Setting the Course and an Unconventional Mother Troll

"Sharp Tusk, I think witch doctors only need to keep hold of the broad direction. If we personally govern everything, wouldn't that be putting the cart before the horse for witch doctors? Our energy should mainly go toward researching magic."

"If warriors govern and witch doctors advise, then what's the difference from before?"

"How can there be no difference? Clearly defining powers and responsibilities, setting limits to their scope, and giving it the backing of righteous principle—that is already enough."

"Heh, that won't stop ambitious men."

"Sharp Tusk, ambition exists under any circumstances. We cannot erase it completely; we can only use institutions to lock it in a cage."

"But! We clearly could—"

"Cough, cough. Sharp Tusk, Blade Tusk, may this old man put in a word?"

"Please speak, Old Witch Doctor."

"Old Witch Doctor, you should talk some sense into him. If we're changing things, we need to do it all at once. Changing half of it while leaving the other half behind—how is that any different from Rough Tusk's proposal? Weak! Far too weak!"

"Don't get worked up. This old brain of mine is failing; after listening to you discuss this for so long, I simply can't keep up with your train of thought. I finally managed to think of something—don't scare it out of me again."

"Oh, right. Please speak." Sharp Tusk scratched his tusks and said somewhat sheepishly.

"The matters you three are considering... wheeze... are all real problems. But Rough Tusk is too conservative, Sharp Tusk too radical, and Blade Tusk too idealistic—"

"I won't comment on Rough Tusk's ideas. Cough, cough. Although Sharp Tusk's criticism is extreme, it does have substance."

"You are right." Though it was impossible to know what the Great Witch Doctor truly thought, he readily agreed aloud.

"Heh heh. Yes. And Sharp Tusk, after living all these years, I only came to understand one thing in my old age. Interested in hearing it?"

"Please speak, Old Witch Doctor."

"In this world, nothing can be settled once and for all. Cough, cough. Ambition is so; the distribution of power is likewise."

"You said earlier that 'the warriors' unified will has yet to sprout.' I agree completely. But can you suppress it forever? You cannot, can you? So long as... cough, cough, cough."

A violent fit of coughing cut off the Old Witch Doctor's words. Blade Tusk hurriedly supported his arm, lest the shaking leave the Old Witch Doctor unable even to maintain his seated posture.

"Wheeze, wheeze. Forgive me. I'm no use anymore..."

The Old Witch Doctor caught his breath for a while before continuing, "So long as we do not abandon our yearning for 'civilization,' the 'awakening of will' among warriors and common folk cannot be suppressed forever."

"One day... they will realize how abnormal the tribe's power structure is, realize that they have not the slightest say in tribal decisions."

"When that day comes... what if someone with ulterior motives exploits this to drive a wedge between the witch doctors, the warriors, and the ordinary Trolls? Suppress them in blood? Can you suppress them all? Return power? Admit your own reactionary nature?"

"Rather than being forced into a passive position then, it would be better to, from the very beginning... cough, cough, cough."

"Wheeze, wheeze. Better to include the common people when designing the system from the start, and actively cultivate their wisdom and sense of the bigger picture. Only then will the foundations of the system we create have a chance to grow ever more complete as time passes... rather than leaving us caught between a rock and a hard place one day in the future."

"As for Blade Tusk... you are good, but too idealistic. Not every witch doctor lacks desire for secular power. When designing institutions, you cannot automatically... cough, cough, wheeze... cast them as 'selfless explorers.' Leave them room, give them opportunities to realize their ambitions."

"Cough, cough. That is all. Of course, these are merely this old man's thoughts. Whether they can be used still depends mainly on you."

"How could they be useless?"

"We were thinking too narrowly."

"Yes, your rebuke is well deserved."

The three who had been called out responded in turn.

This was not mere lip service. The discussions that followed indeed revolved around the Old Witch Doctor's opinions, and a preliminary resolution was formed.

First, the tribe would establish two councils: the Rune Council, to be formed immediately, and the House of Commons, which would require a long period of preparation. (Supplement to prevent readers from quitting: the House of Commons plan ultimately failed after prolonged delays.)

Second, there would be an executive body headed by a Chief Executive—the Executive Government.

For a considerable time to come, the Rune Council would serve as the guide leading the tribe forward;

Through various types of "committees," it would participate in tribal governance and wield broad, deep-reaching authority in legislation, justice, diplomacy, military affairs, policy, and every other area. (Supplement to prevent readers from quitting: due to the insufficient population, most committees became empty formalities. The protagonist was being too idealistic; things were not yet mature.)

Its temporary organizational structure would be as follows: all witch doctors would become senior councilors, while witch doctor apprentices would become probationary councilors. The former would hold decision-making power, while the latter would possess the right to make proposals and observe proceedings, and would to a certain extent serve as executors of decisions.

In the future, Rune Council members would be selected from among spellcasters under stricter entry standards.

In addition, from among all literate Trolls in the tribe who were no longer in their growth period, the Rune Council would select eighty to form the House of Commons. Under the Rune Council's guidance, they would learn to participate in the tribe's decision-making.

Although at the present stage the House of Commons would likely serve more as an "apprentice" to the Rune Council, in the future, once society as a whole possessed greater "intellectual capacity," elections for the House of Commons would be returned to all Trolls in some form, allowing it to exercise relatively independent authority over matters such as "tax audits," "impeaching officials," and "livelihood-related affairs."

