I wake up feeling weight on both of my arms. As I look down I see Elonshe and Yrelvia laying on top of them. I remember what happened last night and I can't help but grin. Who knows, maybe my harem dream might come into fruition, but only time will tell. I slowly move them off my hands without waking them up, probably they are still a little tired. I dress up and stretch out. As I open the door and exit my room I see Miriam and Marie standing there with their hands crossed. I can't tell if they are mad or what, difficult to tell from their expression.

Mason: Morning ladies. Sleep well, haha.

Miriam: Are you proud of yourself?

Mason: Truth be told, I am. I hope you will forgive me that I slept with them.

Marie: Oh we aren't mad about that. We couldn't fucking sleep from all the noise. Like seriously, could have you all been more considerate?

Mason: Oh, sorry about that. Are we jealous perhaps?

Marie: N-no. Just annoyed that I didn't get a good sleep.

Mason: Yeah, yeah. That blush on your face says otherwise. 

Marie only blushes more and Miriam giggles. As how tough Marie is, she is really a rather untruthful person towards herself. Together we head towards the dining room where a couple maid have already prepared our breakfast but are confused as to where Yrelvia is.

Mason: Don't worry, they are just resting, they should be here shortly. 

The maids nod and we sit down and eat. The food definitely misses some salt but otherwise it is nice. Finally Yrelvia joins us, she looks refreshed and joyful, she looks at us and smiles at me. We talk about what we will be doing today. The women will be getting ready for their jobs, that includes a little bit of training and as for me. I will be taken to my new position to meet my future coworkers and to get the gist of what I will be doing. But before doing that I have to dress up more accordingly, I will be working in the governance so I need to look presentable. And one nation that always had decent looking uniforms was Britain.

Once I am finished dressing up and preparing I leave the room. I get a whistle from Miriam. I look at her.

Miriam: Damn, you look hot in that. You have to wear that kind of stuff more often, it suits you.

Mason: Maybe I will. Just for you my little devil.

I get hit in the chest and a giggle. We both hug each other. I was told that Marie had already gone to the Academy so I head straight over to Yrelvia. She is waiting me with a carriage and we get in and head out.

Yrelvia: Have to say, looks good that attire. Why the sudden change of clothes?

Mason: Well, I will be working in the politics and diplomatic side so I have to look presentable.

Yrelvia: Oh, that is good.

She said that with a slight tone of sadness and I wonder what that is for. Was I trying to much, maybe, but you have to look as presentable as possible so that the other side of the negotiation gets an idea on how to address you.

Mason: Tell me, when are the representatives coming over. 

Yrelvia: Well, they should be arriving some time during this week. In two or three days they said.

Mason: What do you expect and hope?

Yrelvia: Dwarves aren't too terrible so I expect a little bit more of respect from them. Honestly, I just hope that we manage to just get to some kind of common ground. 

Mason: Will I be able to attend?

Yrelvia: Do you want to, really?

Mason: Why not, I don't see a problem. I know my way around stubborn people trust me. 

Yrelvia: Well if you want you can.

I nod. We talk a little more until we finally reach the destination and boy, let me tell you was I disappointed. I mean, the Guild building I worked for a short time was bigger than this. Like, I don't hate it or anything but a government building can not be this small, it simply isn't tolerable.

If anything it looks more like a larger mansion than anything. Worn out, dull colors, this needs to be addressed. Now I know why she was sad, my outfit simply fits in more with a grandiose building, not at this sort of establishment.

Yrelvia: I-I know it doesn't look much.

Mason: Yea, I can see it.

Yrelvia: It is the best we can do for the moment.

Mason: You will either have to move you offices to a more grandiose building or we will have to do a lot of renovation on this. If you want to be respected you have to look respectable. First things first, give it a new paint job and facade.

Yrelvia: You just got here and you are acting like a boss.

Mason: What I am doing is giving you advice and tips on how to do things, especially in politics. Politics is all about presentation, charisma, toughness and knowing how to strike a deal.

She doesn't say anything. Instead we head on inside and as we walk in it is slightly better than on the outside but not by much. We are immediately greeted by a receptionist, a Lamia I can only presume. She has a human upper body and a lower serpent. 

???: Hi there Yrelvia. Who might this gentleman be next to you? A representative?

Yrelvia: No, he is our future coworker. Mason.

Paphone: Well, nice to meet you Mason, interesting name for a demon. I am Paphone. I hope we get along just nicely.

I take her hand and kiss it which does catch her by surprise but only smiles. 

Mason: Nice to meet you Paphone, I am thinking of changing my name though. To something more fitting.

Paphone: My, a gentleman. Why change your name?

Yrelvia: Yeah, why.

Mason: Well it doesn't suit me anymore. Yeah it did in my past maybe but not now. 

Paphone: Well, still nice to meet you. 

Mason: Like wise Ma'am.

