"Shashasha..." Kayal's quill flew across the parchment, writing something as if without a moment's thought... He was still writing in Chinese; for secrecy, no one in this world should be able to understand Chinese characters. Besides Chinese, Kayal only translated into English when showing it to others, which was quite troublesome, as he wasn't very proficient with many English words.
But it was indeed the best way to keep things secret.
"Hey, were you really serious about what you said?" Leaning against the wall by the window, Sophia had been watching the dazed girl playing with building blocks and wooden puzzles. Finally, she couldn't hold back and looked at Kayal.
Gently placing his quill into the pen holder, Kayal smiled and looked up, asking, "Which aspect are you referring to?"
"Just, just what you said earlier in the square." Sophia's face flushed slightly, and she turned her head away, too embarrassed to look at Kayal.
"Heh heh, why did you have no faith in my promises when we were on the hillside before, but now you are full of confidence in me?" Kayal asked with a smile, striking an Ikari Gendo pose.
"This, that..." Sophia's eyes flickered, unable to find the words.
"It's still because of strength, isn't it?" Kayal smiled.
"Before that, you only saw me as a strange little kid with peculiar powers, and the idea of walking with me was just self-deception. Heh heh, there's no need for that, Sophia." Kayal's demeanor had become even more profound and approachable after his demon-extermination speech, his aura of approachability almost reaching EX level.
"It's not out of pity, or that kind of boring emotion," Kayal said, extending his hand with a smile, as if offering salvation to Sophia. "Because of your strength, your spirit, you are still human, aren't you, Sophia?"
"Yes, Lord Kayal." Sophia knelt before Kayal. Although she tried to show a smile befitting Kayal, tears streamed down her face uncontrollably. "Yes, we are still human, Lord Kayal."
"Then that's all there is to it, so isn't it only right that you become my strength?" Kayal tilted his head and asked curiously, "And what is there to cry about, Sophia? Wipe away your tears, pick up your Claymore, and defend your dignity as a human."
"Yes, Lord Kayal." Sophia quickly wiped away her tears and stood up. At this moment, she felt a sense of stability she had never experienced before, and her hand gripping the Claymore was steadier than ever. She had taken the first step towards becoming a strong person.
"Hmph~ He's really good at being sentimental," Teresa scoffed dismissively, leaning against the doorframe outside the corridor with her eyes closed.
"Weren't you moved at all?" Irene walked past her slowly. Despite her iron boots, they made no sound on the soft wool carpet.
"Who would be moved by a few words?" Teresa, with her eyes still closed, retorted unceremoniously. She was increasingly evolving towards being sharp-tongued recently, a smiling, sharp-tongued Teresa... Pfft~
"Then why are your eyes closed?" Irene, as Teresa's senior, a year ahead of her, immediately saw why Teresa had her eyes closed.
"Hmph." Teresa turned her face away.
"But, isn't living on this land as a member of humanity precisely what we hope for?" Even Irene's ice-cold face couldn't help but show a faint smile, though it quickly vanished: "Compared to the people outside after the demon-extermination order was issued, only this one truly treats everyone equally, free from pity and sympathy."
"Hmph... He's just a child, but where does such broad-mindedness come from..." Teresa was quite perplexed by Kayal's magnanimity. His heart seemed capable of encompassing the entire world.
Shouldn't children his age be fighting over toys?! Thinking of the two children who spent thirteen hours a day in the training grounds, ceaselessly fighting to claim the title of strongest Knight, a wave of powerlessness surged from the depths of Teresa's heart. She knew her own diligence; even as the top trainee back then, she often skipped classes to snoop into the organization's secrets, and her training was even more... "Perhaps, he stands too high..." Irene's calm voice drifted from the far end of the corridor.
Standing too high, huh... With a soft sigh, Teresa's face was filled with a relaxed smile: Perhaps, but no matter what, this kid... is someone worth relying on!
"Sophia, could you gather everyone for me? I have something to discuss." Kayal wrote a few more strokes, then suddenly looked up and said.
"Everyone" here referred to the Claymores. Sophia clearly understood, nodded, and walked out without hesitation.
"Priscilla, come along." Kayal's tone with Priscilla was always devoid of questions or negatives, with commands making up most of their conversations. Yet, for some reason, the big-foreheaded girl seemed to be a masochist or something, as the more Kayal acted this way, the more obedient Priscilla became.
It's worth noting that knowing Kayal kept a monster, no one expressed surprise or fear; everyone looked as if it were to be expected: Of course, a Sage should keep something. First, it was the sacred Unicorn, and now it's the monster Priscilla.
Thanks to this sense of 'of course,' Kayal's revised death penalty law proceeded smoothly: hanging was abolished, and all offenders were fed to Priscilla, with only perfectly clean bones returned to their families. Of course, if families didn't want the bones, Kayal could also arrange cremation... Thanks to this law, the environment of the entire Red Leaf Ridge immediately cleared up, and even bandits disappeared from nearby territories.
Death is not terrifying! Merchants with a hundred percent profit can trample all laws of the world, not to mention this world full of desperadoes, monsters, and heroes. But a death where one's internal organs and flesh are eaten is absolutely beyond human acceptance – while the West may not have the concept of 'resting in peace,' they firmly believe that the dead find liberation after death, and those who are eaten will have their souls consumed as well, thus never finding liberation!
Who would want to die in torment!
The improvement in discipline meant that merchants now considered this a peaceful trading hub, and more merchants flocked here.
Another matter was that the thirty thousand Gauls had been completely enslaved. Kayal overstepped his authority by implementing a new law in his territory: the system of social ranks.
Although he didn't know if King Uther would be angry, Kayal had carefully considered this plan before deciding to implement it. This system was an upgraded version of the ancient Roman Republic's system, which had already fallen, and also a ++ grade upgraded version of the Yuan Dynasty's registration system. The Yuan Dynasty divided people into four ranks: the noble Mongols, the European administrators (mostly Jews, in fact), the Uighurs who toiled for them (minority groups like the Jin and Khitans), and the common Song people (mostly Han Chinese), who were treated worse than pigs and dogs.
Among them, a Mongol killing a Han person only needed to compensate with a donkey to be absolved of guilt, which shows how lowly the Han people were at that time.
The reason it was an upgraded version was that Kayal divided humanity into six ranks: Lord (King), Noble (including all titles from Duke down to Baron), Knight (below a titled Knight, above a Knight Marquis), Citizen (people with meritorious service, exempt from kneeling and honored, their descendants directly granted the title of Knight Squire), Commoner (protected by law), and Slave (only guaranteed basic life, required to contribute labor for five years before applying for Commoner status).
Of course, this was just a simple division to further fuel the people's enthusiasm after the demon-extermination declaration; more detailed divisions would naturally require more detailed laws, and all of this would be based on one criterion: contribution!
But contribution is something best discussed later.
Kayal had many things to do now, but first, he needed to help the Claymores break free from the organization: both physically and mentally.
The dim room was completely sealed off, and the maids had been sent far away. The four Claymores and one dazed girl in the room all watched Kayal, not knowing what he intended to do.
"Take off your clothes," the 9-year-old Kayal said with a smile.