Heading back to the Gaea Villa, the couple were excited to have a nice long bath. In Garan’s case, a bath together would be ideal.
It was just that when they entered the house, they were greeted by two little buns running right straight to them.
"Mwama!" her daughter yelled, so adorable with her hair bunned at both sides.
Her rambunctious son also stopped playing with his toy car, running to her too, but he was much louder and because he was chubbier than Pepper his steps were louder.
"Mwamaaaa!"
Then they saw their father right behind her and they brightened even more. "Dadaaaa!!!"
Althea could only stay still as they once again grabbed her ankles. She was a bit dirty, but they ought to take a bath too before sleeping anyway.
She giggled as she lifted them up, smooching their soft faces. Garan smiled and kissed everyone too, feeling incredibly warm in his heart.
She realized they were dirtier than expected though. Some dust and a bit of blood were smudged on the babies’ clothes.
"Oh, dear…" she said, a bit embarrassed. "Let’s take a swim together, ne?"
This naturally excited the babies who love swimming. "Swim! Swim!"
She laughed, hugging her two babies to the bathroom. They all took a rinsing shower before heading to the tub and—with her husband’s very strained help—they all got cleaned together. After half-an-hour of ’swimming’, the parents readied themselves and the babies for bed.
Garan fortunately moved on from his plans tonight, knowing the kids would not let go of their mother. His face showed a bit of disappointment though.
Althea laughed as she saw this. She whispered something to the two babies and she held them up to his face, and the babies stretched their little arms and wrapped them around his face, giving him baby smooches all over.
Garan’s face softened and he held up the babies, taking them to sleep himself.
She giggled and joined in, readying to sleep with the babies spooned between them. It didn’t take long, and the four of them fell into a well-deserved slumber.
…
After about a day of rest, another meeting among Elders was initiated. This was to give more time for those who dealt with the clean-up, especially Mathilda and Garan (who woke up after three hours of sleeping), to rest properly.
A lot of interesting things also happened during this time.
First of all, as expected, a lot of the more powerful non-slaves had tried to escape. After all, they were not bound by the system to stay, and the best time to do so was during the trial.
The administration was busy with the thousands of other captured enemies at this time, and the rules were still null and— at the time— would end within a few hours. This was why they had to rush to make a move.
One data set they received was the census from the administration team. They were the ones who monitored the Village Center and took care of the registrations there, recording everything, and making sure people were easily found according to their expertise.
A lot of details and background weren’t reflected in the system. Even if they were, they couldn’t bother her with everything right?
Anyway, they had also done oaths that would require them to
Althea was impressed that they got everyone as indicated in her system though. She naturally cross-referenced to see their accuracy, and she was relieved.
The number of Residents was at the exact number. The population—which included the slaves and prisoners of wars—was still being updated as of now, but it looked to be more or less accurate.
This showed how efficient and organized the Administration Department was.
Should she reward them with a bigger government office? The average population in a town was several times more than what they had now, it was only a matter of time before their current floors wouldn’t be enough anymore.
Mathilda had mentioned the paperwork was starting to feel cluttered. They should get more room for their cabinets, yes.
She noted that down. When she built the new walls, she would probably create a government zone so each department could have their own buildings.
Hmn, how exciting.
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