Walking into Kyoko's office, I found what could be called a hurricane of paperwork scattered everywhere. Seeing the Royals running around gathering up the papers, Kyoko and Princess Piña were standing on the side shaking their heads like they were done with this. Asking them what had happened, they pointed to Tōchūmaru who was sitting on one of the filing cabinets having some tea. Giving me a confused look like he didn't know what he did, he continued sipping on some tea.
"The Empress had a fright when she saw him.", Piña told me.
"I am sorry!!", she cried bowing her head, "I am petrified of rodents!"
Watching Tōchūmaru's face ice over, I felt bad for the little guy. His facial expression told exactly how he felt being branded as a mere rodent. Shigure was busy training, and he was just taking a break minding his own business.
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Deciding to make him a little room of his own at my house, I added to my list of things to do. Getting him tiny furniture and such shouldn't be a problem for me now. Taking him back to my house, I came back to assist with cleaning up. Using magic to clean up the mess at the snap of a finger, Kyoko looked at me with a pleased expression.
"You have taken to magic like a penguin to water.", Kyoko laughed.
"The saying is like a duck to water.", I sighed with smile, "Anyways, aside from that little incident how was their work here?"
"Well...", Kyoko said scratching her head, "The Japanese Royals understand the sorting system, the British ones don't because they don't read Japanese. As for the quality of work...well..."
"Frankly they are slower than a newborn.", Piña stated bluntly, "I think they get disheartened by the sheer number of papers that need sorted."
"That is partially my fault, we have a lot of paperwork that got backlogged due to the influx of people.", Kyoko told me trying to take some of the blame, "My team and I have been very busy, and-"
"If you needed help, you could have just asked me.", I chuckled snapping my fingers, "I could have sorted that stack for you easily."
In a split second the tower of paperwork was reduced to one hundred pages of documents that required signatures or further examination. Staring at the paperwork, Kyoko asked where everything else went. Telling her it went in her filing cabinets, she opened the drawer and almost keeled over in shock. Glaring at me like I had messed something up, I asked her what was wrong.
"Why didn't you tell me you could do!? I have running around the last few days like a chicken with it's head cut off to sort that stack!", Kyoko shouted at me, "You know how much backlog sorting we have!!"
"Well you didn't ask...", I stated, "How was I-"
"You should have known better!!", she refuted.
"HAHA!! How's it feel now you prick!!", Midna mocked from my shadow, "I am not that only one now am I!"
"My apologies, I should have known better.", I replied to Kyoko, "That's how you should respond!! All you do is give me lip!"
Hearing both Kyoko and Midna lecture me in stereo was a bit overwhelming, but I got through it in a few minutes. Once Kyoko settled down, I apologized for not telling her sooner all while Midna was telling me to apologize to her too. Telling her I would talk to her later about this, I focused my attention on Kyoko.
"Okay...so you can make my life infinitely easier using magic.", Kyoko sighed with a smirk, "Alright, so back to what I was saying. These-"
"Victor don't throw us out!!", Gwen cried tackling me, "I will learn Japanese I swear it!!"
"Gwen, if it's something like not reading Japanese I can't hold that against you. It's not a basic skill I expect everyone to know. This was bound to happen eventually, just because everyone speaks English to some extent doesn't mean they write it.", I assured her, "I have someone teach you, now that we are caught up on paperwork things should be smoother."
"Uh...", Piña said with a nervous look.
"There something else?", I questioned.
"Well that was only todays Incoming mail...", Piña's assistant Hamilton told me, "We have about fifty more stacks..."
"Hold on...then how much paperwork actually got done?", I inquired.
"About a tenth of what you saw.", Kyoko remarked.
"Okay so excluding the British Royals, the Japanese Imperials got that done.", I said, "That isn't bad given the fact that only a few of them are old enough to have the patience to-"
"No...", Bozes grunted carrying in paperwork from storage, "We finished that much, as in our group did."
Glancing at Kyoko, she told me she had been busy with other team members inventorying supplies that had come in today. Stating that she left Piña in charge while she was tied up with that, Piña went on to say that her group barely read Japanese so it was pretty much guessing. Realizing that we had pain point in the documentation process, I decided that some enchanting was in order.
"I am going to make you ladies some glasses for use when you are filing paperwork. They will translate written text for you into a language you can understand. That should help with the language barrier.", I stated, "Once all of you are able to read the text, I expect the pace to pick up. This is the job best suited to your particular skill sets, if you can't handle this I don't think there is much else I can put you in."
"We will increase our speed, I assure you that.", the Empress said, "The reason it was ten pages was because some people kept second guessing us."
