“Just because she likes to cause trouble does not mean she can’t be a good role model. Honestly, I think my kids are a little too well behaved, they could do to get in a little trouble from time to time.”

  Mercy says “That’s easy for you to say! You most likely won’t be around when they actually do get into trouble!”

  “That’s alright, I’ve got six amazing wives who will take care of it!”

  Mercy smacks me, which makes Mericel laugh and the others smile, but I can tell they want to laugh too. We soon leave the throne room and head to a dining room where food has been prepared. As we eat, Zamart and Alexa brief me on how the kingdom is fairing and their plans for the integration.

  “Most of the army are those who were a part of the rebellion, right?”

  Alexa says “Mostly, yes. The others are mostly those who were stationed on the northern wall.”

  “Then they shouldn’t have a problem working with beastmen. How about I have Leonarr send some men up to work with the army and help them start getting used to it. That should make it easier for the armies to merge.”

  Alexa says “Sure, that would work, but what are we going to have them do?”

  “Well, do you still have problems with beasts and monsters outside of the towns?”

  Alexa says “Sure we do. We’ve never had enough strength to deal with them.”

  “Then it sounds like we have something for them to do. We use mixed units and have them clear them out.”

  Mercy says “That would definitely benefit my people and would make you really popular. Not to mention that it would open up more land for our people to settle.”

  Zamart says “More land would mean more room for people. Our population would increase, eventually.”

  Alexa says “It might not take that long. We have been turning people back at the border. People wanting to leave the empire. If we started accepting them it wouldn’t take long to fill a few more towns at least.”

  Alannis says "We should probably figure out the best places for new towns ahead of time and focus our clearing efforts in those areas.”

  While they get out a map and start looking at where they want to place towns, I contact Leonarr. He loves the idea and even plans to come himself once he takes care of a few things. He thinks it will be good training for the newer members of the army and he wants to take a look at Mercy’s army.

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  I also suggest that he consider Alexa as a second in command, but that will be up to him. Both Alexa and her sister are more than capable enough to be high ranking officers. That will also help with the integration of the two armies, which will be a big step.

  Where the army goes, the commoners will follow because that is mostly who makes up the army. I don’t think there will actually be much trouble with the integration amongst the commoners. However, I will still do what I can to make it easier on Mercy and her people.

  Even if it does mean having to deal with the stupid nobles and their stupid politics. Actually, thinking of the nobles makes me think of a system from a book that I really liked. So, while we are eating I start explaining the system to Mercy and her people to see what they think.

  The system is based on merit, a noble rank equates to a certain level of merit that they have earned. If the noble gains more merit, then their rank increases, but it also can have the opposite effect. The main thing is that if a noble’s heir doesn’t have enough merit, then their title decreases.

  It even goes so far as if the heir doesn’t earn any merit, then they lose their noble title. The whole point of this is to put a stop to worthless nobles who just inherit the title and do nothing with it. The system also allows commoners who earn enough merit to become nobles.

  Mercy says “It sounds like a good system, but I don’t think we could get the nobles to go for it.”

  Zamart says “I think you are over-estimating the nobles. We will tell them everything, but all they will pay attention to is the ability to increase in rank.”

  Alexa says “Not true. Some of them will definitely pay attention to commoners being able to earn a title and they won’t like it.”

  Zamart says “No, they won’t, but it will be a good way to fill the titles that are currently empty. Not that I really want more nobles to deal with, but things would run a bit smoother.”

  Mercy says “Is this just going to be for us, or empire wide?”

  “Oh, definitely empire wide. I also plan to make the chieftains of the beastmen tribes nobles. After them, the other beastmen will have to earn a title just like anyone else.”

  Mercy says “And the same rules about merits will apply to them and their offspring?”

  “Yes, absolutely. There will be no different laws for different races. Everyone will have to follow the same laws, nobles included.”

  Mercy says “That’s perfect then. I say we do it!”

  Zamart says “I agree. It will most likely cause some problems, but the benefits will far outweigh them.”

  Alexa and Alannis also agree, so I use the network to run it by Lin, Brightfire, and Stillwater. After a bit of discussion, they also agree and I tell them to go ahead and start implementing it. It will be easier to do so now before the empire grows much bigger.

  Zamart says “We should probably also discuss how we are going to track the merits of people. The system won’t work if we don’t have a good method in place.”

  “That actually won’t be that hard. The system is already set up to monitor the areas it covers. All I need to do is add the parameters for the merits and the system will track everyone. Then all we need to do is make sure the network covers everywhere. Although, there will be places the network won’t cover, such as inside homes, so we may need a department to do inspections.”

  Zamart says “Setting it up won’t be too hard. The problem will be making sure they won’t take bribes.”

  “Hm, I wonder if I could create an oath stone?”

  Mercy says “What’s an oath stone?”

  “Basically, anyone who touches it and swears an oath has a binding put on them so that they either can’t break the oath or are punished if they do.”

  Mercy says “Oh! I need one of those!! In fact, all four of us need one!”

  “Alright, I will talk to Krenocia later. I think oaths would be more her thing than her sister’s.”