Swarming Sovereignty

Chapter 19: Bookkeeping

Pager went off, informing Rose that Lia had returned and was seeking her again. She turned to find Lia walking up to her, a satisfied expression on her face.

Rose asked.

Lia asked curiously.

Rose replied. never

Rose nodded.

Rose said.

that

Lia gave Rose a quick nod, then stood up as if she was standing at attention.

whatever

And with that, Lia turned and left, walking back over to the piles of stuff and leaving Rose to her work. It went…well; while her raiding parties sometimes sustained minor injuries or even some deaths, Rose was astounded by just how monsters regenerated. All they really had to do was eat some food and they would be healed in an hour or two, and would be ready to be sent out again.

Though…perhaps that was just a feature of the swarm? Rose seemed to remember slowly whittling down some particularly powerful monsters over the course of a few days, though she couldn’t recall the exact monsters she had done this to. Or…maybe all monsters were like this, and stronger monsters just took longer or needed a lot more food? There were just too many unknowns in the situation to say anything for sure.

That aside, the swarm’s numbers slowly but surely began to rise. The group that had been hunting the rats Amelia sent brought back a total of ten, and every hour or two another rat was captured and brought back to add to that number.

The next goblin that was brought back was converted with the papers, and a rat for good measure. To Rose’s delight, she was indeed able to make kobolds, and in this case could make a “Lesser Swarm Bookkeeper”. It was a race that was specialized in…well, bookkeeping. It wasn’t something that was necessary at the moment, but Rose was sure making it would be best for the long term; being able to know exactly what their stores contained was vital when objects could be used in all the different ways the swarm provided.

The conversion took a surprisingly long time, almost an hour. When it was finished, the kobold looked…different than how Rose had expected it to. With the notable exception of the knight and the lightborns, most converted creatures Rose had seen looked...well, pretty similar to how they had before conversion.

The bookkeeper seemed to be one of those exceptions. Rather than the crude leathers the goblin she was made from had been wearing, the bookkeeper was wearing a sharply tailored business suit. And, while her figure wasn’t anywhere near what the knight had, she still breasts, something that kobolds and goblins generally didn’t have. Her face was much more humanoid than that of the other kobolds, lacking the animalistic muzzle they had, and her light gray fur was neatly combed. Finally, she held a clipboard and pen under one of her arms, and a pair of glasses was tucked neatly into her breast pocket.

In short, were it not for the fact that she was still clearly a kobold and not a ratkin, she didn’t look like she would be out of place in an actual business setting. She walked over, giving Rose a small bow before standing up straight, clearly waiting for orders.

Rose hesitated. Over the past hour she had been mulling over what exactly to do with the bookkeeper, and had eventually come to a conclusion. She…wasn’t sure if this was something that was wholly acceptable, even given Lia’s lax rules on what Rose could do, but…nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Rose instructed, and led the bookkeeper over to Lia.

Lia asked.

The bookkeeper gave another bow in response, then turned to Rose, a questioning look in her eyes.

Rose began,

Lia replied. that

Rose said uncomfortably. just

Lia was silent for a long moment, then heaved a sigh. She said. right

Rose soothed. I

Rose continuedwill

Lia admitted.

Rose agreed.

Lia nodded.

Lia said.

doRose asked curiously.

whatLia paused, turning to stare at the bookkeeper.

After another couple of moments of staring, she spoke up. She commanded. Her words were… than they had been just a moment prior. There was an immense sense of weight, as if Lia wasn’t just commanding the bookkeeper, but the universe itself.

The bookkeeper blinked, and a sort of light filled her eyes, one that hadn’t been present before. She cast her eyes around, then sank to a knee in reverence. “Thank you, my Queen.” She said. “I am honored.”

“I would like nothing more right now.”

“Of course, my Queen.” Lily replied, turning to Rose. “How may I help?”

Rose said.

“At once.” Lily said, standing up and smoothing out her completely unwrinkled suit. “I will have it done by morning.”

Lia said. person

Rose asked, tilting her head in confusion.

Lia said quickly. ethictoo

Rose asked. too

needdown

can’timmediatelyreally

anywillor

Lia turned to Lily.

“Yes, my Queen.” Lily replied, giving her a bow. “Consider it done.”

Lia turned back to Rose. nowimmediately

not

Rose sighed, but nodded.

anythingwill