- Location
- Attached to a wall
- Pronouns
- She/Her
"It should be said that I meant this hypothetically your honor. I meant to say that I probably would kill the victim if he suggested killing my sister. I didn't mean that as an admission of guilt."
The Summoned Hero Is a Historical Materialist??
- Thread starter Winged_One
- Start date
- Novel Fantasy
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Huh. I somehow totally missed that.
Winged_One
Head Engineer of ATHENA
- Location
- Low Earth Orbit
This is a reference to chapter 30, scene 2.
I agree.
I definitely think Myne likes Melty, but I don't know about love. She hasn't had any reason to conflict with her. Melty was even willing to surrender the crown to her. But if Melty tries to help the common people with Naofumi she will need to wield the power of the crown to do that. As she bonds with Naofumi and changes, will she still be willing to give up that power knowing that Myne will not use it nearly as well to help the people? We've already seen the beginnings of such conflicts when Myne told Melty helping the people in this town is not her responsibility. Melty used her crown to choose the procedure for choosing the next Count. And once conflicts between them arise, will the bond hold true of love? Or was it merely affection because it was convenient. Melty being helpful and nice and unassuming. But breaks as soon as Melty becomes inconvenient?
Calling it right now. The democratic experiment is going to fail because the people that just did a pogrom will vote for someone to continue that pogrom. This situation is not the opportunity to implement a democracy. A transitional authority is needed to stabilize things or the people will vote to effectively revert the system to autocracy.
- Location
- Moscow
Good job with OC Myne.
Canon caricature of a person with chronic backstabbing disorder is frustrating to read and, I suspect, to write as well.
Oh it definitely will.
If it's just one Count.
They'd need some kind of representative organ to have even hope of it working.
Canon caricature of a person with chronic backstabbing disorder is frustrating to read and, I suspect, to write as well.
Oh it definitely will.
If it's just one Count.
They'd need some kind of representative organ to have even hope of it working.
- Location
- Attached to a wall
- Pronouns
- She/Her
"As
Raiseth
I Find Your Lack of Memes Disturbing
- Location
- Russia
Man. Myne is keeping me on the edge of the seat here.
With this chapter, the pertinent question is: is Myne a bigoted and easily manipulated puppet the Order is trying to install on the throne to advance their agenda, or is she a master manipulator and a high-functioning sociopath who managed to seamlessly lie through her fucking teeth the moment Melty's connected the secret society she belongs to the possible culprits of her attempted assassination?
Did she engineer the entire situation to ensure that Melty, who Myne knows really, really well, would have no choice but to remain in the middle of nowhere trying to salvage this clusterfuck, while she's off to the capital consolidating her power base and finding convenient scapegoats to burn?
I can't discount the possibility, and I'm all here for it. Either way, Myne is already infinitely more complex than her canon counterpart, though again, that's not saying much.
With this chapter, the pertinent question is: is Myne a bigoted and easily manipulated puppet the Order is trying to install on the throne to advance their agenda, or is she a master manipulator and a high-functioning sociopath who managed to seamlessly lie through her fucking teeth the moment Melty's connected the secret society she belongs to the possible culprits of her attempted assassination?
Did she engineer the entire situation to ensure that Melty, who Myne knows really, really well, would have no choice but to remain in the middle of nowhere trying to salvage this clusterfuck, while she's off to the capital consolidating her power base and finding convenient scapegoats to burn?
I can't discount the possibility, and I'm all here for it. Either way, Myne is already infinitely more complex than her canon counterpart, though again, that's not saying much.
HoratioVonBecker
Imperfectly Aligned
Man, this one was good at making me upset at Constance! And I know she had a point, and continues to have a point, about killing Fulana and lying to Melty about it. But wow it is not fun to watch Melty be this decent and be treated this badly.
- Location
- Armchair somewhere
- Pronouns
- They/Them
It's democracy time!!! I forget exactly how much of the village is demihuman, but assuming a substantial enough portion is, as well as demihuman-friendly humans and humans who are generally grateful to the demihuman soldiers, it could be a cinch to get someone favorable to Naofumi and Constance into power.
Kadath
Sinnamon Roll
- Location
- Somewhere
Poor Melty... Since meeting Naofumi, she has been nearly assassinated in her own seat of power, been told that she's a parasite by 50% of her rescuers, had her bodyguard killed out from under her, and had her own sister tell her that she's just like their mother.
As a monarch with substantial institutional power, yes it makes sense to isolate and make her reliant on them, but damn if it doesn't marinate up into a depressing image of indoctrination. And I mean that word in a neutral way-- she needed to be deprogrammed, but yeesh the way it played out.
As a monarch with substantial institutional power, yes it makes sense to isolate and make her reliant on them, but damn if it doesn't marinate up into a depressing image of indoctrination. And I mean that word in a neutral way-- she needed to be deprogrammed, but yeesh the way it played out.
Fortunately I think even Naofumi knows enough theory to understand that democracy is a tool in the toolbox of rulership and not a method of rulership itself and will thus not in fact be entirely put out no matter what happens (to melty's inevitable annoyance)
tarrangar
Fat arctic chicken
Most of the Scandinavian countries manage something like this, England isn't that far from it, although it's really more that the monarchs have been rendered ceremonial, but either way, it's not unheard of in our world for monarchies to surrender power to democracy and become mostly ceremonial.
- Location
- Te Ika-a-Māui
- Pronouns
- She/Her
IDK, I can't speak for the Scandinavian monarchs but I would not say that either Elizabeth or Charles Windsor's powers were ceremonial so much as merely exercised behind closed doors where the public can't see, much less object.
