Chapter 37: Status Among Drones.

The mention of mines caused images of dark tunnels, soot-caked faces, and big bullies stealing his dig to flash through his mind. The recollection of that unpleasant experience caused his mood to plummet.

He quickly shook his head and stopped thinking about it. ’That weakling is no more. I am a better person with a better future. My situation is still somewhat lacking, but I have hope of turning things around and making things better for me.’

While he was giving himself a pep talk, Tessa was saying, "We take over a mine, be it a coal mine, copper mine, silver mine, or gold mine. You should know how we do that."

"Then we protect the miners, pay them on time, use some of the ores they mined, and sell the rest for profit. We can sell the ores here in the Byron Principality, or we can take the risk to transport them to other Principalities."

"But transportation can also be lucrative, especially when we create large caravans. The problem with the transportation business is that the risk is high. In many cases, the Bug Boss down to Apostles and Drones will be wiped out."

As she explained how the Meat Brute Order worked, she led them one by one to their accommodations. Their accommodations were a large sitting room connected to two other bedrooms, a bathroom, a toilet, and a kitchen.

Alexander had no complaints, as his current living situation was more spacious than what he had on Earth. This didn’t mean it was better, of course.

For example, the toilet situation was a bucket. There was no electricity, internet, television, phones, or radio, so he couldn’t entertain himself while using the toilet. There was no toilet paper either. The best he had to use was a piece of treated leaves.

’I don’t need to use the toilet anyway,’ he thought, shrugging.

But the toilet wasn’t the only thing in bad condition. The lighting was poor. Ventilation was inadequate. He could also hear his neighbors’ footsteps stomping above him, as if a giant were walking around.

Still, the worst part was that he was neighbors with Lord Bane. The thought of being so close to someone like that made him uncomfortable.

At the end of the day, he could only sigh and think, ’At least it is as far away from Lord Bane as possible.’

’Plus, I don’t need to sleep here all the time. I can spend all of my time outside the headquarters on missions. So all is not lost.’

After assigning rooms to them, she led them out of the main building to the service center. This was the administrative building where the non-military Drones were managed.

Upon arrival, they were met by an older Drone, a woman. She was portly, dressed in a dress made of the finest fabric Alexander had seen on a Drone.

Seeing her reminded him of his landlady. Before he became an Apostle, he would have to bow to her and long for her wealth. But now, she was the one bowing and scraping before him.

Because of her thick neck, it was very difficult for her to bow. But she still managed to bow by forcing her round body to bend.

She nearly fell over herself as she said with a fawning expression, "Welcome, Big Boss Tessa. I’ve prepared what you asked me to prepare."

"How many did you prepare?" Tessa asked nonchalantly as she led them through a series of hallways.

The service center was a two-story building built with a hollow center. So the entire building was like a wall protecting the space in the middle.

Tessa was leading them to the space within the building. Along the way, they met many servants dressed in grey robes. Their robes and their normal size made them appear insignificant and washed out compared to the Apostles.

The servants all seemed in a hurry to get somewhere. Their pace and size were the opposite of the matron, who was a veritable pile of flesh dressed in fine silk. Clearly, even among Drones, there was a difference in status.

The matron and Tessa finally led them to the open field at the center. When they got there, they saw many servants working. They were all women, busy with different stages of washing clothes.

Some were sorting clothes into piles by the kind of cloth. Then they soaked the piles in soapy water. Next, they beat and washed the soaked clothes by hand. Then they rinsed, squeezed, and so on.

Tessa avoided all of this and led them to a corner of the field where a group of women was waiting. There were 12 of them, of various ages. They ranged from teenage girls to middle-aged women.

Just as they arrived, the 12 servants bowed their heads. Then they continued bowing, not lifting their heads.

The matron, who was now out of breath from trying to keep up with Tessa, huffed and puffed as she said, "I prettied them up. Some of them still need more training, but most of them are well trained."

Tessa nodded in understanding and said to the 12 girls, "At ease."

Only then did they stop bowing and straighten themselves.

"If you participated in the test earlier, step forward," Tessa instructed.

Three of the twelve stepped forward immediately. The three fidgeted and looked nervous.

Tessa pointed at Alexander and the others as she said, "Go to the ones you did the test with."

As she said this, a teenager with blond hair, pale white skin, and red eyes walked up to Alexander with her head bowed and her arms folded around her body. She was shaking as if something scared her.

The three girls who stepped out were basically similar in appearance. They shared the same pale skin color. Their hair was blond, short, and curly. Their eyes were red and sometimes glinted as they reflected sunlight.

Their demeanor was also similar. They were afraid of something and were trying not to show it.