Alfie entered his office with a lot on his mind. The new information given by the chief more or less confirmed Alfie's worries.
The jealous and petty All father he knew from Greek myths would certainly not allow someone to reject his invitation and live on.
The fact that the chief wasn't already dead gave a bleak outlook. The chief would not be the only one affected by his choice.
Alfie rested his head on the grand wooden desk. Deep inside he had always hoped that his concerns wouldn't turn out to be true, but not that hope was gone.
Alfie searched through his bag and pulled out the book of prophecy. Inside one of the first entries he had written since his worries grew was migration.
The name practically spoke for the plan itself. It was a migration of the citizens of Pronoe to other villages for protection.
There were a few variations of the plan that Alfie had written up. Some included mass migrations, where the whole village moved.
Others had smaller groups enter different villages based on their expertise. Either way, each plan focused on a single solution. Seek protection under a different god.
He hadn't told the plan to the Chief or Lucia yet since the shock of the news was still fresh. They had already planned to convene tomorrow, however, so it wouldn't be too long.
Alfie looked toward his window which showed the dirt roads and houses of Pronoe and smiled bitterly.
The sound of footsteps approaching the door added to Alfie's melancholy.
"Hey, prof! Me and Jess are back from leisure. We're here if you need, okay." Clare informed from the other side of the door
"Could you and Jess come in here for a second?"
Clare who was about to step away was caught off guard by Alfie's sudden breakage of routine.
"Oh, right away. Let me just grab her." Clare quickly responded
A minute later two figures entered Alfie's office. Clare stood at a short stature with short curly black hair and round brown eyes.
Jess stood a head taller around 5 '8 with long straight black hair that reached her waist.
"How can we be of service professor?" Jess asked her amber eyes shining
"I just need a general report on the morale of the town. " Alfie explained
"Well, the general mood's been on a high as of recent. The farmers constantly brag about how this year's harvest is huge. It's annoying how much they talk about it though." Jess started.
"Oh, and Samantha's finally showing signs of being pregnant!! Everyone is really excited since she's like the first." Clare stated.
"She's pregnant??!" Alfie exclaimed.
"She issss. I honestly had the same reaction, you don't know how many people have been trying." Clare exclaimed.
"How'd Alex react to the news?" Jess asked Clare.
Clare blushed a heavy shade of pink before blurting, "Nothing!"
"Yeah, and that's why you've been leaving earlier and earlier for leisure." Jess teased.
Alfie's face showed a reaction of realization before chuckling a little. Clare wanted nothing more than to hide in a hole now that her reason for leaving early had been exposed.
Jess chuckled looking at Clare, but soon after continued explaining the general mood of the rest of the village. However, the rest of the explanation was much the same morale was on the rise.
"You know speaking of stuff that's been going on prof, I heard you and the general are getting close again." Clare teased having finally composed herself.
"Oh, yeah I heard you guys have been training again. So what's the tea prof?" Jess added
Alfie blushed slightly before answering, "Nothing's been happening. We're just training nothing else."
"Oh, please like anyone's ever believed that lame excuse." Clare rolled her eyes
"Back in the day, you were like The couple. You guys were like idols for couples." Clare exacerbated
"Someone was quite the fan girl back in the day huh," Jess noted
"Of course!! Alex asked me to be his wife by presenting a necklace you know. Ahhh, I was so happy that I spent a whole minute crying before putting it on." Clare disclosed.
"I heard some idiot asked the general out, you know," Jess said
Clare looked confused before noticing the glint in Jess's eye.
"She might get swept away by someone else if you don't hurry up, you know," Clare added
"Mhm, sure. That'll be all for now you two." Alfie said, obviously seeing their glances toward each other.
"Okayyy," Clare said
"We'll be here if you need anything else." Jess offered
With that the duo left the room, leaving Alfie alone in his office once more.
He tried concentrating on his work, however the duo's last comment remained wandering in his mind.
It was obvious to everyone that the two liked each other but why were they still not together?
Only the two of them really knew, however, and that was because Alfie had simply stated that he wasn't ready.
Unfortunately, Lucia happened to have asked Alfie during the time he became aware of Pronoe's doom.
And since he couldn't explain what his worries were about, their relationship halted.
Alfie continued for an hour before he stopped himself. He was simply too distracted to do any productive work.
Now that Lucia knew about the worries that had plagued his mind, the wall that had halted their relationship was now broken.
For the first time since he rose to power, Alfie didn't work overtime. Instead, he left earlier to tell Lucia about his final decision.