Jonen C
F.M.D.G.
- Location
- Lincopense, Ostrogothia, Suecia
For Sweden, the most the monarch can do is officially (threaten to) abdicate to show displeasure on how the cabinet is running things.
(Or publically disagree or show displeasure with government policy, but that would be a scandalous break from how things are usually done.)
(Or publically disagree or show displeasure with government policy, but that would be a scandalous break from how things are usually done.)
Chapter 35: Democracy
New
Winged_One
Head Engineer of ATHENA
- Location
- Low Earth Orbit
Did you know I have a discord server? It's true! Recently, users have been posting a lot of fanart and SHHM memes on it - come hang out!
Alternatively, if you'd like to read more, you can read six chapters ahead on Patreon for a low low price of 3$.
Alternatively, if you'd like to read more, you can read six chapters ahead on Patreon for a low low price of 3$.
SCENE: MELTY and NAOFUMI are walking through a room in the palace, heading towards a balcony, followed by a pair of GUARDS. A MAID enters the room from a side door, and runs towards MELTY, prostrating herself on the ground before her. GUARDS interpose themselves between the two.
MAID: Your royal highness, please have mercy! I beg for your understanding!
MELTY stops and turns her head to the MAID. NAOFUMI looks at MELTY warily.
MELTY: Well? Speak quickly, now that you are here.
MAID: My husband - sir Eltis. He did no wrong. He was simply trying to avenge his count. Please, I beg of you, have mercy.
MELTY snorts, and casually waves to the GUARDS. The GUARDS begin to drag the MAID away.
MELTY: Denied. I have no patience for cowards and traitors, no matter their reasons.
MELTY turns away and strolls out onto the balcony. NAOFUMI follows. The MAID is wailing as she is dragged away by the GUARDS.
SCENE: Out on the balcony. FILO is hanging upside-down off the ledge, with her legs wrapped around the railing. Below on the square, a large CROWD of humans has gathered around a big wooden platform: the gallows. SIR ELTIS, CAPTAIN OF THE GUARD is standing on the platform, surrounded by GUARDS, his hands tied behind his back, and his fancy helmet nowhere to be seen. A second, somewhat smaller CROWD of shield hero supporters is grouped up further away, mostly consisting of demihumans.
FILO is playing around with a bunch of rocks. She spins up one like a basketball with gusts of wind, and then adds more rocks on top of that one, building an entire spinning tower that wobbles dangerously.
MELTY and NAOFUMI walk out onto the balcony. MELTY pauses just out of view of the CROWDS below, and chants a spell, slowly creating an enormous, yet delicate construct of flowing water around herself. NAOFUMI stands back, while MELTY approaches the railing. She looks over the CROWDS calmly. The CROWDS slowly quiet down and look up at her.
FILO looks up at MELTY, and gives her a little wave, keeping the stones in motion with her other hand. MELTY smiles slightly, then faces the CROWDS.
FILO is playing around with a bunch of rocks. She spins up one like a basketball with gusts of wind, and then adds more rocks on top of that one, building an entire spinning tower that wobbles dangerously.
MELTY and NAOFUMI walk out onto the balcony. MELTY pauses just out of view of the CROWDS below, and chants a spell, slowly creating an enormous, yet delicate construct of flowing water around herself. NAOFUMI stands back, while MELTY approaches the railing. She looks over the CROWDS calmly. The CROWDS slowly quiet down and look up at her.
FILO looks up at MELTY, and gives her a little wave, keeping the stones in motion with her other hand. MELTY smiles slightly, then faces the CROWDS.
MELTY: As you have all seen, the stalks that have cast their shadow over your peaceful town have been brought down. Many have sacrificed their lives to make this possible, but the monster threat has been decapitated. What few stragglers still remain wander about with no direction, easy prey for our soldiers. The reclamation of the other half of the town will begin tomorrow.
Scattered cheers come from the CROWDS, and MELTY pauses to let them fade.
MELTY: With triumph come the rewards. Those of you who have served as soldiers will receive parcels of land; all demihumans who have served alongside the humans will be freed from slavery, as had been promised; and finally, your town will be free from any taxes for a period of two years, to give you time to rebuild.
CROWD of shield hero supporters, and parts of the HUMAN CROWD cheer. Some HUMANS seem ready to argue, but glance at FILO, and quiet down. FILO remains oblivious.
MELTY: Sadly, this day was filled with tragedy as well as triumph. Your count Merpet Navlidia took his own life, distraught over the deaths that resulted from his own incompetence. Worse still, some have taken his tragic death as an opportunity to stab us all in the back, and started a riot that brought about yet more pointless death.
MELTY motions to SIR ELTIS down below.
MELTY: Sir Eltis, as your sovereign and in accordance with the Wave defense act, I sentence you to death for insubordination, treasonous cowardice in the face of an existential threat, and actions that have directly led to the deaths of thirty five people. Let this be a lesson to others.
GUARDS lead SIR ELTIS to the noose, and put it around his neck. Some from the CROWD raise objections, but nobody puts a stop to the execution. A GUARD kicks a stool out from under the legs of SIR ELTIS, he drops, and with a snap of his neck, dies. MELTY watches over the process dispassionately.
MELTY: Count Merpet has not left behind an heir, and this town requires new leadership. Due to your unique circumstances, I do not believe it would be wise to assign a new count from elsewhere. Instead, I have decided to grant this noble title to a group of five townsfolk, to be selected by a vote tomorrow, during our feast to celebrate this victory - it will start in front of the castle, an hour after the dawn. My people will explain all the details tomorrow.
