After receiving orders, the slaves worked together to lug the food and supplies to the area the soldiers were gathered. We had an additional 3 carts of supplies, and I concluded that we were still going to have to ration out the food carefully.
"We're used to having one meal a day, Ruina. Don't worry," they reassured. After getting pulled into a million different places, everyone was finally settled down and we were about to start traveling.
"Slave," someone called. I turned and saw a soldier facing me.
"The prince requests your presence," He said. I blinked, taking a second to piece together what he said.
Please don't use such complicated words.
I gave a slight bow and walked over to the area where all the empire flags were raised. That was the last place I saw him anyway.
Once I caught sight of his golden hair, I quickly made my way over and bowed deeply.
"You called, Your Highness."
"Raise your head," he said. I stood upright and waited for him to continue.
"I need a report and record of all the slaves we have, their names, and what they can do," he said, holding out a flat board with a couple pieces of paper. I blinked a couple times, staring at the papers.
"Take it," he said.
"I don't know how to write in Empirian, Your Highness," I said frankly.
"What? You weren't taught when you were younger?" He asked.
"I'll probably be able to recognize a few words while reading, but I was never taught how to write. Most commoners in my town didn't learn to write until they were in their teens or later."
He seemed to sigh, seemingly inconvenienced by my lack of skill.
"I do know how to read and write in Nagarian. I'm not completely illiterate," I commented, frowning.
He took a look at my expression and laughed, "Haha, I apologize if I offended you. Take Kimlo with you, he'll transcribe everything."
I took the board with papers and gave it to the soldier he pointed to. We went around to all the slaves recording their names(most of them I already knew) and wrote down their specialties. I sent a mental thanks to my parents for making sure to teach me all of the technical vocabulary used for slaves in Empirian when they were still alive, otherwise I would've had no clue how to translate anything. I found that there was a total of 126 slaves, and since everyone was already familiar with each other and their previous departments, they had already self-regulated into groups based off of their skills.
I let the soldier return with the report and went back to conversing with everyone. We spent the whole day marching through the countryside only taking short breaks in between mealtimes in which the slaves worked together to swiftly pass out meals. It wasn't until night time, when we started to set up camp that problems started to arise. After the slaves were distributed to the other areas of the camp, it became harder for me to travel across and help translate for everyone. The slaves had all gotten a tour of their prospective areas, so they all knew where everything was in terms of tools and equipment, but I still had to translate everyone's orders.
"There's gotta be an easier way to do this," I mumbled after translating the same orders for the 15th time. I headed over to my next one where the horses were.
"Oh it's fine now, Ruina. I found out what they needed by having them draw a picture in the dirt," he said. I looked at the picture of the brush roughly drawn into the ground.
I gasped as an idea clicked in my brain. I immediately looked for another guard nearby.
"Excuse me!" I called once one came into view.
"Could I have ink and a quill?" They looked at me suspiciously, but complied. I went to as many groups as I could and spoke with the soldiers and slaves, coming up with the most commonly asked needs and making a corresponding icon on the sleeves of all the slaves' tunics. I had to wait till the next morning to go through any leftover departments, but by the time we set off to travel, everyone had a key that they could work with. I also encouraged the soldiers to say the words they correspond with so that everyone could learn the Empirian words quicker. That way eventually the keys wouldn't be needed. My mood increased exponentially at the decrease in my work load. From there, I only had to translate specific orders or those missing from the general key. By the end of the week, everyone had gradually got accustomed to the work and their new routines. The soldiers, having felt the drastic shift in work load, grew to appreciate our presence in the camp and there was a noticeable difference in their attitude toward us. In a couple days time, everyone seemed to be comfortable with each other, and the initial awkwardness had slowly faded away.
"Interpreter!" Someone called. I had just recently gotten promoted from being called "slave" to "interpreter".
"Yes, sir?" I replied, turning to face him. It was one of the inventory knights.
"The prince wishes for you to report to his tent. I'm to escort you there," he said.
"Alright, did he say why?" I asked. The soldier shook his head.
I followed him until we made it to the entrance. He announced my presence, and I went in upon hearing the Prince's permission.
