we humbly implore Your Majesty to lower the grain tariffs."
… My pants are soaking wet, and I can feel the water standing in my boots now. I'm going to empty these out as soon as I get out of everyone's sight.
His Majesty's eyes flickered to his younger knight-confidante who quickly scuttled away. After a few short moments, he came back with a scroll, which he placed in His Majesty's hand. His Majesty calmly penned something in and stood up. All the courtiers rose with him. He read, "As of this day, the Xxth of XX in the year XXXX, the tariffs upon cereal grains shall be..."
He actually went straight to the point! So a general reduction on the tariffs of almost all grains and all the small print associated with making a law... This doesn't include grains already processed into flour or other goods, some grains are still more heavily taxed than others... Blah blah blah... Interesting. He also managed to lower tariffs between Kissinger and the Kingdom of Forgotten Sound? It makes sense, since Kissinger's flat terrain and fertile fields have the most productive farmland. But I had no idea our ambassador there managed to successfully negotiate something like that. Kissinger's ambassador here wasn't reported as being unusually active. His Majesty must have been trying to keep negotiations under wraps, since the Kingdom of Forgotten Sound historically isn't on such a friendly standing with Kissinger. If negotiations had ended badly, the public's outrage would only have aggravated the situation. As it is, I wonder if Kissinger wants some other trade concessions in the future...
As I stared off into space while appearing as if I was listening intently to the speech, the faces of the citizens of Leaf Bud City grew brighter and brighter. Although most of the speech was just wordy formalities, they still understood the main point of this law.
His Majesty finished speaking and sat down once again. He dismissed us with a nod of his head. I bowed, the citizens also following suit. I murmured a short spiel of thanks for his kindness at allowing us an audience, and we swiftly left. Once outside the gates, the crowd dispersed into the sheets of rain. Their cheers sprinkled in between the loud splashes of their footsteps as they rushed on home to spread the news.
I probably forced the king's hand, making him present the amendments to the tariffs early, but with the funds from the coronation presents, it should help cover up some of the losses from the taxes. Incredibly, he even managed to finish that negotiation with the Kingdom of Kissinger before I came. There truly wasn't anything to worry about.
I rushed back as fast as I could to my comfortable, dry room.
I eagerly began preparing a hot bath and brought out my hair dyeing equipment, intending to retouch my roots with that trademark Storm Knight blue. In order to avoid dyeing my clothing that hue as well, I quickly removed it all down to my undergarments. After I applied the dye, there wasn't anything I could do but wait.
Ahhhh... It's so cold! Let the water finish heating soon!
I paced the room, hoping the exercise would warm me up. The door suddenly flew open.
… Was I in so much of a hurry I forgot to lock it?
Earth stared at me in horror. The blood drained out of his face and the stack of completed paperwork in his arms slowly fluttered to the ground.
Please close the door... It's so drafty out there. There are also people walking by. I can't allow them to see the Storm Knight dyeing his hair!
As if on cue, Earth grabbed the doorknob, and leaped back, slamming the door behind him. I couldn't be entirely certain with the door now shut and the thick walls muffling the sound, but it seemed he was retching heavily as he ran back to his room. I could hear the door to the neighboring room thud shut.
I picked up the documents scattered everywhere. As I stood up again, I realized the water should be ready. I stretched.
Proofreading the paperwork can wait. After this...
Finally done! I've had this idea and have been working on this since... Early to mid October? I kind of lost motivation along the way. So three months later, I finally decided to finish off this chapter. (Thanks for all the reviews, favorites, and follows! I'm really sorry you all had to wait for so long.) This chapter probably isn't very accurate in reflecting how politics and people work, but by the time I realized that, I was half finished. Speaking of inaccuracies, Storm seemed too excitable for a sleep-deprived zombie, so I did try to tone it down this chapter. And finally... Unless I suddenly have a huge surge of inspiration and eagerness to write (*dies* Hah. Not likely with essays floating around to write.), it seems unlikely there will be another chapter to this fanfic. By all means, consider A Few Winks of Sleep finished. If I can get another chapter out, then it'll just be a pleasant surprise.
Thanks for reading!