MELTY turns around and leaves the balcony. The CROWD begins to disperse.
SCENE: CONSTANCE is seated behind a table, talking to two dozen DEMIHUMANS in an unused warehouse room. RAPHTALIA enters the room and clears her throat loudly, nodding to the door.
RAPHTALIA: Scuttle out, I need to talk to Fredalia alone. Shield hero stuff.
CONSTANCE steeples her fingers in expectation. DEMIHUMANS salute them both, and leave the room. RAPHTALIA checks the door, then mutters a spell under her breath. The sounds from outside the room dissolve into indecipherable noise. RAPHTALIA sits down in front of CONSTANCE. CONSTANCE raises an eyebrow at her.
CONSTANCE: What is this about? Time is precious. We still have much left to prepare before tomorrow.
RAPHTALIA gives CONSTANCE a harsh stare.
RAPHTALIA: It was you.
CONSTANCE purses her lips.
CONSTANCE: What is the point of this? You know how operational security works. Regardless of what happened, there is only one answer I can give.
RAPHTALIA: Cut the bullshit - this room is as secure as any place can be, we can talk. I need an explanation.
CONSTANCE: You don't need it, you want it. There is a difference.
RAPHTALIA: Yeah, and I really fucking want one for why thirty five people - twenty seven demihumans among them - ended up dead.
CONSTANCE sighs.
CONSTANCE: Fine. Fulana had to go, but in a way that gave all of us an unimpeachable alibi. You know Melty - anything less would not have been enough. This meant I needed to isolate her, but she would almost never leave Melty's side. I needed a crisis that would split Melty between two things, both of which she had to handle immediately, so that she would send off Fulana in her stead. One that I could trigger exactly when I wanted to - and creating a riot was the best I could think of.
RAPHTALIA stands up out of her chair and leans on the table, bringing her face closer to CONSTANCE.
RAPHTALIA: You killed thirty five people just to get at one woman?
CONSTANCE looks at her calmly.
CONSTANCE: I put thirty five people at risk to kill a count and the bodyguard of the highest noble in the kingdom. I expected about double that number - we got off lightly.
RAPHTALIA snorts.
RAPHTALIA: Well, at least you don't pretend their deaths are not on your hands. How could you possibly justify this in your head?
CONSTANCE: You already know how. Two people knew Naofumi is a direct and immediate threat to the crown - Fulana and Melty. I am… reasonably sure Melty will keep her mouth shut. Whatever is going on between her and Naofumi, she seems to enjoy it too much to stop now. But Fulana would not have done so - she would have told the queen. This information leak had to be shut down, and I estimated seventy lives to be worth it.
RAPHTALIA: An information leak is not worth thirty five fucking lives!
CONSTANCE crosses her arms.
CONSTANCE: It absolutely is. Our movement is still small, unstable. Naofumi can train hundreds of people per night - pushing the date when the queen discovers our true goals back, even by a week, is invaluable. The more time we have, the better, and this has a reasonable chance of delaying it all the way until the next Wave, if not longer. Her Shadows have hunted my people for ages - trust me on this, we do not want a confrontation until we are ready.
RAPHTALIA: A chance? You aren't even sure?
CONSTANCE: You can never be sure. Look at what we did here - were we sure our attack on the stalks would succeed? Obviously not. We are getting ready for war, and in war, sometimes you have to send people to their deaths, because it would achieve something more important.
RAPHTALIA: Those are soldiers. They chose to risk their lives. You killed civilians. Just…regular people.
CONSTANCE sneers.
CONSTANCE: Raphtalia, I know this is hard, but stop being childish. I wish we lived in a world where I could get away with sacrificing only the lives of soldiers, but we do not. I worked with what I had, and what I had wasn't very good.
RAPHTALIA leans back, ruffling her hands through her hair.
RAPHTALIA: You can justify anything this way!
CONSTANCE: Only if you are bad at evaluating the costs. Do you think I made a mistake there?
RAPHTALIA: So this is it? You will just kill people because you think you don't have a better option?
CONSTANCE pauses, sighing in frustration.
CONSTANCE: When my people helped escaped slaves flee in the past, did you think my hands were left clean? Sometimes, the slaveowner would bring out their families - if they had any left behind - and torture them, to death on occasion, just in case any one of them knew where the fugitive fled. I have seen all the slaves on some estates catch the whip as a result. We still did it, because it was worth doing. You look at the options in front of you, and you pick the best ones you have.
CONSTANCE shrugs, and stretches her hands in front of RAPHTALIA, as if ready for the manacles.
CONSTANCE: But if you think I did wrong, or if you can't trust me now, well, bring me to Melty. I made sure that none of you would be implicated in my crimes, so you could still probably salvage some cooperation from her. Less than now, but it would be something.
RAPHTALIA stands up and paces around the room, looking conflicted.
RAPHTALIA: Damn it. I don't know. I already covered for you by not mentioning this, didn't I? I mean, I thought it was you right from the start. What will you tell Naofumi if he asks?
CONSTANCE smiles.
CONSTANCE: I don't think he will. He is still too trusting.
RAPHTALIA: So what, am I also supposed to keep my mouth shut about this? Lie to Naofumi if it comes to that? I…I don't think I could do that.
CONSTANCE shrugs.
CONSTANCE: You underestimate yourself.
RAPHTALIA: Do you really not see the issue here? Someone has to pay for those deaths, and you caused them. Worse, you didn't even talk to us beforehand! You can't just…do that.
