Nero Walker, Book 3 Ch.50 (165) (Patreon)

General Branson watched as Lord Walker and his group left the reception, not liking the fact that Rose was going along with them.

Turning around, he looked at Sergeant Wesker and adopted an air of command, ordering the man, “You’re to head back to Gate 15 command and report in. File a final summary of your time with the team, then wait for reassignment. Rest assured, there is nothing you need to withhold from your report. We violated no laws, and you should not concern yourself with the politics. For what it’s worth, I doubt you’ll be seeing Lord Walker or any of your teammates any time soon.”

The general noticed that the sergeant was trying and failing to contain his smile. It was obvious that the man was overjoyed at the prospect of finally getting away from the insanity he’d had to put up with since being assigned to watch over Lord Walker.

As the sergeant headed out, the general’s mind raced as he tried to think through all the possible repercussions his decisions might eventually lead to. Looking back, he couldn’t see a single mistake he’d made. Every choice had seemed perfectly reasonable at the time.

Yet now, after all that’s happened, he was stuck dealing with a potential political shit-storm that might be large enough to spill out into the wider kingdom’s political waters, not just the city’s.

He was brought out of his thoughts by the city-lord walking up to him. Seeing a look he couldn’t decipher on her face, he wondered what the woman was thinking.

She looked him in the eye and said, “Lord Walker’s surprisingly adroit political maneuvering bought us a little time. Lord Bennings assures me that we have at least until tomorrow to get our stories straight. As I see it, we only have one route forward, we need to put everything behind Lord Walker. As his allies, anything we’ve done can only be construed as us doing everything we can to watch over and support him. What we did, we did in his best interest. We cannot allow ourselves to be painted as anything other than ardent supporters of House Walker. That is, unless you have another idea?”

The general sighed, annoyed at having to deal with any of this. He was currently in the middle of a full-scale war. Every moment he wasted dealing with this political nonsense, was another moment he could have spent doing his job.

Matching stares with the city-lord, he said, “As we speak, my soldiers are fighting and dying to prevent this city’s fall. I don’t have time to be player in this game. If your plan can put this all behind us and let me get back to doing my job, I’m willing to follow your lead. But, for the record, I did not know the scope of Lord Walker’s abilities. My interest in him was purely due to his strategic competence and his unique… that is to say ‘uncommon’ perspective.”

The city-lord smiled at the general, and replied, “Of course general. As a matter of coincidence, I was of the very same opinion. Now let’s talk about how we can keep the young lord here and utilize his unique skill-set to survive the coming threats to our great city. After all, if you listen to the people, you’ll hear that all of Dorchester is relying on him to save us.”

The general snorted, well aware of the growing support Lord Walker’s growing legend has been generating. He didn’t know who exactly was behind it, but he knew for a fact that someone was. Had he not been keeping an eye on Lord Walker and his proxy, he would have thought the young man himself was behind his growing popularity.

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Nero’s stumbling steps led him into the dining area attached to the kitchen. Although he was technically awake, the fact that there was nothing currently pressing on his schedule allowed his brain to take its time waking up.

He wasn’t surprised to see that everyone who’d stayed over was already up, and currently enjoying their conversations over morning coffee while being spread out across the various tables and couches.

Nero still couldn’t understand why Nick and Vera lived the way they do. They had all this money, a massive house, servants, and who knows what else, but for the most part, they stayed in one isolated wing of their mansion. Not only that, but the primary area they resided in was centered around a very large room which doubled as a dining area and living room. Then there was the fact that there was an attached kitchen which they actually used.

If he hadn’t had dinner in one of their fancy dining rooms, and had been teleported directly into their home, he would have thought they lived a modest, but well off life. He just couldn’t understand the point of being rich and having a servants if they never saw them. Though, come to think of it, he could see the appeal of turning their house into a private hotel with them as the only guests.

It would make rather pleasant now that he thought about it. When they left the house, they’d come back to find everything cleaned. Their laundry was always taken care of and put away. Food was always in the fridge. If they were hungry, and didn’t feel like cooking, they could just call the kitchen and order whatever they felt like.

‘Alright, I can see the appeal,’ he thought to himself, while standing there in the doorway watching everyone go about their morning.