"I apologized for that...", Gwen's oldest sister Anna stated, "We were going based on the text image, not reading it."
"It's our language, maybe you could have trusted us a bit more.", the Empress's eldest daughter stated.
"We were only trying to be of help...", Gwen said trying to hold her anger back, "All of us want to make sure we don't get thrown out. It's hard to read your language, it's-"
"Like English is any better, you have many words that sound the same that mean different things.", the Empress refuted.
"Yeah, but a simple twitch of the wrist can make a word mean something different in your language.", Anna argued, "I could sneeze, and accidentally make an insult."
Sensing that there may be some tensions between the two groups, I split them up before they started fighting. Honestly speaking out of all the groups that I had paired together, I really thought the nobles would be the ones to get along the easiest. In reality, they kept their conflicts in check when I was around and voiced complaints when I left. Surprisingly it was never about the settlement or my leadership, it was always about one another as the families butted heads.
The British Royals fought over what tea and snacks should be had, and the Japanese fought over the meals. Apparently they fought quite often, but always hid their complaints from me fearing they would get chucked out. Since me last meeting with them, they had been fighting quite a lot as they felt that they would need to service me to keep their place here.
"So what you are saying is that keeping them under the same roof isn't going to fly...", I sighed speaking with the Imperial Head Maid.
"No, I believe they can coexist...they just need separate spaces. They live together, sleep together, bathe together, eat together, and relieve themselves together...there isn't any separation between them.", the maid answered honestly, "Both groups share everything which becomes quite rough when they don't have the means to vent. Previously our lady would vent her anger in bed with her husband, but since his passing she has been unable too."
"Yeah, I can see how that would be annoying.", Piña admitted before realizing she had also agreed with the last part, "WAIT!! I meant the first part, not the last part!! Even my group has our own separate spaces!!"
"Yes...Princess Piña isn't the nicest person to sleep next too...", Bozes laughed dryly.
"What are you referring too?", Piña questioned before Bozes made a few quick hand gestures, "That only happened once!!"
"More like twelve.", Hamilton snickered.
"What are you going on about?", I questioned.
"Well you see, when Her Highness was young she-", Hamilton started to explain before Piña cut her off.
"It's nothing, please ignore them Victor!", she laughed while smothering Hamilton.
Flailing around signaling she couldn't breathe, Piña wasn't letting go. Eventually Bozes broke them up, and Hamilton to the ground gasping for air. Looking at Piña in shock, Piña made a motion that told her she'd be dead if she brought that topic again. Rubbing her neck cautiously, Hamilton seemed to understand her situation now.
"Ahem...so we need to space out their living arrangements.", I stated, "We are waiting on Air Support from Anchorage so I have a few days to get something up for them."
---Two Days Later---
Erecting an addition onto their home, the British Royals were the ones to move their belongings over. Having designed the space to reflect an English Cottage, I hoped it would be sufficient in keeping them calm. Since I had completed the work, I wanted to see what George and Gerald thought but I soon realized that I had picked the wrong day to ask for their opinion.
"You did a damn good job with this.", George said admiring my handiwork, "That said, it is a bit ornate don't you think?"
"George...that's a woodshed...you are looking at a pile of wood.", I sighed, "Have Gerald and you been drinking already? It's not even noon yet man!"
"Listen, here...unlike you we have excellent taste in alcohol...", he laughed, "That piss water you call Bud Light and Coors...we were afraid the team would muck it up."
"Haha, yeah we...wait I thought we went to drink?", Gerald laughed trying to make out with a stone wall.
"I swear...", I groaned, "What exactly do you two do around camp?"
"We make the ladies feel safe!!", they shouted wrapping an arm around each others shoulder, "They need strong men like us to protect them!!"
Hearing someone approach, I saw an angry blonde Russian walking down the pathway. Shooting me a look that said she was looking for her brother, I knew how to deal with these drunkards. Motioning to my right, her eyebrow twitched as Gerald's sister Anastasia came to get him. Stomping around the corner, she locked eyes with him and George as they line danced.
"So this is where you are!! I am not your maid nor am I our mother!! You need to come assist with cleaning up our home, and doing your fucking laundry!!", she shouted loud enough to attract people standing nearby.
"What do you mean, that is a woman's job?", Gerald laughed not realizing what he said.
'Oh shit...', I thought as the world around us went dead silent, 'Those are cursed words no man should ever fucking utter. If you ever want to have sex, a warm meal, and affection...you never utter those words. That's how you end up in the fucking doghouse.'
"What did you just say?", Anastasia said with a twitch, "Why don't you tell that to me...one...more...time..?"