CONSTANCE: I didn't cause them, I simply expected them to happen. If the humans had stayed put and did not start a riot, nobody would have died. The man in charge is hanging in front of the castle - is that not enough for you?
RAPHTALIA's lips twitch in anger.
RAPHTALIA: Be serious.
CONSTANCE: I am serious. The blame for the riot is on the humans - putting someone in harm's way and killing them are not the same thing at all. And as far as my own involvement, the mathematics of cost and benefit were clear.
RAPHTALIA: This isn't about math!
CONSTANCE: Of course it is. What else would it be?
RAPHTALIA: If this ever gets out -
CONSTANCE: It won't.
RAPHTALIA scowls.
RAPHTALIA: That is not how you taught me to plan. There is always a chance it gets out, and if it does - if people learn you are willing to just sacrifice them like pawns - who will ever trust us again?
CONSTANCE: I am saying it won't because I put a lot of thought into this plan. The chances of leaks are minimal, and should they happen, there are plenty of ways for us to present the story in a better light.
RAPHTALIA: Constance…
CONSTANCE crosses her arms again.
CONSTANCE: If you thought this secrecy was bad, why did you not stop me? You saw Wyndi and the others, I told you I was planning something. You had plenty of time to think it over.
RAPHTALIA pulls on her short hair with her hands.
RAPHTALIA: I thought you were planning to kill the count! Not to start a riot!
CONSTANCE: Come now, did you really not expect one to lead into the other?
RAPHTALIA paces some more.
RAPHTALIA: How about Wyndi and the other two? What if they talk? Will you eliminate another "information leak" then?
CONSTANCE scoffs.
CONSTANCE: Don't insult me, I wouldn't kill my own people just like that.
RAPHTALIA: You already did, with this riot.
CONSTANCE: No. I put people in harm's way, not kill them.
RAPHTALIA: So will you do that with Wyndi?
CONSTANCE shrugs.
CONSTANCE: We already are - all three of them said they will keep fighting the Waves. Statistically, there is a good chance they die before the year's end. But no, I don't think I will need to do anything beyond this. Out of the three, only Wyndi had a task of discretely spreading the news of the count's death, and all three know to keep quiet. Even if they spill something, it would never go beyond a vague rumor - I have thought this through, Raphtalia.
RAPHTALIA paces some more.
RAPHTALIA: I am not going to lie to Naofumi if he asks me. And you are never doing this again. It all goes in the open in the future.
CONSTANCE: You know that's not entirely possible.
RAPHTALIA shoots CONSTANCE an angry look. CONSTANCE raises her hands in a placating gesture.
CONSTANCE: I did say entirely. I won't hide it from Naofumi, you and the others - but we can't talk about it to everyone either. It just would not work if we tried - you can't keep a secret if a hundred people know of it.
RAPHTALIA sighs, relaxing a fraction.
RAPHTALIA: Good.
CONSTANCE: I only kept it secret this time because keeping it away from Melty would have been impossible otherwise.
RAPHTALIA looks away.
RAPHTALIA: Shouldn't we tell her?
CONSTANCE gives RAPHTALIA a cold stare.
CONSTANCE: What?
RAPHTALIA: She is a reasonable person, right? She'd understand if we explained to her about the Queen. It's not like Fulana was her sister or anything. But you've seen how she'd been the past day - this mystery, this paranoia, it's eating away at her.
CONSTANCE: Raphtalia, you can't possibly be serious. She cannot be trusted.
RAPHTALIA looks back at CONSTANCE.
RAPHTALIA: Can't she though? She didn't lie to us once that I could remember. She promised to free the slaves here, and she did it, in front of everyone. I mean, it's not the entire country, but she did do this - and on the other hand, you killed thirty five people on your own initiative.
CONSTANCE sighs, rubbing her eyes.
CONSTANCE: I forget how young you are. Raphtalia, no matter how "reasonable" she seems, she is still Mirellia's daughter. I barely trust her to keep her mouth shut as it is. Mirellia is too dangerous for us to deal with directly right now - that woman has so much up her sleeves it's a wonder she can manage to lift her arms.
RAPHTALIA: Is she though? I mean, if it comes down to it, we could just kill her. Not the first noble, and not the last.
CONSTANCE: The first thing Mirellia will do when she comes back to Melromarc would be to buy either Ren's or Motoyasu's loyalty, by whatever means necessary - Myne will marry the latter, so she is already halfway there. To kill her we'd have to go through them - how do you imagine this? I don't think we could kill them even if we tried. Filo could, perhaps, but frankly she would listen to Melty if she asked her to spare her mother. Please don't underestimate that woman. Dornuromarc might have started the war with Shieldfrieden - but it was Mirellia who finished it, and it was her Shadows that have held the territories in check ever since.
RAPHTALIA sighs.
RAPHTALIA: Fine. I won't tell Melty, for now. Maybe Naofumi will have a better idea on how to cheer her up.
RAPHTALIA motions to the door.
RAPHTALIA: Well, let's bring them back in, and I'll help you out here.
SCENE: TIRED MELTY enters her bedroom, throwing herself on her bed. NAOFUMI and FILO follow after. MELTY raises her head from the bed, looking at NAOFUMI.
MELTY: So. The feast I understand, but how precisely do you plan to conduct this vote? We can't get everyone in the room for a roll call, after all.
NAOFUMI slaps himself on the thigh.
NAOFUMI: Using these bad boys.
MELTY appears extremely unamused.
MELTY: What, precisely, are you talking about?