Vera called out from one of the seating areas she was sharing with Cathleen and Rose, “Nero, why are you just standing there? Are you finally ready to start your day?”

Nero, now pulled out of his thoughts, looked over to see Vera’s judgmental face, along with Cathleen and Rose’s blank expressions. Apparently, other than Vera, no one was particularly offended by him choosing to sleep in.

Walking forward, he waved a dismissive hand in the air, and replied, “It’s not my fault you all don’t understand the benefits of a full night’s sleep. Honestly, the fact that you consider 4 hours more than enough sleep is all a the evidence I need to prove that your cultural is utterly and completely broken.”

Finished with his mini-rant, he plopped himself down on one of the couches and leaned forward to pour himself some coffee from the breakfast tray on the table in front of him.

Inclining his head toward the another table in the corner where Nick was sitting alone, Nero asked, “What’s he up to?”

Vera chuckled and replied, “This is the first chance he’s had in a while to review the projects he’d been following before joining the elites. He’s probably looking into the current research concerning the kobalds, and any number of other things you probably wouldn’t be interested in.”

Her tone was very nearly mocking, and Nero wasn’t sure if he should be offended or not. But, with the calming effects of his morning coffee, he decided to let it go.

Cathleen took advantage of the pause to ask, “So, little lord, are you ready to get a few hours of training in? We’ll have to go light, as we don’t have any healers on hand to resuscitate you when you fail to stop my spear.”

Nero nearly spit out the coffee he was drinking, then glared at the woman. “No, not today. I don’t plan on slacking off, but today is a research day. At best, my stunt with sicking the Tower of Law on that evaluator woman is only going to buy me a few days. Before that, I need to figure out how I want to handle this whole ‘unique’ thing.”

Vera calmly corrected him by saying, “The Academy will probably address everything by tonight, and a new head will be sent to replace High-Academic Nurling as the evaluation team leader by tomorrow morning. I can’t see it taking much longer than that.”

Nero nodded, not surprised to hear that like everyone else in this place, they were annoyingly efficient.

“Alright, unless anybody has any objections, I’m going to start listing what I need to get done,” he said, while pulling out a blank notebook and a pen he’d stolen from somewhere he couldn’t remember.

Rose spoke up, “Should I leave the room for this?”

Nero shook his head, and replied, “To be honest, I don’t really care if you’re still spying on me. If anything, whoever you tell will just find out how much crap I’ve let slide and how clueless I am. What that will get them is a resounding ‘nothing’. How can they figure out what I’m gonna do when I don’t even know what I’m planning. Up until now, I’ve been reacting, and considering how much I’ve had to deal with, I doubt that will be changing anytime soon. So kick back, and feel free to chime in when you see something I’m missing.”

Vera smiled, amused at Nero’s behavior around the young woman. She could tell that Nero’s argument was relatively weak, and the only reason young Rose was being included was because he found her presence pleasing.

Nero looked over at Vera and asked, “You have time today to hang around and help me with this, or do you have business you have to get done?”

Vera shook her head lightly, replying, “No, I’ve put off what few appointments I had. Briefing you on your house’s status is the only thing on my agenda for today.”

Turning to Cathleen, he asked, “And do you mind sticking around? I know this political crap isn’t something you care about, but your perspective would be helpful.”

Cathleen’s stoic face didn’t give Nero any hints, so when she replied with a simple nod, he gave her his best smile and said, “Thank you. Any input you have will be appreciated.”

Shaking out his hands, he opened the notebook and said, “OK! So, I’ll start off with a topics list.”

Nero began writing, reading out each topic as he filled out the page.

1 – House Finances.

A – How much is coming in, and from where?

B – How much is going out, and to where?

C – Do I have any outstanding awards I have coming to me?

D – What should I know about the businesses I have an interest in?

2 – House Members.

A – Aside from Vera, do I even have any?

B – Should I get more, and if so, how?

C – Are employees members, and is my estate that I’ve never seen still staffed?

D – Vera mentioned something about a mercenary company she started for me, find out more.

3 – Noble Status

A – Will being a unique change anything? If so, how?

B – Do I really not have to deal with the trials anymore? If so, then do I have a new job?

C – What’s the ladder I’ve heard people talking about, and am I on it?

D – Responsibilities? And how to get out of them?

