Three freight carriages soon arrived at Villa No. 35 in the Golden Instructor residential area of
He gave each coachman three small silver coins, and after sending them off — overjoyed and thanking him profusely — Lorist looked at the mountain of books piled in the two rooms with a bitter smile. It would take several days to sort through them all. Over the past few years, nearly all the extra money Lorist had earned had gone toward purchasing books. Before he knew it, his collection had grown to over a thousand volumes — enough to open a small library.
These weren't the printed books of his previous life. Galentea had no writable white paper; every book was made from sheepskin or animal parchment, then copied by hand. As a result, each book was not only expensive but quite heavy as well. Take the three-volume set of *The Lament of the Gods* that Lorist had purchased — each volume weighed over five jin. Back then, in order to learn about that legendary age of magical civilization, Lorist had gritted his teeth and endured the sting of parting with three gold Forde to get his hands on those three books.
The second floor of the villa had a small study, though it wasn't nearly as large as the one in the young lady's place. Lorist planned to sort the books by category — history, geography, customs, and natural knowledge would go upstairs. The remaining myths, legends, fiction, and poetry volumes would be placed on two large bookshelves in a corner of the living room, which should be more than enough space. He'd need to be more careful when buying books in the future so he didn't end up with duplicates again. It was all those unscrupulous merchants' fault — they'd change a book's title and the protagonist's name, slap on a new cover, and sell it as a new release. Lorist had fallen for the trick more than once, only discovering when he got home and started reading that he already owned the book.
He greeted Cory, who was busy wiping down the furniture, then carried a few books upstairs to the study. As he headed toward it, he noticed the master bedroom door was open, and a large fat man lay sprawled on the bed, snoring away.
Damn — this was a new house, a new bed, and he hadn't even slept in it yet, but this big fatty had already claimed it first. Lorist walked over and kicked him. The fat man sat up with bleary eyes, dazed for a long while before he finally reacted: "Are you crazy, Little Lorist? Why'd you kick me?"
Lorist said, "Ask yourself what you're doing. Running over to my place to nap in broad daylight — is the Enforcement Department really that idle?"
"What did you want to see me about?" Lorist asked.
"About the Swordsmanship Society, of course. Brother, you've got to help me out here. The Enforcement Department really can't hold up anymore. Last night, two patrol groups were so exhausted they fell asleep on the road. The department thought something had happened and scrambled everyone out in a panic — only to find both groups lying there sleeping like dead pigs. Why do you think I was able to sleep so soundly when I came over this morning?"
Lorist was puzzled: "What does the Swordsmanship Society have to do with this? How can I help?"
"Ugh!" Fatty Shi let out a long sigh. "Brother, you're the one who came up with the idea — how could you forget? It's only been half a year. You went off to the Ruins Archipelago for your expedition, and I haven't been idle either, running around begging and pleading until I finally got the academy leadership to agree to let students form the Swordsmanship Society and to allow the society's elite members to become probationary members of the Enforcement Department. Now I'm short on manpower, and you — the new president of the Swordsmanship Society — need to get the society up and running and send people to help the Enforcement Department."
Oh, right — Lorist scratched his head in embarrassment. Half a year ago, he'd been having a few drinks with Fatty Shi. Fatty Shi, drowning his sorrows in alcohol, had ranted about how every member of the academy leadership was a cheapskate, refusing to increase the Enforcement Department's personnel allocation. At that point, the department had barely eighty members, responsible not only for maintaining academy discipline but also for guard duty and patrols. Fatty Shi's repeated requests for additional manpower had all been rejected.
Fatty Shi had grumbled that with over five thousand students, the ratio of enforcement personnel to students was less than one in fifty. If anything went wrong, that handful of officers wouldn't even be able to protect themselves, let alone maintain order. We'll see what those academy leaders do when the time comes.
Lorist had told Fatty Shi he lacked creativity. Hadn't the students recently been trying to form some kind of Swordsmanship Society on their own? The academy had rejected their application because it would require providing venues, financial support, and bearing responsibility for accidental injuries. The students had made a fuss, and he'd heard they were recently rallying support and recruiting members. According to academy regulations, if more than one-tenth of all students applied to form an extracurricular interest club, the academy had to approve it and provide assistance.
"You could negotiate with the academy," Lorist had suggested. "If the students insist on forming the Swordsmanship Society, the academy will have to compromise eventually. Since that's the case, you might as well get ahead of the game and bring the Swordsmanship Society under the Enforcement Department's jurisdiction. That way, you can have the society's elite members serve as probationary enforcement personnel. Daytime guard duty, nighttime patrols — all those tedious tasks can be handed off to the probationary members. It's essentially increasing your department's manpower, isn't it?"