NAOFUMI: We'll vote by walking. First we'll have a round where we'll ask around for who would want to be nominated for a spot in the town's government, and then we'll have people group up around the candidates. Every person in a group - one vote. Then we'll count up the people in groups, eliminate the candidate with the least votes, and give people time to regroup until we'll have five candidates left. Back in my word, we'd call this the "single transferable vote" method, but here it won't be so formal.
MELTY: There's more than two thousand people left in this town, Naofumi. There's not even enough space for all of them to "group up".
NAOFUMI: Oh, it really won't be so bad. For one, we are electing five seats - that means any given group needs to fit at most one fifth of the people. Furthermore, we only need them to be present for the count - we'll pass each group through a gate to count the heads, so we don't even need them to all be in the same place at once. We'll have to do some work to let the soldiers who will be stuck guarding the perimeter vote, and to tell people where all the candidates are, but our people are already more or less familiar with the basic principles, so we'll have plenty of helpers.
MELTY narrows her eyes at NAOFUMI suspiciously.
MELTY: And why, precisely, are they already familiar with a system whose necessity only became apparent today, after someone killed the count?
CONSTANCE enters the room, carrying a thick stack of papers.
CONSTANCE: Because this fool has insisted on electing the officers for the soldiers we train, despite my protestations to the contrary. I suppose he always expected something like this to happen, so all that training wasn't entirely wasted.
MELTY raises an eyebrow.
MELTY: Electing officers? Did your ideology completely cloud your mind? Soldiers would simply vote to not go into battle, and then you wouldn't have an army.
NAOFUMI crosses his arms with a look of long-cultured annoyance.
NAOFUMI: They don't vote during the battle, obviously. They are electing officers for the duration of a single campaign, which in our case is up until a given Wave is over.
CONSTANCE approaches the bed and places a thick stack of papers next to MELTY's head, then takes out a quill and an inkwell, handing them to MELTY.
CONSTANCE: Your arms are free, so you can start signing these while you two argue.
MELTY sits up with a groan and looks at the papers.
MELTY: And these are?
CONSTANCE: Your royal highness had decided to use a delightfully vague phrasing - "demihumans who have served alongside the humans" - when freeing the slaves, so these are individual, named pardons for every single slave explicitly clarifying that they were, in fact, freed.
MELTY groans.
MELTY: Every single one? Is this really necessary?
CONSTANCE: It's so we avoid any later misunderstandings about who was or wasn't serving at the time, and thus who was or wasn't freed. Unless you would like to give a further public announcement clarifying what you meant?
MELTY ruffles through the stack in dismay.
MELTY: Fredalia, there's like four hundred of them!
CONSTANCE: I cursed your name far more while me and my people were writing them all, I assure you. You just have to sign.
MELTY: Look, I - I just said it to placate the humans in the crowd, okay? It's harder to raise objections to a reward for service than to a blank pardon - but of course I meant every slave in town. Surely you know this?
CONSTANCE: Be that as it may, I need the signatures.
MELTY sighs, moving the papers to a nearby table.
MELTY: You are evil, you know this?
CONSTANCE blinks.
CONSTANCE: Melty, I work alongside the literal Devil of the Shield. If I wasn't evil, I'd stand out too much.
NAOFUMI: Hey!
MELTY grumbles but begins to sign.
MELTY: Naofumi, distract me from this paperwork. What kind of harebrained idea is it to elect your officers?
CONSTANCE: For the record, I opposed it.
NAOFUMI crosses his arms again.
NAOFUMI: There'd been some limited precedent for it in my world. It works fine enough for what it is. The main problem comes from their lack of experience at matters usually handled by professional officers, such as navigation, planning, logistics, command and so on - but I think we can patch over those weaknesses through specialized training after elections for a given campaign season. Over time, it should become less and less necessary, I think, as similar people will keep being elected to the positions, and non-officers start to pick up the same knowledge.
CONSTANCE snorts.
CONSTANCE: Naofumi is forgetting to mention that he does not, in fact, know anything about this topic beyond the barest surface details, as I've found out after extensive questioning. When he mentions the "main problem" this is, to be blunt, a guess at best.
NAOFUMI: I am not forgetting to mention it! It's just -
CONSTANCE: It's the most relevant thing about your "theory", yet you do not state it up front. Should I say you deliberately concealed it? Elected officers will be ineffective and just get in the way, severely reducing the effectiveness of our forces. It very much is a harebrained idea.
NAOFUMI sighs in exasperation.
NAOFUMI: Raw effectiveness is not the point! Military isn't a separate thing from the rest of society, they are linked together, and the things that a given military can do are determined by the shape of that society, and vice versa. Yeah, an elected command won't be able to just send thousands of soldiers to their deaths with a single order, but then again, I don't want to do that in the first place! If even the soldiers can't be convinced that a given war is worth fighting, then why the hell should it be fought?
CONSTANCE rolls her eyes.
CONSTANCE: The military is separate from society, but it fights for the entire whole. That's why you can't just let soldiers determine when and how they should fight. You would think this should be obvious.
NAOFUMI: Should they be separate? We need the whole society to be engaged in politics, not just a small clique of warrior-scholars. There's a pretty damn obvious problem of having a culturally and materially separate class of people who are all trained to handle weapons. That's how military coups happen, Fredalia. A marginal decrease in raw military effectiveness is absolutely worth it if it keeps us safe from that problem.
CONSTANCE snorts.
CONSTANCE: No matter how fascinating relitigating this argument may be for you, I need to go prepare our people for tomorrow, help them pack their things. Melty, I'll come back later for the pardons.
MELTY raises her head from the papers.
MELTY: Pack their things?
NAOFUMI sighs.