4 – Unique Status

A – How exactly is it different than being a noble? Should I care?

B – Benefits vs. Costs.

C – Do I have a choice?

5 – Relationships

A – What do Cathleen and Rose mean when they say they want to join my house.

B – What was Nick talking about becoming a branch house.

C – What’s it going to cost me, and what am I getting out of it?

D – Leave time for everyone to yell at me for being an asshole.

6 – The War

A – Am I still going to be an elite? Do I have a choice? Cost/Benefit analysis.

B – Is Dorchester going to fall, and do we have an exit strategy in case of emergency.

C – Get an explanation on why the populators aren’t just coming in and solving everything.

7 – The Density Shift

A – What’s going on with it? If it was such a big problem, why worry about kobalds?

B – Why isn’t the city’s interior affected?

C – Get a better explanation of what it is.

8 – My ‘Talent’

A – Why is it that big of a deal to see essence?

B – How can I use it to my benefit?

C – How did I get it? Where does it come from?

D – Am I in danger because people know about it now?

E – Questions that I haven’t thought of asking, and things I should know.

9 – Common Knowledge that I’m missing.

A – Do I need to care about religions? Does it matter that they are talking about me?

B – What exactly are the Towers?

C – I thought the Center was important, why have I stopped hearing about it?

D – Why aren’t roads affected by monsters and beasts?

E – Where does the city get its food and supplies?

F – Who owns the army? The city, or the kingdom?

G – What exactly are ‘houses’?

H – If the city-lord is in charge, then who were all those people during the arbitration thing?

I – Who’s actually in charge of what?

J – Where do the laws come from? The kingdom, or the city?

K – That war down south with the… whoever… whose providing the troops?

L

“Nero! Enough!” Vera said loudly, causing Nero’s pen to jump off the page and his voice to fall silent.

Looking up, he saw that all three women had vastly different looks on their faces. Cathleen’s stoic facade had crumbled into blatant amusement. Rose had a look of horror and confusion. Meanwhile, Vera looked like she had a headache as she was currently rubbing her forehead with a pained look on her face.

Innocently, Nero asked, “What?”

Rose stuttered, “You really don’t know any of that? You don’t even know who is in your house? What kind of noble are you?”

At that, Cathleen burst out into a light laughter as she leaned forward to refill her cup and grab another pastry.

Nero looked at Rose and just shrugged, not knowing what answer to give the young woman. In a way, it hurt him to see the image she had of him shattering. However, he knew it was for the best. While the facade of an all-knowing and savvy political mastermind and tactician had been helpful, he knew he couldn’t keep it up long term. Especially now that he was back in the city and surrounded by nobles once again. If she really wanted to cut ties with the military, it was best she knew what she was getting into.

Vera’s calm voice held a trace of exasperation when she started talking. “Nero, any one of those topics will take days to cover. How have you not learned any of this. I’ve been sending you pings with all of your houses accounts and informational updates concerning your different concerns. Not to mention that with the link, most of this information is readily available to you.”

Turning her head, she shouted across the room at her husband, “Nicholas! What have you been spending your time teaching him? Have you not, at least, covered the political system yet?”

Nick’s eyes refocused off whatever he was looking at through his link, and met Vera’s stare with a glare. “Of course we’ve talked about the political system. Well, for the most part. Mostly we talk about magic, and even that he tends to ignore unless I’m speaking in broad terms. He doesn’t like details… What do you expect me to do? Force him to sit in a corner and read a book? Besides, it’s not like we’ve had a lot of free time. From the moment he’s shown up in this world, something is always happening. You try fighting across the wilds all day then tell me how much free time you have to research the nobility system.”

By the time Nick finished speaking, he’d worked himself into a lather. Standing up, he smoothed out his robes, and with an angry look on his face he addressed the room formally, “I’ll be spending the rest of the day in my office. I have a great deal to catch up on, and I don’t intend to waste any of my limited time here listening to you all planning the takeover of Dorchester.”

At that, he walked off after collecting a tray of pastries and a pitcher of whatever it was that he’d been drinking.

Rose turned back to the group with a scared look on her face, “What did he mean about taking over Dorchester?”

Once again, Cathleen started chuckling. She seemed to thoroughly enjoy the chaotic ambiance Nero’s ignorance and attitude seemed to be fostering.

