Royal Palace.
Night.
Hamsa was done for the day and lay lazily on the balcony sofa, enjoying the cool summer night breeze.
Chotu, who had been lying on the floor beside him at first, eventually climbed onto the round sofa. He settled with half his body across Hamsa, the other half spilling over the cushions. Hamsa absentmindedly scratched and patted the tiger's head and neck, earning a deep rumble of satisfaction.
After a few moments, Adi's spiritual form appeared above him, floating directly into Hamsa's line of sight.
"So?" Hamsa asked.
As he spoke, his mana swirled around the balcony, shaping itself into an invisible spear centered on him. He did this to conceal Adi's presence and manipulate the air and light, so no one outside would hear their conversation or see anything but the Yuvraj and his tiger resting on the circular sofa.
"Well, it seems your matchmaking the guy did work out. And now he and Padmavathi are together in her room talking," Adi said.
"Then why are you here? I told you to keep an eye on them to the end," Hamsa replied.
"Well, I have no interest in being a peeping Tom, so I came back," Adi answered.
Hamsa sighed. "Hope this doesn't go south," he murmured to himself. "Well, if that's all, you can go. Do what you want." Hamsa closed his eyes, rubbing Chotu's belly and earning a rumbling purr in return.
Adi stayed, however, floating there and staring at Hamsa. Hamsa noticed this and grew irritated.
"Why are you still here, staring at me? It's creeping me out, man," he said opening his eyes.
"Well, I was just thinking—why are you taking things so slow?" Adi asked.
"What do you mean by that? And do we really need to talk about this now?" Hamsa asked with an exhausted sigh.
"Well, you know the saying: Kal kare so aj kar, aj kor to ab kar.[1] So come on, let's talk," Adi said.
Hamsa sighed, got up and walked around and stood by the stone railing by the end, and as for Chotu, he immediately followed. The tiger settled at his feet when he stopped or sat.
"You really are possessive, huh?" Hamsa said, bending down and rubbing Chotu's belly.
He then stood up and turned to the stone railing and stood with his back against it.
"Well, now talk. What do you mean, 'you're taking things so slow'?" Hamsa asked.
"Well, you know, I've been reading books from our old world, and it seems like you're doing things much slower than I expected, from introducing new policies and laws to inventing things. Why is that?" Adi asked.
"What stupid book did you read? Sigh. Never mind that. Well, let me give you a quick rundown on why," Hamsa said, turning to face the sky.
A moment of silence followed. Then Hamsa spoke.
"You know, in my past life, I tried and failed to join the armed forces. After that, I pivoted and became an IAS officer. Of course, I used a little nepotism, being the only son of a decorated general comes in handy—being the son of one of India's most decorated generals comes with perks. But to be clear, I didn't cheat or skip steps. I simply sped up the process, doing in a year or two what would normally take several."
"From that, and working as an adviser to the Prime Minister and the National Council, I gained all the administrative and governance experience I needed. Sometime later, I became the de-facto person you went to before going to the PM. Of course, I wasn't the one in charge. I just had connections to other politicians and industrial magnates, which meant I carried weight."
"And the PM was friendly to me, which meant I talked to him a lot and gained a great deal of experience. Though that relationship soured over the course of three years," Hamsa said, his smile distant with memory.
"Kid, you're going off-topic again," Adi said.
"Oh! Sorry. Well, I gained that administrative experience there. As for the rest, I've always been a general knowledge nerd—I know a lot, and I mean a lot. From important subjects like military strategy, logistics, history, and the sciences, to more niche ones like knowing stupid and outdated laws."
"Basically, I'm a bundle of general knowledge. I'm the guy you'd ask for the basics on most subjects, who could point you toward the actual experts."
"So, even though I know the theory behind aerodynamics, I don't know enough to build a plane. I know how a steam engine works, but if I tried to build one, it would be a disaster. I understand industrial processes, but in practice, I'm clueless."
Hamsa paused, his gaze distant as if seeing the blueprint of his plan. "That's the strategy," he said, his voice low and firm. "I have to build up connections, get things through the existing system any way I can, before I get to change it, so my life is easier then. Everything will start in ernest once I have a loyal workforce that I can trust, then I can truly begin changing things from the ground up."
He turned back to the railing. "Padmavathi is just the start. I have orphanages running in my name throughout most of t lands of nobles who support me, all following a curriculum I designed. And when I start establishing footholds in larger settlements like the university at Taxila, I will find and cultivate the next generation of talent there in a way that will help me build the future."
A heavy silence settled over the balcony.
Adi's flitting form stilled, his usual energy replaced by a calm thoughtfulness.
"Ah, I see now," he said, his voice softer. "You're not slow, Hamsa. You're building the foundation first. I was judging you by a fictional standard I created in my own head. My apologies."
Hamsa sighed, a small, tired smile touching his lips. The apology was accepted.
"Well," Hamsa said, his tone softening in return. "The fact that you even noticed my pace enough to question it is proof enough. It just means you're sharp. And that's a very good thing to have. Though that does not mean you are allowed to slack off." he added, by the end his tone becoming sharp, but still soft.
[1] It's a Hindi saying and means, If you plan to do something tomorrow, do it today. If you plan to do something today, do it now.