NAOFUMI: Only about a dozen demihumans have decided to stay here, now that they've been freed. Obviously. The vast majority will stick around for the vote, but afterwards…
MELTY frowns. CONSTANCE nods and exits the room.
MELTY: I see. Well, that's none of my concern. Tell me something else to entertain me, please.
NAOFUMI settles down on the windowsill.
NAOFUMI: You've been looking pretty stressed these past few days, you know. Even Raphtalia mentioned it.
MELTY sighs, busy signing papers.
MELTY: I have been thinking of how to deal with my mother when she returns. Nothing to concern yourself with, for now.
NAOFUMI: We'll probably take a break for a couple days after this - everyone needs rest, or else we'd all just break eventually. I could teach you some mathematics from my world - maybe it could help with your magic research.
MELTY sighs wistfully, motioning to her papers.
MELTY: That does sound nice. Perhaps at a later date - the country needs me, I am afraid. For now, tell me about something lighter - about the politics from your world, perhaps?
SCENE: Montage, as the voting occurs.
Evening. MELTY and RAPHTALIA are looking over a dozen HUMANS and DEMIHUMANS setting up a large field kitchen in the castle courtyard. MELTY is studying a detailed list of personnel and equipment.
Evening. MELTY and RAPHTALIA are looking over a dozen HUMANS and DEMIHUMANS setting up a large field kitchen in the castle courtyard. MELTY is studying a detailed list of personnel and equipment.
MELTY: These numbers don't make sense. We won't have enough food for everyone in town.
RAPHTALIA: Looks like it. Our people aren't yet trained to cook for a huge number of people, and we are having trouble finding good utensils, pots and what not. If you make everyone eat slop, it wouldn't be much of a celebration, eh?
MELTY sighs.
MELTY: This castle must have a wine cellar, right? The man was an alcoholic. Let's open it up, stall so we have more time to organize some cooks.
RAPHTALIA: You want people to vote while drunk?
MELTY: Better drunk than angry from hunger, and they'll sober up by the evening. Get to it.
Change of scene. CONSTANCE is talking to a mixed group of HUMANS and DEMIHUMANS.
CONSTANCE: Your job is very simple - you go door to door, in pairs, and find out who wants to be nominated as a candidate, and explain how the vote will work.
DEMIHUMAN: And if they don't want to listen?
CONSTANCE: If they just slam the door, this is fine, just move on. We are trying to cover the entire town, not every individual person - but note it down for later. If they get aggressive - well, that's why you are going around in pairs. Run away if at all possible, please, we don't need any more fights on our plate.
Change of scene. Morning in town - MELTY is observing the combination of feasting and voting from a balcony like a general over a battle. An enormous board hangs below the balcony, with names of candidates written in chalk and with columns of vote counts from previous voting rounds to the right. A DEMIHUMAN approaches her at speed.
DEMIHUMAN: Melty! We've had a problem with counting the votes in two groups - the voting lists from the guards at the edge of town came in just as we were finishing up the regular counts, and they changed who will get disqualified. There's a bit of a fight now over whether we should count them at all or not, near the field hospital.
MELTY rubs her nose.
MELTY: Thanks Zeni, I'll head right over.
ZENI nods and turns to leave.
MELTY: A moment, if you will? You may not know this, but it would be best if you addressed me as your Royal Highness - it's not really appropriate for us to be on a first name basis.
ZENI: Naofumi mentioned you might say that, and told us to tell you that if you'd like, we could call you our Great and Most Honorable Robber instead.
MELTY closes her eyes and groans in frustration.
MELTY: Of course he did. Then… just Melty is fine for now. Just…avoid doing it in public, please.
Change of scene. WYNDI and another DEMIHUMAN are talking to NAOFUMI, who is rubbing his face with his hands.
NAOFUMI: What do you mean, people are just going home?
WYNDI: Well, they've been eating and drinking since the morning. Many are just tired.
NAOFUMI sighs.
NAOFUMI: Fine, whatever. We are just doing the final round anyways, not like this will change the result much. This is the most fucked up, last minute voting setup I have ever heard of in my entire life, but I cannot care anymore.
SCENE: Dining room in the castle. MELTY is standing in front of five TOWNSFOLK, who are kneeling on the floor: INNKEEPER, WOMAN who defended her house from the mob, and three others. MELTY looks tired, but keeps it together: with small bags under her eyes, and an occasional lock of hair breaking out of her ponytails.
MELTY: Congratulations on winning the election. I hope you will rule this town in accordance with the wishes of other townsfolk - and I likewise hope you will turn this… voting… into a regular tradition. I very much look forward to finding out how this little experiment turns out.
INNKEEPER: But…who among us is the count?
MELTY: You hold the title collectively. You will be treated the same way as certain monasteries that have been allowed control over parcels of land, though by land area, you would be the largest by far. Should an individual be required to attend a function or to report to the marquees above you, you should simply appoint one among you five to go.
MELTY motions with her hand.
MELTY: I will be leaving the town soon, and communicate your assignment to your marquees. You should see about taking over our efforts to clear out the other half of the town, and deciding on how to fairly split up the freed land between those who helped defend us all from the monsters.
TOWNSFOLK salute MELTY, and MELTY heads out of the room, proceeding to the castle courtyard, where NAOFUMI, CONSTANCE, RAPHTALIA and FILO are celebrating. MELTY stops in the doors, fixes up her appearance, and smirks mischievously, approaching NAOFUMI.
MELTY: So, Naofumi, how do you like the results of this election?
NAOFUMI raises an eyebrow.
NAOFUMI: Well enough. What do you mean?
