He said with a loud voice which was audible to all of the commoners present, "Kneeling before a King may be what you did in past, but from today, no one will ever kneel before anyone, not even if its me, The King. I believe a human should only kneel before two people, one kneeling before the Heavens and Ancestors, and second before your Parents. In no other circumstances should a person kneel before others. Do you all understand?"
The people were stunned by his proclamation. Even his knights were shocked. Pratap looked at Adi blankly not knowing what to say on this bold declaration of his King.
Adi saw that nobody replied and asked again, this time louder than before, "DO YOU ALL UNDERSTAND???"
The public came back to reality and confirmed that it was not a dream. They hurriedly nodded their heads and replied,
"Yes Your Majesty"
"We understand Your Majesty"
"Thank you Your Majesty"
Adi was satisfied with their response and slowly a smile crept on corner of his lips. All this time, he has been maintaining a blank and plain look so that the people don't treat him like a 16 year old boy. He wanted to change the perspective of this world which will only happen when his own people will lead the change. He wanted to change the society and their behavior to be morally upright and logically sound.
He then gestured towards the three heads of the group of people. He said, "Elders I am your new King, Adi Bose. We are now no longer a part of Kalinga Empire. So I hope that all of us can work together for a better tomorrow. This will be the end of neglect towards Rai and the people. It will be the beginning of a new age. If all of you work together with me and do as I say, then I promise that our future will be full of glory and peace."
The elders said in unison too,
"We will do our best Your Majesty"
"We will follow all your commands"
"Everyone will do as you say".
Adi was pleased as no one had any hesitation. For becoming a good and successful leader, one has to have the full confidence of their people. If people start having doubts then it will only become troublesome affair.
After they reigned in their emotions, he asked, "Do you know how many people are there in total and how many are young men & women, children and elders above the age of 65?"
They thought for a moment and it was head farmer Kali who answered, "Your Majesty there are over 2,400 people here. Of which almost 1000 are men & 800 women, over 400 children and around 200 people over the age of 65. We don't have the exact numbers but I believe there will not be much difference between actual numbers."
Adi nodded and then asked his second question, "Do you all live in these houses? Do they even provide any shelter from rain and cold?"
This time it was Shane, the healer who replied, "Yes Your Majesty. We live in these houses as we cannot afford stone ones. And whether they provide any shelter, it's better than being in the open."
Then Adi asked something which was bugging his mind from some time, "When all of you cannot get any shelter here, then why don't you occupy any of the Noble Estates which are abandoned? I think two of them could accommodate all of you."
He could not understand why they would prefer living in these poorly thatched houses when there are many estates which are empty. They even lack maintenance for years. He didn't believe that nobody among them thought of it. There must be some circumstances which stopped them from doing so.
Kali and Shane both wanted to answer it and were somewhat hesitating when the bold by nature blacksmith Kaif replied, "Your Majesty that is the region for nobles to live. We are not allowed to even go there. How would they allow us lowly peasants to defile their living space?"
Adi was taken aback but he continued, "Other than that, why haven't all of you made huts from wood? You all could at least do that right?"
Again it was Kaif who said, "Where will we get woods from? Few years back when a few men tried to cut trees, they were badly whipped by the city lord. And outside the walls, there is an increased danger of dangerous wild animals."
Adi was startled by the answer but he knew that this was something that was to be expected. Most of the evils in the society is present because of these so called 'classes'. A noble has the most rights other than the Royals, and then comes the Knights and Merchants. After that the peasants and slaves have almost non-existent rights. The difference is that they can do anything to slaves openly but have to let peasants live a little better or else there could be big riots or uprising. And this 'bit better' was just enough to make ends meet.
Adi understood the reason and more than that. Again he looked over the condition of people present there. Many of them were suffering from undernourishment and they even had to fight nature's forces every day. He came to a decision and then declared it loudly so that everybody could listen.
"From today onwards all of you will transfer to three of the well maintained estates until the huts are improved. Sean, you along with your company will assist all the able bodied men here to cut trees and make wooden huts with able bodied men available. Also, i assure you and proclaim that there will never be any difference between Nobles, Knights or Peasants. Class distinction will be removed. SLAVERY WILL NOT BE ALLOWED IN RAI. It will be abolished. No one has the right to torture people for fun and to fulfill their sadistic pleasure. No one has the right to mistreat anyone."
The locals were dazed from hearing Adi's proclamation. From the kneeling issue, then housing problem and now class distinction & slavery, everything that he said have turned their overview of the world and has shaken the whole societal structure. In a way, Adi was overturning the entire system of society and he was aware of it. But he was also aware that once these people follow it, he will not be alone anymore. They have to change the world, and they will, together.
He turned to the gob smacked Pratap and said, "General Pratap, you will see to it that all of my proclamation and declaration are followed and it will be also your responsibility to bring any of such future issues to my notice. You will have these matters to take care of until we have organized ourselves better."
Pratap replied loudly, "Don't worry Your Majesty, I assure you that your commands will be followed to the word and i will make sure that there will be no such cases in future." He and all the knights were shocked by all of his statement. Especially Pratap, as he had literally seen Adi grow from a toddler to what he is now. He was shocked but also pleased by his declaration and thoughts.
Adi was satisfied by Pratap's answer and everyone's reaction. He then went back to the main topic and asked the elders, "How many people among you are able to read and write?"
The elders were too astounded by him that they stammered for a moment before answering him, "Your Majesty, thank you so much for your care. We don't have words to express our gratitude towards you." Shane was about to cry and same was the case with Kali. Kaif eyes were also wet from the turbulence of emotions and gratitude towards Adi.
Adi could see their emotions and was about to say something when there was a sound from the system,
"DING"
"Host has changed the evil societal rules and instilled morality in his people. It is just a start, not even a bucket of water in ocean, but the System and its Creator believe that the Host will continue on this path and change the whole world."
"Congratulations Host for receiving the gratitude of people of Rai. 500 Bonus points are awarded to Host."
Adi was pleasantly surprised by this message. He had got his first few points by just correcting something which he himself deemed wrong. He thought that now he can purchase the Armed forces training manual and knowledge from system and much more.
Then Shane continued, "Your Majesty most of us are illiterate except me, Kaif and Kali. We know a bit of language and basic calculation."
Adi nodded, thought for a moment and then fired another question, one of the main issues of Rai. "Head Farmer Kali, do you mind explaining the situation of farms and the produce from it in Rai?"