Gawain understood well that Norris likely had little understanding of what the "position" he had been offered truly entailed, nor did he grasp the nature of the new system that would soon take root in this land. Norris was merely overjoyed at the thought of becoming what he viewed as a "respectable person." In truth, he probably couldn't even imagine the lifestyle of the so-called "respectable" city folk.
But that didn't matter. Gawain was intent on establishing a new order on this land, something that neither Norris nor even Hety and Rebecca could yet fully envision. He knew he had to proceed cautiously, ensuring that every step was measured and controlled to prevent backlash from the times in which they lived.
Yet, he couldn't afford inaction. The satellite surveillance station's warnings still echoed in his mind. If the magical tide was indeed inevitable, taking action was better than doing nothing at all.
Once Norris left, Hety could no longer contain her curiosity. "Ancestor, are you truly planning to have him manage your lands?"
Anticipating her concern, Gawain showed no surprise and simply smiled at her. "Do you find it inappropriate?"
"Well… he can read and write, but…" Hety hesitated, then carefully rephrased her thought. "I worry his experience and knowledge might be insufficient, and he doesn't understand high society's decorum. As your steward over the land, he might make mistakes and suffer for it."
Gawain looked at Hety steadily until she became visibly uncomfortable. Then, he suddenly asked, "And where is this 'high society'?"
Hety paused, clearly taken aback.
Gawain smiled, gesturing around them. "Look around. This is a land of bare earth. There is no high society here, no aristocratic customs, no rigid class rules. We'll leave those relics behind on the scorched soil of Old Cecil. On this land, everything starts from scratch. All rules, laws, and principles will be new."
She stared blankly at the newly cleared land and at the camp growing into a settlement. Here, there was no imposing castle, no cramped hovels for the poor. The settlement adhered to Gawain's vision: order, cleanliness, efficiency, and space for expansion. The old norms—like "commoners' houses must not face the castle" or "noble areas must be separated by a street from the commoner quarters"—had no place here.
Gradually, Hety began to understand his meaning.
Observing her expression, Gawain knew that she was beginning to grasp the idea, but he sensed she needed one more push.
"As for whether a humble farmer can be steward of these lands," Gawain continued, "do you know what the founder of the Eastland Franklin family was?"
"Duke of the West?" Hety blinked. "I remember the history books say he was an ironmaster, the 'Iron General' of the Expeditionary Forces."
"Yes, a blacksmith," Gawain replied with a smile. "He had a monstrous strength and was fortunate enough to rise through the ranks during the Northern Campaigns. And do you know what I was when I began?"
Caught off guard, Hety hesitated. "According to the history books, you were… the 'Knight of Knights,' the model all knights aspire to."
"I was a mere squire who didn't grasp his first martial skill until the age of fifteen," Gawain chuckled. "My master died before he could send a recommendation for me to my lord. So, I wrote one myself, stamped it with his seal, and went to find the lord. Halfway there, the magical tide erupted, and my lord perished. Then I met Charles, who was leading a group of refugees and told me, 'The south is already in chaos. Heading that way is death.' I replied, 'But I need to become a knight. I've trained so hard just to pass.' And Charles told me a great truth."
Gawain paused, and Hety couldn't resist asking, "What great truth?"
"We'll call ourselves knights. Anyway, all the lords down south are dead."
"'Call ourselves'?" Hety was astonished. "That was acceptable?"
"That was exactly what happened," Gawain said, adopting a more serious tone. "A self-proclaimed Northern Army leader led a group of self-styled 'pioneer knights'—blacksmiths, carpenters, apprentices, and wanderers—through the wastelands, establishing a kingdom. Do you think this was because we possessed some noble bloodline or divine blessing?"
Hety fell silent.
"Nobility wasn't a given from the start; it was born when the first people to stand up claimed wealth for themselves," Gawain explained, placing a hand on Hety's shoulder. "Strip away that difference, and Ansu is merely a kingdom built by common hands. And now, we're standing on land as bare as it was at the founding of Ansu. I'm ready to implement new rules here."
Hety frowned slightly, a faint unease coloring her expression. "I… I can't begin to imagine what this would look like if we truly went forward with it."
"Indeed, perhaps it's too soon to tell you all of this." Gawain nodded. "But I trust you'll stand by me."
"Of course!" Hety responded without hesitation. "You are the foundation of this land! And you are everything to Rebecca and me…"
"Then let me make you a promise: everything I do is to bring prosperity and enlightenment to this land. If you follow me, you and Rebecca will witness the Cecil family grow stronger than ever." Gawain looked at her intently. "Will you accept this promise?"
Hety nodded vigorously.
"Then let's return to the matter of governance." Gawain smiled. "Let's discuss involving so-called 'commoners'—even 'peasants'—in managing the land."
"Are you planning to create more 'positions'?" Hety ventured, deducing Gawain's intentions. "Though I now see there's nothing wrong with it… is it truly necessary?"
Gawain looked her over, observing her wearied face. She had borne the full weight of managing the settlement, and her appearance reflected the strain. She hadn't even had time to wash her face today. If Hety had to oversee the entire internal affairs of the camp alone, she'd soon burn out.
"Do you think you can handle every aspect of internal affairs alone?" Gawain asked mildly.
"It's exhausting right now, but once the settlement is up and running…"
"Even then, you won't be able to manage it all. That's because you've never really experienced 'administration,'" he said, giving her a sidelong glance. "Have you ever conducted a population census? Production tally? Economic assessment? Have you ever created a record of your income, expenses, or future development plans? Have you even once kept track of the land's gold inflow and outflow?"
Hety was stunned. "Huh?"
"Sending someone to check food stores at the end of the year and tallying unpaid rents doesn't count as administration," Gawain chuckled. "The records I had you and Rebecca keep, with the names, ages, professions, and household details of all eight hundred inhabitants—what did you think of those?"
"It made everything so much easier," Hety admitted. "For the first time, I could clearly see the numbers for each profession, and assigning tasks was as simple as referencing the records."
"When our population reaches eight thousand, or even eighty thousand, will you and Rebecca still handle the counting yourselves? And if we expand to the far side of the Dark Mountains, will you cross every mountain and knock on every door yourself?"
Hety's lips moved, but she found herself without words.
"If you want things to stay this convenient, you'll need a 'management team,'" Gawain said with a shrug. "To build such an organization, we need to bring our people into the system."
"But… most of the people on the land can't even write their own names. How would we…"
"Which brings me to the next step." Gawain smiled. "We'll teach them."
Hety was left speechless once again, her astonishment surpassing anything she'd felt in her life up to this point.
Gawain gave her a moment to process and then turned his gaze to the nearby townsfolk, who were reporting their progress to the overseers.
Building a system would take time. Constructing a society upon that system was an even greater challenge, and laying the foundations for a new kingdom would be the work of many years.
With only eight hundred people in the settlement, Hety could manage, and with Rebecca occasionally stepping in, they'd manage to get by. But if they hoped to expand, certain fundamentals had to be set in place, step by step, from this moment on.