Chapter 28:Preparations. 

Inside Leyndell's meeting room, a somewhat exceptional situation is taking place. 

The long meeting table is littered with papers, tablets, papyrus, letters, and other forms of delivering information, all lying around. 

"Here 's more."

Entering with firm, graceful steps, the Night Maiden approaches the table with her arms full of more papers to read. 

But it didn't end there, for behind her comes her sister, the swordswoman Nox and she too brings more papers, though her gait is more lived in. 

"Do you guys want to take a break? I can get you something to drink... Maybe to eat."

Setting the papers down in a clear spot on the table, the swordswoman moves to the top area of the table and lets out a worried prayer. 

Thanks to her words, Aldrich's eyes seem to gain some sparkle, he has seen the opportunity to run away from the paperwork and wants to take it, but the Night Maiden intervenes. 

"Come with me, there's still more to bring."

"But sister, just look at him."

"¡Come on!"

Grabbing Nox Swordswoman by the neck and ignoring her words, the Night Maiden begins to drag her out of the room without care. 

Thus with her departure, Aldrich's only chance of escape is completely closed and he will only be able to fight against the papers. 

...Aldrich pov...

"We're done... Tell me we're done, Al."

Speaking in a parched voice, he pushed aside some papers blocking my field of vision and looked up at Al. He's white and flat, almost as if he were a sheet of paper.... 

Yes, apparently I'm hallucinating right now. You must understand that this is not an exaggeration, I've gone through hundreds, maybe thousands of papers and it's starting to get to me. 

What the hell has happened to the administrative chain? I have reports of assassinations, conflict of interest, marriage requests, presiding prayers and everything else you can think of. 

"Today's done, but..."

"But what?"

"Tomorrow there will be more. Every day even more people enter Leyndell, so every day the administrative burden will be greater."

This must be a joke, is this only going to get worse over time? By all that is holy and lovable... It's time for reforms. 

Personally I was going to wait longer, but this is already unsustainable and it's better to start striking while the iron is hot.

"Al, when are Kristoff and Lhutel returning from the north?"

Fixing my disheveled appearance, he blurred the way I keep seeing Al and asked him about some information. 

"It must be around here somewhere, it fell out... Here it is."

Picking up the letter just handed to me by Al, he overlooked the mountain of papers just dropped and I saw its contents. 

"I have a plan, but I'm going to need everything to come out just in the nick of time. Al, I need you to write a letter to Lhutel and Kristoff."

"At your command."

"This will be the last of the day."

"Well..."

Even someone like Al can get tired, well let's just say that going from being a god smasher to a clerk... It took its toll on him. 

...Some time later...

The preparations are going smoothly, that is to say quickly and without unnecessary hitches. What are the preparations for? A festival, a grandiose victory festival. 

Obviously I'm not doing it just for the sake of it, you know how horrible the whole administrative part of the damn festival was... What a horror. 

No, the festival will serve to gather people from the surrounding area, young talents to exploit and use for the greater good of Leyndell.

"An unexpected invitation, but meticulously directed."

Walking through the empty halls of Leyndell, I noticed who advances beside me and it is none other than Ranni. 

"Everything must go well, so I don't need your supporters trying to make chaos."

"They wouldn't have done it anyway, even with my orders. You underestimate your current reputation too much."

I guess that's a weakness in her plan, she can only act behind the scenes and not directly over everything, since what supports her influence is being the rightful queen of Leyndell. 

"Maybe so, but better to have two thirds of the entire population of Leyndell."

"Marika's followers? It was somewhat inevitable their resurgence, even more so with the population buildup."

Giving her a second glance, I notice how Ranni floats a few inches above the ground, before continuing to speak matter-of-factly. 

"Certainly, Marika has ruled for too long... In her subconscious she will always be the queen."

"So I guess you have something ready to calm them down. Most likely inside the arts liberation reform."

It's scary that he can get so deep with so little information, he even knows the name of the new reform and that was quite secret. 

Nodding at his recent words, we turn down the odd corridor and at last reach one of the cornices of Leyndell Castle. 

"You do me the honors, my queen."

"Quite a performance, though I suppose that exile taught you well."

Even she even know about Sellen? Well, it was somewhat possible if we consider that Seluvis knew her and he... Let's just say Ranni gave her a "Worthy" end for a traitor. 

"I'd like to agree with you, but it was too easy to detect the movement of your magic. I guess using a puppet at such a distance... It makes it considerably difficult."

"Even with such an inconvenience, it's more than enough for what I need to do."

Ignoring her cold words, I feel the magic in the air thicken and begin to move towards different directions all over Leyndell. 

It was image transmission magic, something quite similar to what is normally used to meet with distant people. 

Obviously she didn't do it out of the goodness of her heart, but it proves her point and makes her gain more influence in Leyndell.

"My subjects, today is a great day to celebrate, let our emotions out into the air and enjoy ourselves for our common achievements."

Leaving a small silence between my words, he took Ranni's arm and I moved closer towards the edge of the ledge, so I could have a better view. 

The nice thing about being the center of power is that I don't need to earn their favor, but they must earn mine. I only need to show clear favoritism towards Ranni, to get discord to arise between his followers and Marika's followers. 

"Our battle is not over, but progress is visible day by day and right beside them. Look at your brothers, uncles, cousins who were once separated and now reunite right here."

Hearing the cheers coming from the streets, over the rooftops and anywhere visible, I raised my hands to silence them. 

"But this is not over yet, Altus Plateau is merely a small part of the Midlands... Everything must return to proper order!"

Raising the pitch of my voice, he raised their pride by letting them know that they are on the "Right" side of history.

"But it can't be done alone, I need you my brave warriors, strong blacksmiths, farmers who feed us, you're the ones who keep Leyndell running and our war machine marching!"

I could sense their elation at my unveiled praise, now I need to sweeten even more to all of them. 

"This festival is not only for your family members returning from the front, but also for you... Everyone here is a hero!"

As if my last shout was a signal, from the entrances of Leyndell, Kristoff's troops begin to enter, as well as Lhutel's troops. 

In a few moments the streets were filled with reunions, colorful pieces of paper and palpable emotions. 

"Now... Let the festival begin!"