It was a sunny day, and the weather was warm. As always, Father Basil prayed for the safety of everyone especially his Lord as soon as he woke up. After finishing his morning routine, he stepped outside his small wooden log house, a notebook in hand where he recorded his daily reports. Straightening the wrinkles in his clothes, he walked toward the food infrastructure area.
As he passed, many people greeted him, and he returned their greetings with a warm smile. His eyes glistened with happiness as he took in the newly built greenhouses and the expansive fields of grain, potatoes, beans, and corn. Farmers were hard at work tending the lush crops, which were nearly ready for harvest. Overcome with gratitude, he knelt and thanked God, as well as his Lord, who had designed the farm's irrigation system using the nearby river.
Rising to his feet, he continued toward the livestock area. Chickens, goats, and cows grazed peacefully while children nearby collected eggs and milk.
"Hello, Father Basil!" the children shouted, waving at him.
"Sorry to disturb you, children. Continue your work and be careful when carrying those egg baskets. Don't run around, stay safe. You are the future of Blood Angel. You must grow strong and help the Lord make the world better, understand?" He said with a warm smile.
They nodded eagerly. One boy raised his hand and declared, "I will join the Blood Guard and protect my Lord when I'm older!"
"Good, good. That's a fine decision. But you must work hard to achieve it.... study diligently and train well, all right?"
The boy beamed as Father Basil patted his head. A small girl raised her hand excitedly. "I want to be a doctor and help the Lord!"
"That is a wonderful goal. In the future, you will be a great help to everyone. The Lord will be very proud if you become a doctor," he said, gently patting her head as well.
More children raised their hands, eager to speak, but a voice called out from behind them.
"Children, leave the future for the future. Put the eggs and milk into storage. Off you go."
Father Basil turned. "Greetings to you, Bob and Harry. It's fine weather we're having today," he said, smiling as the children resumed their duties.
"Good to see you too, Basil," one of the Moonshine brothers replied, eyeing him carefully. "Why are you here in the food division?"
"The Lord is not here, so I am inspecting things to ensure everything proceeds according to his will in his absence."
The two brothers exchanged sharp looks.
"When will the Commander return?" Bob asked. "It's becoming difficult to build the food preservation houses without his guidance."
Father Basil's smile faded at the word Commander. He disliked that Bob rarely referred to him as the Lord. That tension had long strained their relationship.
"The Lord will return at noon," Basil replied coolly. "And Bob, isn't it rather concerning that you and your workers cannot build a food reserve house even with the written instructions Lord provided? I thought you were the expert in food preservation...or was that exaggerated?"
"Watch your mouth, Basil. I'm not like you, walking around freely and doing nothing all day. Do you even know how complicated it is to build large-scale smoking houses, canning facilities, drying structures, and fermentation buildings? We do work that matters."
They glared at one another, tempers rising, until Harry stepped between them.
"That's enough. You're both too old to be breaking bones in a fight. Calm down."
"Shut up, Harry!" they snapped in unison, yet thankfully, neither continued the argument.
Harry sighed and turned to Father Basil. "What do you need to know?"
Basil pulled out his pen and notebook. "Tell me about the farming situation so I can report to the Lord when he returns."
Bob straightened and spoke seriously. "Three greenhouses are complete. We're building a fourth as a precaution due to population growth. We've begun harvesting beans; the other crops should be ready next month. Construction on larger tower silos has started. Hunters and foragers are much safer now, thanks to Nicole's men clearing the surrounding area. We've also captured wild boars and a few pigs, so we'll soon expand our livestock. The storage houses contain enough food to last a few months. If we complete the preservation buildings and everything proceeds as planned, by next year we should have emergency rations sufficient for one year, provided the population doesn't exceed two thousand."
As Basil wrote everything down, he couldn't help but admire Bob's capability. Though he disliked the man, he could not deny that both Bob and Harry were competent leaders.
"Excellent. I will report this as soon as our Lord arrives."
With that, he bid the brothers farewell and headed toward Bobert's office.
Robert was busy at his typewriter. Beside him, ten other people were assisting, and the entire office was chaotic yet somehow orderly. The steady clicking of the typewriter echoed through the room.
"Julia, give me the food consumption record file and the file for the trees we cut yesterday."
Julia quickly placed both files on his desk. Robert looked through them and smiled.
"Good. Log production has increased by 30%. Now I don't have to worry about shortages," he muttered to himself.
His eyes then drifted toward the door.
"Robert, you look really busy. I hope I'm not disturbing you."
Father Basil walked in. Robert gave a small nod of acknowledgment to the workers.
"I'm busy and don't have much time, so please state your business quickly," Robert said as he continued typing.
"I just want to know how the management facility is progressing so I can report back to the Lord when he arrives today."
Robert stopped typing, pulled a file from his desk labeled Water and Sanitation, and handed it to him.
"As instructed by the Lord, we've dug three more wells, and the blacksmiths are making hand pumps. We've also built additional sand and charcoal filters, along with rain catchment systems.
As for sanitation, we've instructed the people to separate waste. We're planning to implement graywater reuse in the future. The Lord designed the blueprint, but due to a lack of educated and experienced workers, we haven't been able to proceed.
We've stopped building pit latrines and are focusing on composting toilets, but construction has been difficult. Three engineers were trained by the Lord to build them, but one is sick. Combined with the manpower shortage, progress has slowed. We may need to construct more temporary pit latrines or increase manpower by recruiting experienced workers."
"Didn't the Lord order last month that at least fifteen people be taught basic construction skills? Can't they help?" Father Basil asked, sitting beside him as Robert resumed writing.
"Most of them are assigned elsewhere. Without experienced supervision, they're not very effective."
Father Basil nodded and wrote something down.
"The Lord has made sanitation a high priority, as we all know how quickly disease spreads. I'll report this as soon as possible. I'm sure he'll find a solution. What about medical infrastructure, energy, and power?"
Robert handed him two more files.
"We've completed a clinic and a quarantine area. However, we're experiencing a slight shortage of painkillers. The rest of the details are in the files.
As for energy, we've completed a micro-hydro system with Lord guidance. Three additional windmills are under construction and should be completed within a couple of months, which will speed up flour production. We're also installing ten solar panels that we found. With all of that, our energy supply is stable."
Hearing that the energy issue was under control, Father Basil smiled.
"When will road construction be finished?"
"If there are no setbacks, we should reach our goal within six to seven months," Robert replied.
"That's excellent news. I won't disturb you any longer. Farewell."
Father Basil left the office, feeling a sharp pang of jealousy at how efficient Robert was. He hoped that one day he could be just as capable, while ensuring that everyone remained loyal to the Lord. With that thought in mind, he headed toward the Lord's residence. It stood at the center of the settlement, the largest log house in the area.
He walked past the blood guards at the main entrance, where he was searched before being allowed inside. He passed several maids who greeted him politely.
He climbed to the upper floor, where the main office was located. Two more guards checked him before letting him enter. He knelt in front of the door, prayed briefly, and then stepped inside.
It was the Lord's personal office. The room was very messy hundreds of books scattered across the floor, piles of files covering the desk. Father Basil placed three additional files on top of the stack before leaving and heading toward the security office.