Fatty Shi had been overjoyed, slapping the table and praising Lorist for being sharper than everyone else, coming up with such a brilliant idea on the spot. So Fatty Shi had set about establishing the Swordsmanship Society, while Lorist had simply patted his behind and headed off to the Ruins Archipelago.
The whole affair had kept Fatty Shi busy racking his brains over the Swordsmanship Society's formation. To win the academy leadership's approval, he'd rewritten most of the application — for instance, changing the society's president from being democratically elected by students to being appointed by the academy, effectively handing the society's leadership over to the academy. Of course, even an academy-appointed president still needed the society members' acknowledgment. With that arrangement, the pool of candidates for president had narrowed to just one person: Lorist.
Oh — so I'm still the president of the Swordsmanship Society! Lorist suddenly recalled what Dean Levins, that old man, had said before he left the day before yesterday — something about finalizing the Swordsmanship Society's rules and regulations and submitting them for review. Damn, how was he supposed to handle all that by himself?
Lorist spread his hands and said to Fatty Shi: "Fatty, it's not that I don't want to help you. I just got off the ship the day before yesterday, and yesterday I went to the young lady's place to move my things back. I really don't have the mood to deal with Swordsmanship Society matters these few days. Besides, I just moved into a new home — I need a few days to settle in, then rest up and prepare for the academy duels. Where exactly am I going to find the time? You'll just have to hold on a while longer."
Fatty Shi was nearly in tears: "Brother, you can't do this to me! You can't leave me hanging over the fire! In a few more days I won't even look human anymore — I really can't hold on. Especially these past two days, since the academy posted that duel announcement, the workload has increased several times over. The conflicts between outsiders and students have already hit nearly a hundred incidents. Every one of us in the Enforcement Department is exhausted like dead dogs. You can't just watch me drown..."
"Serves you right. Who told you to push me into being the Swordsmanship Society president? And weren't you the one enthusiastically putting up those duel announcements? Serves you right if you drop dead from exhaustion."
Fatty Shi finally realized where he'd offended Lorist and hurriedly gave himself a light slap on the mouth: "My bad, brother. I didn't consider your feelings. But you've got to show some understanding too. If anyone other than you were president of the Swordsmanship Society, the academy wouldn't agree, and the students definitely wouldn't accept it. Only if you step up will the academy and the students stop dragging their feet until next year. I only recommended you to cut through the red tape quickly. As for the duel announcements, you can't blame me for that either — I couldn't refuse. That old man is craftier than a fox; if he gets serious, it's easy for him to dig up some dirt on me and make my life miserable. It's not that I don't want to help — I just had no choice."
Lorist wasn't actually unwilling to help; he was just trying to think of a way to keep things light for himself. "Stop making that face — who are you pulling that long face for? Let me think..."
Fatty Shi's expression immediately brightened: "Good, good, brother, take your time thinking. Just come up with something to get me through this crisis." As he spoke, he picked up a book and fanned Lorist with it. "Whatever you need, just say the word. I'll provide people if you need people, money if you need money... well, not money."
Lorist thought for a moment, then said to Fatty Shi: "Here's what we'll do. Send
"Tell them that this round of committee members will be appointed by me. In three years, all Swordsmanship Society members will vote in an election — the twelve with the highest votes become committee members, while the remaining three committee seats and the Executive Vice President position will be appointed by the president at his discretion. Going forward, all specific society matters will be handled and proposed by the committee, with the Executive Vice President overseeing and managing day-to-day operations. Later, send someone to find them all, notify them of their appointment to the Executive Committee, then gather them in a room for a meeting. Have them draft the Swordsmanship Society's rules and regulations. To keep them from bickering endlessly, post someone outside — nobody leaves that room until they've finished their discussion."
"Also tell Terman that he's only there to coordinate, not to participate in the actual discussions. Let those fifteen hash it out among themselves. Fatty, if you have any requirements, you can tell your own people first and have them raise proposals to discuss with the student leaders. Once they've drawn up the rules and regulations, tell them that each person has five nominations for elite members — have them submit those right away. You can select fifty people from among them to become the Enforcement Department's probationary members."
"Furthermore, since the Swordsmanship Society is now under the academy's leadership, the academy must provide the corresponding personnel allocation, budget, and welfare subsidies. The president, Executive Vice President, and fifteen committee members each receive three gold Forde per month as office expense subsidies. The Swordsmanship Society's administrative office will have a twelve-person staffing allocation, selected from among society members, each receiving one gold coin per month as a living stipend. The office's monthly administrative budget is ten gold coins, overseen by the Executive Vice President. Elite members who become the Enforcement Department's probationary members receive a living stipend of one gold coin per month, with additional benefits distributed by the Enforcement Department based on performance."
