Capítulo 80: Slavery
"Fuu~~~" Sighing, Sian settled into the chair, giving his bulging belly more room to rest.
"Looks like you enjoyed the dinner." Ophi said with a smile on her face.
"Well, the dinner is good every day." Patting his belly lightly, Sian continued, "but you and Fran outdid yourselves at dinner tonight."
"Mommy and Auntie Fran's food is really good!"
Finishing her portion, Emily, who was sitting next to Sian tried to imitate him and settled into her adapted chair while patting her small belly.
Since she was too small to reach the table if she were in a normal chair, Illianna had made one especially for her.
"The food is delicious," Tina said as she finished eating.
Since Tina was not tall either, she also got a custom-made chair.
"Thank you." Faced with the compliments, Fran seemed pleased. "It is thanks to little Sian's teachings that we are getting better."
"No, it's all thanks to your efforts," Sian said. "You guys will definitely do a good job when the hotel opens."
Although he was against them working at first, since they insisted incessantly, he had no choice but to give in to their will.
"Is everything ready for the opening?" Fran asked.
"Well..." Although a bit apprehensive about the situation of the employees Illianna had previously talked about, he replied, "I think we can have a good opening."
Sensing something amiss in Sian's words, Ophi asked, "Do you think it can go wrong?"
"No, everything will be fine," Illianna answered for him as she wiped her mouth with a handkerchief. "It might be a little hard, but we'll make it."
"That's comforting to hear," Ophi sighed in relief.
"But even if it all comes out well, it's only short-term," Illianna said. "In addition to more cooks, we still need trained staff for key positions."
"Why don't you take care of it?" Sian asked. "I think you can."
"I am not a tireless machine," Illianna replied. "Besides, in case I need to leave, who would take care of it?"
Illianna's question caught Sian off guard. Even if he didn't get along with her at first, it was different now. Although they have minor skirmishes, he did not intend to leave her tied to the hotel for her entire life. Obviously, the same applied to Fran and Ophi.
Noting Sian's lack of response, Illianna said, "That's why we have to divide up the necessary work and leave it to capable people."
"Well, you are right, but the current problem is that there are no skilled people."
"Even if it takes some time, we can separate some promising workers and train them."
With something in mind, Sian asked, "What else do we need?"
To Sian's surprise, the personnel needed were far beyond what he expected.
In Illianna's words, the hotel was made up of several essential departments. There were ten in total, finance, advertising, public relations, security, food and beverage, kitchen, housekeeping, human resources, training, and events.
Even though Sian already considered this to be a lot, he was eventually even more surprised by the fact that each of these departments had various sectors. Using the housekeeping department as an example, they have the role of taking care of all aspects that relate to the organization, cleanliness, service, and tidiness of the hotel spaces.
With that said, it is obvious that each of these departments needs numerous qualified employees with knowledge about the area.
Last and most important, the general manager, the person holding this position is the one who runs all the departments. Because of Illianna's unique skill, even if Sian searched the whole world, there was no better person for this position than her.
"Unfortunately, due to staff shortages, I will be in charge of all sectors temporarily," Illianna said with a tired expression.
"I have an idea," Sian put his hand on his chin. "How about slaves? I heard from Charlotte that two days ago, a kingdom neighboring Hosnein had a big revolt and almost all the nobles became slaves."
"Daddy," Emily called out to Sian as she stared at him intensely with her little eyes. "What is a slave?"
"Well," thinking for a while, Sian replied simply and directly, "They are people who belong to other people."
Obviously, being a slave was not something as 'simple' as belonging to someone else. They cannot have dreams, desires, or goals in life. All they possess is a master who commands them. Even their offspring become the property of their master.
Because they are treated as objects, it is common for them to be sold, rented or borrowed. The daily life of most slaves can be summarized in a simple routine, sleep little, work a lot, eat, and then restart the cycle.
All they are left with is to be used as tools until they die of old age, disease, or worse things. In the end, the millions and millions of slaves around the world are people who have had their right to rule their own lives forcibly taken away by those with power.
Of course, Sian didn't tell Emily all this, since he judged there was no need, but still, she looked dismayed.
"That sounds so sad," she muttered.
"The life of a slave is really sad." Ophi had a pained expression as she looked at Emily, "We can't stay close to those we love."
Rising from her seat, she walked over to Emily, took her in her arms and hugged her tightly.
"But lucky for me, even though it was a painful period of my life, thanks to Daddy, it's different now..."
