Chapter 577 577 What’s In A Name?
Chapter 577 577 What’s In A Name?
Wolfe realized once he was in the shower that there wasn’t going to be anything even close to acceptable, as his senses were so much more keen than the average, but fortunately, he had brought soap with him in his backpack, part of the essential toiletries kit that Forest Grove packed for everyone going on trips, but mostly for their scouts.
It was made by the Fae, and designed to match with the smell of the forest, so that scouts didn’t stand out to the animals and other residents, but that made it very noticeable here inside the city.
He refreshed his armour spell, bringing back the formal robes, and headed for the living room to meet with Priya before tonight’s big party for the newly awakened witches.
Predictably, with so much more work to do to get ready, Priya wasn’t back yet, so Wolfe made himself comfortable, while the maids gave him furtive looks from the kitchen, where they were polishing the wooden floors and cleaning windows.
The house looked like they did that on a regular basis, Wolfe had never seen hardwood floors quite so shiny, and other than the occasional looks that they were sending him, they were focused on their work.
“Would you care for a refreshment, sir?” The butler asked a moment later, then set down a tray of assorted juices and champagne in front of Wolfe.
“Thank you. Tell me, how is the recovery going? Not the official press release version, how is staffing throughout the city? Did they lose a lot of skilled tradespeople?” Wolfe asked.
He had the basic details of the plan from Priya already, but she hadn’t touched on how things were in the city, only on how they were going in the rest of the territory, which was not good at all.
“Inside the city, we’re pretty good. The soldiers were mostly young, so we didn’t lose too many tradespeople, but we’ve lost a pretty significant portion of that generation. For every witch between twenty and thirty, we have three who are between ten and twenty and five who are over fifty.” The Butler quietly replied.
There wasn’t much cure for that, but it was going to make a gap in the number of children coming in the future, which would cause staffing problems again twenty years from now, when there was nobody coming of age to replace those who were retiring.
Some of that might be mitigated by the extra mana density strengthening the witches and letting them work longer, but it didn’t actually solve the problem, only created a new one instead.
“Well, there isn’t much to be done about that, I suppose. But as long as there are enough people with the skills to keep things inside the city running, then I suppose that it will work out well enough in the end.” Wolfe replied.
The Butler gave him a concerned look and lowered his voice so those in the other room wouldn’t hear.
“But what about the winter Monster Tides? They might not be as bad as last winter, but we don’t have anyone on the border, it’s wide open and at this rate everything will be overrun.” The Butler whispered.
Wolfe tapped his lips, gesturing for the Butler to keep this a secret.
“We are working out a deal with the Coven Council to move in refugees from the Frozen Wastes. Either our city or yours will send witches to manage the villages, and we will be sending them weapons to keep the border secure. We have the means to break the curses on them now, so the communication issues won’t last long, and they already have the skills to keep villages operating smoothly.” Wolfe explained.
That was one of the next projects that he was going to have to take up. If he set a [Mana Purification] array in every village, it would break the curses on the refugees in only a few weeks, and they could start functioning as a normal village.
They would need witches to dig them a den, though. Even though the houses were still intact and partially stocked, the refugees had always felt safer underground. They wouldn’t stay if there wasn’t a den to hide in.
The Butler smiled. “Oh, so that is how it is. That will be an interesting thing to see for sure. Thank you for your guidance, Mister Noxus.”
Wolfe chuckled, and the butler gave him a concerned look.
“Did I get your name wrong? I was informed that you were known as Wolfe Noxus.” The Butler informed him in his formal working tone.
“No, you are exactly correct. I’m just not used to it. The residents of the Frozen Wastes have taken to calling me Mister Wolfe, so being addressed by my Family name feels a bit odd, even if it is proper.”
The Butler chuckled at his response. “Aren’t you a bit young to be the loveable Uncle that everyone calls by their first name?”
“You would think so, but it appears that age isn’t as much of a concern in the Wastes.”
Priya walked in to see Wolfe and the Butler sharing a joke, while the maids watched them from the other room, wondering what the two men were up to.
Though he was older than Wolfe by a full two decades, the Butler himself was still a well-built man in his early forties, and was actually quite popular with the other staff. Seeing the two of them together was practically eye candy in this male-deprived environment. The Coven Leader rarely hired men, as it was easier to have everyone able to use magic, and the city was short on them to begin with.
It was much like the situation in Forest Grove before all the others began to arrive, and the reminder of her childhood made Priya smile. No matter how many things had changed in the last year, they were still somewhat the same, only now she was more in tune with nature, and immensely more powerful than she had ever dreamed about being in the past.