Mad God – Reborn

Everyone stood in the spire's throne room, where Ren sat at the top of a stairway, looking down at the kneeling group that was led by Seya. By now, they had swapped their servant clothes for noble attire, all of them wearing either white and violet silk dresses if they were female or white and gold attire if they were male. On Ren's right stood Ariana in simple maid clothing, while on her left stood Sentios, respectfully holding his hands behind his back and dressed as a butler.

"Nya, they look much more refined now!" Kitten meowed in her original demonic form as she looked like a black house cat with heterochromatic eyes. Unceremoniously, she was lying in Ren's lap, enjoying the back scratches, as she quickly got used to being a pet again.

"I hope every one of you got used to living inside the spire," Ren spoke up, looking over at them as they trembled a little. It was still unbelievable that they were now considered part of the 0.1% of Rozex's population. "I already flipped through the family register and entered all your names and positions you will hold inside the courtyard. All of you are going to act in three groups." She explained calmly, "Let's start with the first one, responsible for security."

As she spoke, her eyes landed on one of the young teens named Balbeer. He had very light blond hair, close to a creamy, butter-like color, and deep, violet-colored eyes. He wouldn't have been granted status as part of the main family just because he was a bastard, but the past no longer applied within these walls. Sentios also found that everyone present had a complete report written about them and kept up regularly. It contained their affinities, everyday life details, and how often they went to the bathroom each day... Showing how controlling Rudrick was in his days.

"Balbeer."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" He responded, raising his head and looking up at Ren. Even though he was scared, he still maintained eye contact with her.

"You are going to be the new Guard Captain. Your job will be to organize the courtyard's defenses. I'll list the other names who will work with and under you. You must give them their tasks, hire new guards, plan the working shifts, etc." Ren explained and began naming the rest who would work with him. By then, Balbeer barely heard it, shocked by the position as it meant he would be one of the prominent voices inside the courtyard. "Those under you are not put there to act as guards. You all are one entity responsible for hiring, directing, and maintaining the correct type of personnel. Sentios will manage our funds. After drafting your plans, consult with him to receive the funds needed."

"Y-yes!" Acknowledging the orders, they felt great excitement and were almost glowing.

It was not an accident Ren picked him either. According to the document, Balbeer's affinity couldn't be narrowed down to a natural element; it affected his mind. According to the papers, he could focus his senses and enhance his body's functions, be it hearing, seeing, reflexes, or his memory and thinking speed. Without any apparent cultivation, his cognitive abilities alone would make him the ideal detective anywhere else.

"Your Majesty…" Seya spoke up, trembling slightly to cut in just like that. Still, gathering her courage, she continued while everyone else fell silent, "How are we going to… fund something like… hiring the guards?"

"Good girl…" Ariana smiled, and Ren just nodded at her words.

"You are learning quickly!" Ren chuckled in an approving voice, nodding. "When any of you have questions, just ask. Asking a question is not a sin. Wanting to understand and learn is commendable! As for the funds, you don't need to be afraid; we secured a good amount of gold and other valuables still in the courtyard's coffers. I am not someone who doesn't like to spend what she has!" She laughed loudly. "Money can always be made, and we live now."

"Thank the gods my nephew was not the one inheriting the Empire… if you became the Queen there, I tremble at the thought of what would have happened!" Sentios said as he sent over a voice transmission.

"Ahaha, relax, relax. I'm not here to bankrupt us." Ren replied with a grin. "But we need to kickstart the whole thing, and for that, I am willing to spend a few hundred years of wealth. It is only collecting dust anyway!"

"I hope so…" He shook his head, flashing a defeated smile.

"Back to the topic…" She cleared her throat and continued, "Next is Daryan."

"Yes!" Another male voice replied, belonging to a slightly older, taller boy. He had completely black, short hair and reddish eyes. His stature was double that of Balbeer, even when kneeling. "You are going to be responsible for leading the courtyard's industrial sector."

"The... industrial...?" He repeated her words, as no one had ever called it that before.

"The workshops and whatever else there is," Ren explained. "We need to hire new people. Trusty souls at that, because I am going to share some cool things with you all. Great inventions, ahahaha! You are all going to love it!"

"..." The rest looked at each other, not knowing what she meant by that… at all.

"Daryan, if I read correctly, your mother is one of the noble families in Rozex, yes?"

"Um… y-yes." He nodded, gulping loudly. "She is from the Nelvis family. They have four manufacturers, mainly focused on weapon and armor crafting for the other noble families."

"Good! I'll have you deliver a message to them; I want to bring them in and have them operate our own businesses inside the courtyard."

"But, but!" He stood up, perplexed. "I have… I have no recollection of them. I was… taken away early, a year or two after my birth!" he said with a slightly panicked voice. "My mother was…" he tried to explain, but his voice quickly died down. Back then, he knew his mother was just a one-night stand for a family member, and his birth was nothing more than an... accident.

