The atmosphere in the Lord's Manor conference room was rather peculiar.
Everyone present already knew that six Blackstone Hand scouts had been dismembered the night before.
They all stared at Veylin without saying a word.
They had all seen their share of the world, yet neither in the Duchy's commercially thriving Royal Capital nor on the knightly estates their families had inhabited for generations had they ever seen subjects obey their lord's orders so faithfully.
Risking their lives to hunt down professionals for "Merit Points" was behavior utterly foreign to them.
What magic did these Merit Points possess?
Weren't they just a kind of token?
Veylin sat at the head of the table, his expression blank.
He had no intention today of explaining the classic sociological phenomenon that arose when monetary contracts replaced ties to the land during the early transition from feudalism to capitalism. Once he had time, he would further develop the systems of the Lord's Manor and the Cooperative Guild and give them a lesson then. They would naturally come to understand the appeal of Merit Points.
Veylin glanced around.
"Everyone's here."
His gaze swept across the room before finally settling on a small figure curled up in a corner.
"Before we begin, let me introduce a new member."
Everyone followed his gaze.
She was a little girl with silver hair and purple eyes who looked no older than twelve or thirteen. She sat on a chair hugging her knees, nibbling a piece of candied fruit, her cheeks puffed out like a hamster hoarding food.
Feeling everyone's eyes on her, Mia shuddered in fright and nearly dropped her candied fruit. She hurriedly hid it behind her back and looked timidly at Veylin.
Veylin's voice remained calm. "Her name is Mia. She provided our preliminary intelligence on the