CHAPTER 456: CHAPTER 334 THE YOUNGER GENERATION

Manas was speaking when he suddenly realized something, stopped mid-sentence, and looked at the two of them. "Don’t just focus on eating, you two! Tell me about what’s been going on with you," he said.

Casius grabbed a handful of beans, stuffed them into his mouth, and mumbled, "Let me finish eating these first. These beans are really good!"

"I remember my teacher once had my mom make this before. It was just like this and tasted about the same," Naisuya said as she picked up a bean and inspected it closely.

"Exactly. This is the same recipe. Back then, while you all were just busy eating, I paid attention! When helping Aunt Acronis clean the kitchen, I begged her to teach me how to make it.

Later, when I started working, I saved up several months of salary, traded wheat for some lard and broad beans at the market, ground some flour, mixed it with water to make a paste, coated the cleaned beans with it, and fried them in boiling lard..."

Manas said with a bit of pride, "See how much effort I put into making these for you two? You honestly don’t feel touched?"

Casius grabbed a few more beans, stuffed them into his mouth, and said slowly, "I think you made these fried beans for yourself, and it just so happened that we showed up, so you decided to bring them out to pretend it was for us."

"Hehe, knowing Manas as I do, that’s probably exactly what happened," Naisuya said with a squeaky laugh.

"You two are impossible! You’ve completely misunderstood my good intentions!" Manas said, trying to look furious. Truth be told, though, they were absolutely right.

After some joking, Manas pulled his expression back to seriousness. "Speaking of which," he said earnestly, "has anything important happened at home while I’ve been away?"

When Manas said "home," he was referring to the main residence of Leader Maximus, where they had once lived and worked together.

"Teacher’s wife, Lady Florist Luscia, is pregnant. Does that count as a big deal?" Casius replied.

"Of course it does! But everyone probably knows by now. I heard that the night the news broke, many tribesmen in Snowdonia and Westeni lit bonfires in their courtyards and cheered... I’m so happy for Teacher!" Manas said sincerely.

Casius and Naisuya nodded in agreement.

"I heard something..." Manas leaned in with a lowered voice and asked mysteriously, "Is it true that Teacher’s other wife, Lady Geniandafra, got into a fight with her and got beaten up? What happened exactly?"

"Manas, didn’t the Chief of Internal Affairs remind you before you left the main residence that you shouldn’t spread personal matters of the leader’s family outside these walls?" Casius asked sternly. "Tell me, where did you hear this from?"

"I didn’t spread it; I was just talking quietly among us..." Under Casius’ sharp gaze, Manas hesitated for a while before saying, "...It was our department’s Chief Officer, Pigeris. Two days ago, he came to tell me to prepare properly for the upcoming migration of tribesmen. While we chatted, he casually mentioned it. I guess Lady Geniandafra complained to him when they traveled to the Alde Tribe."

"Is that true?"

"Why would I lie to you?"

Casius said nothing more.

Manas, however, started to grumble. "Casius, it’s no fun being around you. You treat your brother like a criminal on trial! And after I’ve been busy all day trying to think of ways to treat you nice! Fine, I’ll keep my distance from you in the future!"

"Manas, do you know Dorin?" Naisuya quickly changed the subject to smooth things over.

"Of course I know her! That girl who hates studying but loves to fight!" At the mention of Dorin, Manas winced as though recalling past pain. During military training, he had been beaten up by her numerous times. "She’s always shouting about wanting to join the army, but Teacher wouldn’t let her and instead made her help you with managing documents. I heard that even after she started working on documents, she still couldn’t settle down. Whenever she had a chance, she’d pester Teacher about joining the Military Department. Right?"

Naisuya smiled faintly. "A few days ago, Teacher finally approved Dorin joining the army."

"Really?!" Manas was shocked. "Dorin’s a girl! She’s not as strong or fast as the guys. If she goes to the battlefield, she’ll just be a burden!"

"Dorin won’t have to engage in direct combat. She just needs to load crossbows, which isn’t that hard."

"You mean to say Teacher put her in the Crossbow Soldiers unit?"

"That’s right." Naisuya’s face still carried a smile, but her tone held a sense of pride and encouragement for her friend. "Although the Crossbow Soldiers is a newly formed unit in the tribe, it has played an important role in both battles against the Panoni Alliance Army. Dorin, who wasn’t great with literacy and arithmetic before, excelled during military training. She was cool-headed during fights, and the instructor often lamented, ’If she weren’t a girl, she would definitely become an excellent soldier.’