Alternating her gaze from Emily to Sian, and then to everyone else at the table, Ophi continued.
"Now I am happy to be with all of you. To me, you are all my family."
Standing up, Sian hugged them both.
"I am also happy to be with all of you."
Carried away by the mood, Fran and Tina eventually joined the collective embrace, and at Ophi's insistence, Illianna joined in as well.
After the family gathering had cooled down a bit, Sian served the ice cream he had previously prepared.
"Why don't the Gods end slavery?" Tina asked suddenly.
"Who knows," Sian replied as he brought a spoonful of ice cream to Emily's mouth. "I guess if they wanted to, they could just send an oracle saying, 'End slavery' and then everything would be solved."
"But in the end, even though slavery was something deplorable, they never did anything about it," Illianna added.
"Well, I can only assume that they don't care about people enough to move their asses."
After a brief silence, Sian noticed Tina's curious gaze locked on him.
"What's the matter?"
Being asked, she replied, "Did you want to buy slaves and then release them?"
"*Cough* *Cough*"
Caught off guard, Sian almost spit the ice cream out when he remembered his newly acquired guards, aka, the former Silver Moon mercenary group.
"Ahem," clearing his throat, he tried to maintain his composure, "You are right. It's sad to see people suffering like that…"
"Daddy is like the heroes of justice from Auntie Anna's stories!"
Emily shouted in high spirits.
Sian himself knew that he was far from being such a person, but he preferred to remain silent.
"Since we're already on the subject, how about if today's class is about the history of slavery?" Illianna asked.
Receiving confirmation from those present, she began her lesson.
As is widely known, slavery was a practice that has existed since the dawn of the world. But what few people know is that before the Kravarian empire, which no longer exist for millennia, there was no such thing as the contract of slavery as it is known today.
The Kravarian Empire was a huge power that almost completely conquered the central continent during its heyday. Although the central continent was not the largest, the area they conquered was still something to behold, making this a great accomplishment.
But a huge territory also came various difficulties, the main one being the act of keeping the conquered areas under control.
The revolts were a recurring phenomenon, and they ended up having to take back an area that they had previously conquered. Because of this, the solution they found was to create a contract that would force people to obey them.
So, by studying and modifying various types of existing contracts left by the Gods, they arrived at the contract of slavery used today.
Being a huge power at the time, they had numerous technological innovations, especially spells and magic tools.
Although the number of tools was enormous, some performed so excellently that to this day no one has been able to do anything better. These are the magic bags, communicators, and teleportation portals.
As for the spells, they were innumerable. If the Gods are known as the ones who created the basic and essential spells, the Kravarian empire is known as the one who improved and expanded them.
Although the empire was an atrocious conqueror that measured no means and efforts to get rid of enemies, several historians claim that this era was the era where the world advanced the most.
***
"Since we are already near the opening, where is the cook you said you were going to bring?"
Illianna questioned Sian, who was getting ready for bed.
"On my land," he replied.
"You mean the place that is not in Hosnein?"
"Uh-huh," Sian affirmed. "I was planning to go pick her up tomorrow, but now I have a better idea. Since we still have a little time left, how about we pay a visit?"
"Go to the other house you mentioned?" Fran asked.
"Yep, how about it, want to go?"
"Even if I'm tempted to go, I can't," Illianna shook her head. "It will take too long, and I still have things to do."
"Don't say that, I'm sure you'll like what you see. I also think that with your eye for business, you might get some ideas. There are a lot of products that can be marketed there. Besides, we are not going by carriage. I'm going to use space magic, it's faster."
Seemingly incited by the practicality of the trip and the fact that she could start another business, Illianna didn't ponder long before giving her answer.
"All right, I'll go with you. I think it might be a good idea to take a look."
Looking at the remaining girls, Sian asked, "What about you?"
"I want to go!"
"I think it will be interesting to visit your home."
Emily and Ophi replied.
Now only two were left to answer. While she seemed to want to express her willingness to go, Tina was waiting anxiously for her mother's decision.
After some thought, Fran accepted the proposal.
Since some arrangements needed to be made before they left, they would not go right away. In preparation for the children's morning training, Sian commissioned someone else to prepare their food.
As for Illianna, she instructed the staff to begin preparations for the opening of the hotel following her instructions.
***
The next day, a few hours after breakfast, everyone was gathered at the top of the terrace.
Since they had already prepared everything, they were ready to leave.
"Well, it's time for us to visit my house."
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