PoV Base Commander Brittan Beans
I looked over the reports once more and sighed in relief once again as I thought about the large influx of Gold and Silver that the Bunny-kin Tribe recently acquired in the Elite and Logistics army. It was clear that they had decided that these places held serious significance to the Bunny-kin Tribe in the future. It was timely, as I heard some things from the richer Bunnies that they might be running low on funds.
At this point, although I knew I should not be thinking about the economy, I was still aware of the local situation. I was in the Center of it all, and every decision I made had precarious consequences on it. If I needed something to grow, then more jobs were made, people were needed, and supplies were gathered based on those decisions. With the Supreme Commander's choice of location and the building of what she wanted to transform into a City, I was one of the main creators of the Economy.
Logistics and Elite Army uniforms? From local tailors toiling their best to make as many as they could. Enchanting? Wizards were already starting to look more and more to here in order to work. Apprentices are mostly looking to hone their craft and join the Military, which means they live on base and spend their coin around the growing town.
Thousands upon thousands were moving here, and the constant influx of supplies, food, and people was only contrasted to the flow out of the city. If it were not for the Supreme Commander coming up with a road layout long ago, it would be untenable. If the town, which was swiftly becoming a city, had grown normally, the streets would not have been able to accommodate the traffic.
Instead, we would be tearing down the houses that we were currently struggling to build. I knew that was not even my issue, but the construction crews were also inundated with new quality and size standards I had never seen before. She was ensuring everyone had space to live and grow as a family, while literally living on top of one another. It was extraordinary, and I loved watching outside sometimes.
I was glad that, at this point, I knew the growing city was even profitable thanks to the Logistics Army. But I already started to hear whispers about the favoritism of the Logistics army. Many were increasingly agitated that we were only supplying from the town growing around us. This was one of the more secret orders that Supreme Commander Chelsea ordered us to do.
But that also meant the Elf Rose was looking more and more wealthy these days. Then again, could not imagine that the look of her accounting books would indicate that they were increasing in overall money. Although I knew Rose was a member of what many were calling the Commander's Harem, she was sowing more and more gold back into the city as she made it.
A sigh could only escape my lips.
Food at this point, too, was a growing issue that no one had noticed yet. It was going to be the growing season soon, and it would be the first year for the town to plant food around it. The farming lots were vast, and with a large labor population that was surprisingly human-filled with young and older men alike, we would have a labor force to reckon with.
But how much food would that yield?
The Supreme Commander made us put in something she called fertilizer. Still, without any data to work on, most of the land was recently acquired agricultural land, which might not yield anything, let alone a substantial amount.
So many issues, but only time would tell whether they would be a problem.
"Commander," I heard my secretary and wife call out, "Rose is here to see you for her appointment."
Damn, I lost myself looking at the numbers that I forgot about the appointment.
"Tell her to come in," I replied, showing her a smile in thanks.
"Okay, you have a minute," My wife replied, and I quickly stood and made myself look a bit more presentable.
A minute later, A small knock sounded. "Come in," I called out, and as the door opened, a beautiful Elven woman walked in with a bright smile. I walked around my desk full of papers and shook her small hand in mine and said, "Thanks for coming, Rose. Your efforts have been of immense value," I told her honestly, and she smiled.
"Thank you, too. Without your purchases and acquisitions, the city would not be able to get this far," Rose replied, and I waved her to the chair in front of my desk as I moved around it.
Rose took a seat, and I took mine a moment later. Although she was technically in a stronger position than I was, Supreme Commander Chelsea told us that we must maintain decorum even behind closed doors. In the end, a civilian was considered under a Military member in rank unless that was an A rank.
"So, Beans, how are things going?" Rose asked, breaking the silence.
"On which thing?" I asked with a sardonic grin.
"Hmm, good question, I heard you have been running into some issues with the base housing," Rose replied.
"The base housing with those new standards that the Supreme Commander put up is slowly starting to speed up, but we lack what the Commander Calls Tradesmen," I told her bluntly.
"Me too, I have been putting in programs to find more and more willing and able laborers to be trained. But each one I take from the Laborers, I take from my people moving everything around, which speeds things up in one place while slowing it down in others," Rose sighed.
I felt a pang of empathy for her, feeling the same thing, and sighed with her. "I feel that," I told her.
We sighed again together, feeling the shortage of useful subordinates starkly.
"So, what do you think about the proposal?" Rose suddenly asked.
"Which one?" I replied, looking at a literal stack, then moved to pick it up and put it in front of me. The pile of papers was so thick it was taller than my outstretched hand.
Rose chuckled, "The one for the Military academy," Rose slowly replied, eying the pile. "Why is that pile so large? Have you not reviewed them?" She asked curiously.
"Oh, I have just, at this point, there is no funding for it," I replied and shrugged, "We are pulling up coins from somewhere, and I have been looking into somehow cutting expenses somewhere. I found a couple of manager roles that were just micromanaging positions, but" I shrugged again, "You show me where I can get the coin to afford it, and I will put gold towards your idea, although I think you are being hasty with that."
"The Supreme Commander has made several promises, so I will start it anyway," Rose sighed. "I was just hoping for someone else to pay the bill," Rose said with hope in her voice, and I looked at her and laughed.