"Additionally, apprentice members who apply to join the Swordsmanship Society must pay one small silver coin per month. Full members pay one large silver coin annually. Elite members are exempt from all fees. Apprentice members may use the Swordsmanship Society for training, sparring, or swordsmanship instruction. Full members, under the guidance of elite members, may participate in various mercenary tasks and adventure activities, with their earnings subject to a five-percent contribution to the society before the remainder is distributed among themselves. These membership fees and mission earnings will become the Swordsmanship Society's activity fund and the annual rewards for outstanding members."
"Have them meet and discuss everything — let them discuss my proposals too. Once they've finalized everything, bring it to me for review. If it looks good, we'll submit it directly. Get busy today, and tomorrow you'll have fifty probationary members." Lorist concluded his lengthy speech.
"Wow." Fatty Shi looked at the sheepskin parchment in his hand, now filled with notes, and marveled: "Little Lorist, how does your brain even work? In just a few minutes you came up with a complete organizational plan. I spent three days and couldn't even figure out how to establish this Swordsmanship Society or how to arrange the personnel. Your plan is much better — we'll do exactly as you say."
Lorist asked: "How has the academy arranged the duel schedule?"
"Nothing's been finalized yet. Our academy's proposal is for each academy to first select twenty Silver Instructors. Starting next month, every even-numbered day will be an Academy Duel Day — the academies draw lots to determine the order, and they come to challenge our academy one by one until all matches are complete. If any Silver Instructors who weren't selected are unhappy about being left out, they can register individually for the odd-numbered day Open Challenge Day duels at our academy. We're just waiting for the other academies' responses now." Fatty Shi thought for a moment and answered.
"Damn — even days for academy duels, odd days for open challenges — you haven't left me a single rest day? Do you really think I'm made of iron?" Lorist grumbled.
"Well, haha, Brother Lorist, this new place of yours is really nice — beautiful surroundings. I really envy you. The academy really does take good care of its Golden Instructors." Fatty Shi deflected the topic.
"Envy me? Shed some of that fat, work hard for another couple of years, and break through to the Golden rank early. Then you can get a place like this too." Lorist lectured Fatty Shi with a straight face.
Fatty Shi was speechless. Damn it — you're only at the
The two of them headed downstairs together. Lorist said: "El might come looking for you in the next couple of days."
"What does he want with me?"
"He wants to get in on it. He's agreed to give you a ten-percent cut." Lorist explained El's plan to set up a gambling operation.
"Great, I'm all for it. Us brothers work ourselves to the bone while that old man of a dean sits behind us counting gold coins — I've had enough of that. Say no more, I'll cooperate with El and make this work beautifully." The mention of making money instantly energized Fatty Shi.
The two walked toward the door. Fatty Shi, flustered by the gesture: "No need to see me off, Brother Lorist — there's no need to be polite between us brothers. I can see myself out, please stay..."
Lorist cursed: "See you off, my foot! I brought a whole load of books that are sitting in the wooden sheds outside. I need to go sort through them."
Fatty Shi perked up with interest and followed Lorist to the wooden sheds. Seeing the floor covered with books, he sighed: "Little Lorist, you spent all your money on these, huh? That's quite the haul — all these books. Hey, why don't we set up a room in the academy and open a book rental service? I bet we'd make a lot of money."
Lorist shook his head: "If too many people rent books, they'll get ruined and useless. These books are for my personal collection — I'm not lending them out."
Fatty Shi looked disappointed: "What a shame, all these books. At least lend a few to your big brother to read."
"Lending is absolutely off the table, especially to people who never return things," Lorist said.
"Then can I at least buy a few?" Fatty Shi was getting annoyed — the nerve of this kid, making a fuss over a few books.
"You have time to read?" Lorist eyed him skeptically.
Fatty Shi blushed: "Can I use them as pillows if I don't read them?"
"Fine, fine — that pile over there, pick whichever you want."
That pile of about a hundred books consisted of duplicates Lorist had accidentally purchased.
Fatty Shi buried his head in sorting through them and finally pulled out seven thick volumes: "Just these seven. How much?"
"I get the feeling you're not buying these to read them — it seems like you have some other use in mind?" Lorist was genuinely curious.
"Well, the bookshelf in my office is pretty empty, isn't it? Slapping a few of these on there would make me look cultured and refined." Fatty Shi bluntly admitted his reason for buying the books.
Lorist shook his head, looked at the books, and still gave Fatty Shi a fair price: "Three gold coins and eight large silver coins. Don't haggle — I'm practically giving them away. Try to negotiate and I won't sell."
It was indeed a fair price, and Fatty Shi knew it — outside, he'd need at least seven gold coins: "Fine, if you're straightforward, I'll be straightforward too. Deal."
He rummaged through his pockets and pouch for a while, then placed eight large silver coins in Lorist's outstretched hand: "One, two, three... seven, eight. The big chunk is paid — consider the three gold coins' change waived. Goodbye, brother."
With remarkable agility, Fatty Shi grabbed the books and dashed off into the distance...
Lorist stood there dumbfounded...