Vera watched Nick walk off with a frown on her face. She seemed to be debating whether or not it was worth it to go give him a piece of her mind after his outburst.

Nero, feeling a smidgen of responsibility for Nick’s failure as a mentor, tried to calm her down. “Listen, I’m not going to say that I haven’t had some free time that I may have wasted reading books on magic that I might have spent in a more productive manner. However, if you think about it, I haven’t really been here all that long. Not to mention, Nick’s right that a lot has happened. I haven’t really had a lot of time to catch up on all this stuff. There was a reason I asked you to be my proxy. Come on, let’s just do a quick info-dump, and try and at least get through a few of these questions before lunch-time. How’s that sound?”

While Nero’s pleading eyes were in a stare-down with an unhappy Vera, Rose’s voice shattered the silence by asking, “Seriously! What did he mean by taking over Dorchester?”

Everyone turned to look at her in surprise, as she was nearly hyperventilating at the thought of being accidentally involved in some sort of treason.

Vera sighed, then put her head in her hands as if she was already tired despite it still being the morning.

Nero, annoyed at having to be the one to deal with the misunderstanding, replied, “He wasn’t being serious. Well, he was… kinda. Look, Vera likes acquiring power and businesses. I think Nick was mocking her about it. Hell, just last week she almost had me married to the city-lord and raised to the second most powerful position in Dorchester… It’s just what she does. You don’t have to worry about it, OK?”

Rose looked at Nero, not able to comprehend the words that had just come out of his mouth. “What do you mean you almost married the city-lord? How? Why?” She stuttered, her words coming out faster, and faster.

Nero interrupted her panic attack by holding up his hands in surrender. “Calm down. No one is breaking any laws. I don’t want to take over the city. Vera isn’t going to do anything. At worst, she’ll just own everything. The powers-that-be will still be able to screw over the little guy, and the wheels of government will still roll over everyone, spreading their pain across the land like they’ve always done. You don’t have to worry about it.” he said, trying to keep his voice as calm as possible as if he were trying to placate a feral animal caught in a trap.

Turning to look at a horrified Vera, he asked lightly, “Do you have any chocolate? Or ice-cream? That should calm her down before she starts sending off pings to Tower of Law warning them of our secret coalition for the takeover of the city.”

Vera’s face turned red, her horror at Nero’s words transitioning to anger in a way that only Nero could make happen. “Nero. Shut up. In fact, stop talking altogether. You’re not helping.”

Turning to look at Rose, she said, “Rose… It was a joke. He was trying to be funny. Ignore both of these idiots.”

Glaring at Nero, she added, “I blame you for corrupting my sweet Nicholas. His sense of humor used to be so refined. Now, his jokes cause disaster right before he leaves the room. This is your fault.”

Nero looked at her with a wide smile, somewhat proud of her accusation. “What can I say, we get along for a reason.”

Rose still looked a little skeptical of Vera’s explanation, and after hearing of Nero’s massive holes in his education, she felt like every conclusion she’d built up over the past few weeks had been called into question.

Vera tried to change the subject back to something productive, as they’d already wasted enough of their morning on this nonsense. “How about we just start at the beginning, and do an overview of the topics as best we can. I’ve sent for some food, so prepare yourself for a long day of learning young man. I refuse to let you continue on in ignorance. The fact that you continue to luck through your life is not something to be proud of. Nor is it something you should rely on moving forward.”

Nero refilled his coffee cup, eager to get started. However, he couldn’t help but ask, “So, would my ability to use my ignorance as a weapon to cause chaos and take advantage of the situation fall into the category of ‘talents’? Would that make me a unique twice over?”

Vera wasn’t amused, and didn’t bother answering him. Instead, she stood up and waved her hand to produce a large hologram that to Nero looked like a whiteboard.

“To start off, let’s discuss the government of Oglivarch, and how power is distributed and managed throughout the kingdom. In order to understand how things work, we have to consider how the kingdom was founded….” She said, starting off on what Nero could feel was going to be a long, and boring, lecture.

‘Oh, joy. Well, I’ve been here long enough. It was only a matter of time before I was forced to put up with an exposition dump,’ he mentally lamented while leaning back into the sofa and getting comfortable.