Chương 10: Concerns

By the time Alfie's training had ended he laid in a pool of his own sweat and blood. The blood coming from only minor cuts inflicted in the spar of course.

Nonetheless, he was effectively completely worn out. Worse than all his bruising was the fact Lucia had made him promise to train every day.

She claimed he needed to be in shape to be an effective leader, which was objectively true but wasn't he already?

Either way, he accepted, not out of persecution but rather his fondness of the time they shared that belonged to them and them alone.

Once their training did come to an end the two of them went towards the bathhouse to clean up and go on with their respective job.

Although together they stood on equal ground, to the rest of the village they stood at the absolute peak of power.

After getting cleaned up Alfie, switched to his normal attire of a simple brown cloak and headed to his office for work.

While the day had only started a small pile of reports had already appeared on his desk. They mostly consisted of reports from various branches of the civil counsel.

Those reports ranged from major civil disputes which couldn't be solved, to budget reports needing approval or revision.

Looking at the top of the stack showed the schedule which had been arranged since the day before.

Countless meetings filled time slots from morning to leisure and from leisure to the end of the usual work day.

Alfie sighed at his plight, but before he could start his work, an unexpected knock came from the door.

"Come in," Alfie said

Following his command a short young lady with platinum blond hair entered the room.

"I'm here for my first day sir!" Sonia blurted with a paper and pencil in hand

Alfie had almost forgotten that from now on someone would be with him in this usual lone process.

Although Alfie had called her a scribe, she was more or less an apprentice who would learn from him, a backup counselor so to speak.

Now that he had someone to teach, his normal work process would slow down quite a bit but Alfie didn't mind too much.

While Alfie went along his normal process every now and then he would explain his thinking to Sonia while also asking if she had any questions or suggestions.

That's how most of the day went until the usual knock on his door.

"Professor, Clare and I are going off to leisure! Just a heads up." Jess informed from the other side of the door

"Mhm, make sure to enjoy it," Alfie remarked automatically.

As the quiet sound of footsteps leaving echoed in the room, Sonia had a frown held across her face.

Alfie hadn't not noticed his scribe's change in attitude, as it was readily apparent from the disdain she held in her face.

"I know what you're thinking, but they do their job well. It's a small privilege I've granted them."

"But still.." Sonia frowned

"It's a small matter, don't worry too much about it. The whole reason we implemented leisure was to boost morale and provide some rest for everyone during the mid-day."

"But wouldn't our productivity increase? We could get so much more done with the extra time." Sonia complained

"Productivity comes from creating something of value. While removing leisure would result in more work being done it would also increase stress, and irritability and cause problems in the long run leading to less productivity."

"But won't people become lazy?"

"There's always that possibility, yes. That's why we have incentives for people like an increase in job positions, awards, increased status, and better pay."

"But that only encourages the people who are already working hard, what about people who don't wanna work." Sonia points out

"We have a more silent rule for that. Sonia, you've heard about the rumors and gossip that run around the village right? Off-handed comments about another person, scandals, stuff like that right?"

"Yes, I have... But how does that relate to keeping people productive?"

"It gives them an incentive to not be spoken badly about. When someone doesn't do their job well, people will learn about it. It gives them a bit of societal pressure to be better."

"But.. wouldn't it cause people to feel isolated and cause backlash?"

"It absolutely would, that's why I hired Jess and Clare," Alfie answered.

"Jess and Clare..?"

"While on the public records, they're just simple secretaries, they also gather information and gently guide them along. I've made them ensure that there's a certain balance to the amount of understanding and pressure applied."

Sonia looked stunned for a moment, slowly digesting the implications and the possible hidden workings of the once simple village she had thought of.

"Information and control are key when leading. You should always be aware of everything that is happening inside and eventually outside your group."

Seeing that Sonia was still digesting the information he had given he stood up and gathered his stuff.

"That'll be all for now though. Oh, and there's a weekly test I'd like to give by the way, so be sure to prepare for that."

As Alfie gathered his stuff and approached his door, he said "Rest up for today, collect your thoughts and I'll see you tomorrow alright. I've got a meeting with the other two later so I can't have anyone in my office."

Without another word he left, leaving Sonia alone in his office.

Making her way back to her house, she ignored her roommates and went straight into her room. Without a second's hesitation, she laid on her bed and delved into her swirling thoughts.

"The counselor is such a strange person.."