Rose was a weird woman to me; this Elf seemed to be coming more and more out of her shell since I started to work with her. She was so reserved and was extremely professional, to the point of fault. The Bunny-kin, which I was used to working with, were much more open and boisterous, whereas the Elves were of the complete opposite. In fact, I had only ever seen such an open Elf once other than Rose, and that was her husband. Thoughts about her husband made me grimace for a moment, but I quickly turned back my thoughts. Still, telling me to my face she would have paid for it hurt my soul a little.
"Come on, Rose, we are close after colluding so much now, tell me what you're willing to pay for, and I will tell you what I am willing to pay for," I replied with a sad smile.
"Pfft, yeah, okay, just like with that recent factory I am now building for you on the east side? To think it was of such importance and you would have put a priority construction on it, if I had not dealt with it for you," Rose mocked, and I laughed with her, thinking about how I conned her into using her own people for that building.
"Okay, okay, you are right," I laughed with her, but then turned serious, "Seriously though, our workforces are now working faster and faster," I said. Rose turned serious, "Did you get anything on your side related to the recent issues?" I asked.
Rose shook her head, "It happened too quickly. The news of the Duchess Greenwald suddenly defecting to the Beast-kin Nation, then the rumors about Supreme Commander Chelsea inviting a traitor into our midst started. I think Chelsea did not know about the Duchess's defection before she did it. Now," Rose trailed off, and I could not help but nod.
An A ranker defected should be a good thing; also, I could not see any reason the Empire would be happy about losing another A ranker after losing so many. If the Emperor was willing, then they should have more A-rankers than what appeared in the War. They would never have lost, and so this would never have happened.
No, I could tell from here that this defection was something the Empire could not afford. Other nations, including ours, were watching them, and someone like the Duchess leaving was a sign of weakness within. If not for our nation taking Border City, it would have been the worst reputational loss for the Empire in over a Century.
The Duchess was the woman who went to war for the Emperor, and her leaving was a sign of his weakness.
Not the nation's weakness, but his.
"Although I have seen a few issues related to that here," Rose said slowly, "I am unsure if it will do anything, though," Rose continued as she practically could hear her thinking as she spoke her thoughts. "People in this growing city are too busy to engage with idle chatter. They are too busy making and spending the coin we give."
"Mmm, good point," I replied, thinking about it.
Almost the entire Economy was running through our fingers at this point in this town. I knew that Rose was trying to get more people to take risks and start their own businesses. But it was slow, and the people we are bringing are from the bottom of society. Few were willing to take risks at this point, and with a large income entering their pockets and a lack of luxury items, it was hard to get people to do more.
The situation was complex, though, and I sighed.
We both sighed again, thinking about the constant issues we are having. "Do you think the Empire is about to restart negotiations again?" I asked.
"They have too," Rose said slowly, "With the Duchess defecting, their Generals will be in disarray, what a convenient time to attack if Negotiations don't continue."
I frowned, "We cannot afford that with my emphasis on domestic development lately," I replied, truly concerned.
After negotiations started, other than sending food and clothes to the front, the equipment problems were increasingly becoming less of a problem. The amount of gold I spent on it lowered, allowing me to push other developments. The Logistics Army, as the Supreme Commander said before the war, was not ready for a fight.
I was building warehouse after warehouse. Building roads connecting those warehouses, then messaging towers to lower our communication cost and set up more robust messaging systems. My construction teams were even building small villages for farming as military outposts.
Just recently, I sent a letter to the Supreme Commander to set up a reserve Logistics force that will allow them to farm for the military with basic training done with them. They would even have to attend mandatory training and live at these small messaging towns, but would farm and take half, along with a salary.
So much wasted farming land could not be allowed, and the food issues were only growing. With a road, we would be able to transport them quickly enough. Then there were the Mounted Infantry units that she wanted to make, which had me looking for good steeds and various other things.
So much, so little time.
"How bad would it be?" Rose asked.
"Without your assistance?" I posed, "I can turn around and maneuver people in a month, but that initial assault is something I MUST know about in advance to start. I need to move people from economic infrastructure and Logistical support to moving back to the front. Many of the Laborers were doing nothing at the front, so I brought them back. But without them, they won't be able to advance and build trenches."
"Understood, send a letter," Rose replied, and I nodded.
"You know what, why don't you and that pathetic excuse of a husband come to eat with my wife and me tonight?" I asked, no longer wanting to think about it, "I want to have a discussion with you about your thoughts on whether we can implement the Factory setup for Alchemical potions."
Rose turned to him and smiled. "Absolutely, although, you know now how to prepare a meal for my husband, so there should be no problem, correct?" Rose asked, and although her smile was charming, it made me thank the heavens I was not her husband.
This was one of the things that many saw fault with Rose for. Everyone knew she was in Commander's Harem, but she was married. That was for those who had never met the man, though. When you met him, you could only feel pity. Rose never talked about why she treated her husband like that, but it sent shivers down my spine. The man was a worthless trash and even insisted on being Rose's chair even when at other people's houses. You would even have to prepare a bowl for him to eat out of, like a pet. It was a disgusting show of submission, and Rose looked apologetic.
Now I had grown used to the display, so I nodded, but it always left a foul taste in my mouth. "How did you end up with a man like him?" I asked without meaning to, and Rose showed me a wry smile.
"Arranged," Rose replied, and my pity for her only rose another notch.
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