"If you are done interrogating me, can you free me?" Iota's voice resounded calmly.
"I feel an intense urge to crap."
Bam!
Dullip slammed the door shut as he stared at his underlings, maintaining a minute of awkward silence before he spoke, "Take…care of him. He's a valuable test subject. Don't undo his bindings though, he might escape."
"We understand." The underlings nodded in response before one of them asked, "Do we treat his injuries?"
"We peeled off large patches of his skin after all. If left as is, he'll be plagued by ailments."
"Give him the bare minimum treatment to maintain his health." Saying so, Dullip walked away. As a Spirit of the Garobu City, he had plenty of work on his plate daily. One of the most important tasks was to make a public appearance to placate the needs of the citizens.
Dullip exited the hideout and slowly reached the end of the street, stopping before a canal as he hired a boat. Canals were running throughout the city and the primary means of transport other than foot was by boat.
Moreover, since they were an export hub, having interconnected waterways was of utmost importance and economically beneficial.
"Lord…Dullip?" The boatman muttered in surprise before bowing in respect, "It's my honour to serve you. Please tell me where you wish to go and I'll bring you there the swiftest."
"To the Gran province's agricultural center." Dullip Garobu said and threw a pouch of coins.
"I don't dare accept money from you." The boatman said in a fluster, "It's an honour just to serve you."
"You need the money to feed your family. And I'm paying the market price for your services. It's only fair, no exceptions." Dullip said and took a seat, observing the boatman's face brighten in joy.
The place he wished to go to was one of the largest provinces in the city called Gran. It was the area with the most fertile of lands and hence formed the breadbasket of their city. The journey spanned 48 kilometres and hence cost 96 Robu, their currency.
The pouch contained 100 Robu, a small tip for the boatman's labour. After all, the current canal was only meant for this residential district. They would have to make their way into the wider canals to reach their destination.
There were plenty of twists and turns involved, not to mention having to go upstream part of the journey, so it was tough on the boatman. In Garobu City, a meal cost an average of 30 Robu. Therefore, the boatman would have to make at least two trips to keep his family fed.
Anyhow, the ruling class had put out many schemes and subsidiaries to help the working class of the city. Therefore, with two trips a day, the boatman would make enough to feed his family and even save up a little.
But, whether or not that held up during every season could only be known by interacting with the root of the situation, which was why it was customary for those from the Garobu Family to travel through the city and understand the living conditions of the people.
And that was exactly what Dullip did. As the boat moved through the canal, he observed the health condition of the boatman, judging after a decent amount of time had passed and having interacted a little, 'He's pretty healthy and also has hope for the future. Good, those are signs of stability among the lower class.'
If even the lower class of society had hope for the future, it meant things were positive for the city. And a stable society meant stronger faith in the lawmakers, which directly translated into the power wielded by the Garobu family.
In this world, faith directly became tangible power. Therefore, only by keeping the people content would they maintain their power. It might be spurred by selfish needs for power, but their thoughts were in the right place.
Occupying a land of 250,000 square kilometres, Garobu city was a stronghold with a prosperous populace of 28 million. To maintain such a large diaspora of people, the ruling class would have to take a hands-on approach.
Dullip Garobu was heading out to fulfil one such need.
It was a journey spanning four hours. Around noon, Dullip Garobu arrived before the agricultural center, a massive stone monument depicting step cultivation. Grown on each of its steps was a crop famed in their region.
The most advanced techniques were used to constantly test the yield, degradation of soil quality, vitality retention, etc., and successful methods were taught to the farmers. Farmers were the workforce that brought in the greatest economic revenue to Garobu City and hence, they were treated with bountiful respect.
The agricultural plaza was where children of farmers came to learn cutting-edge methods to farm and everything required to maintain the business.
"Lord Dullip, we've been awaiting your arrival." The moment Dullip arrived at the dock, two old men stepped forward, arriving to greet him.
They were cloaked from head to toe in greenish-golden fabric, only revealing their wrists and eyes.
'Two Merit Priests were all sent to assist me, huh.' Dullip Garobu thought in disappointment, 'Had it been Keyn, a parade of Merits and even Laurel Priests would have been sent to assist him with a pompadour.'
He didn't let the disappointment cloud his expression as he greeted the two Priests and changed into a set of formal attire, a suit weaved using tiny sickles, causing it to glisten under the sun. With every step he took, they produced a loud jingle, alerting people through the familiar sound.
"A Spirit has come to grace us!" One of the farmer's sons shouted in excitement upon hearing the jingle as he stood up from class and rushed out.
"We need to see!" The other students too followed suit as the instructor shook his head with a wry smile.
He then rushed alongside the student, placating them, "Don't run in the hallways, students! You mustn't inconvenience Lord Spirit!"
"Teacher, are you well?" Dullip spoke with a respectful tone upon staring at the teacher accompanying the students.
"All thanks to your blessings. The yields have been bountiful." The teacher placed his hands together in respect and performed a formal bow, prompting his students to follow suit, "We greet Lord Spirit."
"May the lands of Garobu be ever bountiful." Dullip took on a stance of prayer and spoke, emitting divine grace from his being. At present, there were no signs of any anger or humane brashness in him, embodying a perfect being.
Almost, he was akin to a divine being.