"Oh sorry I guess you are hard of hearing in your old age haha, I said-", he started to say before she sucker punched him clean out of his shoes.
"Listen here you little Suka, I am only five years older than you!!", she spat, "Let me show you who runs our household!!"
Taking George down with him, Anastasia start beating the shit out of them. Deciding that was my que to leave, I went inside the house where the sound from outside could hardly be heard. Seeing the young boys watching the fight through window, I held back urge to scold them as it was quite humorous to watch. Seeing me enter the home, the maids came over to thank me.
"I see they have moved in, have things been a little better?", I asked.
"Yes, they have simmered down a bit...", the maids said, "Do you...do you think you could maybe make your presence here known more frequently?"
"Something else wrong?", I questioned.
"Master George comes by to check on the British Royals, but...", they said glancing out the window, "He isn't the best influence on the boys, and the guards really don't know how to interact with them either. The male guards have always been made to treat them like royalty, not young boys. We are concerned that without a strong male presence to keep them on the right path...they may follow Master George's example."
"I see, have you tried letting them hangout with Saito and the other children? We have plenty of children around the settlement for them to play with.", I suggested, "It would give them a chance to be normal boys, and I could help raise them too."
"To be blunt with you, they don't know how to be boys...they know how to be Royalty. The concept of sharing isn't something they understand very well, up till now the boys have been used to getting what they want because they are Royalty.", the maids informed me, "They are almost spoiled rotten as their parents never disciplined them for bad behavior."
"Fair enough, so you need me to show them the ropes.", I chuckled with a mischievous smile.
These boys would learn to be proper young men, no matter how many times I had to bend them over my knee. That was my biggest issue with boys nowadays, people just never took into consideration how stubborn young boys could be and how little words meant to them. The only thing that really got through to them was a firm, loving hand in unison with words...like my grandfather and father in my past life did to me. It always had to come from a place of teaching, and not anger.
"If Master George wasn't well a bit of tail chaser we'd have asked him since we know you are busy.", they stated.
Understanding what they were saying, I decided to work with them. Thanking me, I told the four boys to come over to me. Doing as they were told, I instructed them to wear something that could get dirty. Immediately looking to the maids for assistance, I stopped them in their tracks. Telling them that they needed to learn for themselves since they wouldn't always have maids, I said to show me where their clothing was. Nodding their heads, they took me to their rooms so they could get the clothing they needed.
---Fifteen Minutes Later---
After debating me on what clothing was appropriate for working in, I told them they would accept my judgment or get bent over my knee. Deciding to call me out on that, the four boys quickly learned that I didn't accept back talk. Waddling down the stairs hiding their butts from me, the maids couldn't help but take a few pictures as they looked adorable. Surprisingly the Empress didn't care one bit that I had disciplined the boys in her charge, almost like she had wanted to do it herself.
Leaving the house behind, I took them out to the small farming area near the settlement. This was one of several farms Saya and her crew had made to raise docile livestock that the children could tend too. Seeing the other children collecting eggs and feeding the animals, I decided to call my kids over to help me.
"Saito and Honoka, please come here for a moment.", I asked.
Coming over to ask what I needed, I introduced the four boys to them. Telling them I wanted them to show them the ropes, I said they needed to learn how to help tend to the animals. Agreeing to show them what they needed to do, the boys looked at them hesitantly. Saying I would bend them over my knee again if they didn't listen, the four boys took the lead in running over to the other children.
"You helping out around the farm today?", Saya questioned with a smirk on her face, "I thought we agreed to let the children handle the less aggressive animals here. You aren't worried about them, are you?"
"No, I am just making sure those four Royals learn to cooperate and get along with the others.", I told her, "They need to learn a life outside of being a royalty so they can live normally."
"Fair enough, you sure dropping them in head first is good though?", she inquired.
"Meh, I am hoping a man's natural competitive spirit will push them forward.", I chuckled, "Don't worry, I will work on some maintenance items here so you don't have to watch them."
"We weren't going to watch them, they are your problem.", Renka laughed throwing some hay in a shed, "All of us have enough on our plates as is."
Keeping an eye on the kids, I worked on finishing up the animal shelters that Saya designed for winter. Luckily the four boys seemed to catch on pretty quick as Saito explained things to them. After they were done helping tend to the animals, they boys came back over and helped me put rooves on the structures. Working alongside me, the boys actually learned quite a lot due to my Teacher skill. Once we finished putting on the rooves, the boys asked me what was next eager to do more. Telling them we had a lot of other tasks to handle, Saito and Honoka ended up joining us too as they wanted to be of help too.