We head on up to see the office where I will be working. She shows me my workplace. A small room, a single table with a sofa behind it where I will be working behind, bookshelves with quite a few books which is good, I will have time to read. A couple chairs and a window to look out of, nothing too special but good enough. Then I go over to meet my coworkers, apart from Paphone and Yrelvia there are four more. A Ork named Groktarg, he is big and menacing but otherwise a good fellow, doesn't mean no harm. He is in charge of the industrial segment, despite his looks would lead to believe you he is quite a visionary. Then we have Paleine, a Dryad, she is undoubtably pretty, expected of her race, she is in charge of feeding the populace. What surprised me is that there is a Dragonkin here, Zelzes and he is in charge of the military, from what I got he is quite a strategist and lead quite a few armies into battle so he does have experience. And then we have a Lich, a weird name, Tab'ghun, while he is the embodiment of creepy he is weirdly in charge of culture and economy. He seems really passionate for the short talk we had over those things, I guess. Never judge a book by it's cover. But they are definitely understaffed. Yrelvia is the outside afairs and essentially like the prime minister, they don't have a king or president but she acts like it. 

We all gather around a table, it seems that I have arrived in the right moment. They seem to be talking about some ideas, they don't seem bad but they don't have priorities straight. I clear my throat to get their attention. 

Yrelvia: Yes, Mason, what is it?

Mason: I know that I might sound harsh, all these ideas are ok but you need to cover the basics. What about the economy, employment, internal and external security. 

Tab'ghun: What do you propose then?

Mason: Tab'ghun, you need to pump up the economy, make some banks so the people can deposit, start making money, trade isn't a efficient. Groktarg, you need to help him out, start by making large projects such as fabrics, road networks, basically everything that can bring down the unemployment. 

Yrelvia: Aren't you a little too demanding?

Mason: Maybe I am, but I am doing this for you own good.

Zelzes: I am sorry, but what kind of experience and education have you got.

Mason: I know how this stuff functions, I might not look like it but I do. Zelzes, you will have to cut a small part of the army to make a police force.

Zelzes: Why? We need soldiers.

Mason: If you plan to have laws you have to have someone to enforce them and make sure that the people are in order. That also means we have to have judges and such stuff. And Paleine.

She looks at me surprised. She is probably expecting a little bit of my harsh mouth.

Mason: Keep doing what you are doing? The people seem really well fed so I don't think that you need to do anymore... Acutally, could you plant some trees in the city, and maybe build a park. For recreation.

Yrelvia: Mason I do..

Mason: Listen, I know that I now look like a commanding person who doesn't know his place. But you need to realize that you have to fix the priorities such as jobs, stability be it economical, social or security. Education is next, I think we can arrange that with the help of the headmaster. 

There is only silence in the room, nobody is ready to speak. They probably never thought about this stuff, since they never had to worry about it. But now they need to if they want to build a country. Economy is the life blood of any successful country. 

Mason: Now, what natural resources do we have?

Groktarg: We have iron, copper, coal and of course wood in vast amounts.

Mason: Perfect. We can either sell it as a raw resource or we can turn it into something. You decide.

Yrelvia: Turn it into what?

Mason: Well we can build things out of wood to export, and we can make a new sort of metal that is tougher than iron. 

Zelzes: Tougher than iron. I doubt it would be stronger than mithril.

Mason: Maybe it is or maybe it isn't. All I know it is strong and good for building. That should help us start earning money and favorable trades or we can concentrate it to ourselves. That is up to you to decide. 

Yrelvia: We will take it up to consideration. And with that, our meeting is concluded, everyone go to your posts.

I enter my office and already see a stack of letters on my desk. I sit down and start looking through them. Most of them are about internal turmoil, fights, robberies and similar things that could get resolved with a police force to patrol the streets. One letter catches my eye, it is different than others. I open it and see that it is from the Elven kingdom, they wish to meet up. I guess it might have been sent to me by mistake so I decide to take it to Yrelvia. I enter her office.

Yrelvia: Hi Mason, what's up.

Mason: I got a letter from the Elves, they wish to meet up for talks.

She immediately lights up and starts writing a letter back. With that my first day goes by rather quickly, went through some more problems, read a couple of pages of a book and chatted with my coworkers. Once we finally come back home we sit at the table to exchange our experiences for today.

Mason: So gals, how did your day go?

Miriam: Not too bad, a couple of rowdy customers but much more pleasant than dealing with the geezers back home. Earned quite a couple tips.

Mason: Well I am glad that you like it. You Marie?

Marie: Actually good. The kids are really good and a lot of them are cute. It will take some time to get used to this life but I am not complaining. It is a new thing, but it isn't a bad thing. I like it, how about yours? 

Mason: Interesting. I might have come off as a little bossy to my coworkers.

Yrelvia: You think. This guy just started acting like he is our leader and we work for him, not the other way around.

Mason: I am sorry for that but you I am just giving you pointers to what you need to do the first.

Yrelvia: I know, honestly I appreciate it. This is all new to us so we do need help. 

Mason: Don't worry. I want your dream to succeed. 

Yrelvia gives a gentle smile. She genuinely looks happy and appreciative of my help. We exchange more about our day, Marie may have had the best experience today, she seems so happy that she is working as a teacher. One thing I did notice is, Elonshe has been missing the whole day. She might be sick or embarrassed, anyway, I will give  her some space to herself. Our dinner concludes with my Marie and Miriam, without a chance of a vote to sleep with me tonight. Democracy is a lie.