"More reasons for you to go home and visit them. If nothing else, they will refuse, but I still tried. On the plus side, you had a chance to reconnect with her." She smiled at him as Daryan held back his following words, wiping away his tears, kneeling, and lowering his head. "I'll read out the names of those who are going to work with you." Ren continued in a kind voice and finally called out another name after she was done. "Seya."

"Yes!" She replied immediately.

"The rest of the courtyard's organization is going to fall on your shoulders. Your job will be a bit more complex: besides helping the other two groups and managing them, you'll also hire new servants for the whole courtyard and handle whatever else comes up in between. Those who haven't heard their names will be working with you. You will also report directly to me, and so will Balbeer and Daryan. Of course, after you all get used to your positions, I expect you to solve problems independently and only come to me when real trouble rears its head."

"Are you expecting trouble, Your Majesty?" Seya asked immediately.

"Oh yes…" Ren leaned forward with a grin, making the younglings' smiles, plastered across their faces minutes earlier, freeze. "A lot… in fact," she said, watching their faces. "So…" She waved her hand, and a book appeared before everyone present, titled Body Refinement Realm. "Read up on it. Every day at 8 in the morning and 6 in the evening, we are going to hold a lecture, and I am going to train you all. It is time we sorted out your cultivation levels."

…

….

…..

A few days later, Ariana and Ren stood on the spire's balcony, watching the newly hired guards patrol the walls, looking like busy ants from that distance. The same was true of the new servants, keeping the garden prim and proper, trimming the bushes, sweeping petals from the roads, and feeding the fish in the pond.

"I am surprised it went somewhat smoothly," Ren said, leaning against the marble railing.

"There were only small hiccups," Ariana answered. "It seems that inside the city, money can buy everything. Nobody brought up trouble when Balbeer went out to hire new guards. Seeing his clothing, most people cleared the roads or lines in front of shops."

"Well, it is the city of the Naulins; nobody dares to cause trouble to one of theirs." Ren laughed, but just then, Sentios's voice reached their ears from the main gate.

"We have some trouble."

"Damn… I spoke too soon…" Ren groaned while Ariana just giggled as if she had just jinxed herself. "What is it?"

"Some of our people just came back; they say Daryan got rejected at the gates of the Nelvis family's courtyard."

"Did they say why?" Ren stretched with a soft moan, already expecting something like this.

"No. They outright refused to listen to what he had to say, and the guards drove him away."

"Was there a fight?" Ariana asked, raising her eyebrows.

"No. Daryan stayed there, trying to persuade them. So far, he has failed every attempt, so he sent people back to ask for help. Also…”

"Also?"

"There came another group. They said they were from the Spire of Keina and delivered a letter of invitation."

"Oh, how nice!" Ren laughed. "So this Keina is the first of the four to contact me? Did they say anything else?"

"That a party is going to be held tonight, and you are expected to appear before your peers," Sentios explained, and they could feel his mouth twitching. "The two hags delivering the message looked like they almost vomited while talking to me. I heard about Keina; they say she is… disgusted by men. Seems like they were not exaggerating if her servants act like this."

"Men can be weird…" Ariana murmured under her breath, "But hating them is weirder…"

"Each to their own!" Ren shook her head, not really bothering with it. "But inviting me to something that is going to be held on the same day? Shouldn't they tell me way beforehand? Are they expecting me to just… do what they tell me to do? Ignore it."

"Your Majesty?" Sentios's voice came after a brief pause.

"I'm not interested in a pajama party. I'm not going! I have a ton of things to set up anyway. If this Keina fellow wants something, let her come to me. Tell any other future arrivals that if they are here to invite me out, I am busy. Don't bother me with nonsense!"

"As you wish," he answered with a chuckle, and just as he was about to cut the connection, he spoke up again. "You should come down."

"What happened?" she asked, her voice more focused as she sensed a strong presence approaching her home.

"A carriage is heading for us, carrying the crest of the Spire of Rabout. He… he is… only second to Zelig when it comes to how many years one lived. As far as I know, he is reclusive and eccentric. His crest did not show up outside his courtyard for… hundreds of years. Until now."

"Haahh… okay, okay. I'll go." Ren nodded, and before flying down, she patted her disciple's shoulder. "Go and help out Daryan. Try not to use force; we have other options if they don't budge. Just… let the kid have closure, or it would hinder his future cultivation. That was the main goal of this anyway."

"Of course, Master!" she said, kind warmth glinting in her eyes. "This is why I love you, Master. You always care about your people!" Ariana replied with a blush, but Ren just patted her buttocks playfully.

"Go now, girl! We can flirt later!" She laughed before jumping off the balcony and quickly flying down to the main gate, while Ariana blushed and stomped in place after the pats on her bottom cheeks.

"I was not flirting!" She shouted after her but lowered her head as she slowly merged into the shadows to go after Daryan. "I… think…" She murmured in an unsure voice before disappearing.