MELTY: Oh, I am sure it was tragic to see someone like our esteemed innkeeper among the five elected, given her intense opposition to your politics. One of the others owned quite a few slaves, too.
NAOFUMI: What?
MELTY: For someone as concerned as you are with the popular will, it must have hurt to see two open slavery advocates elected into government, no? How does it feel to see this "will of the people" turn against you?
NAOFUMI opens his mouth, closes it, opens it again, then begins to laugh. MELTY squints at him.
MELTY: What is so funny?
NAOFUMI laughs louder. MELTY crosses her arms.
MELTY: Well, share the joke, asshole. What am I missing?
NAOFUMI finally manages to get himself under control.
NAOFUMI: Oh, I am sorry, it's just - oh man. You sounded just like Ren for a second.
MELTY: I am assuming that is meant to be insulting, even though I don't see how it could be. Talking to Ren had been nothing but perfectly pleasant, unlike you.
NAOFUMI: Don't worry about it. Oh man. I mean, of course we elected a bunch of racist slavers into government. It's a racist slaver town, what the hell kind of result did you expect? We got two of our own people in, which is about all I was hoping for.
NAOFUMI shakes his head.
NAOFUMI: What, do you think democracy is the end of history? It's just step one. A necessary one, but there's like eighty nine other steps you have to take to build a better world, and if you forget one, it all unwinds itself until you are all the way back to fascist bullshit. Look, even the way we did this vote sucks - it doesn't scale in the slightest and none of it was anonymous. Thankfully nobody started a new fight over the demihumans being present for the vote and gathering around specific candidates, but without Filo here, this wouldn't work nearly as well. Voter intimidation would have been rampant. The people we elected no doubt will have more problems after we are done - everyone saw how many demihumans voted for them before leaving, after all.
MELTY slowly raises an eyebrow.
MELTY: If it, as you say, "sucks", then why did you even propose it?
NAOFUMI shrugs.
NAOFUMI: It's not like we could really do something better. In my world, most votes were done with ballots, anonymous pieces of paper that were counted after the fact - but that's not something you can just do right away. First of all, half the town can't even read or write, so that already shoots the idea dead in the water. Secondly, it's a question of trust, and it's hard to beat trusting your own eyes that can look at a crowd of people. Any other system wouldn't be trusted, not when the people here have never done a single vote in their life. So this is the best we can do right now.
MELTY: No doubt yet another thing your world somehow managed just fine.
NAOFUMI snorts.
NAOFUMI: In my world everyone could read so well we started to redefine what "literate" meant, because otherwise everyone would already qualify. But yes, this is one of the many reasons why socialist governments push for universal literacy as one of the primary goals.
MELTY: To get people to vote?
NAOFUMI: To get people engaged, reading books, writing letters to each other. You have studied in university, surely you know how much that helps, to share your opinions with the others? The same principle applies to every other facet of the economy - even if all you do is grow cotton, there is plenty you can learn from other farmers across the world. This will be necessary in your world, too, as science advances. You monarchs may be fine with peasants being treated like dumb animals, but socialists see things differently.
NAOFUMI pauses, making a careless gesture.
NAOFUMI: But really, the point wasn't even the vote itself. Fuck this town and fuck their government of racists. The point was to get people engaged with the process, thinking about their life, who gets a say in it, as opposed to just sitting around praying for their count to fix things. This government will suck - but the next one should be better. We did our best to make sure our candidates got on the board, so with any hope, they wouldn't collapse back to a single count ruling over everyone - but we'll see.
MELTY shakes her head.
MELTY: What pictures you paint, a world where everyone is like one of our scholars. I could almost feel excited about ruling, if that is something I could bring about in Melromarc.
In a flash of light, MYNE and MOTOYASU materialize in the middle of the castle courtyard. MYNE appears dejected, almost gray compared to how she was just a day ago. Her hand is trembling, clutched around the edge of her jacket. MELTY and NAOFUMI turn to them in surprise, and MELTY approaches MYNE.
MELTY: Myne! Just in time. We've just finished dealing with the mess here. I hope you kept the casualties low?
MYNE shakes her head sadly.
MYNE: The capital is fine. Melty, Mother is back, and requests your presence.
MELTY freezes with her mouth half open. A second later, she blinks, and heads back to NAOFUMI, keeping her eyes on MYNE.
MELTY: What? I couldn't quite hear you. Oh, I almost forgot, give me a moment.
MYNE frowns in confusion.
MYNE: Melty, we have to go. You know we can't leave Mother waiting.
MELTY approaches NAOFUMI, grabs him by the shoulder, and whispers in his ear.
MELTY [WHISPERING]: Get me out of here, now.
NAOFUMI [WHISPERING]: Get you where?
MELTY [WHISPERING]: Doesn't matter. Anywhere!
NAOFUMI shrugs, and puts a hand on MELTY's shoulder. MELTY turns to MYNE and waves at her.
MELTY: Well, I didn't quite hear you, but we'll be right back. See you tomorrow, Myne!
MYNE scowls and rushes towards MELTY.
MYNE: Melty! Don't you dare, I need my sister -
MELTY and NAOFUMI dissolve into light just before MYNE reaches them, leaving baffled MYNE, MOTOYASU, CONSTANCE, RAPHTALIA and FILO behind.
Dramatis Personae
NAOFUMI IWATANI, THE SHIELD HERO. One of the socialists. Amateur vote organizer.KITAMURA MOTOYASU, THE SPEAR HERO. Autonomous teleportation platform. Technically in the chapter.