Now that she’s joined the Crossbow Soldiers, she can finally put her strengths to use. I believe she’ll achieve great feats for the tribe on the battlefield!"

"I also hope Dorin will do well in the Crossbow Soldiers!" Manas teased, "At least she’s in a better position than Akegu. Akegu was boasting earlier about earning military merit and getting accolades ahead of us, yet now he’s stuck running errands and delivering messages in the Military Department. Haha."

"There’s even more good news," Casius said again, "With the tribe moving its center to Ophelia Village, the leader plans to recognize us students, who’ve been scattered across various departments and started working for the tribe, as Official Tribe Members. Land distribution for us will start soon. This proposal has already passed in the Political Affairs Hall and should be implemented soon."

"Really?!" Manas was astonished. "But isn’t it stated in tribal law that we have to be adults before we’re recognized as Official Tribe Members and can receive land? (In the Nix Tribe, women are considered adults at 16 and men at 18. Most of this batch of young attendants, including Akegu and Casius, are now 16 or 17.)"

"The leader said that due to extraordinary circumstances, the tribe’s occupation of Segestica’s territory has led to a desperate need for people literate and numerate to help manage the newly acquired lands and population. Because of this, many students have been recruited from the school as subordinates for various departments. Since they’re working as hard as other officials, they should be recognized as adults, granted salary, and allocated land. It’s only fair."

"Wow, so we’re benefiting from our younger classmates!" Manas joked. As part of the first cohort to graduate and work, they sometimes referred to the newer students as their "younger siblings."

Manas was excited yet slightly worried. "This is really great news! But... farming 50 acres of land is no small feat for us. Especially since I’m here all the time and can’t tend to the fields properly. If the harvest is bad and I can’t pay taxes, the tribe will punish me!"

Casius reassured him, "You don’t need to worry about that. You can hire Foreign Auxiliaries to farm for you. You just need to apply to the Agricultural Department. If you let the auxiliaries completely manage your fields, though, you’ll have to give up five or six-tenths of the harvest to the tribe."

"Oh right, the Foreign Auxiliaries were set up precisely to help us with this. I nearly forgot!" Manas scratched his head, chuckled, and then said nonchalantly, "It’s just me, and three or four percent of the harvest would suffice (after paying the tribe one-tenth in tax). Plus, the tribe gives me a salary every month, so I can afford to buy a chicken each month."

"All you think about is food," Naisuya muttered, half-scolding.

Manas laughed heartily and asked, "Naisuya, will the tribe give you land too?"

"Manas, haven’t you studied tribal law properly? Even though I’m a woman, I’m part of the old tribe members and now work for the tribe just like my mother and Aunt Karina. By law, the tribe should allocate land to me as well," Naisuya answered confidently. "However, by law, land distribution is by household. My mom and I count as one household. She doesn’t plan to marry, and I won’t have siblings in the future, so the land she owns will naturally pass to me. The tribe wouldn’t allocate more land to me. But if I attain a nobler rank than my mom in the future, the tribe will still grant my family additional fiefs."

Manas immediately retorted, "Oh, so you’re planning to surpass Aunt Acronis’ rank? Haha, that’s impossible!"

"Shut up, you annoying pest!" Naisuya said angrily and threw a fried bean at Manas.

Manas opened his mouth, caught the bean, and chewed it loudly for effect. "Mmm, it tastes great. Thanks!" he said with exaggerated gratitude.

Then he turned to Casius and asked, "Where will our land be distributed?"

Casius replied, "Of course, near Ophelia Village. Even our houses will be allocated inside or near villages around Ophelia."

"That’s actually pretty nice!"

"It’s great for us, though who knows how much longer you’ll have to stay here. Even if you have a house, you won’t be able to return," Naisuya teased him.

"That’s no big deal," Manas said carelessly. "Commerce Department folks like me can’t fixate on having a home. We’re always dealing with other tribes and powers around us. As our Nix territory expands, maybe one day I’ll even be sent as an envoy to Rome!"

"Keep dreaming," Naisuya shot back with a glare.

"Teacher once told us that his goal is to make our tribe as strong as Rome so our tribesmen never have to fear being bullied by others!" Casius said with a determined look. "Let’s all work hard to help Teacher achieve his promise. When the time comes, we’ll send Manas as our envoy to Rome with pride!"