In theory, the future House of Commons would become the representative of public opinion, with councilors drawn from the grassroots and serving shorter terms;

Meanwhile, the Rune Council would act as a "cooling agent" for public opinion. Its seats would be held by elites represented by witch doctors, who would serve longer terms. (Supplement to prevent readers from quitting: in fact, because witch doctors were so scarce, term limits became empty talk. When a term ended, there was simply no one available to replace them.)

Next came the Chief Executive.

This position would replace the Chieftain's current de facto status and possess clearly defined, legally established powers and responsibilities. (Supplement to prevent readers from quitting: this also failed. Power remained in the witch doctors' hands, and until the second reform, the Executive Government's executive officers were merely echo chambers. Nor did the word "Chief" ever come into its own; the current Chieftain—the intended Chief Executive—grew impatient midway through and ran off to become an army officer.)

At this stage, the Chief Executive would first be nominated from among Rune Council members, with multiple candidates put forward, then appointed by a vote of the House of Commons.

After taking office, the Chief Executive would be responsible for forming a cabinet and answerable to the "two houses";

Cabinet members would be "executive officers," responsible for the tribe's specific affairs in every area, while receiving guidance and oversight in their work from the "two houses" and their relevant subordinate committees.

For example, the "Foreign Affairs Executive Officer" would, in matters within its authority, receive oversight and recommendations from the Rune Council's "Foreign Affairs Committee." (Supplement to prevent readers from quitting: this post remained vacant for a long time, because there was no need for it.) In matters of expenditure and budgeting, however, it would be subject to review by the House of Commons.

Naturally, all of this was only a provisional division of powers and responsibilities for the future.

"At present, not only is the House of Commons incapable of carrying out its duties, even the Rune Council will face a severe shortage of members for quite some time."

"What we need to do is build the framework first."

Having discussed the broad direction, Blade Tusk gave the final summary.

"Besides, these proposals are still far from being 'settled policy.' Even if only to prevent us from falling into disputes over whether the source of our authority is legitimate in the future, we must first secure the people's approval and ensure they are informed."

"And that 'approval' and 'knowledge' must be preserved in written form."

"We must remember that witch doctors are also part of the tribe. Our authority does not come from ourselves; the people are the source of everything."

"Agreed."

"Understood."

The Trolls all voiced their assent, indicating their approval of today's proposals.

"There is one more matter that needs resources allocated to it."

His speech over, Blade Tusk had only just sat down when he remembered an urgent issue. Under the puzzled gazes of those present, he rose to his feet again.

"We urgently need a unit of time that falls somewhere between 'day and night' and a 'Prime Cycle.' Don't you think the gap between those two is simply too large? It did not matter when we muddled through life before, but in the future, it will inevitably cause enormous inconvenience in both our work and daily lives."

"That is true. Does anyone know how many days and nights make up one Prime Cycle? I've honestly never paid attention to it." Head Witch Doctor Rough Tusk clearly agreed, immediately speaking up to ask.

"I've calculated it."

The one who answered Rough Tusk was a newly promoted female witch doctor named Meiya.

That was right—Meiya, not "Beautiful Tusk." This was the latest trend. Spellcasters, especially the newer generation, were gradually becoming more concerned with expressing their individuality than before.

This female Troll possessed tusks far slimmer and more delicate than those of her kin, something utterly at odds with the tribe's aesthetic standards. They kept the contours of her mouth refined and made her features softer.

Moreover, her physique was more slender than that of male Trolls. Unlike the other Trolls, who merely wrapped themselves in rough grass skirts that left their buttocks exposed to the chilly wind, her lower body was carefully enclosed in a triangular piece of fur, while her chest was covered by an obviously well-made brassiere. Her exposed blue skin was neither too dark nor too pale, and clear muscle contours showed beneath it.

Overall, she was fifty percent less savage than the rest of her people, with a touch of intellect enhanced by her athletic build.

Even Blade Tusk, who had lived among Trolls for so long that his tastes had gradually converged with theirs while still retaining much of his past-life sensibilities, could not help giving her a few extra glances.

After all, he was already in his Prime Cycle. In certain respects, he had long since fully matured, and the occasional impulse of the body was unavoidable.

Meiya had long been unable to achieve mutual acceptance with the mainstream aesthetic, yet in temperament, she was a standard Troll and had not become self-conscious because of it.

She rose to her feet, and her bright red hair, standing high upon her head like roiling crimson clouds or the leaping mane of a fiery steed, danced with her movements.

Perhaps sensing Blade Tusk's unusual gaze, she did not blush or hide herself. Instead, she smiled and nodded at him with confidence and ease, then spoke again.

"One Prime Cycle contains 9,600 days, or 460,800 lamp-hours. Such a span is indeed cumbersome. I also believe we need conversion units in between, similar to 'hours, minutes, and seconds.'"

Below, Middle Witch Doctor Sharp Tusk nudged Blade Tusk in the waist, then secretly leaned close to his ear and whispered.

"What? Taken a liking to her? There are so many beautiful female Trolls in the tribe, yet I've never seen you give any of them a second glance. Why do you fancy this skinny, ugly one? Tsk, tsk—look at those tusks of hers. They're practically underdeveloped."

Clearly, Blade Tusk remained a complete oddity among Trolls, at least when it came to aesthetics.

November 24, 2022: The protagonist was too idealistic in the early stages. Most of his policies stemmed from naive fantasies and naturally ended up becoming mere formalities. Then, more than a hundred chapters later, there will be reforms.