"You called, Your Highness?" I said. He finished signing the document he was looking at and turned his attention to me.
"Yes, give me a report on the status of the slaves currently. As a whole," He casually demanded.
Like...right now? On the spot?
He looked at me expectantly.
"Uh, um… G-good?" I said unsure.
"...Good." He repeated.
"Mhm," I nodded.
"Could you be a tad bit more specific?" He asked.
"We're all getting used to the soldiers that we work with and our jobs. I haven't had to interpret any instances of anyone messing up, so I assume we are all completing our tasks well," I said.
"And do you wanna explain the pictures on some of the other slaves' sleeves?"
"Oh, that was to make it easier for soldiers to tell them what to do without always having to call for me. It's quicker as well. Each picture represents an order that they repeatedly have to ask for. This is only temporary, as I'm sure everyone will catch on to the Empirian words for the tasks soon, " I stated.
"I see, is that all? Anything to report on the food supplies or otherwise?" He continued.
"We've rationed the food to last about 2 months but we ca-"
"2 months?" He said surprised.
"...Yes, Your Highness. Is there a problem? If the travel period is planned to last longer than that we can stretch it to 2 and a half or even 3 if need be," I said.
"How are you rationing out the food?" His gaze thinned, almost in disbelief.
I was a bit taken back.
"One meal during lunch and during the last two weeks we planned for a meal every other day," I said.
He leaned back in his chair and shook his head slightly while scrunching his eyebrows further.
"Even on one meal a day, you're feeding 126 people. You only had 3 carts of supplies. There's no way that's lasting 2 months let alone the three."
"We did the math at the beginning of the journey, so rest assured, we'll be fine," I said.
"You know how to do math?" He asked.
"Most of the slaves do. Mainly taught by my parents when they were still alive," I explained.
He got quiet for a second before speaking.
"I want a written report of the food supplies you have and the amount of ingredients used for each meal."
"Do I add the meat that's caught by the slaves who can hunt?"
"The slaves have been hunting? Wait, you gave them weapons?" He asked, even more attentive now.
"No, Your Highness. Just rope and sometimes stone," I reassured.
He kept silent, taking everything in.
"I'll make a general guess using the amount caught during the past week and give you a full report tomorrow. However, I assure you that we have double checked our answers multiple times. There's no need to worry. We won't need any of your supplies unless the trip lasts longer than 2 months. If you plan for it to take any more than that, then please tell me so we can ration it out properly," I stated calmly. He examined my expression before sighing.
"Alright," he said, "Hand it in as soon as possible then. We'll be moving through the rest of Nagaria getting rid of the nobles here involved in instigating the war. Then we'll be moving to the palace to negotiate the official terms of surrender. You'll have a chance to replenish your supplies at the palace. It won't take longer than 3 weeks and then about a month to return to the Empire," he said.
There was a war? I guess that does explain why the prince of the empire is in Nagaria and burned down the manor.
"Understood, Your Highness. Is there anything else?" I asked, making sure.
"When we get to the palace, you're going to act as our interpreter," He said.
"What?" I asked startled.
"Don't make me repeat myself."
"But, Your Highness, I'm a slave, I can't just stand before the king," I proclaimed.
"You're standing before a prince, aren't you?"
I wouldn't if I had the choice.
"Wouldn't you rather a professional?" I tried, switching tactics.
"Why hire a professional when I have someone who can do it for free?"
"But I could interpret something wrong," I argued.
"Just don't make any mistakes."
"You'll be negotiating terms for surrender," I stated exasperated. "There's bound to be words that I don't understand in either language."
"Then we'll just use easier words," He stated simply. I floundered for words to refute him.
"Run out of excuses?" He asked, an eyebrow raised. I sighed in defeat.
"Okay."
"Good, now you'll also have to learn how to read and write in Empirian before we get there," he added nonchalantly.
"What?! But you just-"
"No buts," he said, cutting me off.
I sighed again.
"Understood, Your Highness."
"You're dismissed, don't forget the report," he reminded. I nodded, bowing before I left.
I left the tent dejected, thinking about how my work load just got significantly heavier.
How am I supposed to learn to read in 3 weeks?