PRINCESS MELTY Q. MELROMAC. First heir to the throne of Melromarc. Amateur vote organizer. Ran away from dinner with Mother.
PRINCESS MYNE Q. MELROMARC. Second heir to the throne of Melromarc. Returned with an invitation to dinner.
RAPHTALIA. One of the socialists. Conflicted morals.
CONSTANCE VON MARUKIEVICH / FREDALIA. Secretly demihuman. Unapologetic consequentialist.
FILO. Just hanging out.
INNKEEPER. Still racist. Newly elected demicount of the town. Grudgingly elevated to recurring character status.
WYNDI. Young demihuman from the plantations of Idoru Reibia.
Winged_One
Head Engineer of ATHENA
- Location
- Low Earth Orbit
Now that the heroes have managed to resolve the 99% slaver vs 100% slaver electoral problem, you may consider getting engaged in some political organising yourself. Some people say that voting is about your own personal voice and expressing your individual opinion. This is, of course, not the position of The Summoned Hero Is A Historical Materialist??. Voting is about picking who you want to hold more power - even if you are planning to skip town immediately afterwards. And when it comes to power, there is no substitute for organising together - making ten other people vote correctly is ten times as effective as voting on your own.
If you are in the USA, then I'd like to recommend Progressive Victory, which is a volunteer electioneering group that works to elect progressive candidates for various posts, they do phone banking, canvassing, etc. Currently, a fair amount of work is going into the upcoming general election, but it had been active before and will continue to be active after.
If you are more into workplace organising side of things and not political campaigns, I would recommend the IWW - this is a big union that does grassroots organising and such, they have trainings for how to talk to coworkers about unionisation, etc. The link goes to the American branch, there is also a big one in the UK, and Europe. Other countries might consider googling around for an equivalent local organisation; there almost certainly is one. In the US, I have also heard this group mentioned as fairly effective.
Consider contacting any of these groups as a form of deeper engagement with the themes of the story, and remember: together we bargain, divided we beg.
If you are in the USA, then I'd like to recommend Progressive Victory, which is a volunteer electioneering group that works to elect progressive candidates for various posts, they do phone banking, canvassing, etc. Currently, a fair amount of work is going into the upcoming general election, but it had been active before and will continue to be active after.
If you are more into workplace organising side of things and not political campaigns, I would recommend the IWW - this is a big union that does grassroots organising and such, they have trainings for how to talk to coworkers about unionisation, etc. The link goes to the American branch, there is also a big one in the UK, and Europe. Other countries might consider googling around for an equivalent local organisation; there almost certainly is one. In the US, I have also heard this group mentioned as fairly effective.
Consider contacting any of these groups as a form of deeper engagement with the themes of the story, and remember: together we bargain, divided we beg.
ExNihilo
SPACE!
- Location
- USA
- Pronouns
- He/Him
My, everyone really is terrified of Mirellia, huh. Theoretically, teleporting away and leaving half his party behind could be a problem, but between Filo's combat strength and Motoyasu's unlikeliness to do anything too rash to Raphtalia, it should be fine.
And congratulations! A democracy! Technically. If you can keep it. But the value of being able to point at an existing and present system is valuable in itself, and they can hardly do worse than Idoru Reibia. If only because they can't summon a T-Rex, if nothing else.
And congratulations! A democracy! Technically. If you can keep it. But the value of being able to point at an existing and present system is valuable in itself, and they can hardly do worse than Idoru Reibia. If only because they can't summon a T-Rex, if nothing else.
- Location
- Moscow
I would like to object to direct political propaganda/shilling/endorsement in story thread on ethical grounds.
A post like that invites response. Whether people would agree or disagree or even criticize the promoted organizations, such posts have to be open to responses on their merits. However, any commentary would naturally be offtopic to the story, and invite moderator action and, at worst, bans if things get heated. Therefore the endorsement gets naturally shielded from possible criticisms, and I view this unethical.
This is different from characters expressing views in the story.
I agree. In the future, I think that you should write an Intermission for the script wherein the characters take a break from the action and turn to face the
HoratioVonBecker
Imperfectly Aligned
On the one hand I think that's a fair principle, but on the other hand, @Winged_One decided it was on topic, so I think commenting on it is in fact on topic. It's not like we haven't had a page or two of arguing politics per chapter in this thread.
Reading through this chapter for the first time today, I still can't help but feel bad for Melty in most situations she's in. A smart and generally reasonable young girl stuck in an unreasonable life situation with tyrants for family.
Curious to see how Naofumi's elected officership positions will work out, since contemporary examples mostly died in a war before the long term effects could be observed. Hard work would be needed to ensure nothing like a Trotsky situation occurs like irl during the RCW. Might be a good idea to have some sort of Whampoa Academy esque institution in friendly territory to keep any appointees at the same level. Maybe with hired professional instructors?
In any case, with Mirellia in town it seems like nobody is getting a chance to chill out anytime soon.
Curious to see how Naofumi's elected officership positions will work out, since contemporary examples mostly died in a war before the long term effects could be observed. Hard work would be needed to ensure nothing like a Trotsky situation occurs like irl during the RCW. Might be a good idea to have some sort of Whampoa Academy esque institution in friendly territory to keep any appointees at the same level. Maybe with hired professional instructors?
In any case, with Mirellia in town it seems like nobody is getting a chance to chill out anytime soon.
nicoo
Malfunctioning neurochemistry, please be kind.
- Location
- Europe
- Pronouns
- They/She/Meow
"Strangely" enough, she doesn't seem to even be self-aware enough to realise the shoe is on the other foot for once:
... but the callback to the previous(?) chapter was much appreciated.